- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that the Rays could dangle Kazmir and Crawford to get player like Roy Halladay. Though he does stat that the Rays trading Carl is "close to zero." Lou wants an impact bat from the left side and Carl Crawford is not only that type of bat but he adds great defense and speed to the Cubs. I would throw the farm at the Rays for Crawford!
- Dave van Dyck at the Chicago Tribune said that the Cubs are looking to tinker rather than make a big splash at the deadline. "Mr. Negative" stated that the Cubs do not have the pieces or payroll room to add a big time player. He does speculate that the Cubs could add a backup catcher, a veteran outfielder like a Jim Edmonds, and get a reliever like Biemel or Sherrill. He does in fact add that Lou wants "a couple hitters" before the deadline. Either way with the Cards making a deal for Lugo and now in deep talks with the A's about Matt Holliday, the Cubs will need to make a move. The Cubs need a guy like Chone Figgins, Mark Teahen, a versatile guy like that to play 2nd base full time and also move around the diamond. They also need an impact bat like Crawford, Dunn, or even Luke Scott. The Cubs need more production from this lineup.
- The Cubs need to trade Milton Bradley. This guy came over with baggage and a good bat. Now he is just baggage. The only way the Cubs trade Milton Bradley is for a equally worst contract and a team thinking the change of scenery will turn the hit switch on Bradley. Here is a couple trade ideas I have for Bradley that involve acquiring a player with an equally bad contract.
1. Cubs get Vernon Wells and the Jays get Milton Bradley. With Wells making about 98 million over the next 5 years the Jays may have to throw some cash in to get this deal done. It is still a possibility though but not a great one.
2. Cubs get Juan Pierre and Dodgers get Milton Bradley. Would the Dodgers take another chance on Bradley? Would the Cubs take on Juan and his weak arm? I say yes to both. Bradley is needed in a part time role with his health concerns and Juan has been hitting like an everyday player. The Cubs could use a legitimate leadoff man and a guy to play CF. It would be a nice athletic outfield for the Cubs and the Dodgers could use Bradley as their 4th outfielder and insurance in case any of their outfielders go down. Pierre is owed 28.5 million due counting this year and the next two years and Bradley is making 30 million during that span, so money is a push. I like this deal for both teams!
3. Cubs get Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui, Yankees get Bradley. Each Yankee player is in the last year of their contract and getting paid 13 million this season. So Bradley's 3 year 30 million for about 8 million due for the rest of the season for Matsui or Damon is not too fair. I bet if the Cubs included a young pitcher in the deal they could get it done.
4. Cubs get Gary Matthews Jr. for Milton Bradley. If we were swapping contracts and ability this is a match made in heaven. Bradley is owed 3 year 30 million including this season. Gary is owed 32 million over the same time. Not only do they have similar contracts but similar numbers. Bradley is hitting .242 with 6 homers and 22 RBI in 227 ABs. While Matthews is hitting .231 with 2 homers and 28 RBI in only 186 ABs. I honestly would do this trade to get a good clubhouse guy who is also a switch hitter and a better defender.
If the Cubs want to get Bradley out of Chicago those are the only deals that would benefit everyone involved and help with the salary room for both teams. Out of the 4 trade scenarios I think that trade 2 and 4 make the most sense and have the best chances of happening. I just think the Cubs need to cut their loses with Bradley because he has lost it.
- The Cubs received good news about Dempster and will return to the rotation in the middle of next week at the latest.
Til next time Cub fans!
6 comments:
I am dying for the cubs to get Carl Crawford!! GET IT DONE JIM!!!!
With Fox and Hoffpauir i don't see the cubs trading for an outfielder
SS or 2B maybe. Lefty for the bull pen and catcher was mentioned. Robinson and Clevenger have good numbers on offense. They must not be good defensive players. And Gaub
is a lefty we got for Derosa who was promoted to AAA and hasn't given up a run yet. I would promote
from within the system. I do like Crawford though.
What about Bradley for Kerry Wood? Wood's K is for 09:$10M, 10:$10.5M, 11:$11M club option.
If the option is picked up, the deal is basically a wash with the money. Plus, we'd be getting back Kerry, and maybe he could be a setup man for Gregg? I'd love this deal. I also love your Juan Pierre trade idea!
The Cubs could offer the whole farm system and still not have enough pieces to get Crawford. I would love to see Crawford in a Cubs uniform too, but if they don’t have the pieces to even think about getting involved in a deal for Halliday, they don’t have them for Crawford either.
No one is going to trade for Bradley as poorly as he is playing. Some of your trade options for him make no sense.
Yes, the Dodgers are paying Pierre a ton of money, but he is at least producing for them when he is given a chance to play, why would they trade him for a guy who isn't hitting at all?
Trading for Wells, makes no sense as this raises the overall payroll the next 5+ years putting the Cubs in an even bigger bind. He signed a Soriano type contract, right after Soriano signed his. It leaves them with less flexibility over the next few years. So while yeah, this gets Bradley out of town, it doesn’t solve anything. In fact it makes the whole payroll situation worse. It would eliminate any flexibility we have in the off season and into the next few years.
Trading for Matthews? What do you get in Matthews that we aren’t already getting in Bradley? Neither is hitting. Both are switch hitters. Matthews plays better defense, but couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag. Throughout his career, he is statistically a much worse hitter then Bradley, except for his last year in Texas, where he was hiding in the showers with Raffy while they were injecting each other.
One guy that might make sense, in the whole change of scenery philosophy is Magglio from Detroit. Both guys have large contracts for next year, although Mags is certainly much higher. Neither guy is playing well and a change of scenery could benefit both.
It wont.
Cubs should claim Mark Kotsay off waivers. Another left-handed bat, like Fukudome or Hoffpauir, with experience, and relatively inexpensive. Might be able to move him, or free up other outfielders to be moved at the deadline...like Bradley.
Post a Comment