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The problem with trading Soto is that dearth of decent catching extends to the Cubs as well (behind Soto, at least). Let's assume we trade Soto, now who steps in and provides even just average production behind the plate, much less the excellent production we've gotten from Soto overall as the starter? Wellington Castillo has started tearing the cover off the ball this season, but he's been aided by a .400 BABIP so far this year and posted a .317 OBP last year. Considering Soto's struggled so far this year - likely decreasing the return he'd bring - and the lack of a quality replacement behind him makes me wonder how trading him is a net benefit for the team.

Generally the players who eventually have to move off SS due to lack of range after adding weight already have questionable range to begin with. Starlin has issues defensively, but range has nothing to do with that - he's got terrific range. His issues come from mechanical mistakes and consistency, both which should improve as he gets more experience at SS. And if he can add the type of power you're talking about, he'd be incredibly valuable at SS. I just don't see why you'd think his range would drop from terrific to awful (which it'd need to be for him to move off SS) unless he's adding way more weight than his frame can handle.

Garza, Zambrano, [expletive], [expletive], super [expletive]. In other words, kind of what it's like right now. By the end of the 2012 season (when Kemp is a FA) Zs contract will be up. We'd still have Wells at that point, though, along with the possibles of Cashner/McNutt/Whitenack.

With the monetary issues the Dodgers have, they may not be able to afford to re-sign Kemp, though. He's a FA after the 2012 season (I think?) and he'll cost a hefty bundle, so they won't have much time to get their finances in order before he's on the market.

I'm not sure I see any real need for the Mariners to trade Felix right now. His salary does jump from $10 mil this year to $18 mil next year, but they have a $94 mil payroll. They do have $59 mil of that committed to 7 players next year, so that may be a consideration as well, but I don't see a pressing need. A massive offer of prospects (Cash/BJax/McNutt for starters probably) might entice them, but it'd take a ton.

Pitchers in their mid 30s scare me when they're signed to long term deals. CC would be 38 by the time that contract was up and, given that he's a pitcher and he's had a ton of mileage on his arm, that may be a lot of really bad years. On the other hand, he's been remarkably consistently awesome for a while now, so if there was some confidence he could keep it up, I'd have interest.

Yeah including Soriano and Grabow, but ignoring Pena seems really strange. Pena is probably the Cubs' best trade chip, unless they make Soto available.

Kosuke's an interesting trade option. He plays a traditional power position, but obviously doesn't provide that much power. However, he gets on base like crazy and plays decent defense or better (even though UZR hates him this year). Will teams value the OBP/defense combo or claim he has little to no value because he doesn't hit for power? I think the key to getting a good return on Kosuke is how much of the remaining money for this season the Cubs would pick up. It may come down to that, but if it does I think it's a sign that front offices aren't as progressive as some are made out to be. It's possible all teams will simply need power and nothing else at the deadline, but my guess is a RF who is a 1.5-3 WAR player, fueled largely by power, would bring more than Kosuke.

Kosuke's an interesting trade option. He plays a traditional power position, but obviously doesn't provide that much power. However, he gets on base like crazy and plays decent defense or better (even though UZR hates him this year). Will teams value the OBP/defense combo or claim he has little to no value because he doesn't hit for power?

It would be if Cashner stays healthy (much more questionable now than it was at the beginning of the year) and if the flier on a guy like Sheets paid off. If they didn't, though, we'd be running through AAAA fillers and washed up vets again like this year. Z doesn't provide top of the line pitching, but he does provide solid stability. We know he'll pitch a lot of innings and pitch above average or better in those innings. There's a lot of value there.

I am. Just freeing up the money isn't enough. If I'm going to trade a productive pitcher, I want a good return along with the money freed up. That said, his value probably isn't high enough to pay the entire $18 mil tab plus giving us good prospects, so I'm fine with keeping him next year.

Correct, which is why number of errors isn't a very good measure of defensive ability.

