Pitchers that Could Be Available.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

This article discusses the pitchers that could be available in a trade. A lot of it has been rehashed in other threads, but I thought there was some interesting commentary as well.

 

1. Sabathia-

 

Says one long-time NL scout: "I don't think you can deal a guy like that. He's too important to that organization."

 

Which is exactly why, however, Shapiro is waiting as long as possible before deciding (he keeps hoping the club makes the decision for him by either playing themselves back into the AL Central race or out of it).

 

2. Greg Maddux-

 

Says one Padres source: "If the right team comes along, I'm sure he'd go."

 

The right team very well could be the Chicago Cubs (imagine, Maddux pitching for them in October) or Atlanta (which still isn't conceding and needs pitching with John Smoltz out for the season).

 

God, I hope we stay away from Maddux!

 

3. Burnett-

 

Burnett, as the Blue Jays have learned, is not a franchise-changer. He likely never will live up to the talent he possesses. And he's not for everyone.

 

"Not for me," a scout for one NL club looking for pitching says. "Problems here."

 

The scout was tapping his heart as he said that.

 

Then he whiffs 11 Braves, as he did Sunday, and teams get crazy with desire as the trade deadline approaches. Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi would be abdicating his responsibility if he doesn't at least cast a line with Burnett and see what he could bring. A package from the Cubs, perhaps?

 

And now for the shocker...

 

4. Ben Sheets-

 

So, which is the bigger risk: A) That the Brewers miss the playoffs again and then lose one of their biggest assets to free agency this winter, or, B) They decide to keep Sheets for a stretch run of chasing the Cubs and Cardinals ... and then he gets hurt again?

 

Tough choice, that. But I'd opt for B happening first, then A.

 

"Why not (trade him)?" is the assessment of one NL scout. "I don't think they can afford to sign him."

 

I can't envision Sheets getting traded, but truthfully, he's the exact kind of pitcher we could use.

 

5. Erik Bedard-

 

The Mariners face little choice but to blow up their roster, and if they could find a contender interested in Bedard, they could start the upgrade. Problem is, the guy probably is worth only 50 cents on the dollar given how disappointing he's been.

 

"His value, for the price, is not good because of his lingering injuries," one scout says.

 

6. Carlos Silva-

 

 

"Ain't nobody going to let the Mariners off the hook for that kind of money," growls one NL scout.

 

7. Paul Byrd-

 

While Sabathia will occupy much of Cleveland's time over the next month, the Indians likely will deal Byrd, for whom it's pretty much been all downhill since the revelation before Game 7 of the ALCS last fall that he had taken human growth hormone.

 

"Paul Byrd, Claudio Vargas ... what's the difference?" one scout quips

 

8. Arroyo.

 

1, 3, or 4 plz. And the article made no mention of Rich Harden.

[mdwilla]

Marquis for Maddux .

[inari]

Maddux sounds cool, but he's just not a good option unless he could be had for pretty much nothing. If they could acquire Maddux and a frontline starter, sure, go for it.

 

Z

Sabathia

Dempster

Lilly

Maddux

[Flames24Rulz]

Maddux sounds cool, but he's just not a good option unless he could be had for pretty much nothing. If they could acquire Maddux and a frontline starter, sure, go for it.

 

Z

Sabathia

Dempster

Lilly

Maddux

 

Absolutely, I've been saying this for a while now. I guarantee you'd only have to give up 1 or 2 lower level prospects to get Maddux, so why would not do it? He'd be a better 5th starter than Marquis and that's all we really need if we trade for someone like CC/Harden/Burnett.

 

That's a pretty good rotation.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Maddux sounds cool, but he's just not a good option unless he could be had for pretty much nothing. If they could acquire Maddux and a frontline starter, sure, go for it.

 

Z

Sabathia

Dempster

Lilly

Maddux

 

Absolutely, I've been saying this for a while now. I guarantee you'd only have to give up 1 or 2 lower level prospects to get Maddux, so why would not do it? He'd be a better 5th starter than Marquis and that's all we really need if we trade for someone like CC/Harden/Burnett.

 

That's a pretty good rotation.

 

It would have to be a very low level prospect for me to have any interest in Maddux. But if they'd take Ryan Harvey and Matt Avery for him, consider it done.

[UMFan83]

You gotta believe Matt Cain will be available too. The Giants need a lot of help, so they will have to choose between trading him of Lincecum..and you gotta think Lincecum is staying.

[Deeg]

You gotta believe Matt Cain will be available too. The Giants need a lot of help, so they will have to choose between trading him of Lincecum..and you gotta think Lincecum is staying.

 

No way. Sabean made the commitment in the offseason to build around Lincicum and Cain, and the Giants have actually been better than most predicted this season. No reason he'll bail on the plan now.

[Mizzou]

Maddux is having a hell of a year. I'm all for bringing back one last time if the price is right.

[Joe_Cub]

weren't the pads once interested in murton, or am i imagining that?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Maddux is having a hell of a year. I'm all for bringing back one last time if the price is right.

 

It's not as good as you think. He's pitching stellar at home in a ballpark that fits his strengths, but he's not pitching so well on the road.

 

At home: 9 G, 55 IP, 2.45 ERA, 45 H, 10 BB.

On the Road: 8 G, 47.1 IP, 4.75 ERA, 61 H, 8 BB.

 

I'm just not sold that he's that much better than what we have in the fourth and fifth spots.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

weren't the pads once interested in murton, or am i imagining that?

 

As much as Murton's stock has fallen, I still wouldn't want to trade Murton for Maddux.

