Padres interested in Murton?

[Backtobanks]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

[YearofDaCubs]

Cruz, as in Jose Cruz? No way.

[Balsa]

Well that's weird and interesting.

[NewUserName]

Cruz, as in Jose Cruz? No way.

 

Cruz Crushes lefties(until this year). They would be taking Jones contract. The Cubs have a player blocking Murton for 8 years. I am as big of a Murton fan as any, but this is the kind of move that is going to have to be made to get rid of Jones. I do believe that Cruz has a very small contract as well.

[dew1679666265]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

 

Maybe they feel, as many on the board do, that consistent at bats is what he needs to break out of the funk. They couldn't give those to him at the major league level with Floyd doing as well as he is, so they sent him down.

[Tracer Bullet]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

 

Maybe they feel, as many on the board do, that consistent at bats is what he needs to break out of the funk. They couldn't give those to him at the major league level with Floyd doing as well as he is, so they sent him down.

 

This is what I don't understand. Floyd this year is worse than Murton was last year. What is it about Floyd that says he's doing so well that you can't give those ABs to a 25-year-old?

 

At best, Floyd this year is going to give you what Murton gave you last year (or maybe just a little better), but if you're so high on the kid, why would you bring in not 1, but 2 guys that play his position in the off-season?

 

JH is an idiot.

[Backtobanks]

Cruz, as in Jose Cruz? No way.

 

Cruz Crushes lefties(until this year). They would be taking Jones contract. The Cubs have a player blocking Murton for 8 years. I am as big of a Murton fan as any, but this is the kind of move that is going to have to be made to get rid of Jones. I do believe that Cruz has a very small contract as well.

 

I'm a big Murton fan too, but unless they look at him as a "valuable" trading chip, he has no foreseeable future with the Cubs. Murton and Jones can play backup OFs and pinch hit for the Padres, while Cruz can platoon in RF and CF and pinch hit for the Cubs. I think Cruz is making $650,000 this year, so the bean counters should be happy.

[dew1679666265]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

 

Maybe they feel, as many on the board do, that consistent at bats is what he needs to break out of the funk. They couldn't give those to him at the major league level with Floyd doing as well as he is, so they sent him down.

 

This is what I don't understand. Floyd this year is worse than Murton was last year. What is it about Floyd that says he's doing so well that you can't give those ABs to a 25-year-old?

 

At best, Floyd this year is going to give you what Murton gave you last year (or maybe just a little better), but if you're so high on the kid, why would you bring in not 1, but 2 guys that play his position in the off-season?

 

JH is an idiot.

 

Floyd was brought in primarily as a backup and Soriano was supposed to play in right, then center. Problem is, the defensive change was hurting Sori's offense so he moved to left and Murton began the year pitifully.

 

Tracking Matt's at-bats, he began the year getting the majority of at-bats, but as his slump worsened and Floyd improved, Murton began to get fewer at-bats. Thus, I think Lou and Hendry came to the conclusion that Murton would be more likely to break out of his slump the quickest in the minors - and we could afford to do that because Floyd is producing well.

 

You may disagree, but I think Murton would be starting and getting 70-75% of the at-bats over Floyd if he hadn't hit that horrible slump at the same time Floyd began to heat up.

[YearofDaCubs]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

 

Maybe they feel, as many on the board do, that consistent at bats is what he needs to break out of the funk. They couldn't give those to him at the major league level with Floyd doing as well as he is, so they sent him down.

 

This is what I don't understand. Floyd this year is worse than Murton was last year. What is it about Floyd that says he's doing so well that you can't give those ABs to a 25-year-old?

 

At best, Floyd this year is going to give you what Murton gave you last year (or maybe just a little better), but if you're so high on the kid, why would you bring in not 1, but 2 guys that play his position in the off-season?

 

JH is an idiot.

 

Floyd was brought in primarily as a backup and Soriano was supposed to play in right, then center. Problem is, the defensive change was hurting Sori's offense so he moved to left and Murton began the year pitifully.

 

Tracking Matt's at-bats, he began the year getting the majority of at-bats, but as his slump worsened and Floyd improved, Murton began to get fewer at-bats. Thus, I think Lou and Hendry came to the conclusion that Murton would be more likely to break out of his slump the quickest in the minors - and we could afford to do that because Floyd is producing well.

 

You may disagree, but I think Murton would be starting and getting 70-75% of the at-bats over Floyd if he hadn't hit that horrible slump at the same time Floyd began to heat up.

We never tried Sori in RF though. He went from CF to LF. Murton is not acceptable defensively at RF but could be in LF. I think Soriano could play RF without any problems.

