Starting Pitching candidates

[Tryptamine]

I'd be thrilled if they could find a way to land any of Kolby Allard,Brent Honeywell, Reynaldo Lopez, Cal Quantill,Mike Soroka etc. I mean one of Mitchell White,Walker Buehler or Yadier Alvarez has to be available right? The Dodgers have a dozen SP as is.

[davell]

I'd be thrilled if they could find a way to land any of Kolby Allard,Brent Honeywell, Reynaldo Lopez, Cal Quantill,Mike Soroka etc. I mean one of Mitchell White,Walker Buehler or Yadier Alvarez has to be available right? The Dodgers have a dozen SP as is.

 

Depending on what type of pitcher we target at the deadline, if Candelario isn't involved in THAT deal, I'd love to move him to the Braves, for any number of guys. I might even take a quantity approach, if they'd be up for it.

 

The Dodgers are expecting Buehler up as a reliever this year. And after spending 32 mill on Alvarez, I doubt they'd move him. At any rate, if they move any of there young pitching, it'd be for immediate help, which we don't have to send them. Plus, I've got a feeling Theo and Friedman(even if they weren't our biggest threat) would probably find it much easier to deal with basically ANYONE else.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Honeywell is my favorite target easily.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I'd love to get a well-regarded upper minor league pitching prospect too but I just don't see the Cubs matching up for that type of trade when they're World Series contenders.

[imb]

I'd love to get a well-regarded upper minor league pitching prospect too but I just don't see the Cubs matching up for that type of trade when they're World Series contenders.

 

Yeah lol, this whole page is ridiculous.

[toonsterwu]

I tend to think that the Cubs may end up looking in the stopgap/rental bin more than many people are thinking. The main thing is, we really don't have the chips to make that big trade (and leaving aside, as UK noted above, baseball etiquette would likely suggest that Cole/Quintana would not be dealt to us). I mean, sure we can talk about packages we can put together (something like Javy/Eloy) to nab an elite arm, but

 

a) I'm not sure the Cubs are going to dip that hard

b) Even then, it's not impossible to think of teams that may be able to match or top that, depending on perspective

 

On a secondary note, I think the deeper pen will lead them to consider playing for capable innings.

 

If there is ceiling, it's likely to be a Jake Arrieta type situation - a guy that needs a change of scenery. Of course, reality is , many guys that fall into that category are done, and Arrieta was a very unique situation. I mean, I'm not sure how gung-ho I'd be about going after, say, Matt Harvey, despite the pedigree.

 

Whatever quality arm gets put on the market is likely to cause a feeding frenzy.

 

Who knows, maybe they can make wine out of water, or whatever the saying is that's slipping my mind right now.

[raw]

I tend to think that the Cubs may end up looking in the stopgap/rental bin more than many people are thinking. The main thing is, we really don't have the chips to make that big trade (and leaving aside, as UK noted above, baseball etiquette would likely suggest that Cole/Quintana would not be dealt to us). I mean, sure we can talk about packages we can put together (something like Javy/Eloy) to nab an elite arm, but

 

a) I'm not sure the Cubs are going to dip that hard

b) Even then, it's not impossible to think of teams that may be able to match or top that, depending on perspective

 

On a secondary note, I think the deeper pen will lead them to consider playing for capable innings.

 

If there is ceiling, it's likely to be a Jake Arrieta type situation - a guy that needs a change of scenery. Of course, reality is , many guys that fall into that category are done, and Arrieta was a very unique situation. I mean, I'm not sure how gung-ho I'd be about going after, say, Matt Harvey, despite the pedigree.

 

Whatever quality arm gets put on the market is likely to cause a feeding frenzy.

 

Who knows, maybe they can make wine out of water, or whatever the saying is that's slipping my mind right now.

 

Yeah, more important than who is available in a trade is who the Cubs are willing to give up in a trade. Despite having too many players for the 7 non-catching positions, I don't see the Cubs trading any of the guys that may be considered "expendable" by some standards. Javy isn't going anywhere. Happ was potentially a trade candidate and looks like he's going to be a part of this team. Almora probably isn't going anywhere as the Cubs love his defense and potential. Maybe in the offseason you think about trading one of these guys for pitching, but I think they are all too valuable in the current and/or the long-term to trade in a deadline deal, where prices can be inflated.

 

I think the Cubs go after the best arm that guys like Candelario, Zastryzny, Zagunis, and the like can get them. Even if you're thinking a trade like the Chapman trade from last year, I don't think the Cubs are as willing to give up Eloy as they were about giving up Torres. I mean anything is possible, but I don't see it as likely.

[davell]

Personally, I think we don't go totally into the deep end at the deadline. If only because I doubt those guys get moved. Gray is the guy I think we may go after.

 

Buuuuuut, I definitely think we CAN go into the deep end.

[Tim]

I'm really hoping Cease can be the centerpiece to a big trade.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

If Arrieta doesn't look much better in the next month, then I think they're going to be pretty motivated to add a starter of significance. It's a lot easier to play the efficiency game and only poke around the market when you have 3 starters having good to great seasons. Right now half their playoff games would be started by big question marks so the marginal benefit of adding a very good starter is even greater, and that's before we get into the fact that they're going to need 3 starters for next year anyway so they might as well snag one of them if they're buying at the deadline.

