Are there any more transactions coming?

[MPrior]

What do you guys think? Are the Cubs gonna pull any trades off before the season starts, or is our roster more or less set? I doubt Hendry does anything earth-shattering, but I'd like to see another minor trade or two.

 

This is a thread for you to get creative - I'll say my piece, which is very broad and generally unhelpful, but I'd love for more people to be more specific with their ideas (or not). Post any last-second trade ideas/wishes/whatever here.

 

We have a surplus in the bullpen, and Eyre is likely to be overvalued. I'd trade him now - he's a lefty setup man who is viewed by some to be dominant, and good ERA belied his poor performance. Plus, he's overpaid. So, if anything could be had for him, I'd trade him.

 

Dempster is also a potential chip, but I'm not sure he'd net anything good, and he's no worse than Eyre.

 

Jones could also still be traded, but only if we could acquire a decent CF (I'm assuming that if Jones is traded, Soriano plays RF).

 

I would absolutely love to get rid of Izturis. He's the single biggest black hole on this team. However, I seriously doubt that a) Hendry would trade him and b) anyone would take him.

 

So, here's who I would look to trade:

 

Izturis

Eyre

Dempster (maybe)

Jones (maybe)

 

I'd be willing to trade many other players, but those are the ones I'd actively shop.

 

As far as who to target, I think Ryan Church is still an excellent option, as he'll put up good numbers for a CF, likely match or surpass Jones' production, but wouldn't block Pie when the time came. More generally, I think we should target good CFers or RFers.

 

I'd also try to find an at least servicable SS, as we certainly don't have one now. It's been suggested that Rollins is available, but I highly doubt it. Anyone capable of consistently putting up even a .700 OPS would be a major upgrade, especially if they get on base at all.

 

Lastly, a decent prospect or two wouldn't hurt. I would trade, say, Eyre or Izturis for prospects even if it didn't offer our current team anything but salary relief.

[A New Era]

Nope, no more trades. . . Line-ups set. And I like all variations Lou can do. .

 

C - Barret/Blanco

1B- Lee/Ward

2B- Derosa/Theroit

SS- Izturis/Theroit

3B- Ramirez

LF- Murton/Floyd

CF- Soriano/(ST winner)

RF- Jones/Floyd(ST winner)

 

However if this team performs like it can, and I beleive Lou Piniella can make it happen. Then we should see a trade dead-line trade to further strengthen us for the 2007 playoffs. .

[cbbryan]

I think you might see a Eyre/Dempster trade, but I don't know that it would effect the major league roster.

 

I think Eyre before Demp. Wood will have to prove he's healthy enough to close regularly.

[CuseCubFan69]

I think they have to do something about the 40 man roster. What is it up to now? Edited January 25, 2007 by CuseCubFan69

[soapy]

I think they have to do something about the 40 man roster. What is it up to now?

 

Bruce mentioned in his article this morning that Rusch would likely be released (if you're counting him).

 

To make room on the 40-man roster, look for the Cubs to release veteran left-handed pitcher Glendon Rusch, whose 2006 season was cut short by a blood clot.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I think this is the roster we'll take to spring training. Some moves could be made that result from what Lou sees in the spring.

 

Can Soriano handle CF? If he can't then, can Jones? Or, is Pie ready? If none of those are answered in the affirmative, Hendry likley will look for a CF candidate.

 

How healthy is Floyd? Does Floyd still have the ability to play RF? If so, I could see Jones moved.

 

How healthy is everyone in the rotation? If everyone looks really good and healthy, a surplus arm might be moved.

 

I'd like to see a better RH bat for the bench added somewhere, but I don't anticipate that either.

 

So, unless something happens in the spring to throw a wrench in the plans, I think this is the team we'll have.

 

It's not a bad collection. It's the best group we've had since 2004. Let's hope they perform to my guardedly optimistic expectations.

[CuseCubFan69]

I think they have to do something about the 40 man roster. What is it up to now?

 

Bruce mentioned in his article this morning that Rusch would likely be released (if you're counting him).

 

To make room on the 40-man roster, look for the Cubs to release veteran left-handed pitcher Glendon Rusch, whose 2006 season was cut short by a blood clot.

 

Thanks soapy. I don't even know how many players the Cubs have on their roster but if it was 41 I suppose Rusch is the guy that's going to go. I hope he's (Rusch) doing better than he was at the end of the season.

[CubsInNC]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

[CuseCubFan69]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

 

The Cubs have a few bullpen guys that teams would be interested in. I'd like to see Hendry get a quality SS prospect.

[CUBZ99]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

 

Is every member of the 40 man roster invited to Spring Training?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

 

Why did they even have to add Shark to the 40-man? That seems short-sighted as now he has only 3 option years left. Had he not been added to the 40-man, he'd have some time for that to happen.

[NCCubFan]

Why did they even have to add Shark to the 40-man? That seems short-sighted as now he has only 3 option years left. Had he not been added to the 40-man, he'd have some time for that to happen.

I believe he received a major league contract, which means automatically that he has to be added. I don't believe there are multi-year minor league contracts.

[CUBZ99]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

 

Why did they even have to add Shark to the 40-man? That seems short-sighted as now he has only 3 option years left. Had he not been added to the 40-man, he'd have some time for that to happen.

 

I'm not saying that I agree with it, but supposedly he is on the fast track, and at least one report stated that the Cubs believe he may contribute to the major league club next year. I'm amazed at the confidence they have in him.

