Olney on the Cubs

[Post Count Padder]

ESPN.com's Buster Olney considers some of the problems the Cubs encountered this season and turns up some rumors along the way. Here they are:

 

* Alfonso Soriano's contract is about as untradeable as they come, so what should the Cubs do about it? One talent evaluator believes the Cubs should make it clear to Soriano and Milton Bradley that Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir will play if either veteran falters.

* Christina Kahrl blames the Cubs for relying on older players to win.

* Could the speedy, versatile Chone Figgins be a fit for the Cubs? Jayson Stark wouldn't be surprised to see Figgins sign a three or four-year deal for $11-12MM per season. It's not known whether the Cubs can afford to take on another big contract.

* The Cubs should have the inside track when Rich Harden hits free agency after the season.

 

I know, it's Olney, but I figured I'd post it anyway. If Figgins wants $11-12 per year, we shouldn't even listen.

[manbearcub]

Christina Kahrl blames the Cubs for relying on older players to win.

 

:-))

[dew1679666265]

ESPN.com's Buster Olney considers some of the problems the Cubs encountered this season and turns up some rumors along the way. Here they are:

 

* Alfonso Soriano's contract is about as untradeable as they come, so what should the Cubs do about it? One talent evaluator believes the Cubs should make it clear to Soriano and Milton Bradley that Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir will play if either veteran falters.

* Christina Kahrl blames the Cubs for relying on older players to win.

* Could the speedy, versatile Chone Figgins be a fit for the Cubs? Jayson Stark wouldn't be surprised to see Figgins sign a three or four-year deal for $11-12MM per season. It's not known whether the Cubs can afford to take on another big contract.

* The Cubs should have the inside track when Rich Harden hits free agency after the season.

 

I know, it's Olney, but I figured I'd post it anyway. If Figgins wants $11-12 per year, we shouldn't even listen.

 

Figgins interests me, but not at that price.

[RedFlash]

Figgins interests me, but not at that price.

 

Agreed. $11-12 mill per for a player who has very little power? No thanks. Figgins seems to be the Juan Pierre of this yr's class.

[dew1679666265]

Figgins interests me, but not at that price.

 

Agreed. $11-12 mill per for a player who has very little power? No thanks. Figgins seems to be the Juan Pierre of this yr's class.

 

He's better than Pierre because he has a better OBP and better patience. But I wouldn't give him $11-12 a year.

[RedFlash]

Figgins interests me, but not at that price.

 

Agreed. $11-12 mill per for a player who has very little power? No thanks. Figgins seems to be the Juan Pierre of this yr's class.

 

He's better than Pierre because he has a better OBP and better patience. But I wouldn't give him $11-12 a year.

 

I prefer the other potential 2b FA that plays in the LA area.

[dew1679666265]

Figgins interests me, but not at that price.

 

Agreed. $11-12 mill per for a player who has very little power? No thanks. Figgins seems to be the Juan Pierre of this yr's class.

 

He's better than Pierre because he has a better OBP and better patience. But I wouldn't give him $11-12 a year.

 

I prefer the other potential 2b FA that plays in the LA area.

 

Hudson? I'd be interested in him too.

[Wrigley Rat]

Revisit the Brian Roberts trade talks. I think he could be had this offseason.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Christina Kahrl blames the Cubs for relying on older players to win.

 

:-))

 

Christina Kahrl is the worst.

[SouthSideRyan]

Christina Kahrl blames the Cubs for relying on older players to win.

 

:-))

 

Christina Kahrl is the worst.

 

Buster Olney is worse.

[RedFlash]

Hudson? I'd be interested in him too.

 

Yep. He brings what the Cubs looking for and is good at it. He brings speed to the top of the order, plus he is a "switch hitter", plus gold glove caliber defense at 2B. He isn't the speedster that Figgins is, but I like his all-around game better then Figgins.

[javy knows my name]

I'm not sure I'd want Figgins for 4 years at $12MM total

[C.C.]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

[apete6]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

 

Have you had secret meetings with Tom Ricketts that no one else knows about?

 

For anyone to speculate anything about the Cubs payroll at this point is pretty much ridiculous.

[C.C.]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

 

Have you had secret meetings with Tom Ricketts that no one else knows about?

 

For anyone to speculate anything about the Cubs payroll at this point is pretty much ridiculous.

 

Okay.

[apete6]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

 

Have you had secret meetings with Tom Ricketts that no one else knows about?

 

For anyone to speculate anything about the Cubs payroll at this point is pretty much ridiculous.

