Trading Samardzija And/Or Hammel, Part 1

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To begin taking a look at what the Cubs could get in return for trading one of their pitchers this summer, I thought it would be good to look at the deadline trades over the past two years while the current Collective Bargaining Agreement has been in place. I grabbed this list from the archives at the ever-useful Baseball America website.

2013 Deadline Trades:

Trade 1 (July 31):

Houston Sends:

Bud Norris

International Bonus Slot 4

Baltimore Sends:

OF L.J. Hoes

LHP Josh Hader

2014 Supp First Round pick

Norris still had two and a half years of control when he was traded by Houston. In spite of a decent ability to strike people out, Norris' value has always been limited by his inability to keep the baseball inside the park once it has been hit. The return for him was actually still pretty solid, though. Hoes is a light hitting 5th OF, but is alright in that role. Hader, though, is a very solid prospect striking out 29% of the batters he's faced in 2014. The supplemental first round pick brought back Derek Fisher in this year's draft - a promising college bat.

This trade should represent an absolute floor for a Samardzija trade. Norris had an extra year of control but was not regarded as anything close to the same quality of pitcher.

Trade 2 (July 31):

Arizona sends:

Ian Kennedy

San Diego sends:

LHP Joe Thatcher

RHP Matt Stites

2014 Supp Second Round pick

Kennedy really struggled in 2013 and the relievers Arizona received in return were quality guys. It is tough to apply this trade to either Cub pitcher on the market due to Kennedy's 5.23 ERA and flagging reputation at the time of the deal.

Trade 3 (July 30):

Chicago WS send:

Jake Peavy

Chicago WS acquire:

OF Avisail Garcia

RHP Francellis Montas

RHP JB Wendelken

SS Cleuluis Rondon

Boston Sends:

Jose Iglesias

RHP Francellis Montas

RHP JB Wendelken

SS Cleuluis Rondon

Boston acquires:

Jake Peavy

Brayan Villarreal

Detroit sends:

Avisail Garcia

Brayan Villarreal

Detroit acquires:

Jose Iglesias

This three team deal was headlined by Jake Peavy, Jose Iglesias and Avisail Garcia. This is another trade that is difficult to apply to the current situation, though it may give some indication of Hammel's value. Peavy had been hurt for years (as has Hammel) and was clearly no longer the same pitcher in 2013 as he had been in the past (unlike Hammel). Peavy was also under control for an extra year -- but at a very expensive price that surely limited his market significantly (unlike Hammel). This deal was a pretty good one for the White Sox. They acquired a young OF with a fair bit of upside that was extremely likely to produce at a high floor in the majors. Of the other prospects, Montas has a very stong arm but very inconsistent command.

Trade 4 (July 22):

Cubs send:

Matt Garza

Texas sends:

Mike Olt

Justin Grimm

CJ Edwards

Neil Ramirez

To me, this deal is the one with the most similarities to the position the Cubs are in with Hammel. A high upside pitcher with inconsistent results in the majors, at the end of his deal, who has dealt with injuries the past few years, and has been one of the best pitchers in baseball to start the season of the trade. Garza had a superior reputation around baseball, but statistically oriented clubs may prefer Hammel's track record and performance so far. The return on this deal has yet to be written - it still has a lot of promise but ultimately may end up being three relievers. On the other hand, if Edwards can stay healthy in the rotation and Ramirez is converted back to a starter it could pay huge dividends for the Cubs.

Trade 5 (July 6)

Miami sends:

Ricky Nolasco

International bonus slot 4

Dodgers send:

RHP Angel Sanchez

RHP Josh Wall

RHP Steve Ames

This was a pure salary dump by the Marlins. The return they got was two relievers and a 23 year old in A-ball. Only Ames is likely to ever play for the Marlins. The overall return was not an impressive one for the Marlins.

Trade 6 (July 2)

Cubs send:

Scott Feldman

Steve Clevenger

Orioles send:

Jake Arrieta

Pedro Strop

International bonus slots 3 and 4

To date, this trade is working out quite nicely for the Cubs. This deal should also set a floor for what could be expected in return for Hammel. Feldman was in a similar position, but was not regarded as well as Hammel, nor was he pitching as well at the time of the deal.