Free Agent Pitchers

[questionmarkgrace]

I've seen alot of people post about this years free agent pitchers because I think that most people can agree that is the biggest hole on the team. Anyways I found this site mlb4u.com and a pretty complete list of next years free agents and you can search by position too, which is pretty cool. I personally could live with an outfield of Murton, Pierre, Jones and possibly Pie if we got some really good pitching. But given the demand for pitchers, the relatively few difference makers who are free agents, and the two to three starters that we need; jim hendry may have to do some wheeling and dealing to make us playoff bound again. So heres the list of starting pitchers. discuss.

 

Right Handed Starting Pitchers

 

Player Team Position Roster Service Agent Age Option

 

Tony Armas Jr. Washington Nationals RHSP 25-man 6 Diego Bentz 28

 

Pedro Astacio Washington Nationals RHSP 25-man 12 Steve Schnieder 36

 

Miguel Batista Arizona Diamondbacks RHSP 25-man 8 Martin Arburua 35

 

Roger Clemens Houston Astros RHSP 25-man 20 Randy and Alan Hendricks 44

 

Adam Eaton Texas Rangers RHSP 25-man 5 Jim Lindell 28

 

Scott Erickson New York Yankees RHSP FA 15.031 38

 

Rick Helling Milwaukee Brewers RHSP 25-man 8 35

 

Orlando Hernandez New York Mets RHSP 25-man 7 Greg Genske 36

 

Jason Johnson Boston Red Sox RHSP DFA 7 Tommy Tanzer, Alan Nero 32 M

 

Byung-Hyun Kim Colorado Rockies RHSP 25-man 6 Greg Genske, Victor

Lee 27 T

 

Cory Lidle New York Yankees RHSP Bereavement list 8.1 Jordan Feagan 34

 

Jose Lima New York Mets RHSP Minors 9 Joe Klein 33

 

Greg Maddux Los Angeles Dodgers RHSP 25-man 19 Scott Boras 40

 

Jason Marquis St. Louis Cardinals RHSP 25-man 5 27

 

Joe Mays Cincinnati Reds RHSP Minors 6 Steve Hilliard, Joe Urbon 30

 

Gil Meche Seattle Mariners RHSP 25-man 5 Greg Landry 27

 

Brian Moehler Florida Marlins RHSP 25-man 8 Lonnie Cooper 34

 

Mike Mussina New York Yankees RHSP 25-man 14.066 Arn Tellem 37 T

 

Tomo Ohka Milwaukee Brewers RHSP 25-man 5 Jim Masteralexis 30

 

Ramon Ortiz Washington Nationals RHSP 25-man 5 Pat Roache 33

 

Vicente Padilla Texas Rangers RHSP 25-man 5 28

 

Chan Ho Park San Diego Padres RHSP 25-man 10 Scott Boras 33

 

Sidney Ponson New York Yankees RHSP DFA 7.152 Barry Praver 29

 

Brad Radke Minnesota Twins RHSP 25-man 11 Ron Simon 33

 

Jason Schmidt San Francisco Giants RHSP 25-man 10 Randy and Alan

Hendricks 33

 

Aaron Sele Los Angeles Dodgers RHSP 25-man 12 Adam Katz 36

 

John Smoltz Atlanta Braves RHSP 25-man 17 Lonnie Cooper 39 T

 

Jeff Suppan St. Louis Cardinals RHSP 25-man 8 Scott Leventhal and

Damon Lapa (fired agent Jeff Borris of agency BHSC) 31

 

John Thomson Atlanta Braves RHSP 15-Day 8 Chris Arnold 32

 

Steve Trachsel New York Mets RHSP 25-man 12 Sam and Seth Levinson 35

 

Tim Wakefield Boston Red Sox RHSP 15-Day 12 Barry Meister 40 T

 

John Wasdin Texas Rangers RHSP FA 7 34

 

Jeff Weaver St. Louis Cardinals RHSP 25-man 6 Scott Boras 29

 

Kip Wells Texas Rangers RHSP 15-Day 5 29

 

Woody Williams San Diego Padres RHSP 25-man 12 Barry Meister 40

 

Paul Wilson Cincinnati Reds RHSP 60-Day 8 Randy and Alan Hendricks 33 T

 

Kerry Wood Chicago Cubs RHSP 15-Day 7 Pat Rooney, Greg Landry (SFX) 29 M

 

Jamey Wright San Francisco Giants RHSP 25-man 7 Casey Close 31

 

Left Handed Starting Pitchers

 

For options, T signifies team option, P signifies player option, M signifies mutual option and T/P signifies team and player option available.

