Grabow in the future

[cubsfan5150]

I believe that he's a FA after the season and at best would be a type B. Let me know if I'm wrong. So, if that is the case, do we re-sign him? I don't think that we're going to find much better in the FA market or our farm system.

[Vanilla Ice]

IIRC, he may be a Type A

[Keener98]

As of 8/22/09 Grabow and Gregg will both be Type A, along with Harden.

 

Heres the link

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19002885/Rankings-082209

[Little Slide Rooter]

I like Grabow, but if hes an FA, Id just assume Marshall be the main lefty out of the pen and see what Gaub can do as well. If not, Im sure we can trade for another Grabow type when needed.

[rawaction]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

[Little Slide Rooter]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

Id defintiely offer Grabow and Harden arb. Gregg, not so much.

[UMFan83]

Grabow is a decent arm that I would be happy to have back on the team if his contract went past this year. But since he's a FA this year, if he does in fact end up as a Type A, I think you'd be an idiot to turn down first round picks for the services of a middle reliever while decent, is a dime a dozen.

[dew1679666265]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

Id defintiely offer Grabow and Harden arb. Gregg, not so much.

 

Why not offer to Gregg? He's more likely to get a multi-year deal and, thus, is also less likely to accept arbitration. He's also better than Grabow, so if he accepts arbitration the money would be better spent on Gregg than Grabow.

 

I would offer to all three of them, for what it's worth. I would prefer to bring back only Harden, however. And Harden only if he came on a 1-2 year, incentive laden deal.

[KingCubsFan]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

Id defintiely offer Grabow and Harden arb. Gregg, not so much.

 

Why not offer to Gregg? He's more likely to get a multi-year deal and, thus, is also less likely to accept arbitration. He's also better than Grabow, so if he accepts arbitration the money would be better spent on Gregg than Grabow.

 

I would offer to all three of them, for what it's worth. I would prefer to bring back only Harden, however. And Harden only if he came on a 1-2 year, incentive laden deal.

If Gregg accepts arbitration, he's set to make a lot more than Grabow. Paying Gregg anything more than half a million to be a middle reliever/mop-up guy would be a complete waste.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

He'd make about 3M in arbitration, that seems like a pretty big risk, especially when he'd be more likely to accept on the heels of last offseason with guys like Cruz going unsigned.

[dew1679666265]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

Id defintiely offer Grabow and Harden arb. Gregg, not so much.

 

Why not offer to Gregg? He's more likely to get a multi-year deal and, thus, is also less likely to accept arbitration. He's also better than Grabow, so if he accepts arbitration the money would be better spent on Gregg than Grabow.

 

I would offer to all three of them, for what it's worth. I would prefer to bring back only Harden, however. And Harden only if he came on a 1-2 year, incentive laden deal.

If Gregg accepts arbitration, he's set to make a lot more than Grabow. Paying Gregg anything more than half a million to be a middle reliever/mop-up guy would be a complete waste.

 

The likelihood of Gregg accepting, though, is quite low. He's a "proven closer" and, thus, is very likely to get a multi-year deal from someone seeking a proven closer. He's not considered a middle reliever/set-up guy like Cruz and others were who weren't signed because of their arbitration status. I could see Grabow accepting, I don't see Gregg accepting. Especially since he won't be a closer on the Cubs next year.

 

But again, he might be overpaid, but getting a solid reliever for 1 year/$6-8 million isn't the worst thing in the world.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

The likelihood of Gregg accepting, though, is quite low. He's a "proven closer" and, thus, is very likely to get a multi-year deal from someone seeking a proven closer.

 

A proven closer who has lost his job in 2 of the 3 years he's been a closer. And in the most recent season he lost it in spectacular fashion. I don't think it's that low that he would accept.

[Tarver]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

Id defintiely offer Grabow and Harden arb. Gregg, not so much.

 

Why not offer to Gregg? He's more likely to get a multi-year deal and, thus, is also less likely to accept arbitration. He's also better than Grabow, so if he accepts arbitration the money would be better spent on Gregg than Grabow.

 

I would offer to all three of them, for what it's worth. I would prefer to bring back only Harden, however. And Harden only if he came on a 1-2 year, incentive laden deal.

If Gregg accepts arbitration, he's set to make a lot more than Grabow. Paying Gregg anything more than half a million to be a middle reliever/mop-up guy would be a complete waste.

 

The likelihood of Gregg accepting, though, is quite low. He's a "proven closer" and, thus, is very likely to get a multi-year deal from someone seeking a proven closer. He's not considered a middle reliever/set-up guy like Cruz and others were who weren't signed because of their arbitration status. I could see Grabow accepting, I don't see Gregg accepting. Especially since he won't be a closer on the Cubs next year.

