Could Marlon Byrd Head Back to the Rangers?
Tomorrow marks the last day that a team can make a trade (via the waiver system) for a player, and include that player on its post-season roster. The Chicago Cubs have already made a couple waiver trades, sending Mike Fontenot to the Giants and Derrek Lee to the Braves.
But are the Cubs done dealing? They are assuredly still working the phones to try and outsource Kosuke Fukudome and Xavier Nady, but beyond that, no one believes the Cubs are considering moving anyone else.
Well, except maybe Richard Durrett, who writes the Texas Rangers blog for ESPNDallas. In a list of potential acquisition targets for the Rangers, Durrett lists a Cub – but not one you’d expect:
Marlon Byrd, Cubs: I only throw this in there because I find it intriguing, but Byrd fits the mold. He can play all the outfield positions and has a big bat against lefties. Byrd is hitting .366 with four homers and 19 RBIs against left-handed pitching this season. But, of course, he has two more years left on his contract in Chicago and I can’t think the Cubs would consider dealing him. Even if they do, it would involve a top prospect. So I can’t see it happening. But could you imagine Byrd back in the Rangers’ clubhouse down the stretch? ESPN Dallas.
Byrd’s contract escalates the next two years ($5.5 million in 2011, $6.5 million in 2012), and it’s possible that the Cubs could have Tyler Colvin or Kosuke Fukudome handle center field until prospect Brett Jackson is ready for the bigs (perhaps as soon as mid-season next year).
But that’s where the “this is possible” stops.
The Cubs love Marlon Byrd, and given his production and defense this year, they’ve got him relatively cheap over the next two years. Further, would Byrd really pass through waivers without being claimed by any NL team or any AL team with a worse record than the Rangers? Given his contract, it seems like a number of teams would be happy to take him on for the next couple of years, even if they’re not competitive this year.
In short, a trade of Marlon Byrd seems highly unlikely for a number of reasons.
Series Preview: Padres v. Cubs, August 16 – 19, 2010
It’s series preview time again as the Chicago Cubs welcome the best team in the National League to Wrigley Field. So bring it on Braves… er… Dodgers … er Cardinals? Giants?
Wait. San Diego Padres? Um, what?
A refresher on the series preview here at Bleacher Nation:
The idea is to hook you up with the bare minimum of what you need to know about every series this year. That way you can look like a genius, hardcore fan in front of all your friends, with minimum effort. Oh, and there will be pictures of beautiful women, too. So there’s that.
Check out the Padres series preview, after the jump
Chicago Cubs May Make More Trades Before August is Up
Trades made after the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31 are rare – at least, far more rare than trades made before the deadline – but they do happen, as evinced by the Chicago Cubs trade last night with the Giants, sending Mike Fontenot out for prospect Evan Crawford.
With the Cubs thoroughly out of contention, you can bet they’ll keep looking for more deals, even if the deals are more difficult to make right now.
”It’s hard to say if it’ll be the last one,” assistant general manager Randy Bush said after the trade that netted the Cubs outfield prospect Evan Crawford. ”Anything that we can do that we feel is to the betterment of the organization we’re going to continue to look at.”
In other words, Xavier Nady should probably keep his bags packed. CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
A trade of Nady would bring little more than salary relief to the Cubs, so don’t get your hopes up. In addition to Nady, realistically, the Cubs will look to move Jeff Baker. Beyond Baker and Nady, however, it’s hard to see another move – sure, the Cubs put most of their roster on waivers, but they won’t find a taker for the guys they really want to move (Carlos Zambrano, Kosuke Fukudome being the big two).
Chicago Cubs Almost Traded Mike Fontenot and Xavier Nady to Giants
We haven’t heard too much about the trades that never were, but it seems that the Chicago Cubs nearly dealt outfielder Xavier Nady and infielder Mike Fontenot to the San Francisco Giants just before the trade deadline.
Obviously the trade never materialized, and now the Cubs will work to deal the players via the waiver system, if at all. For his part, Nady is not concerned.
”I’ve already been through it,” said Nady, who had two hits while filling in for first baseman Derrek Lee (bereavement list) in the Cubs’ 4-3, 11-inning loss Monday to the San Francisco Giants. ”You’re always going to hear and have speculation that you might go here or there. For me, it’s just an everyday thing. I’ve been through it a few times, [so] it doesn’t really bother me or distract me.”
Nady, who nearly was traded to the Giants with infielder Mike Fontenot two weeks ago, was dealt three times in less than three years from 2005 to 2008.
With the Cubs’ season tail-spinning, the team is sorting through myriad roster decisions with an eye toward next season and is willing to send a veteran or two to a club in the playoff hunt. But Nady said that’s not something he spends much time thinking about.
”Playing for the Chicago Cubs right now is my priority,” he said. ”And … to hopefully produce and help the ballclub win in whatever aspect that might be.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
The mention of a near trade is thrown in as an aside, as if it was common knowledge, but I certainly didn’t hear anything about it (and I kind of pay attention to these things). I wonder what the trade details were, and why it fell apart.
