Cubs Trade Overview

A look at the Cubs after the trade deadline

By Tony Rusch


The Cubs were sellers during the trade season this year. Under the banner of reconstruction, the club cleaned house, dealing a multitude of players including Matt Garza, Scott Feldman, and Alfonso Soriano. Now that the deadline has passed us, let's take a look back at the Cubs trade action.

Feldman-Clevenger, Arrieta- Strop

source

The Cubs kicked off their trading season when they dealt pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitcher Jake Arrieta, pitcher Pedro Strop, and some international-signing cash.

Jake Arrieta was the Orioles opneing-day starter just two years ago but has since struggled to find his groove. The 27-year-old righty came to the Cubs with a 7.23 ERA in only five starts for Baltimore this season. Pedro Strop, 27, joined the club with a 7.25 ERA in 22 innings pitched.

Since the trade in early June both Arrieta and Strop have proven useful for the north-siders. Strop has pitched 11 innings for the Cubs and held a perfect 0.00 ERA before giving up five runs to the Brewers on July 30. Arrieta made his first start in cubby blue in the second game of the double-header on July 30 and pitched six strong innings giving up just one run.

In my opinion, Arrieta and Strop are just a bonus in a deal that gives the Cubs what they really need - international-signing cash. It's become obvious that the Cubs have chosen to rebuild their team with a farm system of high-profile international prospects. The club is hot on the international scene signing several players including the #2 international prospect Gleyber Torres.

All in all, it looks to be as if both teams benefited from the transaction. The Cubs recieved two players who can be used immediately, in addition to the international-signing cash, and the Orioles recieved Scott Feldman, whose impressive starts and 3.46 ERA brought his name into trade discussions with several teams, and Steve Clevenger who was batting .327 in Triple-A Iowa. Both Feldman and Clevenger will most likely hold more value on an Orioles team who can use them down the stretch when the playoff race gets tight.

Marmol, Guerrier

source

To the delight of most Cubs fans, the club was finally able to deal pitcher Carlos Marmol to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Matt Guerrier. The deal wasn't totally clear-cut, though. In addition to just Marmol, the Cubbies included cash and $210,000 of international-signing money.

At first glance it looks like the Dodgers claimed the better end of that deal, but sources seem to indicate that the Cubs will benefit from the transaction. First and foremost, the club was finally able to rid itself of Marmol, whose 5.86 ERA has proven to be a thorn in the side of the Cubby blue. Second, the club recieved Guerrier who has bolstered the bullpen, posting a 2.38 ERA over 11.1 innings pitched. And finally, the Cubs claim that the deal saved them about $500,000 in real cash because they were able to wager $210,000 of extra international-signing money in lieu of actual capital.

Personally, it's rather unsettling watching Marmol's career in Chicago end the way that it did. As vividly as I remember despising him, I can also recall admiring him when I was younger. It would be a gross error to deny the fact that, at one time, Marmol was one of the most effective relief pitchers in all of baseball. As happy as I am to see him go, I think Cubs fans should hold no grudges and should wish him the best of luck.

Garza, Olt-Edwards-Grimm

source

When the trade season started it was clear that Cubs would again be sellers and that pitcher Matt Garza would be the most sought after target. Garza's name has been present in trade talks for years now, but the Cubs finally dealt him to the Texas Rangers for a package of high-rated prospects.

The 29-year-old Garza has been stellar for the Cubs this season. Since returning from injury the right-hander went 6-1 for the Cubs with a 3.27 ERA. Garza was purchased by the Cubs before the Epstein era in a "win-now" move when the team wasn't even in position to truly compete for a title. He never should have even been a Cub. Some rumors indicate that the Cubs attempted to talk with Garza about a possible contract extension but the truth of those rumors is irrelvant as the club decided to finally cash in their chips with the Rangers. The Cubs sent him to Texas in exchange for third baseman Mike Olt, pitcher C.J. Edwards, pitcher Justin Grimm, and at least one other player to be named later.

The Rangers signed Garza to a one-year, $10.25 million contract which could be a risky move considering that they gave up a cache of high-profile prospects to claim him. Third basement Mike Olt, who ranks 63rd on the MLB's top 100 prospect list, has already been ranked as high as second on the list of Cubs top farm system prospects since joinging the club. The Rangers have been criticized for offering the Cubs such a high-valued prospect, especially considering that Olt would be the obvious candidate for right-handed power if Nelson Cruz is suspended. Olt might in fact be the real deal, but, with the value on garza's head, any team who wanted him was going to have to pony up.

