7.08.2008

Cubbies Have a Harden

Welcome to the North Side, Richie
The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed pitcher (and left-handed batter) Rich Harden from the Oakland Athletics in a six-player trade Tuesday, along with righty Chad Gaudin in exchange for right-handed pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson, and minor league catcher Josh Donaldson.

The injury-prone Harden, who becomes eligible for free agency after the 2009 season, is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA over 13 starts this season, and is set to make $4.75 million for his services. He’s scheduled to pitch either Friday or Saturday night at his new home, Wrigley Field, against the San Francisco Giants.

Matt Murton: not as awesome as projectedGaudin is 5-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 26 games this season, including 6 starts.

The Cubs will do fine without Opie Murton, a former top prospect who has bounced between AAA Iowa and Chicago in his fourth season, just to bat .250. Meanwhile, Gallagher is 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA over 12 games for the PCL Cubs.

Corey Patterson's little brother has already been sent down four times this year, so the Cubs aren't missing out there, either. It would seem they came out on top of this deal for the meantime.

[ESPN] | [Athletics Nation] | [Baseball Analysts] | [I'm Writing Sports]

5 comments:

Tuffy said...

Come to Papa!

/not creepy in the slightest

Anonymous said...

The Cubbies came out on top of this deal BY FAR. Who cares if they don't evnd up keeping these two, they got them for next to nothing.

Sooze said...

Well, they're just trying to win a World Series this year. Their window of opportunity seems to be right now, this season, not 3-5 years from now when these prospects will be ready to play at the major league level, if at all.

Chris said...

Gallagher had good upside. He handled himself well in his big-league starts. Murton had been given multiple opportunities to win a starting job, but couldn't take advantage of them, hence the acquisition of Fukudome and Reed Johnson. Patterson showed some promise (limited sample size), and could be a loss for the Cubs.

Jim Hendry does seem to grasp the limited window he has with the team he's assembled, but the real story is the Cubs farm system, which produces players worth trading.

Anonymous said...

Great title.

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