This will be an interesting story line. There is no doubt Candelario will be traded sooner rather than later, but Eloy Jimenez is forcing the issue, with absolutely no room to play in 2017 nor anytime in the near future. I do not think the Cubs had any belief he would develop this quickly, especially considering the slower pace of Soler.

If the Cubs deem it necessary, he could be the Gleyber Torres in a major deadline deal, though I think it would be necessary to get back more than just a second half closer rental.

Or we can pick the #tradeschwarber hashtag back up.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I predicted he would be the centerpiece of Quintana trade

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

Jimenez will be on the Almora track - when he comes up this year it'll be for the rest of the season. I think that will be after the trade deadline.

Jimenez is a RF right now. If Heyward bounces back, the Cubs have to hope that he opts out, and Jimenez takes over in RF. If Heyward doesn't opt-out, they'll trade Heyward after the 2018 season when his no-trade goes from full to limited.

This is the other part of why they are not ruling out at least a little catching for Schwarber. If he can handle catching 3-5 warm-weather innings a week in April and slowly ramp up to 14-18 innings a week by August, then they can keep Montero off the playoff roster and use the spot for Jimenez.

Meanwhile, there's Ian Happ floating out there as well. And they'll pick up a couple of lottery tickets for Szczur in a few weeks.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Jimenez hasn't even played a single inning of AA ball, he is forcing no immediate issue.

And you were wrong.

The prediction was made this week.

But, hey, at least you said it with conviction.

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

if only

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

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

I do enjoy this fantasy White Sox fans have, that the Cubs, so depleting for pitching are going to open their elite prospects for Quintana. Good one...

Barring a miracle why would anyone trade for him and his contract then?

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Elections have consequences.

If trades you would have to eat a huge portion of salary. Like most of it. And that's even if he becomes his career average again.

Trying to change the discussion so nobody notices the egg on your face.

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

but I'm game.

The Cubs lose at least one and most likely two starters at the end of this year. They most likely lose a third at the end of 2018. Quintana would be a perfect transition for that staff with four years of inexpensive control left on his contract when teamed with Hendricks.

Now, you may say they can sign a FA rather than lose prospects, but I wonder how many top 20 FA pitchers still in their 20s they will find for under $10 million per year. This is especially true when management has pointed out on several occasions that part of The Plan includes using their young hitters to acquire pitching. Not only did they say they would do so, they, in fact, did so in trading a now top 10 prospect at a premier position for 1/3 of a season of a reliever.



So, if it is fantasy, welcome!

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

I saw Jimenez his first game back from injury last season in Clinton,Ia. Stud. Has total major leauge power and speed. He was the best player on the field by leaps and bounds.

I'm a Cubs fan and I'd love to trade a package for Quintana. He's clearly solves the Cubs biggest hole right now, a young, durable, cost controlled starting pitcher.

Right now the rotation is: Lester/Arrieta/Hendricks/Lackey/? That's a rotation that can win a World Series

For 2017 the rotation is Lester/Hendricks/?/?/? That's a rotation that would be lucky to win 90 games even with the Cubs offense.

Sox can't do it. Big brother would win the trade. Oh the shame....

I'd like a package of prospects to go for Q too, he's a solid #3 starter who slightly improve in the NL and he's durable.

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Uh, he's a solid #3 if your first two starters are named Bumgarner and Cueto.

On most teams he's a dominant #2 and on a handful of teams he would be their #1.

Slightly improve in the NL? He has put up some numbers that are at or near the top of the AL over the last couple of seasons. If Quintana were on the Cubs right now-- with their offense-- he would legitimately be in the conversation as a potential Cy Young winner in 2017.

I know Cubs Sox trades always get kicked around because its the thing to do here and on sports radio, but a Schwarber for Quintana deal really does make sense for, and instantly improves, both teams.

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It is probably one of the biggest no-brainer trades out there where each team is a big winner.

As a Cubs fan, I'm entertaining many trade ideas for Quintana. Quintana is a great top of the rotation starter.

As an objective fan of baseball, I agree with Frank in that a trade between the two teams could likely improve both teams right now, given their respective goals.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

b-but IMU said so! double-A is just a formality when you've got "the IMU seal of approval!" this man knows so much baseball that i just casually refer to him as "doubleday" when i'm in need of a colloquial name!

and hey, when he goes on to dominate AA to the tune of, say, 34HR/37SB like javvy baez did a few years back, you know it's gonna be 100.0% smooth sailing all the way up to the all-star game! get already to say "almor-UHH WHO?!" cuz mlb.com has e-loy @ #18 or something on their list of prospects for 2017!

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It will never happen.

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I knew signing Heyward was a mistake and said so BEFORE he was signed. Jimenez is the real deal and should be ready before 2018. The Cubs would be better off with Szczur or Jay in RF in the meantime. Eloy is not going to be dealt. Haap maybe, but not Jimenez. It would be a miracle if Heyward were to opt out at the end of 2017. Hell, maybe they can gift him 10 million to do that. if not, trade him and pick up a chunk of the money in the deal, just to open up the position for a decidedly better player.

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Go Cubs!!!!

At the end of the day, if Heyward was responsible for that rain delay meeting and getting everyone's head on straight... that is worth $183 million for me. Hell, it isn't my money.

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Heyward will be a 6 WAR player in 2017.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I'd settle for 3.5 WAR. At least then he would be performing to the contract(assuming the rate is still 1 fWAR = ~ 7 million/year)

Last I checked, it was Schwarber starting the rally, with Zobrist and Montero knocking in the runs. You want to get Heyward some pom pons and cheer the better players on, that's fine. But he doesn't belong on the field with this group. Not good enough with the bat. To pay a good glove man 183 million is crazy. Yeah, it's not your money, which may be why you are so willing to have the Cubs waste so much.



Really doubt it. I hope you are right though. He has been before, so it would not be unprecedented. But having struggled so badly here, he has to get over that mental hurdle. Couldn't do it all last season and not going great so far this spring.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I'd rather watch an armless man try to hit a baseball than Heyward.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

The internet let me down. This is as far as I got.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwX4lPyBibg

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.