Some people in LA rue the day the Dodgers made the $250 million trade with the Red Sox, as the team continues to under perform.
How are the ex-Cub players doing in their pennant chases?
Maholm as a Cub in 21 games, went 9-6, 3.74 ERA with 1.238 WHIP. In Atlanta, in 8 games, he is 3-4, 4.28 ERA and 1.324 WHIP. He is below his Cub par with the Braves so far.
Reed Johnson as a Cub in 76 games hit 3 HR, 16 RBI, .302 BA. In Atlanta, in 26 games, he has hit 0 HR, 4 RBI and .313 BA. He was brought in as a bench player, so he is probably on par so far with the Braves.
Dempster as a Cub in 16 games went 5-5, 2.25 ERA and 1.038 WHIP. In Texas, in 8 gqames, he is 6-1, 4.11 ERA and 1.291 WHIP. Dempster, with more offensive support, is doing exactly what the Rangers want him to do: post wins.
Soto as a Cub in 52 games hit 6 HR, 14 RBI, .199 BA. In Texas, in 33 games, he is hitting 3 HR, 17 RBI and .213 BA. He is slightly improved over his Cub stats as a Ranger.
The Braves and the Rangers are content with the trades that they made because the ex-Cubs are contributing to their pennant runs.
The one person coming in via trade on the Cubs now is Anthony Recker, from Oakland. In 13 games as an A's, he hit only .129 with 0 HR and 0 RBI. In 4 games as a Cub, he is hitting .222 with 1 HR and 2 RBI. He is hardly the answer at catcher.
Showing posts with label Soto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soto. Show all posts
September 13, 2012
July 31, 2012
OH ME, OH MY
The Cubs were on the cusp of being the Big Loser in this trade season by not pulling the trigger on any deals. Well, there is an old adage in baseball circles: sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make.
After messing up the Dempster-Atlanta deal, the Cubs traded left handed starter Paul Maholm and reserve outfielder Reed Johnson and CASH considerations to the Braves for two minor league players, pitchers Jaye Chapman and Arodys Vizcaino. It appears to be an excellent deal for the Braves, who are in a pennant chase with the pitching rich Nationals. The Braves needed to bolster their rotation, and Maholm is a steady, veteran performer.
After messing up the Dempster-Atlanta deal, the Cubs traded left handed starter Paul Maholm and reserve outfielder Reed Johnson and CASH considerations to the Braves for two minor league players, pitchers Jaye Chapman and Arodys Vizcaino. It appears to be an excellent deal for the Braves, who are in a pennant chase with the pitching rich Nationals. The Braves needed to bolster their rotation, and Maholm is a steady, veteran performer.
Maholm has a 3.74 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 49.9% ground ball rate in 120 1/3 innings for the Cubs this year. The 30-year-old has never thrown particularly hard; his average fastball checks in at 87.6 mph this year, according to FanGraphs. He earns a $4.75MM salary in 2012 and his contract includes a $6.5MM club option for 2013. So the Braves control Maholm next season plus the Cubs are paying part of his contract going forward.
Johnson, 35, has a .307/.361/.452 batting line in 180 plate appearances this year. The right-handed hitter has played all three outfield positions for the Cubs and owns a career .313/.370/.469 line against left-handed pitching. He's signed to a one-year, $1.15MM contract and will hit free agency after the season. Johnson is one of those deadline pick up that bolsters a team's bench and gives a manager more options down the September stretch, both pitch hitting and defensive replacement.
So what did the Cubs get back in return? Nothing close to what Dempster trade would have gotten them, quality prospect Randall Delgado. Instead, the Cubs obtained A PITCHER ON THE DISABLED LIST with a major injury.
Vizcaino, who entered the 2012 season ranked by Baseball America as the 40th-best prospect in MLB, had Tommy John surgery this spring. The 21-year-old posted a 3.06 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 97 innings for three Braves affiliates as he made his way through Atlanta's minor league system in 2011. The right-hander reached the Major Leagues last year, posting a 4.67 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 17 relief appearances.
