HoopsCubs

Can he play RF?

Tampa seems very active. Maybe we wil end up getting Crawford. :lol: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3131988&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines "In addition to the Young deal, the Rays are also moving toward a deal to sign reliever Troy Percival, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports."

I'm pretty sure Burrell is a right-handed hitter. But to your point, Burrell is due to make around $14M in 2008, his walk year. If the Phillies took back Marquis - $16.25M over 2 years, I'd take it.

Crasnick implies the Cubs are listening to offers. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove07/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=3131579 "Even if the Cubs don't trade Prior, there have been some rumblings that they're listening on Jason Marquis. After a strong start last season, Marquis posted an unsightly 5.73 ERA after the All-Star break. The Cubs owe him $16.25 million over the next two years, and he didn't exactly ingratiate himself with manager Lou Piniella with his performance down the stretch."

What might help seal a two year deal for the Prior camp is if the Cubs offered a tiered vesting option for 2009 based on games started or innings pitched in 2008: $6M for x, $8M for y, $10M for z.

EJ, What are you saying - I love you guys! And, to be clear: I'm not saying I know Hendry has inquired about him rather I'm saying I suspect Hendry has inquired about him. If memory serves, Hendry likes the guy. And if dough was not an issue, I'd certainly take his productivity over Ryan Theriot's. For grins, check out Wilson's stats in August and September.

I have no doubt that Hendry has also inquired about Jack Wilson.

Lots of good rumors in Ken's column namely that Joe Nathan is very available. Fire sale in Minny? http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7498162

UPDATED November 26, 2007 With the news of Kerry Wood signing, here's the payroll situation: $16M Carlos Zambrano $14M Alfonso Soriano $13M Derrek Lee $15M Aramis Ramirez $8M Ted Lilly $5.833M Ryan Dempster (Free agent after 2008 season) $6.375M Jason Marquis $4.75M Mark DeRosa $4.5M Bob Howry (Free agent after 2008 season) $4.133M Scott Eyre-PLAYER OPTION (Free agent after 2008 season) $3.175M Henry Blanco $1.6M Will Ohman (Free agent after 2008 season) $1.2M Darryl Ward $2.0M CASH sent to Detroit in Jacque Jones trade $4.2M Kerry Wood To-date, the Cubs have 14 players under contract with an obligation of $103.8M. Taking it one step further: assuming the following 9 signings (first 2 arbitration eligible, next 7 league minimun): $0.9M Michael Wuertz $1.4M Omar Infante $0.415M Ryan Theriot $0.415M Felix Pie $0.415M Geovanni Soto $0.415M Matt Murton $0.415M Rich Hill $0.415M Carlos Marmol $0.415M Kevin Hart Another $5.2M. So, the Cubs would now have 23 players at $109M. Assuming a payroll of $120M, the Cubs should have $11M to spend on 2 more players (3 if you want to include Mark Prior). I believe those 2 players will follow one of these 2 scenarios: (1) A starting left-handed hitting RF or CF (with Theriot starting at SS) and a right-handed pinch hitter with power to complement Darryl Ward (2) A starting SS (with Theriot to the bench) and a cheap left-handed hitting RF to platoon with Murton Hoops

Think about it. Torii Hunter is going to get 6 years and $90M (if the rumor is true). It makes Jacque Jones' 3 year deal for $16M a few years back look almost reasonable.

\:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ \:D/ With this news, of course, Hendry being so focused on wanting speed and a left-handed bat, he will now overpay for Carl Crawford.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/658098,hunter111907.article "Sources both in the Sox organization and the camp of free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter have told the Sun-Times that the two sides could be signing a contract within the week."

Definitely feels like they're getting ready to trade an arm for a bat. But I wonder if they might be thinking about Tejada since he would cost less than Miguel Cabrera in terms of players/prospects.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/11/18/fishing_for_a_big_marlin/?page=5 Got this from the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo's column. "Fixer-uppers for sale There's going to be a market for three rehab guys: Bartolo Colon, Kris Benson, and Matt Clement. Benson, whose $7 million option was not picked up by the Orioles, is drawing a lot of interest, while Clement is being sought by at least the Padres and Royals. Colon is unlikely to return to the Angels, but teams looking for a fifth starter (Giants, Cubs, White Sox, Phillies) might take a flier on him."

Funny, I saw this trade and actually had an optimistic thought. Based on the fact that Hendry and Beane have made trades with each other before, I was thinking Scutaro's exit gives Hendry a great opportunity to trade Beane one of his surplus middle infielders. Scutaro started a decent number of games at 2B, SS and 3B last year, so I would think the A's would need a backfill. It's clear Scutaro was dealt for financial reasons: he made $1.55M in 2007 and is arbitration eligible for 2008. Maybe Ronny Cedeno gets dealt here for a decent pitching prospect.

