Cubs trade Barrett to Padres for Rob Bowen & Kyler Burke

[LeftCoastCubFan]

To me the biggest question is why Barrett needed to go now and would they have just DFA’d him if they couldn’t find a taker. The timing says that a decision was made that he must go. What combination of performance, statements from pitchers and other teammates, Lou, and any other factors went into the decision? Obviously Hendry decided that the increased trade value waiting another 5 or 6 weeks was not beneficial to the team.

 

700k saved on his salary, and a few bodies with some potential upside may not seem like much; but if he continued to be a problem he would not fetch much more at the deadline.

 

I see it pretty much as a wash.

[TheDude]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade.

[Sarcastic]

 

I would agree with all of this, with the caveat that this trade will look much worse if SS or RF aren't upgraded fairly quickly.

 

If we want to contend, we can't wait til July 31st to make a move. We're 7 back and 5 under. The time to make a run is now.

 

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

We traded offense for defense. We now have 3 black holes in the lineup. C, SS and RF. We can't afford to leave those spots as is. If we do, then this trade was stupid because we could have simply held onto Barrett as his offensive numbers were likely to improve and we could have let him walk this winter if Lou didn't like him.

 

I'm overall pretty meh on the trade, but I expect needs to be addressed at some point.

 

Of course we need more offense, I just see no reason to expect Hendry to be able to pull off a good trade just because he needs to. He knew that it was urgent when he started planning to trade Barrett, and he will probably need plenty of time to find a trade, if he does find one, that is.

[Guest]

Something to remember about Soto is that this is his third year on the 40-man, he's going to have to stick next year in the big leagues.

 

Shouldn't be a problem. It's not like they have a conga line in front of him. Blanco will hopefully be Rusched out of the league.

 

As long as Soto gets up to the big leagues long enough this season to prove that he's a viable backup at the very least, no it's not a problem. Though problems might arise if Blanco is healthy and back next season, since he's a backup.

[tkenm356]

Couldn't we have swapped Barrett for Linebrink or one of their other good relievers straight up and just brought up Soto?

[UBlink]

So I don't have to sift through 46 pages of pure anger, can anyone give me a brief rundown of these guys?

 

Personally I wouldn't call this pure anger. If you ask me, it was one of the calmest trade threads ever on this board. Most people were resigned to the fact Barrett was going, not a lot of people are ecstatic about the deal, but there's only been a couple people who've gone ballistic.

 

Bowen's been a mediocre producing catcher in his pro career who is having a good 2007 but probably won't sustain the numbers. He'd be a nice cheap backup for a team with a good starter, but he's probably not starter material himself, at least in the long haul, but he'll be stable defensively.

 

The kid whose parents were desperate for a name that started with K has some physical ability but hasn't done jack squat as a pro (600 OPS in rookie ball and sub 600 in low A ball).

 

beautiful.................. :lol:

 

Except I thought he was talking about our current catcher at first...

[Rob]

Couldn't we have swapped Barrett for Linebrink or one of their other good relievers straight up and just brought up Soto?

 

You're assuming Hendry isn't a dumbass. And you know what happens when you assume...

[TruffleShuffle]

Couldn't we have swapped Barrett for Linebrink or one of their other good relievers straight up and just brought up Soto?

 

the Pads have a good team that is a contender to win the league. That'd be filling one hole but creating another. I doubt they had any interest in doing something like that; they're much more in a position to trade younger players who aren't making a big contribution to the big club.

[IWU_CUBS_FAN]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

I wouldn't say it hinges. I would think there's a better chance Hendry realizes they need offensive help now that Barrett has been replaced for defensive purposes. And hopefully he realizes that SS and RF are the two biggest need spots for that improvement.

i kinda wit the departure of barrett am more intrigued by all that griffey talk...because something needs to be upgraded offensively at either RF or SS and like has been said.....can't wait until the deadline

[YearofDaCubs]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade.

There was no money freed up by getting rod of Barret. The Cubs paid for most of his remaining salary.

[jersey cubs fan]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade.

There was no money freed up by getting rod of Barret. The Cubs paid for most of his remaining salary.

 

It sounds like they saved about $800,000.

[YearofDaCubs]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade.

There was no money freed up by getting rod of Barret. The Cubs paid for most of his remaining salary.

 

It sounds like they saved about $800,000.

Looks like you're right. 1mil minus whatever we owe the new catcher and minor leaguer.

[Sarcastic]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade.

There was no money freed up by getting rod of Barret. The Cubs paid for most of his remaining salary.

 

It sounds like they saved about $800,000.

 

And that'll be enough to... hire two more players at the major league minimum?

[USSoccer]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade.

There was no money freed up by getting rod of Barret. The Cubs paid for most of his remaining salary.

 

It sounds like they saved about $800,000.

 

Probably around $650k net if we're paying Bowen's salary.

[HoopsCubs]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

The only argument I can see for this is money. If the ownership issue has frozen the budget at its current value (more or less), then freeing up Barret's money might be one of the only ways to add salary in a trade for an upgrade.

There was no money freed up by getting rod of Barret. The Cubs paid for most of his remaining salary.

 

It sounds like they saved about $800,000.

 

Yes, the press release said $700K. Barrett was due $2.2M for the remainder of the season with the Cubs picking up $1.5M and the Padres picking up $700K.

[Omar]

I dislike this trade, but I realize only time will tell if it was worth it.

[98navigator]

 

Actually, its either of those two, not both. And if I were the cubs and held onto Barrett for the rest of the year I sure as hell would offer him arbitration. I'd try to have him agree to decline it, but if he wouldnt agree to that, worst case scenario is you get one of the best offensive catchers in the league for a 1 year deal. Most likely he'll be offered a multi-year contract that will be a lot more valuable to him than returning to a team that doesnt want him. Either way its a win win for the cubs, unless of course they do something stupid like trade him.

