What to do with Grand Marquis?

[ctcf]

Normally I hate speculation threads but this has really had me wondering. It would appear Lieber and Dempster are going to get the 4th and 5th spots of the rotation which (thankfully I guess) leaves Marquis out in the cold. This means he's either bullpen bound or traded. Where could we realistically send him?

[17 Seconds]

I bet he goes in a Roberts trade with money exchanged and Payton coming back.

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

Texa$

[E.J.]

Send him to Japan for $1000 worth of sushi.

[Sammy Sofa]

Drive him out to the middle of nowhere, tell him the rest of the money that's owed to him is just over the hill and then speed off when he gets out to get it.

[David]

I'm still pretty sure I'd rather have Marquis in the rotation than either Dempster or Lieber.

 

That's more of an illustration of what I think of Dempster and Lieber than any confidence I have in Marquis. I guess I'll just hope they prove me wrong.

[ConstableRabbit]

Marquis Grissom was named after his dad's neighbor's Grand Marquis.

 

True story.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Keep him in the rotation and trade him just before the all star break.

[XZero771679666304]

Keep him in the rotation and trade him just before the all star break.

 

 

His value is probably higher right now than it will be at any later point. He has had a great spring, had a great first half last year, and there are a lot of teams out there who need a starter to at least start the season, due to injuries.

 

The further things go along, the lower his trade value is going to get, IMO.

[rawaction]

Marquis has pitched better than both and is getting paid the most money. Normally, that would give him and "in". I'd say since you don't want to have stretched out Dempster for nothing and Leiber has pitched middle relief most recently, I'd put Leibs in the pen. All have pitched well (1 bad game for Dempster skews his numbers), so it's a good problem to have. I wouldn't expect Dempster or Leiber to be 100% healthy all year, and I don't expect any of them to be nearly this good all year, so there will be plenty of starts for each.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Keep him in the rotation and trade him just before the all star break.

 

 

His value is probably higher right now than it will be at any later point. He has had a great spring, had a great first half last year, and there are a lot of teams out there who need a starter to at least start the season, due to injuries.

 

The further things go along, the lower his trade value is going to get, IMO.

 

The problem is, in the end, I trust Marquis over Demptser. Sure, they both look good in ST, but that doesnt mean much. Marquis at least has a track record of being good the first half of the season, but Demp doesnt even have that. Remember all the 9th inning near heart attacks Demp has caused? Can anyone really take 5 or 6 innings of that?

[NewUserName]

I hate the Cubs.

 

Is there any other team in baseball that would have a guy pitch as well as Sean Marshall did last year and not even get a chance to start this year? Especially since the other options are Leiber, Dempster and Marquis.

 

Personally I would rather have Marquis than either Dempster or Leiber.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I think we should probably trade Marquis for the best deal we can get. If we can get someone to take on that contract, it would be a miracle. In all liklihood, we're going to be paying some it no matter where he goes. It would be nice if we could deal him and get back a player that helps the team, which in Jim's mind would be a right-handed hitting CF.

 

To find the proper match, the Cubs need to find a team that is need of a starter who can eat innings.

 

The first team to come to mind is the Astros. Their rotation after Oswalt is sketchy at best. Woody Williams and Sampson have been horredous this spring. Backe is hit and miss, but coming off of surgery, he 's no lock to pitch the entire season healthy. Wandy Rodriguez also has had a bad spring. They don't have much depth in the minors, so they would be a team that might have interest in Marquis. On the other hand, the Cubs-Astros might be unwilling to deal within the division and the only expendable component on the Astros that fits the Cubs' needs would be Reggie Abercrombie and he sucks. The Astros are said to be looking to deal Loretta, but probably won't now that Matsui is out with a second crack in his ass.

 

The Marlins are another possibility if they'd be willing to move Cody Ross for Marquis. If he goes to the Fish, the Cubs will likely have to eat a sizeable portion of the contract.

 

It would be ideal if the Cubs could send him to Texas for Byrd. But the Rangers appear to be delusional that Byrd should demand a young pitching prospect from the Cubs. As long as that continues, the Rangers are going to be difficult trading partners.

 

The biggest issue is I don't see a lot of teams with holes in the rotation that have a player that meets the Cubs' needs and is expendable to that team. Things could change in the next week, but as things stand the Cubs may need to wait a little longer before dealing him.

[soapy]

What does Dempster's contract look like (I forget and Cot's is blocked at work)? He may be worth more to some teams because of his "versatility" (can pitch from the pen or start, theoretically). I can't remember who make more between he and Marquis, though I'm thinking their contracts are similar.

[CubColtPacer]

What does Dempster's contract look like (I forget and Cot's is blocked at work)? He may be worth more to some teams because of his "versatility" (can pitch from the pen or start, theoretically). I can't remember who make more between he and Marquis, though I'm thinking their contracts are similar.

 

Dempster has 1 year left at 5 million. That expiring contract would definitely make teams more interested than Marquis who has 2 years left on his deal.

 

My hope would be that Marquis and Lieber are in the rotation. Marquis will still benefit quite a bit from this wonderful defense behind him, so even though he'll likely have another bad FIP number at the end of the season, his ERA has a good shot of being pretty decent. Lieber will love the defense along with the ballpark that he's been so good in. He's also the one who has consistently stayed in range that is fine for the 4th/5th starter, so unless the spring had showed that he had fallen off the cliff (which it certainly hasn't, the low walk totals especially have been very encouraging) he should be given a chance to replicate those numbers once again.

 

Dempster on the other hand is much less affected by the defense, and that makes him a poorer fit for the Cubs rotation. His problem is going to be if he can keep the walks down. My guess is that Dempster would be a roller coaster ride all season. He'll have higher than normal wonderful starts, and he'll have higher than normal awful starts.

 

As for as trading Marquis, if it comes to that I think he'd go to the Orioles or maybe the Angels.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'd take my chances that Marquis can start the season solid and drive up his trade value. Contrary to conventional wisdom, trades do happen in April, May and June. And teams are looking for pitching help at that time.

[soapy]

I'd take my chances that Marquis can start the season solid and drive up his trade value. Contrary to conventional wisdom, trades do happen in April, May and June. And teams are looking for pitching help at that time.

how would you see the other chips falling in that scenario (Lieber, Dempster, Marshall)? Lieber in the rotation, Marshall in Iowa and Dempster in the pen? I guess you could put Lieber in long relief or something (with Dempster starting).

[Roast]

Marquis Grissom was named after his dad's neighbor's Grand Marquis.

 

True story.

 

I drive a grand marquis - true story.

[Roast]

someone brought it up in the willitis thread, but since Lackey went down maybe we can push marquis off on them?