2013 Minor Moves and Transactions Thread

[KingCubsFan]

Alberto Gonzalez DFA'd to make room for Borbon.

[Cubswin11]

So are we going to carry 6 OF?

[treebird]

this seems like a strange way to assemble a roster.

[Guest]

So are we going to carry 6 OF?

 

I guess up until Stewart is up and then they make a decision on who goes then?

[davell]

Yeah, my guess is if Sappelt doesn't start hitting, he'll get sent down when Stewart comes back.

[Guest]

CUBS CLAIM OUTFIELDER JULIO BORBON

OFF WAIVERS FROM TEXAS

INFIELDER ALBERTO GONZALEZ DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013

MILWAUKEE – The Chicago Cubs today claimed outfielder Julio Borbon off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Infielder Alberto Gonzalez has been designated for assignment.

 

Borbon, 27, is a career .283 hitter (194-for-685) with 16 doubles, seven triples, seven home runs and 73 RBI in 216 games covering all or part of four seasons with the Rangers. The left-handed batter and thrower has 40 stolen bases and 101 runs scored. Borbon has seen most of his major league action in center field, where he has played 169 games, while also playing 17 big league games in left field.

 

The six-foot, 195-pound Borbon made his major league debut as a 23-year-old in 2009 and batted .312 (49-for-157) with 19 stolen bases and a .376 on-base percentage in 46 games with the Rangers. He played in a career-high 137 games with Texas in 2010, batting .276 (121-for-438) with 60 runs scored, 11 doubles, four triples and 15 stolen bases, before splitting the 2011 campaign between Texas and Triple-A Round Rock.

 

Borbon spent the entire 2012 campaign with Round Rock, where he batted .304 (162-for-533) with 23 doubles, eight triples, 10 home runs, 78 runs scored and 20 stolen bases in 133 games. In 2013, he batted .317 (19-for-60) in 32 games with the Rangers during spring training and was hitless in one at-bat during the regular season before being designated for assignment on April 9.

 

A native of Starkville, Miss., Borbon was originally selected by the Rangers with the 35th overall pick (supplemental round) of the 2007 June Draft.

 

Gonzalez batted .217 (5-for-23) in 11 games for the Cubs this season.

[jersey cubs fan]

Is one of the OF banged up?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

So it seems the point of this was to try to sneak Borbon through waivers to be able to outright him to AAA when Stewart gets activated, and we'll carry six outfielders for a couple days until that happens.

 

I still really don't see any value in that, but I guess the Cubs do.

[Guest]

So it seems the point of this was to try to sneak Borbon through waivers to be able to outright him to AAA when Stewart gets activated, and we'll carry six outfielders for a couple days until that happens.

 

I still really don't see any value in that, but I guess the Cubs do.

 

They probably want to collect as many decent OFers as they can for if/when they trade Soriano and/or DeJesus.

[KingCubsFan]

So it seems the point of this was to try to sneak Borbon through waivers to be able to outright him to AAA when Stewart gets activated, and we'll carry six outfielders for a couple days until that happens.

 

I still really don't see any value in that, but I guess the Cubs do.

 

They probably want to collect as many decent OFers as they can for if/when they trade Soriano and/or DeJesus.

Seems like they already had enough. To me, this only makes sense if they're close to trading DeJesus.

[Guest]

a dejesus trade 2 weeks into the season makes less sense. i think david is right.

[UK1679666180]

I guess as a 5th OF'er he fits the mold..

 

For Fun:

 

Campana in '12 and Borbon in '10.

 

Campana chased 53.3% of the pitches outside the strike zone and Borbon chased 53.2%

 

Campana was at 62% at swinging at strikes and Borbon was at 56% at swinging at strikes, both well above av.

 

Campana made contact on 80% of the swings. Borbon was at 84%.

 

Borbon did not strike out nearly as much.

 

Campana was ahead in the count for 23.1% of the pitches he sees, while Borbon was 23.5%, both well below avg.

 

Campana has 3.4 pitches per PA while Borbon had 3.4.

 

Both had similar LD% of 10, while Borbon had a much higher fly ball ratio.

[jersey cubs fan]

So it seems the point of this was to try to sneak Borbon through waivers to be able to outright him to AAA when Stewart gets activated, and we'll carry six outfielders for a couple days until that happens.

 

I still really don't see any value in that, but I guess the Cubs do.

 

They probably want to collect as many decent OFers as they can for if/when they trade Soriano and/or DeJesus.

Seems like they already had enough. To me, this only makes sense if they're close to trading DeJesus.

 

I'd be surprised if a team wanted to deal enough for DeJesus at the moment for the Cubs to want to deal him so soon.

