Yahoo article on 2006-7 FA

[Fro]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=ArRM0tCD9IZUmUKB97vE7DIRvLYF?slug=jp-freeagents071406&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

Seung-Yeop Lee (who went nuts in the WBC and has an over 1.000 OPS for the Yomiuri Giants so far) apparently is going to be available.

 

It'd be funny to dump Jones and then sign him and Carlos Lee as the corner OF so we could have the Amazing Lee Brothers, Lee times 3, etc.

 

Kinda surprised at the money Matsuzaka might get, too.

Edited July 15, 2006 by Fro

[sherwood921]

I was just going to mention that, I wouldn't mind the Cubs taking a chance on a player from overseas, we have the money to give it a shot. Also, if we're looking for a back of the rotation guy (not that we should be looking for a back of the rotation guy), I wouldn't be opposed to Gil Meche.

[ChiCubsFan]

Frank Catalanatto plz.

[ChiCubsFan]

Oh yeah, and Gil Meche.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I'd take Garty Matthews Jr. for CF, Jason Schmidt SP, and Craig Wilson, plz.

 

If his medical records check out, a one year deal for Sheffield would please me as well.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

Assuming the Cubs hang on to Jones and he is not dealt before the deadline, I would consider moving him to CF until Pie is ready and signing Trot Nixon to play RF.

 

This helps the Cubs in OBP and lack of power from a rightfielder is supplemented with the power jones provides from CF.

 

Hatteberg is interesting on the list. He is 37 and would come cheap for a season(I'm guessing). He would solidify the bench coming in for Ramirez and fillin occasionally for Derrek Lee if he needs a rest. Obviously, if he can get starting job he would take that, but if he is forced to sign as a bench player then I think the Cubs would be a good fit.

 

Jason Schmidt.....get this contract done Hendry.

 

This still leaves LF. Hmmm....I think I would like to see some sort of trade here. I'm just not that big on Carlos Lee in LF.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Move Jones to LF and platoon with Murton. Sign Matthews for CF. Sign Sheffield for RF.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

Move Jones to LF and platoon with Murton. Sign Matthews for CF. Sign Sheffield for RF.

 

 

Which Gary Matthews Jr. will people see next year?

 

Defensively he is great, but offensively will it be a continuation of what he is doing this year or will he revert back to what he was in previous years?

[soccer10k]

Move Jones to LF and platoon with Murton. Sign Matthews for CF. Sign Sheffield for RF.

 

 

Which Gary Matthews Jr. will people see next year?

 

Defensively he is great, but offensively will it be a continuation of what he is doing this year or will he revert back to what he was in previous years?

 

If he's on the Cubs, he reverts back.

 

If he's not on the Cubs, he continues what he's doing this year.

[ChiCubsFan]

Move Jones to LF and platoon with Murton. Sign Matthews for CF. Sign Sheffield for RF.

 

 

Which Gary Matthews Jr. will people see next year?

 

Defensively he is great, but offensively will it be a continuation of what he is doing this year or will he revert back to what he was in previous years?

 

I'm afraid he's just in the middle of a career year and I doubt this will continue. I'd guess he's really a .330-.340 OBP and a .460-.470 SLG. That's around a .800 OPS. Not too bad for a CF that also plays great defense. So depending on what the contract would look like, I'd consider it if I was Hendry.

[ConstableRabbit]

Move Jones to LF and platoon with Murton. Sign Matthews for CF. Sign Sheffield for RF.

 

 

Which Gary Matthews Jr. will people see next year?

 

Defensively he is great, but offensively will it be a continuation of what he is doing this year or will he revert back to what he was in previous years?

 

If he's on the Cubs, he reverts back.

 

If he's not on the Cubs, he continues what he's doing this year.

 

"Daaaaaaaad! Stop ruining my career!"

[Handlebar McSkullet]

Frank Catalanatto plz.

