Trade for LaHair?

[malcontent]

With the Cubs in full melt-down mode, perhaps Dr. Epstein could be enticed to deal him.

Clearly, Theo's a genius of the Beane-order, and should appreciate the opportunity to prove it.

And maybe the Chicago FO still doubts that LaHair is the real deal.

He's currently sitting at .299/.394/.584/.978.

But two weeks ago his numbers were .365/.460/.712/1.171, so now could be the time to buy if you're the Reds.

For some inexplicable reason the Cubs are stalling on bringing Rizzo up and moving LaHair to LF.

LaHair as the new Cincinnati LF. Make it happen, Walter.

[Ironman92]

Can he play left at all?

He bats lefty?

League will adjust to him sooner than later would be my guess.

[malcontent]

He bats lefty?

Yep. Really nice swing.

I'd ply Epstein with relievers.

[Ironman92]

Still say odds are very high that the league figures him out and he seems like more of a first baseman.

Kevin Maas

[Ironman92]

14 career starts in the OF

He's 29 and only 90 career games?

[malcontent]

14 career starts in the OF

He's 29 and only 90 career games?
Late bloomer. It does happen.

It's possible that the Cubs have been looking to move him. They may not want LaHair in LF.

That could also explain why they've let Rizzo collect 43 or so HR in AAA.

In short, they could potentially devalue him like the Reds devalued Alonso, or worse, Grandal.

[Ironman92]

Raul Ibanez is about the only comparison of a late bloomer like this I can think of.....

LeHair is good buy just doesn't seem like the right fit IMO

[brm7675]

Why would the cubs deal him?

[malcontent]

Why would the cubs deal him?
Because he's blocking Rizzo?

[LeDoux]

Sounds like the Yonder Alonso situation once again.

[nmculbreth]

You're leaving out some important details, namely that his impressive triple-slash line is buoyed by an unsustainable BABIP (currently .388) and an insanely high HR/FB rate (currently 30.3%). Add in the fact that he's a 1B, I'm not sure how he'd be considered a fit.

[malcontent]

You're leaving out some important details, namely that his impressive triple-slash line is buoyed by an unsustainable BABIP (currently .388) and an insanely high HR/FB rate (currently 30.3%). Add in the fact that he's a 1B, I'm not sure how he'd be considered a fit.
I don't know about his BABIP, but in over 4000 MiLB PA, he's got these numbers:

.295/.362/.503/.865

And in 379 MLB PA, these:

.277/.360/.473/.833

That looks like a hitter...with an eye...to me. He would provide a third LH bat, which this team sorely needs.

The hope would be that he's athletic enough to play LF. If the Cubs are hesitant to move him there, I think the Reds should jump on it.

Seriously, they gave Alonso a short-lived trial there, and this guy has to be 10X the OF Alonso was.

For you Browns fans out there, consider it a Brandon Weeden move.

[Hondo]

This is a bad idea of epic proportions. See my other reply in the "Cubs" post.

[Assembly Hall]

I believe that the Cubs are keeping Rizzo down to avoid his "service time" numbers. Rumor has it that he will be called up in less than a month. And when he does, LaHair will move to the outfield

[brm7675]

Because he's blocking Rizzo?

So move him or Rizzo to another position....

[Larkin88]

So move him or Rizzo to another position....

Exactly. Isn't this ultimately what the Reds would have to do if they did target him, anyway?

[malcontent]

I believe that the Cubs are keeping Rizzo down to avoid his "service time" numbers. Rumor has it that he will be called up in less than a month. And when he does, LaHair will move to the outfield
That could be the case, though I haven't seen it confirmed.

Hoping there is an opening...I really like this guy.

[malcontent]

Exactly. Isn't this ultimately what the Reds would have to do if they did target him, anyway?
Sure. But my point is that the Cubs may not see him as an adequate LF....based on their delay in promoting Rizzo.

Assembly Hall may have the real reason, I don't know.

The hope here is that they don't really want him in LF, and would deal him for the right price.

Also, that they don't fully appreciate what they've got in the guy.

