Are there any more transactions coming?

[gus_dog]

To follow-up on my initial post:

 

Ichiro would like to go somewhere else due to the direction the Mariners have gone (competitively speaking). Mariners looking at it financially, and prospect-wise. Jones wants out - not happy. Cubs happy to oblige him at the right price.

 

Make the deal, and everybody's happy, right?

 

Jones & Gallagher for Suzuki - Id do that.

 

Now, bringing in a ptbnl, I t REALLY depends what pool they get to pick from. Plan B guys or what? Don't know, but I like the two for one. I'd do it in a heartbeat. It makes the Cubs better, and I think really addresses the OPB/OPS issues, as well as the defencive issues.

 

Now, if we could just get Prior to pitch like a #1, and stay healthy.... :x

 

Actually it would most likely lower our team OPS. Jones can SLG and Suzuki can get on base. It's a classic tradeoff. SLG for OBP.

 

I don't think Jones's arm is as bad as last season led us to believe. He didn't have that problem in Minni from the archive games I've seen (Cubs scouts didn't see it either) - so it must have been the shoulder injury, which supposedly didn't require surgery. Jones's range is fine. People were actually clamoring for him to play CF.

 

I see what you're getting at...I agree about the opb/ops trade-off.

 

You may be correct about Jones' woes afield last season (injuries), but he was flat-out awful defencively for most of last season. If he stays, I hope to see improvement there.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Where was this heard?

 

A friend who works for a players' agency told me this. He's usually pretty informed.

 

Not a done deal, just something being discussed right now.

 

Thanks, gus_dog. Let's hope this one is true. What liklihood would your friend put on it?

 

He didn't say....I actually hadn't talked to him since last baseball season. He called me to find out if I was still a Cubs season tix holder, and then we discussed the Cubs off-season moves, and he said he had heard this deal was being discussed.

 

Ok. Thanks for the tip.

 

Assuming the PTBNL is a second-tier prospect I like the move. Trading Jones for Ichiro is a no-brainer. I like Gallagher as a prospect, but with Marshall and Guzman ahead of him, Veal looking to be just as good if not better, and Samardja signed, Gallagher is expendable in a deal that improves the team. As everyone else has said, the PTBNL is the key. If the PTBNL is someone like Pie, obviously no deal. I would be willing to give up one of Harvey or Dopirak.

[CUBZ99]

Maybe I'm crazy, but isn't Gallagher one of the best pitching prospects in the system currently? The numbers he has put up in the minors to date have been very impressive and he has been putting these numbers up at a pretty young age. With the increase in his velocity, I would rate him as a better prospect than Marshall and considering he is only 1 or 2 years away, I wouldn't trade him for a 1 year rental.

[CuseCubFan69]

Maybe I'm crazy, but isn't Gallagher one of the best pitching prospects in the system currently? The numbers he has put up in the minors to date have been very impressive and he has been putting these numbers up at a pretty young age. With the increase in his velocity, I would rate him as a better prospect than Marshall and considering he is only 1 or 2 years away, I wouldn't trade him for a 1 year rental.

 

I agree and if the Cubs just want him as a 1 year I don't want this deal to happen. I wonder how much Lou might have with this deal if it is really happening?

 

Were the Mariners one of the teams interested in Jones when he was a free agent last year? For some reason I thought they were.

[radarluv1]

arent PTBNL's almost always not on the 40 man roster? i thought not naming/deciding on the player was a tool avoid a 40 man crunch but i'm not sure how.

[BigbadB]

Not always. The Aramis trade had a PTBNL that was a choice between Bobby Hill, Steve Smyth and Francis Beltran, and I believe all 3 of those guys were on the 40 man roster at the time.

[radarluv1]

the aramis trade was mid season, iirc, so i dont know if that matters in regards to the 40 man.

i guess i'm just hoping its a lesser prospect.

the mariners would get 2 yrs of jacque at below market value. i would really like to see a lesser prospect than gallagher as the top minorleaguer in the deal, but ichiro would look nice in CF. there's no way hendry could want ichiro longterm, so i hope they dont pull a nolasco on this one.

[davearm]

gus_dog has been around for quite a while so I'm giving him a huge benefit of the doubt here (mainly because I want this to be true).

 

As many have said so far, this all depends on who the PTBNL is. If it's a Mediocre/good prospect then I pull the trigger, if its in the realm of Pie/Patterson then i say no.

My biggest concern is that it could be Pie. That would kill the deal for the Cubs, IMO.

Why would Pie have to be named later?

 

Seems to me that PTBNL would point to a 2006 draftee, or a recent signee. Basically anybody else could be swapped immediately.

 

or a pool of existing players to choose from by a certain date, and I would not want Pie to be in that pool.

I'm still not seeing why, if the M's want Pie, and the Cubs are willing to deal him (and I don't think they are, FWIW), he wouldn't be included in the deal right away.

[BigbadB]

The Cubs are in a win now frame of mind. They've made that very clear since the offseason began. Getting Ichiro, even if for only one year, is a win now move.

