Chicago Cubs
Four-Star Prospects
1. Brett Jackson, OF
2. Trey McNutt, RHP
3. Chris Archer, RHP
Three-Star Prospects
4. Josh Vitters, 3B
5. Hak-Ju Lee, SS
6. Chris Carpenter, RHP
7. Hayden Simpson, RHP
8. Reggie Golden, OF
9. Jay Jackson, RHP
10. Robinson Lopez, RHP
11. Brandon Guyer, OF

Nine More:
12. Robinson Chirinos, C: This converted infielder is improving defensively, and he can really hit.
13. Marquez Smith, 3B: He's a bit of an older prospect, but Smith can provide power and defense at the hot corner.
14. Wellington Castillo, C: He has a plus arm and power; and could turn into nice backup or second-division starter.
15. Rafael Dolis, RHP: He's another power arm in a system full of them; scouts want to see him in relief.
16. Ben Wells, RHP: This seventh-round pick was late-riser in the spring; he has low-90s heat with projection.
17. Brett Wallach, RHP: The ex-Dodger arm could move up with more consistent control; his stuff is plus.
18. Darwin Barney, UT: He'll never be a star, will rarely start, but Barney could play a decade in the majors.
19. Austin Reed, RHP: One of the talks of Arizona, scouts love his size and arm action.
20. Alberto Cabrera, RHP: This long, skinny Dominican has plus-plus velo, but needs to refine his secondary stuff.

Scutaro is ok at SS. I think they are going to try to resurect Saltamacchia with Varitek as his tudor. Who knows what bullpen arms they will add but an interesting project is former 1st round pick Andrew Miller who they traded a minor leaguer for. They non-tendered him but are thought to be bringing him back at a lower salary and are going to try him out of the bullpen.

The key for them is they added Crawford and Gonzalez AND still have a ton of almost ready prospects to move when they need to. I wouldn't be too surprised if they made another trade with SD for a RP.

Saltamacchia? Thats like putting a cheap steering wheel on a maserati. I don't know how he calls a game but that sure is a pretty temperamental staff with guys like beckett and lackey.

Lester, bucholz, lackey, beckett and daiseke. Thats pretty formidable even before you mention the kids that they will be working in.

I wouldn't screw around with catcher if I were Theo. You just spent all of that money on two guys and you have a 50 million dollar rotation. Overpay in propects via trade for a good vet and call it a day. I read somewhere that they were looking at Russell from LA.

Thanks for the info. The rumor seems to have quieted down a bit in the last day or so, but if it goes through, I now have a sporty refernce list. Should I be concerned if the "prospects" the Rays get aren't in the top 20?

Supposedly they are looking at Martin. He comes reasonably cheap but has stunk the last 2 years at the plate and is coming off of hip surgery which caused him to miss the last part of last year. Of course the yankees are also interested in him so who knows if Boston is just driving the price up. I would think that with a veteran staff and Varitek as a security blanket, catching wont be a major issue. I will go on record now as saying that whoever signs Martin will be underwhelmed.

Not really. As long as they are on the list they are actual prospects. This is Kevin Goldstein's list and he is the best guy out there, at least in regards to publicly available information.

I dont understand why they are wanting to get rid of Garza unless they think better to sell high on him? His K rate did dip but that was coming off an abnormally high rate for him in 09. He is eligible for arbitration but i dont think he can become a Free Agent till 2014.

It came as an absolute shock to me. Since I haven't heard anything other than that rumor I posted from ESPN, I will treat it as a rumor.

None of the local "media" have picked up on it. They are too busy trying to assess blame for the Crawford exit. Which is a monumental waste of time.

The exodus of free agents from Tampa isn't surprising, but a trade of Garza would be.

The New York Post's Joel Sherman reports that the Rays have been "uninspired" by offers for Matt Garza and are likely to wait until July and see what the market will offer then.
NBCSports.com's Craig Calcaterra has heard that the Cubs are in on Garza, so we'll have to see if they're willing to satisfy the Rays' demands. Garza made $3.35 million this past season and is under team control through the 2013 season, so the Rays, even in cost-cutting mode, don't have to be aggressive in trade talks for the right-hander just yet.

I dont think the Crawford deal will hurt too much if Jennings can play as advertised. Even if they had the money, that is too much for crawford especially when you have a minimum slary guy ready to replace him. And even Pena hadn't really played that well last year. The tough thing will be replacing the bullpen.

the state tax situation in NY as opposed to Texas could be the straw for the Rangers

Jenks to RED Sox.

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb...ory?id=5926886

And Kerry Wood back to Cubs

Cliff Lee back to Phillies.

(see dala.. I am a dick)

Babe Ruth to the Yankees

He's done enough.

No love for Greinke to the brewers. Finally a legit starting rotation. Greinke, Gallardo, Marcum, and Wolf. Nice to see Melvin and Antanasio put the chips in the pot for once. Watch out for the crew in 2011.

He means 3011.

Well, it appears to be done. Garza and Perez for 4 of Cannon's top 12. Obviously a wait and see type trade.

The Rays desperately need offense at catcher. With Barlett gone, SS depth can't hurt.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/ml...ory?id=5998431

Archer will be definitely the one to watch.
It will be interesting with Chirinos.
As for the other 2...bleh!