Cubs interested in Josh Johnson?

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10-24-2012, 10:27 PM
SenorGato

To be fair, ABTY sounded far more optimistic about Wright than Johnson. I'd also pursue Wright or a bat much, much more heavily.

Yes, the organization needs pitching. That said, I want them to be very picky of who these pitchers are.
The guys I'm looking at most are all sinkerballers, as the strength of the team is the infield D right now. Masterson obviously, Porcello, Zac Britton...who else...Sonny Gray got plenty of them..all seem less costly than a name like Johnson as well.
10-24-2012, 11:07 PM
Jack the Ripper

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABTY7

Hearing the Cardinals are all over Buerhle...actually hearing an interesting proposition being floated by the Cards- they first asked the Marlins to eat 3/4 the contract in return for a very solid prospect return- Marlins rebuffed, saying they won't pay a nickel over half and even that is barely on the table. Cardinals getting creative by trying to land a big money third party to deal for Buerhle and 50% of contract then flip him to them along with an additional 12.725M (roughly half of the half remaining) for solid prospect(s)... Yankees are looking under every rock trying get land close MLB ready quality prospects along with one of the more aggressive teams in a Josh Johnson sweepstakes... In other words, don't count on it Cubs fans...

Buerhle is from St. Louis and has openly expressed his desire to play there before. He'll be an 18-game winner with a sub 3.50 ERA there. That's our luck. And theirs.
10-25-2012, 08:30 AM
rcal10

Quote:

Originally Posted by davell

Johnson wasn't dealt at the deadline because they wanted too much for him. They supposedly wanted Olt, Perez, and more from Texas. He's not going to come cheap and he'd bring more of a return than Garza, because he's a better pitcher. So, think about the packages that get thrown out here for Garza. Then probably add a bit to it. That's one way to get Johnson. The second way though, makes more sense possibly: Take Buehrle with him. If the Marlins want to truly shed money, I'm not sure that there's another team in baseball right now that can offer to take both and pay all the money as well. Buehrle is owed 51 mill over the next 3 years. He gets dealt this offseason, it's most likely for a nothing return and half the contract getting paid for by the Marlins. If cash is a primary objective, we could add the pair. We've got the extra 30.75 mill to do it. We've got 2 rotation spots available and the cost doing it this way wouldn't prohibit us from dealing Johnson at midseason for much more than we gave up to get him. And for that matter, Buehrle's likely a guy that can pitch with reasonable effectiveness thru the rest of his deal and with our payroll situation, it wouldn't affect us moving forward.

Well said. I am not sure Johnson is a better pitcher than Garza, but I agree with everything else. The thought that Johnson was going to come cheap because the Cubs would pay his last year of his contract was ridiculous. The people who thought the Cubs could get Johnson cheap were the same people who thought the Cubs should get huge prospects for Garza. And basically they are similar. I do feel, however, if the Cubs really wanted to take on some salary this year and not have to give up too many prospects they can get both Buehrle and Johnson if they take all the salary. I do no think that is a bad deal either. For starters, they need pitching anyway. A rotation of Johnson, Garza, Buehrle, Shark and Wood is solid. Plus Buehrle is a great guy to have on the team. Maybe he can show the young guys a few things about pitching. They have the cash to take both of these guys on and still be able to get a bat via free agency. And if they are not competing at the trade deadline they can always move both Garza and Johnson. That would bring a load of talent back. Finally getting Buehrle stops the Cardinals from getting him. And we know if he goes to the Cardinals he will be an 18 game winner. Things just happen that way for them.
10-25-2012, 08:53 AM
Assman22

Quote:

Originally Posted by SenorGato

Not his biggest fan, but yes please. Big bodied power rotation arms are always welcome.

What would it cost? What if they also tried to squeeze Logan Morrison out of it? I'd like to land Morrison most amongst realistic and quasi-realistic Marlins.

