**OFFICIAL CUBS REGULAR SEASON THREAD**

[Clark]

If the cubs could get Castellanos from Detroit that would almost be enough.

It seems Castellanos would be tough to get from Detroit. If the Cubs CAN get him, it would certainly be enough.

I agree.

[ssckelley]

I agree farmer, but I think Castellanos is the one guy in Detroit's system I would target if I'm Jed and Theo. Middle of the order bat playing the hot corner. If you need to compromise on the other pieces in the deal, so be it. But a haul of Castellanos and Drew Smyly isn't bad at all.

They could really shoot for the moon and try to get Bruce Rondon, a pitcher in their system. Dude was hitting 100+ consistently yesterday in the futures game. His first pitch was a cool 102, and then 101, 101, 101.

I don't think Rondon is shooting for the moon. Yes he throws hard but what other pitches does he have to mix in? Good idea of Smyly as he may become expendable in the Tigers rotation. Another good arm the Tigers have in the minors is lefty Casey Crosby. I would say a mix of any of those 3 pitchers with Castellanos would be a fair deal for Garza.

I also wonder if trading Vitters would be in the mix. Vitters struggles defensively at 3rd and may project better as a first baseman or in the AL. Especially if the Cubs are talking to the Tigers about Castellanos.

After the all star break I would expect trade talks to heat up.

[Clark]

I don't think Rondon is shooting for the moon. Yes he throws hard but what other pitches does he have to mix in? Good idea of Smyly as he may become expendable in the Tigers rotation. Another good arm the Tigers have in the minors is lefty Casey Crosby. I would say a mix of any of those 3 pitchers with Castellanos would be a fair deal for Garza.

I also wonder if trading Vitters would be in the mix. Vitters struggles defensively at 3rd and may project better as a first baseman or in the AL. Especially if the Cubs are talking to the Tigers about Castellanos.

After the all star break I would expect trade talks to heat up.

Vitters future is almost certainly at a corner OF spot. Not sure his bat will play at 1B.

[cjhawks]

Almora signed today for $3.9M. Slot value for the pick was $3.25M

[iahawks912]

Has anyone read how far away Almora is from the bigs? If so where would he fit in? Most likely not center with Jackson right.

[cjhawks]

It all depends on how he adapts to the professional game. Being a HS'er, I'd guess he won't see Chicago until 2016 at the earliest.

[ssckelley]

Almora signed today for $3.9M. Slot value for the pick was $3.25M

But the Cubs have been under budget with most of their other signings. They are 373,800 over budget but are still within the 5% so they do not lose a pick in next years draft. The Cubs signed all of their top 20 picks (29 overall), which is great news as that should strengthen their farm system.

[9YRPLAN]

ive seen speculation that almora could be in high-A this summer yet

[hawkfarmer]

Kerry Wood is the Next Discount Double Checker for State Farm | Bleacher Nation | Chicago Cubs News, Rumors, and Commentary

Kerry Wood new state farm discount double check rep. Pretty funny.

[MikeDog70]

Kerry Wood is the Next Discount Double Checker for State Farm | Bleacher Nation | Chicago Cubs News, Rumors, and Commentary

Kerry Wood new state farm discount double check rep. Pretty funny.

Based on the other commercials, this had a chance to be all sorts of lame...but far from it. This is hilarious! "What year is it?" and "Caught it!"

[BILLBUCKNER]

That was hillarious.

[hawkfarmer]

I've been thinking about this for a while, but I would say if the cubs can get better prospects for including Brett Jackson in a trade with Garza or Dempster I say do it. I think Jackson has a lot of upside, but the cubs actually have some good OF prospects right now and if they can get even better prospects in return by including him I say do it.

[cjhawks]

But the Cubs have been under budget with most of their other signings. They are 373,800 over budget but are still within the 5% so they do not lose a pick in next years draft. The Cubs signed all of their top 20 picks (29 overall), which is great news as that should strengthen their farm system.

Correct. They don't lose a pick, but will be taxed about $280k due to the overage. Big deal.

[hawkfarmer]

When you look at the cubs top 20 prospects I get concerned with one thing. Pitching, only 5 of the top 20 are pitchers, and 2 are 19 and 20. And Zych is not a starting pitching prospect.

Now I like some of the prospects such as Rizzo, Jackson, Baez, Lake, Szcuzr, Candalerio and even Vitters. Put Soler and Almora in there as well and some of the position players look really good. (I have heard that Concepcion looks terrible and is a waste of money, only time will tell on that one)

The cubs need to get pitching prospects ASAP. I know they drafted a lot, but those guys are 3-5 years out, need some near MLB ready pitching prospects.




2012 Prospect Watch | cubs.com: Prospects

[ssckelley]

I've been thinking about this for a while, but I would say if the cubs can get better prospects for including Brett Jackson in a trade with Garza or Dempster I say do it. I think Jackson has a lot of upside, but the cubs actually have some good OF prospects right now and if they can get even better prospects in return by including him I say do it.

So give up prospects to get prospects? This does not make any sense. The Cubs need to trade away veteran players to build up the farm system. The outfield prospects the Cubs have are a few years a way and not all will work out. There is a reason why the Cubs hang on to Ty Wright and Dave Sappelt to start in the outfield at Iowa, there is no one else ready at the lower levels to replace them. The outfielders in Tennessee do not excite me all that much either, including Jae-Hoon Ha.