Sever82

I hope Bruce is right because wouldn't the better move have been just to release Milton if the deal was a straight up swap?

Definitely i'm pretty sure Silvy will rip Hendry on his show for this but if you listed ton the Afternoon Saloon on ESPN 1000, Harry will praise him for it and then you'll have bruce levine talk about how Silva is such a decent pitcher.

There is nothing to wait for. He just traded a decent player for the worst player in the league. You just don't do that, even if it saves you a few dollars. It doesn't save anything. I doubt the Ms are throwing in any money.

Wow if Hendry doesn't get fired i'm not sure what to think. This trade makes no sense because it doesn't save the cubs any money and to top it off it makes the team worse because silva isn't anywhere close to good enough to compete for the 5th spot on the rotation.

As much as i like the guy, Bruce Levine has really annoyed me this offseason. He continues to defense Hendry and acts as if this mess isn't hendry's fault. And then you have him updating ESPN 1000 every so often by saying he expects a bradley trade within the next few days.

Do you want to take that back or are you sticking by your statement: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/12/cubs-mariners-talking-bradley-trade.html Cubs & Mariners Talking Bradley Trade By Ben Nicholson-Smith [December 18, 2009 at 10:26am CST] The Mariners have had perhaps the busiest offseason in baseball so far, but they're not about to slow down. Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that they're once again talking with the Cubs about outfielder Milton Bradley. Three executives say the Cubs could send Bradley to Seattle in exchange for Carlos Silva, who will earn slightly more than Bradley over the course of the next two seasons (Bradley's under contract for $21MM, Silva for $24MM). The Rangers are "not likely" to acquire Bradley and Heyman says the Rays appear to have given up on trading for him. One Giants person says there's "no way" the team trades for the 31-year-old. The Mariners are looking at several possible solutions in left field, not just Bradley. They may consider Johnny Damon, though they're not currently involved with Matt Holliday and Jason Bay.

Ellsbury's baserunning was worth about 5.6 runs last year, total. 7.5 runs year before last. His total offensive contributions (batting and baserunning) are in Kosuke territory, given about the same amount of PA. And last year at least, UZR had him as one of the worst defensive CF in baseball (along with Kosuke, Fowler, and Wells) How many of our top prospects would you give up for another Kosuke? But, wouldn't you expect Ellsbury to still get better, given his age? Add in his cost factor and I think he'd be a very welcome addition, especially given our payroll situation. That said, I don't see us going after him, nor San Diego wanting to part with him, IF they even acquire him. He's 26, so he's just entering his prime. Still, his swing and body aren't exactly conducive to adding a bunch of power and from what I've seen, it seems the big green monster is responsible for a nice chunk of his doubles power already. So do I see him getting better? No, not significantly. Ellsbury is a nice little player, I'm not trying to deny him that. However, the marginal value that he provides over somebody like Fuld simply isn't worth the cost in prospects it would take to acquire him. In all likelihood the Cubs would be best served to hold onto those trade chips and wait til midseason to see if a better player doesn't become available. I think that if the Cubs are still looking for a leadoff option next year, they should go hard at Carl Crawford unless crawford signs an extension before next offseason.

According to Keith Law, he's not sure where Ellsbury would fit for the Padres.

Law actually answered my question pretty quick in his chat: Enrique (Chicago) How about a Cubs question? Does Stalin Castro crack your top 100, if so where does he fit, Top 50, Top 25? How about same question for Vitters and Cashner. Klaw (1:46 PM) Castro's going to be pretty high as well. I buy it. Vitters on there but a little lower than last year. Cashner probably but low - love the arm, probably still a reliever, and I've consistently kept relievers in the back reaches of the list.

Hmm i guess thats a bit more understandable but i still think they'll ask for more than just vitters and Jackson. Probably Fuld or Colvin or both. I dont really put much value in colvin or fuld. At end of the day though, i highly doubt they'd trade Ellsbury to the cubs.

If giving up Vitters, Colvin, and another prospect, may as well go for broke and see if TB still has interest in moving Crawford. Tamba wouldn't have any use for Vitters because of Longoria, unless they saw vitters as a DH. I'd rather have Ellsbury than Crawford actually because Ellsbury doesn't cost that much in money and prospects.

Ellsbury is worth more than just Colvin and Jackson. He's definitely a leadoff hitter. You'd probably have to give up Vitters, colvin and maybe another prospect for him. Just my opinion. I would definitely like him as a cub but i highly doubt the padres would flip ellsbury to the cubs, unless they got good value from the cubs for him.

Knowing Boston, they'd probably ask for something more than just Bradley.

Looks like the bluejays might be a possible trade partner since they acquire Wallace and have made Overbay expandable.