Clearly, the Braves fast tracked Vizcaino through the system to the majors where he had so-so results. A minor league phenom with major surgery is not that comforting or helpful in the near future. The success rate for pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery is good (some pitchers believe their arm is stronger than before), but some do not ever get back to their pre-surgery fastball speeds. Many have to adapt new, more arm friendly pitches, in order to stay on a career course. In normal rehab, it takes 18 months to 2 years until the player is ready to go full bore. So, the trade of Maholm's 18 months left on his contract is for nothing at this point.
Vizcaino, who entered the 2012 season ranked by Baseball America as the 40th-best prospect in MLB, had Tommy John surgery this spring. The 21-year-old posted a 3.06 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 97 innings for three Braves affiliates as he made his way through Atlanta's minor league system in 2011. The right-hander reached the Major Leagues last year, posting a 4.67 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 17 relief appearances.
Clearly, the Braves fast tracked Vizcaino through the system to the majors where he had so-so results. A minor league phenom with major surgery is not that comforting or helpful in the near future. The success rate for pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery is good (some pitchers believe their arm is stronger than before), but some do not ever get back to their pre-surgery fastball speeds. Many have to adapt new, more arm friendly pitches, in order to stay on a career course. In normal rehab, it takes 18 months to 2 years until the player is ready to go full bore. So, the trade of Maholm's 18 months left on his contract is for nothing at this point.
Chapman, a 25-year-old right-hander, has a 3.52 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 53 2/3 innings of relief for Atlanta's Triple-A team so far in 2012. He has a career 3.95 ERA and 1.391 WHIP. He has been basically a reliever his entire minor league career. But in 101 games finished, he only has 28 saves. At 25, he appears to be a middle reliever candidate.
Was the Maholm deal a "make up trade" with the Braves for Dempster pulling a reversal no to the teams' earlier trade? The Cubs did not receive very much in return for Maholm and Johnson.
The Cubs also traded Geovany Soto. Soto should have been traded a year ago when he still had rookie of the year type potential on the trade market. But the Cubs kept Soto as the starter. Nagging injuries and bad swing mechanics doomed his value this season.
The Cubs traded Soto to the Rangers for Jacob Brigham, a AA minor league pitcher.
Soto, 29, has a .195/.278/.345 batting line in 194 plate appearances this year. The 2008 NL Rookie of the Year earns $4.3MM in 2012 and is on track to go to arbitration for the third time this offseason. However, the Cubs were going to non-tender him to save money which would have granted Soto free agency a year early. Clearly, the Rangers got Soto as catching insurance in case starter Mike Napoli or backup Yorvit Torrealba go down with injuries.
The Cubs traded Soto to the Rangers for Jacob Brigham, a AA minor league pitcher.
Soto, 29, has a .195/.278/.345 batting line in 194 plate appearances this year. The 2008 NL Rookie of the Year earns $4.3MM in 2012 and is on track to go to arbitration for the third time this offseason. However, the Cubs were going to non-tender him to save money which would have granted Soto free agency a year early. Clearly, the Rangers got Soto as catching insurance in case starter Mike Napoli or backup Yorvit Torrealba go down with injuries.
It was cheap insurance, too. Brigham, a 24-year-old right-hander, had been pitching at Double-A Frisco. He has a 4.28 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 124 innings over the course of 21 starts this year. Brigham is a fringe arm, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. He has a below average career as a starter the past six years, with a .391 winning percentage and 4.40 ERA and 1.395 WHIP. At 24 and 6 seasons in his career but not out of AA ball yet means Brigham can't really be called a viable major league prospect at this point. After 6 seasons of development, a player should have already made it to AAA (and with some ML service time). But with Soto's weak bat, this was really a salary dump by the Cubs (possibly to off-set some of the money being sent to Atlanta in the Maholm deal).
Overall, the Cubs traded three players on the current major league roster for one prospect with major arm surgery and a borderline journeyman relief pitcher.
The only thing the moves really does is to open up roster spaces. Maholm's spot in the rotation most likely will be filled by Volstad since Randy Wells went on the AAA DL is out for the season (thus ending his Cub career). Johnson's spot on the bench may be filled by a middle infielder like Cardenas. Promoting Brett Jackson to sit on the bench would not be a good move, unless Soriano or DeJesus is dealt. Wellington Castillo will replace Soto and platoon with Clevenger in an extended battle of who will become the starting 2013 catcher.
