Cubs Deal Ryu to Devil Rays
Bruce Levine of ESPN1000 and Rotoworld are reporting the Cubs have sent Jae-kuk Ryu to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for prospects RHP Greg Reinhard and OF Andy Lopez (thanks to reader Bogey for the tip). That should clear off the 40-man roster spot needed to add Cliff Floyd.
Ryu looks to be yet another casualty of 40-man roster mismanagement as it looks like the Cubs were forced to deal a player for roster space rather than for improvement. While Ryu may never be more than a journeyman swingman, he's got plus stuff and I sure would have hoped for a little more in return.
Reinhard is a 23 year old right-handed pitcher drafted in the 5th round by the Devil Rays in 2005. He pitched in the Midwest League last year and is a combined 8-13 with a 4.29 ERA in 195.1 IP in two minor league seasons. He seems to keep the ball down with a miniscule 0.60 HR/9 rate and as expected from a Cubs pitcher, he can strike guys out with a 9.09 K/9 rate.
Reader Crunch has this to say about Reinhard (Crunch knows his Drays prospects):
fastball, splitter fastball, a slider, and a changeup + curve he’s trying to figure out which is the best for him in-game. he lost some velocity last year, but he was throwing low-mid 90s before then. he had early control problems in 06 working deep innings, but shaped up a bit.Lopez, a right-handed outfielder, was an 8th round pick in 2005 by the Devil Rays (but got 4th round bonus money) and is only 20 years old. He played his last two seasons in Rookie Ball in the Appalachian League to a tune of 282/374/455 with 10 SB in 14 attempts and 105 K's to 36 BB's in 90 games. I'm sure this will end up being a nothing move and Reinhard and Lopez will join the likes of Berg, Ciamarella, Brannon, Spears, and Perez in the hall of completely forgettable Cubs prospects that were dealt to grab warm bodies for the minors. We'll see where Ryu falls on the scale of Cubs players moved under Hendry's regime. Will he be more Jermain Van Buren or more Dontrelle Willis?
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