Ohman in a trade

by elgato on Aug 11, 2007 7:34 AM CDT

The Trib is reporting that the flap over Ohman's shoulder "barking" could mean the lefty is traded after the season. My thought: Why not use him to acquire another bat now?

I know there's some debate as to whether Podsednik would be worth picking up -- I'm undecided, frankly. But the Trib speculated that the Sox would likely only give Pods up for a quality prospect. Ohman's certainly not great, but he is better than that.

And if not for Podsednik, why not deal Ohman for somebody else?

I guess I'm wondering what you all think about the merits and the likelihood that this could happen AND what Ohman might net us in return.

And, please, let's not let this evolve into a war over the relative value of Matt Murton.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, or Al Yellon, editor-in-chief. FanPost opinions are, however, valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Ohman is claiming that he has pitched

injured for 1-2 months. I think its crap. He was a horrible pitcher making excuses. If he was injured, why would he continue to pitch??

Now that he is back, play Matt Murton!!

by Chanman25 on Aug 11, 2007 7:32 AM CDT 0 recs

it is probably crap

But what do you think about trading him?

by elgato on Aug 11, 2007 7:35 AM CDT up 0 recs

and I wouldn't call him horrible

He's a somewhat effective lefty with major-league experience, that has to mean he's more valuable than most prospects, doesn't it?

by elgato on Aug 11, 2007 7:36 AM CDT up 0 recs

Ohman would have to clear waivers too

I doubt that happens. Lefty relievers are always in demand.

by rlpete on Aug 11, 2007 7:41 AM CDT 0 recs

yeah ...

you might be right. Too bad -- doesn't look like he'll do us any good this year.

by elgato on Aug 11, 2007 7:51 AM CDT up 0 recs

Time for my Will Ohman story

Will was very friendly to my family during minor league games. Once, in New Orleans, he chatted with my oldest son about skateboarding before a game. Another time, he picked up a foul grounder in the bullpen and tossed it to my second son, who was wearing a Cubs cap in the nearby stands. In that same game, the Cub starter came out after just 2 innings. I went down to the Cub bullpen and asked, "Why did he come out? Is he on a pitch count?" And Will was the one who answered and explained about a minor injury. He didn't have to turn around and acknowledge the fan, but he did.

Ohman seems to me to be an intelligent guy, and that may contribute to his "clubhouse lawyer" rep. On the other hand, he did anger the Cubs management a few years ago when he put in a high arbitration number after spending almost two full years on the DL. He had a decent AAA season in 2001, and stunk in his cup of coffee with the Cubs. He went to pitch in the Arizona Fall League, and ended up hurting himself. The Cubs claimed that, while they put him on the AFL roster, they also advised him to end his season, and he insisted on pitching even though he was sore. Finally healthy in 2005, he put in one good season. The Cubs wanted to renew him like any first-year player. But his status on the 40-man roster during his DL stint meant he actually had arbitration status. So his agent pushed it to the point of exchanging figures, and Ohman got a jump to $600K. There were rumors that offseason that the Cubs would deal him.

The call of the Cub fan, c. 1893: "one long, ravaged, derisive yell...a cyclonic whoop!"

by zambranofan on Aug 11, 2007 8:07 AM CDT 0 recs

Ohman has MLB value but appears to have

burned the bridge here. I really doubt that Piniella will let him back even in September's call up period. His level appears to be a LOOGY with a third of an inning or 2/3's of an inning which is worth between $1M-2M a year and why he is unhappy knowing that late inning relievers are $3-4M makers right now.

But you have got to get the outs. The thing is if he is really sore and sucked it up because of Eyre and didn't tell anyone or the club kept it quiet under the guise that all pitchers have soreness than he might be really pissed as he saw Piniella and Cubs nurse Eyre on a guaranteed contract back to life this year.

At issue is Ohman might now be a distraction to the club house itself. He is a role player and that means don't disrupt the boat for all. I bet he is on the wire wondering if he could be moved, maybe the PTBNL could be applied to him. Who knows.

Milw-09-24-98--Brown in for defense--bases loaded--flyball--HE DROPPED THE BALL!!!NO NO NO, cubs lose 8-7

by Ivy Walls on Aug 11, 2007 9:57 AM CDT up 0 recs

I know this means nothing but

I thought it was cool that the moment Neifi Perez was traded last year, Ohman changed his uniform number from 50 to Neifi's 13.

With Novoa already gone, this is the end of the "Oh - No" bullpen, which we seemed to see a lot last year when Dusty reckoned a game was lost.

by ChipSet on Aug 11, 2007 8:11 AM CDT 0 recs

where is Novoa?

Is he in Iowa? Not that I care to see him in Chicago again, I just hadn't heard his name in a while.

by elgato on Aug 11, 2007 8:15 AM CDT up 0 recs

I thought

Novoa was part of a minor league deal and he is now in someone else's system. I am probably wrong though.

And so it goes.

by Luigi on Aug 11, 2007 8:29 AM CDT up 0 recs

El Gasolino

is on the 60-day with some kind of shoulder problem.

by Invalid User on Aug 11, 2007 9:05 AM CDT up 0 recs

Novoa

Has been on the 60 day DL all year due to an offseason car accident.

by ccd on Aug 11, 2007 9:42 AM CDT up 0 recs

Doubtful He'll Go Anywhere Until The Off-Season...

.... because he's done so much yammering about his shoulder, who would take him?

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Aug 11, 2007 9:57 AM CDT 0 recs

Injured Players

can't be traded? Sometimes the PTBNL in a trade is someone who is on the DL and they're just waiting for him to clear a medical check-up.

Pie, Fontenot, Theriot and Soto up the middle ... yippie oh, oh, oh!

by SpudV on Aug 11, 2007 1:48 PM CDT 0 recs

ohman

they,ll probably deal him in the offseason.he did,nt burn his bridges he blew them up.he comes across as someone making up a story to avoid aaa.here,s my question,if he could be sent down what took so long.he,s been killing us all season.as posted im sure he.s a nice guy but that does,nt guarantee you a job in the bigs.

by NOMAR on Aug 12, 2007 6:52 AM CDT 0 recs