DeRosa Traded for Prospects, Miles Signed
The ball doesn’t drop for a few hours, but the Cubs may have taken things into their own hands today by signing Aaron Miles and trading Mark DeRosa to Cleveland. The Cubs and Jim Hendry must have more up their sleeve in the next few days, because on the surface, today’s moves look completely insane. But hey, it wouldn’t be a Cubs-type move without at least a little insanity attached.
The Miles for DeRosa talent swap saves a little money, but DeRo’s production last season was nothing short of great, equaling his adept glovework and trademark versatility. Losing 21 home runs and 87 RBI from a lineup that was streaky throughout 2008 is going to be extremely difficult to replace. I know the Cubs brass is aware of that fact, and I hope that this move signals that the Peavy deal is back on and Milton Bradley or Bobby Abreu will be starting in RF in a few months.
Whether or not those moves take place, I look forward to asking Hendry the question in person in a couple weeks. We’ll be bringing you exclusive coverage of the Cubs Luncheon on Wednesday January 14th just ahead of the 24th Annual Cubs Convention later that week(end). Yet to be seen: if Aaron Miles will appear at the convention. Something tells me he’s not going to get a hero’s reception at the Hilton or at second base.
Also, do the Cubs not realize that a player in his contract year is likely to perform exceedingly well? I was looking forward to seeing how many more game winning RBIs DeRosa would have this season, and how many stopper-type wins Marquis would pile up. Marquis is all but gone. That’s an 11-win pitcher. Ack. Anyway.
We’ll be watching all things Cubs closely in the next few days. Best wishes to DeRo in Cleveland — man that guy was clutch. Who will be the next team leader to be traded to the Indians? Derrek Lee? Carlos Zambrano? Ryan Theriot?
Have a Happy New Year, Cleveland!
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14 Responses
Travis December 31st at 5:11 pm
The dude could hit 25 HR next year and Miles is going to hit 5. The Cubs made a mistake.
krlock December 31st at 8:28 pm
What painful news to hear on New Years Eve- took a little joy out of the celebration for me. I too hope Derosa the best in Cleveland . The Cubs will miss him
Adam January 1st at 1:22 am
The Indians have always been my favorite AL team, and with the addition of Wood and De-Ro, the fondness is growing.
As for the Cubs, they definitely have to complete some more deals to make this move good. That’s always a risk. They could wind up with nothing but prospects and former Cardinals. Or they could wind up with a five-deep rotation of studs and a solid-to-sweet offense.
My prediction: the Cubs will win 95 games if they pull off a Peavy deal and grab some lefty free agent lumber . . . and they’ll win 75 if they don’t. No pressure, Jimmy.
Brandon January 1st at 1:28 am
These moves only make sense if the Cubs end up with Peavy or Roberts. If they don’t these moves will be awefull.
Drew January 1st at 1:12 pm
Maybe Jim is clearing some cap room to sign some of the players on the Blackhawks. Rumor has it that a couple of them were slapping some pucks over the left field bleachers… thats something Aaron Miles won’t be able to do.
isabel January 1st at 1:13 pm
I was crushed when i heard that my favorite cub was unexplicably traded to the cleveland indians. HOw does this make any sense!! he was an integral part of the cubs in 2008 and will be missed dearly. he will perform even beter in cleveland and the cubs will feel like chumps again. Your breaking my heart
GlassCityCub January 2nd at 9:15 am
I’ve been trying not to dwell on my grief at this seemingly senseless loss, not only of a great player and teammate with a terrific attitude, but also of the only Cub who had a lower case letter on his jersey. How will we ever replace that?!
Go Indians. Fortunately, they’re within driving distance.
Brandon January 2nd at 10:01 am
Maybee the Cubbies are just trying to help out the Indians with DeRosa and Wood so that the Sox don’t win there division this year.
mark gast January 2nd at 3:55 pm
Is it possible that DeRosa had a career year and Wood’s health still isn’t that great? We’ll have to see how the season plays out. If this leads to Peavy it could be worth it. As always, I’m hopeful that a young player has a breakout year and we forget about the players who were traded. I can remember that Ivan DeJesus was a solid infielder and Ryne Sandberg was an unknown. These things do workout well if the GM knows what he is doing.
Me January 2nd at 9:50 pm
It’s Little Babe Ruth time…
Sean January 5th at 11:01 am
Unless we get Peevy, this move doesn’t make sense at all. I was pissed when I wlheard about this trade
CostaRica Mike January 8th at 11:38 am
Good. This year it’s back to losing faith by May, just like the good ol’days. I can’t take another post-season sweep.
Jake Hammer January 17th at 1:59 am
it was a bad trade
Reagan G February 3rd at 11:33 am
I am boycotting going to Wrigley this year because of this trade. I will see them in Spring Training, and possibly in Milwaukee, but not Wrigley. I hate the hired gun style of baseball where you can’t even keep up with who got traded. DeRosa was my favorite Cub!!