Is marshall worth keeping?

[dew1679666265]

I think he's regarded very highly around the league, and a lot of playoff teams would think he would help a lot in October as a lefty specialist (even though he's more than that).

 

All of this is true, but lefty specialists don't garner much in trades. Even if a team envisioned Marshall as their closer down the stretch, they're still going to use the fact that he's got very, very few career saves as a negotiating ploy to knock down the return they're willing to give us. If I were going to trade Marshall (which I'm not completely opposed to), I'd want a closer type return for him and I don't think any team is going to give that for a guy who's never been a closer.

 

What would be your thoughts on trying to trade Marmol (whose value would be inflated due to the closer tag) and then making Marshall the closer and then, if we're out of the race next year, trading him at the 2012 deadline? That's the scenario I'd prefer if I were trading one of the two.

[Guest]

If Marshall keeps things up through next year, the Cubs should be the one to give him the Thornton deal anyway. Or reap the rewards of being Type A(which is yet another reason trading him now doesn't make a lot of sense).

[questionmarkgrace]

As far as the farm systems ranking, that says little about how few upper level pitchers we have. Many of our guys have regressed or been injured since the beginning of the year rankings.

 

 

The point of this whole thread, I guess, is that we cant keep aram, upgrade pitching, and first base all in a single off season. We don't have the upper level pitching or the elite third base or first base prospect to make an impact in our areas of need. So we need to make some deals otherwise we are completely dependent upon free agency to which the cubs probably dont have or wont allocate that kind of money. So how else does the team get better? Its gotta be through trades. ANd the frustrating quotes from Hendry suggest that he will only be trading guys that wont yield the kind of return the team needs.

[Sammy Sofa]

Marshall isn't one of those guys. Neither is Baker. Neither is Barney. So who else has he commented on?

[Sammy Sofa]

Probably not. Most teams don't sink decent money into a reliever that isn't already tagged as a closer to be their new closer.

 

I could see a team signing Marshall to be their closer, but they're not going to pay him like a top shelf closer. Just like they wouldn't give us closer value in a trade either.

 

Right, that's why I said "decent money." I could definitely see teams lining up to sign him if the Cubs let him go, but he's not gonna get closer money.

[dew1679666265]

As far as the farm systems ranking, that says little about how few upper level pitchers we have. Many of our guys have regressed or been injured since the beginning of the year rankings.

 

We're talking about going into next season and beyond right? If so, McNutt should be healthy to start next year, Whitenack should be ready by midseason or so (somebody can correct me if I'm wrong), Wells will have an offseason to get fully healthy, Cabrera and Struck will have had nearly a full season of AAA ball, and Jay Jackson might be a starting option. Obviously it'd be ideal to not have to go past Wells/McNutt/Cashner on the rotation depth, but we should have options next year in the higher levels of the minors.

 

The point of this whole thread, I guess, is that we cant keep aram, upgrade pitching, and first base all in a single off season. We don't have the upper level pitching or the elite third base or first base prospect to make an impact in our areas of need. So we need to make some deals otherwise we are completely dependent upon free agency to which the cubs probably dont have or wont allocate that kind of money. So how else does the team get better? Its gotta be through trades. ANd the frustrating quotes from Hendry suggest that he will only be trading guys that wont yield the kind of return the team needs.

 

It probably won't take keeping ARam and upgrading first and the rotation to be competitive in the Central next year. In a hypothetical situation, let's say we sign Fielder and CJ Wilson (roughly $40 million combined), let Aramis go and make no other moves of significance.

 

That gives us a rotation of: Garza/Dempster/Wilson/Z/Wells with McNutt/Cashner as the first two in the minors (and the possibility of a hail mary Sheets type signing as well). That's 3 legit top of the rotation guys and a couple of averagish back of the rotation guys.

 

And it gives us this lineup:

 

Castro

Soto

Fielder

Byrd

Flaherty/Baker

Soriano

BJax

Barney/LeMaheieu

P

 

You're probably below average at two positions (LF and wherever BJax plays) and both of those could be average. That rotation and lineup aren't giving you the best team in the NL by any stretch, but it can certainly compete in a Central division where .500 could win it.

[dew1679666265]

Right, that's why I said "decent money." I could definitely see teams lining up to sign him if the Cubs let him go, but he's not gonna get closer money.

 

Gotcha. I read that wrong initially, thinking you were saying teams wouldn't look to sign Marshall as a closer.