Will Williams be moved?

[Tim]

Answering the question from page 1, yes Williams has 1 option remaining.

Can it still be freely used, though?

[SouthSideRyan]

I believe it can still be used freely, but am not positive on that. I wanna say this would be the last year though, and if it's not used this year, he'd be in Patterson's situation from this year.

[soapy]

The Cubs have alot of depth in the pitching rotation this year.

 

Zambrano

Prior

Wood

Miller

Maddux

Rusch

Hill

Williams

Guzman

Koronka

Simontacchi

 

Which means Williams is expendable if the right deal is there.

 

Looking at the Cubs depth chart, their infield is a little short on depth, and not versatile enough.

 

There are a lot of names there, but how many of them can you expect to produce at or above the level of Williams? Zambrano, yes; Prior, yes; Wood, if healthy; Maddux, maybe but not likely IMO.

 

They may have a lot of arms to throw out there, but I don't think many of them are better then Williams. Once you factor in his age and price, I think he's very valuable to the Cubs. I don't know if they see it that way though.

[TheDude]

With his age and past performances, Williams being our 3rd best starter is not necessarily something to be proud of for the upcoming season.

 

Nor is it even true.

[ThePenguin11]

The Cubs have alot of depth in the pitching rotation this year.

 

Zambrano

Prior

Wood

Miller

Maddux

Rusch

Hill

Williams

Guzman

Koronka

Simontacchi

 

Which means Williams is expendable if the right deal is there.

 

Looking at the Cubs depth chart, their infield is a little short on depth, and not versatile enough.

 

There are a lot of names there, but how many of them can you expect to produce at or above the level of Williams? Zambrano, yes; Prior, yes; Wood, if healthy; Maddux, maybe but not likely IMO.

 

They may have a lot of arms to throw out there, but I don't think many of them are better then Williams. Once you factor in his age and price, I think he's very valuable to the Cubs. I don't know if they see it that way though.

 

I think a better way to look at this would be to say, 'Since the Cubs have a logjam of verteran starters, does it seem likely that they would deal from their youth (Hill, Guzman, etc.) at the trade deadline for a valuable asset?'

 

I don't think Williams has a ton of value on the trade market at this point. I think he could be a pretty good starting pitcher, but contending teams aren't desparate for starting pitching just yet. His value will increase when other teams with a shot at postseason have a crucial loss in their rotation.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

If Williams has an option, the Cubs are in no hurry to move him regardless of how the rotation and bullpen shake out. He's depth and can be sent to Iowa to start and stay fresh if needed.

 

Considering Maddux's deal expires this year along with Miller and Wood, it would make sense to keep Williams unless a deal for a potent bat comes along.

 

Next season, we'll have Prior and Zambrano and need to fill out 3/5 of the rotation. Williams would be nice to have in one of those roles. I still think he could be traded, but his remaining option gives the Cubs some room to delay a decision on Williams's future.

[goonys evil twin]

If Williams has an option, the Cubs are in no hurry to move him regardless of how the rotation and bullpen shake out. He's depth and can be sent to Iowa to start and stay fresh if needed.

 

Considering Maddux's deal expires this year along with Miller and Wood, it would make sense to keep Williams unless a deal for a potent bat comes along.

 

Next season, we'll have Prior and Zambrano and need to fill out 3/5 of the rotation. Williams would be nice to have in one of those roles. I still think he could be traded, but his remaining option gives the Cubs some room to delay a decision on Williams's future.

 

Don't forget Rusch will be given a job just because he's a veteran lefty. So it's probably just 2 spots to fill.

[TheDude]

If Williams has an option, the Cubs are in no hurry to move him regardless of how the rotation and bullpen shake out. He's depth and can be sent to Iowa to start and stay fresh if needed.

 

Considering Maddux's deal expires this year along with Miller and Wood, it would make sense to keep Williams unless a deal for a potent bat comes along.

 

Next season, we'll have Prior and Zambrano and need to fill out 3/5 of the rotation. Williams would be nice to have in one of those roles. I still think he could be traded, but his remaining option gives the Cubs some room to delay a decision on Williams's future.