 

Okay.

 

Please explain why you don't expect the Cubs to add any payroll then.

[C.C.]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

 

Have you had secret meetings with Tom Ricketts that no one else knows about?

 

For anyone to speculate anything about the Cubs payroll at this point is pretty much ridiculous.

 

Okay.

 

Please explain why you don't expect the Cubs to add any payroll then.

 

 

The new owners (I'm speculating) are going to be busy getting the organization in order first and foremost. I think before they commit to a hike in team salary, I'm going to assume they need time to get a handle on their operations first. Perhaps they come in like gangbusters and blow out the team salary, but I don't see it this off season.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

 

Have you had secret meetings with Tom Ricketts that no one else knows about?

 

For anyone to speculate anything about the Cubs payroll at this point is pretty much ridiculous.

 

Okay.

 

Please explain why you don't expect the Cubs to add any payroll then.

 

The thing is, they shouldnt have to spend big money considering the talent they have. Soriano, Fukudome, and Bradley should all be producing much more tha they have been and we wont be able to move any without gutting a lot of salary. I dont think that 2008 Soto was a fluke, and I can see him stabalizing somewhere between his 2008 and 2009 numbers, say .265/.350/.475 would be acceptable for catcher. If we could get our hands on Hudson or Figgins for cheap or land Brian Roberts in a trade, thats worth looking into, but if not, you could do worse than a Fontenot/Baker platoon at the 8 spot. The only money that I could see spent is if they resign Harden. Otherwsie, Z, Lilly, Dempster, Wells, and Gorz/Marshall is still a solid rotation. PLEASE dont spend money on bench players again. Between Fox, Hoffpauir, Fuld, Blanco, Hill, and Scales, we already can piece a very nice bench offensively and defensively. Let Miles go far, far away. As far as the pen goes, maybe hang on to Heilman, to go along with Marmol, Gooz, Gaub, Caridad, Stevens, and Marshall/Gorz. If we can resign Grabow for cheap, thats fine. If not, let him walk. Dump Miles. Johnson and Gregg both walk.

[apete6]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

 

Have you had secret meetings with Tom Ricketts that no one else knows about?

 

For anyone to speculate anything about the Cubs payroll at this point is pretty much ridiculous.

 

Okay.

 

Please explain why you don't expect the Cubs to add any payroll then.

 

 

The new owners (I'm speculating) are going to be busy getting the organization in order first and foremost. I think before they commit to a hike in team salary, I'm going to assume they need time to get a handle on their operations first. Perhaps they come in like gangbusters and blow out the team salary, but I don't see it this off season.

 

I completely agree with that assessment, but I also think that Ricketts wants to win and realizes that the window on the current team is about to slam shut after next year (Lee probably leaving, Aramis with an opt-out, Lilly's contract up, Theriot (and Marmol?) going to arbitration, etc...) and might want to give it a last shot by wasting money on a guy like Figgins and some older bullpen guys. Personally, I hope they don't do that, but you never know.

[apete6]

I can't see the Cubs taking on any salary this year. Not unless they trade away some players.

 

Have you had secret meetings with Tom Ricketts that no one else knows about?

 

For anyone to speculate anything about the Cubs payroll at this point is pretty much ridiculous.

 

Okay.

 

Please explain why you don't expect the Cubs to add any payroll then.

 

The thing is, they shouldnt have to spend big money considering the talent they have. Soriano, Fukudome, and Bradley should all be producing much more tha they have been and we wont be able to move any without gutting a lot of salary. I dont think that 2008 Soto was a fluke, and I can see him stabalizing somewhere between his 2008 and 2009 numbers, say .265/.350/.475 would be acceptable for catcher. If we could get our hands on Hudson or Figgins for cheap or land Brian Roberts in a trade, thats worth looking into, but if not, you could do worse than a Fontenot/Baker platoon at the 8 spot. The only money that I could see spent is if they resign Harden. Otherwsie, Z, Lilly, Dempster, Wells, and Gorz/Marshall is still a solid rotation. PLEASE dont spend money on bench players again. Between Fox, Hoffpauir, Fuld, Blanco, Hill, and Scales, we already can piece a very nice bench offensively and defensively. Let Miles go far, far away. As far as the pen goes, maybe hang on to Heilman, to go along with Marmol, Gooz, Gaub, Caridad, Stevens, and Marshall/Gorz. If we can resign Grabow for cheap, thats fine. If not, let him walk. Dump Miles. Johnson and Gregg both walk.

