According to reports on ESPN 1000 in Chicago, the Cubs have traded Eric Patterson, Matt Murton, Sean Gallagher and Josh Donaldson to the Oakland A's for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin.
Updated - 6:07pm C.T. - It's Official.....The Cubs have acquired Rich Harden, arguably one of the best pitchers in the majors, when healthy. Bruce Levine stated the Cubs have to figure out their rotation. With the addition of Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden, the Cubs now have a 13-man pitching staff and will likely make another move on Wednesday. The top 4 pitchers in the Cubs' rotation is Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden, Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly. Levine reported Lou Piniella will have to decide to keep either Jason Marquis or Sean Marshall in the rotation....with the other likely headed to the bullpen.
Rich Harden was 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 13 starts with the A's with 92 strikeouts and 31 walks in 73 innings. Harden's 10.75 strikeouts per 9 innings leads the Major Leagues....Tim Lincecum is second in the big leagues with a 9.49 k per 9 inning average.
Chad Gaudin will be a good fit in the Cubs' bullpen and can be used as a spot starter. Gaudin was 5-3 in 26 games, 6 starts, with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP with 44 strikeouts and 17 walks in 62 2/3 innings. Last year, Gaudin was 11-13 in 34 starts with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP in 199 1/3 innings. Gaudin was on Lou Piniella's staff in Tampa.
Josh Donaldson was expendable with the season Welington Castillo has put together with the Tennessee Smokies. Castillo will spend the weekend in the All-Star Futures game in New York. Donaldson hit .217 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI's in 63 games with the Peoria Chiefs.
Bruce Levine reported the Brewers acquiring C.C. Sabathia did not "speed up this deal" but the White Sox did. When the A's lost the final two games of the weekend series on the South Side, Oakland fell 6 games behind the Angels and Billy Beane felt it was the right time to start preparing for the future.
Rich Harden will be under the Cubs' control for the remainder of the 2008 season and the Cubs hold a club option for 2009 worth $7 million dollars. Chad Gaudin has a little over 3 years of service time in the big leagues.
Will update if more information becomes available....
Let the armchair quarterbacking begin!! :)
Hate to see Gally go and was up in the air on EPat but a healthy Harden makes the rotation very solid this year. Anyone know anything about Gaudin? Is this a power relief pitcher Lou was seeking.
Now we have (not in any order):
Z
Demps
Lily
Harden
Marshall
Looks good to me.
There is our #1 we wanted!!!
HOLY COW!!! I had hoped they'd get a top tier pitcher, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. I hope it works out in the Cubs favor!
Looks like a great move. Now would like to see Maddux for Marquis.
The only real lose was Gallagher, but we have to hope that Samardjzia, Marshall, Hill (hopefully), Veal and Hart can continue to progress.
EPat was no great lose with Cedeno and Fontenot as super-subs. And Murton, as we know, needed a change of scenery.
Nice move today!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!
Trevor Chad Gaudin was a very solid SP last year for the A's. IMO he will take over for Marquis Spot in the Rotation.
Another nice part is that we didn't have to part (yet) with Hoffpauer. Certainly he has more upside than Murton. There's our additional outfield/1B sub.
agustin, do you mean that Marshall drops back to the pen? I know nothing about Gaudin but trust your call on him. Marshall has pitched pretty well though and I would like to see him stick where Hill couldn't. Also, I think I read that Gaudin had some starter issues this season. Maybe Gaudin is the long man in case a starter goes down and then can fill in???
Harden is injury prone. Will crush our dream... you read it hear first
Knock on Wood -- Harden stays healthy.....
This is essentially Harden for Gallagher...... This team will not miss Murton and E-Pat too much....
I see Gallagher as a slightly upgraded version of Todd Wellemeyer..... He is probably 2-3 years away from being a 15 game winner.... That is good for the A's -- not good enough for The Cubs aspirations --
If Harden can be Harden, he can be almost a 1A-1B type pitcher.... and Z-Harden-Dempster-Lilly in the playoffs is not bad at all.....
