Outshined_One

As memory serves me, he had a difficult Tommy John Surgery that he never quite fully recovered from.

Is Joel Guzman still on track to be a SS, or are the Dodgers moving him to 3B or the OF?

Delmon Young Joey Gathright Aubrey Huff Carl Crawford Rocco Baldelli Jonny Gomes Elijah Dukes BJ Upton All of the above are players who could potentially be in Tampa Bay's OF next season. Eight guys in total. Dukes is the farthest away (although he put up a good showing in the Southern League) and there are rumors circulating about Upton and Young regarding whether or not the organization will bring them up this season for monetary reasons. Even if none of those three guys come up, that still leaves five players eligible for TB's OF next season. All of these guys have pretty good to terrific value. They have plenty of needs that could be addressed via trades...so hopefully they realize these facts and address them accordingly... ...by trading Jonny Gomes to the Cubs for Jerry Hairston. :D

So, if this deal falls through, I'm guessing that the Yankees swoop in immediately and snatch up Beckett. Thus completing the trifecta of players from that unbelievably annoying Pepsi commercial.

I'd prefer losing Pinto over losing Marshall or Hill.

The Marlins got two of the Mutts' better prospects...although, that really isn't saying much. Petit has sick numbers and awesome control. That said, none of his four pitches grade out really well. According to reports, his 88-90 mph fastball has good movement and he's deceptive using it...but that's about the extent of it. Jacobs is a curious prospect to me. He could potentially end up behind the dish since he originally came up at catcher. He's not very good defensively and is getting up there in age in prospect terms at 25. He's also a left handed pull hitter with some pop. Still, the Cubs might want to get their act together if they want Castillo and Pierre. The Marlins look like they've got itchy trigger fingers lately.

Yep. Pre-strike they were one of the most talented and a good draw. Then Loria came in, alienated the fan base, held the team hostage, and basically ruined baseball for Montreal. Although, to his credit, ruining baseball in Florida didn't exactly take much effort. The Carolionas wouldn't be the worst of ideas, imo.

Wasn't Kotsay supposedly available this past offseason, then signed to an extension? Has something changed since then, or is it just a NY rag trying to make something out of nothing?

Ranked behind Papelbon and Lester on the prospect chart. 21 year old RHP. Fastball sits in the low to mid 90s. Changeup is a plus pitch. Hittable curve and a cutter that resembles a slider are included in the package. Aggressive in his approach. Main issues are commad and endurance over a season. Occasionally flattens his stuff out and misses up in the zone. He could potentially be a front of the rotation guy and had a good showing in AA, but he'll need some more time in the minors to cut down on the homers and tighten up his curve.

If the Marlins think they can still compete next season, I think they would be more willing to pick up Williams due to his experience and the fact that there won't be a great dropoff from Beckett's production in the short term. However, if they're completely reloading, I could see them showing preference for Lester. He put up some very nice numbers in AAA and I have to give him props for doing so. I do wonder how his curve and change have progressed from last season, though.

Substantially better than anyone else in the farm system right now. He's not a can't miss player (few guys in the minors are), but his ceiling is something that is so incredibly tantalizing right now, especially since he started developing his power last season down in AA. You look at what could be with a player like Pie and you would likely see something along the lines of numerous All Star appearances. But, you also have to look at his floor. Pie does have his fair share of issues and will have to make adjustments as he moves along in baseball. There's the possibility that he could bust anywhere along the way, yes, but that's a given for any player. Given where Pie is now, I think that, if he had been brought up this past season, he would have been fairly similar to Patterson. Dusty would have seen him and horribly misused him as a leadoff hitter (he projects better as a middle/bottom of the order guy). Yet, he would have made some exciting plays in the outfield and would have shown flashes of what could be. His speed and arm are already well-developed and both are good enough to allow him to play CF quite well. The difference is, unlike Corey, Pie is not even old enough to drink legally. He's still growing into his body and maturing. There is plenty of reason to believe that he'll improve his K/BB given time and patience. This club could very well screw up Pie like they did with Patterson. I really hope that won't be the case. But...if they play their cards right, Pie will be a special player for the Cubs.

