Cubs Den

Cubs actively seeking to trade Dempster and willing to deal Garza. Yankees, Red Sox interested.

By John Arguello, today at 3:56 pm

Fire up the hot stove, here come the rumors and we've got a couple of doozies for you...

Tom has a source that says the Cubs are currently seeking a deal for Ryan Dempster.

They've talked it over with Dempster and he will not get in the way. He wants to play for a ring and realizes this will be one of his last shots at it. Tom expressed surprise that Dempster was willing to waive his no trade rights but perhaps the frustration and opportunity to play for a championship was to much to pass up. He's also a big character guy and is willing to do what it takes to help the team.

It was also noted that both Dempster and the Cubs would be amenable to working out a deal to bring the veteran back next season.

The source also stated that the Cubs are willing to deal Garza, but only if the right deal comes along. Teams now view Garza as a good #2 type pitcher so it's quite possible the Cubs will get better offers than they did his past offseason.

Earlier today, according to CBS Sports, Jon Heyman the Yankees have RHP Matt Garza at the top of their list. His colleague Danny Knobler tweeted that the Red So are also interested. The Yankees know that Garza has had a couple of tough starts and his numbers are down a bit from last year, but they want the pitcher who they feel has the best chance to help them.

As for whom the Yankees would be willing to deal, you have to believe that Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos are at the top of the Cubs list. The team seeks impact starters and both prospects have gotten off to a slow start, so perhaps the Yankees have softened their stance.

As for the teams on Dempster, but we can suspect the Yankees and Red Sox would also be involved. With so many teams in the race right now, it could be any number of teams that would have interest in Dempster. He would obviously be less expensive than Garza from either a financial or prospect standpoint. Garza, of course, is the better pitcher and has an extra year of control.

Expect Dempster to be with a a new team soon with Garza possibly following right behind him.

The source also confirmed that while nobody is "untouchable", Jeff Samardzija and Starlin Castro will remain with the Cubs unless someone completely blows them away.

Is Et Al a prospect in the Israeli Baseball League?

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He is a 5 tool player.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

I heard he's a 7 candle player.

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He will be the guy with a part in his red C

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

No, they got him in the Ja Hun Ha trade from Cleveland.

Ugie's interest has been piqued.

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They should get someone decent for Dempster and if they do trade Garza, they better get value as he is a solid 2/3.

I'd be reluctant to go after Dempster if I was an AL team.

Garza has the street cred in the AL Central that he has to be the target of these teams.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Dempster is a 3 starter at best and prone to getting lit up.

Send him and Ian Stewart to the Sox for the Cuban Missle and a young prospect.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

riiigght...a gold glove shortstop who is starting his annual heat up and is signed for reasonable money AND throw in a prospect (which they don't have)

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

For a SP with a great ERA and a possible GG 3rd BM who may light it up in Cellular?

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Ian Stewart as a possible Gold Glove 3B

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According to his manager,he is the next Brooks Robinson. In fact,he ranks 11th among NL 3rd sackers in fielding %

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Why would they publicize wanting to re-sign Dempster after the season if they trade him this year? Doesn't that hurt their leverage to ask for more if the team they're dealing with knows they're only getting him for the rest of this year? I know we're not talking about Cy Young, but that's gotta hurt the Cubs' asking price, no?

Agreed. I don't see him coming back though unless he takes a huge pay cut.

Garza is a solid 3. He's a poor teams #2 and he wants to be paid like a #1. Better to get good prospects and continue stocking the team for the future. The team is not going to contend for a few years so no sense in overpaying Garza for 3 years until his performances would really be more meaningful. Dempster may actually bring a good prospect. A team in contention can get a solid middle of the rotation guy who is not locked into an undesireable contract. He is in a contract year so you would think he would be highly motivated to have his best season possible. Plus, he's a good charachter guy who generally goes deep into games and gives his team a chance to win more often than not.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Hopefully they can trade 1 of these guys to the Tigers for Crosby and Turner. The tigers should be getting desperate with their shitty start.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

You better hope Theo and Co start making some better deals. The Rizzo deal looks like a winner but the Marshall trade looks really bad, the Zambrano trade has been a disaster, they targeted a bad player in Ian Stewart and the Byrd trade was a waste. I guess we're supposed to forget about these bad moves because they're a bad team and it doesn't matter but when exactly do they start to matter??

The only move I don't like was the Marshall trade. Zambrano had to go even if it was for nothing. He was a bold personality that tended to march to his own drummer, rather than in lock-step with the rest of the team. Besides, if the moves that were made tend to make the team lose more games, it just means a better draft choice next season. Nothing much matters this season or next, other than aquiring young talented players and developing them as well and as quickly as possible. Patience...

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Go Cubs!!!!

I think they had ants in their pants with the Marshall trade. If they waited they could have probably gotten more but then again Marshall could have sucked with this god awful pen around him this year and they could have gotten less.

Z was a straight dump. He had to go and no one was offering anything for him. Its not like there was a market out there.

Byrd was about to get designated so who cares what came back. Zero market for him. They should have dumped his ass in the off season but they didn't so that is a bad non move.

