 |
| Sean Marshall, traded to Cincinnati, was the Cubs' best reliever |
Cincinnati overpays for bullpen depth in
the first Cubs rebuilding package
Vacation Note: I just got a look at the
Miami Marlins’ new ballpark; pretty sweet.
If you’re in Miami and looking for it, I think it would be more helpful
if I told you to look for an alien spaceship though. The huge retractable roof stadium, named New
Marlins (insert corporate sponsor here) Ballpark, is extremely tall and a
sleek silver color all the way around with an oval-like curvature. You can peek inside from behind the outfield
(where the walls are open) and see the jumbotron and some of the upper deck
seats. I hope to return to see a game in
the near future.
Although it’s old news by now, the trade of
Sean Marshall to Cincinnati was probably the most important of the offseason so
far. Its importance should not be
overlooked. Even though it was a trade
of a setup man for a back-end, somewhat unproven starter and two prospects
unheard of to the everyday fan, it represents the first rebuilding deal the
Cubs have completed in, well, a while.
‘Rebuilding’ has not exactly been the Cubs’ cup of tea over the last
decade. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer,
however, are believers.
In this faith, the Cubs will surely execute
more rebuilding deals at some point, if not in the next month or so. MLBTradeRumors.com is reporting interest from
the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, and Marlins in Matt Garza, although
Detroit and Miami are the front runners at this point. It may seem like a trade of Garza, especially
following Marshall’s, would be the official raising of the white flag on the
2012 Cubs season. However, the trade
with the Rays that brought Garza to the Cubs must have looked the same way to
their fans. They basically dealt their
ace for a handful of minor leaguers but made the playoffs anyway. I’m not saying the Cubs will make the playoffs
by any stretch if they make a Garza trade, but it wouldn’t transform them into
a 100-loss team either.
 |
| Travis Wood |
The trade of Marshall overall certainly
makes the current Cubs a worse team, seeing as the bullpen was the team’s lone
major strength on the roster. Marshall
was the center piece as one of the best setup men in the game. A very pressing need, though, in rotation
depth was aided by this trade, as 25-year-old Travis Wood joins the
roster. Wood has played in two major
league seasons with decent yet inconsistent success.
Looking at the Cubs rotation right now,
though, this includes Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza pending any possibly trade,
Andrew Cashner, and Randy Wells, and you can see the Cubs need this depth. I’d much prefer Wood over any of Rodrigo Lopez,
Ramon Ortiz, or Doug Davis. Wood wasn’t
born with blow-away stuff but is almost a solid rotation candidate, and that’s
good enough for me.
Now on to the smaller pieces of the
deal. The Cubs only had to give up
Marshall to for the deal, but the Reds gave up Wood, the great-hitting
outfielder Dave Sappelt and undersized but agile and speedy shortstop Ronald
Torreyes. Sappelt has limited major
league experience; Torreyes has none.
But both players have hit well throughout the minor leagues and Torreyes
brings major speed. Sappelt could see
some action on the 2012 Cubs as a sixth outfielder/injury replacement. Torreyes has no chance of appearing at
Wrigley next season; he ought to try Double-A first. He is recorded at 5’9” but in reality is
around 5’8” or 5’7” (very similar to Dustin Pedroia). I like both players and think they both have
a decent shot at being major league regulars.
Neither stars, but solid players.
ESPN’s Keith Law agrees, and I concur with Law that the Cubs have won
this trade.
 |
| Dave Sappelt |
Marshall provides the Reds with bullpen
insurance. I guess he’s the logical closer or back-up closer (which they will need, considering Francisco Cordero’s recent
occasional closing issues and that he's unlikely to resign) although he has never been actually been tested as
closer before. When Carlos Marmol lost
the job last summer, Marshall got a few chances in the ‘closer-by-committee’
role but that wasn’t enough of a trial to serve judgment. He’s a loss because he has been the most
consistent reliever on the Cubs since 2009 and only he and Marmol have even
been a part of the unit since then.
If only counting for the trade’s effect on
2012, I still like the trade. When early
injuries to Wells and Andrew Cashner last season exposed a blatant lack of
depth, Jim Hendry was forced to sign Ortiz, Davis, and Lopez in bad veteran
signings who had to be signed just to fill the lineup card on a daily
basis. With this move and move
forthcoming, the Cubs won’t have to do that.
Wood is young and here to stay while he develops. It’s safe to say he will improve over the
next few years. Marshall is at his peak right at this moment and at age 29, it's hard to see him getting better over time. He's elite at the moment but will only go downhill from here. So in both the long-term and short-term, this deal really does makes sense for the Cubs.
No comments:
Post a Comment