For me, any current dream trade would involve the Cubs unloading Matt Garza. He's a bonafide #2 in a good major league rotation when healthy. My biggest concern with the Cubs using him as a building block is that he's never really had an elite stretch since he's been with us. Sure, he's had some very nice starts, but never a dominant string of games that made me say, "Damn, if we trade this guy, I'd lose sleep over it." Again, if the Cubs didn't trade him and held onto him, I'd be fine with them offering him money similar to what was given to Anibal Sanchez this offseason (5 years @ $88MM). Anything more than that, and I'd consider that ace money, which Garza isn't. By comparison, Jered Weaver got 5 years @ $85MM and I think he's a better pitcher than Garza.
Back to the trade -- I'd love to get involved in talks with a contending club that has a top-heavy farm system, meaning guys that are close to the majors. I've liked what the Cubs have done acquiring assets, but it's time for them to start going after guys that can help them at the major league level within the next 18 months. This trade is the one I would absolutely kill for the Cubs to tackle.
Trade with Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers acquire
SP Matt Garza
LF Alfonso Soriano
Chicago Cubs acquire
LF Nick Castellanos
SP Rick Porcello
SP Jake Thompson
RP Joe Rogers
This is one trade that I feel can help both teams immediately and in the future. For the Tigers, they replace the struggling Porcello with Garza, a guy who's pitched in not only the AL East, but in multiple post-season races. He'd be a solid #3 for them to toss in a rotation of Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez and Fister -- that's arguably the best rotation in baseball. The other glaring need in Detroit's lineup is left field, where their platoon of Andy Dirks, Matt Tuiasosopo, and Don Kelly have put up poor production given that the rest of Detroit's lineup leads the Majors in batting average, is second in on-base percentage and runs scored and is third in slugging.
Enter Alfonso Soriano -- he put up 30 homers and 100RBIs in a lineup with zero protection. He'd be heading into a lineup with the greatest hitter alive (Cabrera), and 5 other regulars hitting over .285. You think he'll have a chance to continue producing at a high level? With the Tigers starting to separate themselves from Cleveland and the rest of the AL Central, adding Garza and Soriano would give them the best chance to represent the AL again in the World Series.
For the Cubs, they would almost certainly have cemented their outfield of the future -- Nick Castellanos would patrol left, Albert Almora in center and Jorge Soler in right. Castellanos, a relocated third baseman, is hitting a solid .286 this year for the Toldeo Mudhens, coupled with 11 homers, 47 RBIs, 57 runs scored, 28 doubles and an eye-popping 44 walks compared to just 64 strikeouts. Castellanos has showcased
great patience, gap power and an ability to put the ball in play. He's ready to help a major league club right now. If the Cubs chose, they could have him take some more hacks in AAA and call him up closer to September in order to preserve his arbitration clock. The big knock on him coming out of the draft was his patience -- most guys figured he'd be a high-strikeout guy with a chance to rip 25 homers and 35 doubles fairly regularly. Over the last two years, he's shown drastic improvement with his patience, evident by his high walk totals and moderate strikeouts for a 21-year-old.
Porcello would be able to slide into the rotation behind Shark and Wood. He's struggled keeping the ball down this year, but his WHIP is still a respectable 1.25 because he doesn't issue many free passes. He's not a free agent until 2016, so the Cubs would have time to assess what mechanical hitches he has in his swing and hope to fix him. If that's the case, they could have a future #3 guy.
Jake Thompson and Joe Rogers are both farther away from the majors, but could not only be valuable assets in future trades for premium talent, but guys who could impact the Cubs pitching staff within 3 years. Thompson was the Tigers' second rounder last year with a plus-sinker, a fastball that routinely touches 95 and a great build for a starter (6'4'' 235). Getting repetition and a solid third pitch are obviously his two biggest areas of need, but coming out of high school, many scouts felt like he had the stuff to be a future #2. Rogers projects more as a classic 7th and 8th inning guy, but he currently possess three pitches, two of them above average (a very underrated curveball and fastball with nice movement). The Tigers are currently weighing the option to flip him to a starter as he approaches AA, but most scouting reports I've read on him feel like he'd be on the fast track to the majors if he stayed in the bullpen.
Here are some nice scouting reports on
Castellanos, Thompson and
Rogers
