Chicago Cubs Trade Rumors - Randy Wolf & Greg Maddux

We've already covered in detail prospective Cubs deals for CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, as well as for Rich Harden and Gil Meche. Let's continue our Towel Drills coverage of the latest Chicago Cubs trade rumors by taking a look at a couple San Diego Padres pitchers, Randy Wolf and Greg Maddux. Be sure to continue checking back to Towel Drills for the absolute latest on the Chicago Cubs trade rumors as we approach the July 31st trade deadline:

Randy Wolf: I'll be honest-I didn't know a whole lot about Wolf before starting this post. I knew he was old (he's 31), that he used to pitch for the Phillies, and that he currently pitches for the Fathers, and that's about it.

Current Team: At 33-52 the San Diego Padres are in last place, 9.5 back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the lead in the NL West, and 15 back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the wild card. They just went 3-15 in interleague play, are 12-26 away from Petco on the year, and have won just 1 of their last 9 games. BP's Postseason Odds Report (see sidebar, at left) gives the Pads a can't-get-much-worse 0.32% chance of making the playoffs. Yeah, they're sellers.

Contract Situation: Wolf signed a 1 year deal in December with the Padres that takes him through '08 at a relatively cheap $4.75 million. This is after Wolf played '07 on a 1 year deal for $7.5 M with a $9 M club option that was declined by the Dodgers. Wolf missed most of 2007 season with left shoulder problems that required "exploratory" arthroscopic surgery. He reportedly has a 14 team no-trade clause (strange for a small deal like this isn't it?) that "includes many Midwestern clubs."

The Numbers: Through 17 GS and 98 IPs, Wolf is 5-7 with a 4.13 ERA and 89 Ks to 37 BBs. Wolf's efforts thus far have given him an 11.5 VORP. Largely due to his injury history (Wolf only threw 80 IP in '05, 56.2 in '06, and 102.2 in '07) BP only projected Wolf for 16 GS and 90 IP in '08 to the tune of 4.46 Ernie, 65 Ks to 34 BBs, and a VORP of 7. Having stayed healthy thus far this year, Wolf is already exceeding his BP projection.

The Competition: Per San Diego beat writer Tim Sullivan, Wolf is "almost certainly gone" from the Pads. Not a lot of word on who may have the most interest in Wolf, but it seems like a done deal that the aging, injury riddled, 1 year deal starter will be dealt somewhere...anywhere, for something...anything.

The Cost: The Padres seem to be willing to dump Wolf in sort of a "or best offer" sort of deal. They've got no use for this guy in their position, he's got no history or future with the team-they'll just be looking to get a prospect or two in return. This could be good for the Cubs in that he wouldn't cost too much. I don't think the Cubs would give up any of our big time prospects for Wolf. More likely a package to acquire him would involve one or two of our "major league ready" guys-Matt Murton has been linked to the Padres in the past.

Thoughts: Boorrrrrrrrrriiiinnnnggggg. Why would we want Randy Wolf? He's just not a difference maker. The Cubs don't need 1 or 2 average starters before the trade deadline. They need 1 big time impact SP. Wolf isn't it. His numbers on the year are average and his last time out was both his shortest and worst of the season. Wolf isn't going to get any better down the stretch, either. His low IP totals dating back to 2005, the fact that he's coming off shoulder surgery, and his turning 32 in August aren't going to help. I just don't see how Randy Wolf gets the Cubs any closer to a World Series title than Sean Marshall or Sean Gallagher. Let's pass here.



Greg Maddux: Some dude with the name Greg Maddux keeps popping up linked to the Cubs. Everyone remembers, and recalls fondly, Maddux's days with the Cubs from 1986-1992 and then again from 2004-2006 (if you don't, get off this interweb site immediatley-I mean it). Could the Madd Dog make a third appearance on the Northside? Let's see:

Current Team: Greg Maddux is in his 2nd year with the San Diego Padres. As we reviewed above, they're awful. Maddux and Wolf are both very likely to be moved by the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.

Contract Situation: Maddux is on a 1 year, $10 million dollar deal this year. Maddux enjoys full no-trade protection. He's also got some pretty sweet perks worked into his deal: he gets a suite on the road and a membership at Del Mar Country Club. Also, were Maddux to win the Cy Young, he'd get a bonus of $100,000. So let's get this straight-Maddux has been a major league baseball player since 1986. He's made untold millions of dollars while being one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. He's making $10 mil this year alone. And he still makes the team pop for his hotel rooms and get him a country club membership? What would your boss say if you were like "Hey, pay me a bunch of money to work for your company, and then pay for me to go play golf so I don't have to ever actually do work."? Also-don't you think a Cy Young award for a 42 year old should be worth a little more than $100,000? Why wouldn't the Padres just make that number like a Billion dollars-he never had a shot at that. Anyway...

The Numbers: On the year, Maddux is 3-6 with a 4.04 ERA across 18 GS and 107 IPs. Maddux has 53 Ks to 21 BBs over that span. Those numbers include his now infamous April 18th start where Maddux just stayed on the mound getting absolutely shelled for 9 earned runs simply to protect his taxed bullpen. Classy move, but bad for the stats. Maddux's VORP is currently clocking in at 8.3. Pre-season, Baseball Prospectus projected Maddux to go 31 GS and 180 IPs with a 87:33 K:BB ratio and a 15.7 VORP. Decent.

The Competition: Due to Maddux's full no-trade clause, probably not much. Maddux makes his home in Vegas. With no team in town, Maddux has made it a point the last few years to play somewhere near there, ie Southern California. The competition here, really, is Maddux himself. Will he waive his no-trade clause for another chance at a postseason run? If he will-for whom will he? Smart money is that outside of the Southwest the Cubs and the Braves, Maddux's former teams, have the best shot. But the Braves don't seem to be going anywhere so that pretty much leaves the Cubs. Other than that-Maddux is being linked with any number of teams that can use some pitching help, but I just can't see him going to, say, a Philidelphia just to do it.

The Cost: Not much. The last, and only, time Maddux was traded all he brought the Padres in return was a terrible SS in Cesar Izturis from the Cubs. If the Cubs were to trade back for Maddux, we won't pay much. The Padres would do well for themselves if the Cubs were willing to dump Matt Murton, a player with pretty decent value to them, to acquire Maddux. The Cubs might require the Padres to eat some of Maddux's remaining money as well.

Thoughts: Great story, and I love Greg Maddux, but I just don't see this one going down. Again, the Cubs need an impact SP here, not just another SP. As great as Maddux has been in his career, his best days are increasingly further and further behind him. Maddux's numbers are decent on the year, but he's now allowed 14 earned runs over his last 10 1/3 innings and is coming off a bad start. Maddux, though up there in years and increasingly spotty in his performances is an absolute gamer, however. I can't think of any team that wouldn't want a tough as nails guy like him in their clubhouse come this fall. He's relatively cheap and he does bring value, but unless the Cubs add another impact along with Maddux, I'm not too excited about this one. That said-if we can get him on the cheap (ie, Murton) why not? At this point in his career, he may even be willing to come out of the bullpen down the stretch or in the playoffs, if necessary.