Cubs Shopping Felix Pie?

Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus teases us with the news that outfielders Felix Pie and Josh Kroeger were pulled from Iowa's game in the fourth inning last night, and were not injured. Are the Cubs including the pair of prospects in trade talks? I would think they would only part with these guys in a major trade. Griffey? Dunn? I could see Hendry going after Dunn, even though Dunn would probably be a butcher in RF. Perhaps Murton was recalled this weekend to show him off to another team, perhaps even the Reds.

Every Cubs fan already knows about Pie, who is hitting .371/.414/.593 at Iowa, but Kroeger has been a flat out hitting machine this year after bouncing around two organizations. Always a big, strapping kid, at 6'3", 220 lbs he's still young at only 24, so there's hope his turnaround is legit. This season between AA West Tennessee and AAA Iowa Kroeger is hitting a combined .351/.424/.598 with 20 hr's and 75 rbi in 339 ab's. Coming into this season Kroeger had a solid minor league career line of .284/.338/.446. Kroeger was drafted by Arizona in the fourth round of the 2000 draft before being claimed on waivers by Philadelphia last season.

UPDATE: Will Carroll says the Reds have decided not to trade Griffey Jr. They will deal Dunn but no team has met their asking price.

Dunn makes more sense for the Cubs based on the restrictions the team is under with the impending sale. It looks like the team cannot take on salary beyond this year. Griffey's contract runs past this season. Dunn's technically does but his deal for next year is automatically voided if he is traded. Personally, I'd rather see Pie get the everyday CF job than deal him for Dunn, especially if Dunn leaves after only a couple of months.

Just speculating, but would Hendry try and nab Jon Garland and Jermaine Dye in a package including Pie? Pie for Dye seems like a ridiculous move, but if they could add another quality starting pitcher it would help this year and shield them if they lose Zambrano to free agency for next year. That is, if they are allowed to take on salary beyond this year. Garland's strike out to walk ratio this year is alarming though. It's 1.35:1, although his career ratio is 1.57:1. For comparison, Ryan Dempster's career K/BB ratio is 1.60:1, and Ted Lilly's is 2.19:1. Zambrano 1.94:1.