Major League Baseball: Ted Lilly trade in the works between Dodgers and Yankees
The Chicago Cubs are on the lookout for a trade-off and they are getting impatient as Saturday’s non-waiver trading deadline is fast approaching.
The player in question is Chicago Cubs’ starting left-handed pitcher Ted Lilly. The Los Angeles Dodgers have shown an uncanny interest in the player. The two clubs have been in prolonged negotiations, ironing out details according to different reports. The negotiations, it seems, won’t conclude until Saturday. The Dodgers originally drafted Lilly in 1996 but traded him in 1998. A year later, he made his major league debut.
The talks began early in July when the general managers of the two franchises, Ned Colletti and Jim Hendry, held talks at the Dodgers Stadium. The Dodgers reportedly are asking for money to be put on the table. Ted Lilly still has $4.3 million remaining on his contract with the Cubs. The Cubs expected the Dodgers to take that amount if they wanted the player on their roster.
Also speculated to be part of the trade is infielder Ryan Theriot. An amount of $900,000 is still owed on Theriot’s contract. Theriot opted for salary arbitration but lost the case. His salary stands at $2.6 million until 2012.
Theriot’s trade is slightly complicated because the Cubs have also been engaged in trade negotiations with the Arizona Diamondbacks for second baseman Kelly Johnson and left-handed pitcher James Russel. Arizona wants Theriot in the trade. The Cubs can’t trade the infielder to both Arizona and the Dodgers yet both trades seem to hinge, in part, on Ryan Theriot. San Diego Padres were also looking at Theriot but that trade was cut short when Padres traded with Orioles for third baseman Miguel Tejada.
Some clever manoeuvring is in order. Jim Hendry would have to think on his feet during the negotiations and somehow get both trades to work.
At this point, the Cubs haven’t made their position very clear on Kelly Johnson. Johnson is a highly valued player and the odds are that the Cubs will be happy to have him.
The Cubs have been negotiating two versions for Lilly’s trade with the Dodgers. In one, Theriot and Lilly both get traded and in the other, Arizona gets Theriot and Dodgers take Lilly. The Dodgers recently added another outfielder and general manager Ned Colletti’s focus is now primarily on finding a pitcher for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers aren’t alone in the running for Lilly. New York Yankees have also been keeping a close eye on the pitcher. If the trade with the Dodgers regains the momentum, the Yankees general manager is expected to sweep in low and fast to take Lilly off the Cubs’ hands.
While officials go back and forth between possible deals and haggle over the smallest of details, Lilly remains unconcerned with all of it. He has focused all his energies on the game. The Cubs manager, Lou Piniella, said that Ted wanted to play for the Cubs but fully understood that trades are a part of the game. “It's good to see they want to stay here. That speaks well,” he added.
Lilly said that he was more concerned with the fact that by the end of July, he had only accumulated 3 wins. Lilly is 3-8 with an Earned Runs Average of 3.69. He expressed dissatisfaction with his performance thus far by saying that he wanted more. “I’ve got 18 starts and I've got three wins. It's bothersome. That's what I'm here for is to go out and try to win.” Lilly said.
Lilly’s less than impressive statistics are in part due to a poor run support with the Cubs. Lilly has faced the worst run support in the entire league. He has spoken with the general manager in that regard but has received no word as yet on a team strategy. Lilly admitted that he didn’t quite understand what needs to be done to improve the situation, adding that it was not his job to be involved with those decisions.
"I'm focused on doing whatever will help me be a better pitcher," he said.
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