The Rule 5 Draft was cruel to the Chicago Cubs, who lost many players in the minor league portion of the draft who will not come back.
But the solid pitching prospect they lost in the Major League phase to the Diamondbacks is coming back. Per the transactions page on Cubs.com, the Diamondbacks elected not to keep Peralta, who was struggling through Spring Training, and offered him back to the Cubs. The Cubs must have accepted, because the 22-year-old pitching prospect is now back in the Cubs’ organization. The Cubs even made a cool $25,000 in the process (it cost the Diamondbacks $50,000 to select Peralta, and the Cubs $25,000 to get him back).
Peralta has a great arm, and is seen a high upside sleeper by many, so it’s very nice to get him back into the fold. He hasn’t pitched above A-ball, though, and obviously has many things to work out. That he couldn’t stick on a ridiculously deep Diamondbacks roster is not really a knock against him. They have playoff aspirations and two dozen quality pitchers to get them there, so stashing Peralta was only going to make sense if he could affirmatively help them this year. He could not.
Still, this is good news. Now he can have a normal year of development in the Cubs’ system, and we’ll see where he is next Fall.
That’s great news.
In all honesty, where would you have seen Cerda fitting in going forward? I think the Cubs might have ‘omitted him’ from their list knowing that his best positions are the Cubs best positions. Maybe that money went toward hiring a new scout.
I’m glad Peralta is back. I was impressed with him when I saw him pitch in Quad City for Peoria.
For sure – I don’t necessarily disagree with their decision … except that the fact that the Cardinals wanted him makes me nervous.
The Cardinals haven’t done much growing MI recently. Kolten Wong sounds solid, though.
I’m afraid so. Wong is going to fill a hole they’ve had for a long time.
Actually, Matt Carpenter is going to fill it first … as a freaking converted first baseman, with a huge bat and a shockingly beautiful glove at second base. Voodoo magic.
I don’t mean to undermine your voodoo statement, but Carpenter came up as a third baseman. Which is probably a less impressive transition. But still, F*** the Cardinals, you know what I mean?
Yes, I know what you mean. F the Cardinals. With a pitchfork.
…wrapped in barbed wire.
don’t forget to dip it in hot sauce too.
Oh gosh, sort of like the Skip Schumacher conversion. Yeah, Wong is probably a year away at most.
That’s what she said.
Cerda always impressed me with his plate approach and he seems to be able to play defense at a few spots. The Cubs could have found a place for him.
Cerda was a man without a home. He is a grinder for sure. His best ability is to take a walk, but he is small and has very little power. He had to be a second baseman and he just wasn’t better then others like you have alluded too. When the Cubs drafted him they tried to make him a catcher, but that didn’t work. It was tough losing him because he is easy to root for, but it isn’t a killer.
I agree with this all the way.
Also, it doesn’t matter if the cardinals like him or not. They will always have hundreds of Bo Hart guys like this who will hurt you for a month or two and then disappear for a while – or forever in most cases. If Cerda turns into one of those guys, fine. If not him, it will just be someone else.
Brett,
commenting back on your game recap of Cubs/Dodgers, and how the Dodgers are your villian for this season, aren’t the Dodgers exactly what the Cubs would like to be? Get some home grown stars, and then sign a bunch of FA’s to make a title run?
No. They are evil.
(I don’t hate them as much as I sound, but sports are fun when there are teams to “hate.” The Dodgers’ core is far from home-grown, and I just hate the idea of a team having a payroll twice as high as other teams in its division (and they still have very healthy payrolls!), and FOUR TIMES as high as other teams in baseball. If the Cubs were doing exactly what the Dodgers are doing, I’d still support the team and be excited about 2013, but a part of me would feel icky about it. Call it an idiosyncrasy.)
Speaking of the Dodgers. The other day I heard they haven’t yet submitted the new tv contract to MLB for approval.
Part of me says BS but another part is curious. The grain of truth being the “unusual” way they set it up to avoid revenue sharing.
Have you seen anything about it?
I haven’t heard a peep about it since the word of that dispute was discussed everywhere. I will have to go back and check, but I think both the Dodgers and MLB were waiting on the bankruptcy court to interpret a provision of the bankruptcy plan about revenue sharing.
Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp are not home grown? What other core would they have?
