Reasonable Trade Discussion

[Eli]

Per Jeff Passan, Matt Garza is a Ranger.   (Edit: Looks like Ken Rosenthal had it first on Twitter, which MLBTR had in a separate post, but Passan had part of the Cubs' return first.  If you care about that kind of thing.)

Cubs get:
3B Mike Olt (Rangers' #1 prospect according to MLB.com since Profar graduated)
SP C.J. Edwards (#15)
SP Justin Grimm (who hasn't made it through five innings since June)
PTBNL

Rangers get:
SP Matt Garza

Olt has a .213 BA.  Edwards is 6'2" and weighs 155!   Grimm has given up 45 earned runs in 48 innings (8.32).   Looks like we got top dollar for our best trading chip. 

Paul?

[Saul Goodman]

Brent Lil'bitch and Alberto Gonzalez might be coming back!

NY Post: Yankees close to deal for Alfonso Soriano

According to a person familiar with the talks, the Cubs will pay the bulk of what is left on Soriano’s contract. He makes $18 million this year and the same for next season.

Better be getting something decent back then.

In return the Cubs will get a mid-level prospect.

Epstink is terrible.




P.S., because I can't resist.

MLBTR:

Soriano, of course, would have to waive the same no-trade clause that he enacted a year ago when the Cubs attempted to trade him to the Giants.

Intrepid Reader: Worst Person on the Internet

I think that's supposed to be "invoked."  Hire an editor already, Tim.

[Tonker]

Brent Lil'bitch and Alberto Gonzalez might be coming back!

NY Post: Yankees close to deal for Alfonso Soriano

According to a person familiar with the talks, the Cubs will pay the bulk of what is left on Soriano's contract. He makes $18 million this year and the same for next season.

Better be getting something decent back then.

In return the Cubs will get a mid-level prospect.

Epstink is terrible.




P.S., because I can't resist.

MLBTR:

Soriano, of course, would have to waive the same no-trade clause that he enacted a year ago when the Cubs attempted to trade him to the Giants.

Intrepid Reader: Worst Person on the Internet

I think that's supposed to be "invoked."  Hire an editor already, Tim.

Obviously, I've been far too busy keeping up with the latest Royal baby news to pay too much attention to the trade deadline, but my God, the Cubs have made out like bandits here.

[Saul Goodman]

Brent Lil'bitch and Alberto Gonzalez might be coming back!

NY Post: Yankees close to deal for Alfonso Soriano

According to a person familiar with the talks, the Cubs will pay the bulk of what is left on Soriano’s contract. He makes $18 million this year and the same for next season.

Better be getting something decent back then.

In return the Cubs will get a mid-level prospect.

Epstink is terrible.




P.S., because I can't resist.

MLBTR:

Soriano, of course, would have to waive the same no-trade clause that he enacted a year ago when the Cubs attempted to trade him to the Giants.

Intrepid Reader: Worst Person on the Internet

I think that's supposed to be "invoked."  Hire an editor already, Tim.

Obviously, I've been far too busy keeping up with the latest Royal baby news to pay too much attention to the trade deadline, but my God, the Cubs have made out like bandits here.

Agreed, they're getting about as good of a value as they could get.  Sure it would've been nice to pry Profar or Perez loose, but that was never going to happen.

[thehawk]

Brent Lil'bitch and Alberto Gonzalez might be coming back!

NY Post: Yankees close to deal for Alfonso Soriano

According to a person familiar with the talks, the Cubs will pay the bulk of what is left on Soriano's contract. He makes $18 million this year and the same for next season.

Whats interesting about this is that, from what I read on the twitters, is that for luxury tax purposes, teams can allocate money however they like if the trading team agrees to pay some salary for more than one year, and the two teams can allocate it between years if they like, and money paid by the trading teams counts as a credit for cap purposes for the 'tradee'.  This means that if the Cubs pick up  at least $18MM of salary in the deal, the Yankees can allocate all $18MM to 2014, which means that Soriano would net the Yanks, in effect a $1 million luxury tax credit (as Soriano's 'cap hit' is only $17 million per year), and the Yankees are trying to get under the cap for 2014.

