The Cubs Hot Stove Action Thread

[CSF77]

Hope they do. I know Logan. Get me the hookup on tickets

It could be the start of a decent line up forming if they pulled it off.

Morrison LF, CF under debate, RF Schierholtz
3B Platoon for now, SS Castro, 2B Barney, 1B Rizzo, C Castillo

They still lack a power RH bat but with Bryant and Baez close that problem solves it self.

We could be looking at: LF Morrison, CF ?, RF Bryant, 3B Baez, SS: Castro, 2B: Barney, 1B: Rizzo, C: Castillo By mid summer.

PS: Other guy I would like the Cubs to make a play for is Brett Gardener. Yanks want pitching. Cubs could pull a 3 team swap and move out Soler for a arm and bring back Gardener to man CF. This frees up Almora as trade bait looking forward.

 

[CSF77]

The Cubs will be in on Masahiro Tanaka, tweets Bruce Levine of WSCR. As he notes, the potential ace could greatly accelerate their timeline to compete.

 

[CSF77]

Good offseason:

Trade Olt for Morrison
Sign Baker
extend Shark and Wood
Win bid for Tanaka
Trade Arreta for Gardner

Win to me.

 

[patg006]

Good offseason:

Trade Olt for Morrison
Sign Baker
extend Shark and Wood
Win bid for Tanaka
Trade Arreta for Gardner

Win to me.

This would actually be excellent.

Too bad the cubs aren't smart enough to pull any of this off.

 

[theberserkfury]

I don't know much about Morrison and his stats don't seem all that impressive... why is he someone that we'd want on this team?

 

[CSF77]

I don't know much about Morrison and his stats don't seem all that impressive... why is he someone that we'd want on this team?

He was looking good until the fish got moves into that new stadium. Then the numbers took a dive. That stadium is bad for LH power hitters.

But the fact his numbers took a hit it might open up a trade for Olt who also has taken a hit in value.

 

[brett05]

Logan gone
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...-mariners-acquire-logan-morrison-from-marlins

 

[CSF77]

Made little sense. They wanted a 3B and took back a BP arm.

Mariners Acquire Logan Morrison
By Steve Adams [December 11 at 1:57pm CST]
The Mariners have acquired Logan Morrison from the Marlins in exchange for right-hander Carter Capps, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).

Morrison, 26, was a known trade candidate that was a near-lock to be traded at the Winter Meetings following the Marlins' signing of Garrett Jones to a two-year deal. The former top prospect has batted just .236/.321/.387 with 17 home runs in 178 games over the past two seasons after hitting .259/.351/.460 with 25 long balls in his first 185 big league games. Morrison's tenure with the Marlins has been rocky to this point. He's come under fire for his prolific and sometimes controversial Twitter presence and filed a grievance against the Marlins in 2011 after he was sent to the minor leagues in controversial fashion.

Morrison is under team control through the 2016 season and is projected to earn $1.7MM via arbitration by MLBTR's Matt Swartz.

Capps, 23, posted a 5.49 ERA with 10.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 40.1 percent ground-ball rate in 59 innings for the Mariners last season. Though his ERA is unsightly, Capps has averaged 96.5 mph on his fastball in his brief big league career. xFIP pegs a fluky homer-to-flyball ratio (18.8 percent) and a .365 batting average on balls in play as the reason for Capps' woes, suggesting that an ERA of 3.53 would've been more representative of his work in 2013.

Capps will join a Marlins bullpen that is anchored by closer Steve Cishek, lefty setup man Mike Dunn and right-hander A.J. Ramos. He provides a cheaper alternative to the recently departed right-handers Chad Qualls (free agency) and Ryan Webb (non-tendered).

Morrison is the second bat reeled in by Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik in the past hour, as the M's have also agreed to a one-year deal with Corey Hart. Should Morrison be able to rebound, he, Hart and recently inked Robinson Cano give the Mariners some added punch to their lineup. However, Hart and Morrison profile better as first basemen than outfielders, but one will now need to roam either right or left field at Safeco Field now that they're both in the fold.

The addition of these two bats calls into question the role of either Jesus Montero or Justin Smoak with the Mariners and could ensure that Kendrys Morales will need to find a new home this winter, which would net Seattle a draft pick.

 

[beckdawg]

Gordon Wittenmyer
‏@GDubCub
Theo said Cubs have offers out to a FA starter, a FA reliever and a trade offer for a hitter. Also other trade talks ongoing.

For the starter I'm guessing it's Fasto Carmona(aka Roberto Hernandez) or Hammel. For the reliever probably joba/axford/Mitchell Boggs. I would guess the trade is on Schierholtz for some other outfielder... probably more of a lead off type.

