Lukewarm Stove: Injury Shake-Up, Samardzija, Santana, Diaz, Carpenter, Headley (UPDATE)

Mar 10, 2014

There are some potential moves still out there before the season starts ….

A Spring Training injury might throw the current free agent and trade market for a loop (yes, there is still such a market even though it’s almost mid-March): the Braves’ Kris Medlen, expected to be among their top starters, left his most recent outing with a right forearm strain. Obviously that could nothing more than a few week rehab injury, or it could be a Tommy John precursor (Medlen has already had the surgery once). The Braves will apparently evaluate him further today and could know more soon. You hate to see anyone go down like that (Medlen threw a ball, and immediately ran off the field shaking his arm), but the injury must be followed closely because there are a wide range of implications, which could potentially touch on the Cubs and Jeff Samardzija. Without Medlen, the Braves’ rotation looks might scary at the back-end, with guys like Freddy Garcia, Alex Wood and David Hale having to step up.

If the Braves do decide to turn to the trade market, Buster Olney looks at some possibilities. Jeff Samardzija offers perhaps a perfect fit for the Braves, given the inexpensive control and, well, skillz. We know that the Braves did have interested in Samardzija during the offseason (i.e., before Medlen’s injury, even), but they reportedly balked at the Cubs’ asking price of Jason Heyward or Justin Upton. (I still find those demands to be highly interesting, given that each guy is under control for the same two years as Samardzija, and isn’t enough of a difference-maker for the Cubs in 2014. It suggests that the Cubs were heavily eyeing 2015 when they made those requests.)

Ken Rosenthal writes about the latest on free agent Ervin Santana (including the possible relationship between where he goes and the Medlen injury), which features Santana potentially deciding between one-year deals with the Orioles and Blue Jays, or maybe even a three-year deal with the Orioles or Twins. The Blue Jays remain the most obvious destination for Santana (though the Orioles and Mariners could use him, too), but he’d probably have to take a one-year, $14 million deal to go there.

Rosenthal also mentions, by the way, that the Braves could re-open talks with the Cubs about Samardzija. If one of those outfielders isn’t to be had (or isn’t what the Cubs are looking for anymore), then you can figure top 100 pitching prospect Lucas Sims is what the Cubs are going to demand as the headliner. Catching prospect Christian Bethancourt (also a top 100 type) would also be attractive, but the Braves are expected to lean on him very soon. Sims has serious upside, but it’s worth pointing out that he’s just 19 and has only one full year of professional ball (at Low-A).

UPDATE: And just like that, the Braves have picked up an emergency depth option in Zach Stewart from the White Sox (for cash, according to Paul Sullivan). Does this mean anything? Well, it could be a sign that they expect to lose Medlen for some period of time, but obviously Stewart doesn’t replace him.

The Cardinals’ signing of Cuban Aledmys Diaz is being met mostly with shrugged shoulders around baseball, though Jim Callis says he would have ranked Diaz as the Cardinals’ fourth or fifth best prospect if he’d been eligible. The deal is worth just $8 million total, according to Derrick Goold, far less than folks were projecting. Then again, those projections were likely inflated by the recent deals for Alexander Guerrero and Erisbel Arruebarruena, as well as Diaz’s lofty demands – it’s hard to project Cuban signing values in advance, because there is no stateside track record as a benchmark. All in all, probably a fine deal for the Cardinals, but not a game-changer.

Ben Lindbergh looks at that Diaz signing, as well as something we haven’t yet discussed here: this weekend’s extension for Matt Carpenter. The Cardinals locked up their now-third-baseman for six years and $52 million, plus an $18.5 million option at the end. That appears to be market rate for a guy of Carpenter’s service time and value (the deal buys the Cardinals two free agent years). The weird thing about Carpenter, though, is his age: he’s already 28, so this deal will take him through age 33. It covers not only prime years, but probably some downside, too. For me, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have preferred to just go year-to-year with Carpenter if I were the Cardinals. That still gets you his age 28, 29, 30, and 31 seasons – why pay free agent prices today for ages 32 and 33 for a guy with such a limited track record in the big leagues as an elite player? He was fan-freaking-voodoo-tastic in 2013, and was very good in limited duty in 2012. Is that enough to want to make sure you’ve got him well into his 30s? I’m just not sure. Lindbergh, by the way, gives the deal a “ok fine.” That’s probably right.

One of the big-time free agents for next offseason doesn’t figure to sign an extension! Hooray! Oh … it’s third baseman Chase Headley. Hamburgers.

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

more cubs news

Chicago Cubs

Pablo Aliendo Goes Way Deep, Alexander Canario Goes Way Grand

Pablo Aliendo gave the Tennessee Smokies an early lead on Tuesday night. Matching up with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, Aliendo sent a ball deep into left field during the 2nd inning. The homer gave the Smokies an early 1-0...

Elias Schuster

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Nico Hoerner Was Scratched Just Before Tonight’s Game Started

You know that expression, when it rains, it pours? This is like that, except instead of raining, it is pouring deluxe turds. Just an absolute monsoon of shit. Another Cubs injury issue to another key Cubs player: https://twitter.com/maddie_m_lee/status/1790522697002455532 So, Nico...

Brett Taylor

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Pre-Gamin’: Cubs at Braves (6:20 CT) – Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs were shutout in the opener against the Braves last night. And it doesn't figure to get any easier against a resurgent Chris Sale tonight. Here's how Craig Counsell will line 'em up against the 35-year-old...

