Cubs get RP Ryan Zeferjahn from Angels

[Andy]

 

[Bertz]

Really curious who we gave up, probably going to be a lot but he's legit as hell

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Bertz said:

Really curious who we gave up, probably going to be a lot but he's legit as hell

I wouldn't be at all shocked if it's someone as high up as Kepley. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Someone on JM Baseball said Ballesteros and McGwire

[JunkyardWalrus]

Mo?!

[We Got The Whole 9]

The deal makes sense to me. The guy is controlled through '30 and is on an absolute heater at the moment. Going to love that backend when Daniel returns!

[Transmogrified Tiger]

If that's the deal(and I've seen Angels-side reporting of it) I'm struggling to think of a worse deal Jed has made, or really anything that's come close from a value perspective. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Doesn't surprise me. Jed hates guys that can't play defense

[macarthur31]

This suggests to me that Ayers is staying, as Jed/Carter see him as the next Cubs catcher.  This also likely means that they weren't sold on Mo Baller's ability to make it there, and Mo hasn't been tearing it up in AAA - this was likely the highest value you were gonna get for Mo?  🤷‍♂️. (I dunno, I'm just trying to make it make sense.)

 

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Transmogrified Tiger said:

If that's the deal(and I've seen Angels-side reporting of it) I'm struggling to think of a worse deal Jed has made, or really anything that's come close from a value perspective. 

Is it though? Ballesteros is a DH. A DH who already had somewhat questionable power. On top of that, his weaknesses got hard exposed this year and it has translated over to AAA. 

[squally1313]

1 minute ago, macarthur31 said:

This suggests to me that Ayers is staying, as Jed/Carter see him as the next Cubs catcher. 

Miguel Amaya has three years left of team control and has been an above average hitter since the beginning of last year. Ayers is already 25 years old. 

[Andy]

1 minute ago, Tryptamine said:

Is it though? Ballesteros is a DH. A DH who already had somewhat questionable power. On top of that, his weaknesses got hard exposed this year and it has translated over to AAA. 

Yeah, I think there's a good argument that Ballesteros could've been used more judiciously than to acquire a reliever, but if he's a no-defense guy, he needs to be a better hitter than he is to have significant value.

[Rcal10]

1 minute ago, Tryptamine said:

Is it though? Ballesteros is a DH. A DH who already had somewhat questionable power. On top of that, his weaknesses got hard exposed this year and it has translated over to AAA. 

It’s a fine deal. Zeferjahn is a solid pen and and will be here a while. He doesn’t come cheaply. 

[Rcal10]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

Miguel Amaya has three years left of team control and has been an above average hitter since the beginning of last year. Ayers is already 25 years old. 

This is true. And Amaya is fine. But maybe Ayers takes Kelly’s spot next year. Cubs must like him. 

[Bertz]

The answer is certainly some of both but I'm curious how much of this is Z's value being ascendant while Mo's is moving the opposite direction.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Just now, Tryptamine said:

Is it though? Ballesteros is a DH. A DH who already had somewhat questionable power. On top of that, his weaknesses got hard exposed this year and it has translated over to AAA. 

Yes, this is not saying that Ballesteros and McGwire are prospects without flaws, but that they were used to get a reliever with a 2 month track record and a walk rate that is disqualifying to be a late inning stalwart.  The team control does not matter because reliever performance is wildly unpredictable year to year.

[macarthur31]

1 minute ago, squally1313 said:

Miguel Amaya has three years left of team control and has been an above average hitter since the beginning of last year. Ayers is already 25 years old. 

Sure - but this'll be the first season Amaya has shown he could stay healthy to handle the platoon (knocks on all sorts of wood as I know the season isn't over yet).  Agreed that if he can maintain 105 wRC+ and his handling of the staff, he's a solid #1 backstop for us, but they must be high on Ayers to envision him as Amaya' caddy next season.

[squally1313]

1 minute ago, Rcal10 said:

This is true. And Amaya is fine. But maybe Ayers takes Kelly’s spot next year. Cubs must like him. 

So we're (again, hypothetically) passing on controlled starters, knowing we need a bunch of starting next year, now, three months ago, etc, because we prefer a guy who maybe has a path to 80 starts behind the plate for the next few years. That no one knew existed 4 months ago. 

[Papa Cub]

19 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Really curious who we gave up, probably going to be a lot but he's legit as hell

Gave up Mo Baller

[Bobson Dugnutt]

Just now, squally1313 said:

So we're (again, hypothetically) passing on controlled starters, knowing we need a bunch of starting next year, now, three months ago, etc, because we prefer a guy who maybe has a path to 80 starts behind the plate for the next few years. That no one knew existed 4 months ago. 

There’s as good a chance that we’re selling low on Ayers next trade deadline as there is that he’s a significant contributor to the big league club. Meanwhile the 4 guys we’re penciling into our 2027 rotation have combined for ~140 big league innings this year.

[Bertz]

 

 

 

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

So we're (again, hypothetically) passing on controlled starters, knowing we need a bunch of starting next year, now, three months ago, etc, because we prefer a guy who maybe has a path to 80 starts behind the plate for the next few years. That no one knew existed 4 months ago. 

You are responding to the wrong person. I agree with you that they should have traded Ayers for Detmers. I was all for it. I am just saying the fact they didn’t and now they traded Mo does make it sound like they really like Ayers. I don’t say I like what the Cubs did, or actually didn’t do. I am just trying to make sense of why they did it. 

[Dfan25]

Now that I have thought about it more , I am ok with this deal