Great move.
Didnnt give up as much as everyone thought we'd have to.
If this guy stays healthy!
AMAZING!
I LIKE IT. I LIKE IT. I LIKE THE DEAL. We don't have a spot for EPat. Castillo is better than Donaldson. Murton isn't a gifted outfielder and deserves a better opportunity. And we have prospects nearly as good as Gallagher. We've rolled the dice on Harden's health, and we have a decent chance to come up 7. Harden, when right, is a difference maker.
Great move! Didn't expect it to happen so soon and didn't expect to give up so little for it either!
Could Gaudin be a replacement for Wuertz?
And we still haven't had to give up Hoffpauer, Cedeno, Veal, Hill, Pie. This was a great move!!!
Bryan, agree with you...would love to get Maddux in the #5 spot. Maybe we can pawn Marquis and Wuertz to SD.
At first i was a little scared to get super pumped but then looked more into the trade and am JACKED! Lets be honest Harden has (and baseball tonight talked about this last night) the best or close to the best stuff in the majors when he is healthy so he is a stud and i read on an A's blog that Gaudin struggled earlier (had a great year last year) but recently has figured out his command and has been very good - some say he could start or be a very solid bullpen addition...all in all if we get anything close to what harden can do this is an absolute steal and u all should know it....i figured w.o a doubt to get harden we would have to include murton (was), gally or marshall (gally was), and then anywhere from 2-4 (obviously depending on which prospects) of the following: Pie, Vitters, Veal, Ceda, Cedeno, Fontenot, Colvin and we gave up NONE! The A's fans feel Billy dropped the ball on this one as it takes away any hope of them playing in the postseason and i feel Jimmy came through in a HUGE way today!
Lets just pray Harden can stay healthy and if he can who would want to face Z, Harden, Demp, Lilly in a playoff series?
I'M EXCITED!!!I LOVE YOU ALL!!!
This feels like 2003.
How does Jim fleece all these GMs..
He wont be able to shop in Oakland for awhile..
This guy is still under control for another season.
WHOOOHOOOO, just read the news. I know Harden is a risk, but I think it's a worthy one. And a quality bullpen guy in Gaudin, I am impressed with Jim, what a way to answer the critics and keep your team happy.
Piniella said that Harden will start against San Fransisco before the All-Star break. As a preview...during interleague play, as a member of the A's, Harden threw 6 innings of 1-hit ball, with NINE strikeouts. Wow!
Harden was nominated as an all star for the AL team as well.
Technically this makes yet another Cubbie all star who will get recognized in New York.
Sweet!
Nice trade. Harden is another injury risk but he could be fine and if so we are way ahead on this trade in my opinion.
Harden 5-1 13 starts 2.34 ERA this year 92 K's and 31 BB's
Gauden 5-3 26 app. 6 starts 3.59 ERA this year 44K's and 17 BB's
So who gets the call up. Three MLB players leave two come back. I would really like to see The real Hoff get the call up.
Matt you were never given a chance.
A pitcher will probly have to go down too.
Wuertz?
I'd like to see Hoffy as well.
Best possible trade we could have made given the circumstances. I'm actually surprised Beane settled for this package given that the A's were still technically in it. We essentially got rid of 3 players that weren't going anywhere in the organization anytime soon, and 1 rookie that might turn out to be a great pitcher in a couple of years, but that we don't have time to wait for. Kudos JH.
Told ya Jimmy Hendry would have an answer......
Now lets hop harden stays healthy....obviously his injuries have allowed us to get him at a cheaper rate.
Yes!!!! I was wrong!!! Yes!!!!!!!
Harden is BETTER than Z when he is healthy..
Just read that Gaudin is from Metairie, LA. So, with Theriot from Baton Rouge, Fontenot from my home city of Slidell, and Gaudin from Metairie, there are 3 cajun cubbies now!!!
I am taking Matt Murton to the airport.
I will post later.
I was skeptical when I read the names we gave up, but when you look a little deeper, this was a great deal for us!
What a year for our Cubbies!
