Marquis May be on the Move

I saw it awhile ago on ESPN News. Baseball America also noted that the Cubs resigned Andres Blanco (SS)AAA.

First step to getting Peavy. RIGHT?!?! RIGHT!?!?!

I'd love the salary dump if it were actually a salary dump. But it's not. I don't think you're saving nearly enough money to make it worth the effort. On top of that, Vizcaino just isn't any good. Career 4.34 ERA. High H/9 and BB/9 rate. Pretty unimpressive K/9 rate to go with. He just doesn't have very good stuff, either. Throws really hard, but has horrible control. If I'm going to get rid of Marquis, I'd like to either A) actually dump a vast majority of the salary or B) get some actual talent in return. If we're saving $6M, then fine. If we're talking about only 2 or 3, then what's the point? Trading his $9M for Vizcaino's 3.5M salary while coughing up another couple of million in the process gets us anywhere.

This is great news...i'd take some baseballs for Marquis! I'd rather have Jose Vizcaino...but we will most likely add 1-2 millino with the deal saving 4-5 million...I think this will likely help with the RF search...eventhough now it may reopen the Peavy talks. He'll likely take the place of Howry. I like Marshall as the fifth starter and Angel Guzman into relief. Exciting news...hopefully it becomes official.

ESPN's own GM for the day: http://www.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/122... Got to be a joke, right? My favorites are: 'Rafael' Soriano and Fukudome for Barry Zito and Nate Schierholtz -and- "Lee and Ramirez to Baltimore for A bag of magic beans works for me, but I'd rather have 4 prospects/ suspects." What a smart fanbase. Here's his improved lineup: 1. CF Joey Gathwright - the next Willie Wilson/ Bobby Dernier 2. SS Theriot 3. RF Schierholz 4. C Soto 5. 1B Hinske / Hoffpair 6. 3B Wiggington 7. LF Montanez or DeRosa 8. 2B Fontenot

WMVP had Bruce Levine on a couple mintues ago saying that the Peavy talks will again heat up after the Marquis deal goes through but that the Marquis trade might not be completed until next week. He also thinks that the Bradley deal is essentially a "done deal" but it won't be announced for a week or even two. He also noted that DeRosa may still have to be moved in an attempt to garner a couple of prospects from another club to spin to the Padres. In other words, same as it ever was regarding the Peavy talks. Hendry is going to have to "move money around" to get Peavy and Bradley starting with this Marquis deal. He said Hendry will attempt to dump Vizcaino as well, perhaps in the DeRosa trade or with a possible Peavy/SD deal. That was about the extent of it.

Trade Marquis and eat $1MM, that is a good trade. However, the Bradley rumor does not make me happy. I would rather have Dunn or Abreu. Hell, I would rather have Griffey over Bradley.

"I should also mention that Vizcaino was arrested on a misdeamoner DUI in Florida in October." Anybody got a Farnsworth joke handy?

I heard the entire Levine interview. He seemed quite certain that the Marquis-Vizcaino deal would be announced by Monday; and that "2-3 days later" DeRosa would be moved for prospects, who would be flipped with the Cubs' own prospects for Peavy. Vizcaino would likely be flipped in the Peavy deal or another deal. He thought that it would all be done in the next 12-15 days. He also stated that the Bradley deal has been "done" for weeks, and would also be announced in the next several days. He was very matter-of-fact about the entire string of transactions, as if they were all set and all that remained were the announcements.

Remember the #1 goal of this off-season was to get more left-handed in the line-up---if we have LHH in CF and RF it's no change from last year----that's why it makes sense to move DeRosa and put Mike F. at 2b---now we've got an added LHH in the line-up----also, it frees up addition 5.5 million----look for Peavy talks to heat up again

Levine also mentioned that many of these moves (DeRosa especially) were designed to free up payroll, which he estimated at already being at or near $140 million for the 40-man roster. He reminded the show hosts (and others) that the budget covers the entire 40-man roster, not just the 25-man active roster. He thought that the sale of the club would be completed in January, and that the new owners would cap the budget at $140 million.

Mister Whipple, read this.

My hope is Vizcaino is a Cub about as long as Omar Infante was. Less would be better. 11/12/07 Acquired INF Omar Infante from the Tigers for OF Jacque Jones and cash. 12/4/07 Acquired RHP Jose Ascanio from the Atlanta Braves in exchange LHP Will Ohman and INF Omar Infante. (by the way Infante had 317 AB's with the Braves and .293 .338 .416 which probably was Cedeno's comparable role who got 216 AB's and 269 .328 .352)

Taveras, 2yrs. $6.25 M. I'll take Gathright.

