Countdown to the Trade Deadline (6 Days Left)
With Major League Baseball's trade deadline less than a week away, I will dedicate one blog a day to possible trades the Cubs can make with the goal of assembling a better team for next year.
In my "master plan for fixing the Cubs," which I came up with because I have way too much free time on my hands, the first step is the dumping of unwanted salaries. In these trades, it doesn't really matter who the Cubs get back in return, so long as they have little to no major league experience and they earn a minor league salary. Players who fall under this category include Scott Williamson, recently traded to the Padres for two minor league pitchers, Glendon Rusch, Neifi Perez, and John Mabry. I would have put Phil Nevin and Todd Walker on this list, but I thought about it and realized that Nevin has been such a good hitter in his brief stint with the Cubs that he could at least bring the team a B-level prospect from a club desperate for some power down the stretch and Walker could be a vital left-handed pinch hitter for a contender, allowing the Cubs to get back an individual who somewhat resembles a professional baseball player. Ridding themselves of these players listed above would clear roughly $30 million dollars, allowing Jim Hendry to be a player on the free agent market next off-season. I'm not sure if the idea of Hendry with money to spend is such an enticing proposition given the awful signings he has made in the past, but I guess having some money is better than having none at all.
Now that step one is out of the way, let's shine the spotline on the first truly tradable player, who would actually yield someone useful in return...
Greg Maddux
The most common rumor has Maddux headed to the Dodgers for stud prospect Andre Ethier.
Why it will happen: The Dodgers have one of the deepest farm systems in the league and they feel that the only thing standing between them and the playoffs is a more experienced pitching staff. What better way to bolster your roster than to add one of the most successful playoff pitchers ever? From the Cubs perspective, this trade gives them a future can't-miss superstar to build their team around. With the edition of Ethier in LF along side Pierre, hopefully the Cubs resign him, and Jones in right, all of a sudden the outfield, which was a weakness going into the year, becomes a strength. Tonight Ethier went 4-5 with two HRs and 3 RBI. In only 70 games he is batting .349 with 8 HR, 36 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.
Why it won't happen: Ever since the Dodgers brought Ethier up from the minors with the intention of showcasing him for a trade, he has done nothing but hit. The Dodgers front office is now wondering whether or not this would be the right player to give up, especially for a pitcher who has gone 3-9 with an ERA of almost 5, after starting the year 5-0.
Prediction: I think the reality of the situation points towards two possible outcomes. First, the Cubs send Maddux to Arizona in exchange for gold-glove second baseman Orlando Hudson. This trade wouldn't create the same kind of buzz as the one mentioned above but Hudson would fit perfectly into the Cubs' middle infield and give the team a perfect number two hitter behind Pierre (again, that is if the Cubs resign him, something which I feel they must do to have any chance next year). Arizona, a team which came within minutes of signing Maddux as a free agent before the Cubs stole him away, finds itself only 1 1/2 games back of the wild card spot and has been looking for pitching since the season started. I don't think Maddux, and his tendency to give up the long ball, would be a good fit in Arizona, but hey, that didn't stop the Diamondbacks from signing Russ Ortiz did it?
The second scenario again involves the Dodgers with the Cubs receiving disgruntled shortstop Cesar Izturis who, with the addition of Rafael Furcal, finds himself asked to play out of position at 3B or 2B. He has made it very clear that he either wants to move back to SS or be traded elsewhere. Izturis was sidelined for the majority of last season and most of this one because of a sever injury to his throwing elbow. However, when healthy, he is a gold-glove caliber shortstop. In 2004 he hit .288 with 62 RBI and 25 SB while batting leadoff for the Dodgers, earning him a spot on the NL's All-Star roster. He would also be insurance in case Pierre bolted for another team. I have also heard rumblings of the Brewers being involved. I don't think that Hendry would be foolish enough to trade Maddux to an NL Central rival, but you never know with this guy. On second thought, it wouldn't be the worst thing to ship Maddux to Milwaukee, ONLY if they offer a package which blows the other teams out of the water. You wouldn't have to worry about him coming back to burn the Cubs because Maddux has maybe one year left in him after this season and perhaps Milwaukee, with their loaded farm system, could send an attractive package of prospects to the Cubs. If such an offer is on the table then I wouldn'thesitate to shop him within the division.
This is the first player who I think the Cubs should trade. What do you guys think? Should he be given the boot or should the team keep him and hopefully have him retire as a Chicago Cub?
Come back tomorrow when I talk about Aramis Ramirez and what jersey he could potentially be wearing come July 31st.
