Horsehide Harry
<B>Mr. Free Trade</B>
If we were able to get a top 15 prospect and 2 B prospects for Julio he would have been moved last year. Julio sure as hell isn't getting us a top 15 now after his velocity has dropped and he's sucking. Garcia has very little value at all. Throwing two average players together doesn't net you top prospects.
Eaton is quite a bit more valuable than Ender, no chance the Cubs give up Eloy for him now that Eloy has broken out. We might have been able to pull that trade off before last season (and it was something I was hoping we'd explore before Fowler resigned with them), but no way now.
In 2014 The Cubs traded Hammel and Samardzjia to Oakland for Addison Russell, Billy McKinney, Dan Straily and Cash. Russell was higher rated then than Brinson is now IIRC. McKinney, even though he hasn't worked out, was a top 100 guy. Both pitchers that went to Oakland were rentals and neither arguably at the time was anywhere near the pitcher that Teheran is nor with the contract and control.
As for Inciarte not bringing back Jimenez, I think you're wrong on that.
Of course all of it presupposes the right opportunity which would mean that the Brewers would need to stay in and decide they want pitching and the Cubs would need to decide that they really need a LO CF.
The overall point is that when you are rebuilding you should always stand ready to take advantage of circumstances.
What's funny to me is that some want to take the position of players being untouchable on one hand then argue that they aren't worth much to other teams on the other hand.