Michael Cerami

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Adbert Alzolay Update: Imaging Results, Timeline, and a Sprinkle of (Unexpected) Optimism

I had the weirdest reaction to what is objectively bad injury news on Adbert Alzolay just now. According to Meghan Montemurro, medical imaging confirmed that Adbert Alzolay has a right flexor strain. While I should have been upset to learn...

Michael Cerami

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Jed Hoyer Speaks: New Reliever, Bullpen Issues, Imanaga, Morel, Swanson, Bat Data, More

The Chicago Cubs' President of Baseball Operations just hopped on 670 The Score On the Bernstein & Holmes Show, discussing a number of Cubs-related items. He led things off with a discussion of newly-acquired reliever, Tyson Miller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hes1lI-8ZCI So, then,...

Brett Taylor

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Shota Imanaga Favored for NL Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, MVP, Nobel Peace Prize, and an Oscar

There is nothing Shota Imanaga can't do. Going up against one of the best teams in baseball — and best overall offenses versus LHP — on the road, without his best stuff, Shota Imanaga tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in Atlanta, with...

Michael Cerami

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

MLBits: Shōta and ReyLo Duel, New MLB Pipeline Top 100, Investigating the New Statcast Swing Metrics, More

Baseball's top two pitchers in the ERA department squared off last night and did not disappoint—that and more in today's MLB Notes. Shōta Imanaga Was Awesome (Again), But So Was Reynaldo Lopez I've watched a lot of Reynaldo López, given...

Patrick K. Flowers

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Cubs Farm Report | May 14, 2024: Top 25 Prospect Stock Report

The Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates were off on Monday, so it's time to take stock of some recent hot (and not-so-hot) performers inside the Cubs Top 25 prospects down on the farm in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm...

Patrick K. Flowers

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Did You Ever Wonder What Happened to Frank Schwindel?

I've gotten back into baseball cards, which, among other things, sends me down a lot of Memory Lanes. You pull a particular card, you think about that player, and you have various memories. It's part of the fun. The other...

Brett Taylor

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Shotamania, Counsell Boot, Rotation, Wesneski, Happ, and Other Cubs Bullets

I hope your Tuesday is treating you well. So far so good on my end ... Shota Imanaga dealt with more traffic last night than he has thus far in his debut MLB season, but hey, that's a ridiculous Braves...

Brett Taylor

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Pablo Aliendo Goes Way Deep, Alexander Canario Goes Way Grand

Elias Schuster

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Nico Hoerner Was Scratched Just Before Tonight’s Game Started

Brett Taylor

May 14, 2024

Chicago Bears

WATCH: Caleb Williams is Already Making Connections with DJ Moore and Keenan Allen at Halas Hall

Caleb Williams clips, however brief, will always grab my attention. Because while I can tell myself over and over again that I will not get googly eyes over spring practice videos, the reality is that I can't wait to see...

Luis C. Medina

May 14, 2024

MLB

How to Watch Phillies Games: Full 2024 Schedule, Live Stream and More

If you are a Philadelphia Phillies fan and looking to catch their games, you can watch most of them on TV with a cable subscription or via streaming with one of the many different apps. Let’s break down the cable...

Brian Twining

May 14, 2024

Chicago Blackhawks

Connor Bedard Scored Again for Canada

Oh hey! Blackhawks' star Connor Bedard scored his fifth goal of the World Championships for Canada on Tuesday afternoon. https://twitter.com/BN_Blackhawks/status/1790468565675483262 Bedard helped Canada sprint to a 6-1 lead... which evaporated as Austria scored five unanswered goals in the third period...

Tab Bamford

May 14, 2024

MLB

How to Watch Yankees Games: Full 2024 Schedule, Live Stream and More

The Bronx is booming! Yankee Stadium crackles with energy as the New York Yankees chase another World Series title. Whether you're a die-hard Yankees fan bleeding pinstripes or a baseball enthusiast captivated by the American League East race, their remaining...

Brian Twining

May 14, 2024

Chicago Cubs

Adbert Alzolay Update: Imaging Results, Timeline, and a Sprinkle of (Unexpected) Optimism

Michael Cerami

May 14, 2024

Chicago Bears

Kiran Amegadjie Reportedly Signed His Rookie Deal (UPDATE: It’s Officially Official)

Chicago Bears offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie is reportedly signing his rookie deal. NFL reporter Aaron Wilson has details on the contract, which includes: A $1.121 million signing bonus Annual workout bonus of $50,000 per year from 2025-27 Total deal worth...

Luis C. Medina

May 14, 2024

News

2024 PGA Championship Prize Purse and Payout Breakdown: How Much Money Does the Winner Make?

The countdown has begun for the highly anticipated PGA Championship. As the second major of the 2024 calendar, this prestigious event will grace the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, from May 16-19. This year marks the 106th edition of the championship,...

Ryan Noonan

May 14, 2024

Chicago Bulls

Lonzo Ball Shares a Very Optimistic (Nearly Unbelievable) Update on His Rehab

Lonzo Ball's new podcast "What an Experience" didn't avoid the elephant in the room. Within the first few seconds of the inaugural episode, Ball addressed his current health status and provided an update on his return to play. To be...

Elias Schuster

May 14, 2024

Lukewarm Stove: Injury Shake-Up, Samardzija, Santana, Diaz, Carpenter, Headley (UPDATE)

Read More

more cubs news

Latest News

more cubs news

Most Popular

Most Popular

Latest News

Most Popular

Most Popular