Rich Harden to the Cubs

[🏀]

Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Gallagher, Murton, Eric Patterson, and Josh Donaldson.

Another GREAT trade by Jim Hendry.

[TJ]

I don't even like the Cubs, but that's a great trade for them.  It's like trading Gallagher for Harden and Gaudin.  The rest of the players are worthless to the Cubs.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Gallagher, Murton, Eric Patterson, and Josh Donaldson.

Another GREAT trade by Jim Hendry.

As an Angels fan let me just say....Hoorah!

[NYWarrior]

As an Angels fan let me just say....Hoorah!

Why?  Harden has been all promise and nothing more for years.

That said, its a great value deal for the Cubs.  A promising young starter, a pair of AAAA OFs and a bag of donuts for a high risk/high upside pitcher....makes u wonder though, if Beane didnt like what he saw from Harden in his last few starts -- velocity was down last time out.  Time to cut bait, even if it's at a discount

[wadesworld]

Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs for Gallagher, Murton, Eric Patterson, and Josh Donaldson.

Another GREAT trade by Jim Hendry.

Apparently the Cubs were quite scared by what the Brewers had just done...

[Pakuni]

Great trade for the Cubs? Maybe, but far from certain.

Between 2003 and 2007, Rich Harden has averaged 15 starts per season.
So far this year? 13 starts.

He's got great stuff, but rarely goes past six innings and is an injury waiting to happen. I'd suggest revisiting this topic in September to see just how great of a deal this may be.

[NYWarrior]

He's got great stuff, but rarely goes past six innings and is an injury waiting to happen. I'd suggest revisiting this topic in September to see just how great of a deal this may be.

The A's have babied Harden all year.......perfuming the pig (of course, Harden has not thrown 100 IP in a season since 2005).    Perhaps there was a reason why Beane pulled the trigger now ---

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080701&content_id=3044746&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak

"First the Halos climbed out of an early two-run hole against All-Star candidate Rich Harden, who was missing four to seven mph from his typically overpowering fastball."

Caveat emptor

[ChicosBailBonds]

Why?  Harden has been all promise and nothing more for years.

That said, its a great value deal for the Cubs.  A promising young starter, a pair of AAAA OFs and a bag of donuts for a high risk/high upside pitcher....makes u wonder though, if Beane didnt like what he saw from Harden in his last few starts -- velocity was down last time out.  Time to cut bait, even if it's at a discount

Harden is 6-3 against the Halos and 20-8 overall the last 4 years.  He is definitely injury prone but when he's healthy he has been a tough pitcher for our guys (who already can't hit).  He's had a good year this year with only one loss.

I don't know, losing a guy in our division (the 2nd place team) that is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA is a good thing.  

[NYWarrior]

Harden is 6-3 against the Halos and 20-8 overall the last 4 years.

BFD....he's thrown a combined 278 innings in the last four years combined and has a paltry 11 wins in the last 3 yrs combined.  Brad Lidge has thrown 248 IP over the same 4-year time period.  Joe Nathan threw 246 IP.  So, as a starter, Harden is good for closer inning loads.

Heck, 6-3 against your LosAngelesAngelsofwhereverthehecktheyplay in the last 4 years is in line with what you'd expect a middle reliever to net against a divisional opponent over the same time period.   

[ChicosBailBonds]

BFD....he's thrown a combined 278 innings in the last four years combined and has a paltry 11 wins in the last 3 yrs combined.  Brad Lidge has thrown 248 IP over the same 4-year time period.  Joe Nathan threw 246 IP.  So, as a starter, Harden is good for closer inning loads.

Heck, 6-3 against your LosAngelesAngelsofwhereverthehecktheyplay in the last 4 years is in line with what you'd expect a middle reliever to net against a divisional opponent over the same time period.   

Let's put it this way, I'm much happier to be playing against the stiffs they got for Harden then Harden himself. 

You're starting to sound like an arrogant Red Sox fan...stop.   

[Pakuni]

The A's have babied Harden all year.......perfuming the pig (of course, Harden has not thrown 100 IP in a season since 2005).    Perhaps there was a reason why Beane pulled the trigger now ---

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20080701&content_id=3044746&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak

"First the Halos climbed out of an early two-run hole against All-Star candidate Rich Harden, who was missing four to seven mph from his typically overpowering fastball."

Caveat emptor

Harden also was subpar Sunday against the White Sox, throwing 95 pitches (only 55 for strikes) in just five innings and walking four to go with five hits allowed.
Like I said, he's got great stuff, but Billy Beane rarely gets burned when letting go of starting pitching (see: Mulder, Mark; Zito, Barry).

Oh, and Chico's ... those stiffs include the Cubs' top pitching prospect, a guy who hit .297 when he had a chance to start and a guy who Baseball America ranked the sixth best prospect in the Cubs' system last year. All three are major league players, although Gallagaher is the only one who has a chance at being an exceptional one.

[Rollout-the-Barrel]

The trade gives the Cubs a slight edge in starting pitching again.  Love the early deals before trade deadline.  I think Brew Crew and Cubs both make the playoffs with these trades.

[TallTitan34]

Cubs:  Zambrano (9-3), Harden (5-1), Dempster (10-3), Lilly (9-5), Marquis (6-5)
Brewers: Sheets (10-2), Sabathia (7-8), McClung (5-4), Bush (4-8), Parra (8-2)

Bold = All Star

[MUfan12]

Great trade if he stays healthy. I'd still take CC, just more of a proven commodity, and more durable.

This race will be fun.

