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12/24/12

In Search For An Outfielder – Chicago Cubs



So far, we have identified two outfielders on two teams ripe for picking:

                Atlanta – Reed Johnson
                Arizona – A.J. Pollock
Baltimore – Nolan Reimold
                Boston – Jerry Sands

I spend no time here trying to figure out who to trade them or whether the Mets should just keep checking the waiver wire each day to see if my choice becomes available. All I do here is try to duplicate, for you, what I assume someone (with a VP on his business card) is doing in the Mets office this week.

We now move on to the Chicago Cubs, who have eight (8) outfielders on the 40-man:

                Tony Campana – bats left – pre-ARB – 2012/MLB – 174-AB, .264 -
                David De Jesus – bats left - $4.25mil/2013, $1.5mil buyout/2014 – 506-AB, .263
                Brett Jackson – bats left – pre-ARB – 2012-MLB - 120-AB, .175, Prospect #3
                Dave Sappelt – bats right – pre-ARB – 2012/MLB – 69-AB, .275
                Nate Schierholtz – bats left - $2.25/mil – ARB-2/2013
                Jorge Soler – bats right - $30mil through 2020 – ETA: 2016
                Alfonso Soriano – bats right - $19mil/yr – 2013 & 2014 – 2012/MLB – 561-AB, .262
                Matt Szczur – bats right – pre-ARB – ETA: 2013 – AA: .210

The Cubs are trying to buy every baseball player that is defecting from Cuba, which may pay off some day; however, for now, they are stuck with bad contracts. The worst is Soriano’s which will simply won’t go away. The good news is he still gives you 32/108.

DeJesus will play center, while recently signed Schierholtz will play left. According to the Cubs, they are stil looking for another outfielder so I have no idea where Jackson, Sappelt, Campana, and Soriano will play.

Szczur will play 2014, so Jackson is on my radar.

Mets target:  Brett Jackson – Natural centerfielder…  all speed…  1st round pick in 2009 out of the Univ. of California… will play 2013 as a 24 year old… 2012 in AAA: 27-SB, 15-HR, 47-RBI, .817-OPS.
on

6 comments:

  1. Reese KaplanDecember 24, 2012 at 10:17 AM

    Although he's lefthanded, I like Campana -- 54 SBs in 300+ ABs.

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  2. Mack AdeDecember 24, 2012 at 12:37 PM

    Reese:

    what are we looking for here, a fast guy someone with power, or just a good player?

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  3. AnonymousDecember 24, 2012 at 12:48 PM

    I'll pass on Jackson, big time. As he has risen through the Cubs' system, his strikeout rate has consistently increased (from 22% of PAs in '09 to 34% last year) while his AVG, OBP, and OPS have consistently declined, although his SLG has held relatively constant. Those stats are unlikely to improve in MLB. I see him as a potentially 200K, .250 hitter. A good glove and 25 SBs aren't enough. If I had to deal with the Cubs (which I don't) I'd try first for Tony Campana. Or , if they would pick up all but about $5 million of what Soriano is owed, I'd gladly take him off their hands. (Not likely)
    I wonder why you pick Pollack over Adam Eaton. Is it because you don't think Kevin Towers will part with Eaton? I'd press hard for Eaton, even if I had to give a much better package. (So long as that package didn't contain anyone named Harvey, Wheeler, d'Arnaud or Syndergaard.)
    Jerry Sands is an interesting possibility, if the Red Sox would consider moving him. I don't much like Nelson Reimold, though. I do like Reed Johnson, but since Atlanta just signed him, I didn't think they could trade him until mid June or so. Besides, Alderson could have pursued Johnson as a free agent and declined to do so. Why would he pursue him as a trade target?

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  4. Mack AdeDecember 24, 2012 at 1:12 PM

    Okay anon... I have you thinking about the big picture now and that's what I'm trying to do here...

    Aperfect example is Pollack over Eaton... this is how teams do it... they sit around the table and everybody gets a vote...

    My favorites are usually always based on what they did BEFORE they were drafted... as in the case of Jackson... I'm still looking for someone to break out.

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  5. AnonymousDecember 24, 2012 at 9:15 PM

    Thanks for the reply. (I was anon, but now I've come out in the open. lol) My philosophy is once a kid has a few years of minor league experience, performance trumps potential. Hence Eaton over Pollack and Campana over Jackson. I try to take his perceived potential into account, but I don't always have access to scouting reports and pre-draft info.
    Although I agree that the Mets really need another righty in the OF, you can see ( from my pick of Campana over Jackson) that I won't preclude a lefty (and I'd covet a switch hitter) if I think he brings alot to the table. For example, I'd be very happy to see Alderson deal for Alejandro De Aza.
    I did a fair amount of homework prior to the Dickey trade, so I have my own list of targets from each team that might have been in the mix. I'm therefore very interested in what you have to say when you get to the Blue Jays, Royals, Angels, and Rangers. Other teams in the Dickey hunt didn't appear to have major league ready outfielders, so although they made sense as pieces in a package, I wouldn't pursue a trade for any now.
    As an aside, I was disappointed that Sandy didn't claim Scott Van Slyke when he came through the waiver wire. Although 2 years older than Jerry Sands, he's not that dissimilar. Perhaps that tells us that Sandy is holding the roster space open for a more experienced outfielder that he has his eye on.

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  6. Mack AdeDecember 25, 2012 at 8:21 AM

    Herb:

    Doesn't it feel great to be out of the closet?

    It's interesting as I do this process... some teams have nobody to target other than failed players or prospects with ETAs 0f 2014 or later.

    I'm assuming we're all looking for someone that can help the Mets in 2013...

    There also are some teams that have more than one player that look approachable so feel free to chime in

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