While I would be happy to see Sean Marshall replace Marquis in the rotation, the fact is Marquis last year was a league average 5th starter. He did a Jon Garland all too often (sail along until a bad 5th or 6th inning), but they aren't dealing the worst starter in the league. The fact that the Rocks and Mets were interested in his services (for the right price) bears that out. The whole Marquis goes/Vizcaino gets spun/DeRosa for prospects/prospects for Peavy scene is classic Hendry. As much as writers claim Kenny Williamas flies under the radar, Hendry each year seems to pull off a surprise, an often complicated surprise. I'd love for all this to pan out, it would put even more distance between the Cubs and their Central rivals. The Reds are going to be better, if none of the other teams.

Bradley missing 30+ games scares the hell out of me. With DeRosa gone, who fills in as the regular RF'er when Bradley hits the DL??

Lol...Taveras sucks...but at least he has been a starter in the majors....has been good enough, relatively speaking, to steal some bases, score some runs, and play good CF defense. He did lead the league in steals last year. I'd rather take door number 3....but Gathright is worse than Taveras. So let's trade out 5th starter, who has done nothing but give innings and done what a 5th starter should do, keep the team in the game...he has gone 11-9, and 12-9, and let's dump him for a 34-year old reliever...who we would then dump for what? Who is trading decent prospects for a 34-year old middle reliever? Oh...the Cubs probably. This whole scenario is just ludicrous. I can't wait for Milton Bradley's 2nd or 3rd trip to the DL this year...

I can't believe people are clamoring over the loss of Marquis! He is going to get slaughtered at Coors, he is in the last year of his contract and down right mediocre. We have a couple of young pitchers (Samarzja, Marshall or Guzman) to plug into the rotation who will produce at least to the caliber of Marquis and could develop into solid starters. Not to mention if this is a way to get Peavy and or Bradley into the mix it would no doubt improve the team. Bottomline this improves the team...our window of winning is 2 years...maximize the opportunity and give us the best chance. Loosing Marquis isn't going to do that. As for the DeRosa loss it would hinder our flexibilty however i think this the peak of his value..and he too will be gone in one year and will not be in our future plans so trade him now and get something for him to help us win now (just make sure we have some 3b pinch hitter type who can play if Ramirez does go down). I'm ready for baseball season too bad it's still three months away

That's five starts..no statistical significance. He also has not offense on the new Rockies. All the winning records people have mentioned above will be gone with that team...I won't miss a career ERA 4.55, more hits than innings pitched and a 1.5:1 K/BB ratio....I'd rather have Marshall doing this and learning then having Marquis....good move Hendry! Suntimes article today: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/...

I am saying neither of those things, do not put words in my mouth. Gathright, if he is starting for the Cubs at all in 2009, will be a disaster. Tavaras is better. I do not want either of those players on my team however. Milton Bradley is injury prone, has a history of causing problems on the field, and had a solid season while playing mostly DH last year. Oh..and he still only managed 126 games?? He will be 31 April 15th, and has not had a full season playing the OF since 2004. Players generally after a career of being injury prone do not suddenly become durable at age 31. It is not "clamoring over the loss of Marquis." It is dumping a starting pitcher who, while not great by any means, has shown that he is what he is, a solid 5th starter. Dumping him for a crappy 34 year old middle reliever? So, so Cub. I like Sean Marshall. Has he posted a winning record yet in MLB? Has he thrown 170-190 innings in a season? He may very well be better than Marquis as 5th starter. It's not just a matter of plugging him in though as a given. How many MLB starts does Samardzija have? After 27 innings last season can he be anointed and guaranteed to match Marquis' 2008 performance? Angel Guzman. Please.....please tell me you are joking about that. Is that the injury prone, 0-7 6.00 ERA career in MLB Angel Guzman?

Oh..and I understand that perhaps Hendry would "spin" Vizcaino for pospects to get Peavy. Again, who in the hell is giving the type of prospect you would need to deal in a Peavy trade, for a 34 year old mediocre at best middle reliever?

for a team that is supposed on a rigid budget, I do not think it wise to be tossing 2.5 mil to a guy that cant hit or field. According to Levine they liked him because he is a switch hitter, it is nice to know in this bad economy that Anne Hache still has a job.

