Backtobanks

Yeah, that "chasing big money guys and paying a premium for past performance" issue never came up when they won 2 WS with one of the highest payrolls in baseball.

Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

The bullpen is looking good now, but the question is how many of them will still be here after the trade deadline.

That's true. I've always been impressed with the guys that could sustain it over 15-20 years, but it's fun to watch a really dominant player during his peak years.

Honestly? I'd rather just keep Barney. There's got to be a limit to how many of these AAA fringey pitchers we can make adequate use of. Given the choice, Ramirez seems like he has a bit more upside. How about expanding the deal to get Gardner: Russell + Barney + ???? for Gardner + ????

Tanaka would be the guy to spend some money on this offseason, but those numbers sure make you wonder about Ricketts' credibility.

As others have said, we're in a perfect spot to let him play, get ABs, and see what he can do. It's not like we're going to be in the middle of a pennant run.

No, they don't. They've got Alberto Cabrera's little brother, but he's a 3rd piece and they've got Christian Bethancourt, a C with a fair amount of hype, but he's never hit. Excellent defensively, he'll have a ML career, but he's probably a .650 OPS type, if he's a starter. Without Sims, who's in A ball, they're just not any sort of fit. Not a great one EVEN with Sims, but you could piece together a deal. From MLBTR: O'Brien also runs down the Braves needs on the heels of a quiet Winter Meetings, noting that they're optimistic about re-signing Eric O'Flaherty. Atlanta is still pursuing a veteran bench bat -- O'Brien mentions Eric Chavez -- and are still interested in Jeff Samardzija. The Braves may be considered the favorites to land Samardzija at this point, says O'Brien, noting that payroll constraints will likely preclude them from pursuing David Price.

I don't think it is at all realistic to suggest somebody withhold their opinion about these rumors and just stick to discussing the "facts" of the rumors themselves. The fact is the Cubs are doing a horrible job fielding a competitive major league baseball team and have been doing so for many years. That fact will hang over any move they make, or any move they are rumored to be considering. Opinions about rumors and comments about other posts are basically what makes these discussions go on for so many pages. Some opinions seem to be valued more than other opinions.

From MLBTR: The Indians are said to be open to listening to offers on Justin Masterson, and the Yankees have emerged as a possible suitor, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Nightengale reports that the Yankees would be interested in acquiring Masterson in a deal involving Brett Gardner. A third team would likely be required, since the Indians don't have a need Gardner Maybe the Cubs could get involved.

Breaking News - The Cubs are the frontrunner for a former ML pitcher with a history of injuries. Stay tuned for future updates. LOL

As much as I would do that trade, the Yankees already have an all-glove, no-bat infielder in Brendan Ryan. I don't think they would take essentially the same player and a swingman for their second most valuable player last season. I saw some quote from a scout on MLBTR saying that he thought the best the Yankees could do was a BOR guy for Gardner. I like Gardner, but he's not the second coming of DiMaggio. He's a decent hitter, versatile, and cheap for the next year. As for "their second most valuable player last season", that's not saying a lot with the injuries, suspensions, etc. that happened to the Yankees.

Well they need a 3B assuming ARod isn't playing and they need pitching. A friend told me he saw someone floating a Gardner and prospects for Samardzija but I'm sure there's no truth to that and as much as I like Gardner, the Yankees' pitching prospects aren't interesting enough that I would do that trade. Villanueva + Valbuena for Gardner + pitching prospect? I really can't fathom why the Cubs would go after Gardner (and this is coming from somebody who really likes Gardner.) Grab him in free agency after this season. Don't give up prospects or valuable pieces like Valbuena for him when we aren't going to compete this year anyways. At some point you need to start filling holes with players that could be around for a few years. What if someone gets him before we do (in a trade plus extension)? As for the "we aren't going to compete this year anyways" argument, we might be using that more times than we want if we don't start filling holes. Better yet, certainly would rather give up Barney than Valbuena.

Well they need a 3B assuming ARod isn't playing and they need pitching. A friend told me he saw someone floating a Gardner and prospects for Samardzija but I'm sure there's no truth to that and as much as I like Gardner, the Yankees' pitching prospects aren't interesting enough that I would do that trade. Villanueva + Valbuena for Gardner + pitching prospect?

We can judge what they've done at the ML level "so far" and it's been embarrassing. I think a lot of posters (including me) are willing to wait for our prospects, assuming the timeline is reasonable. Unfortunately, the 2014 Cubs look like they will again be awful. Much of this discussion was based on the hypothetical situation of the Cubs "not turning the corner" by the end of Theo's contract. I stand by my statement that if the Cubs aren't a serious contender by the end of Theo's contract, then Theo and his plan failed. If that happens we shouldn't overlook 5 years of frustration because of a million excuses and his IQ. Hopefully all of this is moot and the prospects will be everything we hoped for so that we can win a WS in the near future.

