Trade deadline/rumors

[chibears55]

@TommyBirch: Looks like Brian Matusz, who was scheduled to start for the Iowa #Cubs tonight in New Orleans, will not be taking the mound. #MiLB

Trade possibility?

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[DanTown]

The Nationals are supposedly willing to trade Lucas Giolito straight up for Andrew Miller and yet Jon Heyman is reporting that it won't be enough. That's insane. A relief pitcher that pitches 60 innings a year is worth more than the #5 prospect in the game and likely the best pitching prospect? Seriously I'm speechless.

One, Miller's 60 (and potentially more) innings are of the highest leverage so yeah, they're quite valuable innings. If you want to ask what the difference between Miller and say a guy with a 3.5 ERA is, it's about two wins a year at least by the rawest of measurements but potentially much higher due to the nature of pitching only in the end of close games.

Two, while Giolito is a fantastic prospect, pitching "prospects" are never sure things. The top 5 pitching prospects of 2013 were

1. Giloito
2. Noah Sydegard
3. Archie Bradley
4. Jon Gray
5. Dylan Bundy

You just never know with pitching prospects so they will always have less value than their "rank". And if you're Washington, with Scherzer/Strasburg committed long term, you have a much higher need for a late inning reliever than even a TOR arm since he won't be TOR.

I would never want to be in the business of holding out hope for pitching prospects. I'd do exactly what Theo & co did when they built the team: invest in bats, buy arms either at the top of the market or at the bottom and rarely the middle. And then buy bats to fill in holes organizationally.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Happ scratched. Uh oh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TL1961]

Why would we say "uh oh"?

If we trade a guy at a position of depth, what's the problem?

 

[chibears55]

So Matusz and Happ scratched tonight

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[Payton!34]

Thanks for posting these guys not playing tonight. If memory serves me correct you wrote about Torres being scratched too! That let me know we got chapman way before they mentioned it and I didn't see anything in trade rumors. So thanks.

Who do you think they get? Reddick, pitcher?

 

[SilenceS]

Thanks for posting these guys not playing tonight. If memory serves me correct you wrote about Torres being scratched too! That let me know we got chapman way before they mentioned it and I didn't see anything in trade rumors. So thanks.

Who do you think they get? Reddick, pitcher?

Happ played for Soler in the 10th. lol Dont be weird

 

[beckdawg]

If you trade Happ for Reddick that's a pretty horrible value. My guess would be if the scratches are due to trade talks it would be for a team hunting for pitching not someone trying to sell off. A team like Baltimore(ironically) or Detroit would make sense because they don't appear to have anywhere near the level of prospects it is going to take to get a top flight starter. Could also be Texas who's deep in talks on Vincent Velasquez. I think Toronto is also hunting for a starter as are the Dodgers though they have the prospects to get whatever they want so Matusz as a quick cheap fix seems like a poor use of resources.

If i had to make an educated guess, I'd probably go with it being Detroit. As fast of a mover as Happ is, you sorta need to see him on the team in 2-3 years. Him playing OF could throw a wrench into ideas and make deciding who it is more complicated but of those teams Detroit would have the biggest need in a couple of years at 2B(Kinsler is 34 and signed until 2017 with a 2018 option). Detroit doesn't have a MI in their top 10 prospects but they do have several arms. Matt Manning(#9 pick), Beau Burrows(2015 #22), Joe Jimenez(50 grade), and Kyle Funkhouser(50 grade) are all decent pitching prospects. Thing is, they can't trade Manning at the deadline because it's not been a year since he was drafted and presumably Happ is a better prospect by himself than the pitchers.

So, if I'm right about Detroit being the place I feel like it'd have to be for Daniel Norris. He's a former top 30 pitching prospects on most sites but he's had some health issues and in his 17 career starts in the majors has a 4.07/4.72 ERA/FIP. They got him for David Price last year from Toronto. Interestingly, he could have been one of the names the cubs were interested in during the Shark to Toronto talks that never came through. Also interestingly, IIRC Dave Dombrowski was the GM at the time of the trade but they later fired him. A new GM might have a different picture of what Norris is and thus might be apt to deal him given his relatively poor early results.

