Mashings and ramblings of a nerd
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Cubs Sign Reed Johnson to Minor League Deal
Jan 13th
Former Cub and fan favorite, Reed Johnson, appears to be on his way back to town to try to make the team as backup outfielder. My father-in-law has called him “Speedy” ever since he made that amazing catch in Washington against the Nationals a few seasons ago. I like this move a lot both as a fan who likes Johnson, and as a analyst.
His super hustle and play hard every play demeanor rivals that of Cub center fielder Marlon Byrd. Word on the rumor mills is that if the season started today, Tyler Colvin is going to be the every day right fielder now that Carlos Pena is on board to cover the one bag position. Kosuke Fukudome has just fallen completely out of favor in the Windy City and with good reason. He hasn’t come remotely close to living up to the hype that brought him over from Japan. There have been some rumblings about Fukudome possibly being moved albeit with the Cubs on tap for probably most, if not all of his salary this season. Even if they can get a few minor leaguers…. ok, ok, a bag of peanuts out of Fukudome it should be explored. Alfonso Soriano in left field is a completely different story.
Sam Fuld was involved in the Matt Garza trade last week, and Xavier Nady left due to free agency, so the Cub technically are in the need of that 5th outfielder / utility guy. Johnson’s everyday gaming is all but over, but I see him as a good mentor for the young minor leaguers that are on the verge of making the big show. Johnson made it no secret that he like playing in Chicago, and hopefully this gives him a catch to compete on the team again. I like him as a defensive replacement, and pinch runner late in games, as well as giving players a day off here and there. Having that veteran presence, not named Alfonso Soriano is pretty big too. Marlon Byrd is a good team leader, but having Johnson on the team I think takes the team leadership up on more notch.
I hope after spring training, there’s room for ‘ole Speedy, on the roster.
Cubs Trade for Matt Garza
Jan 8th
The Cubs made a big move Friday to shore up their rotation for this season. They made a trade for pitcher Matt Garza of the Tampa Rays and two minor league players and the Rays will acquire 5 players.
Here’s a quick rundown of players that are involved in the deal.
Cubs receive:
Matt Garza. He was 15-10 last season with a 3.91 ERA and topped 200 innings for the season. He also threw a no-hitter versus the Detroit Tigers this past season. There’s been quite a bit of talk that he’s going to hop right into the rotation as the ace of the team. I’m not sure if that will actually happen though, but it doesn’t, he’ll easily start after Dempster and before Carlos Zambrano. I like Zambrano not being the opening day starter as his track record has not been good. Simply put, he’s not an ace, but as a 3rd starteer in the rotation, he could thrive.
Fernando Perez. Perez was up and down for the Rays in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. At the age of 27, he’s starting to hit that age where he needs to make a big jump in his career or fall in to that grouping of people that just never made it. He’s not particularly a strong hitter, but he’s got extremely good speed.
Zachary Rosscup. He’s currently a low A ball pitcher that’s only 22 that was drafted two seasons ago that tosses the ball from the left side. I don’t know much about him. He seemed to have a pretty decent 2nd full season
Rays receive:
Chris Archer. He was acquired in Mark DeRosa trade to the Indians a few seasons ago. Since then Archer has become the Cubs top pitching prospect and was their pitcher of the year in the Minors last season posting a 15-3 record with a 2.34 ERA between high A and AA last season. He’s only 21 now too. There was an outside shot he could have made the Cubs rotation out of spring training, but most likely he’ll start the season in AAA. He could develop into a top end rotation guy. The ceiling is pretty high for this kid. Although he is considered the top pitching prospect, with the likes Casey Coleman, Trey McNutt, Chris Carpenter (no no that Chris Carpenter), and potentially Jay Jackson, he can me moved to improve the team now.
Brandon Guyer. He was the Cubs minor league hitter of the year this past season. He hit .344 with 13 hrs 58 rbis and 30 steals. He’s played all three outfield positions this season, and it seems like he plays them reasonably with only three errors and 12 assists. Mumblings on the blog circuit seem to say that Guyer is only ever going to amount to a 4th OF at most. Seems to me with those sort of stats he could fit in pretty well as a 2nd hitter in a line up with quite a bit success. He could easily amount to a 20 hr guy with 50 sb in a full major league season; however, Brett Jackson is currently the OF of the Cubs future. With Colvin and Soriano on the team, with presumably Jackson filling in in a year or two, he’s expendable.
Hak-Ju Lee. The 20 year old shortstop from Korean is blocked by fellow youngster Starlin Castro. He’s a plus defender, and hit for a pretty good average, and has pretty decent speed. He could easily fit in as an Adam Everett type player, where he’s really good on the field, but most likely an 8th hitter or so. Depending on what the Rays do with Reid Brignac over the next two or three years, Lee could easily fill in that spot.
Robinson Chirinos. Former infielder Chirinos was moved to catcher in the 2008 season, but last season was his first time as a full time catcher. He hits the ball really well as he hit .326 with 18 hrs. The other interesting fact he struck out 43 times; however he walked 44 times in 380 abs between AA and AAA. He could easily be Jaso’s backup this season or next. He should be a pretty good player of the bench, but he probably won’t ever be an everyday starter, but a solid backup.
Sam Fuld. He’s a been a player that’s been up and down filling in for injuries and what not over the past several seasons. He’s a great defender and plays the game the right way, and plays hard every play, much like Marlon Byrd. He doesn’t have much power, but hits for a good average and hits the gaps pretty well. He’s got great speed and is a smart base runner. He often was a pinch runner late in games, and stayed in as defensive replacement. With Carl Crawford out of town, he’s got a solid shot at making the team as a 4th or 5th outfielder on the team, whereas he’d probably stay in the minors with the Cubs this season.
This trade will actually help both teams. For now, it obviously favors the Cubs since Garza is hitting his prime pitching years, and they will retain him for three seasons (including this one). Picking up prospects are such a gamble, but even if one of those players pane out, in the end the trade will wind up in the Rays favor. I’m fairly certain Chris Archer is going to end up in the majors, and contributing to a team. Garza has been getting better and better as his career grows, so hopefully he can continue that sort of success in Wrigley.
