Nico Hoerner (Creative Commons: MarqueesCalaway)
The MLB trade deadline has come and gone and like they have for some time now, both Chicago teams disappointed. The Cubs because they did so little, and the White Sox because they got so little back for what they traded. Let’s start with the Cubs.
For the Cubs, it’s too little too late
The Cubs moved Christopher Morel and prospects to the Rays for third baseman Isaac Paredes. They followed that up by trading reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to the Yankees. The Cubs received two prospects in return. They are relief pitcher Jack Neely and infielder Ben Cowles.
I’ve mentioned previously I’m okay with the Morel trade and for that matter, I’m okay with the return for Leiter Jr. Jack Neely has been doing ok in AAA and goes with a fastball-slider combination. At 6’8″ he provides a dominating presence, if not force on the mound. Ben Cowles plays all three infield positions and is a right-handed hitter. He has shown some pop and decent control of the strike zone as a hitter. In AA ball this season, Cowles has hit .295 with nine home runs and an OPS of .848. I’m hoping for a Miles Mastrobuoni upgrade.
The conundrum that is the Cubs
The Cubs may have been more active in the trade market, but they have some contracts that are hard to move. Jed Hoyer has put together a last place team despite having the highest patrol in the division. And yet I hear him use the term, “intelligent spending.”
The Cubs held on to Nico Hoerner, despite speculation he could be gone. Look for him to be moved this winter to open up second base for one of the top prospects in the Cubs’ organization, Matt Shaw.
If the Cubs don’t win the division next year, Hoyer should be gone. I don’t care if he is a lame duck, he hasn’t earned an extension.
The White Sox never fail to disappoint
And the trade deadline was no exception. The Sox did hang on to Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. And I’m fine with that. However, the Sox did manage to unload Eric Fredde, Paul DeJong, Tanner Banks, Michael Kopech, Eloy Jimenez and Tommy Pham. The headliner in that group was Eric Fedde. The Sox got Miguel Vargas and two 19-year-old infield prospects as their take in a three-way deal with the Dodgers and Cardinals.
The infield prospects are deemed to have fairly high upside as hitters, as does Vargas, but color me skeptical.
The fact that the Sox were able to ship off Jimenez to the Orioles was perhaps their most deft move. If Jimenez manages to be productive as an Oriole, it might be the biggest indictment of the White Sox organization of all. The White Sox did manage to get AAA left-handed reliever Trey McGough. In return.
McGough has been effective in AAA but is 26 years old. The problem with the White Sox prospects is they are either too young or too old. Or not that talented. Having said that, look for McGough to be in the White Sox bullpen soon.
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