 

It's either one but no team would sign him before 12/1. Plus, he'd be dumb not to except, unless you're assuming he changes how he has played so far this year and there's an expected demand for him.

 

One more year of Barrett equals one more year of a likely declining C both defensively and offensively (from the '06 Barrett) and gives Soto his 3rd year at Iowa.

 

I'm all for Soto, this hopefully cleared the way.

 

What signs have been given to make us think Soto is being considered? It seems pretty clear that they are planning to use Bowen as the main catcher. If they wanted to bring up Soto, why trade for a catcher?

 

Hendry mentions Soto a few times during his press conference today so Geo is, at the very least, being considered.

[A New Era]

I dislike this trade, but I realize only time will tell if it was worth it.

 

I dislike this trade because the guy we got doesn't seem to be anything special. And on DEFENSE either! Well maybe he'll block more balls and not make boneheaded plays. But he was their backup. How good can he actually be? Not very, right?

 

I must say, he better show ALOT of good defense for this to seem worth it. It would be interesting to see if this proceeds some trading deadline trades. I don't mind "shoring up the defense" at the catcher position if it means we are still gonna fix a few other things as well. (getting rid of jones, eyre, izzy, etc. . possibly getting an offense upgrade at SS. .)

[jersey cubs fan]

I think I'm leaning a little toward the positive on this trade, but the timing of it is a bit of a bummer. With Ramirez hobbled, Lee about to serve suspension and the Cubs in a stretch leading up to the Milwaukee series where I really want them to make a run, I don't like giving up the offense. And like him or hate him, Barrett was hitting in June.

[nilodnayr]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

I wouldn't say it hinges. I would think there's a better chance Hendry realizes they need offensive help now that Barrett has been replaced for defensive purposes. And hopefully he realizes that SS and RF are the two biggest need spots for that improvement.

 

So if a guy walks into the ER with a gunshot wound, no ones going to do anything about it, but if while waiting someone stabs him in the leg, then the doctors will need to take care of the gunshot wound?

 

For clarification:

guy=cubs

gunshot wound=SS

someone who stabs guy=Hendry

stabbing wound =losing Barrett

talomg care of gunshot wound=upgrading offensively at SS

[Sarcastic]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

I wouldn't say it hinges. I would think there's a better chance Hendry realizes they need offensive help now that Barrett has been replaced for defensive purposes. And hopefully he realizes that SS and RF are the two biggest need spots for that improvement.

 

So if a guy walks into the ER with a gunshot wound, no ones going to do anything about it, but if while waiting someone stabs him in the leg, then the doctors will need to take care of the gunshot wound?

 

For clarification:

guy=cubs

gunshot wound=SS

someone who stabs guy=Hendry

stabbing wound =losing Barrett

taking care of gunshot wound=upgrading offensively at SS

 

This analogy is better than it appears at first.

[Schwarber Fan]

precursor for Tejada trade?

[nilodnayr]

I don't see how any deal for a good hitting SS or RF is going to hinge ona trade for a backup catcher and a low A ball prospect.

 

I wouldn't say it hinges. I would think there's a better chance Hendry realizes they need offensive help now that Barrett has been replaced for defensive purposes. And hopefully he realizes that SS and RF are the two biggest need spots for that improvement.

 

So if a guy walks into the ER with a gunshot wound, no ones going to do anything about it, but if while waiting someone stabs him in the leg, then the doctors will need to take care of the gunshot wound?

 

For clarification:

guy=cubs

gunshot wound=SS

someone who stabs guy=Hendry

stabbing wound =losing Barrett

taking care of gunshot wound=upgrading offensively at SS

 

This analogy is better than it appears at first.

 

:D Yeah, thats why I opted to include the clarification

[XZero771679666304]

I just got to the party, but here are my two cents:

 

I am conflicted about this trade. Conflicted because I both like Barrett but believe he was hurting the team. He didn't hurt the team over the past few years because his batting averages were about as high as his OBP is this year.

 

His offense simply wasn't making up for his defense. Rob Bowen is no prize, but Michael wasn't coming back next year, was not hitting well and defending even worse, and is surrounded by an air of incompetence and controversy, for right or wrong.

 

Hendry is no genius, but I can't see how he was going to do a whole lot better.

 

 

See ya Micheal, I liked you but it was time to go.

[nilodnayr]

 

Actually, its either of those two, not both. And if I were the cubs and held onto Barrett for the rest of the year I sure as hell would offer him arbitration. I'd try to have him agree to decline it, but if he wouldnt agree to that, worst case scenario is you get one of the best offensive catchers in the league for a 1 year deal. Most likely he'll be offered a multi-year contract that will be a lot more valuable to him than returning to a team that doesnt want him. Either way its a win win for the cubs, unless of course they do something stupid like trade him.

 

It's either one but no team would sign him before 12/1. Plus, he'd be dumb not to except, unless you're assuming he changes how he has played so far this year and there's an expected demand for him.

 

One more year of Barrett equals one more year of a likely declining C both defensively and offensively (from the '06 Barrett) and gives Soto his 3rd year at Iowa.

 

I'm all for Soto, this hopefully cleared the way.

 

What signs have been given to make us think Soto is being considered? It seems pretty clear that they are planning to use Bowen as the main catcher. If they wanted to bring up Soto, why trade for a catcher?

 

Hendry mentions Soto a few times during his press conference today so Geo is, at the very least, being considered.

 

In my mind, a great sign that Geo is being considered for the ML team would be to, you know, not just acquire a player nearly identical to him. But thats just me, maybe Im just using that stupid logic.