 

[DanTown]

Happ wasn't scratched, he had a scheduled day off. Completely different.

 

[beckdawg]

http://www.bleachernation.com/2016/07/30/cubs-reportedly-in-pursuit-of-a-rays-starting-pitcher/

Interesting...

In terms of which Rays pitchers interest me....

Matt Moore - hard no
Drew Smyly - if healthy and if they think they can solve some of his fly ball/HR issues yes
Alex Cobb - if he were rather cheap maybe
Chris Archer - if he doesn't cost as much as he should cost in this market absolutely yes
Blake Snell - Not sure why'd they deal him but supposedly he's out there and he'd be an absolute yes for me.
Jake Odorizzi - Don't really have strong feelings on him. If price was reasonable I'd be fine with it but the price doesn't sound reasonable.

 

[chibears55]

Pretty quiet all around so far rumor wise..

Expect it starts to heat up tomorrow night into monday

If they are interested in Reddick , Oakland plays a noon game in Cleveland tomorrow..
So if they can get a deal done by tomorrow night, Reddick can be in lineup Monday night against Marlins



Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[chibears55]

http://www.bleachernation.com/2016/07/30/cubs-reportedly-in-pursuit-of-a-rays-starting-pitcher/

Interesting...

In terms of which Rays pitchers interest me....

Matt Moore - hard no
Drew Smyly - if healthy and if they think they can solve some of his fly ball/HR issues yes
Alex Cobb - if he were rather cheap maybe
Chris Archer - if he doesn't cost as much as he should cost in this market absolutely yes
Blake Snell - Not sure why'd they deal him but supposedly he's out there and he'd be an absolute yes for me.
Jake Odorizzi - Don't really have strong feelings on him. If price was reasonable I'd be fine with it but the price doesn't sound reasonable.

If the cubs deal for a SP, it won't be someone that going to be inserted in rotation right away..
Most likely be a guy that will pitch in Iowa til September when rosters expand or if Maddon decides to use a 6th starter during a rotation turn to give them an extra day off or two if there an off day in there..

So, if this trade is made.. I'm not looking for a big name, most likely be a guy who at the end of a rotation..


Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[beckdawg]

Pretty quiet all around so far rumor wise..

Expect it starts to heat up tomorrow night into monday

If they are interested in Reddick , Oakland plays a noon game in Cleveland tomorrow..
So if they can get a deal done by tomorrow night, Reddick can be in lineup Monday night against Marlins



Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

I don't really think the cubs are going to be in on Reddick. The problem is as the roster stands, their OF is already super crowded. Heyward despite his offensive struggles isn't going anywhere because he's the best defensive RF in baseball. Fowler is your lead off guy so other than days off he's in CF. LF basically is serving as a place to stash various players in game. Against LHP, Baez is either your 3B or 2B. I mean he's absolutely killing lefties this year(.377/.448/.597). Assuming Zobrist is in the line up which I can't see why he wouldn't normally be there, Baez is the 8th guy be it 2B or 3B with either Bryant or Zobrist in LF. Against RHP, you may also want to give Baez a shot or conversely you might start Contreras in LF. He's hitting .256/.365/.463. Now he could catch but if he does you still have other options. Coghlan got the start yesterday and the team seems to like him more than fans do.

Cubs would probably have to move Soler before you even consider dealing for Reddick. Maybe Soler is part of those apparent on going talks with the Rays but they'd basically have to finish those up in short order to also pull off a trade for Reddick.

 

[beckdawg]

If the cubs deal for a SP, it won't be someone that going to be inserted in rotation right away..
Most likely be a guy that will pitch in Iowa til September when rosters expand or if Maddon decides to use a 6th starter during a rotation turn to give them an extra day off or two if there an off day in there..

So, if this trade is made.. I'm not looking for a big name, most likely be a guy who at the end of a rotation..


Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

Problem with that logic is other than Snell who fits that description and is also actually worth acquiring? The front office has suggested that they might move for a 2017 starter at the deadline because it's sometimes easier to get teams to part with pitching then as compared to the offseason. In other words, you have to buy when teams are selling if you want what they have.

