Clem Fandango

This might be tied to the Gordon Wittenmyer tweet that the Cubs are talking to Washington about bullpen help. Drew Storen or Tyler Clippard, apparently I really think Storen's implosion in the playoffs two years ago led to them getting Rafael Soriano, as irrational as that sounds, but yeah... I would think Storen is the odd man out. I'd take him in a heartbeat. Tyler Clippard would be equally amazing, but is older and has less years of control (but more reliable and consistent it would seem). Honestly I'd take either or and be very happy, especially if Schierholtz and Russel were the package sent for one of them.

http://i.imgur.com/WKHMF.gif

Never heard of Santiago before. Just eyeballing his numbers throughout the minors and majors they seem very Zambrano-ish to me. Is it fair to assume his upside is that of a 3.20-3.50 ERA type pitcher with a K/9 between 8-9 and a below average walk rate?

Heh... To be fair, it was in response to why WSR didn't understand why teams weren't throwing MLB contracts at Kazmir, who hadn't really pitched in the majors in two years, and hadn't been effective in 3 years (at the time), and also was fresh out of the independent league where he got lit up to the tune of a 5.34 ERA, a 1.67 WHIP, a 7.2 K/9, and 4.6 BB/9 over 64 innings in 14 starts which is just embarrassing. So yeah, to say Kazmir was toast was not a stretch. He signed to a minor league deal, rightfully so... but WSR was wondering why more teams weren't interested in giving him guaranteed money at the MLB level.

Kudos for him for knowing when to hang them up. Also has the perfect game and a post-season no-hitter to his credit.

And Barney is an Emerson, so...

Oh God please yes.

Santana will be cheap. One year deal with low guaranteed money and lots of incentives is all he's gonna be able to get I'd imagine. He'd be a good low risk, high reward type signing.

Looks like Franklin is going to be the odd man out in Seattle.

That deal would make me super happy

What type of prospect/young players of ours do you guys think would be sufficient enough to net Gardner, given his contract situation and the Yankees needs? Or what package of prospects?

I can't see why he wouldn't want to. I hope this is the case.

Amazing photo of Willie Davis sliding into second base by Neil Leifer. He rigged a camera underneath the base to get the shot. http://i.imgur.com/68Xg9gs.jpg

The odds of not getting 20 million for him next season are pretty slim, so why not keep him for another year? This isn't their only chance to post him. Does anyone know how much revenue the team stands to lose if they post him?

If Rakuten doesn't post him then it sounds more like sour grapes rather than strategy.

There are so many options out there right now and between the Choo rumor, Tanaka, and Samardzija, even though the Cubs haven't done much it's still been a little fun to speculate. If nothing happens with any of those three and more meh moves get made instead it will be the biggest doom boner of them all though.

Heh... I remember when Aramis was continually hampered by hamstring issues and management specifically told him not to worry about hustling on routine grounders to avoid injury, and the first time it happened he got lambasted by the Chicago media for not hustling on a grounder.

Given their weak outfield, I wonder if something built around shark+schierholtz is as appealing to them as price? Both of them is too much for Franklin, but Schierholz wouldn't be enough. Don't they need a SS? Maybe build around Nate + Barney? SS was Franklin's dominant position in the minors, though I'm not sure if his defense was any good there. They also have Brad Miller, who is a bit better offensively than Franklin, who played SS there after Brendan Ryan departed. So I'd imagine one of Franklin or Miller will be moved, but they have comparable offensive numbers, with Miller being a bit better, though he's also a year older and played lower levels at the same age as Franklin. Both of them were abler to put up rWAR's of 2.0 or higher in partial seasons this year. Honestly either one of them would be nice targets, and one of them has to go somewhere now. Miller (24 in 2014): 2013 MLB: 76G 8HR 36RBI .265/.318/.418/.737 2.0 rWAR 2013 AA/AAA: 68G 12HR 53RBI .319/.399/.521/.920 2012 A+/AA: 137G 15HR 68RBI .334/.410/.512/.922 Franklin (23 in 2014): 2013 MLB: 102G 12HR 45RBI .225/.303/.382/.686 2.3 rWAR 2013 AAA: 39G 4HR 20RBI .324/.440/.472/.912 2012 AA/AAA: 121G 11HR 55RBI .278/.347/.453/.800

Also Nick Franklin's future with the M's is now in question. I'd love for the Cubs to target him, too.

So long, Taijuan Walker. They could get a much more useful player than Price in a Walker centered package, IMO. The M's still need another solid bat. Seager and Cano can't carry that offense, and Walker could be better than Price, but it's obvious they're going for it and don't want to wait around for him to blossom into his potential. I think trading him for Price is dumb. Without Price their rotation looks like it would include Iwakuma, Hernandez, Walker, and Paxton as their best 4 rotation options. That's not bad, all things considered. The years of control and cost on Walker along with his upside, to me, greatly outvalue anything Price would bring to that organization during his tenure there over the next two seasons. Wasn't there chatter before the trade deadline that the Mariners had really soured on Paxton? I'm thinking there was talk of flipping Olt for Paxton should the Cubs aquire him in the now completed Garza trade. Of course Olt hasn't rebounded. And Paxton had a nice showing at the MLB level. He had a rough go of it at AAA this year but that was the only time in his short career he's really struggled. If they've soured on him after one season in AAA, I'd be more than happy to take him off their hands. EDIT: This is a nice little scouting report on Paxton from earlier this year. I like him a lot. http://seattlesportsinsider.com/article/james-paxton-scouting-report-9613-good

So long, Taijuan Walker. They could get a much more useful player than Price in a Walker centered package, IMO. The M's still need another solid bat. Seager and Cano can't carry that offense, and Walker could be better than Price, but it's obvious they're going for it and don't want to wait around for him to blossom into his potential. I think trading him for Price is dumb. Without Price their rotation looks like it would include Iwakuma, Hernandez, Walker, and Paxton as their best 4 rotation options. That's not bad, all things considered. The years of control and cost on Walker along with his upside, to me, greatly outvalue anything Price would bring to that organization during his tenure there over the next two seasons.

So long, Taijuan Walker.

Noticed the Nats were interested in Eric O'Flaherty... have the Cubs been linked to him at all? I know he's still recovering from Tommy John (said to be back near late May) but he seems like he'd be a worthwhile risk.

He is never starting a game in the majors (again). I think that'd the obvious route that will happen, but haven't they kept saying they're not ruling it out until they determine what's best for him and the team's plans?

As much as I'd like to see him succeed as a starter, I think I'd be okay giving him the Chapman treatment where you start him out in the pen at the MLB level, with intentions on moving him to the rotation eventually, but if he shines in the relief role you let him be and flourish, especially given his arm issues. I also think with some of our pitching depth getting better it makes the urgency to have him be a good starter a little less urgent. Especially if we trade Samardzija for some big arms