Why Wait to Trade?

May is not typically the time when teams unload veterans for prospects, but it might be a good time to do so. The deadline is July 31st, but if prospective contenders made deals now then they would have a full two months more of the players they trade for. This would make it so teams with veterans can ask a higher price for them and get a bigger haul. The Cubs are one of those teams that can theoretically get more for their veterans.

One of those veterans is Ryan Dempster. Dempster has been pitching far better than his career averages. He has been almost unhittable in the majority of his starts. Thats being said, he can’t continue this pace. Dempster is a good pitcher, but he is no Cy Young. The averages of his career indicate that he will come back to earth very soon. This means that the Cubs should sell high. There are plenty of teams out there who need pitching and I am sure they would love to deal. There is nothing good that can come from the Cubs keeping him. He can implode, get hurt, or continue pitching well. Even if he continues to pitch well he won’t boost his trade value much at all. The Cubs should cut him loose as soon as possible.

Another veteran is Alfonso Soriano. Soriano has not hit as many HR’s as he normally does, but he has hit decently. Soriano has even looked pretty good in the field. The Cubs seem to be in no hurry to call up Brett Jackson, so that could be why they are holding onto Soriano. His huge contract makes him a tough player to move, but the Cubs have proven they are willing to eat contracts in order to move players. Soriano will probably be a Cub until Jackson is ready to be a big leaguer.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Matt Garza, but the Cubs will not trade him unless they can’t workout an extension and they can get a huge haul back for him. Garza is a great young pitcher and I would be surprised if the Cubs trade him for a package anything short of the the moon.

There was a recent article on ESPN about the possibility of trading Starlin Castro. This is ridiculous unless the Cubs get the 1927 Yankees in return for him. Castro is a great young player and he can be built around.

Bryan Lahair is another player that has been rumored. He is a bit of an unknown on the market because it seems unlikely that the Cubs can get a tremendous amount back for him. I think the Cubs keep him and try to help him improve so they can trade him for more later.

David Dejesus, Paul Maholm, Ian Stewart, Geovany Soto and Darwin Barney are all players who could hear their names come up too.