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.

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.

Series Preview: Brewers v. Cubs, August 2 – August 4, 2010

It’s Series Preview time again, as the Chicago Cubs welcome the Milwaukee Brewers to Wrigley Field – still the one team, outside of Arizona, against whom the Cubs have played well this year. The Brewers didn’t conduct a sell-off, so they’ll be at full-strength.

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.

Check out the Brewers series preview, after the jump

Series Preview: Cubs v. Rockies, July 30 – August 1, 2010

The Chicago Cubs head out to Denver to take on a team nearly as disappointing (recently) as the Cubs, the Colorado Rockies. At least it’s really pretty out there. Shrug.

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 streaks, lineups, game times, broadcast schedule, etc. 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.

Check out the Rockies series preview, after the jump

Chicago Cubs Sign Second Round Pick Reggie Golden

Some good news on the draft front – yesterday the Cubs announced that they had signed their second round pick, high school outfielder Reggie Golden.

Reggie Golden got his first peek at life in the big leagues on Saturday.

Golden, the Cubs’ second-round Draft pick, signed his contract on Friday and was able to do a little hitting in the cage with players such as Marlon Byrd, Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs now have signed 24 of their first 50 selections.

“It feels good,” Golden said of being in a Major League clubhouse. “I grew up watching these guys play, especially Derrek Lee and Alfonso Soriano. I’ve got chills.”

Golden, selected out of Wetumpka High School in Wetumpka, Ala., was recommended by area scout Tom Clark, who accompanied the outfielder on Saturday.

“He’s a combination of speed and power, and that’s hard to find, especially nowadays,” Clark said. “He can run, and he has power.”

Golden finished his high school career with 36 home runs, 156 RBIs and 146 runs. He did sign with the University of Alabama, but has instead opted to get his professional career started. cubs.com.

Terms of his deal weren’t disclosed quite yet, but I’d imagine that he received a little bit more than expected in order to keep him from enrolling at Alabama.

UPDATE: I was right. Golden received a $720k signing bonus, which was about $160k over the slot recommendation. Indeed the Cubs must really like him.

Lukewarm Stove: Rockies Looking at Ryan Theriot?

The Chicago Cubs, even if they weren’t sellers, would probably be looking to move an infielder. They’ve got three guys rotating at second base – Ryan Theriot, Mike Fontenot, and Jeff Baker – and that’s at least one too many. The Rockies, who’ve lost shortstop Troy Tulowitzki until at least August with a broken wrist, are in the market for a middle infielder.

Detroit had talks with the Cubs centering around second baseman Ryan Theriot. Those conversations have cooled down. Major League sources tell ESPNChicago.com that the Colorado Rockies now have apparent interest in Theriot. ESPN Chicago.

Theriot hasn’t been worth a hoot at the plate this year – .278/.317/.313 for a career worst 65 OPS+ (still think you’re worth $3.4 million, Ryan?) – but he remains versatile, and assuming he comes back to his career averages, should be good in the second half.

Lou Piniella: “We probably will be sellers”

Even though the Chicago Cubs just managed to secure an AMAZING series victory – their first in 12 tries – the team is still so far behind in the NL Central and the NL Wild Card races that they are expected to be sellers come the trade deadline at the end of the month.

And manager Lou Piniella has confirmed that sentiment.

”We probably will be sellers,” Piniella said before the Cubs’ 6-4 victory Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. ”We [he and general manager Jim Hendry] haven’t broached that subject much, just briefly. I would anticipate that if the organization can make a move or two that they might.”

Hendry won’t discuss specific trade talks, and he said he doesn’t like using the terms ”buyers” or ”sellers.” He suggested any moves that might be made would be done with an eye toward next season.

Meanwhile, it’s no secret the Cubs are trying to ease their outfield logjam by trading Kosuke Fukudome and the $20 million or so left on his contract. Left-hander Ted Lilly and first baseman Derrek Lee, both of whom are in the final year of their contracts, also are said to be on the block. CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.

No surprises in the names on the block, though you can add Xavier Nady, Mike Fontenot, Ryan Theriot, Jeff Baker, and probably Carlos Silva.

In some ways, the recent series win makes me a little nervous – the worst outcome for this team is not continuing to lose. It’s winning just enough over the next couple of weeks to stop them from becoming full-on sellers. I know it’s not fun to watch a team that is missing some of your favorite players, and that isn’t competitive, but this is a team that needs to rebuild. Just resign yourself to the fact that it will be fun to watch some of the young kids in the system play on the big club.

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