HoopsCubs

I agree with you. He's very valuable as a trade chip, but I'm beginning to think that Hendry wants to go in another direction for 2B. He may be satisfied to go with Hairston, Cedeno or even Nomar. If he wants to make a deal, the guys I think Hendry is interested in trading for are: Soriano and Castillo. And, I do think that if LA makes Jeff Kent available that the Cubs have the cash to take his contract on for one season - kind of a Baker and Kent one year and done reunion. Aug. 31 is Wed - let's say if Hendrydeals him in the next 72 hours.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20050828-9999-1s28padside.html "And what will it take to re-sign the 34-year-old outfielder who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season? A good guess is around $35 million for three seasons." Oh my. Hoops

Of course Paul Kinzer has a good relationship with Hendry! Kinzer is the agent for Aramis Ramirez - yes, the same ARam who was recently signed by Hendry for 4 years and $42M. :) Seriously, if you're a Furcal fan, this is very encouraging news. By the way, it was reported earlier in the week by Bruce Levine that Aramis is good friends with Furcal, and in unofficial, non-tampering way, he was busy chatting up the Cubs, Wrigley, the fans, the city, the bars, etc... Hoops

I assume since we are giving up 7 players for Garrett Anderson, the Angels are paying his whole salary. I like Anderson too, but 7 players for him????? And, doesn't he also have some sort of degenerative/arthritic condition in his knee or ankle, which has put him on the shelf regularly?

Worked on this in the Philly airport last night. Starting line-up: 1. SS-Rafael Furcal-$8.0M-free agent signing 4 years/$32M 2. LF-Matt Murton-$350K-less than 3 years of service 3. 1B-Derrek Lee-$8.7M-under contract-extension for 4 years/$44M starting in 2006 4. RF-Brian Giles-$10.0M-free agent signing 3 years/$30M 5. 3B-Aramis Ramirez-$10.5M-under contract 6. 2B-Todd Walker-$2.5M-option picked up 7. C-Michael Barrett-$4.3M-under contract 8. CF-Felix Pie-$350K-less than 3 years of service Rotation: 9. Carlos Zambrano-$5.0M-1 year salary to avoid arbitration 10. Mark Prior-$2.75M-under contract 11. Barry Zito-$7.2M-under contract-Traded by A's for Corey Patterson, Jerry Hairston and Rich Hill (Cubs also get a prospect) 12. Greg Maddux-$9.0M-option vests 13. Kerry Wood-$12.0M-under contract-Jerome Williams at $350K is the back-up Bullpen: 14. Billy Wagner-$8.0M-free agent signing 3 years/$24M 15. David Riske-$2.5M-Traded by Indians for Sergio Mitre and Todd Wellemeyer 16. Scott Williamson-$2.0M-option picked up 17. David Aardsma-$350K-less than 3 years of service 18. Will Ohman-$350K-less than 3 years of service 19. Roberto Novoa-$350K-less than 3 years of service 20. Michael Wuertz-$350K-less than 3 years of service Bench: 21. C-Henry Blanco-$1.5M-under contract 22. OF-Adam Greenburg-$350K-less than 3 years of service 23. OF-Rob Mackowiak-$1.5M-Pittsburgh non-tenders 24. 2B/SS-Ronny Cedeno-$350K--less than 3 years of service 25. 1B/3B-Russell Branyan-$1.25M-Milwaukee non-tenders Buyout: Jeromy Burnitz-$500K Trades (for a prospect): Glendon Rusch-if he picks up his $2M player option Non-tender: Jose Macias Wave goodbye to free agents: Todd Hollandsworth Neifi Perez Ryan Dempster Matt Lawton Nomar Garciaparra If you add up the salaries, you'll see it's exactly $100M in 2006. The big acquisitions are Furcal, Giles and Wagner through free agency, and Zito and Riske through trade. After 2006, the Cubs will say goodbye to Kerry Wood (buyout $3M), Greg Maddux and Scott Williamson. The $20M they save on those 3 players can be used to give raises to Zambrano, Prior, Zito, Lee and Walker. And, Angel Guzman, Jerome Williams or Ricky Nolasco can join the rotation. Get your hole puncher ready and start poking. Ready Set. Go. Enjoy! Hoops

Vance, it's a hunch at this point.

I think Hendry is going to surprise us with an offseason acquisition to join the rotation. My tea leaves suggest that Barry Zito could be on the radar. Just like the deals Beane did with Mulder and Hudson last year, I think he could do the same with Zito this offseason. It would cost us Corey Patterson and Rich Hill (and perhaps another prospect). And with Wood and Maddux free agents after 2006, there is enough money to sign Zito to an extension. While other GMs are jockeying to get AJ Burnett, Hendry should swoop in and grab Zito while no one else is looking. Hoops

Mr. Miles has some detailed transactional stuff in his column today. http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/sportsstory.asp?id=87204

:lol: Thanks for remembering me!