[Sammy Sofa]

Churrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrch.

[rocket]

i'd like the cubs to trade cliff floyd if at all possible

[badgercub]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

 

Why did they even have to add Shark to the 40-man? That seems short-sighted as now he has only 3 option years left. Had he not been added to the 40-man, he'd have some time for that to happen.

 

I'm not saying that I agree with it, but supposedly he is on the fast track, and at least one report stated that the Cubs believe he may contribute to the major league club next year. I'm amazed at the confidence they have in him.

 

Grapevine chatter within the organization has some believing he could even get a Sept. call up this year, that is how high some of the scouts are on him. This was not from management, just one scouts most optimistic scenario.

[oldcubsfan]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

 

Buck Coats could be the one to go.

[YearofDaCubs]

I don't think Hendry will make too many more tweaks to our roster other than what we see now. I think he wants to go into the season with a solid BP. Odd that we have 3 lefties in Ohman, Cotts, and Eyre but who knows. We have depth at SP this year IMO, and it seems like our offense is set. Soriano to CF, Floyd and Murton to LF, and Jones in RF(I would love to see a platoon for Jones, it would make this offense so much more efficient). The infield is also set with Theriot being the backup there. Aside from maybe trading one of our RP lefties I don't see much else being tweaked.

[baseball7897]

I don't think Hendry will make too many more tweaks to our roster other than what we see now. I think he wants to go into the season with a solid BP. Odd that we have 3 lefties in Ohman, Cotts, and Eyre but who knows. We have depth at SP this year IMO, and it seems like our offense is set. Soriano to CF, Floyd and Murton to LF, and Jones in RF(I would love to see a platoon for Jones, it would make this offense so much more efficient). The infield is also set with Theriot being the backup there. Aside from maybe trading one of our RP lefties I don't see much else being tweaked.

 

Cubs still need one more infielder, imo.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I think the roster looks ok.

 

First the starters. (Those who can play more than one spot in parenthesis)

 

C Barrett

1b Lee

2b Derosa (ss, 3b, rf, lf)

SS Izturis (3b, 2b)

3b Ramirez

LF Murton

CF Soriano (RF/LF)

RF Jones (CF?)

 

Bench:

Blanco C

Ward RF/LF/1b

Floyd RF/LF/1b

Theriot 2b/SS/CF

Pagan RF/LF/CF

 

That's 13 guys right there.

 

Depending on the number of pitchers, another infielder could be added. That could come from the group of Cedeno, Coats, Perez. I wouldn't be surprised to see a possible waiver wire pick-up near the end of the spring either.

 

The pitching has depth if nothing else.

 

SP: Zambrano, Lilly, Hill, Marquis, and Prior

Bullpen: Dempster, Eyre, Howry, Wuertz, Cotts, Wood, and Ohman.

 

That's a 12 man staff right there. I'm not sure who to bump off if we add another infielder to the bench. Furthermore, if Miller is healthy as well, he likely will take over a bullpen spot.

 

My guess is that if everyone comes to camp healthy, Hendry will be making a deal or two.

[BigbadB]

Cubs.com (not the best source) has the 40-man at 42, with Floyd and Samardzija being the most recent additions. That looks like a release and a trade for a minor leaguer are in order.

 

Buck Coats could be the one to go.

 

Yeah, scouring the list of people on the 40 man roster, there really aren't all that many people who the Cubs can easily drop. Coats is probably one of them. I could see a minor deal like Novoa for a PTBNL happening instead, but after that, there isn't much else.

 

I would think Novoa would be of some value to some teams out there, but his value to the Cubs 40 man roster is next to nil considering the depth in the bullpen.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I would think Novoa would be of some value to some teams out there

 

:shock:

[Abe Frohman]

I could see:

 

Murton, Jones, & Izturis to Baltimore for Tejada.

 

Just kidding.

[BigbadB]

I would think Novoa would be of some value to some teams out there

 

:shock:

 

Yeah, a bit shocking. However, Tampa had a total of 3 bullpen arms with ERA+ in the 100's last year. Novoa had an ERA+ of 109.

 

No, he's not setting the world on fire, but he's fairly cheap and small market teams like that a lot.

 

Only 9 of 38 inherited runners scored on Novoa last year. Some of his peripherals aren't all that bad. I've certainly seen worse.

[Rob]

The way I see it, we have some nice assets for trading in Jones, Eyre, and Dempster.

 

I'd be interested in seeing if Washington will take all three of them, plus Izturis and Novoa, for Ryan Church and Felipe Lopez. That would leave us with this.

 

C - Barrett

1B - Lee

2B - DeRosa

SS - Lopez

3B - Aramis

LF - Murton

CF - Soriano

RF - Floyd

 

Bench:

 

Blanco ©

Ward (1B, LF)

Theriot (IF)

Church (OF)

Pagan (OF)

 

Rotation:

 

SP1 - Zambrano

SP2 - Lilly

SP3 - Prior

SP4 - Hill

SP5 - Marquis

 

Bullpen:

 

Swingman - Miller

LRP - Guzman

MRP - Cotts

MRP - Ohman

SU - Howry

SU - Wuertz

CP - Wood

 

Seems to me that would work out pretty well for both Washington and us. It'd relieve us of our logjam while upgrading SS and the OF, while not being such a huge downgrade for Washington at either position and also filling in their completely vacant bullpen.