Cubs trade Barrett to Padres for Rob Bowen & Kyler Burke

[YearofDaCubs]

Guys, Barrett makes 4.5 mil dollars, I'm almost convinced it will show that the Cubs have given money to the Padres. I doubt it is the other way around considering how much Bowen and the abysmal minor leaguer make.

 

You do realize it's tough to judge NINETEEN YEAR OLD minor leaguers based on stats in Low ball right?

 

Man you are the king of hyperbole.

Badger,

 

Nice to see you pop in and add your precious comments to all these threads. That's all you ever do is pop in complain about someones post and leave. You're adding nothing to this thread. The fact is, and get this one right OK Badger..The fact is that your 19 year old prospect is currently terrible. Does that mean he will be always this bad? Who knows but so far it hasn't been great for him.

[Derwood]

I'm a little curious what's up with the catching situation? Who's going to be our starting catcher? Are they really going to go with Koyie Hill, or will they be bringing up Soto? Did they acquire Bowen to start? If so, we just traded a starting catcher and the 4th best prospect in our system for a backup catcher and a journeyman reliever. Great job, Jim.

 

That said, neither of these guys had a tremendous amount of value. If EPatt really can't play 2b, then his value was going to go nowhere but down from this point forward, and we may as well trade him now and get something. I don't know what prospect Barrett would have gotten us, but I suspect that, at best, we'd get a 'project' type pitcher with a high upside but needing a lot of polishing.

 

This seems to be a "win now" type of trade, but it sure doesn't help the offense much. Bowen's OBP and IsoD look good, but his BA in the majors is .230 and he won't hit for much power. His minor league numbers aren't inspiring either from a power and BA perspective. Unless this is a prelude to some other moves, this is not a good deal. If EPatt ends up a bust, it's no harm done, as Barrett would have walked this offseason anyway, but if EPatt ends up being a good 2b, this trade looks bad.

 

By the way, take a look at Linebrink's Home/Road splits. It isn't pretty. His ERA is very much aided by pitching at Petco.

 

EPatt isn't in the deal

[ctcf]

Guys, Barrett makes 4.5 mil dollars, I'm almost convinced it will show that the Cubs have given money to the Padres. I doubt it is the other way around considering how much Bowen and the abysmal minor leaguer make.

 

You do realize it's tough to judge NINETEEN YEAR OLD minor leaguers based on stats in Low ball right?

 

Man you are the king of hyperbole.

 

It's tough, but the guy's stats do not inspire much hope in me. Cripes, he's barely hitting over .200 and has a BABIP of .321.

The man raises a good point.

 

And badger, I believe you're looking for Soriano12 with that title.

[UK1679666180]

I like the trade, if you can get someone with the ceiling of Burke (for someone who was not liked by the manager who has played poorly and is a FA/possibly getting too old to remain adequate behind the plate), I have no problem w/it. I'd liek it even more if it gives Soto a well deserved shot.

 

Kyler Burke, of/lhp

School: Ooltewah HS. Class: Sr.

Hometown: Chattanooga, Tenn.

B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 198. Birthdate: 4/20/88.

Scouting Report: After Burke became the first high school player in the state to hit 20 home runs since Jeremy Reed did it in 1998, most clubs were convinced his future was in the outfield. He has a sturdy, streamlined frame, and showed off his athletic ability when he won his school's slam dunk contest. He was also a linebacker for the football team. With above-average raw power, Burke can drive balls to all parts of the field, though his numbers were skewed because of a short right-field porch on his home field and substandard competition in southeast Tennessee. He has some feel for hitting, and showed a good eye during the spring, drawing 40 walks. He's an average runner, but better under way. He doesn't get great jumps in the outfield, but he has above-average arm strength and profiles at a corner, where he should be an adequate defender. He pitches at 89-91 mph, though his velocity often tails off to 86-88 in the middle innings. He spins a solid-average breaking ball. Burke pitches up in the zone too much. He signed with Vanderbilt, where he could be a potent two-way weapon. Similar to Twins prospect Kyle Waldrop, another high-profile Tennessee prep player who had committed to Vandy, Burke is expected to sign if he's taken in the top two rounds.

 

Judging a 19yo in his 1st 2 months of proball at an advanced league is premature at best.