Wood has taken nicely to the closer role.
Who'd have thought Demp would be an All-Star?
Who'd have thought Edmonds would produce?
We knew Soto and Kosuke were going to be good
Cedeno started off hot, but is still pulling weight.
Riot is hitting .313
Lee, Ramirez, and Sori are all more or less right where they should be.
And now we have another power guy for a scary 1-2 punch come playoff time!
This Gaudin guy doesnt sound too shabby either!
Lets hope for a healthy 2nd half!
OUR WOOD IS NOW MORE HARDIN.
I felt kind of crappy today...work was getting me down...just general malaise setting in.
Then, I got this email from Jim Hendry.
All it said was:
"You know better..."
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was shocked by the quickness of the Alfonso Soriano signing. I am even more shocked by this move. While it looks like a reaction to CC, this was likely in the works.
Let's pray to the injury-irony gods, that the year we jettison the former phehom with giant calves but fragile arms, that we gain a young phenom whose injury history is in his past.
Shades of Sutcliffe, Harry!!! Let's go make history, Cubs fans!
WOW!!!!! I cannot believe this got done so quickly!!! Nothing like getting out of work to call a friend for an update and hear, "Dude, did you hear? WE GOT HARDEN!!"
Shades of Sutcliffe is right! Great day, lets cap it off with a win!!
WOW!!!!! I cannot believe this got done so quickly!!! Nothing like getting out of work to call a friend for an update and hear, "Dude, did you hear? WE GOT HARDEN!!"
Shades of Sutcliffe is right! Great day, lets cap it off with a win!! The best part is that HE IS NOT A FREE AGENT!!! Bye Bye Benny and CC!!
great amateur analysis on Rich Harden's injuries over the years:
http://forums.rotoworld.com/index.php?showtopic=775
Gaudin makes this a very good trade. Gaudin will either be a great addition to our bullpen of if needed a fifth starter. He will probably stay in the bullpen to start with. But if any of our starters start to falter(Marshall, Marquis) he will be there. Nice move. Even if Hardin gets hurt. Its a chance but its a good chance and if he gets hurt, we still got a quality relief pitcher with a good arm.
awesome trade....didn't give up much, outside of Gallagher, which really hurts, unless Veal, Samardzija, Ceda, and others start producing more consistently...but it was mainly spare parts we traded.
something tells me that this trade won't be our only one....I don't know why, but I get this distinct feeling that Colvin, Cedeno, and maybe Marshall might go to the Jays for Burnett....he's still available, said he wanted to pitch for us, and might come cheaply...what about this rotation:
Z
Harden
Burnett
Dempster
Lilly
WOW!!!! now that's a rotation
Haven't posted in a while but the trade made me want to check the board :-)
OK Hendry haters - mark this board and this date. Because if Harden does get hurt (chanting to myself "not gonna happen not gonna happen", crossing fingers, knock on wood, looking around for a rabbit's foot) I want you all to come back and see how pumped you were that he made this deal.
Personally I think it's a flat out steal. Yes he has an injury history, but Milwaukee gave up a STUD prospect in LaPorta and the highest rated player we gave up was the fifth rated guy in what is universally regarded as a pretty weak top tier of the farm system. So weak in fact that we weren't even considered players for CC in the slightest... and if you add to the fact that he's still got another year on his contract at a very reasonable $7 mil, and CC is a rent a player that wants to go back to Cleveland....
The price was highly dependent on the fact that a lot of other teams (with reason) are scared of his injury history... but we really didn't give up anything we're going to miss or that we were really counting on for the future.
Bravo Trader Jim!!!!
"Burnett...used to wear nipple rings" (wikipedia)
No thanks.
Just kidding. I dont want him though. I dont want more injury risks and I honestly think Sean Marshall can hold down the fort.
If that did happen and AJ stayed healthy. And had his traditionally strong second half, that rotation would be incredible.
Here is what we have, Harden will take the route of Wood and be in the bull pen next year. Think of this, Marmol, Harden, Wood in the the 7 / 8 /9. Lights out...