 

Don't forget Rusch will be given a job just because he's a veteran lefty. So it's probably just 2 spots to fill.

 

Maybe by next season a better lefty option comes along. Hendry (if it is still Hendry) likes pitching, so I ahve a feeling he'd open his wallet for a quality lefty and leave Rusch in the pen.

[goonys evil twin]

If Williams has an option, the Cubs are in no hurry to move him regardless of how the rotation and bullpen shake out. He's depth and can be sent to Iowa to start and stay fresh if needed.

 

Considering Maddux's deal expires this year along with Miller and Wood, it would make sense to keep Williams unless a deal for a potent bat comes along.

 

Next season, we'll have Prior and Zambrano and need to fill out 3/5 of the rotation. Williams would be nice to have in one of those roles. I still think he could be traded, but his remaining option gives the Cubs some room to delay a decision on Williams's future.

 

Don't forget Rusch will be given a job just because he's a veteran lefty. So it's probably just 2 spots to fill.

 

Maybe by next season a better lefty option comes along. Hendry (if it is still Hendry) likes pitching, so I ahve a feeling he'd open his wallet for a quality lefty and leave Rusch in the pen.

 

I could see him giving precedence to Hill, or similar internal option, but with the other pitching contracts that will have to be paid soon, I can't see him going outside the organization for a quality lefty.

[craig]

It's a mystery how all the rotation guys will shake out. Will Williams be as competent as he was last year? Will he be in better shape and be even more competent? Will Wood come back? Will Guzman be good? Will Miller offer anything, and if so how soon? Will Rusch be OK, or rotten? Will Hill look good, or like wildman?

 

Questions, questions, questions.

 

My guess is that Hendry holds his cards until more of those questons have positive answers. Or until their is more urgency to make a trade. If he thinks Jones is fine, and Murton is fine, and cedeno is fine, and Walker/Neifi/Hairston is acceptable, no rush to make a deal. And even if you want to, why bother unless there's actually somebody available who looks a lot better than what you've got?

 

Six weeks from now things may look a lot clearer. Does Guzman look great, like "Wow!" great? Or does he look like just a guy who's got a pretty decent arm but who doens't have consistent control yet, and who's an injury risk? Does Wood look 100% and ready to rock, first week or if not by April 15 or so? Or does Wood look like he'll take a while. Does Miller look fine, on pace to be May10 ready? Or look like he's no-way a factor before mid-June at the earliest? Does Williams look fat and lazy? Or sleek and commmitted? Is Williams throwing 87 with an occassional 90-91 topped in? Or is Williams consistently humming it up at 90-92 with an occassional 93-94 for good measure? Is Hill looking healthy, confident, consistently throwing fastball at 89-93 and popping an occasional 94, making guys shake their heads with his curve, and making a few look silly with a surprise changeup? Is he making you go "Wow!"? Or is he just lookiing like an 86-89 fastball who throws a few nice curves but basically looks like another wildman?

 

Who knows? But I think Hendry will want the early feedback on a bunch of these to look favorable before making any trades.

[goonys evil twin]

Who knows? But I think Hendry will want the early feedback on a bunch of these to look favorable before making any trades.

 

The problem with this plan of attack is there really are extremely few spring training trades of any significance. Your team has to be set by February. And once the season starts, you will hear the same "people aren't ready to deal yet" line we hear every year when obvious needs are not addressed in a timely fashion. Once he gets significant spring training feedback on these guys, it will be too late to make trades unless some team becomes desperate to cut payroll. And with revenue sharing help available for the poorest teams, they are unlikely to show that desperation so early. So, we're pretty much stuck with the team we got right now. If it turns out that a lot of the arms are ready to go, the Cubs will become the team that has to trade or risk losing guys for nothing. But that is better than having everybody injured.

[TheDude]

I could see him giving precedence to Hill, or similar internal option, but with the other pitching contracts that will have to be paid soon, I can't see him going outside the organization for a quality lefty.

 

I've read more than one "insider" report that says Hendry really wanted Zito, but Oakland wasn't fielding offers.

 

If both Maddux and Wood come off the books next year, I could see one similarly priced big name acquisition (and then internal raises to pitching) plugging those budget holes.