Edited June 20, 2007 by UK

[USSoccer]

Guys, Barrett makes 4.5 mil dollars, I'm almost convinced it will show that the Cubs have given money to the Padres. I doubt it is the other way around considering how much Bowen and the abysmal minor leaguer make.

 

You do realize it's tough to judge NINETEEN YEAR OLD minor leaguers based on stats in Low ball right?

 

Man you are the king of hyperbole.

 

It's tough, but the guy's stats do not inspire much hope in me. Cripes, he's barely hitting over .200 and has a BABIP of .321.

 

His rate stats are terrible, even considering he's 19 at Low A. If he develops, bonus for us. I don't think he was the guy Hendry was targeting. I don't think Hendry was targeting anyone. I think he was trying to dump Barrett.

[BigbadB]

I don't know that I would consider Barrett's contract an "albatross" considering its just a 4 month commitment. If the Cubs did get cash in return, it's a pretty vibrant red flag for a future deal for a big contract (Tejada?).

 

I guess I wasn't very clear. I meant "albatross" in the sense that Piniella considered him a roster spot albatross, since he really wanted to be rid of him. I am a fan of Barrett, though I have been quite frustrated with all the passed balls this year.

 

The Padres knew the Cubs wanted to be rid of Barrett. They offered up Bowen and asked for cash. The Cubs probably said they would fork over cash if they included a prospect.

[swordsman]

I guess McDonalds now has to get rid of all of the Barrett commercials.

 

My bet is Piniella wanted this trade to happen. Just a hunch though.

 

Should we start a "curse of the McDonalds commercials"? First Pierre, now Barrett.

 

Don't forget Corey Patterson. He was in one too.

[abuck1220]

Bowen doesn't need to throw out 60% of the baserunners. He just needs to avoid passed balls and fundamental baserunning errors. Here's hoping we don't lose any more games because of botched rundown plays.

 

Reducing these extra outs should exceed the OPS differential.

 

i'd really love to hear a rundown of all the runs barrett's baserunning and defense have cost the cubs. it's like one every month or something. everyone just remembers them when they happen.

 

cleansing the clubhouse worked so well after 2004, so yay for this stupid trade.

[nilodnayr]

This is the type of trade a SELLING team at the deadline makes. Frankly, given the fact that Barrett probably will be a Type A FA and that the FA catching market is going to have a ton of supply, I don't see why it is necessary to lock up that position now by getting rid of the guy who when injury/suspension strikes is your clean up hitter. I would have been fine riding Barrett out (hes a notoriously streaky hitter who right now has a BABIP 30 points lower than what he should) until the end of the season and letting him walk to pick up the draft pick and signing someone else in FA. This however, downgrades our offense for the rest of the season, doesn't allow us to pick up a draft pick, and could mean that we won't sign one of the many catchers that will be available.

[BigbadB]

I've probably seen Bowen more than most, but I will admit that I haven't really paid a whole lot of attention to him.

 

I like his approach at the plate. The sample size is small, but he is a pretty big guy with pretty good power. I don't think he'll ever provide the type of offense that Barrett was capable of providing, but he does show patience and doesn't swing at everything sometimes like Barrett has a tendency to do.

[Soriano12]

Guys, Barrett makes 4.5 mil dollars, I'm almost convinced it will show that the Cubs have given money to the Padres. I doubt it is the other way around considering how much Bowen and the abysmal minor leaguer make.

 

You do realize it's tough to judge NINETEEN YEAR OLD minor leaguers based on stats in Low ball right?

 

Man you are the king of hyperbole.

Badger,

 

Nice to see you pop in and add your precious comments to all these threads. That's all you ever do is pop in complain about someones post and leave. You're adding nothing to this thread. The fact is, and get this one right OK Badger..The fact is that your 19 year old prospect is currently terrible. Does that mean he will be always this bad? Who knows but so far it hasn't been great for him.

 

Towers vs. Hendry...I'd say Towers wins this one.....he wouldn't have given him up if he thought he would be anything special.

[RynoRules]

Trade looks bad on the surface, but why is everyone so skeptical of Bowen's OBP? Just b/c of his minor league stats? Its possible the light went on since then; not probable, but possible.

 

Barrett must have known this was coming. Remember his interview with MJ&H that i posted about last week?

 

I am just glad EPatt is staying put. We have some good MIF prospects. If you are going to trade them, at least make it a deal for something we really need, like a corner OFer or SS.

