Cubs Blog

Righty Matt Garza may have put the finishing touch on his Cubs career last night by allowing one run in seven innings in a win against the White Sox. The latest on the best available starter: Garza's start was scouted by the Rangers, Indians, Pirates, Blue Jays, and Padres, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Those aren't necessarily suitors for Garza this month, however. Morosi says the Rangers and Indians are known to have strong interest, while the Red Sox, Nationals, and Dodgers can't be ruled out. Morosi believes Garza probably wants to be paid like Anibal Sanchez on... Tim Dierkes

The Cubs are very close to signing No. 2 overall pick Kris Bryant, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The deal isn't officially done, but the University of San Diego product is expected to receive the biggest bonus under the new system that began last year, topping Mark Appel's $6.35MM pact with the Astros. Bryant, who is being advised by Scott Boras, had a monster junior season in which he belted 31 homers and catapulted up the 2013 draft board. The third baseman/outfielder will be the latest promising position player to join the Cubs' stash, joining shortstop Javier Baez and... Zach Links

Baseball America released its updated rankings of the sport's top 50 prospects, headlined by Twins outfielder Byron Buxton. For Baseball America subscribers, BA's J.J. Cooper also has lists of 10 prospects who missed the top 50 but are still having breakthrough seasons, preseason top-100 prospects who missed the new list, how the thirty preseason top-100 prospects who have already made the Major Leagues are faring and also a look at five organizations who have made strides and five who have struggled. Here are some items from around the baseball world... The Red Sox still have interest in Michael Young, Nick... Mark Polishuk

11:48pm: Garza tells reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer) that there is a 50-50 chance he signs an extension. Garza helped his trade value even more tonight by allowing just one earned run over seven five-hit innings in the Cubs' 8-2 win over the White Sox. 3:15pm: Garza and the Cubs are not close on his value, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, and a trade is still the likeliest outcome. There are no teeth to the reported extension talks, adds Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, who tweets, He'll be traded. 1:30pm: For the first time in more than a... Tim Dierkes

Of the six trades made during the first week of July, the Cubs were involved in four of them. The most recent trade occurred last night, as the Cubs shipped right-handed bench bat Scott Hairston to the Nationals for pitching prospect Ivan Pineyro. The Cubs are expected to continue stockpiling young players this month in more trades. The latest on the team: The Dodgers and Indians both believe Matt Garza will be traded and have been heavily scouting the right-hander, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports. The Giants and Rangers are also scouting Garza's start tonight (Twitter links). The Dodgers' continued... Tim Dierkes

The Nationals have acquired outfielder Scott Hairston in a trade with the Cubs, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes. The Cubs received minor league righty Ivan Pineyro in return, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Both teams will also receive a player to be named later, but Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told reporters today that component will not affect the balance of the deal. Signed by the Cubs to a two-year, $5MM deal in February, the Cubs will chip in less than $500K toward Hairston's $2.5MM salary for 2014, tweets Heyman. Hairston, 33, has played sparingly this year, hitting .172/.232/.434 in... Charlie Wilmoth

Five years ago today, the Brewers acquired CC Sabathia from the Indians for Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and a player to be named later. The PTBNL turned out to be Michael Brantley who hit a pair of homers, including the game-winner, and drove in a career-high five runs in the Indians' 9-6 win over the Tigers this afternoon. Brantley, who has matched his career-best with seven home runs on the season, has become the headliner in the deal for the Indians as LaPorta has been a disappointment and is no longer on their 40-man roster, Bryson is struggling... Edward Creech

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has lots of great stuff in his latest edition of Full Count. Here's a look at the highlights.. The Rangers' interest in Matt Garza is nothing new and two sources told Rosenthal that they nearly acquired Garza at last year's trade deadline with one source saying it was within minutes of happening and the other saying it was really close. The problem was that Garza was dealing with a triceps issue and it turned out that he didn't pitch after July 21st. The two sides were working on various contingencies right up until the last... Zach Links

After weeks of hearing that the Marlins were desperate to move Ricky Nolasco and wanted to find a trade partner ASAP, the Dodgers stepped up and grabbed him for a trio of pitching prospects and got some additional international bonus slot money in the swap. Here's the latest out of Los Angeles following yesterday's trade.. General Manager Ned Colletti Co. felt that Matt Garza wasn't worth the prospect cost at this time, so they went with Nolasco instead, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com. The Dodgers continue to be aggressive in several trade discussions. Bowden adds (link) that the Dodgers'... Zach Links

Here is the latest news on draft and international signings as we look ahead to the July 12 deadline for Rule 4 draftees to sign. You can keep track of signings from the draft's first round right here. Only five players -- Kris Bryant (Cubs), Colin Moran (Marlins), Phil Bickford (Blue Jays), Hunter Renfroe (Padres), and Aaron Judge (Yankees) -- remain unsigned. As Jim Callis of Baseball America recently explained (subscription required), the changes to the draft system have sapped the signing period of its former deadline drama. Last year, for instance, only six first-rounders waited to sign until the... Jeff Todd