 

[chibears55]

I don't really think the cubs are going to be in on Reddick. The problem is as the roster stands, their OF is already super crowded. Heyward despite his offensive struggles isn't going anywhere because he's the best defensive RF in baseball. Fowler is your lead off guy so other than days off he's in CF. LF basically is serving as a place to stash various players in game. Against LHP, Baez is either your 3B or 2B. I mean he's absolutely killing lefties this year(.377/.448/.597). Assuming Zobrist is in the line up which I can't see why he wouldn't normally be there, Baez is the 8th guy be it 2B or 3B with either Bryant or Zobrist in LF. Against RHP, you may also want to give Baez a shot or conversely you might start Contreras in LF. He's hitting .256/.365/.463. Now he could catch but if he does you still have other options. Coghlan got the start yesterday and the team seems to like him more than fans do.

Cubs would probably have to move Soler before you even consider dealing for Reddick. Maybe Soler is part of those apparent on going talks with the Rays but they'd basically have to finish those up in short order to also pull off a trade for Reddick.

I do think Soler is either a trade piece or he will be in Iowa til September, unless he shows some signs of hitting in Iowa.

I look at it if they get Reddick..
He plays against RH
Baez starts at 2nd for most part
Zobrist will start at 2B against tougher RHers

Bryant will play LF against lefties
Zobrist will play 2B against lefties
Baez will play 3B against lefties


If they hold onto Cogs and LaStella stays in Iowa til Sept....

Zobrist and Baez are their utility / starters for IF
Cogs (LH) and Szczur (RH) are their OF bench guys

Contreras will get more starts at Catcher
Will get starts in LF or 1B to give Bryant or Rizzo a day off

Montero will probably continue to catch Arrieta, unless opposing pitcher a lefty

Ross will catch Lester





Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[chibears55]

Problem with that logic is other than Snell who fits that description and is also actually worth acquiring? The front office has suggested that they might move for a 2017 starter at the deadline because it's sometimes easier to get teams to part with pitching then as compared to the offseason. In other words, you have to buy when teams are selling if you want what they have.

Who gets booted out of rotation then ?
Doubt anyone unless they move Hammel in an upgrade

I'm guessing that "might" part is probably if there a young guy available that will finish in Iowa , maybe gets a start or two in September depending on situation..
And yea, could be Hammel replacement in 2017

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[chibears55]

@mlbtraderumors: Nationals To Acquire Mark Melancon http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/07/nationals-to-acquire-mark-melancon.html pic.twitter.com/cl7MQlxScb

Pirates waved the division white flag to the Cubs

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[chibears55]

Mets about to get Lucroy from Brewers

LuCroy out of lineup as they finalize deal

Mets adding that big bat 2 yrs in row
Cespedes last yr

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[Boobaby1]

@mlbtraderumors: Nationals To Acquire Mark Melancon http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/07/nationals-to-acquire-mark-melancon.html pic.twitter.com/cl7MQlxScb

Pirates waved the division white flag to the Cubs

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

They may be waving the flag in which they could use Bastardo as a closer, but by no means should you state that the Cubs are going to win this division. The Cardinals are super hot and have a lot of momentum going, and after the next two in Miami, they play the Reds, Braves, and then go to the Cinci before coming to Chicago.

They could pick up a lot of ground in a hurry.

The Cubs have an extremely tough road of games coming in a few weeks. This race is far from over.

 

[chibears55]

They may be waving the flag in which they could use Bastardo as a closer, but by no means should you state that the Cubs are going to win this division. The Cardinals are super hot and have a lot of momentum going, and after the next two in Miami, they play the Reds, Braves, and then go to the Cinci before coming to Chicago.

They could pick up a lot of ground in a hurry.

The Cubs have an extremely tough road of games coming in a few weeks. This race is far from over.

What?
I was told back in June they were the best team in baseball with a run differential of a million and they didn't need any help cause they had a double digit lead..[emoji12]

Seriously, why I kept saying back in June ..
If they can upgrade some areas they should do it


Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk