Sullivan: roster moves to come after draft.

[Little Slide Rooter]

@PWSullivan: Look for new Cubs' regime to start making roster moves after the focus is off the draft. http://t.co/QhG4e0u8

 

Even more reason look forward to the draft.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Not that we have a ton to offer. What we have:

 

Dempster should bring a pretty nice return. The fact that he's 35 and an impending free agent could limit the return, but if we're willing to take in his remaining salary, that should help.

 

Marmol should have decent value. Quality relievers are always in demand, and if Marmol can get somewhere close to form and were willing to take on his salary, he could net us a prospect from the back of someone's top 10 and a sweetener as Billy Beane, or at least Brad Pitt portraying Billy Beane would say.

 

Soriano is also possible. It's been said earlier that the Tigers inquired but were not willing to take on more than 5 mil total. For a few decent or even fringy prospects, we should take them or someone else up on that offer.

 

Maholm I'd say would bring in a few low level guys, maybe even a guy from someone's top 15 if they're desperate enough.

 

LaHair: if he can start slugging again for a few weeks, fliers will be taken. Everyone loves a one dimensional left slugger, especially AL fringe contenders.

 

Soto: at this point, his value is at a low, so it might be in our better interests to let him try to boost his value until either the deadline or even the offseason in which we could tender and trade him.

 

Campana and Barney each present interesting possibilities as well. Maybe one could be thrown in to maximize the return on one of our better chips. If we don't get anything worthwhile, no reason to run them out of town.

 

Beyond that, Johnson, Mather, Wells, Baker, and Camp might each be worth a fringe prospect or PTBNL. Also each could be throw ins in other trades. Perhaps Volstad.

 

This is a good year to be awful. More playoff spots means more contenders meaning less sellers and more buyers. Sucking could end up a luxury.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, you're pretty high.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I wish. Sadly, those days are well behind me. Not that I woudlnt revisit them, but it's not that easy to come by here.

[toonsterwu]

Is Sullivan talking about trades ... or is he talking about say, Rizzo? When I hear "roster moves", I don't automatically jump to trades, so I wonder if this is more a statement about Rizzo.

[davell]

My first thought was Rizzo. But if the date is June 23rd, to get the extra year of control, I can't see us bringing him up before then, now that it's close. As far as trades go, I see no way possible Marmol has regained value by then. Actually, unless we change our tune and decide to deal Garza, our only piece that's going to bring back a return worth talking about is Dempster. Even then, I want to see him dealt early, before guys like Hamels and Greinke possibly become available.

[TruffleShuffle]

I like how soriano might possibly fetch "a few decent prospects." and maholm too.

[davell]

My guess is the window to ever trade Soto has closed. Maybe, he could put together a solid second half. If so, I guess it's possible to deal him in the offseason. But, in my mind, he's getting non tendered.

[TruffleShuffle]

I like how soriano might possibly fetch "a few decent prospects." and maholm too.

 

although maybe wsr speaks a regional dialect where "a few" actually means "zero or one"

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

I wish. Sadly, those days are well behind me. Not that I woudlnt revisit them, but it's not that easy to come by here.

 

Tss where's that, da moon or somethin?

 

I think Dempster is almost certainly traded to the Yankees, Red Sox, or Tigers.

 

Almost got me there on Soriano to the Tigers, but Soriano is near impossible to trade in my head. I won't believe it possible until the trade actually happens. Same for Marmol unless the Marlins are even more in than they were this offseason.

 

Soto I could see them trading now to a contender who knows that he can play. Baker might go somewhere.

 

Here's hoping they are really successfully active during trade season. I didn't think any explanations were crazy, it's just hard to see getting enough back on some/most? of those players to care.

[biittner77]

I like how soriano might possibly fetch "a few decent prospects." and maholm too.

 

although maybe wsr speaks a regional dialect where "a few" actually means "zero or one"

 

More likely, it's a world where "decent" means 26 year old, Low A pitcher coming off shoulder surgery that once upon a time got a big signing bonus but hasn't done much since who could just as easily be had on the waiver wire in a couple more months. But that's probably a best case scenario.

[toonsterwu]

My guess is the window to ever trade Soto has closed. Maybe, he could put together a solid second half. If so, I guess it's possible to deal him in the offseason. But, in my mind, he's getting non tendered.

