astrosfanatic
12-22-2011, 11:17 PM
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/12/cubs-planning-complete-and-total-rebuild.html
The Cubs are attempting to deal "most of their valuable assets" before Spring Training begins and "a complete overhaul of the team will definitely happen," two Major League sources tell David Kaplan of CSN Chicago. The impending Sean Marshall-for-Travis Wood trade is the first step in this process, as the Cubs are acquiring a young, controllable, 24-year-old southpaw starter for a 29-year-old reliever who was set to earn $3.1MM in 2012.
They should have started this process a year or two earlier. There are a couple problems that Theo is going to face:
1) Alfonso Soriano: Yeah, he had a decent year last year (for a league average outfielder). The problem is he is being paid All-Star kind of money. He is due 18 million dollars each year until 2014. That's 3 years/54 million dollars left. Nobody is going to take that salary, not even a desperate AL team looking for a DH. They will most likely have to eat over half of that 54 million dollars and take a hit in the quality of prospects they get if they trade him. According to his 1.3 WAR last year, he as worth 5.9 million dollars. So another team might look at that and be willing to pay around 5 million a year for him which leaves 39 million dollars for the Cubs to pay. I doubt that happens, which is why Soriano will be extremely hard to move.
2) Carlos Zambrano: Ignoring his head problems and the difficulty he has with teammates, he might even challenge Soriano for worst contract on the team. He has a full no-trade clause, so if they are able to find a deal he has to approve it. According to Fangraphs, he is owed 18 million in 2012 with a vesting option in 2013 that he is very unlikely to get. The only good thing is that his contract most likely ends this next year. The problem is that he has either been injured or suspended b/c of his antics, and is thus a waste of money. Who knows? Maybe he tires of the Cubs and waives his no-trade clause to be dealt at the deadline. The Cubs will still have to pick up a significant part of his contract to even get a prospect of decent value back in return. Don't hold your breath.
Now both of those issues standing, they are heading in the right direction with a new manager that many people like in Sveum, and they have some good young talent in Castro and Wells.
What they need to do is trade Garza and Dempster. Both of those guys could bring back some good talent. Dempster would be a good guy to trade at the deadline when teams are looking for a reliable veteran SP to help them make that playoff push. Garza would be better off being traded right now so that his new team could get the most value out of him before he hits the FA market.
Signing Fielder would be a step backwards right now for the Cubs. They need to manage their salaries and get rid of the bad money before they start taking risks with long-term contracts.
The Cubs are attempting to deal "most of their valuable assets" before Spring Training begins and "a complete overhaul of the team will definitely happen," two Major League sources tell David Kaplan of CSN Chicago. The impending Sean Marshall-for-Travis Wood trade is the first step in this process, as the Cubs are acquiring a young, controllable, 24-year-old southpaw starter for a 29-year-old reliever who was set to earn $3.1MM in 2012.
They should have started this process a year or two earlier. There are a couple problems that Theo is going to face:
1) Alfonso Soriano: Yeah, he had a decent year last year (for a league average outfielder). The problem is he is being paid All-Star kind of money. He is due 18 million dollars each year until 2014. That's 3 years/54 million dollars left. Nobody is going to take that salary, not even a desperate AL team looking for a DH. They will most likely have to eat over half of that 54 million dollars and take a hit in the quality of prospects they get if they trade him. According to his 1.3 WAR last year, he as worth 5.9 million dollars. So another team might look at that and be willing to pay around 5 million a year for him which leaves 39 million dollars for the Cubs to pay. I doubt that happens, which is why Soriano will be extremely hard to move.
2) Carlos Zambrano: Ignoring his head problems and the difficulty he has with teammates, he might even challenge Soriano for worst contract on the team. He has a full no-trade clause, so if they are able to find a deal he has to approve it. According to Fangraphs, he is owed 18 million in 2012 with a vesting option in 2013 that he is very unlikely to get. The only good thing is that his contract most likely ends this next year. The problem is that he has either been injured or suspended b/c of his antics, and is thus a waste of money. Who knows? Maybe he tires of the Cubs and waives his no-trade clause to be dealt at the deadline. The Cubs will still have to pick up a significant part of his contract to even get a prospect of decent value back in return. Don't hold your breath.
Now both of those issues standing, they are heading in the right direction with a new manager that many people like in Sveum, and they have some good young talent in Castro and Wells.
What they need to do is trade Garza and Dempster. Both of those guys could bring back some good talent. Dempster would be a good guy to trade at the deadline when teams are looking for a reliable veteran SP to help them make that playoff push. Garza would be better off being traded right now so that his new team could get the most value out of him before he hits the FA market.
Signing Fielder would be a step backwards right now for the Cubs. They need to manage their salaries and get rid of the bad money before they start taking risks with long-term contracts.