Villanueva Could Draw Interest from Contenders
11:59 PM (Eastern) tonight is the deadline for an MLB club to acqure a player from another organization or sign a free-agent so that the player would be eligible for the club's post-season playoff roster.
The player does NOT have to be added to the club's MLB Active List (25-man roster) prior to the 11:59 PM deadline to be playoff eligible, however. He just has to be under club control by the deadline.
Carlos Villanueva is the most-likely Cub to get traded today. He has pitched very well as a "swingman" over the past seven weeks (14 games), and he should have value to a contender because of his versatility (he can start or relieve).
CARLOS VILLANUEVA LAST 14 GAMES:
22.2 IP, 12 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 25 K, 2 HBP, 1 HR
0.62 WHIP
0.40 ERA
.156 Opp BA
Unless the Cubs sign him to a contract extension (not likely), Villanueva will be an Article XX-B MLB FA after the conclusion of the World Series, and the Cubs would end up with nothing. So I'm sure they would be very interested in finding a trade partner, even if all they get back in return is a "second-tier" prospect.
There is an outside chance that some other Cub player could draw interest as well, but Villanueva would seem to be the best candidate.
The only stumbling block to any potential trade made this time of year is that Trade Assignment Waivers (see below) must be secured before a player on an MLB 40-man roster can be dealt.
OTHER POTENTIAL TRADE CANDIDATES:
33-year old veteran NPB LHSP Tsuyoshi Wada has pitched very well for the Cubs since getting called up from AAA Iowa in July, but the Cubs have a club option on Wada for 2015 and might want to hang onto him until they know whether or not they can sign a #1 starting pitcher (like Jon Lester) in the off-season. If the Cubs don't sign a TOR starter, Wada's chances of remaining in Chicago in 2015 grows.
The Cubs also hold a 2015 club option on 34-year old veteran NPB RHRP,Kyuji Fujikawa, who has spent much of the 2013 & 2014 seasons rehabbing from TJS. But unlike with Wada, the Cubs are probably unlikely to exercise their 2015 option on Fujikawa. There is a lengthy list of young arms set to compete for MLB bullpen jobs with the Cubs in 2015, and the $5.5M Fujikawa would get if the Cubs pick-up his option could probably be better-allocated elsewhere. So the Cubs would almost certainly jump at the chance to trade Fujikawa (even if it's jst a waiver claim with no players coming back), but Fujikawa really hasn't pitched well enough to draw much interest from contenders.
LHRP Wesley Wright (eligible for salary arbitration post-2014 and under club control through 2015) could get moved today if a contender is looking for a veteran lefty reliever. Wright has pitched fairly well for the Cubs this season, and with James Russell having already been traded, Wright is the Cubs de facto #1 lefty reliever going into 2015. But he is also a potential 12/2 non-tender candidate if the Cubs need his 40-man roster slot during the off-season, so the Cubs probably would be willing to trade him today or sometime during the off-season if they get an offer they really like.
Veteran back-up catcher John Baker could have value to somebody as a September "insurance policy" (3rd catcher). As with Fujikawa, the Cubs probably wouldn't get anything back for Baker other than a little bit of salary relief, but they might move him if a contender shows even slight interest. Baker was Jason Hammel's "personal catcher" prior to Hammel getting traded to Oakland in July, so maybe the A's wiould take Baker on just to catch Hammel.
OF Chris Coghlan, INF Luis Valbuena, and RHRP Pedro Strop (all of whom are eligible for salary arbitration post-2014) would likely have some value to a contender looking to cement a roster for possible post-season play, but the trio may have even more value to the Cubs at this point, since they are under club through 2016 (Coghlan and Valbuena) or 2017 (Strop).
Somewhat surprisingly, the Cubs optioned reliable (though unspectacular) RH middle-reliever Brian Schlitter to Iowa and allowed his second minor league option to burn this past week (the Cubs would have had to recall him no later than last Thursday to avoid spending the option), instead of just leaving him on the MLB 15-day DL and on a Minor League Rehab Assignment at Iowa until Active Rosters expand on September 1st. Whether there might have been some behind-the-scenes conflict between Schlitter and the Cubs that resulted in this somewhat unusual roster strategy has not been reported (Schlitter would have had to give his approval to remain on a Minor League Rehab Assignment, and if he didn't, the Cubs either had to reinstate him from the DL and return him to the 25-man roster or option him to the minors). But if Schlitter pissed off the FO by trying to leverage his way back onto the 25-man roster by refusing to remain on the 15-day DL (and on a Minor League Rehab Assignment at Iowa) when the Cubs maybe wanted to wait to reinstate him from the DL until rosters expand on September 1st, Dirty Jesus could get traded sooner rather than later.