 

But again, he might be overpaid, but getting a solid reliever for 1 year/$6-8 million isn't the worst thing in the world.

 

Gregg sucks hot, smelly ass. Only an absolute moron of a GM would take the bait, and Jocketty, Sabean, Coletti, and Minaya already have "proven closers" on their respective rosters.

 

Hendry needs to be very careful with this situation.

[dew1679666265]

 

The likelihood of Gregg accepting, though, is quite low. He's a "proven closer" and, thus, is very likely to get a multi-year deal from someone seeking a proven closer.

 

A proven closer who has lost his job in 2 of the 3 years he's been a closer. And in the most recent season he lost it in spectacular fashion. I don't think it's that low that he would accept.

 

Last year he lost it due to injury. The same injury that bothered him to start this year and kept him from warming up and then sitting down, etc. This year is the first year he lost it due to blowing saves and, even then, his overall numbers are still fairly solid.

 

I don't know what teams will need a closer in the offseason, but I suspect any that do will be interested in Gregg. Certainly not at K-Rod money or anything, but better than a one-year arbitration deal. Now if no team is in the market for a closer in the offseason, the odds of him accepting increase - but no team seeking a closer would be odd, I think.

[dew1679666265]

Gregg sucks hot, smelly ass. Only an absolute moron of a GM would take the bait, and Jocketty, Sabean, Coletti, and Minaya already have "proven closers" on their respective rosters.

 

Hendry needs to be very careful with this situation.

 

Gregg actually has been pretty decent. The blown saves are not good and he surrenders too many homers, but his overall stats are fairly solid.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

The likelihood of Gregg accepting, though, is quite low. He's a "proven closer" and, thus, is very likely to get a multi-year deal from someone seeking a proven closer.

 

A proven closer who has lost his job in 2 of the 3 years he's been a closer. And in the most recent season he lost it in spectacular fashion. I don't think it's that low that he would accept.

 

Last year he lost it due to injury. The same injury that bothered him to start this year and kept him from warming up and then sitting down, etc. This year is the first year he lost it due to blowing saves and, even then, his overall numbers are still fairly solid.

 

I don't know what teams will need a closer in the offseason, but I suspect any that do will be interested in Gregg. Certainly not at K-Rod money or anything, but better than a one-year arbitration deal. Now if no team is in the market for a closer in the offseason, the odds of him accepting increase - but no team seeking a closer would be odd, I think.

 

Blahblahblah. People have used this excuse repeatedly but he was healthy enough to pitch but not reliable enough to close. He has never gone through a season where he started as closer and kept the job all season. He's lost it two years in a row. We're still in the midddle of a recession and most big money teams have highly compensated closers in place. I think there's a good chance that accepting arbitration is the best option for Gregg this year.

[dew1679666265]

Blahblahblah. People have used this excuse repeatedly but he was healthy enough to pitch but not reliable enough to close. He has never gone through a season where he started as closer and kept the job all season. He's lost it two years in a row. We're still in the midddle of a recession and most big money teams have highly compensated closers in place. I think there's a good chance that accepting arbitration is the best option for Gregg this year.

 

He was healthy enough to pitch nine times in 23 team games. He didn't pitch on a particularly consistent basis in the final month and he regularly got 5-7 days off in between outings. It was likely the injury that kept him from being reliable enough to close.

 

Also, he'll be 32 midway through next season and each year he takes a one-year deal, he'll be far less likely to get any type of a multi-year deal. His overall numbers will be solid by the end of the year - especially if he pitches through September the way he has most of this year. He's more likely to get a multi-year deal after this season than after he's aged another year and that's likely to factor into his decision as well.

[davearm2]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

He'd make about 3M in arbitration, that seems like a pretty big risk, especially when he'd be more likely to accept on the heels of last offseason with guys like Cruz going unsigned.

Agreed.

 

I gotta imagine other teams would avoid Gregg like the plague if he was Type A and had turned down arb.

 

His agent has got to realize this too, one would think.

 

Gregg probably had his heart set on a big multi-year deal, but hey, so did a lot of us. ;)

[chuckywang]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

You have to offer arbitration to free agents if you want compensation picks if they sign elsewhere. What is the rationale for this? If you don't offer arbitration and free agents sign elsewhere, why don't you get compensation picks in that case?

[CubColtPacer]

Gotta offer him arbitration though, right?

 

You have to offer arbitration to free agents if you want compensation picks if they sign elsewhere. What is the rationale for this? If you don't offer arbitration and free agents sign elsewhere, why don't you get compensation picks in that case?

 

The rationale is that teams only get compensated if they actually want the player to come back. The team shows that they want the player by being willing to offer 1 year for a reasonable amount of money.