[Tracer Bullet]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

 

Maybe they feel, as many on the board do, that consistent at bats is what he needs to break out of the funk. They couldn't give those to him at the major league level with Floyd doing as well as he is, so they sent him down.

 

This is what I don't understand. Floyd this year is worse than Murton was last year. What is it about Floyd that says he's doing so well that you can't give those ABs to a 25-year-old?

 

At best, Floyd this year is going to give you what Murton gave you last year (or maybe just a little better), but if you're so high on the kid, why would you bring in not 1, but 2 guys that play his position in the off-season?

 

JH is an idiot.

 

Floyd was brought in primarily as a backup and Soriano was supposed to play in right, then center. Problem is, the defensive change was hurting Sori's offense so he moved to left and Murton began the year pitifully.

 

Tracking Matt's at-bats, he began the year getting the majority of at-bats, but as his slump worsened and Floyd improved, Murton began to get fewer at-bats. Thus, I think Lou and Hendry came to the conclusion that Murton would be more likely to break out of his slump the quickest in the minors - and we could afford to do that because Floyd is producing well.

 

You may disagree, but I think Murton would be starting and getting 70-75% of the at-bats over Floyd if he hadn't hit that horrible slump at the same time Floyd began to heat up.

 

I don't disagree that Floyd hitting near .300 and Soriano's inability to play CF were significant factors in Murton being sent down. I just disagree that Floyd's play has been so good that he should be starting over Murton. He's been fine, but he certainly hasn't been so great that you just have to get him in the lineup. He hasn't shown much power at all (one of Murton's biggest flaws, apparently) and it's not like he's a young guy that's just hitting his prime. The decision to play him over Murton is just idiotic to me (let alone the decision to sign him in the first place).

 

I'm still not sold that Soriano's place in the OF was hurting his offense (he moved from 2B to LF last year, which is a much bigger change that LF to CF and had a career year). And I think Soriano should be put in RF or CF, b/c those are positions where we don't have a ready replacement (esp CF as Pie has been really struggling) and he's athletic enough that he should be able to handle it. A handful of ABs to start the season isn't a fair sample on which to decide whether playing CF will destroy his offensive output.

[Tracer Bullet]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

 

Maybe they feel, as many on the board do, that consistent at bats is what he needs to break out of the funk. They couldn't give those to him at the major league level with Floyd doing as well as he is, so they sent him down.

 

This is what I don't understand. Floyd this year is worse than Murton was last year. What is it about Floyd that says he's doing so well that you can't give those ABs to a 25-year-old?

 

At best, Floyd this year is going to give you what Murton gave you last year (or maybe just a little better), but if you're so high on the kid, why would you bring in not 1, but 2 guys that play his position in the off-season?

 

JH is an idiot.

 

Floyd was brought in primarily as a backup and Soriano was supposed to play in right, then center. Problem is, the defensive change was hurting Sori's offense so he moved to left and Murton began the year pitifully.

 

Tracking Matt's at-bats, he began the year getting the majority of at-bats, but as his slump worsened and Floyd improved, Murton began to get fewer at-bats. Thus, I think Lou and Hendry came to the conclusion that Murton would be more likely to break out of his slump the quickest in the minors - and we could afford to do that because Floyd is producing well.

 

You may disagree, but I think Murton would be starting and getting 70-75% of the at-bats over Floyd if he hadn't hit that horrible slump at the same time Floyd began to heat up.

We never tried Sori in RF though. He went from CF to LF. Murton is not acceptable defensively at RF but could be in LF. I think Soriano could play RF without any problems.

 

A few months ago, I really wanted to see the Murton, Pie, Soriano OF (L to R).

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

It may be that the Padres didn't have a player the Cubs wanted in exchange for Murton.

 

I don't know how much the Cubs really value Murton, but that doesn't mean they were going to give him away to the Padres.

[UMFan83]

If Soriano was able to play center, I think the plan was to trade Jones (or make him the 4th OF if Floyd gets hurt), play Murton in left and Floyd in right. But since Murton slumped and Soriano can't play CF, now Pie has to come up and play CF (which wouldn't be so bad but now Lou can't give him consistent ABs), leaving no room for Murton, who also needs consistent ABs.

 

I still think Murton will be a part of the team's plans down the stretch this year. Something has to give.

[dew1679666265]

We never tried Sori in RF though. He went from CF to LF. Murton is not acceptable defensively at RF but could be in LF. I think Soriano could play RF without any problems.

 

You are correct. For some reason I thought there was some talk before the season of him being in right, but it never occured. Must've been thinking about conversations on the board.

