Chris Carpenter returns, Trade Thoughts

Last night I wrote that Adam Wainwright would be starting tonight for the Cardinals, I was mistaken. Chris Carpenter is set to make his return from the DL tonight versus the Cubs, while Wainwright will start on Thursday. They are actually similar pitchers who feature hard fastballs with big-breaking curveballs. The only difference is that Carpenter also features another offspeed pitch, some sort of change-up, splitter, or sinker. He should be pumped up making his return, he was effective before he got hurt (while batting). Luckily for the Cubs, Carpenter is on a pitch count of 80 pitches, so hopefully the Cubs can get to him early, and limit his innings.

With Carlos Delgado out until at least July, the New York Mets could be looking for a first-baseman to replace him in the line-up. I have yet to hear his name mentioned, but Derrek Lee could be a possibility. He has one more year left on his deal and would be good insurance for the often-injured Delgado. Although Lee hits right-handed he would fit nicely into the Mets line-up. The Mets would also have be willing to eat most of Lee's remaining contract after this season, about $13M. We would probably have to send them cash in return for a pitching prospect. This trade would allow the Cubs to play a platoon of Micah Hoffpauir and Jake Fox at first base. For those who do not know who Jake Fox is: he is 26 and is a former Catcher who was a liability defensively. He has played most of the last two seasons at first base and outfield, primarily at first-base, he hits right-handed. This season Fox is hitting .431, 17HR, 50RBI in 35 games. He also has an OBP of .513. This guy can hit a ton and Lou Piniella is fan of his bat. A platoon of Fox and Hoffpauir at first would give the Cubs an instant upgrade offensively at the position. They would lose a lot defensively however. But, by clearing Lee's contract from the books, the Cubs would have a little bit of money available for Jake Peavy, if they are still interested in trading for him. Peavy would be a nice addition to our sometimes inconsistent rotation. I am not even sure if the Mets would be interested in Lee, but I think it is worth asking.