What if You Ran the Cubs and the Atlanta Braves Wanted You to Overpay?
Sep 6, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Ender Inciarte (5) reacts to being forced out by Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez (9) during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Cubs Said to be Mulling Over Atlanta’s Price Point for Inciarte
We had a fairly spirited debate on Monday about the value of players such as Julio Teheran and Ender Inciarte. The mistake made then (by me) was perhaps in trying to be fair about the process. Normally in a trade situation, you want to “win”, but you also want your trading partner to “win“. All sides end up happy and all’s right with the world. But that’s the wrong way to look at this.
When it comes to any discussion of trading new CF Ender Inciarte, please recognize that this is not one of those situations.
It’s About Perspective. And History.
I’d like you to consider for a moment that you are either Theo Epstein (42-year-old President of Baseball Operations for the Cubs) or Jed Hoyer (Executive VP and General Manager; older than Theo by 3 weeks). You run the Cubs: the senior team in the 3rd largest city in the country, playing in the 2nd oldest stadium in America. Your team hasn’t touched the World Series since 1945 and hasn’t won it in One Hundred and Seven years. The next closest futility record? The Indians… 40 years less (and they’ve been runners-up 3 times since then).
You have assembled a team that burst into the playoffs in 2015. You have the newly reigning Cy Young award winner. You just stole two premium players from your biggest rival (John Lackey, Jason Heyward). You took another from the World Series champion (Ben Zobrist). You have a great chance to break through – to be “that guy” who gave Chicago fans the championship they have craved for Oh, So Long.
Other teams are trying hard to keep up, though. The Nationals are trying to fill their most obvious hole – second base – by taking Brandon Phillips from the Reds. The Diamondbacks already had a great offense. Now they’ve added enough pitching to match up with… you. The Giants are trying to do the same, and they seem to think they own the even-numbered years.
There’s just one or two pieces still missing in your championship puzzle. Your right fielder is something of a defensive liability and the center fielder you just got is excellent on defense… in right field. You just saw Kansas City win the World Series with an outfield of stellar defenders. You have two bad ones, plus a guy playing out of position.
There is another team with a Gold Glove-like ability CF that you could trade for. But they don’t need to trade him and are asking for a really high price. This would solidify 2 of your 3 OF positions, and wouldn’t hurt you at all offensively, either. You could dominate in 2016-17.
With all of that said… what do you do?
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