3 questions

[biittner77]

1. If the Cubs did try to send Prior through waivers, how many teams would claim him?

 

2. It seems like a reliever will be traded soon. Who will it be and where?

 

3. Lou Piniella has said all the right things this offseason and ST. How long will the honeymoon last?

 

The first question is complicated by the courtesy no claim unwritten rule. Since this is Prior I think this rule will be ignored by at least 15 teams

 

I'd rather they trade Eyre than Ohman but those would be the leading candidates

 

I'm guessing the end of April.

[98navigator]

1. Prior has an option remaining so I don't think there will be a problem if the Cubs want to send him down sometime in the next month. However, according to what I've read, he only needs to accrue 41 more days of ML service time to have the ability to refuse a demotion.

 

2. I was leaning towards the Cubs trading Ohman initially (because of the presence of Cotts) now I'm thinking that Cotts should be demoted. I don't see a need for three LHPs and I don't think it will be as easy to trade Eyre.

 

3. Piniella hasn't managed a single regular season game yet. It's too early to guess...

[biittner77]

1. Prior has an option remaining so I don't think there will be a problem if the Cubs want to send him down sometime in the next month. However, according to what I've read, he only needs to accrue 41 more days of ML service time to have the ability to refuse a demotion.

 

2. I was leaning towards the Cubs trading Ohman initially (because of the presence of Cotts) now I'm thinking that Cotts should be demoted. I don't see a need for three LHPs and I don't think it will be as easy to trade Eyre.

 

3. Piniella hasn't managed a single regular season game yet. It's too early to guess...

 

How can Prior have an option left? He's been up since mid 2003. Shouldn't his option years have ended last year?

[Rob]

1. Prior has an option remaining so I don't think there will be a problem if the Cubs want to send him down sometime in the next month. However, according to what I've read, he only needs to accrue 41 more days of ML service time to have the ability to refuse a demotion.

 

2. I was leaning towards the Cubs trading Ohman initially (because of the presence of Cotts) now I'm thinking that Cotts should be demoted. I don't see a need for three LHPs and I don't think it will be as easy to trade Eyre.

 

3. Piniella hasn't managed a single regular season game yet. It's too early to guess...

 

How can Prior have an option left? He's been up since mid 2003. Shouldn't his option years have ended last year?

 

CPatt still had options in 2005, and he'd been up since 2000. Working from that, I'm fairly certain that if you stay up all season with the big league squad, you don't burn an option.

[David]

1. Prior has an option remaining so I don't think there will be a problem if the Cubs want to send him down sometime in the next month. However, according to what I've read, he only needs to accrue 41 more days of ML service time to have the ability to refuse a demotion.

 

2. I was leaning towards the Cubs trading Ohman initially (because of the presence of Cotts) now I'm thinking that Cotts should be demoted. I don't see a need for three LHPs and I don't think it will be as easy to trade Eyre.

 

3. Piniella hasn't managed a single regular season game yet. It's too early to guess...

 

How can Prior have an option left? He's been up since mid 2002. Shouldn't his option years have ended last year?

 

Fixed.

[98navigator]

1. Prior has an option remaining so I don't think there will be a problem if the Cubs want to send him down sometime in the next month. However, according to what I've read, he only needs to accrue 41 more days of ML service time to have the ability to refuse a demotion.

 

2. I was leaning towards the Cubs trading Ohman initially (because of the presence of Cotts) now I'm thinking that Cotts should be demoted. I don't see a need for three LHPs and I don't think it will be as easy to trade Eyre.

 

3. Piniella hasn't managed a single regular season game yet. It's too early to guess...

 

How can Prior have an option left? He's been up since mid 2003. Shouldn't his option years have ended last year?

 

 

It has been widely reported in Chicago that Prior has an option. AZ Phil says he has two.

 

Link

 

TWO MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT:

* Neal Cotts

Brian Dopirak

Carlos Marmol

Scott Moore

Angel Pagan

Felix Pie

* Mark Prior (see NOTE 3)

Ryan Theriot

 

NOTE 3: Prior cannot be optioned to the minors without his consent once he accrues another 41 days of MLB service time (that’s when he will have accrued five full seasons of MLB service time).

