| Khalil Greene to the Cubs in a deal that would send Felix Pie to the Padres?
It may sound like a bunch of "BS" but considering a lot of the speculation being created by the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, a deal of that magnitude may not be all that far off. According to both publications, the Cubs have been monitoring Greene as well as the Pads monitoring Pie.
Looking at the facts, the Cubs need a defensive upgrade at SS and Khalil Greene would be a great addition. Bringing in Greene would allow the Cubs to move current SS Ryan Theriot back to his natural position at 2B...and get the .200-hitting Mike Fontenot out of the line-up.
The Padres are desperate for a CF and need a shake-up in their line-up. After giving consideration to acquiring Tony Gwynn Jr. from the Brewers or the Mariners' Jeremy Reed, GM Kevin Towers crunched the numbers on Boston's Coco Crisp. Gwynn and Reed aren't playing any better than Triple-A ball right now and Crisp would be costly, leaving a potential deal for Felix Pie almost too perfect...considering the Cubs interest in Greene.
Bottom line: While trading Pie away would seem stupid to Cubs fans, consider how much playing time Ree d Johnson is already taking away from the young Outfielder. The Padres could certainly use some youth in their outfield, especially with Edmonds' health issues, but looking at their depth chart, they would be hurting at SS themselves without Khalil Greene. The Cubs are off to a solid start and there's no sense in a major change at this point. This may be speculation at this point but it is a long season ans this is definitely a story that I am going to keep my eye on should any other news come about. -AE
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