Bradley Signs with Cubs 3/$30 million (p. 33)

CoolHandLuke · January 9, 2009

He wants more lefties in the lineup and with Soto, Soriano, Lee, Aramis and Theriot entrenched at their positions, 2b is one of the few spots where he can do that. I'm not saying I agree with it, but that is his rationale.

cubsfan26 · January 9, 2009

Because Hendry still wants to add a SP, and has even came out and said that a few times. Our payroll is still at 137-140m with Gregg getting arbitration, and if we keep Cedeno/Wuertz. Getting rid of Cedeno, Wuertz or Vizcaino could shed 2m or so though. If Hendry didn't plan on making more moves, I don't think he would have backloaded his salary to 7m.

jersey cubs fan · January 10, 2009

Trading DeRosa was more about making room for Aaron Miles than saving money. Hendry's absurd infatuation with left handedness over actual production is what motivated him on that move.

Backtobanks · January 10, 2009

To fit Peavy into the budget.

rawaction · January 10, 2009

That's a pretty ridiculous suggestion. There's no way the Cubs traded away Derosa because they wanted Aaron Miles that badly. The Cubs saved money from trading Derosa, and didn't use it all on Miles. They clearly did it to free money for a starting pitcher.

jersey cubs fan · January 10, 2009

They saved $2m. That will barely help in the search of a pitcher. The primary motivation was getting more lefthanded, which they accomplished by replacing DeRosa with Miles. Bradley replaces Edmonds, they aren't getting more LH that way. The #1 goal of Hendry this offseason has been to get more LH, and the only way they've done that is by replacing DeRosa with Miles. You are naive if you think my statement is ridiculous.

CubColtPacer · January 10, 2009

3.3 million, and even if DeRosa was traded to get more LH that would be because they have confidence in Fontenot, not Miles. It sounds like Miles is going to get most of his starts when he is batting from the right side.

rawaction · January 11, 2009

Exactly. Miles was brought in to replace Derosa's versatility (which frankly is just as stupid). Miles isn't making the team more lefthanded. Starting Fontenot everyday is. Your statement insinuates that the team prefers to have Miles over Derosa, and that's most definitely not the case.

Warren Brusstar · January 12, 2009

The question is whether they prefer to have Miles or Fontenot play against RHP. I suspect it's the former, and that's going to make my head explode.

ConstableRabbit · January 12, 2009

Why do you suspect that?

waffle · January 12, 2009

I could be hallucinating, but I seem to remember Hendry saying this exact thing, before Derosa was traded (or was it someone attributing it to Hendry?). So I was not in the least bit surprised when he was traded. It was guaranteed.

Illini Iceman · January 12, 2009

He did say that, but the extra lefty in the lineup is Bradley in LF and Fontenot at 2B instead of DeRosa in LF and Fontenot at 2B. It has nothing to do with Miles. From everything I have seen Miles was brought here to play against RH, as an insurance policy in case Fontenot can't handle the more regular playing time and to replace some of the versatility DeRosa had in his ability to play so many different positions.

jersey cubs fan · January 12, 2009

Bradley is not an extra LH bat. The Cubs had Fukudome and Edmonds in the OF last year. They aren't anymore lefthanded by adding Bradley while losing Edmonds. And how much of an increase in PA do people think Fontenot is going to get? He was already up near 300 PA last year. I see very little chance for him to get past 400-450. Taking DeRosa out and adding Miles is what the Cubs have done to become more left handed than they were last year.

RynoRules · January 12, 2009

Just want to chime in and say that I also completely disagree. They did it to save money, plain and simple. Now, whether that is a cost savings that is going towards the bottom-line or towards another SP is a different matter.

jersey cubs fan · January 12, 2009

That is nuts.

It is so far the only "more lefthanded" change they've made in the offseason of going left handed, and they didn't even save all that much money. A couple million this year but no more than a couple hundred thousand over the course of the contracts.

RynoRules · January 12, 2009

I guess time will tell, but I still think you are dead wrong and just frustrated.

jersey cubs fan · January 12, 2009

Time will tell what?

Dead wrong about what?

Hendry stated a goal of getting more left handed. He replaced Jim Edmonds with a fragile Milton Bradley, that doesn't make them more left handed. He replaced Mark DeRosa with Aarond Miles, that does make them more left handed. He said the reason we did this was because we wanted to get more left handed. There's nothing to disagree with there.

CubColtPacer · January 12, 2009

Looking at other platoon players around the league, it doesn't look like 450 plate appearances for Fontenot is out of line in the slightest. That's 165 more plate appearances from the left side than last year.

Do you really think Miles will get more than 165 plate appearances as a left-handed batter? I don't know where all those will be coming from. He'll get a few random starts at 2B against a right-handed pitcher, possibly a few at SS, and a few at third. Almost certainly not enough to hit the 165 mark.