In addition to the raw power of Olt, the Cubs recieved pitchers C.J. Edwards and Justin Grimm. Grimm came into the Cubs system with a 6.37 ERA in 89 innings pitched with Texas this season. While his numbers are rough, Grimm is a rookie and the Cubs will look to work out the kinks in his mechanics and allow him mature in their farm system. Edwards was originally snagged by the Rangers in the 48th round of 2011 draft straight from high school. This season he was 8-2 with a 1.83 ERA for Class-A Hickory and has shown the Cubs that he can be successful at the professional level.

Soriano, Black

Source

In a trade that seemed to be woven into the fabric of destiny the loveable losers finally cut ties with long-time Cub Alfosno Soriano, sending him back to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Corey Black.

The trade seems to make sense from all angles. The Cubs approached Soriano and discussed teams that he would be interested in playing with for the purposes of working around the no-trade clause in his contract. Soriano made it clear that he would be interested in going back to New York and, fittingly, the struggling Yankees offense was in dire need of a right-handed bat.

Soriano, 37, batted .254 for the Cubbies and has flipped the switch since June, giving the club a reliable bat in the cleanup spot and racking up 17 homers. He rejoined a Yankees side that was batting a measley .221 from the right side of the plate and is without Derek Jeter, Mark Tiexiera, and Alex Rodriguez.

In exchange for Soriano the Cubs recieved right-handed pitcher Corey Black. Black is only 5' 11'' but dominates batters with a commanding 95 mph fastball that sometimes hits triple digits. Black has some mechanical issues and a stiff follow through that tend to give him trouble with his command, but the Cubs will look to work on those issues as they groom him for the big leagues.

Cubs vs. Dodgers Preview

Rusin looks to slow reeling Dodgers

By Tony Rusch


source

Newcomer Chris Rusin will make his fourth start for the Cubs tonight and will share the mound with the Dodgers' Ricky Nolasco who looks to extend the team's dominance on the road.

The Dodgers are looking to snag their 11th straight road win tonight against a Cubs team that dropped three of four games to the Brewers in the first series of the home stand. Despite a home loss to the Yankees last night, the Dodgers come into Wrigley Field scolding hot, tallying an impressive 27 wins from their last 34 games.

Standing in their way is Chicago's Rusin who got the nod to fill the vacant pitching slot leftover from the Scott Feldman trade. Since his promotion from Triple-A the Cubs' southpaw is 1-0 with an ERA of 2.93 and nine strikeouts. Rusin's most impressive showing was during his last start against San Francisco when he threw seven scoreless innings and kept the defending champs hitless until the fifth.

At this point it seems that Rusin has all but locked up a spot as a permanent member of the rotation now that Scott Feldman and Matt garza have left the picture. Tonight he'll need to somehow cattle-prod the Cubs offense into producing runs. Before yesterday's two-run blast Anthony Rizzo was just 7 for 29 at the plate and Starlin Castro, who is batting a disappointing .248, has been struggling to get things going during the meat of the season.

On the contrary, Hanley Ramirez comes into Thursday night's game batting a fear-inciting .433 in his last 21 road games, racking up 7 homers and a 37-game hit streak that ended Wednesday night at home against the Yankees.

If the loveable losers plan on notching a W tonight they'll need to keep Rusin going through at least six. Anything less than six innings leaves too much up to chance for a Cubs bullpen that was responsible for the three-game meltdown during the first three games of the Brewer's series. With the slumping Chicago bats Rusin will have to keep the Cubs in the game til late.

Game starts at 7:05 CST.

Cubs-Brewers

Jackson, Cubs' bats steal final game of series

By Tony Rusch




source

Cubs pitcher Edwin Jackson came into Wednesday's game to close out a month of July that has been nothing less than stellar for the seasoned right-hander.

Jackson, who had a dissapointing performance during the early months of the season, finished the month of July with an impressive 1.83 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of .83 while racking up 22 strikeouts and a winning record of 4-1. He would take on Milwaukee's Willy Peralta who has struggled as of late.

The slumping bat of Anthony Rizzo opened up the scoring in the third when Rizzo greeted Peralta with his 15th homerun of the season to right center. The Cubs continued scoring in the fourth with a Starlin Castro solo bomb and later a David DeJesus RBI single putting the cubs up 4-0.

