McPherson, Aybar, and a pitcher like Amalio Diaz would be a pretty good package for ARam IMO. McPherson is 26 but he's got some pop and hits left-handed. He'll probably never put up a great average, but his offensive production would most likely be similar to ARam. Aybar is tearing up AAA and he's still only 22. It appears as though his defense isn't too stellar but a middle IF of Cedeno and Aybar would get to a ton a groundballs most teams couldn't, which will help with some of our groundball pitchers. A minor league pitcher on top of that is gravy. I think you are undervaluing Ramirez or overvaluing those particular prospects. I don't see McPherson ever being anything close to Aramis. His .284 OBP at AAA this year isn't too promising. Aybar is having a nice season so far, but I'm not sold on him. McPherson has been injured and his numbers at AAA aren't fair to evaluate him by. He's played a total for 36 games there and I believe it's been split between 2 rehab assignments. He's averaged a line of .308/.393/.575/.968 while he's been in the minors and he's got a boatload of power (total of 43 homers in 04). He's struggled with injuries but he's got excellent potential. Aybar might not be spectacular, but he's got better plate discipline than Ronny and more power. If nothing else, he's a pretty good trading chip if we decide that we don't want him anymore. I think that you may be overvaluing Ramirez. 2 ML-ready prospects plus another young pitcher is pretty good for someone that can void out of their contract at the end of this season. He's hot right now but he's also streaky, I don't see us getting a couple of top prospects for him with other offensive players like Lee and Soriano out there. I know about McPherson. He's had a few opportunities to win the 3B job for Anaheim and hasn't been able to do it. He has put up good minor leauge numbers in the past, but I just don't see him as a good option at 3b for the future. He's had a few injuries and back problems are tough to make disappear forever. I would probably agree that Aybar is a better prospect than Cedeno...but that's not saying much. I realize Aramis can void out of his contract, but I think Hendry has a good idea on whether or not he intends to use that option. If JH thinks Aramis will use that option, then by all means, trade him. I just don't think you should trade our best hitter (who puts up a .850+ OPS in a down year) for a 26 year old injury prone 3b who has proved absolutely nothing in the majors, a MI slightly better than Cedeno, and some throw-in pitcher. Sorry, I just fail to see how that improves the 2007 Chicago Cubs baseball team.