Earlier today, ESPN's Buster Olney said on the Baseball Tonight podcast with Jayson Stark that he'd be shocked if Matt Garza was on the Cubs by the All-Star break. Stark, countered by saying he's heard that the Cubs may be willing to wait until a team meets their price. Here's the latest on the right-hander... The Orioles were interested in Garza last week prior to acquiring Scott Feldman, but the Cubs asked for a package that included Jonathan Schoop and Eduardo Rodriguez in exchange, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. That duo ranked as the No. 50 and... Steve Adams

In his latest column (Insider subscription required and recommended), ESPN's Buster Olney writes that Nelson Cruz is among the players whose free agent stock could be severely impacted by the Biogenesis scandal. If Cruz is cleared of any wrongdoing by that time he will be fine, but if discipline has yet to be handed out, or he receives a suspension near the end of the season, teams will be wary. Cruz's case could be further complicated if the Rangers make him a qualifying offer. Here are a few of the highlights from Olney's excellent piece... The Blue Jays are looking... Steve Adams

Last night, in analyzing the Cubs' international expenditures, I noted that the team is on track to face some harsh penalties due to their bulk of signings since Tuesday. If the reported figures hold true, the Cubs would face a 100 percent tax on their overage and also be unable to sign a player from next year's international class for more than $500K. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Cubs like this year's crop of international free agents so much, that they're willing to make that sacrifice. Wittenmyer spoke to general manager Jed Hoyer and manager Dale... Steve Adams

Matt Garza dominated the A's in Oakland last night, firing eight innings of one-run ball on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts to drop his ERA to 3.45 (fellow trade candidate Kevin Gregg nailed down a save with a scoreless ninth as well). ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that a dream scenario has unfolded for the Cubs, as Garza is now the best pitcher available, and he's boosted his trade value with a hot streak. Garza has allowed just three earned runs in his past 30 innings of work. Here are Thursday's rumors on the right-hander... The Red Sox... Steve Adams

If you're a fan of Major League Baseball and of reading sports tickers on the television, then July is the perfect month for you. More than 20 trades occurred in July 2012 as playoff-hopeful clubs looked to position themselves for strong second halves of their seasons and robust drives for the postseason. For just about every veteran player on the move to a contending club in July, there is a prospect or two heading back in the other direction -- towards a rebuilding club desperate for a cost-controlled building block. Close to 80 players changed jerseys last July prior to... Marc Hulet

The Cubs have been extremely active on the international free agent market in the past two days, signing Gleyber Torres ($1.7MM), Jefferson Mejia ($850K), Erling Moreno ($650K), Johan Matos ($270K) and reaching agreement with Eloy Jimenez ($2.8MM). If those figures are accurate, the Cubs have $6.27MM in international expenditure. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted yesterday (Twitter link), the Cubs began the international free agency period with a bonus pool of $4,557,200. They acquired an additional $388,100 in the Scott Feldman trade with the Orioles and $784,700 from the Astros in the Ronald Torreyes trade before sending $209,700 to the Dodgers... Steve Adams

The Cubs have designated right-hander Shawn Camp for assignment and optioned Chris Rusin to Triple-A Iowa to clear roster space for Matt Guerrier and Pedro Strop, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter). Camp, 37, re-signed with the Cubs on a one-year deal worth $1.35MM plus another $200K in incentives this offseason. He appeared in an NL-leading 80 games for the Cubs in 2012, pitching to a 3.59 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 77 2/3 innings. This season has been another story entirely, however, as he's posted a sky-high 7.04 ERA with 5.1 K/9... Steve Adams

Earlier today, the Orioles acquired Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger from the Cubs in exchange for Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop and two international bonus slots. Here are some reactions and related news to the first significant trade of this year's trading season... MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reports that Arrieta has two year and 99 days of service time, meaning that the Cubs can avoid Super Two status if he accumulates less than 53 days of service time this season (Twitter link). If Arrieta picks up fewer than 73 days of service time, he will be controllable through the 2017 season. Dave... Steve Adams

3:30pm: The Cubs have also inked Colombian right-hander Erling Moreno for $800K, according to Badler. Moreno ranked as BA's No. 16 prospect and MLB.com's No. 17 prospect. The 6'3, 190-pound 16-year-old has touched 90 mph with his fastball and projects to become a power pitcher down the road. 10:59am: The Cubs made a big international signing today, inking 16-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Gleyber Torres to a $1.7MM deal according to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. Torres ranked second among international prospects on the list from Baseball America's Ben Badler, and third on MLB.com's list. The Cubs also signed Dominican righty Jefferson Mejia for... Tim Dierkes

Teams were able to submit contracts for this year's class of July 2nd international prospects starting at 8am central time today. You can find rankings here from Baseball America and MLB.com, and information on each team's international bonus pool at BA. This is the first year in which teams have different bonus pools, and as explained by BA's Ben Badler, teams can trade for up to 50% of their pools (with plenty of stipulations). The latest deals: Badler reports that the Astros have signed Dominican shortstop Joan Mauricio for $600K. The infielder didn't make the Top 30 from BA or... Tim Dierkes