The game was delayed with two outs in the Brewers half of the sixth inning when God himself attempted to stifle the red hot Jackson with a 66 minute rain delay; to no avail. Jackson exited the game after eight strong innings giving up just one run on eight hits and tallying four strikeouts. The Cubs would eventually add on two more runs on another DeJesus RBI single bringing the score to a decisive 6-1. Chicago's Blake Parker took the mound in the ninth to close out the game in a non-save situation (Watch the game recap here).

The Cubs were able to salvage the final game of the four-game series against the adversarial Brewers bringing the club's record to a less-than-impressive 49-58 which places them a whopping 16 games behind the MLB-leading Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central.

Despite their unsatisfactory record, Wednesday's silver lining comes to us courtesy of Edwin Jackson who shows no signs of yielding. The Cubs signed the 29-year-old in the offseason with a juicy contract worth $52 million over four years and coupled with an $8 million signing bonus. July seemed to be the turning point for Jackson who is finally proving himself worthy of his contract. Rizzo and Castro, who had the game's only homeruns, were finally able to exhibit some power after posting dissapointing numbers over the course of the last month. Hopefully Wednesday's blasts can kickstart the duo back into plate production.

Cubs will look to make it two-in-a-row tonight with another home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Newcomer Chris Rusin, who has been impressive over his last two starts, will take on Ricky Nolasco who is looking give the team its 11th straight road victory.

The keys to tonight's game will be giving Rusin run support against a hot Dodgers team.

Cubs-Brewers Double Header

Cubs drop three straight to struggling crew

By Tony Rusch




source
 

The Cubs completed their double-header against Milwaukee last night with two obnoxiously loud CLUNKS in the loss column. The two L's drop the Cubs to 48-58 which places them a mere 2.5 games above the Brewers who are currently warming the floor in last place.

Carlos Villanueva took the mound in game one of the double-header Wednesday afternoon to face off against Milwaukee ace Yovani Gallardo. Rookie sensation Jean Segura drew the game's first blood with a fourth-inning solo blast to put the Brewers up 1-0.

The lead quickly changed in the fifth when Yovani Gallardo exited the game with an apparent hamstring injury. The Cubs took advantage of the pitching change when Villanueva started a chain of four consecutive RBI singles off of a struggling John Axeford to put the Cubs up 5-1.

However, the lead would shift again.The loveable losers imploded in the seventh inning when James Russell served up a game-tying, three-run bomb to Khris Davis and later a go-ahead RBI double to Jean Segura. The Cubs failed to cross the plate in the final two innings and Milwaukee's Jim Henderson sealed the deal with his thirteenth save of the season.

Much of the talk surrounding game two of the double-header involved Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta who was recently acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade for pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger. Arrieta, who was the opening day starter for the Orioles just two years ago, has struggled this season and came into Tuesday's game with an ERA over 7.00. He would take on Brewers newcomer Tyler Thornburg for his debut at the Friendly Confines.

Despite concerns of his early season struggles, Arrieta posted a solid start giving up only two hits (one of which was a Juan Francisco solo-shot in the fifth) and recording two strikeouts over six innings pitched. The Cubs finally got on the board in the seventh inning when David DeJesus knocked in a two-run double to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. True to form, game two ended with just more of the same as Cubs fans watched Kevin Gregg blow his third save of the season after Milwaukee's Jeff Bianchi slapped a bases-loaded, two-tun single off the glove of a diving Starlin Castro in the top of the ninth. Henderson was clutch again in the bottom of the inning recording his 14th save for the crew.

Despite the absence of the now-controversial Ryan Braun, the Brewers still managed to outscore the Cubs 14-7 over the past three games which has proven sufficient for three W's. The Cubs starting pitching can only be held accountable for five of those runs, leaving the remaining nine on the shoulders of the bullpen. The culprits, however, are surprising. Pedro Strop, who had an ERA of 0.00 entering Monday's game, was primarily responsible for the five-run meltdown in game one of the series and Gregg, who has been statistically fantastic since rejoining the club, blew last night's save opportunity (Watch highlights from Arrieta's start here).

The Cubs entered the series Monday coming off a successful west coast road trip (6-4) to face a Brewers side that had only won two games in its last seven. Despite their recent slide, the Brewers look to sweep the series tonight against their division rivals. The Cubs' three-game skid comes at no surprise, however. Simply put, the Brewers have had the Cubs number for a while now. After yesterday's victories the crew now posts a  commanding 8-3 record in the 2013 season series with the Cubs.

Edwin Jackson will look to continue his recent success when he takes the mound tonight against Milwaukee's Willy Peralta. The keys to tonight's game are contingent on whether or not the Cubs can somehow patch up their leaky bullpen and kickstart their struggling bats.