2014 MLB POST-SEASON ROSTER ELIGIBILITY RULES
A club's Active List (25-man roster) must be submitted to the MLB Commissioner prior to the start of each post-season series (LDS, LCS, and World Series).
1. All players on a club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) prior to midnight (Eastern) on August 31st are eligible to be included on a post-season Active List (25-man roster).
2. A player on an MLB club's Disabled List (7-day, 15-day, or 60-day) or Restricted List (Prohibited Substance Suspension or extended Bereavement Leave only) is eligible to be included on a post-season Active List only after spending the minimum number of days required to be served by a player on that list.
3. Any player on the Disqualified List, Ineligible List, or Restricted List (for reasons other than extended Bereavement Leave or a Prohibited Substance Suspension) as of midnight August 31st is ineligible to be included on his club's post-season Active List.
4. A post-season eligible player who is placed on an MLB Disabled List, Bereavement List, Paternity Leave List, or Restricted List (Prohibited Substance Suspension or extended Bereavement Leave only) prior to the start of a post-season series can (with the approval of the MLB Commissioner) be replaced on his club's LDS, LCS, or World Series Active List by a player who was on a Reserve List or Inactive List of a minor league affiliate from that organization prior to midnight August 31st. The minor league player must be added to his club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) before he can be added to the club's Active Roster.
5. A player on a post-season Active List (25-man roster) who is injured or leaves his club on Bereavement Leave or Paternity Leave during a post-season series can (with the approval of the MLB Commissioner) be replaced on his club's Active List prior to the conclusion of that series by another eligible player, or by a player who was on a Reserve List or Inactive List of a minor league affiliate from that organization prior to midnight August 31st. The minor league player must be added to his club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) before he can be added to the club's Active Roster. Also, a a pitcher must replace a pitcher and a position player must replace a position player.
6. If an injured pitcher or position player is replaced during a post-season series, the injured pitcher or position player is ineligible to be reinstated to his club's Active List (25-man roster) for the balance of that series and the next series (LCS or World Series).
TRADE ASSIGNMENT WAIVERS
The deadline for "non-waiver" (unrestricted) trades is 4 PM (Eastern) on July 31st. No trades can be made between 4 PM and 5 PM (Eastern) on July 31st, and then beginning at 5 PM (Eastern) on July 31st and extending through to the conclusion of the MLB regular season, Trade Assignment Waivers must be secured before players on MLB 40-man rosters can be traded. (Waivers are never required to trade a player on a minor league reserve list).
If a player is placed on Trade Assignment Waivers and is not claimed, waivers are said to be "secured" and the player can be traded to any MLB club at any time, just like prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.
Trade Assignment Waivers are revocable the first time they are requested on a given player in a waiver period, so if a player is claimed, the player's club has the option to either withdraw the waiver request and retain the player, or allow the waiver claim to stand. The player's club has 48-1/2 hours to make this decision, and during this "window" the club has the right to trade the player to the claiming club (but ONLY to the claiming club). If the player is not traded to the claiming club before the window closes, and the player's club chooses not to withdraw the waiver request, the player is automatically assigned to the claiming club for the $20,000 waiver price ($25,000 for Draft-Excluded and Rule 5 players) and the claiming club assumes 100% of the player's contract. (A player with a "no trade" right can refuse both a waiver claim and a trade assignment, however).
If a player is claimed but not traded and the waiver request is subsequently withdrawn, the player cannot be placed on Trade Assignment Waivers or Optional Assignment Waivers for at least 30 days from the date the waiver request is withdrawn, and if the player is placed on Trade Assignment Waivers again before the end of the season, the waivers become irrevocable and cannot be withdrawn. A player who has a "no trade" right (full or partial) cannot be placed on Trade Assignment Waivers a second time before the end of the season unless the player first waives his "no trade" right.
Trade Assignment Waivers secured on a player on Optional Assignment to the minors or on an MLB Disabled List expire after 72 hours.
If a player on an MLB Disabled List is placed on Trade Assignment Waivers, he must be eligible to be reinstated from the DL and healthy enough to play. If waivers are secured, the player must be reinstated from the DL within 72 hours. If the player is claimed and the waiver request is subsequently withdrawn, the player must be reinstated from the DL immedialtely.
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