Rockies want Scott Maine

The Cubs have been interested in Ian Stewart for about a week now, though the level of interest has varied depending on the Rockies' asking price.

Colorado initially asked for Blake DeWitt (allegedly), then changed their minds and felt the Cubs' utility infielder was not enough of a return for their young third baseman.

The Rockies were believed to be interested in Tyler Colvin instead of DeWitt (or along with DeWitt), but now are asking for Cubs infield prospect D.J. LeMahieu and left-handed reliever Scott Maine, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, who has been all over this story from Day One.

Maine will turn 27 during the first week of February and has excelled at Triple-A Iowa over the past two seasons with solid ERA (3.51, 3.68) and WHIP (1.32, 1.23) numbers while posting 119 strikeouts in just 92 innings.

He struggled with the big-league club last season to the tune of a 10.29 ERA, but it was a small sample size (just seven innings) and he posted a 2.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 13 games with the 2010 Cubs.

If Theo Epstein and Co. do wind up dealing Sean Marshall for prospects, Maine becomes a vital piece to the Cubs' future, as left-handed relievers are hard to come by and the Cubs would not want to rely on just James Russell.

Renck said the Rockies and Cubs talks for Stewart have lost momentum, so that's the saving grace here. Hopefully it doesn't pick up momentum if that's what the Cubs would have to give up for a guy that hit .156 last season.



(csnchicago.com)