pick an outfielder...

[chibears55]

for sake of discussions as we wait for the off season to begin, i saw where the dodgers may consider moving one of their 4 outfielders.
if you had your choice.. who would you try and trade for for the cubs..

carl crawford (31 ) 4 yrs 82.5 mil left on contract

andre ethier (31 ) 4 yrs 68.5 mil plus a vesting option of 17.5 mil or 2.5 mil buyout

matt kemp (28 ) 6 yrs 128 mil left on contract

yasiel puig (22 ) 5 yrs 34.570 mil left on contract ARB eligable in 2016


we know their not moving puig, though he would definately be the easiest and net them the most in return..

the age, injury factor and total cost remaining on crawford and ethier will make it real hard for them to be moved unless the dodgers eat a large sum of their contract and dont request a top prospect in return.

realistically i just dont see a team with money available, taking a chance on these two and paying the price unless their that one Ofer / hitter away from winning. the dodgers unless they give in to another teams offer may be stuck with crawford and ethier.


i think if the cubs have any interest or make any attempt of trying to nab one of these players they would first go after matt kemp who at 28 is in his prime and locked up for 6 yrs.. he can play LF and be the RH power bat they need. the cubs also have the money available to where they dont necessary need to ask the dodgers to eat some of his payroll, which in exchange could allow them not to have to move more then one of their top prospect for him..


ethier would be another consideration for them, but i think because of his factors the cubs would request money relief unless they can get the dodgers to take back anything other then their top prospects..


seeing they have 33 YO juan uribe at 3B and 36 YO mark ellis at 2B, mike olt, and darwin barney could be part of any offer made.

 

[Chris J]

Yasiel Puig isnt that good

 

[CSF77]

andre ethier

 

[X]

I think they'll move Crawford to whomever will take him

 

[Derkach77]

the only one that would be worth it is ethier.

 

[dabears253313]

Carl Crawford.

 

[CSF77]

Carl Crawford.

wow. Makes sense Theo takes back the bloated chunk-tract that Bosox worked so hard shedding.

 

[Flacco4Prez]

Wouldn't want any. Puig will require an unequal return. Crawford is a speedster already a couple years into his decline, Kemp would require a ton and has an injury history and Ethier is overpriced and not all that good IMO. If I had to pick it would be Kemp. Still only 28, probably has 3-4 seasons left as an elite player and would be a great bat in the middle of the lineup

 

[beckdawg]

Honestly, if the dodgers were to eat say $25-30 mil of Crawford's contract I think he becomes really interesting. First as SilenceS has brought up many times, there's not a ton of left handed bats in the cubs system. Secondly, the cubs don't have a lead off hitter unless Castro really rebounds and even then you may want to bat him second. So, if you're telling me I can have crawford for 4 years at $12-15 mil per I'm very interested. He hit .283 this year with .329 OBP and in the past has been up in that .350 OBP range. Obviously it would depend on what they have to give up but as long as its not a top 10 prospect it makes some sense to me.

To put this into perspective, a lot of us like Choo who's a similar age and may get $15 mil/year+. So, to have Crawford in that $12-14 mi/year range would be decent.

 

[SilenceS]

Honestly, if the dodgers were to eat say $25-30 mil of Crawford's contract I think he becomes really interesting. First as SilenceS has brought up many times, there's not a ton of left handed bats in the cubs system. Secondly, the cubs don't have a lead off hitter unless Castro really rebounds and even then you may want to bat him second. So, if you're telling me I can have crawford for 4 years at $12-15 mil per I'm very interested. He hit .283 this year with .329 OBP and in the past has been up in that .350 OBP range. Obviously it would depend on what they have to give up but as long as its not a top 10 prospect it makes some sense to me.

To put this into perspective, a lot of us like Choo who's a similar age and may get $15 mil/year+. So, to have Crawford in that $12-14 mi/year range would be decent.

