It seems our multi-day discussion will not be for naught.
According to Ken Rosenthal, an NL Team claimed pitcher Jacob Turner off of waivers from the Marlins, as expected, and there could be a deal brewing:
Source: #Marlins’ Turner claimed by NL team. Likely to be dealt. Off 40-man due to DFA; can’t be pulled back w/o going on irrevocable wvrs.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 6, 2014
So … who’s the team? Well, according to Jim Bowden (sigh, I know), it’s the Cubs:
Cubs claim Jacob Turner on waivers and have the rights #Cubs @Cubs
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenMLB) August 6, 2014
Given what happened last week with Bowden, I had planned on not relying on him for anything for a long time. But, given Rosenthal’s tweet, given the earlier report about the Rockies passing, and given my own sense of how the Cubs tend to behave, I think there’s some credibility here.
Let’s see where this goes. If the two sides are working on a trade, consider some things: Turner, 23, has legitimate value, but it is depressed by (1) his lack of options, (2) his slightly elevated salary ($1 million), and (3) the Marlins rock-and-hard-place (if they revoke the waiver, they will then have to put Turner on outright waivers, so the only stick they can wag at the Cubs appears to be “you send us something good, or we’ll … we’ll … give him to the Rockies for free”).
As we’ve discussed, keep in mind on Turner: because he’s out of options, he will have to go immediately onto the 25-man roster. That doesn’t mean he’ll immediately enter the rotation, but the Cubs may have to at least find a spot in the bullpen for him.
UPDATE: Rosenthal says Bowden’s report is accurate, and Chris Cotillo hears that the Cubs did claim Turner.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean the Cubs HAVE Turner yet. It means only that the Marlins could let the Cubs take him, they could try to work out a trade (most likely), or the Marlins could pull him back. But, because Turner was DFA’d, it appears that he would then have to go on outright waivers, and they would lose him for nothing. I suspect a minor trade is coming.
UPDATE 2 (2:27pm CT): Putting this here from yesterday’s Turner post, so that you have the full picture of what the Cubs would be getting:
Turner, 23, is not the super-top-prospect guy he once was, but the peripherals and uptick in velocity this year make you think there could be something there still. The Marlins dumping him to add a reliever to the roster is a significant surprise. Of course, the Marlins aren’t DFA’ing him for no reason. The performance keeps lagging, and, being that Turner is out of minor league options, he has to be carried on the 25-man roster, which proved to be a problem for the Marlins. He also had a big league deal from back when he was originally signed, and he makes slightly more than your average pre-arb player ($1 million). The Marlins are in a pennant race, and perhaps they’ve just decided they simply can’t afford to have Turner anywhere on the roster right now, even in the bullpen.
UPDATE 3 (2:35pm CT): And now a couple local confirmations of the waiver claim, so this is happening:
Source confirms Cubs made waiver claim on Marlins P Jacob Turner – no deal yet – and had Cuban OF Rusney Castillo at Wrigley for a workout.
— Patrick Mooney (@CSNMooney) August 6, 2014
As other reports suggest, #Cubs won waiver claim on Miami SP Jacob Turner, former touted prospect, still just 23. But haven't acquired yet.
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) August 6, 2014
The Cubs and Marlins now have two days to work out a trade for Turner. I’d expect a low-level prospect going to the Marlins – perhaps someone who is otherwise Rule 5 exposed this Fall?
UPDATE 4 (2:50pm CT): One more thought on the Marlins’ lack of leverage (and the Rockies’ curious lack of interest in Turner) – if the Cubs and Marlins don’t work out a trade, the Marlins will “pull back” Turner, who will then have to go on outright waivers because of the DFA, and the Rockies would again get the first crack at Turner, this time for free. But if the Rockies had claimed Turner on revocable trade waivers, not made a “fair” offer, then the Marlins would have been forced to do outright waivers anyway … and Rockies would have gotten him for free. So that means the Rockies must not want Turner at all, right? Because if they did, they would have played this game, yes?
In turn, then, the leverage I see here for the Marlins is if the Cubs win tonight and the Diamondbacks lose, thus changing the waiver priority – which matters if the Cubs/Marlins don’t work out a trade. In that case, then Turner would go on outright waivers, and the Diamondbacks would have a crack at him for free before the Cubs. So … not saying the Cubs should try to lose tonight, but, in THIS PARTICULAR situation, it would help them.
I guess the only other leverage I can think of is the Marlins saying, “If you don’t work out a trade, we’ll pull him back, and then release him.” Then everyone gets a crack at Turner, who might not sign with the Cubs.
UPDATE 5 (9:12pm CT): It’s been expected at this point, but at least putting a source with it – Dave Kaplan says that a trade will happen, and the Cubs will get Turner. There are some rumors floating out there about a certain outfield prospect (ok, Shawon Dunston, Jr.) leaving the Kane County game early today, and people connecting the dots from there (Dunston is approximately the type of prospect you’d think of in a deal like this). I’ve not heard anything about Dunston, but I’d caution that guys are removed from games for a variety of reasons, and Dunston is reportedly still sitting in the dugout. Is it possible there’s something there? Sure. But it’s also possible it’s just a coincidence.