Questions: Gorzelanny, Soriano, Marshall

but I think the trade Gorzo talk has petered out. Am I wrong?

And Marshall has looked far better as a reliever than as a starter. If the Cubs didn’t have a lot of good options for the rotation, Marshall might get a spot start or two. But as it is …

1. Why is it that everyone seems to consider Gorzelanny “trade bait”? There is constant discussion of needing to shore up the bullpen and using him as a trade piece.

Lilly probably won’t be back next year, and Zambrano has imploded. Gorzelanny has been consistent, is cheap, is under team control and is young. I would think he would be the first person the Cubs would want to keep.

Is it that his “stuff” is not good and everyone thinks he is simply getting lucky? He has looked pretty solid to me when I’ve seen him.

I don’t think Gorzelanny is trade bait in the sense that the Cubs are/should shop him. I think Gorzelanny is something fans discuss because that’s the type of asset that teams might like in this market (under control, young lefty arm having a solid enough season).

The stuff is fine. It’s not TOR lefty stuff, but it’s your classic mid-end of the rotation lefty stuff, with a fb that is in the low 90’s and 2 decent-solid secondary offerings in the changeup and slider. He’s always had decent-solid stuff – it’s possible that he’s just slowly tapping into it.

Someone said above that if Gorzelanny erases a bad contract, then you make a deal. For the most part, I think I agree with that. If for some reason Gorzelanny can erase a bad deal, then you pull the trigger. It can’t be any bad deal, though. I mean, using Gorzelanny to erase Fukudome is unnecessary, IMO, unless Ricketts dramatically lowers payroll for 2011 to force such a move. It would have to be a contract that extended beyond 2011 for me to deal Gorzelanny to erase a contract, but that’s me.

Otherwise, I tend to think that he’ll be the favorite to be the main lefty SP for next year. Now, you should always listen, and if someone offered you a big surprise of a deal, well, Tom isn’t a guy that you stand steadfast on. But my guess, as of now, is that he is here in 2011 as a member of the starting rotation.

2. There has been several mentions of a player named Kila Ka’aihu who plays for the Royals and how we should go after him. Al Yellon has mentioned this on multiple occasions.

If he has so much potential, wouldn’t the Royals just hold on to him. That’s another team with no chance of winning now, and I would think that he is the very type of player that they would NOT want to trade. Is there something I am missing? Is that a joke?

I think Dayton is a bad GM, but I think people are going a tad overboard on Kila. He does deserve a chance, although I’m not sold that he’s a quality starting 1st baseman in the league. Maybe a decent one. The Royals do have a lot of corner talent, though. As others have noted, there’s Billy Butler in the bigs, and Eric Hosmer is close to ready. Mike Moustakas is at 3rd, although some wonder if he may have to shift to 1st. Alex Gordon has been moved to the OF. Wil Myers may have to go to 1st base eventually.

I’m not completely sold they will move him this offseason. Hosmer probably needs another year in the minors. Now, if they get good up the middle talent, then perhaps. That said, with some good young arms coming up, and contracts clearing up, I could see them give Kila a spin next year.

3. Why is Marshall not being given a chance to start, at least spot start on occasion? He has looked great although in a relief role. Is he going to be given the chance to start next year if enough baggage can be traded?

I know he is “valuable” in the pen, but shouldn’t he be given a chance to start at this point, especially with Cashner up to take his spot in the pen for now? The season is all but lost now anyway; we may as well start to see what type of pitching we have for next year.

I think Lou is comfortable with Marshall in the pen. That said, with Lilly and Gorzelanny here, and better options as starters, there was no need for him in the rotation. He might have another window next year for the rotation, but with our young arms coming up, that window could close fast, if it even opens at all.

4. There was a recent thread which noted concluded that, although Soriano’s contract is excessive, that he is still for the most part worth (or close to worth) his salary.

If that is the case, why is his contract considered “immovable”? If a contract is reasonable (or even close to reasonable), a trade should be possible since the player is being paid close to market value, especially when a team has needs for such a player.

Too much money down the road for an aging player. Nothing’s immovable, but for the Cubs to move Soriano, they’ll have to eat most, if not all, the future money, as few teams will take the risk.

1. He was discussed as trade bait because he’s cheap, because the Cubs had excess starting pitchers, and because the Cubs were at one point potentially buyers. It’s looking less like there’s an excess of starters, and less likely that we’ll be buyers. So he’s probably not trade bait anymore.

2. I don’t know anything about that guy or about the Royals, so I won’t comment except to say that people often come up with unrealistic trade proposals on fan sites.

3. Because we have Lilly and Gorzellany in the rotation. We aren’t going with three lefties, and Lilly and Gorzellany are pitching fine in the rotation. And Marshall is pitching great in the bullpen. Maybe if/when Lilly goes we’ll eventually see Marshall in the rotation (though that’d have to wait until next year as I doubt they’ll stretch him out during the season).

4. There’s a difference between being basically worth the salary right now and being worth the salary down the road. It’s debatable whether Soriano is worth $18 million right now (I’d say he’s not). But everyone expects that he’ll be worth $18 million in 2-3 years as he gets to be an old player. Smart teams don’t make trades based only on player’s current value. They consider the player’s expected value over the remainder of the contract, which doesn’t look good for Soriano.

will not be traded.take it to the bank.he pitches good and is cheap.we need that for next year when lily and maybe z are gone.