Why not sign Mike Piazza?

[Wheelimus]

I know, crazy. We already signed Blanco for too much so why would we go pickup Piazza?

 

Well, for starters, he might be cheap. It was repoted by Rosenthal that it was down to the A's and the Phillies, but other reports say that Philly isn't even interested. We know that the A's aren't interested in paying big money.

 

We don't have a lot of options for improving our offense. Shortstop seems set. Center field doesn't really show a lot of good options. Jacque probably. Left field would look nice with Manny in it but I hate to disrupt Murton because I think he will be special.

 

So maybe backup catcher is something we should revisit. How cheaply would he have to come to make you interested in his .800+ OPS? $4 million?

 

He played first in '04, not that well of course. So he could be second on the depth chart at first. I'm assuming he is not capable of playing left field, lol, though I haven't watched much of him in recent years.

 

Last season taught us to never be too deep. Maybe if he doesn't cost a lot, you should go for more depth here. I'd rather see Piazza up to bat in one of every five games than Blanco.

[baseball7897]

Piazza will not being coming to the Cubs.

[treebird]

Piazza will not being coming to the Cubs.

 

that's not what he asked.

[tkenm356]

Well there lies a dilemma. If we were to sign Piazza, which obviously won't happen, it'd have to make Barrett expendable. Why have 3 catchers on the team, 2 of which are such similar offensive-threats-with-poor-defense guys? It'd mean the other has got to go. And I'd rather keep Barrett than Piazza.

 

But it'll never happen so it's not much to worry about. I'm actually kind of surprised Piazza is still holding up after all these years, his production would be nice to have, especially off the bench, but Piazza doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd sign a backup/bench contract.

[Wheelimus]

Piazza will not being coming to the Cubs.

 

And odds are that Jason Schmidt probably won't either, but there's plenty of talk about the option. :D

 

I mean, come on, people actually post here who can give ideas to important people, we should discuss EVERYTHING. :D

 

And really, it isn't even fair to definitively say something will or won't happen, because it's always about the price. Trust me, if Piazza called the Cubs tomorrow and offered to backup catch for league minimum, he'd be signed. Highly unlikely, but there is always a potential way, heh.

[Wheelimus]

Piazza doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd sign a backup/bench contract.

 

Possibly, but I think it all depends on what he wants out of life at this point.

 

Paycheck? Cubs will very likely be able to outspend the A's, and not still be paying a whole lot.

 

At bats? Ah, yes, where we lose. There's probably 250 or so at bats available to Piazza on this team. If he wants to play everyday he's better off in Oakland. If he still has visions of 500 home runs dancing in his head, he's probably better off in Oakland. Or, if he's pretty confident his credentials will easily get him into the Hall Of Fame, maybe a easy schedule with less pain sounds like fun.

 

Or, if he wants a ring (only been to the Series once, and lost), maybe we can build ourselves to the point where we're the better shot. Bombshell Schmidt (3/50) to get him to sign. Get another starting pitcher as well. Then if Piazza is still on the market, think about your bench.

 

Last year should have knocked us silly in the head that you can't have too much depth. God forbid an outfielder goes down, and the best we can pick up is some .700 OPS loser, if we're crazy deep at catcher you have the option of asking Michael Barrett if he'd like to play around in the outfield in practice.

 

Sure would have been nice to be able to give Mike a first baseman's glove this past year and put up the numbers he did.

 

If we're a World Series team, we have to spend like it. If the Tribune really wants us to believe the only goal is a world title, then one dollar below the luxary tax should be our payroll.

[CubFanPhilly]

I'm only interested in Piazza if Barrett is dealt for Wells.

 

But IMO [Jones + Barrett] > [Wells + Piazza + Blanco]

[Abe Frohman]

Why spend the money on Piazza? He will never play.

 

He is a DH, he just doesn't know it yet.

[KingCubsFan]

When Piazza is catching, every single or walk is essentially a double. And considering the number of walks our pitching staff issues, that could be really bad.

[soapy]

Forgetting for a moment that I dont think there's any way he'd sign up for a backup role:

 

I'd do it for $4-$5 million. He could get a little time at 1B, spell Barrett, and get plenty of PH oppurtunities. If he can learn how to play some sort of passable corner OF in a pinch, even better.

 

Again, it won't happen because Piazza won't be interested. But if he was, I'd be open to it. The problem them become that you have already signed Blanco to be your backup catcher, so he has to be moved somehow (good luck with that salary).

[soccer10k]

No thanks on Piazza.

[nilodnayr]

ONLY if we trade Barrett and others to the yanks for ARod.

[Soriano12]

Fuggedaboutit!

[chuckywang]

He has DH written all over him.

[baseball7897]

SI.com's Jon Heyman says that Oakland appears to be a strong favorite to land free agent Mike Piazza

[soccer10k]

SI.com's Jon Heyman says that Oakland appears to be a strong favorite to land free agent Mike Piazza

 

He should go to an AL team so he can DH.