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What To Do With Ted Lilly?
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly pitched really well yesterday, while he was being watched by four teams that have interest in trading for him. Off speculation, I would say that those teams were the Mets , Twins, Tigers, and Rays. Lilly, who stated that he would prefer to finish his career as a Cubs, appears to be the most coveted starting pitcher on the market now that Cliff Lee has been traded. However, Jim Hendry might not be fully committed to trading Lilly.
The Cubs have started the second half on a two game winning streak, and have played very well in those games. But, after a disappointing first half the Cubs are still nine games under .500 and 9 games out of the division. But, after watching their cross town rivals go 26-6 over their last 32 games, the Cubs are confident that they can make the same turnaround. Which puts Cubs general manager Jim Hendry in an interesting position as we approach the trade deadline. Barring an unforeseen winning streak, I still think the best option for Cubs is trading Lilly, and becoming sellers. Given that Lilly is a free agent and wants to remain a Cub, the Cubs could trade Lilly now for a quality exchange of prospects and then re-sign him in the off-season.
MLB Trade Rumors has a very good read on what exactly Ted Lilly’s value is on the trade market. They compare a potential Lilly trade, to the Jarrod Washburn trade last year between the Mariners and Tigers. The Mariners received two good prospects in Luke French, and Mauricio Robles. However, as they mentioned, Lilly has a better track record than Washburn does.
They also look into potential prospects that could be involved from the teams that are interested in Lilly. The Minnesota twins have a very good catching prospect in Wilson Ramos, but he obviously will never have a chance with them, as Joe Mauer will be the Twins catcher for a long time. Meaning Ramos could be a prospect that is offered for Lilly. In 28 plate appearances this year Ramos has a line of .296/.321/.407. Also, they mention that the Rays have a plethora of prospects that they could offer the Cubs in a trade.