Crawford is intriguing. He looked good in the playoffs and could be a nice leadoff hitter for a couple of years. The Dodgers would have to eat part of the contract and we got 3rd base depth in the system. It could really set our lineup together with Crawford. Then you have some parts to trade out or keep. Vitters also has been moved to LF so he could play the right handed platoon. The Cubs are going to start running into problems as soon as next year if their minor league position players push themselves on the team. That's a very good thing.

 

[dabears253313]

wow. Makes sense Theo takes back the bloated chunk-tract that Bosox worked so hard shedding.

Out of the outfielders listed, I pick Carl Crawford. U mad?

 

[TL1961]

I wouldn't touch Crawford with a ten foot pole. He will let you down, and he is not a very good defensive player.

Ethier does nothing for me.

Puig isn't going anywhere.

If I had to trade for any of them, Matt Kemp would be the guy. But it would make no sense for LA to trade the best of the 4, and if they did, it would cost way too much in prospects.

 

[SilenceS]

I wouldn't touch Crawford with a ten foot pole. He will let you down, and he is not a very good defensive player.

Ethier does nothing for me.

Puig isn't going anywhere.

If I had to trade for any of them, Matt Kemp would be the guy. But it would make no sense for LA to trade the best of the 4, and if they did, it would cost way too much in prospects.

If they eat a good portion of the contract and it doesn't cost much in trade. Whats the downside? Its better then what the Cubs have now.

 

[beckdawg]

I wouldn't touch Crawford with a ten foot pole. He will let you down, and he is not a very good defensive player.

I'll be honest, I've not seen him play a ton recently but I've always heard the impression on him was he was a very good defender. Also, looking at the metrics(UZR) he's well above average. Additionally, let you down from what? I mean if you're talking about him being a $20 mil/year player I agree. But at say $13 mil/year if they eat a bunch of his contract? The cubs don't have a lot of major league ready outfielders and $13 mil/year doesn't buy you much in FA. He gives the cubs a lefty they can use, speed which they really don't have a ton of and most importantly a lead off hitter. If they ate $25-30 mil of his contract I'd trade him for Olt straight up.

 

[CSF77]

Out of the outfielders listed, I pick Carl Crawford. U mad?

Not mad. But you have to remember that Theo got burnt signing him the first time so did you even think before posting?

 

[CSF77]

I'll be honest, I've not seen him play a ton recently but I've always heard the impression on him was he was a very good defender. Also, looking at the metrics(UZR) he's well above average. Additionally, let you down from what? I mean if you're talking about him being a $20 mil/year player I agree. But at say $13 mil/year if they eat a bunch of his contract? The cubs don't have a lot of major league ready outfielders and $13 mil/year doesn't buy you much in FA. He gives the cubs a lefty they can use, speed which they really don't have a ton of and most importantly a lead off hitter. If they ate $25-30 mil of his contract I'd trade him for Olt straight up.

Again it is not even this issue. The issue is Theo caught hell in Boston after signing him to that contract and got flamed nationally over it. He is not going to take back that contract and any % of the value of it. He is trying to separate himself away from big signings because of contracts like that so no. Not to mention he would get flame thrown again by the media for resigning the same contract he got burnt by the first time.

 

[CSF77]

I wouldn't touch Crawford with a ten foot pole. He will let you down, and he is not a very good defensive player.

Ethier does nothing for me.

Puig isn't going anywhere.

If I had to trade for any of them, Matt Kemp would be the guy. But it would make no sense for LA to trade the best of the 4, and if they did, it would cost way too much in prospects.

Kemp would be tempting but I feel that the team will end up needing LH bats more than RH bats. 2008 this was a major problem and LAD exploited the line up for going too RH heavy.

Side not I do not see LAD moving Kemp at anytime. Either is the easiest to move out of them.

 

[SilenceS]

Again it is not even this issue. The issue is Theo caught hell in Boston after signing him to that contract and got flamed nationally over it. He is not going to take back that contract and any % of the value of it. He is trying to separate himself away from big signings because of contracts like that so no. Not to mention he would get flame thrown again by the media for resigning the same contract he got burnt by the first time.

