Cubs Pick Up Dexter Fowler in Trade

The Cubs went a long way toward solidifying their newly-minted status as a genuine contender by picking up Astros and former Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler.  Fowler is a switch-hitter who plays solid defense and, most of all, hits for a decent average and gets on base, in short, a prototypical leadoff hitter.

Fowler, along with his Colorado replacement, Blackmon, has been thought of as a strictly Coors Field type player, good at home, worthless on the road, but Fowler proved his critics mistaken by having a good year with Houston.  Both these guys were on the block this off-season, but I think the Cubs picked the right one to acquire in Fowler.

In exchange, the Cubs gave up a marginal fifth starter candidate in Dan Straily and the consistently over-rated Luis Valbuena.  I've been ranting on for several years about Valbuena's shortcomings, so I am glad to see him out of the mix once and for all.

This move more or less solidifies the outfield with Soler starting in right and Coghlan and Denorfia sharing left field, and possibly throwing Olt into the mix.  I'm assuming that short of Alcantara moving into a kind of super-sub role, it also means the end of the experiment of his being groomed as an outfielder.

What the trade does do - assuming Bryant is the player everyone thinks he is and that he takes over third base pretty early in the year - is leave the Cubs with quite a logjam in the middle infield.  Castro, Baez, Alcantara, and La Stella, plus super-prospect Addison Russell, could all conceivably be everyday players at second base and/or shortstop.

So, down the road, one or more of these guys is going to be traded.  Potentially, the Cubs could throw in Castillo and make a big play for another front-line pitcher like Hamels if they were of a mind to do so.

Chris Denorfia

Ho-hum.  The Cubs picked up reserve outfielder Chris Denorfia.  Not exactly exciting, but at least it is not Jonny Gomes, a totally overrated nonentity and one of the Boston gang like Ross, the likes of which Epstein and company should try to avoid for the future.

Denorfia is a career fourth or fifth outfielder who had some decent years in that role with the Padres.  He is 34.  Last year he split time between the Padres and Mariners and had a really bad year.  He can hit left-handers reasonably well.  At least he has done so in the past.  Last year he could not hit anyone.  He is a decent outfielder and can play all three outfield positions.  In that respect he is an upgrade over Ruggiano, who was not exactly a gold-glover.

I'm a little surprised the Cubs have not been linked to Ben Zobrist, a Tampa Bay jack-of-all-trades who is a genuinely good player.  Maybe the price is too high.

Cubs Sign David Ross

Apparently the Cubs are about to sign backup catcher David Ross to a two year deal.  This one is a little hard to figure.  Ross was a pretty decent backup for several seasons with Atlanta, but his last two years with the Red Sox were pretty bad and he has the reputation of being a mediocre defender, though he is thought to be a good pitch framer.  Aside from being Jon Lester's favorite receiver and a perceived veteran influence, he does not add a whole lot.

The acquisition of Ross probably spells the end of Welington Castillo's career with the Cubs.  Kind of a shame unless they get something good in return.  The move is also somewhat puzzling in that the Cubs also claimed Ryan Lavarnway off waivers from Boston.  Lavarnway's career in Boston never quite took off, but he can hit, at least in the minor leagues.

Ruggiano Trade

The Cubs traded reserve outfielder Justin Ruggiano to the Mariners for a AA relief pitcher named Matt Brazis.  Brazis has good minor league numbers, but is not exactly a major acquisition.  Ruggiano, on the other hand, played well last year, at least against left-handed pitching, although he was hurt a lot.  I think he missed about two months altogether.

The Cubs seem to be on an endless quest to find a right-handed hitting platoon player to match with a fairly talented left-handed hitter, in this case, Chris Coghlan.  These right-handed platoon guys are a dime a dozen, but they rarely work out that well, probably because the expectations are really high and they tend to get far fewer plate appearances than their left-handed counterparts.  So, as a consequence, it is harder to keep them fresh, etc.

Anyway, the latest guy mentioned is Jonny Gomes.  His numbers are significantly inferior to Ruggiano's, but he apparently has some intangibles the Cubs like.  Personally, I hope they take a pass on this guy.  He strikes out a lot and he is not a very good defender and he is strictly a platoon player.

Another outfielder mentioned on the rumor mill is Colby Rasmus.  That's another one I don't particularly get.  He is a free agent coming off a bad year.  He has had some decent years, but, again, he strikes out a humungous number of times.  Also, since the Cubs want some sort of mentoring veteran presence, it is hard to see Rasmus filling the bill here.  By all accounts he was clubhouse poison in St. Louis, or at least La Russa hated his guts there and pretty much ran him out of town.

Lester Signs

Looks like Lester is signing with the Cubs.  Red Sox seem to be low bidder and Giants the highest, but Lester picked the Cubs anyway, six years, $155MM.  Big money, but it proves the new regime is finally getting serious about contending.  Good news.

The Cubs also picked up Montero to catch for a couple of low profile minor league players.  Montero is a good defensive catcher who can hit right-handed pitching reasonably well and is pretty expensive.  The Cubs are shopping Castillo, though I hope they hold on to him as a backup/platoon.

Trade Talk

Still no word on the Lester front, though it is said a decision is immanent.  The Cubs did sign Jason Hammel to a multi-year deal.  This is not a big deal, though Hammel will help solidify the middle of the rotation, which now consists, I guess, of Arrieta, Hendricks, Wada, and Hammel.  Hammel pitched better than his record indicates in his two month stint with the Athletics.  I kind of thought the Cubs would make a bigger play for Masterson since he has a bigger upside.

Supposedly the Cubs are negotiating to acquire Miguel Montero from the Diamondbacks.  This makes some sense.  Montero is a good defensive catcher who hits righties well.  A platoon with Castillo would make a formidable combination, or at least an improvement over last year.

Epstein and Hoyer are at least talking a good game.  They want to contend for the division.  They are looking for left-handed batters who can get on base as well as starting pitchers.

On the other side of town, the White Sox are making a bit of a splash.  They have rented Jeff Samardzija for next to nothing in exchange.  Also picked up the Yankees closer David Robertson.  Not a big fan of multi-year big money contracts to relief pitchers, although Robertson is good.

Holding Pattern

Looks like things are in a bit of a lull on the Lester front.  Cubs, Red Sox, Giants, and now Dodgers are the main contenders.  If the Cubs fail, I can see them making a move on trading for Hamels, but not going hard after the other top tier free agents like Scherzer and Shields.  For one thing, the Cubs are not likely to want to give up a draft choice.

I was a little surprised to see the Cubs non-tender Wesley Wright, who was OK in the bullpen last year and is a pretty consistent reliever.  Also only 29.  Backup catcher Baker, not so much.  Kind of surprised they tendered Travis Wood.  He had a down year in 2014, though if you look at most of his peripherals, he was pretty much the same guy he was in 2013 when he had an up year.  Don't know what to make of the move.  Maybe he is trade bait or maybe he is headed for the bullpen, especially with Wright gone.