Todd Walker

[woodprior04]

It seems like a lot of people are assuming that he will be gone next year. Why is this? He has had a very nice year and will only cost 2 mil to keep around. I know he isn't great defensively, and says some stupid stuff, but he is one of the better hitters on the team. He fits nicely into the 2 hole and can leadoff too. Did Hendry say something that hinted he will be traded or what?

[TheDude]

There are a number of threads already discussing the Walker topic.

 

In summary, there are two prevailing stances from folks on the board:

 

1 - His productivity for salary is awesome and he should be kept and made the definitive starter at 2B and 2-hole hitter. Why trade him when he has solid OBP and productivity?

 

2 - Walker is the best trade chip the Cubs have this offseason, because of his productivity for cost. 2B is a position the Cubs can readily replace (Hairston, Cedeno, Garciaparra all talked about). So why not trade Walker while his value is at his highest to fill a position the team can't as easily replace.

 

Personally, I fall into camp two.

[mg420]

with ep probably ready by late next year or in 07, it would be a waste to sign a guy like nomar or move cedeno to 2b. after a year of cedeno/walker i hope to look forward many years of cedeno/ep in the middle if. going young seems to have worked for the braves so why not the cubs (assuming baker will be gone that is).

[goonys evil twin]

There are a number of threads already discussing the Walker topic.

 

In summary, there are two prevailing stances from folks on the board:

 

1 - His productivity for salary is awesome and he should be kept and made the definitive starter at 2B and 2-hole hitter. Why trade him when he has solid OBP and productivity?

 

2 - Walker is the best trade chip the Cubs have this offseason, because of his productivity for cost. 2B is a position the Cubs can readily replace (Hairston, Cedeno, Garciaparra all talked about). So why not trade Walker while his value is at his highest to fill a position the team can't as easily replace.

 

Personally, I fall into camp two.

 

I fall into camp one, but if option two produces a solid trade, I would not object. But it really has to be a big influx in talent to justify the deal.

[goonys evil twin]

with ep probably ready by late next year or in 07, it would be a waste to sign a guy like nomar or move cedeno to 2b. after a year of cedeno/walker i hope to look forward many years of cedeno/ep in the middle if. going young seems to have worked for the braves so why not the cubs (assuming baker will be gone that is).

 

EP ready by late next year should not factor into the equation. He's got one partial pro season of great success under his belt, and his start at AA has been less than impressive (.200/.324/.267)

 

He needs a full season of AA ball, and probably needs to start at AAA in 2007. Rushing prospects is not the way to go.

[mg420]

with ep probably ready by late next year or in 07, it would be a waste to sign a guy like nomar or move cedeno to 2b. after a year of cedeno/walker i hope to look forward many years of cedeno/ep in the middle if. going young seems to have worked for the braves so why not the cubs (assuming baker will be gone that is).

 

EP ready by late next year should not factor into the equation. He's got one partial pro season of great success under his belt, and his start at AA has been less than impressive (.200/.324/.267)

 

He needs a full season of AA ball, and probably needs to start at AAA in 2007. Rushing prospects is not the way to go.

 

he only had 30 ab's in AA in 05. why not bring up the fact that he is hitting .375 in the playoffs then? he had several years of college ball and will be 23 next year. if he has a good year in AA next year, i dont see how it would be considered rushing him to bring him up at the end of 06.

[TheDude]

Big League teams will not make such a decision based on a AA potential that is years away. If they can get a high production player at 2B for the next two years while EP grows and learns, they will. Even if it means signing the player for 3 or more years. At that point they'll let EP stay in the minors for the extra year, or trade away the player in his last year and bring up the kid.

[goonys evil twin]

with ep probably ready by late next year or in 07' date=' it would be a waste to sign a guy like nomar or move cedeno to 2b. after a year of cedeno/walker i hope to look forward many years of cedeno/ep in the middle if. going young seems to have worked for the braves so why not the cubs (assuming baker will be gone that is).[/quote']

 

EP ready by late next year should not factor into the equation. He's got one partial pro season of great success under his belt, and his start at AA has been less than impressive (.200/.324/.267)

 

He needs a full season of AA ball, and probably needs to start at AAA in 2007. Rushing prospects is not the way to go.

