Friday, April 04, 2008

No Faith in Theriot?? Cubs scouting shortstops??

According to League Officials the Cubs are currently scouting several shortstops in the ML. The Cubs are possibly looking for more production and better defensive range at the shortstop position. According to Officials the Cubs are currently at the Washington/Cardinal game watching SS Christian Guzman. Guzman is batting leadoff for the Nationals and is posting a .400 avg. in 20 AB's.

Other middle infielders that the Cubs are currently scouting are Jhonny Peralta, Bobby Crosby, Rafael Furcal, and Orlando Cabrera. It seems Crosby and Peralta seem the least likely of the two because of talent the other team would want. But I find Furcal and Cabrera interesting choices because both are at the end of there contracts and by trading for them it would be a win now mentality.

Furcal is owed 13 million this season and the Dodgers would definitely have to pay a portion of that. I am not sure what the Dodgers would want except a third baseman but we do not have one to give up. So it is unknown if they would be a match.

Orlando Cabrera would be my pick. The White Sox made an interesting move this offseason inking Juan Uribe, trading for Cabrera, and signing Alexei Ramirez, who is by nature a shortstop. The Sox definitely have depth at SS position but would rather give up Uribe, but cannot find any any takers. The Sox have the worst farm system in baseball and could use some prospects. I think the Cubs match up very well with the Sox for this trade. By trading O.C. they can insert Alexei at SS, Swisher in CF, and Quentin in LF. I would offer Marshall, Epatt, and Mike Fontenot for Cabrera and go from there.

Although a move this early in the season is very unlikely, it is not impossible. It is nice to know that the Cubs are looking at other options early instead of waiting until it is too late.

Man, Cabrera would look great in Cubbie Blue!!!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep in mind the Indians will be in contentiona ll year so i doubt they trade Perelta. same goes for the dodgers and Furcal. Maybe Cabrera but i don't see them trading him already after they just got him. Guzman is a very likely option though.

Anyways though i would take any of these guys over theriot

Anonymous said...

NO no no you can't even start to consider cabrera because the sox traded away argueably one of their best starting pitchers for him... and they would not trade him to the cubs, no way no how...it would make no sense

Anonymous said...

Wow... this Theriot thing has picked up steam quick.

I would add Furcal to the not likely list... especially this early in the season. He is off to a hot start and the Dodgers are looking to contend in the West. I dont see them trading Furcal unless they fall out of it by the deadline.

O Cab would be a good idea... but are the Sox going to bump up the price on a crosstown deal?

Someone mentioned Cedeno in the last post... but I'm not too sold on him yet either. More range and arm than Theriot... but Cedeno's past history of lack of focus and inabality to hit much better than Theriot doesnt do much for me.

Nick I Cub Fan said...

I agree Cabrera would be great. But would the sox trade with the Cubs? I still think Cedeno is the best for now. And he may prove we don't need a SS. Theriot would be good of the bench. SS,2B, and OF

Anonymous said...

Although I would love to see the Cubs replace Theriot with a better hitter/defender, I don't see the Dodgers, Indians, or White Sox trading their starting short stops. All three teams are looking to compete and each of their short stops play a big role on their teams. I don't see any of them weakening their team offense or defense for what we could offer in a trade. If I were the Cubs, I would look at maybe Eric Aybar of the Angles. He is young, but much more talented than Theriot.

cubsfan82 said...

I am getting a lot of mixed reviews. I do agree that Furcal, Peralta, and Crosby probably wont be availiable but Furcal is at the end of his deal and the Dodgers have a young up and coming shorstop in Hu. That guy can straight up play defense and hit. They may be willing to give up Furcal because they have him.

The Sox earlier this year thought about flipping Cabrera after they traded for him but could not find any takers for the price. They are currently seeking young infielders and young pitching which makes the Cubs and Sox a good match. I do think the price might be a little high becasue we are cross town rivals but we have matched up in the past.

Guzman is an intresting situtation. The Nats have alot of middle infielders and could trade Guzman or Lopez. I would take either one but probably prefer Lopez because of age and health is better than Christians.

Anonymous said...

I dont remember the sox try to flip O cab, did that happen?

That is a good point about Furcal. Hu is coming up and they seem to like him alot so maybe it could be done. i like the Angels idea for Aybar too

Anyways i feel like doing a little rant here. Direct TV extra innings sucks. I pay 180 to watch all the Cubs games because i live in NC and i get all saturdays blocked out because of their agreement with FOX. FOX isn't even showing baseball games right now. All in all im pissed sorry guys

BleedCubbieBlue33 said...

Guzman or Furcal is the most likely solution. I don't like Theriot. & again did you get this from your own sources or is this speculation or something?

BallstotheWalls said...

Unless the Cubs start out well below .500, don't look for the team to make any trades just yet. Scouts need time to evaluate current players on other teams just as much as teams need to diagnose what the likely future is for their current players.