 

Player Team Position Roster Service Agent Age Option

 

Mark Buerhle Chicago White Sox LHSP 25-man 5 Jeff Berry 27 T

 

Bruce Chen Baltimore Orioles LHSP 25-man 5 Scott Boras 29

 

Shawn Estes San Diego Padres LHSP 15-Day 9 Dave Meier 33

 

Tom Glavine New York Mets LHSP 25-man 18 Gregg Clifton 40 T/P

 

Ted Lilly Toronto Blue Jays LHSP 25-man 5 30

 

Jamie Moyer Philadelphia Phillies LHSP 25-man 17.126 Himself 43

 

Mark Mulder St. Louis Cardinals LHSP 15-Day 5 Gregg Clifton and Octagon Sports Mgt. 29

 

Andy Pettitte Houston Astros LHSP 25-man 11 Randy and Alan Hendricks 34

 

Mark Redman Kansas City Royals LHSP 25-man 6 Casey Close 32

 

David Wells Boston Red Sox LHSP 25-man 18 Gregg Clifton and Wells' wife, Nina 43

 

Randy Wolf Philadelphia Phillies LHSP 25-man 6 29

 

Barry Zito Oakland Athletics LHSP 25-man 5 Scott Boras 28

[Roast]

Zito Zito Zito

 

Schmidt Schmidt Schmidt

[rawaction]

In order,

 

Schmidt

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meche

Padilla

Zito (if he comes cheap)

Mussina (if he comes cheap)

Eaton

[forbez18]

There are about 5 pitchers on that list that could fill in the bottom of the rotation and 2 guys that could fill in the top of the rotation.

 

I would rank them as:

 

Schmidt and Zito as top of the line guys.

 

Then, Mulder, Lilly, Wolf, Marquis, Easton, and Armas. When looking at the age and stats for these guys they all seem like they have more potential then they have lived up to. Mulder seems to be a little injury prone and has been out for two months with a left shoulder injury, but I would take a chance on him.

 

OHh yea I would take Mad dog back too.

[imb]

Dude, just target cheap, decent AL starters.

 

Bring them to the NL and watch them dominate. I'm certain that Meche would be great in the NL Central.

[questionmarkgrace]

Meche has a 7 something era since the allstar break but I wouldn't be opposed to him if he is not our primary signing. He is only 28 and I think it was mentioned last winter that the cubs were trying to get him. That said if we don't get zito or schmidt this offseason is probably going to be a failure. The Mariners are looking for pitching and Schmidt is from there. The Philies unloaded all of their big contracts to go after pitching this off season, the cardinals have 4 free agent pitchers so they'll be in the mix, throw in boston, the yankees, the giants and whoever else and we will be overpaying greatly for one of those two guys. Like I said I would love for Jim to pull off a trade that nobody saw coming. If we could trade to get a #2 guy getting a #3 or 4 guy isn't that big of a deal because their are alot of those guys this year. The last thing we need to do is sign a fifth starter with all of the you guys that we have.

[baseball7897]

Meche has a 7 something era since the allstar break but I wouldn't be opposed to him if he is not our primary signing. He is only 28 and I think it was mentioned last winter that the cubs were trying to get him. That said if we don't get zito or schmidt this offseason is probably going to be a failure. The Mariners are looking for pitching and Schmidt is from there. The Philies unloaded all of their big contracts to go after pitching this off season, the cardinals have 4 free agent pitchers so they'll be in the mix, throw in boston, the yankees, the giants and whoever else and we will be overpaying greatly for one of those two guys. Like I said I would love for Jim to pull off a trade that nobody saw coming. If we could trade to get a #2 guy getting a #3 or 4 guy isn't that big of a deal because their are alot of those guys this year. The last thing we need to do is sign a fifth starter with all of the you guys that we have.

 

Lackey? :D

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Dude, just target cheap, decent AL starters.

 

Bring them to the NL and watch them dominate. I'm certain that Meche would be great in the NL Central.

 

Is this sarcastic?

[questionmarkgrace]

Exactly. Lackey has been really good this year with the exception of his last couple of starts. I particularly like that he isn't giving up the long ball as much.

[Soriano12]

I think Adam Eaton would be a good target.

[baseball7897]

Exactly. Lackey has been really good this year with the exception of his last couple of starts. I particularly like that he isn't giving up the long ball as much.

 

I would love to see Lackey pitching for the Cubs. That will not happen anytime soon though. Lackey signed a 2yr extension with the Angels before the season began.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Exactly. Lackey has been really good this year with the exception of his last couple of starts. I particularly like that he isn't giving up the long ball as much.

 

Lackey isn't going anywhere.

[imb]

Dude, just target cheap, decent AL starters.

 

Bring them to the NL and watch them dominate. I'm certain that Meche would be great in the NL Central.

 

Is this sarcastic?

 

If Bronson can do it, anyone can!

[Handlebar McSkullet]

TED LILLY

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Zito, Mulder, Schmidt would all be good options. I'm concerned about Schmidt's durability, we don't need to go thru the Wood and Prior situations again. And Mulder hasn't been completely healthy since his last year in Oakland.