 

You don't spend the kind of money that Hendry spent and settle for 2nd or 3rd in the division. Unfortunately, the moves Hendry has made to this point might not be much better than 2nd or 3rd. Getting Ichiro, IMO, changes that to a very likely division championship, and potentially beyond.

 

It also appears that Hendry is going to do everything in his power to trade Jones, since Jones really wants out. I'm opposed to a trade just to trade him. But, if the trade brings back something better, I have no qualms.

 

I'd still like to see one other move made for a SS. A reliever for Clint Barmes might be a possibility. Not only is Cesar injury prone, but his bat may never rebound to his past production, which really wasn't anything to brag about. There is a question about Theriot's abilities at SS, and Cedeno needs to spend the year in AAA.

 

The money Hendry has spent this offseason can't be undone. At this point, you do what is necessary to finish the job. Would I care about a prospect that had to be moved in a trade if this deal meant a World Series victory? Probably not.

 

I don't agree with how Hendry went about rebuilding this team, but he could have done a lot worse. Whoever ends up being the PTBNL will likely not be as good as they guy the Cubs land in the June draft, therefore, I really think this deal needs to get done.

[CuseCubFan69]

If this did happen I wonder who would lead off....Ichiro or Soriano?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

The PTBNL could be based on whether Ichiro is extended or not. If the Cubs are able to get him signed to an extension, the Mariners get to choose from one group or if he's not they choose from another group.

[BigbadB]

The PTBNL could be based on whether Ichiro is extended or not. If the Cubs are able to get him signed to an extension, the Mariners get to choose from one group or if he's not they choose from another group.

 

That's very possible.

[Sammy Sofa]

If this did happen I wonder who would lead off....Ichiro or Soriano?

 

In a perfect world, Ichiro. Then either Murton, Barrett or, if he continues to play well, Theriot at #2 with Soriano hitting 5th. Sadly, Soriano doesn't seem able to hack it hitting #5, or really anywhere except at leadoff.

[Banedon]

If this did happen I wonder who would lead off....Ichiro or Soriano?

 

In a perfect world, Ichiro. Then either Murton, Barrett or, if he continues to play well, Theriot at #2 with Soriano hitting 5th. Sadly, Soriano doesn't seem able to hack it hitting #5, or really anywhere except at leadoff.

 

And they promised Soriano the leadoff spot when they signed him.

[Knightlife_in_Lubbock]

If this did happen I wonder who would lead off....Ichiro or Soriano?

 

In a perfect world, Ichiro. Then either Murton, Barrett or, if he continues to play well, Theriot at #2 with Soriano hitting 5th. Sadly, Soriano doesn't seem able to hack it hitting #5, or really anywhere except at leadoff.

 

And they promised Soriano the leadoff spot when they signed him.

 

But Jim had his fingers crossed so it doesn't count.

[moorecg]

Heck...just putt him the 2 hole if Soriano is so set on leading off...hes still going to be on in front of Lee and Ramirez a ton and in those situations where Soriano gets on, he'll get him into scoring position for Lee and Ramirez a huge percentage of the time.

[KingCubsFan]

 

I'd still like to see one other move made for a SS. A reliever for Clint Barmes might be a possibility. Not only is Cesar injury prone, but his bat may never rebound to his past production, which really wasn't anything to brag about. There is a question about Theriot's abilities at SS, and Cedeno needs to spend the year in AAA.

Wasn't Barmes one of the few players worse than Izturis last year?

[RichHillIsABeast]

Izturis is a defensive god. We could definitely improve offensively at SS easier than in RF. Edited February 2, 2007 by RichHillIsABeast

[BigbadB]

It's hard to be a defensive god from injured reserve.

 

Barmes was bad last year, and his splits on the road in 2005 were pretty pathetic.

 

If Theriot can handle the position, we have the answer in-house. I'd just like to see someone else outside of Izturis/Cedeno at SS. Cedeno should spend the whole year at AAA.

[Sammy Sofa]

Someone send up the Bruce signal! I'm curious as to whether this rumor hopefully has some legs...

[JeffH]

The PTBNL could also be dependent upon seeing how some guys show up to spring training.

 

One that immediately leaps to mind is Pawelek - will he show up out of shape again?

[RichHillIsABeast]

The PTBNL could also be dependent upon seeing how some guys show up to spring training.

 

One that immediately leaps to mind is Pawelek - will he show up out of shape again?

 

It'd really torque me off if we gave up a legit front of the rotation starter type as a PTBNL.

[CuseCubFan69]

The PTBNL could also be dependent upon seeing how some guys show up to spring training.

 

One that immediately leaps to mind is Pawelek - will he show up out of shape again?

 

Sisco part 2 eh? I hope Pawelek learned his lesson.

[KingCubsFan]

The PTBNL could also be dependent upon seeing how some guys show up to spring training.

 

One that immediately leaps to mind is Pawelek - will he show up out of shape again?

 

It'd really torque me off if we gave up a legit front of the rotation starter type as a PTBNL.

If he shows up out of shape again, and his velocity continues to drop, it might be better to get rid of him before it's too late

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'd have serious reservations about the deal if Paweleck is the PTBNL.