Neal- Disirregardless??? I think just plain old "regardless" will work. Sorry, but I cant let that one pass.

If the $4.5 million freed up by dumping Marquis for a bag of balls gets you Milton Bradley.....yes I am saying don't do it. Bradley is injury prone, has anger issues, and hasn't shown that he can be a full-time outfielder. He was a DH last season, and still could only stay healthy enough to play 126 games. The previous 3 seasons, he could not even get to 100 games played. Aaron Miles.....all the Ryan Theriot bashers are gonna loooove Aaron Miles then. Wow...

Also according to Kaplan, the deal Bradley will get is multiyear. Unless multiyear means 1 year and a team or mutual option it is a bad idea. A solid fit for the RF spot in Rick Anikel is a free agent next off-season and the best course of action given the warts all these RF options have, the best course is to offer one (Abreu, Bradley, Dunn) a 1 year 8 mil contract and the first one to take it gets it. I hope to god that Bradley gets off to good start, because I hate fathom what will happen if he gets off the start JJ did a few years ago and some RF bleacher bum starts throwing out racial insults at him.

Yeah, but he also used "exorb" for absorb in an earlier post, so who's to say.

How many umpires has Zambrano gone after? how many times has he been tackled by a coach? How many times did LouPa go after someone in the press box?? Has Zambrano been suspended for going after a fan? His outbursts are not the same.

Ok....Zambrano has made an average of 30-34 starts a year, pitching 200+ innings a year. He has been on the Cubs his whole career. Bradley? 6 different teams, 3 times from 2001-2008 played in 101 games or more. Once, in 2004 he played 142 games, what could be considered a "full" season.

I'm sorry, he played 141 games in 2004, not 142.

10man -- You are on a roll. I just wanted to make sure you knew that your antics were recognized and appreciated.

Hahahahhaa...so Fukudome can be a $12 million backup. Suh-wheet. Bradley has been a decent player when he's healthy. Will it be for 90 games? 110 games? 60 games? Christ he's a freaking switch-hitting Rondell White. So we're going to give 40-90 games to Gathright? Fukudome? For the money sunk into Fukudome, you may as well play him in RF, and see if he will be the player that he was in April-May-June. If he falters, then make a mid-season deal. My point on Zambrano is that, while he has been a hothead perhaps, he is a hothead that has been durable, and has performed well every year. Bradley might perform fairly well every year, but for 60 games...90 games...120 games or more twice in his career. He's the Rich Harden of outfielders. So yes...it's much better to go get a guy to play part time because for 90 games, he will play well. Really? With no DH to fall back on, how healthy has he been in his career? Please explain how Bradley and Miles in the lineup is an improvement over DeRosa and Fukudome?

Oh..and Real Neal, please read the entire post I wrote...I mentioned the anger issues as part of the problem. "Milton Bradley is injury prone, has a history of causing problems on the field, and had a solid season while playing mostly DH last year. Oh..and he still only managed 126 games?? He will be 31 April 15th, and has not had a full season playing the OF since 2004. Players generally after a career of being injury prone do not suddenly become durable at age 31." What part of that was proven wrong?

Read the quote I posted. I asked you what part of that was wrong. I will use smaller words if necessary.

Wait....ok..so Zambrano is a hothead. Ok. Please list times Zambrano was traded due to this. Disabled list trips related to this?

DeRosa traded to Indians. For 3 pitchers. Chris Archer RHP age 20: 4-8, 4.29 ERA, 115 IP, 106K/84BB Lo-A John Gaub LHP age 23: 1-1, 3.38 ERA, 64IP, 2 SV, 100K/32BB L0-A Jeff Stevens RHP age 25: 5-4, 3.24 ERA, 58 IP, 6 sSV, 81K/27BB AA-AAA Great. Go get Peavy now I suppose.

Milton Bradley in 2008 lead the AL in OPS, OBP, adjusted OPS, and offensive win%. Excellent. So after 8 seasons, he has lead the league one year. Yep...with 22 HR and 77 RBI, in 126 games. Please give him $15 million. How many other seasons was he top 10? Zero. Why? Because he can't stay healthy enough to play full time. Zambrano is a 3-time all star, finished 5th 3 times in the Cy Young voting, and tied for the league lead in wins in 2006. Oh...and Zambrano can't lead the league in OPS as a pitcher. Ha.....ha....ha.....very funny.