 

So it has to be Zito, not that I have any illusions Hendry could/would actually sign him. But if you trade Prior for a bat, I'd be comfortable with a rotation of Z, Zito and three of our youngsters.

[Soriano12]

Does anyone think the Cubs have a shot at Daisuke Matsuzaka?

 

Part of me thinks it is a pipe dream..but the other part of me thinks

the Tribune will authorize the 30 million dollar bid as a investment to grow

the Asian fanbase for the Cubs.

[questionmarkgrace]

Well when we got the Blue Jays scouting guy, whose name escapes me, he said he wanted to pay more attention to the international prospects. To me that means signing guys like that Larry Suarez for $900,000. I really doubt that we will be players for Diasuke if only because you have to blow 20-30 million just to negotiate with him. Knowing the tribune that won't happen. When we traded sosa they immediately held a stockholders meeting to address the fact that they ate 18 million or whatever it was I can't remember exactly. But in any event that shows this will always be about the bottom line for them. And despite the revenue that they may gain from having a prominent international talent on their team, They wont do it because there is too much risk involved with that kind of money. In my oppinion they don't have the balls or the foresight.

[Soriano12]

Well when we got the Blue Jays scouting guy, whose name escapes me, he said he wanted to pay more attention to the international prospects. .

 

Tim Wilke...thank god he is running the drafts now.

[goonys evil twin]

Well when we got the Blue Jays scouting guy, whose name escapes me, he said he wanted to pay more attention to the international prospects. .

 

Tim Wilke...thank god he is running the drafts now.

 

FYI,

 

Tim Wilken

[Soriano12]

Well when we got the Blue Jays scouting guy, whose name escapes me, he said he wanted to pay more attention to the international prospects. .

 

Tim Wilke...thank god he is running the drafts now.

 

FYI,

 

Tim Wilken

 

thanks. Wilken.

 

Doc Halliday, Vernon Wells. He gets the 1st round right.

:D

[jjgman21]

in terms of journeymen, innings eatter, bottom of the rotation types, I like Padilla. when looking for this type of player, I think the Cubs should look for a near guaranty of filling that role as expected with 180+ innings of 90 or above ERA+, while also having the possibility of surprising and having a solid #2/3 type year.

[Soriano12]

in terms of journeymen, innings eatter, bottom of the rotation types, I like Padilla. when looking for this type of player, I think the Cubs should look for a near guaranty of filling that role as expected with 180+ innings of 90 or above ERA+, while also having the possibility of surprising and having a solid #2/3 type year.

 

I think Padilla wants to stay in the AL were he can throw at

batters at will w/o having to pick up a bat himself.

[goonys evil twin]

in terms of journeymen, innings eatter, bottom of the rotation types, I like Padilla. when looking for this type of player, I think the Cubs should look for a near guaranty of filling that role as expected with 180+ innings of 90 or above ERA+, while also having the possibility of surprising and having a solid #2/3 type year.

 

I agree. I'm not positive he's a bottom of the rotation guy though. The thing about Padilla is his stuff was always praised as a reliever with AZ. When moved to the starters role he was pretty good right away, with an ERA+ of 116 and 114. The thing is he went from a reliever to a 200 inning starter. In 2000 he threw 80 innings. In 2001 it was 115. In 2002 and 2003 it was 206 and 209. Then he got hurt in both 2004 and 2005, and became a below average pitcher (although not terrible). He seems to be healthy in 2006 and is pitching well. His career ERA is still below 4 in both the minors and major leagues (oops, actually his major league ERA has bumped up to 4.02 with his season in Texas). I think he's as close to a lock for a good 2007 as you'll get from any free agent pitcher, and will most certainly be better than a 5th starter. At 29 he's young enough to still put together 4-5 really solid years.

 

I'm guessing Texas will try and resign him, but I think he's exactly what the Cubs would be looking for.

[neely crenshaw]

i'd like ted lilly. not as the big name but as a 2nd or third guy.

i would love it if the cubs would sign schmidt and zito but who here thinks that will happen?

lilly has looked like steve carlton at times(he was dropping a 95mph heater and a plus curve) and sometimes like steve carlson(freind of mine who can't pitch a lick) but he takes the ball everyday has less questions than say buerhle who mph is down. obviously he wouldn't get 10 mil a year either.

z, schmidt, marshall, lilly...and one of many names would not be too bad.

we would also have to spend money on offensive help.

 

this isn't ideal but we have to think the way hendry thinks because i do not see him going after both zito and schmidt..even though we need them.

we also need offensive help so signing those 2 would mean our offense remains the same except with some 2nd rate add on in center until pie is ready!

[NCCubFan]

i'd like ted lilly. not as the big name but as a 2nd or third guy.

Hopefully he'd get along better with the Cubs' new manager than he does with Gibbons. :D