A's aquire BOTH Hammel and Samardzija for Addison Russell... Anyone Stopping the A's?

[bksballer89]

lets look at the other side for a second... why would chicago do this trade??? I get playing for the future, but addison russel is a SS... How about baez, and castro??

Just a huge price for a prospect who plays a position that you are already strong at in majors and minor league!!!

Because they're the Cubs

 

[Shanemansj13]

Billy Beane is a genius

 

[AZ Sun]

This is great news. If the overrated Dodgers somehow make it out of the NL they will get curb stomped by the A's.

 

[bksballer89]

Billy Beane is a genius

Until they get eliminated in the ALDS like they always do?

 

[Microwahevo]

Billy Beane is a genius

Epstein knows a thing or two about building a team as well.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

lets look at the other side for a second... why would chicago do this trade??? I get playing for the future, but addison russel is a SS... How about baez, and castro??

Just a huge price for a prospect who plays a position that you are already strong at in majors and minor league!!!

I am sure they could make him learn 2B or an OF spot if they really felt like it.

 

[navamind]

I am sure they could make him learn 2B or an OF spot if they really felt like it.

This. They could also move Castro off SS (he's not exactly a GG defender there).

 

[navamind]

Seems like a huge steal for the A's, though it kinda depends on who the PTBNL is. I still like Straily a lot, but the Cubs have very little pitching talent right now.

On second thought, it seems like a good deal for both sides. Doesn't hurt to add an elite prospect like Russell and McKinney was rated as the 2nd best A's prospect (by Sickels, at least).

 

[navamind]

Cubs fans are pissed. They expected to be winning by now.

Cubs fans should have been aware their team was years away from contending when Theo was taking over. Theo was taking over a team with little minor league talent or major league talent. Cubs aren't there yet, but they have a top farm system and a few players to build around in Rizzo/Castro.

I don't think there was a single person capable of turning the Cubs into contenders by 2014. Theo's done a pretty good job IMO.

 

[LucklessPadresFan]

Ken Rosenthal ✔ @Ken_Rosenthal
DEAL IS DONE: #Cubs send Samardzija and Hammel to #Athletics for Addison Russell, per sources. May be other players and team(s) involved.


Um, crap - Rest of the American League.

Well, there you go. Game, set, match in the American League West (if not the American league).

 

[Microwahevo]

Cubs fans should have been aware their team was years away from contending when Theo was taking over. Theo was taking over a team with little minor league talent or major league talent. Cubs aren't there yet, but they have a top farm system and a few players to build around in Rizzo/Castro.

I don't think there was a single person capable of turning the Cubs into contenders by 2014. Theo's done a pretty good job IMO.

Exactly. Anyone thinking The Shark was staying was fooling themselves. They were able to turn him into some nice young prospects.

Epstein has a ways to go, but he's definitely building what looks to be a damn good team. We may even get to see some of those prospects before the year is up. Time will tell.

 

[navamind]

Exactly. Anyone thinking The Shark was staying was fooling themselves. They were able to turn him into some nice young prospects.

Epstein has a ways to go, but he's definitely building what looks to be a damn good team. We may even get to see some of those prospects before the year is up. Time will tell.

Cubs also have more than enough to work out a trade for someone like Stanton.

 

[navamind]

LOL

 

[Microwahevo]

And Samardzija turned down a 5-yr $60mil contract in June. It's obvious he wasn't going to be here long term. Maximize his value now.

 

[BrockForBroglio]

Sure Oakland got two quality pitchers, but it took them 12 innings to score ONE run yesterday. Still need to score runs to win.

 

[HammerDown]

Cubs fans should have been aware their team was years away from contending when Theo was taking over. Theo was taking over a team with little minor league talent or major league talent. Cubs aren't there yet, but they have a top farm system and a few players to build around in Rizzo/Castro.

I don't think there was a single person capable of turning the Cubs into contenders by 2014. Theo's done a pretty good job IMO.

They were. The fact is, they're worse now than when he took over and aren't even close.


LOL @ the Angels pretending like a situational lefty and Tony Campana are going to be worth a damn now.

 

[HammerDown]

Sure Oakland got two quality pitchers, but it took them 12 innings to score ONE run yesterday. Still need to score runs to win.

They have the best record in baseball.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Cubs ship Samardzija, Hammel to A's

The Chicago Cubs have traded starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Oakland Athletics for 2012 first-round pick Addison Russell, 2013 first-round pick Billy McKinney, pitcher Dan Straily and a player to be named later, sources close to the situation confirmed to ESPNChicago.com and ESPN Insider Keith Law on Friday night.Samardzija, 29, is 2-7 with a 2.83 ERA this season. Hammel, 31, is 7-5 with a 2.98 ERA after his latest win, earlier Friday against the Washington Nationals.

Hammel is set to become a free agent after this season, while Samardzija has one more year of arbitration before becoming a free agent.

Russell, 20, is ranked third among all prospects on Law's top 100 list. He plays shortstop, the same position occupied by current Cub Starlin Castro and top Cubs prospect Javier Baez. Russell has appeared in only 18 games this season due to a hamstring strain, hitting .333 in 58 at-bats at Double-A Midland. Current Cubs Triple-A hitting coach Brian Harper was on the staff of the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League last year when Russell was a member of the team.

McKinney, 19, has a .241 batting average with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs in 75 games for Class A Stockton this year.

Straily, 25, is 1-2 with a 4.93 ERA in seven starts for the A's. The right-hander is 13-11 in 41 starts for Oakland over the past three seasons.

Samardzija was drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 2006 and worked his way up from reliever to starter. He put together his best two months of his career in April (2.38 ERA) and May (1.38 ERA) but got little run support or bullpen help, leading to his 2-7 record. However, in June, his ERA was 5.45 as he went 1-3.

Chicago Cubs trade Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel to Oakland Athletics - ESPN Chicago

I love this deal for both sides. A's get another solid starter to their rotation.

 

[WhiteMamba]

Two starters.

 

[WhiteMamba]

Sure Oakland got two quality pitchers, but it took them 12 innings to score ONE run yesterday. Still need to score runs to win.

They have scored more runs than any team in baseball this season.