We’ve been expecting it for a couple days now, and Keith Law confirms that a deal is coming:
Cubs acquire RHP Jacob Turner from Marlins for a couple of minor leaguers. Love this pickup for Chicago.
— keithlaw (@keithlaw) August 8, 2014
Now we await identification of the minor league players. Turner is a 23-year-old righty, and, although he doesn’t have the prospect shine he once did, he’s got decent velocity, good peripherals, and a chance to be a solid member of the rotation for several years. We’ll discuss more soon.
UPDATE: Paul Sullivan says the deal is for two Low-A pitchers, which could be Boise or Kane County. Obviously there are some very nice pitchers down there, but also some long-shots.
UPDATE 2 (12:42pm CT): Remember, the Cubs will have to open up a 25-man and 40-man spot to complete this transaction. We could see a reliever sent out (or DFA’d) and then someone else removed from the 40-man. It doesn’t *have* to be the same player.
UPDATE 3 (12:45pm CT): Still waiting on the names. At Boise and Kane County, the names you’d most like to see kept are Jen-Ho Tseng (especially Tseng), Duane Underwood, Paul Blackburn, and Trevor Clifton. Hard to see Marlins having enough leverage to get one of those guys, but we’ll see.
UPDATE 4 (12:47pm CT): This is coming together like a Choose Your Own Mystery. Keith Law says it’s two relievers, not necessarily “prospects.” Good sign.
UPDATE 5 (12:59pm CT): True to the piece-by-piece nature of this deal (I’m actually enjoying it!), Tyler Bremer’s brother just tweeted that Bremer is headed to the Marlins. So there’s one. Bremer is putting up decent numbers for KC this year, but he’s 23 and is the kind of high K, high BB type that systems are generally full of. Best of luck to him with the Fish.
UPDATE 6 (1:03pm CT): And the other arm is Jose Arias, who was, at one time, something of a legit prospect. He’s now 23, and, like Bremer, putting up great numbers at Kane County. Possible future as a reliever up the ladder? Sure. Terribly painful to lose? No. Best of luck to Arias, as well.
In the end, the deal is confirmation that the Marlins had virtually no leverage, and the Cubs get to take a shot on Turner for almost no cost. More on Turner soon, but this is a fantastic, opportunistic pick-up for the Cubs. Turner has some issues, but he’s also got upside.