Sammy Sofa

What if we hold out for a top 5 prospect and another top 10-15, don't get the offer, keep him, and then he finishes the year with a sub-.800 OPS? Then we have an average bat and a below average glove on our hands - not a very valuable commodity on the market. While it's nice to think about your scenario, the sub-.800 OPS scenario is more likely. I'm not in favor of giving him up for scraps, but if we can get two of another team's top 15 prospects, I do that trade without thinking twice. This is a guy who had 0 value prior to the season. Is a sub-.800 OPS more likely at this point? No matter how much you attribute his start to luck, his numbers are so absurdly good that I have to think he'd have to really fall off a cliff to not end up with respectable numbers by the end of the year. The walk rate and LD% suggest he should maintain some production going forward. Overall, I think it's worth holding onto him. As has been documented, guys like LaHair do come out of nowhere every once in a while and have productive careers. Jumping at the chance to trade him for two C to C+ prospects seems premature, as those trades rarely work out and the consensus outside of this board seems to be that this is not a complete fluke. The concern with LF defense is a bit excessive, especially considering the LF defense this team has dealt with (and succeeded with) the past 6 years. Best case scenario, we have an Andre-Ethier like player for cheap the next few years. Worse case, we lose out on the ability to add two more Brett Wallach's/Abner Abreu's to the system. So you think Soriano has been a poor defender throughout his tenure as a Cub? Well, he was pretty awful for a couple seasons, and pretty close to awful for a third one.

Yeah, no kidding; the idea that the Cubs should of course hold out for more than two top-15 picks is ludicrous.

Man, you're a big, fat ball of crazy.

God only knows why you're talking about people "rushing him out the door." Obviously you wait to trade him until the demand is there, but other teams aren't stupid; it's plain as day that Rizzo is the ideal 1B of the future for the Cubs and LaHair effectively doesn't have a place as a starter on a team where he can't play 1B or DH. It's not an issue of "rushing him out" so much as moving him just makes sense once they want Rizzo up full time. Also: is redundant. Just accept it.

Wait, what? What the hell are you expecting?

Hahahahah!

Said who? Athlon Fantasy Baseball Magazine. Caveat: I was taking that to mean "best" as in good as opposed to "technical best in a shitty bullpen (which still would have been a shaky declaration)."

This X10000000000 And they throw strikes too... Unnnnngggghhhhh, yeah, him and his sexy 1.5+ WHIP, gets me so hot...

Said who?

Well, to be blunt, people thinking they can "look for a place for him play" are just in denial. He's not any kind of a solution in any OF spot barring a miracle, so the best bet is that he keeps looking decent at the plate and teams with a need at 1B or DH come looking.

I agree that it's incredibly unlikely that it would actually work, but if he's not dealt at the deadline, then there's really no reason not to try him out there. As unlikely as it is, there's still a non-zero chance that it works and when the other options are to bench him, delay Rizzo, or move Rizzo to another position, the only logical choice is to see if he can do it. Well, I think the difference is some see it as moving him there to make room for Rizzo, not "we have to find room for LaHair!"

Some of the mocking tones have made me wonder whether people just think it won't work or whether people think it's dumb to even try. I think it's a good idea to try, but I wouldn't put off shopping him around this deadline in order to do it. I don't think it's dumb to try; it's not like he'd be blocking anyone who needs to be playing or is coming up through the minors. I just think it's silly to expect him to be serviceable out there when he's not even a good 1B and he has almost 300 innings of terrible OF play to look back on. He simply doesn't have the athleticism or the arm to make up for his deficiencies.

I don't think anyone is saying the Cubs can't play him out there; just that expecting him to amount to much defense-wise isn't very realistic. Someday the NL will wise up and have the DH.

What do you want, you lunatic? Just tell us so we can do it/say it and you'll shut up and you can go throw the water fountain through the damn window.

You can't really deny that they have the best offense in baseball... it's not close. Well, in reality it's pretty damn close between them, the Yankees and Boston. Now their pitching advantage over both is much more impressive.

Dunn couldn't play OF. His defense in the OF killed his WAR while with the Reds.

what trophy? WS... that team is on a whole other level above the rest of MLB Yeah, it's pretty bonkers how they're just going to coast to their third WS victory in a row. Team is better than ever before, IMO. IT'S A LOCK.

I'm gonna win this without LaHair's freak-ugly ass.

what trophy? WS... that team is on a whole other level above the rest of MLB Yeah, it's pretty bonkers how they're just going to coast to their third WS victory in a row.

Jesus Christ, he can't not look creepy.

to who though? TO WHO?? She can't resist the sword. She was mesmerized by Roast looming in front of her.

he's very happy to be there He looks like a waterlogged corpse.

After his year last year and now this injury that's turning out to be an aboslutely terrible contract. Possibly the worst in baseball as of right now. Which sucks because Werth is a damn good player and most people will know him as "worst contract guy." Btw even then no one beats Soriano... The Cubs at least got a couple of seasons where Soriano was worth more than his contract. The Nationals are probably going to end up with one with Werth, and even that was only by about a million.

Well, picking Rip over Deng is goofy, and pretty much every major trade they've been rumored to be interested in would have required Noah or Gibson, and usually both.