[dew1679666265]

According to Benmaller.com:

 

As part of the clubs' discussions last month, the Padres also inquired about Cubs corner outfielder Matt Murton, a right-handed hitter whose ability to work the count fits a Padres preference. But the Cubs firmly made it known that they highly value Murton, 25. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

 

I was especially interested in the underlined part. If they value him so much, why did they send him down. In any case, how about a deal involving Jones & Murton for Cruz plus a prospect. Cruz can play some RF and CF.

 

Maybe they feel, as many on the board do, that consistent at bats is what he needs to break out of the funk. They couldn't give those to him at the major league level with Floyd doing as well as he is, so they sent him down.

 

This is what I don't understand. Floyd this year is worse than Murton was last year. What is it about Floyd that says he's doing so well that you can't give those ABs to a 25-year-old?

 

At best, Floyd this year is going to give you what Murton gave you last year (or maybe just a little better), but if you're so high on the kid, why would you bring in not 1, but 2 guys that play his position in the off-season?

 

JH is an idiot.

 

Floyd was brought in primarily as a backup and Soriano was supposed to play in right, then center. Problem is, the defensive change was hurting Sori's offense so he moved to left and Murton began the year pitifully.

 

Tracking Matt's at-bats, he began the year getting the majority of at-bats, but as his slump worsened and Floyd improved, Murton began to get fewer at-bats. Thus, I think Lou and Hendry came to the conclusion that Murton would be more likely to break out of his slump the quickest in the minors - and we could afford to do that because Floyd is producing well.

 

You may disagree, but I think Murton would be starting and getting 70-75% of the at-bats over Floyd if he hadn't hit that horrible slump at the same time Floyd began to heat up.

 

I don't disagree that Floyd hitting near .300 and Soriano's inability to play CF were significant factors in Murton being sent down. I just disagree that Floyd's play has been so good that he should be starting over Murton. He's been fine, but he certainly hasn't been so great that you just have to get him in the lineup. He hasn't shown much power at all (one of Murton's biggest flaws, apparently) and it's not like he's a young guy that's just hitting his prime. The decision to play him over Murton is just idiotic to me (let alone the decision to sign him in the first place).

 

I'm still not sold that Soriano's place in the OF was hurting his offense (he moved from 2B to LF last year, which is a much bigger change that LF to CF and had a career year). And I think Soriano should be put in RF or CF, b/c those are positions where we don't have a ready replacement (esp CF as Pie has been really struggling) and he's athletic enough that he should be able to handle it. A handful of ABs to start the season isn't a fair sample on which to decide whether playing CF will destroy his offensive output.

 

It's not that Floyd's doing so well we can't afford to take him out, but Murton was batting so miserably early on that, coupled with his horrendous defense, we couldn't afford to keep him in. My contention is that if he was batting even decently from the getgo, he's likely still our starting right fielder, having Floyd on the bench just gave us the ability to send Murton down to work on the problem instead of costing us at the major league level. Problem is, he brought nothing positive to the table early on and Lou has no patience for people who contribute nothing (Barrett, Izturis, Jones).

[CubColtPacer]

We never tried Sori in RF though. He went from CF to LF. Murton is not acceptable defensively at RF but could be in LF. I think Soriano could play RF without any problems.

 

You are correct. For some reason I thought there was some talk before the season of him being in right, but it never occured. Must've been thinking about conversations on the board.

 

When Soriano signed, he was going to play right field, Jones was going to be traded, and some sort of stopgap center fielder was to be traded for until Pie, who they were very high on, could come up.

 

However, Hendry never found that stopgap center fielder, and in January Soriano volunteered to play CF. The Jones trade talk stopped because now he was going to play RF.

 

Then Soriano struggles out of the gate. Lou offers for him to play LF, but Soriano declines. Soriano probably would have stayed in center for another month or two if something else hadn't come up-the hamstring injury. At that time, management decided that to keep him healthy and to have a more productive bat they were going to stick him in LF (because he hadn't practiced in RF at all), which has caused the shift in positions and craziness in the OF since then.

[dew1679666265]

If Soriano was able to play center, I think the plan was to trade Jones (or make him the 4th OF if Floyd gets hurt), play Murton in left and Floyd in right. But since Murton slumped and Soriano can't play CF, now Pie has to come up and play CF (which wouldn't be so bad but now Lou can't give him consistent ABs), leaving no room for Murton, who also needs consistent ABs.

 

I still think Murton will be a part of the team's plans down the stretch this year. Something has to give.

 

Exactly. The plan early on was to have Murton, Soriano, Floyd from left to right with Jones as the primary sub (or playing right if he started hot and Floyd didn't). Problem is, Soriano didn't take to center (either offensively or defensively) so he headed to left and the plan changed to put Murton in right (thus having Sori, Pie, Murton).

