QUESTION-Should the Cubs keep Paul Maholm?

Well since the Cubs are in the process of rebuilding mode as we know it and they have been the talk of trade rumors which got me thinking about Paul Maholm who has been fantastic in the month of July winning all 4 of his starts with 1 relief appearance, allowing just 3 runs(all earned) on 21 hits, just 3 walks and 14 strikeouts with a 1.23 Earned Run Average, could be staying longer than expected.

Overall in his last 5 starts(the 1st on June 29th against the Astros) but prior to that he had a fair share of good and horrific games. Before his streak started, his ERA was at 5.38 and June was NOT kind to him at all. He was 1-3 with a 5.18 ERA, allowing 20 runs(1 unearned) on 39 hits with the only bright spots being his 2 run homerun that he hit against Arizona and he walked 9 batters while punching out 26. After struggling in his first two starts in a Cub uniform, he had a quality start streak of 4 games(April 21st, April 27th, May 4th and May 9th)

I understand what Hoyer and Epstein are planning in the future but I do hope they have Maholm around for it because you can't go wrong with a southpaw in your rotation and lately he has earned the right to stay as a member of the Chicago Cubs. 7 of his last 10 starts have been quality starts, including his last 5 games which have all resulted in wins as mentioned at the start of my 2nd sentence.

So I do ask you Cub fans, do you think the Cubs should keep Paul Maholm as part of the Epstein and Hoyer ERA here in Chicago? Like I said, he should be here to STAY

If they can trade him for something useful, he obviously has to go. If not, then it's not like his contract is terrible. But the default motive has to be to move him.

as always Rice being on top of Cub stuff but in honesty I really think that if we are going to trade him, it better be for some damn good future prospects. I understand that no one on this team is safe(except for Castro, Rizzo, Campana, Samardzija, DeJesus, Barney and LaHair) but you gotta fill in some roles and I think Paul would fit nice as a #2 or #3 down the road with everyone expecting Samardzija to be our #1 next year. If we get something good in return for him, than I say trade him like you said

It's Paul Maholm, you're not gonna get a ton :lol: The thing you have as your advantage is that he has that option year so another team can try to snag a pick off of him after next offseason, and that he's inexpensive and doesn't completely suck. That's it.

Yea then again there is that, but we will see what happens when that time comes. Thanks again Rice!

ChicagoDawg1991 said:

as always Rice being on top of Cub stuff but in honesty I really think that if we are going to trade him, it better be for some damn good future prospects. I understand that no one on this team is safe(except for Castro, Rizzo, Campana, Samardzija, DeJesus, Barney and LaHair) but you gotta fill in some roles and I think Paul would fit nice as a #2 or #3 down the road with everyone expecting Samardzija to be our #1 next year. If we get something good in return for him, than I say trade him like you said

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IMO, DeJesus, Barney and LaHair aren't safe by any means...and Campana wouldn't net us very much.

ChicagoDawg1991 said:

as always Rice being on top of Cub stuff but in honesty I really think that if we are going to trade him, it better be for some damn good future prospects. I understand that no one on this team is safe(except for Castro, Rizzo, Campana, Samardzija, DeJesus, Barney and LaHair) but you gotta fill in some roles and I think Paul would fit nice as a #2 or #3 down the road with everyone expecting Samardzija to be our #1 next year. If we get something good in return for him, than I say trade him like you said

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lol wut?

X-Factor said:

IMO, DeJesus, Barney and LaHair aren't safe by any means...and Campana wouldn't net us very much.

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which is why I hope we hang onto Campana. He's in the top 5 among stolen base leaders and he has played in half of the games as the other 4 guys that are up there. Can you imagine what he would have if he had the same number of games as Bourn and Gordon? 0.0

confusing I know but just thought I'd give a list of players I think we should keep lol but its a business, I understand that concept

ChicagoDawg1991 said:

which is why I hope we hang onto Campana. He's in the top 5 among stolen base leaders and he has played in half of the games as the other 4 guys that are up there. Can you imagine what he would have if he had the same number of games as Bourn and Gordon? 0.0

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He still doesn't hit well enough. We don't have enough other pieces to keep a player long-term who's really a glorified pinch-runner.

if only he can get better offensively....................only one can dream

ChicagoDawg1991 said:

which is why I hope we hang onto Campana. He's in the top 5 among stolen base leaders and he has played in half of the games as the other 4 guys that are up there. Can you imagine what he would have if he had the same number of games as Bourn and Gordon? 0.0

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Stolen bases mean nothing when you can't get on base. He's really fast at running back to the dugout after he strikes out or hits his patented weak groundout to the second baseman.

X-Factor said:

He still doesn't hit well enough. We don't have enough other pieces to keep a player long-term who's really a glorified pinch-runner.

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And that's really all he is, as he doesn't field as well as Soriano these days either.

Maholm? If you can get something significant for him, then trade him. I think he has more value than RC might think, but he's not going to bring back a real big haul. He had an excellent season last year, and outside of his first two appearances this year which he clearly wasn't ready for, he's been tremendous. I think he could net a middle-rotation type of SP, maybe a high-ceiling bat in the lower levels. But don't expect more than that. If you can't get anything of decent value for him, then keep him. He's only making a bit over $6M next year. I wouldn't mind making him a #3 or #4 in the rotation for some time to come, as he's still kind of young at turning 30 about a month ago.

If someone makes a good offer for him.. Do it.

no...trade him to continue the rebuild

The only untouchables on the Cubs are Rizzo and Castro everyone else on the ML roster is fair game to anyone