Cubs Rumor Bag: Soriano, A Source, and Levine Speaks

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 -  - Matt Garza will be officially put on the DL today and the Cubs will call up lefty Brooks Raley today to take his spot.

- - Garza stress reaction is serious and the Cubs are not sure he will be back this season.

- - Jed Hoyer expects Garza to be a part of the Cubs in 2013 even if he does not pitch in 2012,

- - As of last Friday Soriano indicated he had not been placed on waivers.

- - Soriano said there is a 50/50 chance he is traded this offseason but likes Chicago and will only leave for a contender in a desirable city to him.

- - The Cubs are going to ride out the ups and downs of the young players in the ML Sveum said (which goes along with the FO). This is a dramatic change from Quade and Jim Hendry.

Talked to one of my sources recently through email and he had some nice tidbits to offer me-

- - Don’t be surprised if younger prospects in the system at a deep position are traded to provide more depth in other areas in this off-season and next. He names players like Junior Lake, Dan Vogelbach, Trey McNutt, Matt Szczur, and Logan Watkins.

- - Movement throughout the Cubs system from now until this next season will be significant and could see players like Lake and Szczur jump to AAA Iowa. Even players like Vogelbach, Baez, and Soler could see a promotion to AA before the start of next season.

- - The most telling thing for the direction of the Cubs and their players will the September call ups. If the Cubs decide to call up guys like Szczur or Lake to the big leagues it means one of two things. They want to see if they can contribute at the big league level as early as next season or they are auditioning those players for trades with other clubs for their top prospects.

Levine had his chat so lets check in-

- - Castro has gone cold with this bat because people are taking advantage of his aggressiveness.

- - LaHair could look at other options this offseason including moving to Japan.

- - No inning cap for Shark but they could skip some starts for him.

- - No one will put a claim on Soriano but he could help a lot of teams.

- - The Cubs backstops both need work but they are considered the future right now.

- - Cubs are not afraid of trading one of their young players for other needs within the Cubs organization. (Something my sources said above)

- - The Cubs best chance to deal Garza now is in the offseason.

- - Soler and Almora could see Peoria the last few weeks of the season.

Until Next Time…

Cubs Rumor Bag: Promotions and More...

UPDATE:  Not sure if Soriano has cleared waivers  (I would put money on it he has) but the Pirates, Rays, and A's have interest in him.  Out of those the Rays seem like the best fit.

Not much but something…

· In case you lived under a rock for the past few days you already know the Cubs called up Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters.

· BJax will get about 80%-90% of the starts in CF while Vitters will be a part of a platoon with Valbeuna at 3^rd.

· The Cubs sent Jeff Baker to the Tigers for two PTBNL. I know what you are thinking… The Cubs got two players for Baker! AMAZING!

· The Cubs still expect to trade Soriano this month which is why I think they brought up Jackson to see what they have.

· Do you guys remember about a month or two ago when every major media outlet said that Vitters and Jackson will only be called up in Sept. but maybe not at all. Well I do as well. Levine preached and preached how he knew this front office would work and once again… WRONG. http://cubsrumorsandnews.blogspot.com/2012/07/cubs-rumor-bag-levine-speaks-and-is.html

· It is unsure who will start on Tuesday but I think either Chris Rusin or Lendy Castillo will get the nod.

· If the Cubs deal Soriano it is possible they could end up trotting out LaHair to LF along with Mather or maybe even someone in AAA for the rest of the season. But as far as next season I expect the Cubs to make a move much like they did with Maholm and DeJesus. Bring in a right handed hitting guy on a cheap one or two year deal to play outfield and hopefully this player plays well enough to net prospects at the deadline. Some guys that could fit a Theo type player are Ryan Ludwick, Scott Hariston, Jonny Gomes, Angel Pagan, Cody Ross, or Tori Hunter. Another guy that could fit but would be on the more expensive side would be Nick Swisher but he maybe worth the money gamble for his clubhouse presences, leadership, and talent.

Until Next Time…