8:00am: Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio tweets that the trade has officially been approved by MLB. — MLBTR And the details: ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that the Yankees will pay $6.8MM of the roughly $24.5MM remaining on Alfonso Soriano's contract — $1.8MM in 2013 and $5MM in 2014. The Cubs will choose from a short list of pitching prospects …
Justin Grimm Profile
Yesterday the Cubs traded Matt Garza to the Rangers for a package of prospects that included Mike Olt, CJ Edwards, Justin Grimm and at least one, but maybe two players to be named later. We already wrote about Mike Olt last night. Earlier today we covered CJ Edwards and now it's Justin Grimm. Grimm is a 6-3, 200 pound right handed starting pitcher. He was drafted out of …
CJ Edwards Profile
Yesterday the Cubs traded Matt Garza to the Rangers for a package of prospects that included Mike Olt, CJ Edwards, Justin Grimm and at least one, but maybe two players to be named later. We already wrote about Mike Olt here and now it's CJ Edwards turn. Before we talk too much about Edwards, the Cubs should speak to the Detroit Tigers …
Mini Profile for Mike Olt
Earlier the Cubs acquired Mike Olt, CJ Edwards, Justin Grimm and a player to be named later for Matt Garza. Over the next two days I'm going to write short pieces on each of these players before a final analysis. Mike Olt is the center piece of the trade. He was ranked the 22nd best prospect in baseball by both Baseball …
Cubs trade Matt Garza to Rangers for Mike Olt, CJ Edwards, Justin Grimm and PTBNL ***UPDATED***
It appears it's back on. The Cubs are about to trade Matt Garza to the Rangers for Mike Olt and others once again. I'm surprised by this since I figured Olt was the reason the trade broke down in the first place. Sources: Garza will not pitch tonight for #Cubs, deal with #Rangers near. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 22, …
Kris Bryant Signs with the Cubs
Our long regional month of boredom is over. Jim Callis is reporting that second overall pick Kris Bryant has agreed to terms with the Cubs for exactly what was prescribed by slot value, $6,708,400. Jon Heyman appears to have gotten the story first, but Scott Boras neglected to fill him in on the details, instead emphasizing the "record-setting" nature of …
Cubs trade Scott Hairston to Nationals for Ivan Pineyro ***UPDATED***
The Cubs have traded Scott Hairston to the Nationals for a class A pitcher. Hairston was signed this past offseason for 2-years and $5 million after his solid 2012 season. In 112 plate appearances with the Cubs, Hairston hit only .172/.232/.434. His wOBA was .283 and he had a wRC+ of 73. He had -0.6 fWAR and -0.5 rWAR. Hairston …
Cubs sign top international free agent Eloy Jimenez
The Cubs added to their big day by signing the top ranked international free agent Eloy Jimenez. The dollar figures aren’t known, but it was reported earlier yesterday that he would sign for about $2.7 million. The Cubs also signed Jefferson Mejia yesterday for $850,000. Top international prospect Eloy Jimenez has decided to turn down more money from another club …
Cubs trade Brent Lillibridge, Hisanori Takahashi and other notes
Yesterday the Cubs traded Brent Lillibridge to the Yankees for a player to be named later or cash. Lillibridge had only 24 PA for the Cubs before being sent to the minors. He managed a .042/.042/.042 batting line and provided -0.5 fWAR. The city of Des Moines is thankful the Cubs have traded him. The Cubs also traded Hisanori Takahashi …
Rule 5 Draft revisited
I was curious to see how the Rule 5 draft has worked out for the Cubs this year. This will be a short piece on those players. Hector Rondon Honestly, Rondon hasn't been as awful as his numbers would indicate. He's used very sparingly (13 games thus far), and in those 15.2 innings he's allowed 2 HR, 8 walks, 3 HBP, …