 

YES, SO I CAN HAVE THE LITTLE PLEASURE OF SAYING "COME ON CAT!!!"

also because he is an underrated hitter. but mostly because

OF ME CALLING HIM CAT!!!!

[NorthsideAvenger]

All of these"suggestions" are fine with me, don't really think one situation is better then the other, but NONE of these moves are of the caliber of moves Hendry is capable of making.

 

I would look for the Cubs to acquire Reggie Sanders, Jeff Suppan, and Chad Moeller (to replace Blanco) and give Baker more "horses."

 

The Cubs are allergic to making to best move.

[rawaction]

If the Cubs aren't gonna get a big name, there are definitely some sleepers out there that could be cheap and productive.

 

I'd love to add Meche, Javy Valentin, DeRosa, Craig Wilson, even Dellucci and Jeff Weaver if the Cubs got the inexpensive route.

 

The only players they list in the top 25, who is worth his projected contract, are probably Julio Lugo and if their healthy, Cliff Floyd and Gary Sheffield.

 

Also, if Kerry Wood signs a 1-year deal for $4M with incentives to $8M....it will be with the Cubs. Someone will likely offer multiple years, though.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I can see Sheff being a Hendry-like move. He has a reputation of being a good hitter, he won't require a long term deal, and we'd be banking on him achieving a past performance level.

[ChiCubsFan]

I can see Sheff being a Hendry-like move. He has a reputation of being a good hitter, he won't require a long term deal, and we'd be banking on him achieving a past performance level.

 

I wouldn't mind Sheffield in Right with a Jones/Murton platoon in left. Or trade Jones and play Murt in LF or another FA (Catalanatto would be a very good LF for the money).

[ChiCubsFan]

Julio Lugo wouldn't be too bad. I'm pretty much sold on the fact that Cedeno will definitely never be a top SS and probably never even in the top half of SS.

 

Cat, Sheff, Lugo, Schmidt, Meche would make this team a contender. You could also replace Sheff with Nixon to save some money and maybe try to grab Soriano if you want to spend a little more. I'd prefer to just keep Walker at a much cheaper price, but I know it's not going to happen. About how much money should we have to work with?

[ManCrushOnNomar]

I still think we should put some money into the Japanese market and try to get Matsuzaka. He tore up the WBC, and we need to make a big splash with pitching.

[ChiCubsFan]

I still think we should put some money into the Japanese market and try to get Matsuzaka. He tore up the WBC, and we need to make a big splash with pitching.

 

It's very high risk, but I'd like to see it happen.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I can see Sheff being a Hendry-like move. He has a reputation of being a good hitter, he won't require a long term deal, and we'd be banking on him achieving a past performance level.

 

I wouldn't mind Sheffield in Right with a Jones/Murton platoon in left. Or trade Jones and play Murt in LF or another FA (Catalanatto would be a very good LF for the money).

 

If everything worked according to plan, I'd have an OF of Jones in LF, Matthews in CF, and Sheffield in RF. Murton would be a 4th OF and platoon partner with Jones. I think that OF could be very productive. Also with Murton on the bench, there's a little injury insurance if Sheff goes down. Murton could be the everyday leftfielder and Jones slides back over to right.

 

If Sheff would take a one year deal in the 8-9 million range, I snatch him up quickly. He gives us potentially a big bat to compliment Lee and Ramirez.

 

If we're unable to get Matthews at a reasonable price, there will be other CF available or possible give Pie a chance.

 

I'm still doing some payroll crunching for next season and I'll post more when I'm done. Ideally, I'd like to spend Maddux's money on Sheff, Wood's money on Schmidt, and Pierre's money on Matthews.

[baseball7897]

There was a rumor during the off-season in which the Cubs would send Corey Patterson to Seattle for Gil Meche.

[Andy]

There was a rumor during the off-season in which the Cubs would send Corey Patterson to Seattle for Gil Meche.