[Chili]

way to ruin what farm system the cubs had. harden on the dl by august 31. the guy is a kitten.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Harden also was subpar Sunday against the White Sox, throwing 95 pitches (only 55 for strikes) in just five innings and walking four to go with five hits allowed.
Like I said, he's got great stuff, but Billy Beane rarely gets burned when letting go of starting pitching (see: Mulder, Mark; Zito, Barry).

Oh, and Chico's ... those stiffs include the Cubs' top pitching prospect, a guy who hit .297 when he had a chance to start and a guy who Baseball America ranked the sixth best prospect in the Cubs' system last year. All three are major league players, although Gallagaher is the only one who has a chance at being an exceptional one.

You'll forgive me Pakuni, but national league prospects and national leaguers in general don't qualify as anything more than stiffs to me for the most part.  There are exceptions, but there is such a huge disparity in talent between the two leagues that I'd much rather deal with National leaguers then American leaguers in today's day.  And I doubt any of them do anything this year.  Down the road, perhaps...this year...I doubt it.

[ChicosBailBonds]

way to ruin what farm system the cubs had. harden on the dl by august 31. the guy is a kitten.

Didn't the Brewers just give up a huge chunk of their farm system for a pitcher that in all liklihood isn't going to sign with them?

[NYWarrior]

Didn't the Brewers just give up a huge chunk of their farm system for a pitcher that in all liklihood isn't going to sign with them?

Not really....they only coughed up one premium prospect (one of their MiLB top 10 prospects in fact), a kid who is blocked at the MLB level by Braun and Fielder.   The other kids don't grade out nearly as high as LaPorta though Green has nice upside.  Well played by Melvin

[TJ]

a guy who hit .297 when he had a chance to start

Murton could also be described as the guy who had zero potential to advance in the Cubs system and was essentially worth nothing to them but what he could return in trade.  When the Cubs have been faced with their multiple injuries in the outfield this season, Hendry and Pinella went out of their way to find any possible solution to keep Murton off the field.

[Henry Sugar]

Some takes on the trade from Goatriders (lots of links)

http://www.goatriders.org/even-more-rich-harden

http://www.goatriders.org/reactions-to-the-harden-trade

The always entertaining Desipio chimes in too.

http://www.desipio.com/?p=1491

and a comment from Homer

Homer on the Trade

[MUDPT]

Pakuni, where was Murton going to play?  He doesn't have the arm to play RF or CF.  Where was Patterson going to play?  You saw his defense against the White Sox in the series on the Southside.  He won't play ahead of DeRosa.  Donaldson is the number one prospect in the system, rated by some.  Supposedly, the most power of any player in the Cubs minor league series.  Gallagher is a top pitching prospect, although I'm not sure if he is the TOP pitching prospect.  That could be Ceda or Samardzija or Veal or even Marshall.

[robmufan]

Read the thread quickly, not sure if it was mentioned.

First off, the trade talks for Harden have been ongoing for a month, and Hendry has came out and said that.  So this was not a reaction to the brewers trade, it was just sped up a little.

Second off, we are not "renting" rich harden like the brewers are CC sabathia.  The cubs will have Harden next year too!  Being we gave up Murton and Patterson (both needed a change of scenery), a catching prospect (with soto hopefully we dont need one for 8 years), and Sean Gallagher, it looks as if we basically traded 3 people that won't play here, and 1 pitcher, in return for 2.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Not really....they only coughed up one premium prospect (one of their MiLB top 10 prospects in fact), a kid who is blocked at the MLB level by Braun and Fielder.   The other kids don't grade out nearly as high as LaPorta though Green has nice upside.  Well played by Melvin

I disagree....CC is a rental and isn't going to be with the Brewers long term.  High price to pay if it doesn't work out.

[🏀]

Let's just sum everything up:

Cubs Give:
Murton - No future with organization in LF for 6 years, low trade value.
Patterson - No future with organization at second base, high/medium trade value.
Donaldson - Career minor leaguer, no chance at making the big show.
Gallagher - Huge upside guy. Great work ethic. Stuff isn't as good as Harden has showed.

The Cubs gave up nothing that would effect their team until the 2010 season at best. at that point Gallagher might turn into a decent #3 starter.

Cubs Get:
Harden - Electric stuff, as good as anyone out there. A legit candidate for #1 starter on any team. Any injury risk yes, but excellent upside. We also have him for another full season, and have the resources to re-sign him if need be.
Gaudin - He would be a better #5 that Marquis. He would right now be the Brewers 3, 4, or 5 pitcher.

The Cubs get two immediate impact players to win the World Series now without jepordizing their future.

Brewers Gave:
LaPorta - Your second half 2009 season starting first basemen. Prince will be dealt before the trade deadline next year.

LaPorta and Braun were supposed to be the cornerstones of the future. Not anymore.

Brewers Get:
Safathia- 13 more starts out of a premiere #1.


Again, Sabathia never put the Brewers better than the Cubs in the regular season. Playoffs, yes. However, Jim Hendry just made the Cubs better in the playoffs.

[Pakuni]

Read the thread quickly, not sure if it was mentioned.

First off, the trade talks for Harden have been ongoing for a month, and Hendry has came out and said that.  So this was not a reaction to the brewers trade, it was just sped up a little.

Second off, we are not "renting" rich harden like the brewers are CC sabathia.  The cubs will have Harden next year too!  Being we gave up Murton and Patterson (both needed a change of scenery), a catching prospect (with soto hopefully we dont need one for 8 years), and Sean Gallagher, it looks as if we basically traded 3 people that won't play here, and 1 pitcher, in return for 2.

The trade talks have been going on for a while, but always on the back-burner as the Cubs' focus had been on Sabathia. Also, reportedly the reason the deal didn't happen sooner is because Hendry previously had been unwilling to part with Gallagher as part of the trade. The Brewers' acquisition of Sabathia changed his mind.