Its business not personal. If the deal was right, I would flame him for not making it. When business becomes personal you are destined to fail.

 

[beckdawg]

Again it is not even this issue. The issue is Theo caught hell in Boston after signing him to that contract and got flamed nationally over it. He is not going to take back that contract and any % of the value of it. He is trying to separate himself away from big signings because of contracts like that so no. Not to mention he would get flame thrown again by the media for resigning the same contract he got burnt by the first time.

I don't agree with that logic. When Theo signed him he obviously liked the skill set he brought to the table. Why would have that changed? Crawford had a bad year in 2011 in boston after signing the big deal largely revolving around his +5% strikeout rate. However in the past 2 years he's been better when he's not been injured. He's not been a $20 mil/year player but he's been decent. He finished with 2.9 WAR in 116 games this year. Typically speaking 2 WAR is considered an average 25 man roster player and those type of players on the FA market are generally worth $6 mil/year. Each additional 1 WAR is currently worth about $6 mil. So, at close to 3 WAR the metrics say Crawford is worth about $12 mi this year. Keep in mind that was in 116 games where presumably you would expect more. However, given his recent injury issues I think it's valid to error on the side of caution.

Also, many here have bitched about the lack of name FA's the cubs have signed. Carl Crawford is a name. With the drop in attendance, he's someone a more casual fan can look and say hey I know that player. The cubs have made it clear they have no plans to sign big name FA. However, if you get the dodgers to eat $25-30 mil of his contract you're talking about a much more reasonably priced player who will presumably attract fans and he'd be much more attractive to fans than signing another person on the level of Schierholtz.

Where's the down side? Whomever they try to trade Crawford to will want the Dodgers to eat a sizable chunk of the deal. The cubs ate $13 mil to trade away Soriano and $15 mil on Zambrano with 1 year left on his deal. So, suggesting the dodgers eat $6.25-7.5 mil/year doesn't really seem all that unreasonable. You could argue they will have to eat more than that. That puts Crawford in the $13-14 mil/year range which is similar to the range that Victorino and Bourn were signed last off season as top of the order guys. For reference Victorinio put up 82 runs, 15 HRs, 61 RBIs, 21 SB, .294 average and .351 OBP and Bourn put up 75 runs, 6 HRs, 50 RBI, 23 SB, .263 avg and .316 OBP. Crawford put up 62 runs, 6 HRs, 31 RBIs, 15 SB, .283 avg, .329 OBP this year. The cubs HAVE to get better in the #1 and #2 slots. They got .257 avg and .321 OBP(includes dejesus who's obviously gone) out of the #1 hole and .244 avg and .310 obp out of the #2 hole. So, even if Crawford never goes back to his 2009-2010 self, his 2013 stats would be an enormous upgrade. You combine that with Castro reverting to form and all of a sudden Rizzo is hitting with a lot more people on base.

If Theo is worried about what the media/fans might say then he's not the right guy for the job. Crawford fills a giant need for the cubs and if they get the dodgers to pay close to half his yearly salary he's a worthwhile addition to the team. So, if he were to ignore this type of move because he's afraid of criticism I'd lose a lot of faith in him.

 

[CSF77]

Ask yourself what has Theo done here? Shed contract. He came he knowing that he would be building from the ground up. He admitted that he wanted out of Boston because he was forced to keep up with the Yankees and made some forced signings that were traded away to the Dodgers.

Ask your self why would Theo leave Boston an goto Chicago in the first place? Cubs are a smaller market. Ownership was reducing payroll. When Theo took over he stated they were building from the ground up.

In other words he left behind trying to buy a championship and embraced building one through development. That being said and seeing how he has not talked to Mike Maddux or Alomar Jr. For the manager job it tells me he doesn't walk the same path twice. Not to mention if he got burnt by it.

Now I understand your views on this but from what Theo has shown he doesn't look the type to jump back into old flings.