 

That didn't work either as Murton slumped horribly offensively and defensively and Floyd hit well. So, while Murton works out of his struggles and we contend, he plays in Iowa. Then when he's confident again, he comes back up to help at the major league level.

 

Floyd is basically Murton's placeholder until he's ready. If that makes any sense.

[dew1679666265]

We never tried Sori in RF though. He went from CF to LF. Murton is not acceptable defensively at RF but could be in LF. I think Soriano could play RF without any problems.

 

You are correct. For some reason I thought there was some talk before the season of him being in right, but it never occured. Must've been thinking about conversations on the board.

 

When Soriano signed, he was going to play right field, Jones was going to be traded, and some sort of stopgap center fielder was to be traded for until Pie, who they were very high on, could come up.

 

However, Hendry never found that stopgap center fielder, and in January Soriano volunteered to play CF. The Jones trade talk stopped because now he was going to play RF.

 

Then Soriano struggles out of the gate. Lou offers for him to play LF, but Soriano declines. Soriano probably would have stayed in center for another month or two if something else hadn't come up-the hamstring injury. At that time, management decided that to keep him healthy and to have a more productive bat they were going to stick him in LF (because he hadn't practiced in RF at all), which has caused the shift in positions and craziness in the OF since then.

 

Good job, CCP. Excellent timeline. I knew I was getting the Soriano in right from somewhere.

[soapy]

I'm curious to know if anyone (i.e. Lou) has considered moving Soriano back to CF. Call up Murton and play him in left. Floyd/Pagan in right. I don't see it happening, but I think it would ba a viable option. The problem then becomes what to do with Pie, but you can always shift Soriano to RF in the offseason and start next year with Murton-Pie-Soriano across the OF.

 

It's an easier option than trying to trade for another OFer while possibly upgraded the outfield production by replacing Pagan/Pie with Murton.

 

Basically, if Pie isn't going to play regularly anyway, I'd rather have Murton in the lineup than Pagan.

[Lockes Eye Scar]

Yeah, the Cubs really highly value Murton. That's why Cliff Floyd was signed and Murton is in AAA.

[CubColtPacer]

I'm curious to know if anyone (i.e. Lou) has considered moving Soriano back to CF. Call up Murton and play him in left. Floyd/Pagan in right. I don't see it happening, but I think it would ba a viable option. The problem then becomes what to do with Pie, but you can always shift Soriano to RF in the offseason and start next year with Murton-Pie-Soriano across the OF.

 

It's an easier option than trying to trade for another OFer while possibly upgraded the outfield production by replacing Pagan/Pie with Murton.

 

Basically, if Pie isn't going to play regularly anyway, I'd rather have Murton in the lineup than Pagan.

 

I doubt Lou has considered moving Soriano back. His offense and defense are both doing really well right now, and I doubt that Lou wants to mess with that. Also, he probably sees Pie's potential gain as better than Murton's at the moment, especially since Murton has been pretty good since his return to the minors but nothing special in that Iowa lineup.

[soapy]

I'm curious to know if anyone (i.e. Lou) has considered moving Soriano back to CF. Call up Murton and play him in left. Floyd/Pagan in right. I don't see it happening, but I think it would ba a viable option. The problem then becomes what to do with Pie, but you can always shift Soriano to RF in the offseason and start next year with Murton-Pie-Soriano across the OF.

 

It's an easier option than trying to trade for another OFer while possibly upgraded the outfield production by replacing Pagan/Pie with Murton.

 

Basically, if Pie isn't going to play regularly anyway, I'd rather have Murton in the lineup than Pagan.

 

I doubt Lou has considered moving Soriano back. His offense and defense are both doing really well right now, and I doubt that Lou wants to mess with that. Also, he probably sees Pie's potential gain as better than Murton's at the moment, especially since Murton has been pretty good since his return to the minors but nothing special in that Iowa lineup.

 

It's admittedly a far fetched idea, but I still believe having Murton in the lineup is better than having Pie/Pagan. I don't have a problem with sending Pie down again and penciling him as the starting CF next season. I question how much playing CF affected Soriano's offense, but I obviously don't know for sure.

[Schwarber Fan]

Murton for Barrett

[killthegoat06]

Murton for Barrett

 

Murton, Marshall, Theriot for Barrett and Peavy :D

[sporrer17]

Murton is still gonna be a .300/.370/.450 hitter in the bigs. I'm still not convinced Murton can't handle RF defensively. I just don't think there's any ABs for him.

 

A 25 year old making the minimum who can put up a respectable line like that is a nice player to have.