[Mizzou]

Maddux is having a hell of a year. I'm all for bringing back one last time if the price is right.

 

It's not as good as you think. He's pitching stellar at home in a ballpark that fits his strengths, but he's not pitching so well on the road.

 

At home: 9 G, 55 IP, 2.45 ERA, 45 H, 10 BB.

On the Road: 8 G, 47.1 IP, 4.75 ERA, 61 H, 8 BB.

 

I'm just not sold that he's that much better than what we have in the fourth and fifth spots.

True, but he had one terrible start where he gave up 9 runs that really skews the road numbers. Take that out and his road ERA drops all the way to 3.15. And just because I know someone's thinking it, if you take out his best road start (since you're taking out his worst start) his ERA sits around 3.55.

[Joe_Cub]

Murton can't crack a lineup vs a lhp when half the outfielders are hurt. he won't be a cub much longer, which is best for him and the cubs.

 

that said, i'd want to replace marquis with maddux, and that's incredibly unlikely to happen.

[The Voice of Reason]

The Brewers would never trade Sheets to the Cubs.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Maddux is having a hell of a year. I'm all for bringing back one last time if the price is right.

 

It's not as good as you think. He's pitching stellar at home in a ballpark that fits his strengths, but he's not pitching so well on the road.

 

At home: 9 G, 55 IP, 2.45 ERA, 45 H, 10 BB.

On the Road: 8 G, 47.1 IP, 4.75 ERA, 61 H, 8 BB.

 

I'm just not sold that he's that much better than what we have in the fourth and fifth spots.

True, but he had one terrible start where he gave up 9 runs that really skews the road numbers. Take that out and his road ERA drops all the way to 3.15. And just because I know someone's thinking it, if you take out his best road start (since you're taking out his worst start) his ERA sits around 3.55.

 

I'm still concerned that he's more a product of PETCO right now. We saw in his last year in Chicago he had a 4.63 ERA before going to the Dodgers. In that year, he was 5-0 to start the season and had a sparkling 1.35 ERA in April. As the weather warmed up, he had 5.94 ERA in May, 6.25 ERA in June and a 5.21 in July before we shipped him to the Dodgers.

 

Last year, he was consistent in April and May with ERAs at 3.86 and 3.96 respectively. In June he had a 3.41 ERA before it ballooned to 5.57 in July.

 

In 2005 he finished the year with a 4.24 ERA, 2006 it was 4.20 and 2007 it was 4.04 in PETCO (3.59 at home, 4.65 away).

 

I think he's a pitcher that's going to give you an ERA in the mid four's. PETCO has helped hide his deficiencies. I like Maddux. He's probably one of my favorite all-time players, but I don't think he's much of an upgrade to the back-end of our rotation.

[JeffH]

Maddux would be a worthwhile acquisition if you used him to replace Marquis rather than Gallagher.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Burnett and Bedard are the most likel scenerios. Maybe Byrd or Arroyo if we cant get the other 2 and they come cheap.

 

As for Sheets, the Brewers could fall 25 games out of first, and we offer the entire farm system, and they wouldnt send him our way.

[gflore34]

If the word on Sheets is true, why would they(the Brewers) trade for CC Sabathia? If signing Sheets is an issue, Sabathia' signing is a much larger issue.

[inari]

weren't the pads once interested in murton, or am i imagining that?

 

As much as Murton's stock has fallen, I still wouldn't want to trade Murton for Maddux.

 

Seriously? I'd do that in a heartbeat if it bumped Marquis from the rotation.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

You gotta believe Matt Cain will be available too. The Giants need a lot of help, so they will have to choose between trading him of Lincecum..and you gotta think Lincecum is staying.

 

No way. Sabean made the commitment in the offseason to build around Lincicum and Cain, and the Giants have actually been better than most predicted this season. No reason he'll bail on the plan now.

 

I can't see them doing that either. They have the potential to be much improved over the next few years. They actually have some good pitching prospects. With Cain & Lincecum already there and if all works out they would add Madison Bumgarner and Henry Sosa to the rotation.

 

Plus, they have a strong arm in Tim Alderson for the bullpen. So, as of right now the future looks good for them. Supposedly, Sabean said he would be patient with the farm system. He may get impatient and decide to part with some of these guys, but I'd be surprised if it was this year.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

weren't the pads once interested in murton, or am i imagining that?

 

As much as Murton's stock has fallen, I still wouldn't want to trade Murton for Maddux.

 

Seriously? I'd do that in a heartbeat if it bumped Marquis from the rotation.

 

As much as I hate Marquis, I'm just not certain that Maddux outside of PETCO is that much better. He's an improvement, I'm just not sure how much of one.

[Butterscup1679666578]

No offense to Maddux because I love him, but I want him nowhere near this team. He's benefitting mostly from a huge ballpark, and I think it would be an ugly sight watching him pitch at Wrigley in August/September. I don't think he'd be much of an upgrade over Marquis.

[Handlebar McSkullet]

The Brewers would never trade Sheets to the Cubs.

I like this post because of its truth and the name of the poster.

[FergieJ31]

The Brewers would never trade Sheets to the Cubs.

I like this post because of its truth and the name of the poster.

I like this post because of the name & avatar pic. We need more straight Shooters and Voices of Reason around here.

[SweetZombieJesus]

Yeah Maddux would be terrible if he was the big acquistion.

 

However, Let's say the Jays, A's or Tribe wants Gallagher. Since Hill has no signs of turning it around I wouldn't mind having Maddux back as a #5 and possible playoff #4 if a injury or Dempster's fairy dust wears off.