NEWSLETTER
I am sitting here thinking about the state of things, thinking about the potent Cincinnati Reds lineup, and thinking about the ever-pervasive threat of injury. We already know the Cubs want to trade Zach Davies. I mean, they haven’t said it out loud, but the Cubs are in the process of stretching out two minor league starters (Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson) to take big league starts, the Cubs haven’t yet released Jake Arrieta, and oh-also-the-Cubs-are-massive-sellers.
So, then, if we all know that the Cubs are going to trade Zach Davies, I’m wondering: is he gonna make his scheduled start tonight? If so, why? To complete the game of chicken with the buyers in the hopes that the price tag comes up a slight bit in two days? I don’t ask that rhetorically; we don’t know what the offers are (or aren’t) on Davis, and it might be the case that they are flat out not acceptable at the moment. So you roll the dice on a healthy and successful start tonight, and go from there on Friday right up to the deadline.
We saw that the Pirates took an opposite tack last night with Tyler Anderson, though, a very similar starting pitcher. Rather than let Anderson make his final pre-deadline start, the Pirates urged for a trade – first to the Phillies, and then ultimately to the Mariners. The return(s) weren’t huge, as you’d expect, but clearly the Pirates didn’t want to risk missing out on any return at all. I just wonder if the Cubs will try something similar and tell any interested bidders that they just need to go ahead and make a final offer today, because he’s being moved no matter what.
The alternative, of course, would be simply to do a healthy scratch situation – a nod to the reality of the situation – and complete a deal as it comes together over the next two days. Maybe the Cubs want to wait out the resolution of the Max Scherzer situation (which could come tonight), in the hopes that one of the losing bidders will get desperate? Not that Davies is a replacement for Scherzer! But he’s an available arm that might still be an upgrade for a team, even if not a Scherzer-level upgrade.
I guess we’ll see what happens. The game is in, what, seven hours? There’s still plenty of time for a change in circumstance, but I know I’ll be watching for Davies news extra closely today. And then if he does make his start, boy it would be great if he dominates.
