Yes, the time is finally here as the trade deadline is approaching. The non-waiver trade deadline in tomorrow (Tuesday, July 31st) at 3:oo p.m. Central. These final hours may be huge for the Cubs since they have made no trades as of yet. But Cub fans, don’t worry… Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer will not stand pat. From what I’ve seen or heard, there’s a great chance the Cubs will make a deal today. If you do not look up or follow Cubs Den, Bleacher Nation, Cubbies Crib, Bleed Cubbie Blue and Hot Stove Cubbies, you should! You’re missing out on a lot of insightful information and information, Cubs writers don’t even get. They are the best sites for Cubs news over the web… So you should give them a follow or add their site as a favorite. Trust me, they are the best for news to break. Here’s my break down of the news from the weekend:
The question right now is who gets moved… Cubs Den and Bleed Cubbie Blue said expect 2 trades that are in the bigger format (not a minor trade) and Hot Stove Cubbies said expect a trade today. So, I guess we’ll see as we are about 30 hours from the trade deadline.
**Will Ryan Dempster be traded? Entering the finals hours of the trade deadline and Dempster is still a Cub. He was suppose to be traded weeks ago, but he declined a trade to the Atlanta Braves. He still wants to go to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they are not making a good offer. Since LA knows the Cubs lost the leverage and they’re not budging. The Cubs have told Dempster they will not trade him to just trade him. The trade would have to make sense. Executives now think Dempster would accept a trade elsewhere and that’s where Atlanta comes in again. I still expect Dempster to be traded by tomorrow. I would think it has to be LA or ATL, but you never know. Baseball is tricky and the ‘mystery team’ can always win and that happens a lot.
**Another name that has been gaining attention is Alfonso Soriano. Yes, Fonzie!!! I know, we would have never expected this to happen. The Cubs reportedly will eat all of Soriano’s contract but 2 million of the 36 million owe. So, a team can get Soriano for 1 million a year for 2 years. To me, that’s a steal even though he’s up there in age. Actually, Soriano has looked better than recent years. He’s hustling like crazy and since May 19th, he has a batting average in the .280’s. The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers have checked in on Soriano. I don’t know what happened with the conversation, but it’s good to know Soriano has interest out there. The Cubs actually have a propose deal to the Dodgers of Ryan Dempster and Alfonso Soriano, but nothing to the offer for now. Maybe LA will become desperate and pull the trippers. I don’t know if Soriano will be traded by tomorrow, but he’s a good waiver deal if not traded by tomorrow.
**So, yeah … Matt Garza’s injury has made him off the market. That pretty much means, the Cubs did not get a good offer for Garza and decded to move onto other moves. The Cubs are likely to trade him in the off-season and try to get the best offer then. He was probably the Cubs best trade chip and now the Cubs won’t get as good impact prospects in any trade… Let’s just hope he gets healthy and pitches well, so the Cubs can get a great offer in the Winter.
Other notes in the less variety:
**The Cubs and Mets have discussed a Geovany Soto trade, but don’t look for that to happen. It seems the Mets were hoping to buy low on Soto and really don’t trade anything for him. But the Cubs didn’t bite. The Rays could have interest in Soto and maybe the White Sox if AJ’s injury is worse than thought. I still think the Rays would be the favorite or even the Nationals. But for now, he’s unlikely to be traded.
**A player the Cubs are almost guaranteed to trade of OF Reed Johnson. Almsot every team would want him as a 4th OF.. He’s also a good clubhouse guy, good defender and a smart badeball player. A team that has been connected with Reed Johnson on the most occasions in the Detroit Tigers. So, watch for that. The Cubs won’t get anything really good in exchange, but maybe a player who the Cubs will hope to make the majors.
**Another player that may get traded is Jeff Baker. Every team will want him to be their utility guy. He kills left and plays 1B/2B/3B/LF/RF. I’ve heard the Nationals connected with him, so I think there’s a great chance he is traded.
**The Cubs hottest pitcher Paul Maholm is likely to be dealt, per Cubs Den. If I had to guess, I say the Braves is his destination. With that said, I say Dempster will go to LA. The Braves may offer a package the Cubs can’t decline and he’s not necessarily a FA after the year. There are really not other SP out there and I think ATL makes a lot of sense. I guess we will find out soon enough.
**Yes, the Cubs do actually have RP that may be traded. One of the better set-up men this year, Shawn Camp is probably popular by teams. We have not heard his name a lot in the rumors and that may just be because the Cubs don’t have a lot of interest in trading him. He’s still young, cheap and maybe the Cubs want better offers for him. Since they’re not getting that, they intend on keeping him. The other one is the resurgence of Carlos Marmol. He’s been hot as of late and has not blown a save in a while. Most people think he’ll be a waiver wire trade as teams want to see if he can keep the hot streak up. But I guess we’ll see…
If I had to guess, the Cubs will make 3-5 trades by the deadline at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. Now here’s when the fun officially begins!
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