Category: MLB
The Chicago Cubs Should Pass On Tanaka
The Chicago Cubs are currently in the running for Masahiro Tanaka, the best pitcher in Japan over the last few years. In fact, near the end of this week he will be visiting Chicago to speak with both the Cubs and White Sox about his future employment, possibly with one of these teams. However the Cubs are currently on a path set for building, and shouldn’t put themselves in a position to throw off those plans by acquiring someone who’s ready for a “win now” type of team.
Chicago Cubs: Just Let Tanaka Go
Let me start by saying this: I have never seen Masahiro Tanaka play but from the footage I’ve seen I’d love to see him in Cubbie blue.
He’s an incredible talent; So good in fact that once Yu Darvish left for America and the Major Leagues, he automatically became the best pitcher currently in Japan.
There are only 17 more days left in Tanaka’s 30-day signing period, with multiple teams anxiously awaiting a shot at the next pitching phenom.
However it would be in the Cubs best interest to pass on Tanaka at this time, no matter how incredible that argument may seem right now.
Team President Theo Epstein has a plan in motion to build up this ball club. Since he and general manager Jed Hoyer arrived, there have been plenty of interesting moves in the major league level, as well as stocking the farm system with tons of young talent. These younger players won’t be ready for a while, and when they are, contracts may need to be renewed and signed. Theo knows that although Tanaka would be a fantastic addition to any pitching staff, the club must concentrate on their future, not their “right now.”
Tanaka, 25, has completely dominated Nippon Professional Baseball posting a perfect 24-0 record this past season to go along with his 1.27 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.
If you have any idea about what those numbers mean, then you know they’re down right awesome.
He also won the Sawamura Award this past season (The equivalent of MLB’s Cy Young).
Obviously any team could make room for a talent like this on their roster. But no matter how good that looks, the Cubs need him to go elsewhere.
Jeff Samardzija was undoubtedly the gem of the Cubs rotation last season. He’s not quite an “ace”, but in 213.2 innings in 2013, he threw 214 strike outs, which is stellar to say the least. As the Cubs take major strides in rebuilding, Samardzija has been rumored to being shopped around to other clubs, possibly filling in missing holes in the farm system, or gaining (always valuable) relief pitching, which the Cubs have missed sorely for years. You’d assume Tanaka would easily slide into the Cubs #2 spot in the rotation between Samardzija and Travis Wood, but he’s never pitched in this type of rotation. In Japan, most pitcher go every seven days, not four to five like in America. Could his stamina be tested early?
Tanaka would also command a healthy chunk of the Cubs salary if signed.
The club is currently floating around in the $90-$105 Million range for salary “cap.”
If the Cubs offered and Tanaka accepted, they could easily be spending 15-25% of that amount on one pitcher.
Not only would they be spending that one one pitcher, but it’d be for nothing more than a circus act; a draw for customer to come see every 5-6 days in hopes of seeing some amazing pitching.
This would be great now, but down the road in 2016-17 when they want to be competitive, where will the money be?
According to current contracts, less than 10 players are under contract until that time, and many will be finished with arbitration and heading into their Unrestricted Free Agent years.
It takes a full 25 man roster to be competitive in today’s Major Leagues, with even a few Minor Leaguers thrown into the mix too.
Don’t expect the self imposed “cap” the Cubs are currently working with to go up anytime soon.
For now Epstein and Hoyer will have to make due, and to make due, they’ll have to stay away from those shiny new Free Agents that would command such huge contracts, or brand new MLB players being posted, like Tanaka.
The Cubs are looking to the future, and Masahiro Tanaka won’t be a part of it.
Follow Robert on Twitter: RobMVillarreal
MLB 2013: Two weeks in
White Sox Manager Robin Ventura and Cubs Manager Dale Sveum
Well, the 2013 season is two weeks old and both Chicago teams are off to, as anticipated, a mediocre start. The South Side White Sox are 5-7 and 1.5 games back of The Detroit Tigers while the North Side Cubs are 4-8 and 4 games behind their Central division rivals The St. Louis Cardinals. Yes this is a terribly small sample size of the season, but let’s not kid ourselves.
Both teams have modestly functional pieces in play (Sale, Reed, Castro, Soriano) and a few surprises too (Schierholtz, Castillo, Flowers). Bright spots aside, the ultimate goal year in and year our is to win The world Series; This year won’t be it. Timely hitting has helped both teams so far but both pitching staffs have run the gambit of baseball emotions from sensational to tumultuous to a burning pile of ash (they’re getting torched).
If there is a “be all – end all” to the season for either ball club it’ll be the gents on the bump and their bullpen relievers. Although players like Addison Reed are quickly coming into their own, other like Carlos Marmol or Dylan Axelrod are flat out abysmal. Both team’s farm clubs are scarce on pitching prospects no matter what kind of excused they’d make (of which there truly are none.) But the (most likely) inevitable post season clubs (Dodgers, Atlanta, Boston) all have not only solid pitching staffs but reasonable farms systems.
Both teams have post season dreams, but this year that’s all they can be. With some hard work, solid drafting, and better than average player development, both clubs should find themselves to be post season regulars over the next few years (look for 2015).
I’m an optimistic person, but in this situation realistic circumstances trump otherwise lofty, unrealistic goals. I’d love to see both teams succeed, even if I do ordinarily root for the North Siders. And I’ll do just that: keep rooting, but with an er of patience. You should too. You’ll see. It’ll pay off soon enough.
The Plague named Carlos Marmol
The Chicago Cub’s season started strong yesterday with a 3-1 victory Vs. the often played NL Central Pittsburgh Pirates. Jeff Samardzija tossed a gem going 8 innings, giving up 2 hits and 1 walk, while fanning 9. The Merrillville, IN native was then pulled for a 9th inning save opportunity offered to Carlos Marmol, who promptly “Marmolled” his way out of the inning. Carlos struck out his first batter faced followed up with hitting the always dangerous Andrew McCutchen, who then stole second and scored on a Pedro Alvarez single. Marmol then walked Gaby Sanchez which led to Manager Dale Sveum calling in James Russell, and finally Kyuji Fujikawa who earned the save.
Marmol has been terrible traditionally forcing me to scoff when he signed a three-year $20 million contract in 2011. No, he was NOT better back then, nor “good” or even “serviceable” since. He’s ruined 14 save opportunities for himself in that time span. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but 14 games can be the difference between being in the playoffs or watching the playoffs come September.
I’ve been praying for Carlos to be traded for years, only after I prayed for him to to not be resigned. I can only hope that he begins to preforms well enough to have another relief-pitcher-needy team look his way. But to do that he has to be in the game, which is ironically, exactly where The Cubs don’t need him to be.
Don’t get me wrong, I have no quarrel in knowing that this year and even next will only be a set up for what I hope will be a dynamic 2015 campaign. Yes that’s a ways off, but that’s how baseball works: sign, develop, train, use. I just hope that General Manager Jed Hoyer has finally seen the end of Carlos Marmol’s “usefulness.”
82 Miles to Wrigley 