Yeah, but can he play second?

How long is Lee out?

Lee's still got a few more weeks out, last I heard. Here's the latest (from today's Lincoln Courier):

"Cubs 1B Derrek Lee took an important step in his recovery from two fractured bones just above his wrist joint when the cast on his right arm was removed Wednesday. Trainer Mark O'Neal said Lee will not resume baseball activities until he has regained full range of motion, which will take 10 days to two weeks."

Figure two weeks, and then another 10-14 days to get his timing back, go on a rehab assignment, etc. That makes it the end of June.

Any word on how much, if any, of Nevin's salary the Rangers are going to cover? I don't have the details of his contract handy, but I believe that he's in the last year of some ridiculous ~$10M/yr contract that he signed back with the Padres.

Nevin's pretty much near useless against right-handers and really doesn't field any position well anymore. In other words, he's an older, more expensive version of Lance Niekro. He may still have the talent to deserve a spot at the end of a 25man roster--but he's pretty much the definition of replacement-level at this point in his career and shouldn't be starting too often for a team that has playoff aspirations.

Hairston's pretty close to fungible himself, but I'd rather have him than Nevin. Although he's also a liability pretty much everywhere on the field, at least he can fill-in at a position other than 1B and the expected difference in their respective hitting over the remainder of the season isn't that great. Factoring in baserunning, I think that there's a case to be made that Hairston's more valuable on offense than Nevin--and slightly less inept on defense.

It's really not a move that will make a difference in the standings one way or another, but for the Cubs this move is either pointless and/or unnecessarily expensive if the Rangers aren't throwing some cash to cover Nevin's salary. Good move for Daniels if he was able got a semi-useful player and out of Nevin's contract at the same time.

Figure two weeks, and then another 10-14 days to get his timing back, go on a rehab assignment, etc. That makes it the end of June.

Unless he meets up with Prior along the way. Then he's at risk to get a bad cold, food poisoning, a stiff neck from falling asleep on the plane and earwax buildup that throws off his balance, for starters.

Any word on how much, if any, of Nevin's salary the Rangers are going to cover? I don't have the details of his contract handy, but I believe that he's in the last year of some ridiculous ~$10M/yr contract that he signed back with the Padres.

I'm too lazy to find the link (actually, I don't remember where I read it), but I seem to remember reading that the difference between what the Cubs would be paying Hairston and what they're paying Nevin is around $1.5M. IOW, the Rangers are footing a good part of the bill.

According to this story, the Rangers are paying all but $375,000. So, that changes your assessment quite a bit, does it not Mr. Nut?

It's good for the Cubs for the reasons Szym lists, but again, it's too little too late. But Hairston was redundant and useless on the Cubs, and Nevin will at least fill a unique role (I'm not saying he'll be good or even adequate at it).

According to this story, the Rangers are paying all but $375,000. So, that changes your assessment quite a bit, does it not Mr. Nut?

It's good for the Cubs for the reasons Szym lists, but again, it's too little too late. But Hairston was redundant and useless on the Cubs, and Nevin will at least fill a unique role (I'm not saying he'll be good or even adequate at it).

I'm glad to have Hairston gone, both because of the Cubs' surplus of warm bodies at the middle infield spots, and because Hairston is one of the dumbest people I've ever seen on a baseball field. His BTF chatter nickname of "Random Event Generator" is pretty apt.

mlb.com said Rangers eat all but 1 mil of Nevins 10 mil. I dont know if those numbers are pro-rated or not, either way the Cubs dont pay much

You read it in posts 7 and 8, retro.

You read it in posts 7 and 8, retro.

I did now, anyway. So how're the sights and sounds of Troy treating you?

If the Rangers are covering most of Nevin's salary, then my assessment would be that it's still a pointless move for the Cubs and a slightly good move for the Rangers. For Texas, Nevin was a sunk cost who very well may have been DFAed and released before the end of the season. As I said in my earlier post, Hairston is flawed player, but he is more useful spare part.

If we assume that the Rangers were approaching the point where DFAing Nevin was inevitable (which seems like a fairly reasonable assumption), then getting anything worthwhile back for him is a decent move.

...shouldn't be starting too often for a team that has playoff aspirations.

Then he makes a perfect fit for the Cubs.

It's not a pointless move for the Cubs, because Hairston's ability to fill in elsewhere and his above average speed simply made him a clone of every other player on the Cubs bench. What the Cubs bench didn't have was somebody who could hit lefties, or hit more than 5 HRs over a 162 game season.

It's a minor move for sure, but I think it's one of those that benefits both teams.