Martín Maldonado Traded to Cubs; Mike Montgomery to Royals

[Eye Black]

Former Brewers catcher Martín Maldonado has been traded to the Cubs per Ken Rosenthal...

 

#Cubs get Martín Maldonado, source tells The Athletic. @TheAthleticMLB.

[willie key]

Traitor!!!!!!!

 

[Eye Black]

LHP Mike Montgomery is the return to the Royals.

 

The Royals had originally drafted Montgomery in the 1st round back in 2008. The recently turned 30 year old was in the midst of a rough season for the Cubs.

 

Also, the Cubs starting catcher Willson Contreras is headed to the Injured List with a strain in his right foot.

[JosephC]

Seems like a great deal for the Royals. Montgomery has been awful this year (5.67 ERA, 6.21 WHIP, 1.78 WHIP), but has been a really, really solid swingman-type pitcher in the past (3.35 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 1.26 WHIP from 2016-2018). Royals get 2.5 years of Montgomery for 0.5 years of Maldonado. I like picking Montgomery over a couple fringe prospects in the hope that I can get him turned around.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Odd that the Cubs would make this move considering Contreras is only supposed to be out the minimum IL time, and Caratini is a capable backup. Perhaps they want to free Caratini up to play other spots?

 

Still, Montgomery isn't a world beater, but is a nice arm to have around. Considering the Cubs are seemingly on the hunt for a lefty, it's a little odd that they traded away one who was already at the ML level. Now if they have an injury in the rotation, the depth is pretty minimal.

[JohnBriggs12]

Caratini is more than just a capable backup. He's big time trade bait. He's controllable, fairly young, and has AAA numbers that scream #1 catcher for a lot of teams. Oh and he has an .854 and an OPS+ of 119 this year.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Caratini is more than just a capable backup. He's big time trade bait. He's controllable, fairly young, and has AAA numbers that scream #1 catcher for a lot of teams. Oh and he has an .854 and an OPS+ of 119 this year.

 

That's a good point. I wonder if the Cubs offer him to the Giants in a deal for Will Smith? That would seem like a lot to give up, though.

[JohnBriggs12]

Odd that the Cubs would make this move considering Contreras is only supposed to be out the minimum IL time, and Caratini is a capable backup. Perhaps they want to free Caratini up to play other spots?

 

Still, Montgomery isn't a world beater, but is a nice arm to have around. Considering the Cubs are seemingly on the hunt for a lefty, it's a little odd that they traded away one who was already at the ML level. Now if they have an injury in the rotation, the depth is pretty minimal.

 

Montgomery's been awful this year. He's posted a 5.67 ERA, a 1.778 WHIP, and has walked over 4 guys per nine innings.

[KeithStone53151]

I find this really weird too. Caritini has actually been really good at the plate. He pretty much smashes the ball every time he's up. Maybe they have a series of trades already lined up? I'm sure they have their reasons, but at face value I don't understand this move for them.

[jerichoholicninja]

Cubs probably just trying to dump some cash and get a player that will help them if even only for a couple weeks. They'll probably DFA Martin when Contreras is back.

[Lathund]

Odd that the Cubs would make this move considering Contreras is only supposed to be out the minimum IL time, and Caratini is a capable backup. Perhaps they want to free Caratini up to play other spots?

 

There are a few possibilities. That Contreras injury is worse than we think, or that Caratini is trade bait. But with Contreras having played some outfield, and the Cubs outfield not being very good, there's a chance this move is made to both improve the outfield and get a much better defender behind the plate.

[CrewFanBrewMan69]

A lot of people are speculating there’s another trade or trades coming for them and getting Maldonado let’s them include Caratini in a deal. Theo even mentioned when the trade happened they’ve had talks with the Royals previously about trades and Contreras being out for 10 days made them do this faster than expected. Wonder if they’re going after Merrifield, Gordon or Kennedy too.

[KeithStone53151]

A lot of people are speculating there’s another trade or trades coming for them and getting Maldonado let’s them include Caratini in a deal. Theo even mentioned when the trade happened they’ve had talks with the Royals previously about trades and Contreras being out for 10 days made them do this faster than expected. Wonder if they’re going after Merrifield, Gordon or Kennedy too.

 

Everything I've read says Merrifield is going to require a monster offer to acquire, an offer so big that he probably won't move. Also factor in the Cubs farm system being even worse than ours...there's no way they can get Merrifield. Gordon and/or Kennedy are possible.

[Thurston Fluff]

Odd that the Cubs would make this move considering Contreras is only supposed to be out the minimum IL time, and Caratini is a capable backup. Perhaps they want to free Caratini up to play other spots?

 

There are a few possibilities. That Contreras injury is worse than we think, or that Caratini is trade bait. But with Contreras having played some outfield, and the Cubs outfield not being very good, there's a chance this move is made to both improve the outfield and get a much better defender behind the plate.

 

It could also mean the Cubs cannot, or will not, trade their minor league talent to get what they want. They may be stuck with this sort of swap by force or by choice. If I'm the Cubs I have to look at the next few seasons as well. If they trade every last major league prospect what will they do when their core starts to hit free agency? While they have more money to spend than we do there is still a luxury tax and it gets worse every season a team is over it. Even the big money teams needs some of their own cheap players to offset costs as some point.

[CrewFanBrewMan69]

A lot of people are speculating there’s another trade or trades coming for them and getting Maldonado let’s them include Caratini in a deal. Theo even mentioned when the trade happened they’ve had talks with the Royals previously about trades and Contreras being out for 10 days made them do this faster than expected. Wonder if they’re going after Merrifield, Gordon or Kennedy too.

 

Everything I've read says Merrifield is going to require a monster offer to acquire, an offer so big that he probably won't move. Also factor in the Cubs farm system being even worse than ours...there's no way they can get Merrifield. Gordon and/or Kennedy are possible.

Miguel Amaya and Nico Hoerner are top 50 prospects in MLB right now. They have some other guys on the fringe of the top 100 as well (from the last fangraphs update I saw). Their system is definitely better than ours. They also still have Happ who a team could value decently still. I think they’d have enough to get Merrifield if they wanted.

[Eye Black]

It’s interesting to see the speculation that Caratini could be used as trade bait, but I don’t think that is likely to come to fruition. It wouldn’t be the first time Joe Maddon has used three catchers, and the fact that both Contreras and Caratini have good bats and the ability to play other positions makes it pretty easy to carry a defensively minded catcher as well. Seeing as Contreras is notably bad at pitch framing, I think this is a sneaky good move for the Cubs that will help out their pitching staff in big spots down the stretch.