I'd imagine Seattle was the one that ended that discussion

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Looking at the players we have under contract for 2007, I have

 

C Barrett- 4.5 million

1b Lee - 13 million

2b - ?

SS Cedeno- 350 K (est)

3b Ramirez- 11 million

LF Murton- 350 K (est)

CF ?

RF Jones- 4 million

SP Zambrano- 9 million (est)

SP Prior 4.5 million (est)

SP ?

SP ?

SP?

Bullpen: Dempster (5 million), Howry (4 million), Eyre (3.5 million), Rusch (3.25 million), Ohman (1 million- est), Novoa (450K est)

Bench: Perez (2.5 million), Bynum (400 K est)

 

That's 16 players under contract for 68.5 million. Based on that assesment, I need four players for the bench, three starting pitchers, a 2b and a CF.

 

If the Cubs allocate a 100 million payroll and buyouts to players like Wood do not count against it, I have roughly 31 million to play with.

 

I'm going with the estimates in the article as I make my moves.

 

First I'm going to DFA Rusch, so I'm going to need one more bullpen pitcher, but I'll still count his 3.25 in the payroll.

 

The first deal I'll take is Sheffield at 1/9. That'll eat up a third of my extra cash, but if healthy I think he will be worth it. I'm going to shift Jacque to leftfield to make room for Sheff and Murton moves to the bench as a platoon partner for Jones. I still need a CF and 2B but I now only need to fill three bench spots.

 

They project Schmidt at 4/45. I think that's a bit high, but I'll take him at that amount and hopefully structure it like this: 07: 10 million, 08: 11 million; 09: 12 million; 10: 12 million. So, Schmidt cost my 2007 team 10 million.

 

I still need CF, 2b, and two starting pitchers.

 

I'll fill out my rotation with kids from the farm like Guzman, Hill, Marmol, or Marshall. With those four, I'll also have some pitching depth. The kids will cost me 400K a piece at the most. One of those kids as well as Wuertz can finish out my pen at 400K as well.

 

I'm now in need of three bench spots and a 2B and CF. I have my 25th man in Bynum, a 4th OF in Murton, and back-up 2b/SS in Perez. I'll use Soto as the back-up catcher and he's cheap at 350 K. I'm going to try to lure DeRosa with a 2 million deal to play for the bench. He can back-up at 3b/2b and OF. I'll likely retain Pagan for 500K and that's my bench.

 

I still have to find a 2b and CF. I have about 9 million left to spend if I'm going to stay at 100 million for my payroll. I'm looking at several options. One is to bust the bank for Soriano. If I do that, Pie or Pagan will have to be my CF. I could go with Gary Matthews in CF and still have enough to pursue a player like Kennedy or retain Walker. (I have no delusions that Hendry would keep Walker, so I'm trying to look in other areas.) I'm going to go after Luis Castillo at 2B, and hope to get him for a deal aroun 2/7. I'm going to count him at 3.5 million against my 2007 payroll.

 

Then I'll take Gary Matthews at 3/20, structured as 07:6 million, 08: 7 million, 09: 7 million.

 

That takes my total payroll to 101.5 million.

 

Here's my line-up:

 

1. Matthews CF

2. Castillo 2b

3. Lee 1b

4. Sheffield RF

5. Ramirez 3b

6. Jones/ Murton LF

7. Barrett C

8. Cedeno SS

 

Rotation:

Zambrano

Schmidt

Prior

Marshall

Guzman/Hill/Marmol

 

Bullpen:

Dempster CL

Eyre

Howry

Ohman

Novoa

Wuertz/Guzman/Marmol

 

Bench:

Perez

Murton

Bynum

Soto

DeRosa

Pagan

 

I think that this team would have adequate depth and would be much better than the current product we're looking at.

[ChiCubsFan]

So how is it so hard to be Jim Hendry? How come he has to suck so much at what he does?

[ChiCubsFan]

By the way I'd take Soriano and Pie/Pagan over Castillo and Sarge Jr.