 

This standard is similar to other leagues, although it takes very different forms (for example the NFL does restricted free agency with 3 levels of compensation. The more a team is willing to pay a player the more compensation they receive if they lose him.).

[NCCubFan]

The Cubs could offer Gregg arbitration and, if he accepts, release him before his entire salary for the year becomes guaranteed (as the Padres did a few years ago with Todd Walker). They could even tell him that's what will happen to make it less likely that he'd accept.

[KingCubsFan]

Blahblahblah. People have used this excuse repeatedly but he was healthy enough to pitch but not reliable enough to close. He has never gone through a season where he started as closer and kept the job all season. He's lost it two years in a row. We're still in the midddle of a recession and most big money teams have highly compensated closers in place. I think there's a good chance that accepting arbitration is the best option for Gregg this year.

 

He was healthy enough to pitch nine times in 23 team games. He didn't pitch on a particularly consistent basis in the final month and he regularly got 5-7 days off in between outings. It was likely the injury that kept him from being reliable enough to close.

 

Also, he'll be 32 midway through next season and each year he takes a one-year deal, he'll be far less likely to get any type of a multi-year deal. His overall numbers will be solid by the end of the year - especially if he pitches through September the way he has most of this year. He's more likely to get a multi-year deal after this season than after he's aged another year and that's likely to factor into his decision as well.

You say he'll get signed because he's a "proven closer" and then say he should get a multiyear deal in part because his overall numbers will be solid. the numbers don't really matter at this point. His status has a "proven closer" has been forever tarnished. I don't care if he puts up an ERA of 0.00 for the rest of the season, he's now been removed as a closer twice. This year, he was removed as the Cubs went into a tailspin that most likely sunk their season. No GM dumb enough to sign Gregg to a multiyear deal in the first place will make him a closer after what he's done this year. They'll look at blown saves and his closer status and go in another direction.

[Wrigley Rat]

The Cubs could offer Gregg arbitration and, if he accepts, release him before his entire salary for the year becomes guaranteed (as the Padres did a few years ago with Todd Walker). They could even tell him that's what will happen to make it less likely that he'd accept.

I personally think this is a great idea! Way to go NC. I'm not sure why more teams don't do that. Can someone find out what percentage the Cubs would have to pay if they released him by the first deadline? I looked but couldn't find it.

 

I assume Gregg would get around $4,000,000 in arbitration. A first round pick and a compensation pick seem to be worth a million dollar risk to me. (Of course, it's not my money!) It also could end up a 2nd or 3rd rounder depending on how many FA's that team signs.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The Cubs could offer Gregg arbitration and, if he accepts, release him before his entire salary for the year becomes guaranteed (as the Padres did a few years ago with Todd Walker). They could even tell him that's what will happen to make it less likely that he'd accept.

I personally think this is a great idea! Way to go NC. I'm not sure why more teams don't do that. Can someone find out what percentage the Cubs would have to pay if they released him by the first deadline? I looked but couldn't find it.

 

I assume Gregg would get around $4,000,000 in arbitration. A first round pick and a compensation pick seem to be worth a million dollar risk to me. (Of course, it's not my money!) It also could end up a 2nd or 3rd rounder depending on how many FA's that team signs.

 

Gregg's getting 4.2M this year, he'll make at least 5 in arbitration.

[dew1679666265]

You say he'll get signed because he's a "proven closer" and then say he should get a multiyear deal in part because his overall numbers will be solid. the numbers don't really matter at this point. His status has a "proven closer" has been forever tarnished. I don't care if he puts up an ERA of 0.00 for the rest of the season, he's now been removed as a closer twice. This year, he was removed as the Cubs went into a tailspin that most likely sunk their season. No GM dumb enough to sign Gregg to a multiyear deal in the first place will make him a closer after what he's done this year. They'll look at blown saves and his closer status and go in another direction.

 

I'm not saying what should happen, I'm saying what I think is likely to happen. Gregg has posted solid numbers for three straight seasons now, plus he has a career save percentage of 80% - as good as Francisco Cordero who got a 4-year/$46 million contract when he was a year older than Gregg will be next season. Cordero has had better numbers, but I'm not arguing that Gregg will get $10 million a year either. I'm saying 2-3 years, $5-8 million a year isn't unthinkable - and would be better than he'll get in arbitration (similar money, more years).

 

And again, Gregg was removed from his closer's role in 2008 because of an injury. Teams will pay attention to that. He could still pitch, but he could not pitch effectively on a consistent enough basis to be a closer because of the injured knee. He was overall solid in his first four months, despite too many walks in June. Then, in August, his knee started bothering him and he had a bad month. His numbers that month are way out of whack with the rest of the year.