His youth actually says a lot about his experience level. Great defense is based both on natural ability and tons of practice and experience. A 21 year old kid already in his second season in the majors will have plenty of natural ability but not much experience, at least relative to other ML players. You mentioned he needed learning time at other positions, but he still hasn't fully learned SS yet - no kid as young as he is has. If Starlin were a 25 or 27 year old 2nd year player making these mistakes, then it'd be clear he wasn't going to learn the position since at that point he'd have enough more than enough experience at the position. At 21, though, there's still plenty of reason to think he can continue to grow into the position as he gains more experience.

At 23, in his first ML year, Hanley Ramirez committed 26 errors. At 22 in his second year in the majors, ARod committed 24 errors. At 24, in his first major league season, Ozzie Smith committed 25 errors. At 22 in his first season, Omar Vizquel committed 18 errors. At 22 in his first full year, Jose Reyes committed 18 errors. Starlin, at 20 last year, committed 27. It's not out of the ordinary for a young SS to make a lot of errors early in his career. Ozzie Smith is one of the greatest defensive SS of all time and he made 25, 20 and 24 errors in his first three seasons - at 24, 25 and 26.

Yeah, he's only 21, so any issues - especially mechanical issues like footwork and consistency - will improve with age and experience. He's not a 25 year old guy who is still struggling defensively. He's a kid who most players at his age are in A or AA ball and can struggle through defensive issues in relative anonymity (nationally at least). I have little doubt he'll develop into at least a decent, if not a very good defensive SS. All the tools are there.

Agreed. I almost commented on the rest of your post, but then I would be sucked into the Pujols discussion again and I won't allow that to happen today. 8-) Haha, other posters probably appreciate that. It's not just Pujols, though, Fielder is also available and would improve this team considerably. The main point was that a team with the Cubs' payroll shouldn't go into a full rebuild mode no matter how terrible the team is.

Are we not in rebuild mode? If not, then why not? Maybe it signals that everyone is being evaluated for jobs next year. I love Z, and I personally think he is much more than a #4 starter, but if the Cubs could get some value for him they have to do it. We have the 2nd worst record in baseball. There are plenty of holes to fill on this team and unfortunately you have to trade value to get value. A team with the resources and payroll of the Cubs never needs to enter a full rebuild mode where you trade all the veterans you can, get a bunch of prospects back and go really young for 2-3 years while kids develop. We do have the 2nd worst record in baseball, but they also have a $130 million payroll, $60 million coming off the books this offseason and one of the greatest players in the history of the game possibly sitting on the FA market after the season. There's no reason the Cubs shouldn't be able to turn the record around quickly with some good, smart moves in the offseason but trading Z makes it harder. If we can get some really good value for him, then that's a different story, but I wouldn't trade him for whatever we can or for minimal value just to get his money off the books or to add some youth.

A .407 BABIP with a 17.9 LD% probably helps. As long as his playing time stays somewhat limited, though, those numbers might not even out.

Ricketts, Hendry and Bud Selig have said the debt structure is not an issue. I'll take their word for it over Wittenmeyer and an unnamed source.

Yep, you're right. I always confuse the two for some reason - maybe because both seem to have similar football uniforms or something. You confuse Villanova and Connecticut? Hmm. I sometimes confuse it with Vanderbilt. I think it's the similar uniforms. I picture Szczur in a blue and white uniform and both Villanova and UConn have similar styled blue and white uniforms.