 

* Player can be optioned to minors out of Spring Training 2007 only after clearing Major League Waivers

 

Apparently, you are correct about Prior having to clear waivers, if he is optioned out of ST, but I don't know if another team would attempt to claim him. There are some circumstances when teams mutually agree not to claim players of other organizations...

[Backtobanks]

I guarantee you that if the Cubs put Prior on waivers, all of the other teams would be lined up to claim him.

[jyoung55]

Does anyone still have Hendry's fax number so that the questions go to the right person?

 

An aside, why are we so concerned about sending him down to the minors and the waiver process? To me, It seems pretty clear that to avoid that process the Cubs could just DL him and have him pitch on a rehab assignment down there. In one of Carrie's recent pieces on cubs.com it seemed that she was planting the seed for the Cubs to make this move.

[NCCubFan]

How can Prior have an option left? He's been up since mid 2003. Shouldn't his option years have ended last year?

Only one option was used (his half-season in the minors in 2002). He hasn't been sent to the minors since then (rehabilitation assignments while on the DL don't count), so he hasn't used any more since then. Seasons where a player stays on the major league roster all year don't count as option years; only seasons where the team sends the player to the minors use options.

[Rob]

Does anyone still have Hendry's fax number so that the questions go to the right person?

 

 

Baseball Operations (773) 404-4111

Player Development/Scouting (773) 404-4147

[CubFanPhilly]

1. If the Cubs did try to send Prior through waivers, how many teams would claim him?

 

2. It seems like a reliever will be traded soon. Who will it be and where?

 

3. Lou Piniella has said all the right things this offseason and ST. How long will the honeymoon last?

 

1. Not so sure many (if any) would claim Prior. Claiming him would merely mean that he gets pulled back, DL'd and sent down for a 30-day rehab stint. So, the incentive to block a straight assignment to AAA is probably not work the ill will. Plus there's always the small chance you'd end up with his $3.65 mil. salary and him on the DL or ineffective all year.

 

(btw- as others mentioned, he has options but he has four years service time, so the waivers apply. At five years he can veto the assignment.)

 

2. Eyre, Ohman, or Novoa. (No idea where.)

 

3. Opening day? It won't be over all at once, but the second-guessing will begin when the games start to matter.

[A New Era]

That wasn't three questions. It was two comments and three questions. Your request denied. :lol:

[davearm]

I guarantee you that if the Cubs put Prior on waivers, all of the other teams would be lined up to claim him.

No they wouldn't.

 

The other GMs around the league will realize that there's no chance of actually getting him with a claim, so why would they go out of their way just to piss off a fellow GM? What's the sense in doing that?

[radarluv1]

I guarantee you that if the Cubs put Prior on waivers, all of the other teams would be lined up to claim him.

No they wouldn't.

 

The other GMs around the league will realize that there's no chance of actually getting him with a claim, so why would they go out of their way just to piss off a fellow GM? What's the sense in doing that?

 

i see no reason why jocketty wouldn't do that, if it could complicate how the cubs handle their roster to start the year. we're never going to make a big trade with the cards, so there's no reason to worry about bad feelings between organizations.

[Guest]

Because Hendry never screwed with Jocketty trying to do the right thing for Ankiel.

[radarluv1]

Because Hendry never screwed with Jocketty trying to do the right thing for Ankiel.

 

thats true. how about williams then?

[davearm]

I guarantee you that if the Cubs put Prior on waivers, all of the other teams would be lined up to claim him.

No they wouldn't.

 

The other GMs around the league will realize that there's no chance of actually getting him with a claim, so why would they go out of their way just to piss off a fellow GM? What's the sense in doing that?

 

i see no reason why jocketty wouldn't do that, if it could complicate how the cubs handle their roster to start the year. we're never going to make a big trade with the cards, so there's no reason to worry about bad feelings between organizations.

Another GM filing a claim, knowing that the Cubs would just pull Prior back, has the following effects:

* it pisses off Hendry;

* it compromises the offending GMs image around the league;

* it undermines the player's recovery process, further damaging the offending GM's image with players and agents.

 

.. all for no direct benefit, and a very miniscule indirect benefit to the claiming GM and his club.

 

Perhaps it's naive for me to think that professional courtesy and general business ethics would dictate that you don't screw around like that just because you can.