 

he only had 30 ab's in AA in 05. why not bring up the fact that he is hitting .375 in the playoffs then? he had several years of college ball and will be 23 next year. if he has a good year in AA next year, i dont see how it would be considered rushing him to bring him up at the end of 06.

 

You bring up my point for me, he's barely cracked into AA. What did he have, 2 years of college ball? EPatt had a good year in low A. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. He's not Mark Teixeira. Look at somebody like Chad Tracy, drafted in the 7th round in 2001 out of college. He put up good numbers in low A. Had a full season in AA, and a full season in AAA, then came up after 1300+ plate appearances. That is a reasonable and responsible process for a player like EPatt. There is nothing to be gained by rushing him, or putting expectations of rapid promotion on him. Don't make 2006 roster decisions based on the theory that Eric can be called up that September. Unless he's murdering AA ball next year there is no reason to even consider such a move.

[Wheelimus]

I can't believe we're talking about rushing another Patterson to the big leagues :lol:

 

Let him play AA next year and AAA the next...

[Balsa]

Frankly, we better get something really good. He's one of the best second basemen in the game offensively.

 

LINK

 

You have to constantly change the filter to 350 ABs to see his name, but all his offensive stats are up there. Plus, he comes cheap.

 

I can't see how we could possibly replace that offensive talent. And his defense isn't that bad. In fact, it's only .001 lower than Brian Roberts.

 

So in my opinion, it would be foolish to trade him unless we got something gigantic, not a one or two year player, but a cornerstone.

[katway]

Walker has good offensive numbers but hasn't been very clutch with the Cubs.

 

His defense, however, is far worse than the stats. He is probably among the worst at turning a double play. I really can't think of any 2s that are worse at turning two than Walker. For that reason, I would think his greatest value is in the AL.

 

Nevertheless, the Cubs will have to have an adequate replacement lined up before trading him such as having Nomar agree to play 2nd.

[USSoccer]

Walker has good offensive numbers but hasn't been very clutch with the Cubs.

 

His defense, however, is far worse than the stats. He is probably among the worst at turning a double play. I really can't think of any 2s that are worse at turning two than Walker. For that reason, I would think his greatest value is in the AL.

 

Nevertheless, the Cubs will have to have an adequate replacement lined up before trading him such as having Nomar agree to play 2nd.

 

 

Auggie? :P

[AAApittsburgh]

Walker has good offensive numbers but hasn't been very clutch with the Cubs.

 

His defense, however, is far worse than the stats. He is probably among the worst at turning a double play. I really can't think of any 2s that are worse at turning two than Walker. For that reason, I would think his greatest value is in the AL.

 

Nevertheless, the Cubs will have to have an adequate replacement lined up before trading him such as having Nomar agree to play 2nd.

 

 

Auggie? :P

Walker's defense is 837, while league average is 974. He's clearly below average. Also, my friend is a limo driver and Walker didn't tip him one time. Why would we want a terrible person like that at 2B? :wink:

[AFCubsFan]

There are a number of threads already discussing the Walker topic.

 

In summary, there are two prevailing stances from folks on the board:

 

1 - His productivity for salary is awesome and he should be kept and made the definitive starter at 2B and 2-hole hitter. Why trade him when he has solid OBP and productivity?

 

2 - Walker is the best trade chip the Cubs have this offseason, because of his productivity for cost. 2B is a position the Cubs can readily replace (Hairston, Cedeno, Garciaparra all talked about). So why not trade Walker while his value is at his highest to fill a position the team can't as easily replace.

 

Personally, I fall into camp two.

 

Don't you think trading Walker away would put Neifi at 2B and increase the odds of signing Macias AGAIN.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I agree. Unless we're getting a very good player, we should not even entertain the idea of trading Walker.

[TheDude]

Don't you think trading Walker away would put Neifi at 2B and increase the odds of signing Macias AGAIN.

Not as the first or even second probable scenario, no.

 

I would see both Garciaparra and Cedeno starting at 2B before Neifi, if you approach it with the attitude of who has first dibs.

 

This all assumes a SS comes in as a priority offseason acquisition. With Aramis's and Garciaparra's health, Neifi is a solid bench option. He will get at 150-200 at bats behind those two. He'll probably get that many at bats behind Cedeno as well, just because of Dusty.