Offseason Rumors & Transactions Thread

[toonsterwu]

Hendricks is probably the name that evokes a closer image of Lively's ability, although not a mirror comparison.

 

I was thinking Blackburn.

 

Unless I missed a few things on Blackburn, I think Blackburn's ceiling would be higher than Lively's. I'm curious how Lively plays in the upper levels next year. I can't think of a good "direct comp" for Lively. I get Blackburn, and I get Hendricks. Honestly, stuff wise, Beeler would pop into my mind as well.

 

Honestly, a part of me gets the Reds giving up Lively for Byrd. They are stradding rebuilding and competing, and it is an upgrade in LF at a relatively minor cost. They are deep in right handed arms and his ceiling isn't huge.

 

The thing that stands out to me more about this trade is that it makes two relatively solid deals for Ruben Amaro. Granted, Rollins and Byrd aren't major assets demanding monster returns, but it makes me wonder if RAJ is becoming more realistic about trades. I mean, much as I can make myself understand the Reds rationale in this, this is a very nice trade for the Phillies to get a solid arm in the upper levels for Marlon Byrd (and cash, I guess). They're building some relatively solid upper level arm depth (so there's actually two schools of thought I've seen from Phillies fans online - one would be that this depth would allow them to deal Hamels, the other that I saw today was that this depth means that if they keep Hamels and add a big arm next year, they'll be able to find one or two starters from the org ... I tend to think that it's the former, but who knows).

[bukie]

When I saw the trade, the first thought that popped into my head was "Wow, I didn't know there was a franchise more in denial than Philly."

[Sammy Sofa]

I thought, "wow, I thought Byrd completely broke down and retired after the Pirates."

[Post Count Padder]

The Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan have announced that they’ve signed former Cubs prospect Dae-eun Rhee to a one-year deal worth around $450K, according to the Japan Times (via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune on Twitter). Rhee, 25, posted a 3.42 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in a 152 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. The Cubs signed Rhee out of Korea for $525K in 2007.

 

Felt like he was in the system forever.

[Post Count Padder]

The Yankees have acquired right-hander David Carpenter and left-hander Chasen Shreve from the Braves in exchange for southpaw Manny Banuelos, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports.

 

Can't believe the Yankees gave up on Banuelos for two middle relievers. Carpenter and Shreve have decent numbers but Banuelos still has a legitimate shot to be a solid starter, no?

[Clem Fandango]

He's still only 23, but he hasn't exactly lived up to the lofty expectations he put upon himself after 2011, plus he was injured for nearly 2 years before coming back this season and putting up bad numbers. I would've definitely been interested in him as a reclamation project given his age, but it's not too surprising the Yankees were willing to move him for a player who helps them this year.

[Fro]

Apparently we're legitimately interested in trading for Zobrist

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/04/top-possible-baseball-story-lines-for/Gw2BdFt1HSCliLtHC2rY9N/story.html

 

3. Ben Zobrist, 2B/RF, Rays — Zobrist, 33, has one of the biggest trade markets out there. The super utilityman is being pursued seriously by the Giants, Nationals, Angels, and Cubs. The Rays recently acquired Asdrubal Cabrera on a one-year deal, sparking further speculation that Zobrist might be on the move. The Rays are said to be asking for at least one top prospect and a mid-level one.

[Guest]

A 3 way deal centered around Castillo and/or Wood going somewhere(Texas? Detroit?), prospects to Tampa and Zobrist to Chicago would fix a lot of problems at once.

[Cubs Fan Dan]

Zobrist would be awesome. Looks like Rasmus rumors are coming back as well.

[Some Guy]

Love hearing we made an offer to Rasmus, and that we are seriously pursuing Zobrist.

 

The Wood+Castillo "centerpiece" idea for Zobrist is a laugher tho.

[Cubswin11]

Love hearing we made an offer to Rasmus, and that we are seriously pursuing Zobrist.

 

The Wood+Castillo "centerpiece" idea for Zobrist is a laugher tho.

Castillo as a centerpiece isn't a laugher, Wood is probably more of a 3rd piece in a deal for him. But Castillo, 1 of CJ/PJ, and Wood seems reasonable/fair.

[davell]

Love hearing we made an offer to Rasmus, and that we are seriously pursuing Zobrist.

 

The Wood+Castillo "centerpiece" idea for Zobrist is a laugher tho.

 

They took a quantity package for Myers, with their weak system, I could definitely see them take the same approach with Zobrist.

[davell]

Where is the Rasmus rumor from? Hasn't popped into my timeline yet, unless I missed it.

[KingCubsFan]

Who is this Joel Santiago? He's saying that Rasmus is signing with the Cubs. I've never heard of him but he's got some legit followers (Rosenthal, Wittenmeyer, Brett, etc.).

[Cubs Fan Dan]

Who is this Joel Santiago? He's saying that Rasmus is signing with the Cubs. I've never heard of him but he's got some legit followers (Rosenthal, Wittenmeyer, Brett, etc.).

 

He is a nobody.

[Guest]

The closest comparisons to Zobrist's trade value from this offseason are probably Upton and Samardzija. Castillo + Wood is definitely a different type of value(hence the need for a 3rd team, the Rays likely don't have much use for either), but it's comparable to the value of the best players given up in each of those deals.

[SouthSideRyan]

A 3 way deal centered around Castillo and/or Wood going somewhere(Texas? Detroit?), prospects to Tampa and Zobrist to Chicago would fix a lot of problems at once.

 

I don't believe either of them have any trade value.

[Cubs Fan Dan]

A 3 way deal centered around Castillo and/or Wood going somewhere(Texas? Detroit?), prospects to Tampa and Zobrist to Chicago would fix a lot of problems at once.

 

I don't believe either of them have any trade value.

 

Castillo has no value??

 

He may not be worth Zobrist straight up but he should be able to keep you from giving a top 8 prospect. At least it is nice to see some rumors start to pick up again.

[Guest]

A 3 way deal centered around Castillo and/or Wood going somewhere(Texas? Detroit?), prospects to Tampa and Zobrist to Chicago would fix a lot of problems at once.

 

I don't believe either of them have any trade value.

 

That's silly.

[SouthSideRyan]

We've been told that Castillo is replacement level because of pitch framing and Travis Wood probably should've been non-tendered.

[Sammy Sofa]

We've been told that Castillo is replacement level because of pitch framing

 

SHHHHHHHHH.

[Guest]

Also silly.

[Sammy Sofa]

Market inefficiency...SECRETS.

[davell]

I think of Wood as a break even type. I'm sure someone wod take his contract, but I don't think he'd net a return of anything worthwhile. Maybe the same type of return we gave up for Montero.

 

Teams that aren't all in on pitch framing could value Castillo quite highly. My guess is he's worth a top 10 prospect from an average system.

 

For what it's worth, Cafardo mentioned Tampa asking for a top prospect along with a mid level one from teams.

[SouthSideRyan]

Unless there are multiple teams vying for Castillo's services what is the motivation for giving up anything to the Cubs for a guy they clearly want nothing to do with.