Cubs and Jays Talks Continue…

Seems that the Cubs and Jays are definitely brewing something, as every single Jays or Cubs blog and reporter site I go to has rumors circulating about a possible deal. Cubbies Crib writer Jordan Campbell recently posted about the Cubs interest in Jason Frasor, who is known to have been made available in trade talks by Alex Anthopolous and the Jays.  He mentions Angel Guzman as the pitcher the Jays have the most interest in, and adds Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Marshall as other possibilities. I’m almost certain that if the Jays are getting a SP in return for a RP, there’s more to the trade than just a 1-for-1 deal. The Jays already have so many SP that adding 1 more may cause delirium within the catchers about how many balls they’ll need to catch in spring training.

Now, it is my opinion – and it is just an opinion – that the Jays took Kevin Gregg off the market in hopes of getting a deal done with the Cubs. Bruce Levine of ESPN sort of confirms this outlook by indicating how the signing changed the level of interest the Cubs have in Frasor as a result of the Gregg signing. I also believe they want to make it bigger in scope than the Cubs are comfortable with. Something like a reliever like Frasor or Scott Downs, a starter, and prospect or two, in return for Angel Guzman, either Starlin Castro or Hak-Ju Lee, and something else if the deal needs to be better balanced. The balancing depends on which pitcher the Cubs get in return. If it’s Ricky Romero, the Jays are giving up a lot and will definitely be looking to keep things as simple as possible.

I’m not going to keep going through the scenarios, nor do I think a deal will be made quickly, but the facts point to mutual interest in getting a deal done. The assets seems to be there to make a deal happen, and each team needs what the other team has. I guess it’s just a matter of who blinks first and when each side becomes comfortable with what’s being offered. Having said all that, I doubt that Alex could get his hands on Castro without giving up Romero in the deal, so I’d look for them to be involved if and when a deal happens. Knowing Alex, that should happen pretty soon.