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Soriano, DeJesus, LaHair in the OF. Not any worse defensively than Soriano/Mather/DeJesus

Rizzo's 2nd HR gave him the minor league lead for HRs this season. Tied him with Josh Hamilton for all of professional baseball. His 1st HR of the game went over the head of Wil Myers in CF, thus tying Myers at that point. Sorry, this [expletive] is fun!

Rizzo with a ground rule double on a 3-0 pitch. LOL. Just missed a HR. Vitters being walked intentionally to load the bases.

He'd better stop walking people at the rate he is. But he seems to have pretty good stuff. I think he's a FB (low-mid 90s) and slider guy. He's already 25, so he's going to have to make it happen pretty soon.

Agreed. Logo is sick!

5-8 with 4 HRs in the last 30 hours.

Uh yeah....#22, 3-run shot. Rizzo is taking candy from a [expletive] baby at this point.

And swinging 3-0 Vitters just drove in a run on a single. Soto was HBP this inning, FYI

Rizzo strikes out swinging. Jackson hit a FB into the gap that advanced Sappelt who doubled. Vitters now up with runners on the corners and 2 outs.

And Jay Jackson gave up 4 in the first 2 innings. 19 runs in 9.1 innings for the starters in Iowa, Tennessee, and Peoria. Meanwhile, Matt Loosen is throwing a 1-hitter thru 5 for Daytona.

I'd say atrocious is pretty accurate. I know Theo wouldn't turn down any trade that helps this team get better in the long run, but it's hard for me to believe that the Cubs even really want a bat back when/if they trade Soriano, Dempster, Garza and/or LaHair. The system is still devoid of any legit talent at corner IF or C if Vitters, Rizzo and Castillo don't make it, but the system is pretty well stocked with guys that I think can make an impact at the major league level in the OF and middle IF....down to guys like Sappelt, Ha, Alcantara, Torreyes, etc.

You know what's awesome? Rizzo had a 1.093 OPS in April, which would be an amazing number if those were still his numbers. But his OPS went up to 1.160 in May. So far in June, he's at 1.286.

Rizzo just hit #21.

Koyie won't go away damn it!

Who does Soler compare to? I don't think I've read any comparisons.

If you are going to lose 90+ games I'm not sure trying to win an extra 2 games with defensive efficiency really matters when it comes to maximizing return on your tradeable assets. Defensive efficiency also helps raise he value of your pitchers significantly, as well as reducing wear and tear on the ones you want to keep. But it's all marginal. A lot more marginal than offense.

I think the time when it's worth getting rid of Soriano simply to free up the spot, regardless of return, is at least a year away. He's absolutely not hindering anybody else's potential playing time today, and I don't really see that happening by next April either. By the time next year's trading deadline comes around, if you still aren't getting bites from people who will give you quality in return of cheap production then go ahead and think about a release, or giving him away for nothing. But there's no reason to do it this summer. It's still nice to have a couple guys in the lineup who can get the fans on their feet once in a while. Agree with both. The Cubs really only have 2 OFs worthy of ever being in the lineup right now (Soriano, DeJesus) even if you throw LaHair in because of Rizzo being called up and promote Brett Jackson, you still only have 4 guys for 3 OF spots. But even in those scenarios, I don't think it's imperative for Soriano or LaHair to be in the lineup every single day. Plenty of ABs to go around. If you call up minor leaguers AND trade Soriano away from nothing, you still have Reed Johnson and Joe Mather probably starting against any LHPs, which is not ideal in any situation. As much as this team needs talent and as much as they should free up some money, there's nothing to be gained by trading someone and doing neither.

Cashner is still a pretty good looking pitcher, and they had just traded for Yonder Alonzo. I think the Padres were really turned off by Rizzo's stats last season when he was in the majors. I wouldn't say the Cubs "fleeced" them, but I'd take the trade so far 100 times out of 100.

I agree with the majority. NO - but would be OK with 1 60-day DL spot, and 3 15-day March NO

Yeah, for real.

Oh and Javier Baez just walked for the 2nd day in a row. Not sure if it was a pitch around as 1B was open, but usually don't see pitch-arounds down 4-1.

Don't look now, but Brett Jackson is a hit or walk away from an .850 OPS. If he can cut down the K rate over the next month, I say bring him to Chicago.

Yeah, really nothing left to be gained at AAA for him.

Dempster throws 15 more pitches to get to 116 in a 6-0 game. That will be someone else's problem soon, though.

He said top 5. I can see Correa and Buxton going 1-2 still because of age, but I have a hard time believing Soler would have gotten past 3 in this draft.