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Christian Villanueva and right-hander Kyle Hendricks are headed to the Cubs.
Trades you may have missed
The trade deadline is today and here are some deals that have happened in the last 24 hours.
- The Blue Jays first traded outfielder Travis Snider to the Pirates for right-hander Brad Lincoln
- The Blue Jays also traded Eric Thames to the Mariners for Steve Delabar
- The Mariners traded Brandon League to the Dodgers for a pair of minor leaguers: outfielder Leon Landry and right-hander Logan Bawcom
- The Cubs trade Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson to the Braves for right-handed pitchers Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman
- The Cubs traded Geovany Soto to the Rangers for Jacob Brigham
Here’s the worst story of the day.
- One of the Red Sox players most likely to get traded, Ryan Sweeney, punched a door last night and broke his hand (most likely) the night before the deadline. He is getting put on the DL stopping any trade he might be in. That’s one way to block a trade.
Trades, trades, trades!
In the past few days a handful of trades have gone down.
- The Yankees acquired Ichiro from the Mariners for DJ Mitchell and Danny Fahrquar.
- Tigers acquired Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez from Marlins for Justin Turner, Rob Brantly, and Brian Flynn.
- The White Sox acquired Brett Myers from Astros.
- The Braves aquired Ryan Dempster but didn’t actually acquire Dempster but might still acquire Dempster.
The deal is apparently $30 million over 9 years. I think this is a great deal for the Cubs.
I’ve posted on other sites that I write for that I think Soler will be a better value than Cespedes. The A’s gave Cespedes 4 years at $36 mil, and I saw scouts compare him to Wily Mo, so far we’ve seen a better player than that comparison. But Soler is said to have 5 tools with power comparable to Giancarlo Stanton (and Stanton’s power got an 80 on the 20/80 scale). Unlike Cespedes, I don’t expect Soler to start in the majors but the Cubs have him for 9 years, 20-29. And if Soler is a bust, his 9 years cost about the same as two years of Alfonso Soriano. Great for the Cubs.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets “I hear the #Cubs won out for Jorge Soler. #Yankees tried, but didn’t get him.”
I haven’t seen reports anywhere yet besides this but I have heard all along that the Cubs were the front runner and that they even had an agreement in March for $27MM but the Cubs denied it because Soler wasn’t a free agent yet.
Kerry Wood is expected to announce his retirement today
The two-time All-Star finishes with a record of 86-75, a 3.67 ERA, and 63 saves.
Theo Epstein on brink of joining Cubs
Two baseball sources have confirmed that Theo Epstein is on the cusp of leaving his job as general manager of the Red Sox to accept a position with the Chicago Cubs that is believed to include powers greater than he has in Boston, with an announcement expected to be made “within the next 24 to 48 hours.”
The hangup in the negotiations has been twofold. One of them is that Red Sox ownership was still hoping to have Epstein remain with the team. The other is compensation: If Epstein is to leave Boston, said one source with knowledge of the negotiations, the Red Sox are going to want “something real.”
Whether that involves a player, money or a combination of the two remains unclear.
If Theo Epstein flees, price must be high
- If the Cubs ask for and receive permission to speak to Theo Epstein, it must come with major trade provisions.
In my article for work, I said that I think Theo should come back - I’m not completely sold on that though. MLBTR chronicled Theo’s lack of ability to solidify the rotation (Although Lester, Buchholz, and Beckett are a good start). I would really love seeing Theo and Tito team up for the Cubs. If the front office can get anything back for Theo, that would be great - Much like the Ozzie Guillen trade, and trades like Belichick. I see it as impossible that the trade would bring Starlin Castro to the Sox, like the article suggest, but that would be outstanding. But who knows? Maybe it can be a win for both franchises.