 

I'm going to be mildly surprised if they non-tender Soto. Wouldn't stun me ... and it may depend on how he does the rest of the year, but assuming he doesn't go on some Herculean streak (but does improve) ... we're looking at what, 5 mil for Soto next year? 5 mil on the open market nets you what, Rod Barajas? Are they going to go out and add a catcher? I have a hard time seeing them turn to a Castillo/Clevenger combination next year, and it's debatable if Flores (or Brenly) would be an ideal 3rd catcher on the 40, as I'd think they'd like a veteran in that mix. If the cost of Soto is roughly the cost of a Barajas type in FA ... why not bring Soto back (instead of non-tendering him)?

[Little Slide Rooter]

I like how soriano might possibly fetch "a few decent prospects." and maholm too.

 

although maybe wsr speaks a regional dialect where "a few" actually means "zero or one"

 

just a dialect in which broad generalizations give you a better chance to be right. And I stand by it. Soriano can still hit at times, and for a minimum amount of money, we could land, say somebody's Logan Watkins and Brooks Raley. Maholm could fetch something slightly better. Starting pitching is always in demand, and we could end up with a Michael Burgess and Nick Struck.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Is Sullivan talking about trades ... or is he talking about say, Rizzo? When I hear "roster moves", I don't automatically jump to trades, so I wonder if this is more a statement about Rizzo.

 

I think it's a bit of everything. The draft is 4 days before Rizzo can be called up without losing service time. After that, I don't expect a large scale of exodus of players, but it will start. Teams will be calling on Dempster, and while to us, there's little difference between trading him June 5th or July 31, to the buyers there is. He'll be up for auction if he isn't already and if someone clicks buy now, take the deal.

 

As for the junk pile, to us they're garbage, but to a contender, they're useful role players. Except for Koyie Hill. He's just garbage.

 

As guys start saying their not so tear filled good byes, players like Sappelt, Valbuena, Rusin, and Beliveau, who may not be much better but will at least be more interesting to watch will behin take their places.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

How can someone list the Cubs' trade possibilities and skip Garza and DeJesus?

 

I've definitely accepted that you just can't read what this front office intends to do. Leaks are just as likely to be truth as they are a misdirection. So even with Garza, where there've been very clear reports that they intend to extend or trade him by the deadline, I wouldn't be surprised to see neither happen.

 

Subject to change, but right now I'm hoping we keep the firesale to a minimum, to be honest. DeJesus and Garza have value to the 2013 Cubs. I wouldn't even mind holding on to Dempster and hoping to extend him.

[Little Slide Rooter]

How can someone list the Cubs' trade possibilities and skip Garza and DeJesus?

 

I've definitely accepted that you just can't read what this front office intends to do. Leaks are just as likely to be truth as they are a misdirection. So even with Garza, where there've been very clear reports that they intend to extend or trade him by the deadline, I wouldn't be surprised to see neither happen.

 

Subject to change, but right now I'm hoping we keep the firesale to a minimum, to be honest. DeJesus and Garza have value to the 2013 Cubs. I wouldn't even mind holding on to Dempster and hoping to extend him.

 

Garza I want to keep. If we plan on being contenders in the next few years, we need him. DeJesus is another one would would be a great piece assuming we had a good team. I'd be more than willing to trade him, but I can't imagine getting a worthwhile return, especially considering that we're paying him 3.5 mil next year with a 6.5 mil team option for the next year. We don't have a replacement in the wings, I can't imagine being able to replicate his production through free agency anywhere near the price.

[iowahawkeyes89]

I saw Sullivan on Chicago Tribune Live the other night...made a fool of himself :roll:

 

Basically said that the Cubs should bring Rizzo up before late June to please the fans. And that the fact that it could cost the Cubs a year of his service time doesn't matter (which is absurd). Then basically got torched by the rest of the panel.

 

I like Sully, but that certainly wasn't one of his better interviews.

[davell]

I want Dempster traded, assuming he'll allow it. Because he's pitching so well, he's going to get a contract much larger than what we'll be comfortable with giving him. And as much as he loves being here, I think it'd be tough to turn down.

[javy knows my name]

I want WSR to play the quiet game.

 

Roster moves do not mean trades; they mean roster moves. Isn't it more likely that Brett comes up sooner than Rizzo? I think Brett is out of the super 2 water after June or so, and Rizzo has about that long to wait before we surrender a year of control. I wonder if they look to move DeJesus at the deadline to make room for Brett (or possibly LaHair).

