Hot Stove

Zzzzzzzz.

Truly the apex of your articulation... Thanks for confirming my arguments.

The Cubs sign Jon Lester for 6yrs/155m, breaking the logjam on free-agent pitchers, raising the demands for Scherzer, and moving the Cubbies even closer to being playoff-worthy...perhaps even this year.

Their starting lineup at this point looks like:
C--Miguel Montero
1b--Anthony Rizzo
2b--Javier Baez
SS--Starlin Castro/Addison Russell
3b--Kris Bryant
Lf--Arismedy Alcantara/Starlin Castro...maybe Kyle Schwarber in a year
Cf--Alcantara/Castro/Bonifacio
Rf--Jorge Soler

And they'll go with a rotation of Lester, Arrieta, Hammel, Wood, and probably Wada..with Rondon at closer. Russell will probably win the shortstop position, with Castro being moved for pitching (or outfield help) or moved to the outfield for some fielding adventures.

Regardless of what lineup they go with, Epstein has done an excellent job rebuilding the franchise and putting them in the position to compete for many years to come. Having Lester as their bonafide ace and Joe Maddon at the helm will certainly help.

Well Hammell's still a free agent, so I wouldn't pencil him into their rotation. He has great young talent, but pitching-wise gave up Samardzjia and Hammell, who both pitched excellent fir them last year, and replaced them with just Lester so far. They definitely need to land that second stud FA.

Hammel's deal with the Cubs is reportedly done:
http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/ ... icago-cubs

And the Samarzija/Hammel trade was brilliant. Epstein traded away 1/12 years of Samardzija and 1/2 a year of Hammel (who is apparently returning) for Russell and the solid hitting prospect McKinney. He got a BA top 10 shortstop prospect (#5 overall) with 25 Hr potential who tore it up in AA and will be cheaply under team control for 6+ years, and McKinney's sweet-swinging left-handed bat.

We do agree, though, that Hammel will help. I don't think they need a Scherzer or Shields and would be surprised if they sign either. If they do, however, (most likely Shields) I'd pencil them in for a wild-card slot.

Andrew Friedman absolutely fleeced Miami by sending them Haren and his $10M salary + Dee Gordon for top prospect Andrew Heaney and 3 minor leaguers. Slots Heaney right into Haren's spot resulting in no downgrade, maybe even an upgrade, with 5 years of cost control. Slots Guerrero into 2b replacing Gordon's speed with much more power. Gordon will likely revert to an on base cipher going forward, or, at best, be a 2-3 win player until his speed declines in a couple years.

The trade goes from bad to worse if Haren reverses his retirement threat and decides to play for Miami in 2015.

I like the trade for the Dodgers, as I like most of Friedman's trades. However, it wasn't a "fleecing." Dee Gordon is a young, blazing middle infielder who hit .289, stole 64 bases, and has--how do you say it?--"handled it in the bigs."

Heaney is a left-hander who throws hard, so I see considerable upside. However, considering you previously based upside on mlb performance, not potential, your enthusiasm for Heaney is contradictory. He pitched very poorly for the Marlins; we don't know he can "handle the bigs."

Guerrero also hasn't proven anything in "the bigs" either, so you need to explain why you see him replacing Gordon's speed and producing so much power. All we know for sure, so far, is his defense at 2b is terrible.

Hadn't heard about Hammell's signing, that's big. I still think they may be a year away to give the youth one more year of experience, but maybe they can sneak in with that pitching carrying the load early on while they get their legs on offense...assuming Arietta can provide reasonable semblance of last seasons performance.

Friedman also did well getting Rollins from Philly. But signing Brandon McCarthy for 4 years? Head scratcher

Wow. He just traded Heaney for 1 year of Howie Kendrick? Indefensible

Friedman also did well getting Rollins from Philly. But signing Brandon McCarthy for 4 years? Head scratcher

Yeah, I don't get this one. McCarthy is nothing special, maybe a poor man''s Haren?