Could even do a Dodgers/Red Sox type trade where the Cubs take on those two contracts along with LoMo for minimal prospects. Albeit, I'm still baffled by the Buerhle contract Miami handed out...
10-25-2012, 09:13 AM
GonnaHappen510

Didn't Buerhle essentially say there was no chance he'd ever play for the cubs? I think we can probably rule out any possible trades with him coming here. Does he have a no-trade clause in that crazy contract?
10-25-2012, 04:17 PM
SenorGato

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assman22

Could even do a Dodgers/Red Sox type trade where the Cubs take on those two contracts along with LoMo for minimal prospects. Albeit, I'm still baffled by the Buerhle contract Miami handed out...

The Buerhle deal is actually fine given how stable and productive his career has been and still is.

Morrison seems like the exact kind of player they would target with his minor league numbers, youth, and potential to outperform what he's already done. All this talk of acquiring pitching but one way to help your pitchers is to hit better and hitters should not be ignored.
10-25-2012, 07:48 PM
Mell413

Quote:

Originally Posted by SenorGato

To be fair - Johnson isn't nearly as exciting as Wright. He's dealt with his fair share of injury problems, he's lost 2 MPH since 2010 and over a MPH since last year, throws a ton of sliders as a pitcher with elbow problems....Ks are down and walks are up.

I worry about overpaying for a name, and despite his age I don't see Johnson putting up seasons like his '09 or '10 (each ~6 fWAR) unless some big changes happen. I'd try to get him as a 3-4 WAR pitcher than treat him like an ace.

I wasn't trying to imply that they are equal, but considering how the team pretty much avoided any kind of major league talent last year I'd get excited about getting anyone that belongs on a MLB roster
10-26-2012, 12:40 AM
Frozenred

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobTheAutomator

This is probably a dumb question, but how is his best season for ERA (3.23) higher than his career ERA (3.15)? I'm not trying to point to ERA for justification I just don't understand the math there.

It's by wins. His best season ERA-wise was 2010 when he had a 2.30.
10-26-2012, 11:35 AM
poodski

TIL Josh Johnson is only 28 years old.
10-26-2012, 03:34 PM
Doogolas

JJ scares me because this:

2010: 94.9MPH
2011: 93.8MPH
2010: 92.8MPH
That + injury history = scary.

And before anyone says it doesn't matter:

2010: 9.11K/9 2.35BB/9
2011: 8.35K/9 2.98BB/9
2012: 7.76K/9 3.06BB/9
10-26-2012, 04:45 PM
poodski

It doesn't matter.
10-26-2012, 06:23 PM
kanersen

In all fairness, the cubs fanbase and it seems the cubs front office want 2 top 5 prospects from good farms for a year of Matt Garza. What makes you think you'd be able to get JJ who's been a much better pitcher (when healthy, which is a big factor) then Garza for pennies on the dollar.
10-26-2012, 06:34 PM
SenorGato

Quote:

Originally Posted by kanersen

In all fairness, the cubs fanbase and it seems the cubs front office want 2 top 5 prospects from good farms for a year of Matt Garza. What makes you think you'd be able to get JJ who's been a much better pitcher (when healthy, which is a big factor) then Garza for pennies on the dollar.

He's been healthy for almost 2 seasons in his career. It's a huge factor, particularly since he's been losing velocity.

Cubs right now should be focusing as much on what a player will do moving forward as they are on what that player did, if not way more. While still a good, productive pitcher I have little faith in him hitting his peak WARs again unless he can find some more fastball or get alot more groundballs.
10-26-2012, 06:35 PM
deltaclown

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doogolas

JJ scares me because this:

2010: 94.9MPH
2011: 93.8MPH
2010: 92.8MPH
That + injury history = scary.

And before anyone says it doesn't matter:

2010: 9.11K/9 2.35BB/9
2011: 8.35K/9 2.98BB/9
2012: 7.76K/9 3.06BB/9

Yeah, I'm over JJ. I don't want an Ubaldo situation.
10-26-2012, 07:26 PM
ty_smitty21

Is it too much to ask this offseason to sign Bourne, and Mccarthy... And trade for Johnson, Upton, and Wright?

After 101 losses.... it's easy to fantasize.

I just hope this offseason brings us another couple long-term pieces to get excited about to keep building our core.

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