nightman

Looks like Mathis(1), Grandal(2), and Maldonado(8). Austin Hedges(10), could probably be had in trade without it being painful. Also. I find it funny that Alex Avila is on the positive side of the ledger, after being horrific last year. I think this stuff is generally directionally correct, but IMO the magnitude is probably ~half of what the numbers say. I like Hedges in a trade. San Diego might be a possible destination for Russell. Galvis is a FA so they have a black hole at SS and AJ Preller seems like the type of guy that wouldn't care about the DV suspension. Russell, + for Hedges?

Russell Martin is a free agent after this season

http://www.thecubreporter.com/cubs-40-man-roster So Alberto Cabrera needs to be on the Major League roster or he's likely gone. Not a huge loss if it does happen, but it would have an effect on bullpen depth.

Guys like Parker, Rondon, Cabrera, Vizcaino, Rusin, Rosscup, etc. who will be possibilities for the last couple bullpen spots. How many options do those guys left?

I expect Bryant to be playing in Chicago the first half of 2015. Not sure if that means he spends all or part of next year in AA. But most top college hitters in recent years (Gordon, Braun, Tulo, Longoria, Wieters, Alvarez, Posey, Ackley, Rendon) have been called up in the first half of their 3rd professional season

Tough to know long-term, but considering they got Jean Segura who has put up a 3.6 bWAR and 3.3 fWAR so far as a SS (.325/.361/.481/.841 line) I'd say no, at this point in time. Segura is arguably the best SS in all of baseball at the moment. Segura has definitely been awesome this year, but at the time of the trade, I think he was a top 30-40 prospect (I don't remember exactly; not top 10 or anything). Plus the two pitchers they got kinda suck

Is this a better return than what the Brewers got for Greinke last year?

Here's video of that PA: You get a pretty good idea of the bat speed there. It was obvious all game. His single was a rocket into left field, and even his popup in the first was impressive. It stayed up in the air longer than any other fly ball and the Clinton LF and SS had a hard time with it.

I was at this Peoria game and walked away impressed with Rosario. The stadium gun wasn't working and I wasn't close enough to the players behind home plate so no exact readings. I saw Jokisch last year at 83-86 and Antigua in 2010 at 87-90, and Rosario threw noticeably faster than those two. Not as fast as Fabio Martinez-Mesa, though, who I also saw in 2010 at 95-96. I'm guessing Rosario's fastball sat between 90-93. He flashed a decent changeup with good deception and he didn't telegraph it with slower arm speed. He had some trouble commanding it, but when he did, he got a few swinging strikes. I only saw him throw the changeup to RHB though, which was weird. Rosario's best pitch was definitely his slider. It had tilt, depth and he threw it for strikes. He got several swinging and called strikes with it. In a bases loaded, two out situation, he struck out BA Vollmuth on three straight sliders, making him look bad. In the 5th and 6th innings, he started throwing with more effort and struggled with his command. It looks like I got to see Rosario on a good day, but even if his stamina continues to be a problem, I have no doubt he can end up being a high-leverage reliever, with a good slider and some extra oomph on the fastball in short stints. Other impressions: Zeke DeVoss is a really patient hitter. I didn't see him swing at one pitch outside the strike zone. Marco Hernandez wasn't very patient. He looked anxious and swung at a few pitches outside off the plate. When he did get a pitch in the middle though he hit a laser right back up the middle for a hit. He's really fast too. Turned a routine ground ball to 2B into a close play. On defense he didn't get a chance to show his range, but he definitely has the arm to stay at SS.

That's right. I pin him down with my strong hands.

Law mentioned some other guys in his chat yesterday. That comment on Baez is exciting. I sent him a tweet to get some clarification. Asked him how Baez' easy power compares to Stanton. Not as easy, I'm guessing, but it's still exciting. The Cuban OF is Balaguert.