The Felix Pie Trade

The former Cubs #1 prospect and one-time center fielder of the future is no more. Pie was traded on Sunday to Baltimore, a team that has shown interest in his services for some time, for two arms: lefty Garrett Olson and righty Hank Williamson.

Olson has had a rough go of it since being prematurely thrust into a starting role with the Orioles. Peep the minor league stats versus the majors:

Minors (383.2 IP, 71 appearances): 12-10, 2.96 ERA, 9.0 K/9

2008 after promotion to the bigs: (26 starts, 132.2 IP): 9-10, 6.65 ERA

Williamson is a big boy (6-5, 233lbs.) who posted some solid power stats in Single A ball last year: 42 K's in 29 IP, BAA of .221

So what does this all mean? Well, when the Cubs signed Joey Gathright they essentially ended the Pie era here in Chicago. It was only a matter of when, to who, and for what he would be traded. Andy MacPhail (remember him?) has long shown interest in Felix, and the Orioles have been tied to him since those incessant Brian Roberts rumors first began to surface. Personally, I feel as though Pie never really got enough of a chance. He is still young by prospect standards and already has shown plus speed, plus defense, and a plus arm at the big league level. If you compare his major and minor league stats with Soriano's at this age, he even has a slight advantage. If he can develop some solid power (he'll never have the patience for the leadoff spot) he could really blossom. We shall see. The Cubs remain a team in "win-now" mode, and any Lou Piniella managed team in "win-now" mode is not going to tolerate the offensive struggles of a prospect like Pie. There simply weren't enough innings available for him to learn on the job. Lou generally has a "shit-or-get-off-the-pot" attitude with his non-star players. Unfortunately for Felix, he was a bit constipated. It'll be interesting to see how he fares when given a starting slot, which, in all likelihood, will be the case in Baltimore.

All stats aside, what did we get in return? In Olson we have a potential lefty mid-rotation guy with Sean Marshall/Rich Hill type stuff. Williamson projects as a power bullpen piece with a live arm. The key to all this however is that Kevin Towers, GM of the Padres, has previously expressed interest in Olson. Therefore the hope is that this is another precursor to a Peavy trade. Let's hope that's the case. The ideal trade would probably send Olson, Jeff Stevens (arm acquired from Cle. in the DeRo deal), Cedeno, Kevin Hart and maybe one other piece--please God not Josh Vitters--to San Diego for Peavy. If Hendry could spin this deal with any 5th man other than Vitters, I would be pretty damn happy. Here's hoping it's on the way.