 

Completely agree. I would think a responsible/payroll flexible roster for next year would be:

 

C (2): Soto, Hill,

IF (7): Lee, Hoffpauir, Baker, Fontenot, Theriot, Blanco, Ramirez

OF (5): Bradley, Fukudome, Soriano, Fox, Fuld

SP (5): Lilly, Zambrano, Dempster, Wells, Harden (1yr, $8 million with $10million vesting option)

RP (6): Marmol, Marshall, Guzman, Caridad, Stevens, Gorzellany

 

Replace Gorzellany with Grabow if he accepts arbitration. You still have Samardzija, Gaub, Atkins, Berg, etc... on the farm to come up and relieve.

 

That way, you have some flexibility for a midseason trade (Halladay or Dunn?) and don't waste more money on guys like Miles and Gregg.

 

Unfortunately, I think the Cubs are going to go this way:

 

Trade Fox to AL for a mediocre overpaid reliever, resign Grabow to 2/7, resign reed to 2/4, keep Miles around somehow, trade Bradley and still pick up most of his salary, sign a year older Bobby Abreu to a bad contract, trade Zambrano for prospects that don't pan out.

[C.C.]

 

 

 

I completely agree with that assessment, but I also think that Ricketts wants to win and realizes that the window on the current team is about to slam shut after next year (Lee probably leaving, Aramis with an opt-out, Lilly's contract up, Theriot (and Marmol?) going to arbitration, etc...) and might want to give it a last shot by wasting money on a guy like Figgins and some older bullpen guys. Personally, I hope they don't do that, but you never know.

 

Key word right there. After spending close to a billion to buy a team, I'm not sure they are going to be quick to dole out that kind of money on a player that isn't a major impact type of player.

[davell]

I don't see Z getting dealt. I think that IF we are even considering it, we'll stop as soon as we find out that he's not tradeable without us picking up some salary in the process and depending on how much we're picking up, we may not get much in return. I love watching Z, as he's pretty much the most entertaining guy we(or possibly any team in baseball) has. If the opportunity came up to where we could get value for him AND get out from underneath his contract, I think we'd HAVE to explore it. That said, I don't see it happening.

 

I think we will be players for Figgins, just not sure whether we have the funds available to sign him. If not, I see us trying to trade for some "speed" we can lead off with.(unnecessary)Hudson is a possibility as well, I do feel like we will find a leadoff hitter that plays 2B, in other words.

 

Harden, Sheets, or Bedard will most likely be a Cub next year, probably Harden.

 

We'll do whatever we possibly can to trade Bradley, but I doubt we accomplish that ether, because at some point, we'll decide it's not worth paying all or close to it anyway, of his contract.

 

I think we'll keep Grabow(2-6 or so), drop Heilman and Reed, DFA Miles or trade him for some other teams crappy overpaid bullpen guy and bring in some sort of C who has had starting experience in the past. (again unneccessary)

 

Basically, I don't see much changing between now and next season. A new 2B, who can probably leadoff and maybe a different injury-prone SP than Harden. That's about it, since Soto will win the C job back and whoever we sign will be relegated to the bench.

[SouthSideRyan]

My nightmare scenario:

 

Cubs sign Jason Varitek to push Soto, Soto winds up getting about 300 PAs because Tek is a good "game caller"

 

Cubs trade Milton Bradley + a dump truck full of cash for a couple of relief prospects.

 

Cubs trade Zambrano for Magglio Ordonez

 

With all the money saved, the Cubs sign Chone Figgins to a 5/60 deal.

 

With the bump in payroll Cubs sign Jon Garland/Joel Pineiro/Randy Wolf to 4/44.

 

 

What the Cubs should do:

 

Re-sign Rich Harden.

 

Explore a Roberts deal without giving up elite prospects or a Reyes deal while giving up an elite prospect.

 

Kick the tires on DeRosa or Hudson for a 2 year deal. If none of these work stick with what you've got and figure out what you need in the summer.

 

DFA Miles

[Little Slide Rooter]

 

What the Cubs should do:

 

Re-sign Rich Harden.

 

Explore a Roberts deal without giving up elite prospects or a Reyes deal while giving up an elite prospect.

 

Kick the tires on DeRosa or Hudson for a 2 year deal. If none of these work stick with what you've got and figure out what you need in the summer.

 

DFA Miles

 

We agree on something, how about that.

[inari]

You know, DeRosa sounds pretty awesome, but he's been flatout not good as a Cardinal. He's bound to get overpaid and I'm not sure we're going to see that 08 or even 07 DeRosa again.