 

[beckdawg]

Maybe it doesn't warrant the exclamation points, but the Cubs signed LH reliever Tommy Hottovy to a minor league contract with a spring training invite. Hottovy is a former Red Sox farmhand and has had a cup of coffee with them in 2011 and the Royals in 2012. He's a finesse lefty with a fringy fastball, a curve, and a change. He'll be added to the mix and perhaps provide depth to the LH relief core.

Not a thrilling signing but having another lefty can't hurt.

 

[beckdawg]

So much for the thoughts of Brett Gardner. The Yanks supposedly turned down Brandon Phillips for him. Phillips is making like $10 mil so he's not really over priced. Not sure what the Yankee's thoughts are here. Phillips is 32 to Gardner's 30 and also signed already. Maybe they view his contract as bad.

 

[beckdawg]

Catcher Kurt Suzuki is talking with the Rockies, Cubs, and Twins, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Teams believe reliever Joaquin Benoit's likeliest destinations are the Indians, Padres, Mariners, Cubs, or Yankees, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.
Agent Scott Boras says client Jose Valverde, who turns 36 in March, intends to continue his big league career and has drawn interest from two big league teams, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. The Tigers released their former closer in August after his Triple-A reboot didn't go as well as he hoped.

cubs loving the relievers.

 

[CSF77]

Thinking the Cubs are *** again.

Catcher Kurt Suzuki is talking with the Rockies, Cubs, and Twins, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. (pointless)

There was no resolution to Samardzija's long-term solution following his sitdown with the Cubs today, but team president Theo Epstein called it a "great meeting," according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago. "There is no trade imminent," Epstein said. "We'll see what happens. We hope he's here for a long time." (No resulution)

The Cubs signed former Royals reliever Tommy Hottovy to a minor league contract, a source tells Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish (via Twitter). The 32-year-old left-hander has 17 big league games to his credit. He spent last season with the Blue Jays Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, posting a combined 4.19 ERA with 8.8 K/'9 and 3.6 BB/9. (minor league deal/no one cares)

The Cubs are among the clubs with interest in free agent pitcher Mitchell Boggs, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. The Phillies, Indians, Mariners, and Mets are also in on him. The Rockies non-tendered the right-hander after a subpar 2013. Here's more from the NL Central... (dumpster dive)

The Cubs are among the teams with interest in Roberto Hernandez, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. (4.67 career ERA 5.6 career SO/9 Meh, another dumpster dive)


I'm finding it amazing how they continue to suck in the off season. Never would have though a group that won 2 WS rings would just blow at the winter meetings 3 years in a row.

 

[beckdawg]

I'm finding it amazing how they continue to suck in the off season. Never would have though a group that won 2 WS rings would just blow at the winter meetings 3 years in a row.

Different situations. Theo came into boston with a better team and a better farm system. Here he's had a bad team and no farm system. Not saying the moves they have made have been perfect but then what team is? It's easy to sit here and say Roberto Hernandez is trash. But I'm sure many expected Feldman to be trash and Maholm before them. I sorta outilned this concept in another topic where patg006 brought up someone like Swisher and McCarthy. If you look at the numbers Schierholtz was probably the best outfield signing or at least top 3. That's not just a "best for the money" type thing. He flat out played on a very similar level to Swisher. Ironically, the player the cubs spent the most money on did the worst(Jackson).

The problem the cubs have is it really doesn't matter what they do if Castro and Rizzo have the season they did last year. You could sign Ellsbury and Cano and the cubs would be an 80 win team if Castro and Rizzo have the same season. And the worse problem the cubs have is if they don't have good seasons then who is? For better or worse, they are operating like the A's because in their view spending on someone like Cano wont make them better to the point where they are a playoff contender. And that's assuming they even can get ownership's go ahead on that sort of contract.

That being said, something like half of the top 50 ranked FA have signed according to ESPN. If they don't trade shark I sorta like the potential of the staff if they can re-sign someone like baker and add another option in Hernandez. Offensively, not sure where they are going to get a top of the line up hitter or a 4. I'm guessing they will trot out Olt and Schierholtz as some form of a 4/5 hitters. But supposedly they have a trade offer out... so I'll hold judgement.

If there's one area I feel annoyed by it's the lack of trades. I can sort of get behind the A's like approach if they actually made the good minor trades the A's seem to always make to improve their roster. I would have loved to seen the cubs get someone like Dexter Fowler. He's a young enough player that he figures into their future and he'd give them some good potential as being someone who could actually bat lead off or second if they stuck castro at lead off.

 

[CSF77]

Marlins, Cubs Swap Ruggiano For Bogusevic
By Steve Adams [December 12 at 8:37am CST]
The Marlins announced that they have traded outfielder Justin Ruggiano to the Cubs for outfielder Brian Bogusevic.

