Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer - early impressions

[Joe33]

I haven't been particularly impressed with the moves so far, with one obvious exception being moving Cashner to the Padres for Rizzo. The Marshall trade makes some sense in that his value was high, the three that came back are nothing special. The moves that really leave me scratching my head:

Trades

Carlos Zambrano traded to the Marlins for Chris Volstad (Cubs also picking up the tab on Z's contract)

2012:

Zambrano: 1.88 ERA, 48 IP, 39/17 K/BB, 33 H, 1.04 WHIP, 5 of 7 starts has allowed 2 or fewer runs.
Volstad: 6.92 ERA, 39 IP, 22/12 K/BB, 45 H. 1.46 WHIP, hasn't gone more than 6 IP in any start.

Probably in the minority that felt the Cubs should keep Zambrano and go into the year with perhaps the best rotation in an extremely weak division. But to trade him, pay him and get junk in return makes little sense. At least let him build his value this season if you're going to move him, or just let him play out the remainder of his contract.

Tyler Colvin traded to the Marlins for Ian Stewart (also inc. DJ LeMahieu for Casey Weathers)

2012:

Colvin: 70 AB, .300 AVG 3 HR 7 XBH .529 SLG
Stewart: 125 AB .200 4 HR 10 XBH .352 SLG

Colvin was a solid young player developed in the system, a season removed from 20 HR/.500 SLG, slowed by a freak injury. Stewart is a career .230 hitter despite playing in Coors his whole career (.319 career OBP).

I don't know much about LaMahieu other than he's 23 and a decent contact guy and Weathers is a minor league journeyman (27 yrs) with solid strikeout numbers and poor control. His career ERA is 4.21 in 5 minor league seasons.


Signings

David DeJesus, 2 yrs with 3rd yr option ($15 m total)

Career .419 SLG at a power position (Right Field).

2012: 151 AB, .273 AVG 1 HR 11 XBH .364 OBP .386 SLG - pretty much in line with his career numbers, don't get what they see in this guy.

The Cubs didn't need an extra outfielder, eventually LaHair will move to RF. Byrd had to be moved, Campana offers better defense than DeJesus and Soriano is probably untradeable. Brett Jackson should really be making the step up by now.

Epstein does one thing really well: drafting talent. Much needed in Chicago, but his time in Boston should tell you how prone he is to making bad calls on free agents.

[Windy City Fan]

Zambrano had to go. Unfortunately, his value was at an all time low. I agree that Volstad wasn't much, especially considering the Cubs are still paying Z's salary, but I didn't expect them to get much for Z. He had to go just to send a message this antics like his won't be tolerated any longer. I don't think Zambrano would be putting up those kinda of numbers in Chicago. He's benefited from the change in scenery and Ozzie Guillen is the kind of manager who can get the most of Zambrano.

Colvin was another guy we sold low on and got a stopgap third baseman in return. Not a great move here. We could've held on to him and given him a chance to increase his value, then traded him.

DeJesus was stopgap signing. No one was expecting him to be a superstar. His job is to just adaquetely man one of the corner outfield spots while we rebuild. A .364 OBP plus his above average defense make him a viable starter. LaHair was not a guy we were certain would be a true starter. DeJesus was a nice insurance policy if LaHair didn't pan out (or Rizzo for that matter).