Overall, the Cubs traded three players on the current major league roster for one prospect with major arm surgery and a borderline journeyman relief pitcher.
The only thing the moves really does is to open up roster spaces. Maholm's spot in the rotation most likely will be filled by Volstad since Randy Wells went on the AAA DL is out for the season (thus ending his Cub career). Johnson's spot on the bench may be filled by a middle infielder like Cardenas. Promoting Brett Jackson to sit on the bench would not be a good move, unless Soriano or DeJesus is dealt. Wellington Castillo will replace Soto and platoon with Clevenger in an extended battle of who will become the starting 2013 catcher.
January 30, 2012
NEWS AND RUMORS
News and rumors from the weekend papers:
(1) An AL GM who is not associated with the Red Sox or Cubs believes that Commissioner Bud Selig will give Boston a significant player in the compensation agreement: "I don’t think MLB wants executives leaving their teams before their contracts are up and therefore he will try to deter teams from doing that again."
>>>> Whoa. That means the Cubs interest in Cuban OF defectors Cespedes and Soler may be because #1 prospect Brett Jackson may be that compensation. That would send a message; but one has to realize that Epstein was on the way out anyway with the conflict with the team owners and president. But will Selig realize that? Probably not.
(2) The Cardinals are actively shopping pitcher Kyle McClellan ($2.5 million salary) in order to free up payroll to sign Roy Oswalt to a one year deal. McClellan, 27, is under team control for 2012-2013.
>>>> This is a type of player Espstein and Hoyer would like to pick up: young pitchers under control for several seasons. McClellan would be a fine middle rotation guy. He went 12-7 last year with a 4.19 ERA. However, I don't think the Cubs have the money or the player(s) to make a deal with the Cardinals.
(3) The Rays are looking for a veteran catcher, and Geo Soto's name has come up in the discussion as one of three veteran catchers on Tampa's radar.
>>>> Since the Cubs will not be competitive in 2012, you might as well just trade Soto for prospects (maybe some of those the Cubs sent for Garza) and run with the two high level catchers that are ready for major league duty (Castillo and Clevenger).
>>>> Whoa. That means the Cubs interest in Cuban OF defectors Cespedes and Soler may be because #1 prospect Brett Jackson may be that compensation. That would send a message; but one has to realize that Epstein was on the way out anyway with the conflict with the team owners and president. But will Selig realize that? Probably not.
(2) The Cardinals are actively shopping pitcher Kyle McClellan ($2.5 million salary) in order to free up payroll to sign Roy Oswalt to a one year deal. McClellan, 27, is under team control for 2012-2013.
>>>> This is a type of player Espstein and Hoyer would like to pick up: young pitchers under control for several seasons. McClellan would be a fine middle rotation guy. He went 12-7 last year with a 4.19 ERA. However, I don't think the Cubs have the money or the player(s) to make a deal with the Cardinals.
(3) The Rays are looking for a veteran catcher, and Geo Soto's name has come up in the discussion as one of three veteran catchers on Tampa's radar.
>>>> Since the Cubs will not be competitive in 2012, you might as well just trade Soto for prospects (maybe some of those the Cubs sent for Garza) and run with the two high level catchers that are ready for major league duty (Castillo and Clevenger).
December 28, 2011
TRADING CHIPS
Cub President Theo Epstein has gone on the record that his move of trading "assets" for
more assets is not over with the Sean Marshall deal.
But what real "trading" chips do the Cubs still have on their roster?
1. Matt Garza, starting pitcher, two years left of control, arb eligible, Cubs #1 starter, projects to #3 starter with contending teams. Garza may be the last ace in the hole for the Cubs to deal for 2 pitchers and 2 prospects (hopefully a third base and first base power hitter). The type of pitcher you would get in return would be a #4 type (like Travis Wood), with a AAA ready pitcher. Trading Garza would also further dump payroll, something which is more than apparent under this new administration.