[davell]

I think we'll do our damnedest to get a guy early. I think Zagunis, Caratini, and Candelario are all kind of tailor-made for Oakland. The question is what's it going to take as a lead piece? If a quantity package of that group and Cease(or Clifton, if Billy likes him) can get it done, I'm sure we'd jump.

 

I've debated with a buddy about Gray. Just don't know what Billy thinks about him. Is he scared and will take what he can get, thinking this still may be the highest selling point?

 

I go back to the Harden trade and wonder. Gray has an extra year of control and Harden had been hurt more too. But, it wouldn't shock me if other teams are scared of giving up major pieces for him too. So, maybe he's a guy we can entice Billy with, by our AAA group and a top 100ish pitching prospect?

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I'll take one more Jon Lester, please.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Would Shark interest anybody if he became available?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Would Shark interest anybody if he became available?

 

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/umyb.gif

[Tryptamine]

Would Shark interest anybody if he became available?

 

Absolutely, the peripherals are amazing and his back to using the pitch selection that gave him success before.

[Tryptamine]

I wouldn't mind renting Liriano and letting him go at the end of the year. Then When FA comes, screw giving Darvish 200M and Cueto doesn't look like he'll opt out. I'll take 2 of Cobb/Pineda/Lynn and call it a day.

[toonsterwu]

The main thing is, we really don't have the chips to make that big trade

 

They absolutely do

 

A lot of these elite arm, big trades requires two top level prospects to ship out, and much as I have said I like the system's depth this year moreso than past years, there are plenty of teams with more quality depth than us. Like I noted, yes, you can piece together, say, Javier Baez, Eloy Jimenez and others and come up with a very good package of realistic pieces the Cubs may move, but beyond the fact that I'm not sure the Cubs are going to dip that hard, you can also find competitive packages in other systems, and it becomes an issue of perspective. If the Cubs don't move someone from the MLB roster, it becomes much harder to piece together a deal. Still doable, something like Eloy and Happ and more, but that's not that big a deal that you couldn't envision some team stepping up to match/beat it.

 

Again, only talking about the elite arms of the market that would constitute a big trade.

[toonsterwu]

Personally, I think we don't go totally into the deep end at the deadline. If only because I doubt those guys get moved. Gray is the guy I think we may go after.

 

Buuuuuut, I definitely think we CAN go into the deep end.

 

Okay, maybe I should've phrased it differently. Yes, we can go into the deep end, but can we win it? It's tough to imagine, with so many teams with deep farm systems competitive, that we can, unless they happen to really love our guys for some reason.

[toonsterwu]

I'm really hoping Cease can be the centerpiece to a big trade.

 

He could potentially, but I'm not sure if I want him to. Only way you move him is if it's in a package for a relatively young starter, and even then, at some point, you have to gamble on developing your own arms. Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't move Cease ... just that it'll come down to the Cubs own situation and cost.

[toonsterwu]

I think we'll do our damnedest to get a guy early. I think Zagunis, Caratini, and Candelario are all kind of tailor-made for Oakland. The question is what's it going to take as a lead piece? If a quantity package of that group and Cease(or Clifton, if Billy likes him) can get it done, I'm sure we'd jump.

 

I've debated with a buddy about Gray. Just don't know what Billy thinks about him. Is he scared and will take what he can get, thinking this still may be the highest selling point?

 

I go back to the Harden trade and wonder. Gray has an extra year of control and Harden had been hurt more too. But, it wouldn't shock me if other teams are scared of giving up major pieces for him too. So, maybe he's a guy we can entice Billy with, by our AAA group and a top 100ish pitching prospect?

 

Leaving aside the question of what Gray is right now (I think he's more in that nice mid-rotation arm group, but seems like you are acknowledging that as well based on a previous post), I'm not sure those three necessarily are tailor-made for the A's. They've always emphasized power with positional assets, due to their difficulty in buying it, and an increasing focus on defense. I think Candelario fits ... not sure about Zagunis, and Caratini is somewhat in the middle for my thought process right now. The issue with Candelario is they have Matt Chapman, and while Chapman's hit tool is debatable, his glove his superb and he has far better power than Candelario.

 

That said, based on recent history, I could see Beane/Forst perhaps willing to gamble on lower level upside a bit to complete a deal, particularly if he's thinking 2-3 years down the line.

 

____

 

I'm not really convinced the Cubs move Cease unless it's in the absolute perfect deal, for a young starter who is somewhat cost-controlled. Hoyer has noted before how the ideal is having some young, high ceiling arms come through, and Epstein has always noted an affinity for power arms, but that they couldn't go that route early in the rebuild. With the young core in place, I find it hard to envision scenarios where they would move their most promising ace-level arm (and I say this as a huge Oscar de la Cruz fan, but he has a ways to go to get into that category).

[Tim]

Cease is high reward, but he's also very high risk. If he can be viewed as a centerpiece by another team, then we should get much more certain value for him. I obviously would only include any of our high end prospects in the right deals, but I'd much rather part with Cease than someone like Happ or Eloy.

[Thed Hoyerstein]

Would Shark interest anybody if he became available?

 

Poor Tommy would never be able to leave AAA

[Little Slide Rooter]

Is a Vargas/Cain package realistic?

[Bull]

Would Shark interest anybody if he became available?

 

Poor Tommy would never be able to leave AAA

 

Bravo.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

Would Shark interest anybody if he became available?

 

Poor Tommy would never be able to leave AAA

 

beautiful