The recent trade that sent Ted Lilly to the LA Dodgers is a win for LA and a loss for the Cubs, though the move of Lilly certainly wasn’t unexpected.
In the trade, which also sent Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers, the Cubs received second baseman Blake DeWitt and two low-level minor leaguers.
They also paid approximately half of the remaining salary due Lilly in the process.
The deal is a win for the Dodgers because they acquired a pitcher who is improving as he continues to get stronger after offseason surgery.
Meanwhile, the Cubs traded Ryan Theriot, and I know what you’re thinking: So what?
Well, Theriot is a player who can actually be useful to a team as a utility infielder since he can play shortstop.
DeWitt cannot play shortstop, and thus makes for a bad utility player, though that is what he projects to be going forward.
While the Cubs are expected to play DeWitt at second the remainder of the year, he is not likely to be worthy of a starting spot for a full season as he plays barely average defense and has no power.
He is younger than Theriot, so he may have some upside, though he wasn’t even highly thought of by most scouts as a former first-round pick.
But if he turns out to be the utility player he seems to be, that would be a big loss for the Cubs. Having a utility player who can’t play short means you need two utility infielders, and that is not a good thing.
Hey we already have that player in Mike Fontenot, and he not only plays a better second base, he has more power.
Adding insult to injury, DeWitt cannot run.
As for the minor leaguers in the deal, right-hander Brett Wallach , son of former Expo and Dodger Tim Wallach, is not a top 10 prospect in either the Dodgers’ or the Cubs’ organizations despite what Jim Hendry may lead you to believe.
As ESPN’s Keith Law states, “He has a fringe-average fastball and above-average changeup but has walked too many guys while pitching a level below where he should be given his age.”
The other minor leaguer acquired in the deal, Kyle Smit, is projected to be a reliever.
That seems to be too little for a pitcher as good as Lilly.
He would have been a Type A free agent this offseason, and the draft choices the Cubs could have received if they had offered arbitration to him probably would have exceeded what they got in this trade.
Not much for a guy that Hendry risked his life to sign.
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