2. Carlos Zambrano, starting pitcher, one year left at $18 million, Cubs headcase, projects as #3 starter on contending teams. Z has worn out his welcome in Chicago, and everyone in the league knows it. So there will be no line of takers for a pitcher that may be past his prime, physically and mentally. Some think Miami with friend Ozzie Guillen would be the perfect landing spot, but the Marlins already spent big money on Mark Buehrle and other free agents. Even with quality pitching in short supply, there won't be any takers unless the Cubs eat 75% or more of Z's salary. In return, you may get a low prospect or two so it may not pay to trade him, since there are no AAA Cub pitchers capable of starting in 2012.
3. Marlon Byrd, centerfielder, one year left on deal. Byrd's contract is not that hard to swallow for a team looking for a veteran back up outfielder. And that is what Byrd's production tells other teams; back-up role player. Therefore, there will be no great prospects in return in trading Byrd. He would have to be packaged with other players in order to get some viable prospects in return. He should be moved because he is blocking Brett Jackson, the only Cub farmhand in Baseball America's top 100 prospects.
4. Geo Soto, catcher, still under club control. The majors are devoid of power hitting catchers. Soto's skills are diminishing with more nagging injuries. He is at the point of his best trade value. The Cubs have two catching prospects (Castillo and Clevenger) who are major league ready. Trading Soto could land a major league player and a low prospect.
5. Brett Jackson, Iowa AAA outfielder. The only possible player the new management could consider keeping, but more likely would trade all the Hendry known prospects and re-set the rosters with their own signees. If that is the case, Jackson would return two or three lower prospects in return. This would also signal a much longer "rebuilding" time frame for the Cubs; something that Ricketts and season ticket holders would be denial about . . . the turnaround would be put off for an additional two or three years, or 2016. No one knows whether ownership can wait that long.
more assets is not over with the Sean Marshall deal.
But what real "trading" chips do the Cubs still have on their roster?
1. Matt Garza, starting pitcher, two years left of control, arb eligible, Cubs #1 starter, projects to #3 starter with contending teams. Garza may be the last ace in the hole for the Cubs to deal for 2 pitchers and 2 prospects (hopefully a third base and first base power hitter). The type of pitcher you would get in return would be a #4 type (like Travis Wood), with a AAA ready pitcher. Trading Garza would also further dump payroll, something which is more than apparent under this new administration.
2. Carlos Zambrano, starting pitcher, one year left at $18 million, Cubs headcase, projects as #3 starter on contending teams. Z has worn out his welcome in Chicago, and everyone in the league knows it. So there will be no line of takers for a pitcher that may be past his prime, physically and mentally. Some think Miami with friend Ozzie Guillen would be the perfect landing spot, but the Marlins already spent big money on Mark Buehrle and other free agents. Even with quality pitching in short supply, there won't be any takers unless the Cubs eat 75% or more of Z's salary. In return, you may get a low prospect or two so it may not pay to trade him, since there are no AAA Cub pitchers capable of starting in 2012.
3. Marlon Byrd, centerfielder, one year left on deal. Byrd's contract is not that hard to swallow for a team looking for a veteran back up outfielder. And that is what Byrd's production tells other teams; back-up role player. Therefore, there will be no great prospects in return in trading Byrd. He would have to be packaged with other players in order to get some viable prospects in return. He should be moved because he is blocking Brett Jackson, the only Cub farmhand in Baseball America's top 100 prospects.
4. Geo Soto, catcher, still under club control. The majors are devoid of power hitting catchers. Soto's skills are diminishing with more nagging injuries. He is at the point of his best trade value. The Cubs have two catching prospects (Castillo and Clevenger) who are major league ready. Trading Soto could land a major league player and a low prospect.
5. Brett Jackson, Iowa AAA outfielder. The only possible player the new management could consider keeping, but more likely would trade all the Hendry known prospects and re-set the rosters with their own signees. If that is the case, Jackson would return two or three lower prospects in return. This would also signal a much longer "rebuilding" time frame for the Cubs; something that Ricketts and season ticket holders would be denial about . . . the turnaround would be put off for an additional two or three years, or 2016. No one knows whether ownership can wait that long.
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