[Guest]

I want WSR to play the quiet game.

 

Roster moves do not mean trades; they mean roster moves. Isn't it more likely that Brett comes up sooner than Rizzo? I think Brett is out of the super 2 water after June or so, and Rizzo has about that long to wait before we surrender a year of control. I wonder if they look to move DeJesus at the deadline to make room for Brett (or possibly LaHair).

Brett can't come up until he's out of his slump.

[dew1679666265]

The speculation is fun, but is this even a story? I guess it depends on whether Sullivan means call-ups/DFAs or trades. If it's trades, then I would expect some of them to start happening (or closing in on happening) after the draft anyway and this is a non-story. If it's call-ups/DFAs, that's news.

[Brett]

I'm not sure I understand why some folks think Maholm has no value in trade. His contract is quite reasonable, and if he meets his WAR expectations, he provides surplus value. He's not an impact starter, but for a team with playoff hopes that has an injury or two pop up, I could see the Cubs netting a decent prospect (maybe top 10 in a middle-tier system), especially if they chip in some cash.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I want WSR to play the quiet game.

 

Roster moves do not mean trades; they mean roster moves. Isn't it more likely that Brett comes up sooner than Rizzo? I think Brett is out of the super 2 water after June or so, and Rizzo has about that long to wait before we surrender a year of control. I wonder if they look to move DeJesus at the deadline to make room for Brett (or possibly LaHair).

 

Good idea. If it's nice an quiet, I can put more concentration into writing posts for you to enjoy.

 

It would be awful to trade a productive player who we have at an incredible price so we can bring up a guy who strikes out every other at bat at the hands of AAA pitching. And if we did want to call up Brett, we have about 7 position players more expendable than DeJesus.

 

And while roster moves don't necessarily mean trades, they mean that some players will be added to the roster, and as a result, others have to be removed. One way of doing this is to trade them, and like I said, guys like Baker, Johnson, and Camp may seem useless to us, to a contender in search to fill a role, they could be appealing. As for the bigger trades, they could happen sooner than we think. This front office wasn't assembled to just watch the team lose 95 games and stand idly by.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I'm not sure I understand why some folks think Maholm has no value in trade. His contract is quite reasonable, and if he meets his WAR expectations, he provides surplus value. He's not an impact starter, but for a team with playoff hopes that has an injury or two pop up, I could see the Cubs netting a decent prospect (maybe top 10 in a middle-tier system), especially if they chip in some cash.

 

Some people just seem to think if a player isn't one who will bring back 2-3 top prospects they have no value. Any GM can demand top prospects or young players for their top trade chips. However, part of the value of a top GM is that they can better evaluate a potential trade partners more raw prospects and maximize the trade value of guys like Maholm.

[toonsterwu]

I'm not sure I understand why some folks think Maholm has no value in trade. His contract is quite reasonable, and if he meets his WAR expectations, he provides surplus value. He's not an impact starter, but for a team with playoff hopes that has an injury or two pop up, I could see the Cubs netting a decent prospect (maybe top 10 in a middle-tier system), especially if they chip in some cash.

 

I think Maholm has value, but

 

a) He has to, well, get ... better ... for lack of a better word

b) Cubs have to chip in money

 

But I think getting a top 10 in a middle-tier system is borderline. A good comparison might be the Doug Fister trade last year (certainly, each trade exists in it's own environment, so you never know what might happen, but I think it's a decent comparable in terms of quality of pitcher being shopped). Fister was arguably pitching better than Maholm at the time, and while the Mariners netted quantity, they netted borderline quality. Ruffin's been awful in the early-going in AAA this year, but assuming he turns it around, he's still only a borderline closer candidate, and more likely, a setup guy ... assuming he reaches the bigs. Plenty of guys in the bigs with 91/92 on the fastball and a good slider out of the pen. Francisco Martinez is a nice looking 3rd base prospect, and the other names are slipping me at the moment (Casper Wells, I think, was one ... I want to say Charlie Furbush was the other).

 

That said, sure, I could definitely see a "decent" prospect (say, a Chris Archer type before he came here, and intriguing, but raw arm in the low levels) being netted for Maholm. That said, the market is likely to have a lot of end of the rotation arms being shopped, so while whoever is shopped could net a "decent" prospect, not all will.