Since the Boston Red Sox traded their entire team to the Los Angeles Dodgers–minus Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester–I’ve been thinking a lot about the Chicago Cubs‘ immediate future. I know the Cubs are in the beginning phases of a major rebuild, but I have to believe deep down that Tom Ricketts didn’t pay Theo Epstein the kind of money he did to rebuild for three years. The Cubs are a big market team and I believe they’re going to act like it. I believe the Cubs need to be active on the trade front as well as the free agent front and the Cubs should make Pedroia target number one.
I know a lot of Cubs fans love Darwin Barney, but I don’t. I don’t care much that he takes extra BP on his days off because he’s in a slump, because most hitters do that anyway. Sure, he works hard. He plays hard. That’s fine and dandy, but when it comes to straight baseball skill? Barney lacks it. I think he would be an outstanding utility infielder who can fill in at third, SS and 2B a few times a week. Defensive replacement is another skill he would have with the team moving forward. All in all, Barney cannot be the future at 2B for the Cubs if they want to win a World Series. This is why I think they need to target Pedroia immediately.
Pedroia has to be on the trade block. If the Red Sox traded Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto, Pedroia isn’t untouchable. He would bring a toughness to the locker room that the Cubs lack. He would bring a veteran presence with playoff and World Series success to the table, plus serve as a positive mentor for guys like Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo. Oh yeah, he can still play the game of baseball pretty well too. The Cubs need a guy like this and I think they should make a hard run at him this offseason.
It makes a ton of sense in a lot of different ways.
I don’t run the team, so I don’t know if this would actually happen, but I sure hope it does. We’ll see where all the MLB Trade Rumors take the Cubs this winter, but all they can do is go up from here.
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Ha, ha, haaa! Seriously? I assure you Dustin is NOT on the trading block, and wont be in the next few years at least. Sorry.
Right. Neither was Adrian Gonzalez….good call.
Thanks for commenting Mr. Cherington.
The Dodgers were interested in Adrian before the deadline. Also, Adrian was underperforming his contract. Dustin isn’t. Whatever, dream on.
2011: 213 hits. 27 homers 118 RBIs 338/410/548…gold glove caliber defense
2012 on pace for about 180 hits 24 homers 115 rbi’s 300/350/475
If you think a guy like that will be traded for a mediocre package, but pedroia is untouchable? I think you need to take your own advice and “dream on.”
Wow. Gotta love Red Sox fans.
We expected 35+ HR per yr. But, that’s not really the point. A-Gone, never really settled in here, and never really wanted to be here. But, he’s a very good player, no doubt.
Still, it wasn’t about getting rid of A-Gone, it was about getting rid of Beckett and Crawford. Gonzo was what it took to get LA to eat all the money. A Qtr. of a Billion $$$! And, none of the 3 were setting the world on fire here. A-Gone had less homers than Mike Aviles for almost the entire season. He wasn’t working out for $20+ Million a year. He just wasn’t.
Peddy, is worth every cent and is the heart & soul of the Sox. He’s not going anywhere. Dustin Pedroia is a Red Sox like Derek Jeter is a Yankee. It’s as simple as that.
Mike,
It’s a fair assessment that you wanted “35 homers” and not 25. Howver, the production of extra base hits are about the same when u consider all the doubles he hit. Adrian Gonzalez is a run producer and gets on pace. Strictly home runs flat out don’t matter as mucha s they used too when u break down the numbers.
Saying Adrian Gonzalez wasn’t working out is just not true- when u look at sheer on the field numbers. The problems the REd Sox have are FAR from his fault.
I understand the trade, and why the Red Sox did it. However, you don’t just give away Adrian Gonzalez if their going to make Pedroia (who HASNT had a great year) untouchable for always. No player in baseball is untouchable for a crazy package of return.
Comparing Pedroia to Jeter is incredibly INCREDIBLY premature. Pedroia has been around 7-9 years. Not 18-19. Guys leave teams all the itme, and Pedroia would be no different if someone came calling with a good offer.
I get he’s a fan favorite, but I’m sorry- he’s as available as any player in baseball. The Red Sox will trade him if they get an offer they deem worthy…and won’t keep him if they don’t. It’s as simple as that.
Sorry- wrote that from my phone.
you do know that darwin barney is close to breaking david eckstein’s errorless games streak. so, i dont think he lacks skill.
Let’s not compare Pedroia to Barney.
It’s not even a contest.
im not comparing them. you said that he has no baseball skill.
plus, i doubt the cubs would go for pedroia. he is a good player, but i dont think they have the money for him. if they had gotten rid of soriano, then maybe.
Not true. i said he lacks it- more offensively than defensively. He’d be fine as a utility guy, but let’s not make Darwin Barney untouchable here.
The Ricketts family has money. They’re just waiting to spend it on the right pieces.
this team is only a few moves away from competing in the bad NL Central….AND they have some quality young players developing over the last 3 drafts…plus a top 5 pick next year.
Barney is the worst hitting , starting second baseman in MLB. A utility dude, defensive specialist, that’s all. Of course Cubs fans like him,
But it’s hard to think the Cubs, still a LONG way off, are going to pay BIG money for a 30 year old second baseman right now.
He’s insanely better than Barney, but I can’t see the Cubs shelling out money for two or three years is terrible baseball still to come
Kevin,
That’s a very good point about paying big money for Pedroia. It’s not really the dollars I’d be worried about- it would be the prospects given up to get him. They can’t give up Soler, Almora, or Baez in any deal…but that’s just me.
Darwin Barney is another Ryan Theriot who is better defensively. Until Cub fans stop being okay with that….nothing ever really changes.
You know, Wade Boggs and Johnny Damon were also “Red Sox for life” at one point in time. We see how that went. I’m not taking either side on an issue, but my instinct is that nobody in Boston is “untouchable” at this point. When teams rebuild, the only “untouchables” are very young, cheap, upside players that are going to be the future of the franchise. I’m not sure that Pedroia would fit that bill at this point in his career.
Trading Adrian Gonzalez, to me, shows that no one in that organization is “untouchable.”
You don’t see guys play for one team through their entire career anymore…and I’m not sure why Dustin Pedroia would be assumed to be compared to guys like Cal Ripken and Derek Jeter. I mean- guys like Sosa and Ken Griffey…bonds…etc all played for multiple teams…that’s just hte nature of the beast now.