Cubs-Rays trade.

[ozzie]

Cubs get: Matt Garza, Fernando Perez and another minor leaguer who's name I couldn't find.

Rays get: Sam Fuld, Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Robinson Chirinos, and Brandon Guyer.

Who got the better deal?

[Nyi28nhl]

I admittedly don't follow baseball very closely, so I might be off here but..

I've never heard of any of the guys the Rays are getting back which makes think they are probably prospects and the Rays are further dumping salary and perhaps giving up on this season. If so, what a shame..

[ozzie]

Yeah, haha, I hadn't heard of any of the guys the Rays got either, except I think I've maybe heard of Sam Fuld before somewhere.....

[MxT13]

Considering the highest payed player on the Rays right now is Ben Zobrist, I think they've cut enough salary to get by. Sam Fuld got a little major league time last year, other than that there's nobody else that stands out besides Chris Archer. It's really a shame, they have a very legitimate shot at finishing 5th this season.

[ozzie]

I think I'll get over it pretty soon.....I know a few Rays fans that I'd love to rip on.... ;D

[BlackOps]

Matt Garza isn't good enough to net any top prospects. They got five players for a #3 pitcher. Their system is stacked, and they added more depth. The Cubs overpayed by a lot.

Archer is the Cubs' #3 prospect, Lee the 4th, Guyer the 8th, Chirinos the 15th. They got two top prospects plus two middling ones for a slightly above average starter. Archer is probably the prize of the deal, but Lee was highly touted before being signed out of Korea and has drawn a lot of comparisons to Jose Reyes.

[iPatriot]

Sam Fuld used to be a big name a couple of years ago, but kind of fell of the map for one reason or another.

Garza was always very, very good against the Red Sox. There was a time 2 seasons ago when he was probably the hottest pitcher in the American League. I think he has very good stuff and played regularly against some very good offensive teams (namely the Yankees and Red Sox). I'd be really interested to see how his game translates into the senior circuit.

I like this deal for the Cubs a lot.

[BlackOps]

His game probably translates unfavorably. He moves from a relatively neutral park in Tropicana to Wrigley, one of the most homer friendly stadiums in baseball. He was top ten in the league in fly balls last year (45% of balls hit against him were flyballs.) If he can't get his strikeouts up to the level they were at in 2009, he's going to get destroyed there.

[Nyi28nhl]

Opening Day payrolls for 25-man roster (since 2000):
2010 : $72,847,133
2009 : $63,313,034
2008 : $43,745,597
2007 : $24,123,500
2006 : $35,417,967
2005 : $29,679,067
2004 : $29,556,667
2003 : $19,630,000
2002 : $34,380,000
2001 : $56,980,000
2000 : $64,400,000

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Rays#Team_salaries

Makes you wonder if they are trying to get back to that $20M range.

[BlackOps]

You guys are going to be surprised by the Rays this year. They're definitely going to finish with a better record than the Mets, whatever that means Desmond Jennings is going to be as good as Crawford very soon, and the Garza move really isn't going to hamper them. He's not an elite pitcher and they have multiple top prospects who have performed ready to move up. I raise you Jeremy Hellickson, who in his small sample at the end of the 2010 season already pitched better than Garza's performance at any point in his major league career.

They decided to trade Garza for this reason. He's still pre-arbitration, so that bumped his trade value quite a bit compared to, say, James Shields (they're similar pitchers, too, but Shields is slightly better) They knew it wouldn't be smart for a team with their payroll to end up paying a mid-rotation starter like Garza a lot of money, so they traded him before it got to that point, and got five players back. If one of the four prospects even makes the big leagues and plays decently for a few years, they're probably going to be happy with the value they got in return. There's a good chance it's better than average play from one guy.

I think you guys have been overstating the changes in salary. They're gearing up towards the future when their star players need to be signed. They're being smart with their money. A team with their payroll would be dumb to end up paying for Garza.