Garza and Dempster actually have a market so it will be very important for them to get legit can't miss talent back. I would absolutely ship one of them to Detroit for the before mentioned Crosby and Turner and the other to the Angels for Bourjous and AAA starter Garret Richards.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Something will be seriously wrong if they don't get big time value for Garza and a more than respectable package for Dempster.

It's smart they are getting the word out now but now they have to deliver.

I agree Detroit would be a good trade partner as their season is going the wrong way fast.

agreed..dempster is not good, not going to get anything for him, his era will be 4 plus in 45 days in the national league..he would get tore up in the a.l. ...garza is pretty damn good..should get something decent in return for him.

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Alfonso Soriano open to being traded to contender

BY JOE COWLEY jcowley@suntimes.com June 3, 2012 6:34PM

Updated: June 3, 2012 11:00PM


SAN FRANCISCO — At 36, Alfonso Soriano constantly is reminded by his legs about how little time he might have left in baseball.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the standings constantly remind him about how his chances of winning a World Series ring are diminishing.

With a 2-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, the Cubs fell to 18-35.

That’s why if the Cubs do find the right dance partner and decide to trade Soriano to a contender, he would welcome it with open arms.

“I’m 36 years old, so, yeah, I would like to have the opportunity to ... if they want to trade me, I hope it is to a team that’s a contender because it’s about trying to go for that ring,” Soriano said before the Cubs’ third consecutive loss. “You want to feel good, feel like maybe you got a chance for that if we don’t have a chance here. But like I said, it depends on them. I don’t control the situation.”

That’s not entirely true. He does have control over making himself an attractive commodity to a contending team by continuing to produce.

Even after going 0-for-3 on Sunday, Soriano is hitting .263 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. He hit .290 in May.

“He goes about his business as the ultimate professional,” manager Dale Sveum said. “He works on his outfield play every day, his offense, he does the same stuff every single day. It’s been impressive since the start of spring training how hard he’s worked to try and make himself a better player at [his] age on legs that don’t feel that good.”

There is one huge obstacle blocking Soriano’s exit strategy from the North Side. Actually, there are about 45 million obstacles, thanks to a contract that will pay him $18 million in each of the next two seasons. He’s making $18 million this season.

The list of contenders that could use 20-plus homers and 80 to 90 RBI is long. The list of contenders that would be willing to take on that kind of salary without the Cubs picking up most of it is very short. Make that nonexistent.

The Cubs had to pay the Miami Marlins to take Carlos Zambrano last offseason. They would have to do the same for Soriano.

Not that there isn’t any incentive to do so. Sveum said that when Anthony Rizzo is ready to be called up, the logical move is to shift Bryan LaHair to left field, handing Rizzo the every-day job at first base.

Soriano’s presence makes that difficult, considering the left fielder is limited as to where he can play.

If the Cubs know that Soriano isn’t their future, is eating, say,
$35 million over the next 21/2 seasons worth it to have him elsewhere?

Until that decision is made by team president Theo Epstein,
Soriano will remain just another trade rumor.

“It used to be tough,” Soriano said about hearing his name in trade talks. “Now, you know, I’m better at it, my 12 years, and I try not to pay attention to it. I just try and do my job every day. Whatever happens just happens because I don’t have control over the situation, but I don’t know what they want to do. I know I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to put that extra pressure on myself. I just want to go out there and do my job.”

Soriano got to play in two World Series when he was with the Yankees, losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001 and the Marlins in 2003. He hit a combined .234 with two homers and four RBI.

No wonder he thinks there’s unfinished business.

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And thus Soriano trade speculation was all nullified in a single sweeping paragraph.

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If Dempster was willing to sign for a lower salary on a 2 year deal, I would offer him the chance. 7 million a year maybe 8, but no more. He gives the team the chance to win more often than not and eats a lot of innings. They are unlikely to have better alternatives ready by next season from the minors, so considering the possibility is reasonable. He would just be a stop-gap until the guys they will have drafted and traded for are developed to the point of being ready for the major leagues.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Wrong.

The Dodgers are rumored to be interested in Dempster. I am not interested in the Dodgers. They are good at holding on to their prospects and sending other teams Blake Dewitt. They do have a very good defensive catcher in AAA who came to them from ......Boston. I think his name is Federowics or something of that sort. I would demand he be in the trade and at least a few young pitching prospects.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

He is their #14 prospect. If you ever want to see the prospect rankings, go to MLB.com and pick which team. Once you link over to the team's site, just go to the "roster" tab. In that tab, they have top 20 prospects.

Tim Federowicz
Rank: 14
Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA)
ETA: 2012
Position: C
Age: 24, DOB: 08/05/1987
Bats: R, Throws: R
Height: 5' 10", Weight: 215
Drafted: 2008, 7th (232)
The catcher from the University of North Carolina came with Juan Rodriguez from Boston in a three-team deal last July. His glove will get him to the big leagues. He’s an outstanding defender who has thrown out 33 percent of would-be basestealers in his career. Although he’s hit in the Minors, with decent averages and a little pop, most see him more as a glove-first backup.

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Hawaii (fuck) You