According to Rosenthal and Rogers, having speed and a left-handed bat in the infield seems to be a priority. I like Castillo more than Matsui. I guess DeRosa seems destined to play RF and a little bit of 3B/1B to give Lee and Ramirez the occasional day off. If these above moves go through, it would also indicate that if the Cubs get Fukodome or Crawford, they would be playing CF.

In case it wasn't in another thread... http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7445434?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49 "The Cubs and Padres are among the teams showing interest in Jenkins, along with the Giants, Rangers and Royals." Hoops

They probably shouldn't laugh too loud, because they still suck. So, Boras did the Rangers a favor by getting ARod to opt out. Does that now mean that the Rangers owe Boras a favor, i.e., sign his client, Andruw Jones, to an over-rated/over-inflated contract?

UPDATED November 14, 2007 In reading what you guys wrote, I think it's a good idea to do an update with the pro-rated signing bonuses included plus the latest changes: $16M Carlos Zambrano $14M Alfonso Soriano $13M Derrek Lee $15M Aramis Ramirez $8M Ted Lilly $5.833M Ryan Dempster (Free agent after 2008 season) $6.375M Jason Marquis $4.75M Mark DeRosa $4.5M Bob Howry (Free agent after 2008 season) $4.133M Scott Eyre-PLAYER OPTION (Free agent after 2008 season) $3.175M Henry Blanco $1.6M Will Ohman (Free agent after 2008 season) $1.2M Darryl Ward $2.0M CASH sent to Detroit in Jacque Jones trade To-date, the Cubs have 13 players under contract with an obligation of $99.6M. Taking it one step further: assuming that Michael Wuertz and Omar Infante (eligible for arbitration at $1.0M and $1.5M estimated), and Ryan Theriot, Felix Pie, Geovanni Soto, Matt Murton, Rich Hill, Carlos Marmol and Kevin Hart (all league minimum at 0.415M) have some role on the 25 man roster, that's another $5.4M. So, the Cubs would now have 22 players at $105M. With the report today by Paul Sullivan that Hendry's expected payroll is $120-125M, that gives the Cubs $15-20M to spend on 3 more players (4 if you want to include Mark Prior). I believe those 3 players will be one of these 2 scenarios: (1) Kerry Wood, a right-handed pinch hitter with power to complement Ward and a starting left-handed hitting RF or CF (in which case Theriot or Infante will start at SS) (2) Kerry Wood, a starting SS and a cheap left-handed hitting RF to platoon with Murton Hoops

Silva crossed my mind only because some rumor mills have linked him to the Cubs. But, instead of committing 4 years and ~$40M to Silva, I wonder if Hendry might target a 1 year deal on a guy like Andy Pettitte.

He just turned 26. Guys who are currently just 26 tend to become a little more than what they have been before that age. I would guess he could easily morph into a 25-30 HR hitter, given his age, and he could very easily surpass 30 once or twice in his career. His OBP is AVG driven, and that's his biggest weakness. I'm not sure why anybody would flinch at trading "anything of high value". I wouldn't throw the farm at him, no way. Cabrera is the type of franchise player you throw the farm at. But there's nothing wrong with giving up considerable value for a guy like Crawford. If the Cubs are thinking about trading Hill for Crawford, they may also be thinking about signing a free agent pitcher to take Hill's place in the rotation.

I hear the Rays are looking to sign him.

Here's a thought if the Cubs can't sign Fukodome. Hendry's supposedly been enamored with RF Shawn Green in the past. Green's stats against right-handed pitching in 2007 (approx. 360 plate appearances): .326 .383 .482 .865. Hendry can probably sign him to a 1 year deal for around $4M and let Murton play RF against left-handed pitching. Hoops That would be an incredibly depressing offseason. Green's numbers vs RH last year may be a bit flukish, he didn't hit that way in 2006. And it was basically just a few extra singles falling in, as he didn't hit for any power. When you end up with Shawn Green as your starting left fielder, something has gone horribly wrong. This would be a huge step int he wrong direction. Too old, too slow. I guess I have to disagree. In over 1250 plate appearances against right-handed pitching over the last 3 years (2005-2007), Green's OPS is .841. I'll take that production for $4M. I'm talking one year deal here.

Here's a thought if the Cubs can't sign Fukodome. Hendry's supposedly been enamored with RF Shawn Green in the past. Green's stats against right-handed pitching in 2007 (approx. 360 plate appearances): .326 .383 .482 .865. Hendry can probably sign him to a 1 year deal for around $4M and let Murton play RF against left-handed pitching. Hoops

Triple B, You might be right in the end - I'm just not there yet.