[KingCubsFan]

So it seems the point of this was to try to sneak Borbon through waivers to be able to outright him to AAA when Stewart gets activated, and we'll carry six outfielders for a couple days until that happens.

 

I still really don't see any value in that, but I guess the Cubs do.

 

They probably want to collect as many decent OFers as they can for if/when they trade Soriano and/or DeJesus.

Seems like they already had enough. To me, this only makes sense if they're close to trading DeJesus.

 

I'd be surprised if a team wanted to deal enough for DeJesus at the moment for the Cubs to want to deal him so soon.

Weren't there rumors that the Royals were interested in spring training? Given their start, maybe they want to make a move as quickly as possible. Seems unlikely, but seems even stranger that they'd want to stash Borbon for months so that he can take over CF for two months, particularly when they already have Jackson.

[Little Slide Rooter]

So it seems the point of this was to try to sneak Borbon through waivers to be able to outright him to AAA when Stewart gets activated, and we'll carry six outfielders for a couple days until that happens.

 

I still really don't see any value in that, but I guess the Cubs do.

 

They probably want to collect as many decent OFers as they can for if/when they trade Soriano and/or DeJesus.

 

My guess is that until DeJesus is traded, he'll basically be treated as a Rule 5 pick in that they'll be sacrificing a roster spot for the purpose of storage.

 

Can't say I don't like the move. He recently turned 27 and projects as that mythical prototypical leadoff hitter.

[mul21]

 

Can't say I don't like the move. He recently turned 27 and projects as that mythical prototypical leadoff hitter.

 

Except for that whole not getting on base thing, I guess.

[Little Slide Rooter]

 

Can't say I don't like the move. He recently turned 27 and projects as that mythical prototypical leadoff hitter.

 

Except for that whole not getting on base thing, I guess.

 

That's why I said projects as, not is. If he can get on base more often, that touch of power he seems to have could make him a much cheaper Michael Bourn.

[toonsterwu]

Never been big on Borbon, but as a freebie ... why not? Now, I don't see the point of carrying 6 OF's, so I expect them to try and push him to Iowa at some point (at which point, there'd be a logjam at Iowa of OF's fighting for time as well).

 

Still, it's a freebie look (I guess not really free, but you can find Alberto Gonzalez type middle infielders.)

[jersey cubs fan]

By 27 the time for projectin' is kind of over

[mul21]

 

Can't say I don't like the move. He recently turned 27 and projects as that mythical prototypical leadoff hitter.

 

Except for that whole not getting on base thing, I guess.

 

That's why I said projects as, not is. If he can get on base more often, that touch of power he seems to have could make him a much cheaper Michael Bourn.

 

What part of a career .324 OBP projects to a good leadoff man?

[illiniguy]

 

Can't say I don't like the move. He recently turned 27 and projects as that mythical prototypical leadoff hitter.

 

Except for that whole not getting on base thing, I guess.

 

That's why I said projects as, not is. If he can get on base more often, that touch of power he seems to have could make him a much cheaper Michael Bourn.

 

What part of a career .324 OBP projects to a good leadoff man?

Short, fast guys leadoff dude. Plus he can handle the heat. Bass fishing.

[RynoRules]

Relative to our other current players he hits for average pretty well.

[Little Slide Rooter]

 

Can't say I don't like the move. He recently turned 27 and projects as that mythical prototypical leadoff hitter.

 

Except for that whole not getting on base thing, I guess.

 

That's why I said projects as, not is. If he can get on base more often, that touch of power he seems to have could make him a much cheaper Michael Bourn.

 

What part of a career .324 OBP projects to a good leadoff man?

 

We're talking an incredibly small sample size. Michael Bourn is a few notches up at .339 which netted him a 48MM deal. Like Bourn and unlike the Campanas and Gathrights of the world, Borbon isn't just a guy who hits singles.

 

I'm not saying that Borbon will be Michael Bourn, just that it's the best case scenario, and if all we're giving up is a roster spot which was previously occupied by spare parts, I like the move.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

He's 27. Projection is over. He's a 5th outfielder who is somewhere between replacement and a little above, with some generic, basic CF skills. He doesn't make any sense on this roster, but he was free and gave the Cubs a hilarious moment yesterday.

[davell]

He's here to give us depth if we trade Soriano, DeJesus, or even Schierholtz or Hairston. He may be underneath Sweeney even, in our FO's eyes, just circumstances dictated he be added to the 40 man. If Brett doesn't show he's ready then Sweeney and Borbon at least conceivably, give us a semi-warm body to throw out there in the trainwreck of a second half.