 

[CSF77]

To be honest the Rickett's have hand cuffed their ability to spend..


My problem with them is the moves that they do make don't impact the team at the major league level.

By far the best moves made have been to fill up the farm with low cost solutions while signing gambles at low cost at the major league level.

Now the E.Jaxx signing was a panic sign after they failed to net Sanchez. Why did they not get him? Because they suck and are being frugal with a big market team. So Sanchez used them to up Det's offer. Ya know a team with a smaller market but plays bigger and goes to the play offs every year.

There is no excuse why the Cubs are running a 70 mil pay roll right now except that the Ricketts are more interested in the business side and making new buildings vs winning games.

PS: Sorry had to let it out. I try to stay positive but the reality is what it is.

 

[CSF77]

looking at Justin Ruggiano. He has played more CF and LF. RH bat. Hit 18 HR's last year. 31 YO.

This swap feel like a LH platoon bat for a RH platoon bat deal.

I'm not sure where they are going with this. RF is his least played spot and that is the need area. IDK here.

 

[Boobaby1]

To be honest the Rickett's have hand cuffed their ability to spend..


My problem with them is the moves that they do make don't impact the team at the major league level.

By far the best moves made have been to fill up the farm with low cost solutions while signing gambles at low cost at the major league level.

Now the E.Jaxx signing was a panic sign after they failed to net Sanchez. Why did they not get him? Because they suck and are being frugal with a big market team. So Sanchez used them to up Det's offer. Ya know a team with a smaller market but plays bigger and goes to the play offs every year.

There is no excuse why the Cubs are running a 70 mil pay roll right now except that the Ricketts are more interested in the business side and making new buildings vs winning games.

PS: Sorry had to let it out. I try to stay positive but the reality is what it is.

Didn't I hear somewhere that Rickett's gave Theo freedom to do what ever he thought he had to do. I would assume that meant money also, so any blame to Rickett's should be shared with Theo.

Why would Theo want to come to the Cubs if they were going to act like Minnesota? It surely wasn't for his personal gain and he had to know he couldn't turn around a dismal Cubs team in his five years without some monetary flexibility from the owner.

 

[CSF77]

Didn't I hear somewhere that Rickett's gave Theo freedom to do what ever he thought he had to do. I would assume that meant money also, so any blame to Rickett's should be shared with Theo.

Why would Theo want to come to the Cubs if they were going to act like Minnesota? It surely wasn't for his personal gain and he had to know he couldn't turn around a dismal Cubs team in his five years without some monetary flexibility from the owner.

They can do what they want within the nutshell.

 

[CSF77]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Cubs Thursday swapped outfielders with the Marlins, sending Brian Bogusevic to Miami for a much needed right-handed bat: Justin Ruggiano.

The Cubs already have left-handed-hitting Nate Schierholtz and Ryan Sweeney, and they were looking for someone to help against southpaw pitchers. Ruggiano, 31, who can play all three outfield positions, has a .281 batting average over the last two seasons against left-handed pitching.

"We like Bogusevic a lot but feel it's a better fit for our roster to get a guy who hits left-handed pitching well," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. "He can platoon with one of several guys we have and play all three outfield positions. Sometimes it is about fit. Brian did a really good job for us. Ruggiano fits our roster better, and we're excited to work out a deal for him."

The newest Cub has spent all or part of five Major League seasons with Tampa Bay (2007-08, 2011) and Miami (2012-13), batting .251 with 49 doubles, 37 home runs and 109 RBIs in 317 games.

Last season, he hit 15 of his 18 home runs on the road, and the Cubs feel the move to a smaller ballpark could help.

The Cubs' outfield appears to be set. They got good reports on Junior Lake's outfield play in the Dominican Republic, and project him to be a regular in 2014.

"We didn't have that veteran right-handed bat who can platoon and hit lefties," Hoyer said about acquiring Ruggiano. "The only way Junior is going to get better is by playing. We're excited about the winter that Junior has had. He's built on a really strong season and has continued to play really well in winter ball."

Bogusevic, who turns 30 in February, batted .273 with six home runs and 16 RBIs in 47 games with the Cubs last year. He signed a Minor League contract with the Cubs prior to the 2013 campaign.

So I guess he was the RH part of RF.

So Lake LF/Sweeney CF/ (Schierholtz/Ruggiano) RF

Sounds like a line up of:

Castro SS
Lake LF
Rizzo 1B
Schierholtz/Ruggiano RF
Sweeney CF
Valbuena/Murphy 3B
Castillo/Kottaras C
Barney/Watkins 2B

Yep seeing another 60ish wins here.