The Deal

Well, the Cubs finally pulled the trigger on Samardzija and Hammel.  Not surprising, but you have to wonder about the thought process behind the move.

I've been railing for weeks about the wisdom of trading Samardzija, knowing deep down they were going to do it.  Hammel, OK, he's a free agent anyway at year's end, but Samardzija, who is the only first-class pitcher to have come through the farm system since Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior?

The real puzzler is why another shortstop.  McKinney I can see, a left-handed hitting outfielder, something the Cubs do not have in their system in any abundance.  But, even here, the kid is 19 and, realistically, more than two years off.

Addison Russell is, by all accounts, a potential phenom.  But, come on, a 20 year old shortstop?  At least a year away and probably two.  Even if he is another Mike Trout, you have to question the acquisition and the risk involved given the current situation.

The pitcher involved is this year's version of Justin Grimm.  At least in the Garza deal they picked up Olt and Ramirez who were ready for the majors the following year even given Olt's struggles to achieve consistency.

All in all, you have to question the whole approach the Cubs are taking, which is basically the small market, long-term rebuild.  It's not just the chips and potentials you acquire with each chess move, but the big picture as well.  Had the Cubs acquired an outfielder with Rizzo's potential who was operating on the same timetable as Rizzo, I might think differently, but that is not the case here.

It is fashionable now among GMs to operate this way, but, again looking at the big picture, how many of the trades of ace pitchers for prospects have panned out in terms of producing winning teams?

What have the Indians done since shedding Sabathia and Lee?  The Royals since trading Greinke?  Are they perennial contenders?  The Twins after trading Santana?  The Blue Jays after dealing Halladay?

The point is that these deals are kind of a crapshoot that generally cannot be evaluated for several years.  My own view is that in general they always help the receiving team more in terms of what really counts, which is winning games in the major leagues even when individual players on the receiving end turn out to be stars in the future.  Probably because just in the nature of things the sellers are dealing from weakness and the buyers from strength.