He may have an affordable option, but he may not fit into Hendry's strategy for 2006. I think his option should be picked up , and then he should be dealt in the offseason. Hendry may view it as he can get more for him now, so he may deal him before September 1. We don't really have any in house options for 2B that could step in right away and produce on a level that Baker/Hendry would be comfortable with, unless they want to start Hairston. I can't see Hendry dealing Walker unless there is an obvious fill in. And you hit the nail on the head. Having Hairston around does give Hendry the ability to deal Walker. Is Hairston better than Walker? Of course not. Is Hairston servicable at 2B? Yes, he is. Could Walker net us something in a trade? I believe so. I think the net-net could be positive. At the very least, it should be explored. I do believe that Hendry will try hard to get Soriano in the offseason, or if he signs Furcal, could even convince Nomar to play 2B, despite the reports today that Nomar wouldn't sign a 3/4 year $27M deal with San Diego last offseason because they wanted him to play 2B.

Would you give Billy Wagner 3 years and $24M? What do you think it will take to sign Giles? I'm thinking somebody will offer him 3 years and $30 million.

He may have an affordable option, but he may not fit into Hendry's strategy for 2006. I think his option should be picked up , and then he should be dealt in the offseason. Hendry may view it as he can get more for him now, so he may deal him before September 1.

Trade Lawton too.

Considering the Yankees are freeing up $15M with Kevin Brown a free agent, and $8.5M with Bernie Williams a free agent, it's hard to see how the Yanks couldn't get Burnett. JMHO.

Erik, I think you are being too generous. I don't think he's in a Cub uniform after the 2005 season. I have it on good authority that Hendry will do everything he can to trade Patterson during the offseason, low value or not. Hendry is absolutely pissed off at Corey's play and attitude since he has returned. And, seeing 5 pitches in 4 at bats last night was just the icing on the cake. Although he probably won't play with the major league team this year, I get the strong sense that the Felix Pie in CF era is set to start in March. Hoops

I'll guess that he ends up in Los Angeles. Though, at this point, I'm not sure if Angels or Dodgers.

If I'm not mistaken, I think I just saw on the ESPN news scroll that Rueter was officially released tonight just 5 days into his designation for assignment. I guess the Giants realized that no team would trade for him, so why prolong the agony for 5 more days. Despite his poor numbers, there do seem to be some teams interested. I heard the Angels name most prominently. Hoops

They picked (1). Hendry is just dreadful sometimes.

Technically speaking, if he's cleared waivers, Hendry can't just claim him per se. If he's cleared waivers, all 29 other teams have a shot at making a deal with the Mariners. He's got 2 player options - $4M in '05 and $4.25M in '06, so any club getting him is on the hook for $8.25M minus whatever a team can get Seattle to pick up. If I'm Seattle, I don't pick up any cash unless I get a stud prospect in return. What trade idea do you have in mind?

I've seen these references off and on the last few weeks. I guess I'd hope that we only have to face him 4 more times against the Giants than have to face him 7 more times against the Astros. "Although he declared it a dead issue, Phil Garner hasn't stopped thinking about San Francisco Giants slugger Moises Alou, whom many within the Astros organization would like to acquire for the pennant stretch." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3315684 Hoops

As usual, Mr. Miles is way ahead of us... http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/cubs.asp?id=84083

It appears Jerry Hairston will be activated day after tomorrow, Friday. What will Hendry/Baker do to get him on the 25 man roster? (1) Send Matt Murton to the minors. (2) Send Todd Wellemeyer to the minors (go to 11 pitchers). (3) Trade a player who has cleared waivers, like Todd Hollandsworth or Todd Walker. (4) Designate a player for assignment. (5) Put a player on the DL. (6) Other Your thoughts? Give us two answers. What you would do, and what you think the Cubs will do. Hoops

Partly due to his great season, but partly also because he plays hard and does the fundamentals right and is so accessible, I think Derrek has just about become the new face of the franchise. Therefore, I think Hendry will sign him to a fair extension before the 2006 regular season gets underway - just a guess. And, by the way, he's so well liked by other players around the league, if Hendry signs him to an extension early in the offseason, it could have some impact on the decision making for a free agent guy like Brian Giles. By the way, I've said it before, I'll say it again - the last place I want to see Giles is with St. Louis or Houston. Both teams have the corner outfielder need and the cash flow to sign him. Hendry should take any reasonable steps he can to increase his probability of getting Giles. Hoops

It's a good question. My estimate is that there is probably finances to do 5 of the 7 moves. All 7 would probably require a payroll in the $115M range. As for Penny, he signed a 3 year extension with LA in June, so he's not available. Similar to what Kenny Williams did this year, Hendry needs to give the Cubs a new look and go in a different direction. Hoops

I just hope Brian Giles doesn't end up in Houston or St. Louis. Both teams probably have the ability to offer 3 years/$27M.