Not a big deal, but when I see the Dodgers, that’s exactly how I’d like the Cubs to be. Develope core players, use the farm system and FA’s to add talent. That seems to be what worked in Boston as well.
I never said they didn’t have any home grown players. I said they imported a ton of huge money, very important (core) mercenaries.
Greinke, Gonzalez, Crawford, Beckett, Ramirez …
The Dodgers aren’t the mid-2000s Red Sox. They’re a beefed up version of the 2000s Yankees. As I said, I wouldn’t fight it, but a $230 million payroll is a $230 million payroll. It doesn’t come from being “home grown.”
Same here. Once the Dodgers went from words to action as far as operating like a big market power my respect increased exponentially. Love what they’ve done. Stan Kasten is the man.
How many did we lose again? I’m drawing a complete blank. I remember Peralta and Cerda, but there were a few more, right?
Burgess was one I hated to lose.
I liked him. He did well in Daytona for the FSL champs. He hit well when I watched the Smokies last year.
That said, he was replaced by Johermyn Chavez, and life goes on. I’ll be stunned if he has a 1 WAR career, and the Cubs were paid for his departure.
We lost Michael Burgess in the Triple A round;
http://www.bleachernation.com/2012/12/06/2012-rule-5-draft-live-picks-moves-reactions-etc/
Thanks, forgot about that Jimenez guy who I really didn’t know existed prior to the draft anyways. If Cerda breaks through, so help me God…
I think it was four altogether, and that the Cubs had the most players taken in the Rule 5 last year.
That $25k may very well may be his biggest contribution to the Cubs, we’ll know in three or four years.
Had a cheap selfish nieghbor once that refused to build an outdoor pool because the zoming laws would not permit him to build a 25 foot diving platform in his back yard. He claimed that it would take away from the experience the children would feel so he bought himself a Corvette. He knew he never would never win against the zoning committe but heck it was his yard and his kids and his reason……….
atmlb.com/140mYLc
Theo isn’t as dumb as some people make him out to be with the trades he makes.
How the Cubs got Loux.
First time I heard the whole story.
It’s kind of crazy that they got the Rangers to agree to that. Especially considering how bad Soto had been, and that they still get another prospect back in the deal.
I would say our media needs to stifle, but I’d've broken it if I’d've heard.
When the Loux deal went down, it was reported by many in Chicago that the PTBNL was no longer coming as part of the re-engineered swap. So, it’s possible TR Sullivan forgot that, or we were wrong back in November, or whenever it was. I’ll have to find out, but, as of right now, the prevailing belief around here is that no additional PTBNL is coming.
I might be remembering this wrong, but I thought the deal was originally Soto for Brigham, then became Brigham for Loux and a PTBNL in November. When was the PTBNL removed from the deal?
Maybe I’m remembering wrong. Currently have face full of burrito. Will check later.
Burrito is definitely first priority.
iirc, the discussion was initially that a PTBNL was going back to Texas. Shortly thereafter, it was announced it was the other way.
My guess would be a guy to put on the Venezuelan Summer League team with some highly limited upside.
Here is Soto’s bbref page, indicating Brigham plus cash or PTBNL.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sotoge01.shtml
If one is coming, that’s what I would assume. A guy in the same vein as the pitchers that they got for Campana.
I’d be thrilled with someone like either one.
The cubs and rangers swept the PTBNL under the table in exchange for getting a better pitching prospect.
Your neighbor should have pulled a Ricketts and threatened the local city council that by not allowing his diving pool, the local economy would have suffered.
Maybe they would have forgiven his property tax and even built the pool for him.
Why does it smell (seem) that this has something to do with Campana making final 25?
When is the last time a Rule 5 pick turned out to be somewhat of a productive major league baseball player. Productive meaning an everyday starter for consequetive years with the team. Drawing a blank here.
Johan Santana immediately jumps to mind.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/the-top-25-rule-5-draft-selections-1.3373923#25
santana was before major changes were made to the rule 5 draft.
That Josh Hamilton guy had a few good years. Too bad the Cubs didn’t keep him….(very much kidding).
Worst. Trade. Ever.
I was reading the Arizona Republic today and they quoted Kirk Gibson as saying that Perralta reminded him of a young Ivan Novoa.
I’d definitely take that.
I will also. It will be interesting to see where the Cubs will send Perralta. Will it be Kane County or Daytona?