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).