[98navigator]

Guys, Gals-

 

I notice Jake Fox is killing the ball at AA - 14/48/.298/.862. Does anyone know about his defensive and game calling skills? I'm wondering if moving Barrett was made easy by how Fox is hitting.

 

Fox as a catcher is a good offensive player. He's worse than Barrett defensively.

[Rob]

Well, this would be just like Jim Hendry.

 

Fire the jackass already.

[YearofDaCubs]

Trade looks bad on the surface, but why is everyone so skeptical of Bowen's OBP? Just b/c of his minor league stats? Its possible the light went on since then; not probable, but possible.

 

Barrett must have known this was coming. Remember his interview with MJ&H that i posted about last week?

 

I am just glad EPatt is staying put. We have some good MIF prospects. If you are going to trade them, at least make it a deal for something we really need, like a corner OFer or SS.

It's possible, I'm sure we will soon find out. Personally, I'm more interested in seeing what Soto can do.

[jersey cubs fan]

Trade looks bad on the surface, but why is everyone so skeptical of Bowen's OBP? Just b/c of his minor league stats? Its possible the light went on since then; not probable, but possible.

 

You answered your own question. People are skeptical of his current OBP because his minor league stats indicate its improbable that he will maintain such numbers.

[Balsa]

Yayy we have 3 backup catchers on the roster!!

 

:|

[nilodnayr]

Also, Bowen is hitting 268 with a 385 BABIP and an 18.9 LD%. Its only 98 PAs, so its a small sample size, but hes got a 34% K rate!!! And last year in a similar sample size had a 28% K rate. With a K rate over 30% for his major league career, he really hasn't shown that he can figure out major league pitching.

[BigbadB]

Trade looks bad on the surface, but why is everyone so skeptical of Bowen's OBP? Just b/c of his minor league stats? Its possible the light went on since then; not probable, but possible.

 

Barrett must have known this was coming. Remember his interview with MJ&H that i posted about last week?

 

I am just glad EPatt is staying put. We have some good MIF prospects. If you are going to trade them, at least make it a deal for something we really need, like a corner OFer or SS.

 

San Diego preaches good plate presence. This is a team that was willing to lead off with Brian Giles in order to get better OBP at the top of the order. Until the Padres picked up Marcus Giles, Brian was slated to be the lead off hitter.

[RynoRules]

Fair enough, but has anyone here seen him play and watched his approach? I have not, so I am not trying to be a pain; I am really just curious.

 

For example, how many pitches per plate appearance this year?

Edited June 20, 2007 by RynoRules

[abuck1220]

uh oh, now zambrano's gonna have to come up with another excuse when he sucks.

[UK1679666180]

This is the type of trade a SELLING team at the deadline makes. Frankly, given the fact that Barrett probably will be a Type A FA and that the FA catching market is going to have a ton of supply, I don't see why it is necessary to lock up that position now by getting rid of the guy who when injury/suspension strikes is your clean up hitter. I would have been fine riding Barrett out (hes a notoriously streaky hitter who right now has a BABIP 30 points lower than what he should) until the end of the season and letting him walk to pick up the draft pick and signing someone else in FA. This however, downgrades our offense for the rest of the season, doesn't allow us to pick up a draft pick, and could mean that we won't sign one of the many catchers that will be available.

 

You're assuming two things for the Cubs to get compensation from Barrett leaving FA.

 

1)Sign before 12/1.

2)The Cubs offer arbitration.

 

I doubt these two things would've been possible.

[CubColtPacer]

Fair enough, but has anyone here scene him play and watched his approach? I have not, so I am not trying to be a pain; I am really just curious.

 

For example, how many pitches per plate appearance this year?

 

3.96, and he saw 4.15 pitches last year. His ISOD has always been really good-probably the only thing we know for sure about him is that he is going to walk quite a bit.

[BigbadB]

Fair enough, but has anyone here scene him play and watched his approach? I have not, so I am not trying to be a pain; I am really just curious.

 

For example, how many pitches per plate appearance this year?

 

I posted my comments on him a page or two back. I've probably seen him as much, if not more, than most. But, even my knowledge of him is limited since he's had a very limited role since he's been with San Diego.

[CubinNY]

[EPatt isn't in the deal

You have no idea what you are talking about.

 

He's a legit prospect if they keep him at 2nd like they should.