Trey McNutt is the best pitching prospect in the system, has the ceiling of a front line starter (though probably not an ace) and is currently pitching in AA. He's had blister issues this year or else he might be in the majors now or soon. Matt Szczur is a 2010 draftee who is currently tearing the cover off the ball in A-ball, but he was a college draftee (out of UConn) and is expected to rise quickly through the system. Could be up sometime next year if he adjusts to callups well. DJ LeMahieu is already up, probably a bit too early but he has the upside of being a quality second baseman. Robert Whitenack has made some huge strides since being drafted (in 2009 I think?) and was flying up the system until he got hurt in AA. Then there's also Vitters, who could boom or bust, and Brett Jackson who could be up later this year or next season. As Beertown said, there are other impressive guys in single A and guys with interesting upsides in AA. We also had a very good draft and have shown the ability to scout well internationally. The system is probably middle of the pack right now but is improving consistently. There's been a lot of talk about Garza in this thread now, but nobody's posted his numbers - so I will. He has an ERA of 3.84 (best since 2008), FIP of 2.30 and xFIP of 2.76. He's striking out 10.29 batters per nine innings and is giving up 0.27 HR/9. He's inducing more groundballs than he ever has in his career (48.9%) as well. He's walking more than he has since 2006 (3.56) but he's been very unlucky with balls hit in play (.349 BABIP). He's been worth 2.3 wins this season. If he can continue to produce the numbers and peripherals he's started the year with, it'll mean he's turned the corner and is now the ace the Cubs hoped they were getting when they dealt Lee, Archer and Guyer for him. Just a minor point but Szczur went to Villanova. Yeah, SSR pointed that out. I confuse Villanova and UConn in football.

Yep, you're right. I always confuse the two for some reason - maybe because both seem to have similar football uniforms or something.

Trey McNutt is the best pitching prospect in the system, has the ceiling of a front line starter (though probably not an ace) and is currently pitching in AA. He's had blister issues this year or else he might be in the majors now or soon. Matt Szczur is a 2010 draftee who is currently tearing the cover off the ball in A-ball, but he was a college draftee (out of UConn) and is expected to rise quickly through the system. Could be up sometime next year if he adjusts to callups well. DJ LeMahieu is already up, probably a bit too early but he has the upside of being a quality second baseman. Robert Whitenack has made some huge strides since being drafted (in 2009 I think?) and was flying up the system until he got hurt in AA. Then there's also Vitters, who could boom or bust, and Brett Jackson who could be up later this year or next season. As Beertown said, there are other impressive guys in single A and guys with interesting upsides in AA. We also had a very good draft and have shown the ability to scout well internationally. The system is probably middle of the pack right now but is improving consistently. There's been a lot of talk about Garza in this thread now, but nobody's posted his numbers - so I will. He has an ERA of 3.84 (best since 2008), FIP of 2.30 and xFIP of 2.76. He's striking out 10.29 batters per nine innings and is giving up 0.27 HR/9. He's inducing more groundballs than he ever has in his career (48.9%) as well. He's walking more than he has since 2006 (3.56) but he's been very unlucky with balls hit in play (.349 BABIP). He's been worth 2.3 wins this season. If he can continue to produce the numbers and peripherals he's started the year with, it'll mean he's turned the corner and is now the ace the Cubs hoped they were getting when they dealt Lee, Archer and Guyer for him.

They had three starting pitchers get hurt - Wells, Cashner, McNutt - in the first two weeks of the season. Two of those were in the major league rotation and one was part of that depth you refuse to admit existed. Three young starting pitchers getting hurt in their first (Wells and Cashner) or second (McNutt) start of the year all at the same time is abnormal no matter how many times you want to deny it. Once all three of those starters were hurt in the first two weeks of the season, our 4th, 5th and 7th best options were all hurt. To have the proper amount of depth to weather that, we would have had to have 8 quality MLB starting pitchers. Can you name me any team that regularly carries 8 quality MLB starting pitchers at the beginning of the year?

speaking of dave littlefield, one of my favorite mlb trades of all time was the one where the pirates acquired matt morris for rajai davis. the pirates were thoroughly out of the playoff race that year and took on like $3m of morris' salary in 2007, then $10m in 2008 (making him the highest-paid pirate in franchise history). he had an ERA around 7 for the pirates and was released 5 games into the 2008 season. littlefield is lucky to have a job in baseball after a trade like that. That thing was so inexplicable before during and after. Never had any idea how or why they justified making the move. My guess would be he wanted a veteran "anchor" of the staff or something like that.