And the whole point of this left-handed obsession by Hendry is that the Cubs were supposedly not left-handed enough in the playoffs. The Cubs playoff lineups only had 2 left-handers in the starting lineup each game. This years version has 3. That is why Fontenot is the key component and not Miles, because this year in the playoffs both Fontenot and Fukudome will be starting instead of just 1 of them.

RynoRules · January 12, 2009

He got Miles to backfill DeRosa's utility role (arguably a bad idea, but whatever), not to be "more lefthanded". Miles is a switch hitter who hits slightly better right-handed. (Miles 2008 splits). If Hendry simply wanted a lefthanded MIF'er to replace DeRosa he could have easily acquired someone else (for example, Ray Durham, Craig Counsell, Luis Rivas, etc.) . The reason he signed Miles is that he can play several positions.

Hendry next replaced DeRosa's offensive production with Bradley (lefthanded), thereby moving Fukudome into the platoon role formerly occupied by Edmonds. In so doing he freed up money either: a) to put in the new owner's pocket; or b) to use in obtaining another SP.

I get that you don't agree, but to say there is nothing to argue about is a sure sign that you are just peeved at Hendry, which is fine, BTW.

CubinNY · January 12, 2009

I agree with Goony. Hendry does what his manager asks him to do. Lou wants to get younger and more "athletic" and of course more left handed. They never much cared for DeRosa at second or they wouldn't have played him all over the field. Playing him all over the field also probably cost more runs over the long haul. I can't say I was a strong DeRosa fan, but I like him a helluva lot more than the Miles/Fontenot platoon.

umpunk · January 12, 2009

Which goes without saying - I would be willing to bet a good sum of money that most people (if given a choice) would prefer DeRosa as their opening 2nd baseman this year over Miles/Fontenot. Of course, that's not really the question - the main question is do you like DeRosa at 2nd, Johnson in CF, Marquis as a 5th starter, and Fukudome in RF a "helluva lot more" than a Miles/Fontenot platoon at 2nd, Fukudome/Johnson platoon in CF, Bradley in RF, 3 decent minor league prospects, Marshall as your 5ths starter, and 2 million (give or take) in extra cash. That question makes Hendry almost appear to know what he is doing, big "no no" around these parts. So yeah, let's all just assume this babble that Hendry decided he wanted Miles, who could hit left handed, over the right hand hitting DeRosa.

CubinNY · January 12, 2009

Yes.

Edit: You are providing a false choice, but I still say yes.

CubColtPacer · January 12, 2009

How do you get to the conclusion that DeRosa playing multiple positions showed that they weren't comfortable with him at 2nd? DeRosa playing multiple positions was purely a function of how the Cubs built their bench over the last two years.

They had 5 bench players.

1) A hitting 1st baseman who is incredibly poor at any other position (Ward/Hoffpauir)

2) A platoon CF that hits left-handers (Pagan/Johnson)

3) A backup SS (Izturis and Cedeno)

4) A backup C (Blanco/Hill/Soto/everyone else in 07)

5) A backup second baseman (Fontenot)

As you can see, the Cubs had no options on the bench to legitimately backup either corner OF or 3B. They moved DeRosa to other positions because that got one of their best bench hitters into the lineup and their only other legitimate hitter on the bench couldn't play defense.

I also don't see how it cost the Cubs runs. Are you saying that having Cedeno play 3B when Ramirez goes down, Johnson/Pie playing LF or RF last year, and DeRosa playing 2nd would have been better than DeRosa playing those positions and Fontenot playing 2nd?

CubinNY · January 12, 2009

It cost them runs by having him play out of position. DeRosa is not an outfielder. But I really have no idea how Hendry or Lou think. It makes little sense to me to value "versatility"

I also don't think that Fontenot is going to hit enough to be an every day player and by June Miles will be starting and they'll be in the market for a 2nd baseman, but that remains to be seen.

CubColtPacer · January 12, 2009

His reputation and defensive metrics both indicate that DeRosa was an average OF defensively. Just because that's not the position he was slotted into originally doesn't mean he can't play it.

And even if DeRosa was below average defensively, the Cubs gained a lot at the plate by having him move around the last 2 years. They consistently got the best hitters they had into the lineup. Isn't that offensive advantage worth one player defensively, especially when the Cubs didn't exactly have other good options there?

As for versatility, I thought the Cubs did right with it last year. If you can find a productive versatile player, that means that you can structure the rest of your team to fit the holes. The Cubs last year were one of the least versatile teams you will ever see. Their bench was filled with specialists, people who did one thing well and didn't fit into anything but very specific roles. The Cubs were able to hide the weaknesses of many of their players last year, and DeRosa played a huge role in that.

If Miles being on the team allows the Cubs to keep Hoffpauir, then his versatility will also provide a little bit of value. Even then though, the versatility of Miles is mostly wasted because he's not a productive player. It doesn't do you much good to be versatile when you only provide any value at 1-2 of the positions you play.

As for Fontenot, I think he has a good shot at being average (.740-.750 OPS) even if he isn't going to be special.

Bradley Signs with Cubs 3/$30 million (p. 33)

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