+1 hahah

my bad. thanks for the catch.

I think they've gotta trade Garza, his trade value will never be higher than right now. If you can score two top prospects for him, how can Jedstein pass that up?

I'm also holding out hope that Marmol and Soto still get traded and they can net one high quality prospect each.

Agree with others on Soler, seems to fit into Jedstein's master plan perfectly. Cespedes is too old and and several have pointed out his skill set and deficiencies seem to match a young Alf without the speed.

go up to AZ Phil's Corner and click on Cubs Depth Chart, he's constantly updating it

http://www.thecubreporter.com/cubs-depth-chart

Sat, 01/07/2012 - 1:14pm — Cubster

AZ Phil:

Now that 1B issues are somewhat clearer (LaHair/Rizzo/Vogelbach) and if LaHair sticks he moves to LF (if not, maybe the bench)...what do you think Josh Vitters projects to? What are his chances that he shows enough defense at 3B? and if not then LF and backup at 3B? ...or if he isn't showing enough defense regardless of his bat, then off to another organization?

How long do you expect Hoystein and McLeod to have patience with Vitters future progress? None (he's being moved soon), Spring training, Mid-season, One more milb season?

Please comment on how the timing/patience issue will devalue his tradability vs whether he should be an organizational keeper. David Kelton comes to mind.

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CUBSTER: On a contending team, Bryan LaHair would be a 1B-LF-LHPH. I would have even platooned him with Alfonso Soriano last year, but Hendry was never a big fan of giving "4-A" guys much of a chance.

As for Josh Vitters, I doubt very much that he will play 3B at the big league level. And wherever he does play, he will have defensive shortcomings.

I would say his best defensive position would be either 1B (best) or LF (next-best). He did play some RF in the AFL and looked OK there, but I would rather play him at the less-demanding LF corner.

I doubt that the new regime will have much patience with Vitters. It wouldn't surprise me to see him included in a trade at some point.

BTW, I do think Vitters' bat will take him to the big leagues. He might not get there with the Cubs, but I believe he will be a solid MLB #5 hitter.

Vitters was constantly being challenged by the Cubs Player Development Dept because they wanted to keep him motivated (he gives the impression of being extremely laid-back), so he was never able to spend an entire season at one stop until 2011. As soon as he showed any sign of mastering a particular level, he was immediately promoted.

To get an idea of what Vitters can be, look at his numbers after he had a chance to adjust to each league (326/365/498 & the #1 prospect in the NWL as an 18-year old at Boise in 2008, 316/351/535 with 15 HR in 70 games as a 19-year old at Peoria in 2009, 291/350/445 as a 20-year old at Daytona in 2010, and 283/322/448 as a 21-year old at Tennessee in 2011).

I can see why some people might compare Vitters to David Kelton, but Kelton had a career-limiting chronic shoulder problem that affected both his defense and his hitting. Kelton also had a weird mental block where he could not make accurate throws from 3B to 2B (he would either bounce the throw, or sail it into RF).

http://oi42.tinypic.com/wi5wzk.jpg

This is great ROB G.

I believe I was reading something from his Junior College where Cates, who indeed was a catcher, was leading his team with strikeouts while also being a catcher.

So, one more emergency catcher for the Cubs.

I am curious what the "one more move" will be for this team prior to the Convention?

I cannot see them not getting the K Wood deal done at least.

The Cubs have an awesome 2B. He's just still playing SS.