The Chicago Cubs have dealt 35-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Dempster to the Texas Rangers for 21-year old righty swinging 3B Christian Villanueva and 22-year old righty starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks. Villanueva came into this season as the Rangers’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 100 games in A-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 107 of 375 (.285 avg, .777 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 10 homers, 59 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Villanueva has now played in 285 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 301 of 1,054 (.286 avg, .789 OPS) with 155 runs scored, 29 homers, 181 RBIs and 48 stolen bases. Kyle Hendricks wasn’t considered a top prospect before this season began, but he has looked good in the minors this year. He pitched in 20 games (all starts) in A-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 5-8 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He only has given up 123 hits and 15 walks this year while whiffing 112 batters in 130 2/3 innings, which is pretty impressive. Hendricks has pitched in 41 games (21 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 7-10 with 3 saves, a 2.65 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP.

Ryan Dempster pitched in 16 games (all starts) for the Cubs this year and he was 5-5 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He pitched in 374 games (154 starts) in his nine years with the Cubs and he was 67-66 with 87 saves, a 3.74 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Dempster is #7 in Cubs’ history in games pitched (374) and he is also #5 in saves (87).

This was a deal the Cubs had to make as Villanueva and Hendricks will hopefully help the team rebuild down the road.

The Chicago Cubs have dealt 29-year old righty swinging catcher Geovany Soto and cash considerations to the Rangers for 24-year old righty starting pitcher Jacob Brigham and either a player to be named later or cash considerations. Soto played in 52 games for the Cubs this year and he was 35 of 176 (.199 avg, .631 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 6 homers and 14 RBIs. He played in 555 games in his 8 years with the Cubs and he was 460 of 1,824 (.252 avg, .787 OPS) with 225 runs scored, 77 homers, 264 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Jacob Brigham isn’t much of a prospect. He pitched in 21 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 5-5 with a 4.28 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Brigham has now pitched in 135 games (101 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 27-42 with 1 save, a 4.40 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. The Cubs didn’t get much for Geovany Soto, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone as he was hitting a paltry .199 this year.

The Cubs have dealt 30-year old lefty starting pitcher Paul Maholm, 35-year old righty swinging outfielder Reed Johnson and cash considerations to the Braves for 25-year old righty reliever Jaye Chapman and 21-year old righty starter/reliever Arodys Vizcaino. Chapman pitched in 40 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 3-6 with 7 saves, a 3.52 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 242 games (8 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 17-22 with 28 saves, a 3.95 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Vizcaino is the prize of this deal as he came into this season as the Braves’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. But, he had Tommy John Surgery this spring, so he won’t be pitching for the Cubs until sometime in 2013. Vizcaino has pitched in 65 games (50 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 19-15 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has only given up 233 hits and 68 walks in 268 2/3 innings so far in the minors while whiffing 279 batters, which is pretty darn impressive. He also got his first taste of the majors last year with the Braves when he worked in 17 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

Paul Maholm was a rock solid starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs this year. He pitched in 21 games (20 starts) for the Cubs this year and he was 9-6 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Reed Johnson played in 76 games for the Cubs this year and he was 51 of 169 (.302 avg, .799 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 3 homers, 16 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Johnson has played in 361 games in his four years with the Cubs and he is 270 of 913 (.296 avg, .786 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 18 homers, 116 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.

This was a deal the Cubs had to make. To get a prospect the quality of Vizcaino was just way too good to pass up.

With the trade deadline coming up, the Cubs should have been showcasing 31-year old righty swinging infielder Jeff Baker. After all, 3B has been open for quite a while. Baker has played in 50 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 33 of 122 (.270 avg, .761 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Instead though, the Cubs have been playing 26-year old lefty Luis Valbuena the most at 3B. Valbuena has played in 38 games for the Cubs so far this year and he is 24 of 121 (.198 avg, .596 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. I’m willing to bet no team calls the Cubs about Valbuena in the next couple of days.

The Chicago Cubs are hoping to get a nice haul of young prospects in the next couple of days. To do that though, they are going to have to deal a lot of veteran players. The Cubs are not trying to save money, as they are willing to send cash with almost every player they deal in order to get back better prospects. With Matt Garza hurting right now, he’s going to be nearly impossible to deal. Still, Ryan Dempster and Paul Maholm are two solid starting pitchers the Cubs can move. Starting players like Geovany Soto, Bryan LaHair, Darwin Barney and Alfonso Soriano will also likely be dealt by July 31st. Backup players like Jeff Baker and Reed Johnson could net the Cubs a decent prospect each. Carlos Marmol, Shawn Camp and Manny Corpas are all likely to interest some teams. The Cubs need to get a good haul to aid the rebuilding because the future looks a tad bleak right now.

30-year old lefty starting pitcher Paul Maholm has really been hot so far in July for the Chicago Cubs.  He has pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the Cubs so far in July and he is 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP.  He has only given up 25 hits and 4 walks in 30 innings pitched so far this month while whiffing 21 batters, which is pretty darn impressive.  Maholm has now pitched in 20 games (19 starts) so far this year for the Cubs and he is 9-6 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.  The Cubs are likely going to get something pretty good for Maholm if they deal him in the next week (which is likely).

36-year old righty reliever Shawn Camp has been outstanding this year for the Cubs. Camp has pitched in a major league leading 47 games (0 starts) for the Cubs so far this year and he is 2-4 with 1 save, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has given up 42 hits while walking 11 batters and whiffing 36 of them in his first 48 1/3 innings pitched. Camp is pitching the best baseball of his major league career in 2012. He has now pitched in 479 games (0 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 27-30 with 11 saves, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.

The Cubs have acquired 29-year old righty reliever/starter Justin Germano from the Red Sox for cash considerations. Germano pitched in 1 game out of the pen for the Red Sox this year and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He also pitched in 17 games (16 starts) in AAA-ball for the Red Sox this year and he was 9-4 with a 2.40 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Germano has now pitched in 80 games (36 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 8-20 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He’s likely to work in long relief for the Cubs, but he could be pressed into the rotation if they deal Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza and/or Paul Maholm in the next couple of weeks.

The Cubs have designated 28-year old righty reliever Jairo Asencio for assignment. He pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Cubs this year and he was 0-0 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He had control trouble with the Cubs, walking 11 batters in only 14 2/3 innings this year. He has pitched in 30 games (0 starts) overall this year for the Indians & Cubs in which he was 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Asencio has now pitched in 39 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 1-2 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Asencio has a good arm, but he doesn’t really know how to pitch yet. Some team will pick him up but the Cubs won’t likely miss him too much going forward.

UPDATE:  (7/26/2012) - The Cubs have outrighted Jairo Asencio to AAA.

22-year old righty swinging shortstop Starlin Castro has had a rough time so far in July for the Cubs. He has played in 11 games so far in July and he is only 7 of 41 (.171 avg, .471 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Castro has now played in 88 games so far this year for the Cubs and he is 101 of 356 (.284 avg, .719 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 7 homers, 44 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Castro is a big part of the Cubs’ future so they need him to pick the pace back up with the bat in his hands.