I think Ramirez > Pie is justified given that Ramirez plays a more valuable position in SS. But Lester > Williams? I'd be willing to buy that if they had comparable playing time in the majors, but Williams has an established track record in the majors and has seen his fair share of success. I think anybody keeping tabs on him knew that, coming into the season, Williams had a ton of personal issues. He was overweight. His mother had died tragically. His father was ill. He still wasn't over all of them by the end of the season, either. Yet, he managed to put up some solid numbers towards the end of the season. But, give him an offseason to get his head together and get himself back into playing shape and I think he could break out in a big way next season. He commands four pitches that range from average to plus. He has playoff experience. He's going to be 24 for all of next season. Lester will be cheaper for longer, but if I'm a GM, I think I would take Williams over Lester. But that's just my preference.

Lester & Ramirez for Beckett straight up is roughly equivalent to Williams and Pie (potential franchise player & solid young pitcher). Blalock, Arias, and Danks/Diamond/Volquez for Beckett, Lowell, and Mota is a bit tougher since I can't find a good comp to Blalock on the major league team. I guess Barrett would be a decent comp (he can play 3B). Maybe Barrett, Cedeno, and Nolasco? I don't know if the Marlins would be willing to take on Bare's salary, though.

Wasn't there a report circling around that had the Red Sox potentially sending Lester and Hanley for Beckett? Anyone remember if the Red Sox or the Fish proposed that deal? Actually, now that I remember, my Red Sox fan buddy mentioned that Anibal Sanchez might be subbed in for Lester...

Pie to me represents something important for this Cubs' team. There is A LOT to like about Pie. Along with his age, continuing maturity, and developing power, you also have a guy who bring with him an intense dedication to make himself a better player. Every report I've read about him talks about how he brings this incredibly exuberant to the table that is just infectious. He's won championships everywhere he's gone. I think that, given at least another half season down in the minors, he could improve his K/BB to an acceptable level. Is he the guy who could bring the Cubs to the World Series? Possibly. On the other hand, he's one of those rare and special players that many teams covet. If I'm the GM of any team in baseball and Jim Hendry asks me for any of my players (let's say I'm Jim Bowden and Hendry inquires about Livan), Pie is the first name to come out of my mouth. I don't care if he's asking for one of my superstars or a 25th man. Pie is the only guy in this system right now who falls under that category. There are some players who could end up reaching that point (Harvey, Dopirak, Guzman, Pawelek, and possibly one or two others), but none of them are there right now. This is pretty much expected since most farm systems aren't exactly overflowing with them (unless you're the Dodgers or Angels). I think the Phillies would be willing to do a trade for Abreu that didn't involve Pie, but it would be more costly. Murton, Williams, Moore, Pinto, and one lower level pitcher could do it. I don't think the Phillies have a ton of interest in pitchers like Hill, who are vulnerable to the homer. They also have pretty good depth at CF (nothing special, but some decent guys), so I think they'd be more interested in a guy who could fill in at a corner than Patterson. I'd love to see Abreu manning RF next season for the Cubs, that's for sure.

ESPN has confirmed it. 3 years, $16.5 million with an extra $2.5m possible through incentives.

I swear that a year or two ago, he signed a cheap contract for a decent number of years that went beyond arbitration. Edit: 5 years, $15m with an option for 2009.

For those of you curious, it's from Rotoworld. This strikes me as rather stupid. It would make more sense if the Marlins pick up some of Lowell's contract and the Rangers flip him to another team, but Texas doesn't have anyone in their system who can immediately come in and play 3B. I guess they could do something with Arias, but he profiles much better as a SS, especially from an offensive standpoint. Moving Michael Young to 3B wouldn't be bright, either. I'm curious as to what the specifics of this deal end up looking like if it goes through...

Think Henry Blanco, only younger.

$11m? What a joke.

Given the performance of Wainwright and the injury history of both Wainwright and Reyes, relying on one or both to chip in heavily to the Cardinals might not be the best of ideas next season. Then again, given the Cubs luck, both will likely end up pitching 150 innings apiece, be fully healthy, and post ERAs in the low threes next season.

Wow, that's a heck of a good deal. 4/40 is more market value for him, imo.

Speaking of PTBNLs, did the Cubs ever get a replacement from the Orioles for Crouthers since he retired?

See, I'd be fine with this justification normally and all, but the fact that A-Rod won the MVP while with the Rangers in 2003 despite the Rangers doing squat kind of blows the irrelevancy argument up.

The irony is annoyingly stupid. Face it, the Cubs would have been out of the race for the NL Central in April without Lee. He would have won this friggin' thing if the Cubs didn't have such a shoddy manager.