TL;DR  The Cubs are spending money to get their team better, while not doing so with FA's, they are taking advanatage of every rule in the current book to get them value and prospects.

Good job Epstink (and Rickstinks too)

[CBStew]

I don't relish being a meatball about the Garza trade but I need reassurance that the Cubs didn't get the short end.  I realize that Garza was going to be gone in October, but could they have done better with a different trading partner?  Olt seems to be a representative of a pretty common commodity.  Someone who hits minor league pitching with power but is going to have a low BA and strike out a lot facing major league pitching.  Grimm shows me nothing but I admit that Edwards is an intriguing young prospect.  Players To Be Named Later are not going to be the reason that  this deal was struck. 

[Saul Goodman]

I don't relish being a meatball about the Garza trade but I need reassurance that the Cubs didn't get the short end.  I realize that Garza was going to be gone in October, but could they have done better with a different trading partner?  Olt seems to be a representative of a pretty common commodity.  Someone who hits minor league pitching with power but is going to have a low BA and strike out a lot facing major league pitching.  Grimm shows me nothing but I admit that Edwards is an intriguing young prospect.  Players To Be Named Later are not going to be the reason that  this deal was struck. 

A guy who covers the Rangers for a living told Boers and Bernstein that the Rangers paid a high price.  The consensus in everything I've read is that the Cubs did really well for just two to three months of Garza.  And then there's this.  Headline: "Cubs Strengthen Organizational Depth with Garza Deal."

And this.

On Olt: "He still projects as an everyday player who will stick at third base and may benefit from a clean slate this trade provides.  The former supplemental first-round pick could turn into an impact bat, hitting in the .240 to .250 range with 20-25 home runs, a solid walk rate, a healthy amount of strikeouts, and solid-average defense at the hot corner."

On Grimm: "Grimm will be a better pitcher than his current numbers suggest, though the Cubs would be well-served to develop him in Triple-A for the time being . . . Grimm has always flashed good stuff.  His fastball sits low-90s and can reach 93-95.  His upper-70s curveball is a 60-grade (plus) pitch, and his low-80s changeup should be average with a bit more seasoning . . . Grimm is a very strong bet to reach his no. 4 profile; he just isn't there quite yet."

On Edwards: "Edwards could end up a solid no. 4 starter type, although the body and lack of a true plus secondary offering has some suggesting he would be a better long-term fit out of the bullpen, where the fastball could work in the plus-plus range and the lack of physicality could be marginalized over the course of the season.  Regardless of the ceiling, Edwards has a very good chance to reach the Major Leagues some day, which is quite the accomplishment for a 48th-round pitcher from a small town in South Carolina . . ."

Feel better?

[CBStew]

Speaking of striking out:

Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Jacob Hannemann  CF 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
Daniel Lockhart  2B-SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 .313
Kris Bryant  3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000
Jacob Rogers  1B 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 .293
Yasiel Balaguert  RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .272
Cael Brockmeyer  DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .328
Lance Rymel  C 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .307
David Bote  LF-2B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 .252
Carlos Penalver  SS 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .224
    Jose Dore  LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .195
Totals 34 6 7 3 0 1 5 7 15 .269

[Quality Start Machine]

I don't relish being a meatball about the Garza trade but I need reassurance that the Cubs didn't get the short end.  I realize that Garza was going to be gone in October, but could they have done better with a different trading partner?  Olt seems to be a representative of a pretty common commodity.  Someone who hits minor league pitching with power but is going to have a low BA and strike out a lot facing major league pitching.  Grimm shows me nothing but I admit that Edwards is an intriguing young prospect.  Players To Be Named Later are not going to be the reason that  this deal was struck. 

Olt is a guy who was overmatched after being called up to the Bigs too soon. While past performance is not necessarily indicative of future earnings, we've got another guy in the same situation for comparison.

