2011 MLB Trade Rumors: Cubs Not Done

Late last week, following the trade that sent lefty reliever Sean Marshall to the Reds for starting pitcher Travis Wood and prospects, reports came out signaling that the Chicago Cubs were set to being a “complete and total rebuild” of the team.  This has rumors flying that Cubs starter Matt Garza may be the next out the door, and Chicago’s president Theo Epstein told Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune that his team is prepared to start looking to the future.

While Epstein and the Cubs have yet to use the word ‘rebuilding’, Theo did tell van Dyck that, though Chicago values next season, they are “probably going to err on the side of the future” when it comes to trades and signings.

Epstein also said that he doesn’t believe the Cubs are done this winter.  Adding starting pitching depth to the majors and minors is Epstein’s main target this offseason, and he notes that this “doesn’t happen overnight. … You have to make sacrifices to get it”.

One of these sacrifices figures to be Matt Garza.  The right-hander was the Cubs best starter last season, maintaining an ERA and WHIP of 3.32 and 1.258 over his 31 starts and 198 innings pitched.

Epstein admitted that it’s difficult to find a top-of-the-rotation guy like Garza, noting that it would be “compelling” if there would be a way to keep the 28-year-old in the fold.  But, Epstein also acknowledged that the Cubs franchise is in a period of transition in which they “have to listen to everybody”.

Epstein said that the Cubs now find themselves in the business of taking their “short-term assets and turning them into long-term assets”.

For more on the Cubs, be sure to check out Cubbies Crib.