In my "master plan for fixing the Cubs," which I came up with because I have way too much free time on my hands, the first step is the dumping of unwanted salaries. In these trades, it doesn't really matter who the Cubs get back in return, so long as they have little to no major league experience and they earn a minor league salary. Players who fall under this category include Scott Williamson, recently traded to the Padres for two minor league pitchers, Glendon Rusch, Neifi Perez, and John Mabry. I would have put Phil Nevin and Todd Walker on this list, but I thought about it and realized that Nevin has been such a good hitter in his brief stint with the Cubs that he could at least bring the team a B-level prospect from a club desperate for some power down the stretch and Walker could be a vital left-handed pinch hitter for a contender, allowing the Cubs to get back an individual who somewhat resembles a professional baseball player. Ridding themselves of these players listed above would clear roughly $30 million dollars, allowing Jim Hendry to be a player on the free agent market next off-season. I'm not sure if the idea of Hendry with money to spend is such an enticing proposition given the awful signings he has made in the past, but I guess having some money is better than having none at all.
Now that step one is out of the way, let's shine the spotline on the first truly tradable player, who would actually yield someone useful in return...
Greg Maddux
The most common rumor has Maddux headed to the Dodgers for stud prospect Andre Ethier.
Why it will happen: The Dodgers have one of the deepest farm systems in the league and they feel that the only thing standing between them and the playoffs is a more experienced pitching staff. What better way to bolster your roster than to add one of the most successful playoff pitchers ever? From the Cubs perspective, this trade gives them a future can't-miss superstar to build their team around. With the edition of Ethier in LF along side Pierre, hopefully the Cubs resign him, and Jones in right, all of a sudden the outfield, which was a weakness going into the year, becomes a strength. Tonight Ethier went 4-5 with two HRs and 3 RBI. In only 70 games he is batting .349 with 8 HR, 36 RBI, and 3 stolen bases.
Why it won't happen: Ever since the Dodgers brought Ethier up from the minors with the intention of showcasing him for a trade, he has done nothing but hit. The Dodgers front office is now wondering whether or not this would be the right player to give up, especially for a pitcher who has gone 3-9 with an ERA of almost 5, after starting the year 5-0.
Prediction: I think the reality of the situation points towards two possible outcomes. First, the Cubs send Maddux to Arizona in exchange for gold-glove second baseman Orlando Hudson. This trade wouldn't create the same kind of buzz as the one mentioned above but Hudson would fit perfectly into the Cubs' middle infield and give the team a perfect number two hitter behind Pierre (again, that is if the Cubs resign him, something which I feel they must do to have any chance next year). Arizona, a team which came within minutes of signing Maddux as a free agent before the Cubs stole him away, finds itself only 1 1/2 games back of the wild card spot and has been looking for pitching since the season started. I don't think Maddux, and his tendency to give up the long ball, would be a good fit in Arizona, but hey, that didn't stop the Diamondbacks from signing Russ Ortiz did it?
The second scenario again involves the Dodgers with the Cubs receiving disgruntled shortstop Cesar Izturis who, with the addition of Rafael Furcal, finds himself asked to play out of position at 3B or 2B. He has made it very clear that he either wants to move back to SS or be traded elsewhere. Izturis was sidelined for the majority of last season and most of this one because of a sever injury to his throwing elbow. However, when healthy, he is a gold-glove caliber shortstop. In 2004 he hit .288 with 62 RBI and 25 SB while batting leadoff for the Dodgers, earning him a spot on the NL's All-Star roster. He would also be insurance in case Pierre bolted for another team. I have also heard rumblings of the Brewers being involved. I don't think that Hendry would be foolish enough to trade Maddux to an NL Central rival, but you never know with this guy. On second thought, it wouldn't be the worst thing to ship Maddux to Milwaukee, ONLY if they offer a package which blows the other teams out of the water. You wouldn't have to worry about him coming back to burn the Cubs because Maddux has maybe one year left in him after this season and perhaps Milwaukee, with their loaded farm system, could send an attractive package of prospects to the Cubs. If such an offer is on the table then I wouldn'thesitate to shop him within the division.
This is the first player who I think the Cubs should trade. What do you guys think? Should he be given the boot or should the team keep him and hopefully have him retire as a Chicago Cub?
Come back tomorrow when I talk about Aramis Ramirez and what jersey he could potentially be wearing come July 31st.
posted by Ryan Anthony Dreyer at
9:38 PM
3 Comments:
Right on, except that Maddux's stock has been falling with each
outing: Throw out the 5-0 start and Maddux, glaringly, becomes one the worse starters in the majors: This cannot be lost on
other GMs, even in the National League. He's definitely not
the Rocket, not any longer. Ergo,
next stop the Hall of Fame, but
the Cubs' get nothing in return for even that: He will go in wearing an Atlanta uniform. The Cubs can't win unless the Cubs can trade Maddux for Garciappara. Imagine that!
We will have to wait out the six days and see but I hope the cubs can do something. Maybe you should be a manager!
Mary
Very best site. Keep working. Will return in the near future.
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