Good point. I wouldn't mind Byrd and 10 Million over 2 yrs. 5 Mil a year isn't too bad but i would imagine Hendry will offer 7 million over three years with signing bonus of 15 millions plus a 20% share of the cubs. LOL

No, it's not better than nothing. I'd rather not make a single move this offseason than sign Marlon Byrd. i guess its just me feeling like i want the cubs to make some kind of news.

ha ha yes, there were three names i wanted the cubs to stay away from all offseason, Byrd, Ankiel and Pods. Looks like we're getting Byrd. I'll forgive Hendry if he somehow signs Sheets and Hudson or Cabrera.

Hendry is an idiot. If he would've just let Bradley come back one more year or play out his contract. I mean assuming they'll spend 7 million on Byrd wouldn't a lineup including Bradley + Cabrera or Hudson be better than a lineup including Byrd and Baker? Thats assuming the cubs would've used the money to sign Cabrera or hudson if they kept bradley.

I guess its better than nothing. Hopefully Jimbo doesn't overpay and offer him 3yr 30 million. I still think if they sign Byrd, they should forget about Capps and go after Hudson or cabrera for 2nd.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/12/cubs-step-up-pursuit-of-marlon-byrd.html Cubs Step Up Pursuit Of Marlon Byrd By Ben Nicholson-Smith [December 15, 2009 at 1:06pm CST] The Cubs are pursuing Marlon Byrd more intensely, now that Mike Cameron is off the market, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Cubs, who wanted Cameron, are still trying to gain payroll flexibility by trading Milton Bradley and at least some of the $21MM he'll make before the end of the 2011 season. The Rangers stand to gain a supplementary round selection if Byrd signs with another team (though Byrd won't cost the Cubs or anyone else a pick).

He will, i guarantee it and so will Joel Pineiro, who's asking for a Wolf type contract. Hendry will overpay, you just watch. i honestly havent though much about the cubs since college football started, but this post really just made me angry Sorry bud, its just how Hendry operates. Last year the player i least wanted was Bradley and Hendry signed him. I never in a million years thought they'd pay that much for miles and Hendry paid it. I never thought they'd trade Derosa away without getting Peavy and he ended up doing so. When you try to predict Hendry's moves you have to think of worse case scenario and not best case. Granderson, Cameron, Halladay, etc were all best case. Worst Case is Podsenick, Byrd (Yes Byrd, dont overrate the guy after his career year), Overpaying Piniero, etc. We'll see what happens but I doubt Hendry pulls off anything good. The best move he made was not trading away Castro, Cashner, Vitters, etc. Though i still would've traded Vitters for Granderson. You can't complain about "best case scenarios" for this offseason. You're blaming Hendry for not getting Granderson or Halladay in one breath, but complimenting him for not trading Castro, Cashner, and Vitters in the next breath. Well in the real world, it would haven taken at least two of those guys (plus others) to get either Granderson or Halladay. As for Cameron, he would have been a nice pickup for 1 year or 2 years and less money than he signed for. ha ha no you're right on the Granderson thing, i actually thought about that as i was writing.

He will, i guarantee it and so will Joel Pineiro, who's asking for a Wolf type contract. Hendry will overpay, you just watch. i honestly havent though much about the cubs since college football started, but this post really just made me angry Sorry bud, its just how Hendry operates. Last year the player i least wanted was Bradley and Hendry signed him. I never in a million years thought they'd pay that much for miles and Hendry paid it. I never thought they'd trade Derosa away without getting Peavy and he ended up doing so. When you try to predict Hendry's moves you have to think of worse case scenario and not best case. Granderson, Cameron, Halladay, etc were all best case. Worst Case is Podsenick, Byrd (Yes Byrd, dont overrate the guy after his career year), Overpaying Piniero, etc. We'll see what happens but I doubt Hendry pulls off anything good. The best move he made was not trading away Castro, Cashner, Vitters, etc. Though i still would've traded Vitters for Granderson.

I know, I just find it odd. They have Quentin, Rios, and now Andruw Jones, so they were then looking for a DH such as Matsui, Vlad, or Thome. I guess they could put Pierre in left with Rios in center and between Jones and Quentin, they have their RF and DH. Pierre will most likely play LF and leadoff with Quentin moving to RF and Rios playing CF. If KW makes no additional moves A.Jones and Kotsay will share the DHing duties. I still think KW has another move in him for an OFer so Quentin can be the fulltime DH. Bruce Levine speculates that this move might mean the Sox will trade Quentin. Supposedly the Sox dont have much confidence in Quentin's injury woes. That kind of makes sense. I wonder what kind of value they can get for Quentin, Quentin is a nice player but he's the positional Kerry Wood.

He will, i guarantee it and so will Joel Pineiro, who's asking for a Wolf type contract. Hendry will overpay, you just watch.

I honestly think this is a very solid pick up for them. Especially with the salary being picked up. If Pierre's production comes close to last year's it a nice pick up for the sox. I would gladly take pierre at about 4 million over the next two years.