[brm7675]

Sure. But my point is that the Cubs may not see him as an adequate LF....based on their delay in promoting Rizzo.

Assembly Hall may have the real reason, I don't know.

The hope here is that they don't really want him in LF, and would deal him for the right price.

Also, that they don't fully appreciate what they've got in the guy.

How do you know that?

[Larkin88]

Sure. But my point is that the Cubs may not see him as an adequate LF....based on their delay in promoting Rizzo.

Assembly Hall may have the real reason, I don't know.

The hope here is that they don't really want him in LF, and would deal him for the right price.

Also, that they don't fully appreciate what they've got in the guy.

I guess my hesitation, then, is to run a player out in left field that the Cubs don't even think is an adequate left-fielder from the get go. If the Cubs who literally have nothing to lose aren't interested in giving him time out there, I'm not so sure I am, either.

Granted, the Cubs have an expensive Fonzie out there on most days. I'd think they'd want to kick the tires on LaHair with how Soriano has shaken out in Chicago, though. For the Reds, I just think we'd have another Alonso situation on our hands, where we're taking a bit of a risk on a guy who hasn't traditionally played a position because he is blocked at his natural one.

For the record, I'm totally with you on LaHair, he's been a lot of fun to watch this year. I just think there's some teams that actually need a true first baseman that would probably be a better fit for him, and more able to put a package together to pull it off.

ESPNChicago had an article a week or two ago where they expected Rizzo up towards the middle of June for the service time considerations. Could see him getting a nod to DH in interleague play, so it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out either way. And probably sooner than later.

[malcontent]

How do you know that?
:confused:

[[deleted]]

I remember when I made this exact topic a few weeks ago and no one cared -_-

LaHair is already in the process of coming back down to earth, but if the price is right he'd make a fine addition to the team. The only questions are: can he play LF, and how much would the Cubs try to pull out of us for his hot start?

[malcontent]

;2610995']I remember when I made this exact topic a few weeks ago and no one cared -_-

LaHair is already in the process of coming back down to earth, but if the price is right he'd make a fine addition to the team. The only questions are: can he play LF, and how much would the Cubs try to pull out of us for his hot start?
That's incredible, [deleted]. If the trade goes down (and of course it won't), you definitely are the father!

BTW, I love the Zuni smilie.

http://www.redszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95267&highlight=[deleted]+LaHair

PS: You do unfortunately possess at least one detractor (post 13).

[herbdizzle]

I wouldn't touch Lahair as he doesn't have a position on this team. For the life of me I don't understand the desire to get an everyday LF when we've got Chris Heisey able to take over the position right now. The guy is only hitting .280 with one of only 4 position players with an OBP over .315. Plus the guy plays very good defense and has an above average arm. If you gave him the same playing time in LF that Frazier is getting at 3B we wouldn't have discussions on guys like Lahair.

[[deleted]]

That's incredible, [deleted]. If the trade goes down (and of course it won't), you definitely are the father!

BTW, I love the Zuni smilie.


http://i.imgur.com/NRarO.jpg

[Assembly Hall]

The Cubs are looking to do two things......1 Get rid of Soriano and 2 stock pile prospects. I wouldnt mind seeing LaHair but I dont think he will be cheap for no more than he has done in his limited time. The Cubs are only solid at SS. And they will save 1B for Rizzo. They would be interested at prospects or young talent at every other position. Their starting staff seems to be pretty solid with Garza, Dempster, and Smardjia(or however you spell it). They lack a closer and relief pitchers in general. So with that being said, what do you give up? I would suspect they would highly interested in our middle infield prospects and discuss Heisey and Frazier.

But in all honesty I think they are more apt to deal DeJesus.

[Redsnake]

Raul Ibanez is about the only comparison of a late bloomer like this I can think of.....

LeHair is good buy just doesn't seem like the right fit IMO

The ulitmate late bloomer has to be Jose Bautista.
I could be wrong, but Adrian Gonzalez and Carlos Pena come to mind as well??