CC is a free agent, could be a Cub next year.
And I don't think Hendry is done yet, I feel a solution for Soriano is coming in the way Nady, Bay or ??? Holiday ?? Hand injury's are tough, Fuke is slowing down. I think he will be looking for a alternative, just in case. And we would have a solid DH for our world series play. Maybe we will find lightening in a bottle in Hoff. Maybe, Maybe, Maybe....
And why not, put it on the line, could be the last hurrah for this front office. Nice way to go out if this is the case. If it blows up, so be it, good effort Jim. Lets let it play out, as in a great Shakespearian tragedy, or in the season that we will be talking about until our final days.
Get your tickets for the Cub convention, see ya all their.
WITH THE ACQUISITION OF HARDIN AND GAUDIN FOR GALLAGHER, DONALDSON, MURTON AND PATTERSON, THIS DEAL WAS INDEED IN THE CUBS FAVOR. I CAN SEE THE PURPLE LIGHT IN MY DREAMS EVERYDAY.
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING, FOLKS. THERE WILL BE MORE GREAT NEWS BEFORE THE TRADE DEADLINE. A 100 WIN SEASON IS VERY LIKELY NOW AND MAYBE A RING, TOO.
EAMUS CATULI! (GO CUBS!)
I agree that we may be seeing Burnett as well.....THAT would be lights out rotation. For as much as he wantde to be a Cub....yeah I think he is on his way....it's either gonna be Burnett or Maddux.
I also agree that there is a chance to sneak away an OF....and maybe Jimmy can go rip off Pirates again like in 2003....come out with Bay or Nady......
Interesting Note.....a possible sign that another trade may be coming will be what the Cubs do with the 40-man roster. Since they traded away three people on the roster, and only acquired two it puts them not only one short on their ML Roster....but their 40-man roster as well. Do they put somone in the system on the 40-man so they can be used as a call-up......or do they keep space available for another acquisition......HMMMMMM........
Well, well, well......
Don't some of you JH haters, doubters and sceptics have much crow to eat. I was one of about three of us here that during ST pronounced my complete respect and support of Jimmy. This guy has done nothing but aquired TOP TIER player through ASB trades and FA signings which have ultimately got the boys on Baseball Tonight going GOO GOO over our BELOVED CUBS.
I am not going to lie to all of you when I say that if after the WS (which I believe strongly we will be in) the sale of the CUBS brings ownership that parts way with Jimmy I will personally task a Platoon of highly trained Paratroopers to conduct a search and seizure mission to take out the clown or clowns who would be so MORONIC!!! I LOVE JH as our GM.
Last thought; I hope all of you out there realize that as we sit today, and with JH at the helm we seriously have an oppurtunity here to wreak havoc in the NL and particularly to cause the RED BIRDS to say bye bye to LaRussa!! ST Louis must be in a state of depression this morning!!!!
LOL
Woooooooooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
GO CUBBIES!!!
Sorry if it has been asked, but curious to know how the 5 man rotation shapes up now?
Big Z
Harden
Dempster
Lilly
Marquis? Marshall?
I love this trade! we basically gave up a 4th outfielder at best (murton), a guy who has no opportunity on our team for the immediate future(EPat), a catcher we do not need (donaldson), and a guy who MIGHT one day be a decent middle of the rotation guy(gally) for one of the most talented pitchers in either league. I realize there is an injury history but, this is the type of go for it move that this team and their fans needed. I have felt all season that this team was good enough to earn a playoff spot but i have also wondered if we would be able to stack up to teams in the playoff with our 1 through 3 pitchers. The addition of harden gives a legit 1-2 punch at the top and makes lilly and dempster better options as 3-4 guys. It would be great to get Burnett also but i am interested to see what their plans for gaudin are first. At this point, we probably could use another arm for the pen to take some pressure off of wood and marmol. I have been thinking that they may be preparing the shark or one of our other power arms in the minors for an audition in that role. Great job JH, keep up the good work and lets keep those winning ways going!!!!