Neither Nady nor Fontenot would bring much in return. Nady is a free agent at the end of the year and hasn’t produced, and although Fontenot is under control next year, teams may not be interested in paying him the $1.3+ million he’ll make in arbitration.
Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto Out, Micah Hoffpauir and Welington Castillo In
Just like that, two Chicago Cubs starters are out of the picture for a stretch. Catcher Geovany Soto, battling a right shoulder strain, has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, and first baseman Derrek Lee has been placed on the bereavement list while he attends to his ailing grandfather.
Soto has not played since Friday because of a mild ligament sprain in his right shoulder. He was in Monday’s lineup against the Giants but scratched after feeling some discomfort in batting practice.
Lee left the team Monday to drive to Sacramento to be with his grandfather, who was ill.
Castillo was batting .251 in 65 games at Triple-A Iowa with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs. Hoffpauir was hitting .273 with 20 homers, 32 doubles and 87 RBIs in 107 games. cubs.com.
Soto will likely return as soon as his DL stint is up, and Lee will be back much sooner.
But I’ll tell you the one thing I’m not going to say: if Lee had accepted a trade to California, he would be able to visit his family much more easily in any circumstance. Nope. Not going to say that, because that would be heartless and evil. Not going to say it.
Carlos Zambrano Will Officially Rejoin the Rotation on Monday
The Chicago Cubs made clear yesterday that Carlos Zambrano will rejoin the team’s rotation on Monday when he starts against the Giants in San Francisco. Again: in San Francisco. It ain’t a coincidence that it’s coming on the road.
As for Zambrano, he’s unsurprisingly excited about the opportunity.
Whether the 11 starts he figures to get over the final two months wind up being his final 11 as a Cub, the embattled right-hander says he appreciates the assignment with a new outlook after more than a month away from the team.
”Sometimes you don’t know what you have until you lose it,” said Zambrano, who will be making his first start since airing out teammates June 25 at U.S. Cellular Field, earning a suspension and monthlong exile to the restricted list while he underwent anger-management counseling.
”When you lose it, you realize that you had something good — in your career, in your life. And I don’t want to lose this opportunity,” Zambrano said. ”Look, I just want to pitch here and just want to be happy here, in Chicago. And I just want people to be happy, and the way to do that is pitch good.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
All we can do is root for Zambrano at this point. Be angry or bitter if you want, but Zambrano pitching well will only help the Cubs – either allowing them to trade him this winter, or allowing him to get his head in the right place to succeed next year.
When Carlos Silva finally returns from the disabled list, Carlos Zambrano will almost certainly remain in the rotation, with whatever youngster is holding down a spot at the point getting bounced – be it Thomas Diamond or otherwise – unless the youngster is dominating and Zambrano is miserable.
Obsessive Ted Lilly Trade Watch: The Dodgers Are A-Callin’
Though he didn’t even appear in the game, last night’s shellacking of Carlos Silva made it incrementally more likely that Chicago Cubs starter Ted Lilly would be traded. With just over a week to go before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31, the Cubs are no doubt continuously evaluating their position vis a vis the other teams in the NL Central. And when you get blown out by one of the worst teams, it becomes a whole lot easier to think sell-sell-sell, even if it’s just “one game.”
With that as a backdrop, we can add another team to the list of suitors for Ted Lilly’s services: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Losers of four in a row and with 13 of their next 17 games against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, the Dodgers, according to baseball sources, have been very aggressive in their pursuit of pitching, both for the rotation and the bullpen. They continue to call the Houston Astros on Roy Oswalt(notes), the Chicago Cubs on Ted Lilly(notes), the Diamondbacks on Haren and even the Cleveland Indians on Jake Westbrook(notes) and Fausto Carmona(notes). Yahoo! Sports.
The only team for which there have been reports of real talks or prospect scouting is the New York Mets, and recently those reports have cooled. It’s good to know there are a number of teams interested in Lilly – the Mets, Dodgers, Tigers, Yankees, Twins, White Sox, among others – but right now, concrete details are a scarcity.
Lukewarm Stove: Giants Want Tom Gorzelanny, Probably Don’t Want Ryan Theriot
The San Francisco Giants are in a battle out West, and are falling slowly out of the race. Thus, they’re looking to shore up their team as baseball heads into the second half.
The Giants also are in the market for pitching and they had a scout at Wrigley Field last week watching Tom Gorzelanny, who is very appealing to clubs because of his low salary and ability to start or relieve. chicagotribune.com.
Of course the Giants are interested in Gorzelanny – as would be most teams. He’s cheap, under control for a couple more years, can start or relieve, is a lefty, and is rockin’ it this year. Incidentally, those are all the same reasons the Cubs would have to receive quite a haul to trade him.
Speaking of the Giants, they had, at least at one time, an interest in second baseman Ryan Theriot, whom the Cubs are unlikely to tender a contract at the end of the year (though they might try to re-sign him after he’s non-tendered). We haven’t heard much on this front, however, in a couple weeks.