If the Cubs don't make an on-field turnaround while Theo is here, why would you be upset that he leaves? If we're still floundering after 5 years, he failed and it's time to let someone else try to fix it. Please go away. Well it's true. If they have 5 years of not contending, that's not doing his job. If somehow that scenario were to play out, my belief that Theo is one of the smartest and most capable people at doing what he does would incline me to believe that whatever it was, it probably wasn't his fault. It's either the money continued to dry up further and the revenue increasing stuff was a colossal failure, horrific injury luck, or some other crazy thing. In other words, like Brandon said, basically my position is if Theo can't do it, who the hell can? Theo might not be as superior to the replacement level GM as he used to be, but I don't think you can do much better. So you're saying that just because Theo is smart, he can't fail. The idol worshipping of Theo by some of you borders on insanity. This is the first time Theo took a bad team (and system), tore it apart, and is trying to rebuild it from scratch. The Red Sox were a solid team (89 win average) when Theo took over and he made it an excellent team (93 win average). He is very smart and very capable, but he is human and humans are capable of failure.

If the Cubs don't make an on-field turnaround while Theo is here, why would you be upset that he leaves? If we're still floundering after 5 years, he failed and it's time to let someone else try to fix it.

Haha, that's awesome for some reason. Player-coach, plz. As a player, he'd probably cost more than Ricketts wants to spend.

Sometimes you make a deal like this in order to have a TOR guy available when you do need him. It's not much different than paying a FA for years after he will be productive in order to get him when you need him. No. You never make a deal like that. I've been saying all along that at some point you need to start adding players that will fill a need now and in the future. Waiting until 2016 to find whatever missing pieces you need assumes that the right players are available and we will outbid all of the other teams to acquire them.

Sometimes you make a deal like this in order to have a TOR guy available when you do need him. It's not much different than paying a FA for years after he will be productive in order to get him when you need him.

Fun 3-way trade proposal from Schoenfield at ESPN: Cubs, White Sox, Yankees Cubs: Trade Mike Olt, C.J. Edwards, Jorge Soler, Dan Vogelbach, acquire Chris Sale, David Phelps Yankees: Trade Gary Sanchez, Zoilo Almonte, Vidal Nuno, Phelps, acquire Addison Reed, Olt, Vogelbach White Sox: Trade Sale, Reed, acquire Edwards, Soler, Sanchez, Almonte, Nuno OK, OK, OK, the White Sox aren't going to trade Sale -- especially to their city rivals. But we can dream, right? And there's no denying the White Sox are a franchise in need of a reboot, with talent issues on the 40-man roster and in the minors. Sale is an enticing trade bait since he's signed through 2019 and would help get some talent to the South Side as the team rebuilds. The Cubs have a deep list of prospects, but what they don't have is an ace. They give the White Sox their top pitching prospect in Edwards, who came over from the Rangers in the Matt Garza trade last summer. Edwards dominated Class A, allowing just 76 hits in 116.1 innings while striking out 155 -- and giving up just one home run. The White Sox also get Cuban outfielder Soler, a powerfully built 21-year-old who could reach the majors in 2015. Desperately in need of a catcher, from the Yankees the White Sox get Sanchez, the Yankees' top prospect who can be dealt with the signing of Brian McCann. Almonte and Nuno are cheap roster fillers who have some potential to contribute. Olt and Vogelbach are blocked in Cubs land by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, so they go to the Yankees. Olt can replace Alex Rodriguez at third base -- immediately -- and Vogelbach would give the Yankees a power-hitting prospect for first base or DH.

Good point. I'll bet they won't be ignoring the local hacks if/when the Cubs actually become a good team.

Yeah, I don't see too many other teams jumping in on 8years/$200 million.

I know for a fact that the Cubs are interested in having Youkilis be their back-up 1B/3B and a veteran presence/clubhouse leader. My understanding is that the FO will wait to see if Youkilis gets an offer to start somewhere, and will follow up with him in late December/early January if he's still on the market. Assuming he would be cheap enough, Michael Young might be an interesting FA signing. Fits the role of backup 1B/3B (or even middle IF) and a veteran presence/clubhouse leader.

So does Brad Ziegler get to decide the max contract somebody suspended for PEDs gets to receive? Or do we need blood from the stone and ban guys for multiple seasons? I didn't say that and honestly I don't know what the answer is. Here is how it looks to me though, I could easily be wrong: Player A is going into the final year of his contract. He decides to take the chance at getting caught and juices up to boost his numbers in that final year. It works but he does get caught. He apologizes and sits for the required 50 games, comes back that season, gets to play in the playoffs and signs a large contract that offseason with another contender. To me, it doesn't seem like the punishment was adequate. Like I said, I could be wrong, but the timing and the results cannot be argued. 50 games is probably not enough but I don't know what is nor do I know if the team, the Tigers in this case, shouldn't be forced to feel some of that pain too. Unfortunately that's the penalty that's in place right now. That's why so many players and prospects are willing to take the chance of getting caught. The reward (increased production, big contract, etc.) certainly outweighs the risk (50 game suspension). Nelson Cruz Seeking Four-Year, $75MM Deal