Bowden the New Cub, Byrd and Lopez Gone, and More Notes..

The Cubs did trade Marlon Byrd to the Red Sox for Michael Bowden and a PTBNL.

The PTBNL will not be significant according to sources and will be determined in middle May. The Cubs have a list of 10 players to choose from and will likely select a pitcher from that list.

Michael Bowden will join the Chicago Cubs rotation today and Rodrigo Lopez was DFA to make room for Bowden.

Want to know more about Bowden? Check Bleacher Nation.

Bleacher Nation also has the info on the Tampa Bay Rays once again looking at Geovany Soto as a possible trade target. The Nation says Soto does have good trade value regardless of his start and I agree. If talks do progress I can see the Cubs targeting several players like Wade Davis (whom has been rumored before), EnnyRomero,Tim Beckahm, Felipe Rivero, and/or Drew Vettleson.

Starlin Castro is fine after getting hit in his elbow but he felt like his arm was broken at the time.

Cubs Den says the Cubs could target June for phase 2 of rebuilding and boy do I hope we see some drastic changes by then if we continue down the road we are on.

Sources tell me that Theo and Jed are both working hard to trade some pieces to open up opportunities for other players. One source says Soriano and Soto are two players they are discussing the most with other teams. But the moves don’t mean that the Cubs are giving up or they are ready to call up Rizzo or Jackson or even Castillo for that matter. It means player like Luis Valbuena, Adrian Cardenas, and/or David Sappelt could be brought up to Chicago given how they have played in Iowa. It also means (in the case of Soto) they could move for a veteran backstop for the remainder of this year and give the starting nod to Steve Clevenger to finish the season. This would leave Castillo in AAA to get regular at bats and see if Clevenger is the real deal. Some veterans that could be available via trade or free agency are Henry Blanco, Ramon Castro, Josh Bard, or Francisco Cervelli.

Until Next Time..