Doubtful in my eyes. Eloy is a terrible defender. We're talking-7.3 UZR/150 in LF over 1400 innings. Schwarber for all the hand wringing about his defense was a +5 over 3800 innings. So, Eloy is almost certainly going to be a DH pretty quickly. If the Q trade never happens he would have been traded for something else.
As for Cease... I mean he's still got the same pros/cons he had at the time of the trade. He has electric stuff but can't command it. A 4.68 bb/9 over 161 IP in the majors really hampers his potential. For reference here, Tyler Chatwood is a 4.67 bb/9 guy.... and we all so how that played out. The sox by all means should try to let him work that out but if he doesn't long term I can't see him being a starter. Maybe the cubs wouldn't have traded him knowing what they do now but both he and Eloy had flaws the cubs knew better than anyone. That's why they were dealt.
Torres also had flaws. I imagine they pictured him more as a 2B especially when you have 2 superb defenders in Baez/Russell at that time. Maybe the cubs don't win the 2016 title if he isn't traded. But I have to believe if the cubs still had Torres in 2017 they would have got Verlander instead of Q. If you recall Verlander wanted to go to the cubs but the cubs felt the price was too steep. And assuming they didn't win in 2016 you have to imagine they'd be pulling out stops to win in 2017. What happens then? Who's to say? Seems unlikely they would be as desperate to sign Chatwood/Darvish if they had verlander though. Verlander/Lester/Hendricks would have been a pretty solid 1-3.
Verlander picked up spin rate with the Astros. And most believe that him and Cole were/are using a grip substance to up their spin rates.
Not to mention Verlander has been injured.
I doubt that D matters in this conversation of Eloy and Schwarber. They are there to hit not to be wallowers in LF.
The bat justifies the playing time.
It would have been Soler but the kid got injured far too often and got traded beforehand.
You can argue Cease has control issues.
I'm looking at a kid with growing pains with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.
Giolito used to suck also.