[malcontent]

After the Marshall trade, is Theo more or less hesitant to deal with Walter?

[Larkin88]

After the Marshall trade, is Theo more or less hesitant to deal with Walter?

I'd call it a push. That was a pretty even trade in my book, given that the Cubs probably wouldn't have extended Marshall as the Reds did during this rebuilding effort and he was on the last year of his contract.

Wood hasn't lit things on fire there yet, but as a lefty, I think he can help the back end of their rotation going forward. I don't think Sappelt will ever amount to more than a AAAA player, but tough to predict the return they'll get out of Torreyes who is still a few years away.

That said, very curious what sort of package Walt could put together this time around.

[Ironman92]

The ulitmate late bloomer has to be Jose Bautista.
I could be wrong, but Adrian Gonzalez and Carlos Pena come to mind as well??

Jose is definitely a little fishy with his career numbers....relaying signs from CF....regardless he played in nearly 600 games and had nearly 2000 MLB at bats compared to LaHair.

Pena had over 500 games and nearly 100 HR by that time and Adrian Gonzalez is not a good comparison at all. At age 24 he hit over .300 with 38 doubles, 24 HR and 82 RBI....Age 25-28 he was a top 20 in MVP voting every year with some great years.

[malcontent]

Tonight a perfect example of how badly they need another good LHH.

Costanzo is not it. But Walter knew that before they promoted him.

:deadhorse:

Oh, Great Coyote. Please transmit [deleted]'s epiphany into Walter's mind, where it shall resonate as if it were his own. And let Walter convey it without delay to the ear of Theo, where it may seem most natural and genius-like.

So it shall come to pass.

[malcontent]

The Cubs are letting teams know that nearly everyone but starter Jeff Samardzija is available, two high-ranking team officials told USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because of competitive reasons.

Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster are veterans starters who can fill out the top of a rotation for a contender. Shortstop Starlin Castro already is a star at 22 but can be obtained for two impact prospects. First baseman Bryan LaHair, a surprise bright spot with 10 home runs, can be cleared to make room for top prospect Anthony Rizzo.

Epstein just denied that Castro was available.

LaHair would probably be a better fit for a contending team with a need at 1B. But what team would that be?

As for his OF experience, LaHair has actually played close to 200 MiLB games in the OF.

He wouldn't be Yonder Alonso out there.

[mu4103]

LaHair's stock is way too high. I wouldn't touch him - playing so well to start the season has elevated his stock.

[malcontent]

LaHair's stock is way too high. I wouldn't touch him - playing so well to start the season has elevated his stock.
It's come down a whole lot in the last two weeks.

One thing I'd be counting on is that he isn't Epstein & Hoyer's guy. Rizzo is.

Reds may not have to overpay if for one reason or another the Cubs aren't sold on LaHair in LF.

Don't get me wrong. It couldn't be as painless as the Marshall deal.

You know how it can go sometimes with new management...there can be a real urge to clean house. Mistakes can easily be made.

[mu4103]

It's come down a whole lot in the last two weeks.

One thing I'd be counting on is that he isn't Epstein & Hoyer's guy. Rizzo is.

Reds may not have to overpay if for one reason or another the Cubs aren't sold on LaHair in LF.

Don't get me wrong. It wouldn't be as painless as the Marshall deal.

You know how it can go sometimes with new management...there can be a real urge to clean house. Mistakes can easily be made.

So the Cubs are in a vertually identical situation to the Reds with 1B being blocked by a star (or future star) - they have considered moving LaHair to the OF but have made no decisions yet. Wouldn't the Cubs be a better evaluator of their own player then the Reds - as they have him on their team? Although, I can see why this can be difficult logic for Reds fans considering Josh Hamilton, Adam Dunn, Edwin Encarnacion and what not. Also still having Drew Stubbs in the line-up 7 days/week further reinforces the "sometimes you don't know what you got" theory.

Finally, you don't need to put spaces between every sentence.

[malcontent]

Finally, you don't need to put spaces between every sentence.
I didn't realize RedsZone had an editorial staff.