[Yeti]

Speaking of striking out:

Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Jacob Hannemann  CF 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
Daniel Lockhart  2B-SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 .313
Kris Bryant  3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000
Jacob Rogers  1B 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 .293
Yasiel Balaguert  RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .272
Cael Brockmeyer  DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .328
Lance Rymel  C 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .307
David Bote  LF-2B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 .252
Carlos Penalver  SS 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .224
    Jose Dore  LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .195
Totals 34 6 7 3 0 1 5 7 15 .269

holy formatting

[PenFoe]

I don't relish being a meatball about the Garza trade but I need reassurance that the Cubs didn't get the short end.  I realize that Garza was going to be gone in October, but could they have done better with a different trading partner?  Olt seems to be a representative of a pretty common commodity.  Someone who hits minor league pitching with power but is going to have a low BA and strike out a lot facing major league pitching.  Grimm shows me nothing but I admit that Edwards is an intriguing young prospect.  Players To Be Named Later are not going to be the reason that  this deal was struck. 

Olt is a guy who was overmatched after being called up to the Bigs too soon. While past performance is not necessarily indicative of future earnings, we've got another guy in the same situation for comparison.

Do you have a comp with someone who got a concussion and has had visions problems since and now can't hit?  

Or maybe just an anecdote about a personal injury that's similar?

[ChuckD]

I don't relish being a meatball about the Garza trade but I need reassurance that the Cubs didn't get the short end.  I realize that Garza was going to be gone in October, but could they have done better with a different trading partner?  Olt seems to be a representative of a pretty common commodity.  Someone who hits minor league pitching with power but is going to have a low BA and strike out a lot facing major league pitching.  Grimm shows me nothing but I admit that Edwards is an intriguing young prospect.  Players To Be Named Later are not going to be the reason that  this deal was struck. 

Olt is a guy who was overmatched after being called up to the Bigs too soon. While past performance is not necessarily indicative of future earnings, we've got another guy in the same situation for comparison.

Do you have a comp with someone who got a concussion and has had visions problems since and now can't hit?  

Or maybe just an anecdote about a personal injury that's similar?

I don't know if you're just being snarky toward Fork, but to be clear, Olt slashed .139/.235/.236 in the 20 games prior to 4/25 when the Rangers benched him due to the eyesight issue. Since coming back on May 31, he's hit .253/.352/.524 in 48 games. Saying he "now can't hit" is foolish.

[CBStew]

Speaking of striking out:

Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Jacob Hannemann  CF 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
Daniel Lockhart  2B-SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 .313
Kris Bryant  3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000
Jacob Rogers  1B 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 .293
Yasiel Balaguert  RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .272
Cael Brockmeyer  DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .328
Lance Rymel  C 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .307
David Bote  LF-2B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 .252
Carlos Penalver  SS 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .224
    Jose Dore  LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .195
Totals 34 6 7 3 0 1 5 7 15 .269

holy formatting

Put it there for the Kris Bryant line.  Five at bats, five KO.

[Saul Goodman]

Speaking of striking out:

Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Jacob Hannemann  CF 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
Daniel Lockhart  2B-SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 .313
Kris Bryant  3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000
Jacob Rogers  1B 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 .293
Yasiel Balaguert  RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .272
Cael Brockmeyer  DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .328
Lance Rymel  C 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .307
David Bote  LF-2B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 .252
Carlos Penalver  SS 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .224
    Jose Dore  LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .195
Totals 34 6 7 3 0 1 5 7 15 .269

holy formatting

Put it there for the Kris Bryant line.  Five at bats, five KO.

Fuckin' Epstink.

[Bort]

Speaking of striking out:

Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Jacob Hannemann  CF 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .296
Daniel Lockhart  2B-SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 .313
Kris Bryant  3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000
Jacob Rogers  1B 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 .293
Yasiel Balaguert  RF 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .272
Cael Brockmeyer  DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .328
Lance Rymel  C 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .307
David Bote  LF-2B 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 .252
Carlos Penalver  SS 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .224
    Jose Dore  LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .195
Totals 34 6 7 3 0 1 5 7 15 .269

holy formatting

Put it there for the Kris Bryant line.  Five at bats, five KO.

Delicious Meatball Stew.