Offseason Rumors & Transactions Thread

[Clem Fandango]

Fuld had his most productive season as a major league player in 2014, splitting time between the Twins and A’s and hitting a combined .239 with a .321 on-base percentage. Yet the numbers alone don’t give you a real understanding of the 33-year-old Fuld’s value to a team.

 

/HURL

 

most productive season

 

.239 with a .321 on-base percentage

 

http://i.imgur.com/xvbyGtV.gif

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Fuld really is pretty useful

[jersey cubs fan]

Fuld is 33?

[gscool89]

Fuld really is pretty useful

As a bench player, I don't mind Fuld at all assuming the $ is right

[Deeg]

The Cubs can't afford the luxury of a bench player like Fuld when the OF is so weak as-is. This is a guy with a .650 career OPS, on the wrong side of 30 (comfortably). If you had a solid everyday CF and just needed a 25th man who can play league-average defense, steal a base and be a good clubhouse influence, absolutely - there are teams for which Fuld makes a lot of sense. We're not one of them.

[Deeg]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 3m3 minutes ago

orioles, reds, mariners among possibilities for aoki. he should get 2-3 yrs, perhaps $7-8M per.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The Cubs can't afford the luxury of a bench player like Fuld when the OF is so weak as-is. This is a guy with a .650 career OPS, on the wrong side of 30 (comfortably). If you had a solid everyday CF and just needed a 25th man who can play league-average defense, steal a base and be a good clubhouse influence, absolutely - there are teams for which Fuld makes a lot of sense. We're not one of them.

 

I betcha at least two Cubs outfielders with >50 PAs this year will end up putting up a lower OPS than .650.

[Clem Fandango]

The Cubs can't afford the luxury of a bench player like Fuld when the OF is so weak as-is. This is a guy with a .650 career OPS, on the wrong side of 30 (comfortably). If you had a solid everyday CF and just needed a 25th man who can play league-average defense, steal a base and be a good clubhouse influence, absolutely - there are teams for which Fuld makes a lot of sense. We're not one of them.

 

I betcha at least two Cubs outfielders with >50 PAs this year will end up putting up a lower OPS than .650.

 

Well then by all means let's add another

[Deeg]

As much as it shocks me, the Padres are apparently considering dealing Seth Smith assuming the Kemp trade doesn't fall through. He makes a lot of sense for the Cubs - he's a good lefty bat who's not a butcher in LF or RF, and the Padres have needs Valbuena or Castillo could help fill. Trade for Smith and sign a FA who can play CF as insurance for AA and you have a halfway decent OF.

[gscool89]

Seth Smith is fine but he's strictly a platoon player.

[Deeg]

Seth Smith is fine but he's strictly a platoon player.

 

So what? He gets 120 starts a year against right-handers. You don't think the Cubs could use that punch?

[Cubswin11]

Problem is, we just traded away the guy he should have been platooned with. Don't doubt he has value though and I definitely would love to get him.

[gord119]

With the remaining outfield options, I think the best choice is try and get Ben Revere from the Phillies. He can play center, good speed and a a good contact hitter. it would take at least Valbuena and a prospect.

[Deeg]

With the remaining outfield options, I think the best choice is try and get Ben Revere from the Phillies. He can play center, good speed and a a good contact hitter. it would take at least Valbuena and a prospect.

 

The notion that Revere is worth anything close to Valbuena is utter madness. Not even in the ballpark.

[Banedon]

http://i.imgur.com/xvbyGtV.gif

 

http://giant.gfycat.com/FailingFixedBarnacle.gif

[Guest]

With the remaining outfield options, I think the best choice is try and get Ben Revere from the Phillies. He can play center, good speed and a a good contact hitter. it would take at least Valbuena and a prospect.

 

Trading Valbuena for Revere would be not smart.

[Guest]

Wood for Revere was the framework brought up by at least one of the beat writers.

 

I'm still a bit conflicted on how I feel about Revere. He has terrific speed and uses it well on the basepaths, which makes him useful for specific in-game situations. He has no platoon split so he's not someone you need to hide to get a certain standard of production, and you'd control him for 3 years. On the other hand, despite his speed he doesn't rate as much of a defensive center fielder, and his lack of platoon split means you can't use Maddon's abilities to maximize/increase his production in a part-time role. Plus if MLBTR is to be believed he'll be making a non-trivial amount in arbitration(~4 million) so he can't really be a cost-saving measure to free up money for something else(admittedly we are running out of reasonable places for 'else' to go).

 

Like a lot of the potential trade options, he's imperfect for the role I'd hope they'd get a guy to fill(LH OF to play at least part time in LF and serve as short term Alcantara insurance). Just a matter of whether you prefer Revere's particular brand of imperfect given the cost, or if you'd rather have someone like Crawford(more talent/everyday ability but very expensive), Fowler(great OBP but bad defensive CF and probably high asking price from HOU, only 1 year), Parra(decent to strong all around but only a 1 year option, would Milwaukee trade in division), or even Coghlan(good on base skills, plays defense like he's wearing a ski mask backwards).

[KingCubsFan]

Dexter Fowler is still still available...

[Cubswin11]

Ben Revere [expletive] sucks

[Tryptamine]

Ben Revere [expletive] sucks

 

I don't know that he sucks persay, but it's just that he has no ceiling beyond what he is already. You can't realistically expect for more than a 2.0fWAR from the guy. He'd be a nice 4th Ofer and pinch runner, but he's not a guy I want to see getting 600PAs a year.

[Bruno7481]

Is it correctly assumed that Allen Craig is broken? Makes 5.5 M this year, and then 9M, and 11M.

 

Definitely a buy low guy, but risk based on injury and last year.

[Tryptamine]

Is it correctly assumed that Allen Craig is broken? Makes 5.5 M this year, and then 9M, and 11M.

 

Definitely a buy low guy, but risk based on injury and last year.

 

I'd take the gamble. In 2011 to 2013 he put up wOBAs of .395,.374 and .363 respectively only to bottom out at .269 last year. It seems weird that in his prime he'd just plummet off a cliff like that.

[mul21]

Is it correctly assumed that Allen Craig is broken? Makes 5.5 M this year, and then 9M, and 11M.

 

Definitely a buy low guy, but risk based on injury and last year.

 

I'd take the gamble. In 2011 to 2013 he put up wOBAs of .395,.374 and .363 respectively only to bottom out at .269 last year. It seems weird that in his prime he'd just plummet off a cliff like that.

 

Speculation down here is that he was never healthy after the foot injury (I think that's what it was) at the end of 2013 and that completely torpedoed his season last year. No idea if there's any truth to that, but in that vein, he's not a guy you can expect more than about 100, maybe 120 games out of playing in the OF full time.

[Burtonbell]

Medlin to the Royals

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/12/royals-sign-kris-medlen.html

[Tryptamine]

Medlin to the Royals

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/12/royals-sign-kris-medlen.html

 

Absolutely love that deal for KC and wish he was a Cub on the same deal.