seanhopper

< As Rosenthal notes, it's not clear if they will ask him to play left field or take over for Jacoby Ellsbury in center. Cameron, 36, is among the best defenders in the game and hit .250/.342/.452 with 24 home runs, 32 doubles and a .795 OPS in 544 at-bats this past season for the Brewers. >> Well it appears a Cubs target may be off the market. A good move for a team like the Red Sox.

According to an article in New York Daily News, Piniella is disappointed that the Cubs could not acquire Granderson. He believes he'll have a better OBP outside of the Tiger's line-up, as do other's in the Yankees organization. The Cubs can still add an outfielder that can bat 5th (as Piniella mentions he wants) in Cameron, but he's a righty vs. Granderson who's a lefty. <<"Our primary need is an outfielder who can hit fifth, and Granderson was our No. 1 choice," Piniella said Wednesday. "There was just no way we could get him, and once again the Yankees swooped in and got their man. I know he struck out a lot, but that's the product of being in that lineup over in Detroit where they all come out swinging. He probably tried to do too much last year and he was trying to pull the ball too much. When he gets over to the Yankees, he'll automatically become more selective just by association." >>

I believe Papelbon was added to the 40 man roster. It appears Clevenger will be taken.

< Milton Bradley has a better shot of succeeding Ted Kennedy than he does of wearing a Red Sox uniform....unless I've completely lost my mind.>> Just posted tonight by Gordon Edes. Sounds like there's no deals left on the table for Hendry other than with Tampa for Pat the Bat. I really hope folks boo and fry Hendry and the other execs at this yrs. Cubs Love Fest. They deserve it.

From the sounds of it, a deal for Edwin Jackson would likely have to center around young, inexpensive pieces rather than Bradley --even with the cubs handling part of his salary. Players who are major league ready (Jeff Stevens, Colvin) or have a few yrs. of service time (Marshall, possibly Fontenot--but he may be too high of a salary now). For the Tiger's to take on Bradley, the Cubs would have to take back one of their expenses pieces --Willis, Bonderman, Maggs.

Not that I would be advocating this deal --but what about Gary Matthews and his 2yr. $23m remaining contract for Bradley? Hendry should --if he's smart--pull out a decent prospect in the deal as well. Bradley is a far better hitter and a few years younger than Matthews -- but defense is important and Matthews' best season was under Jaramillo. Of course, there's the clubhouse issue as well, Matthews is known as a good guy in the game vs. the club house cancer (I personally believe this is overrated --just win and you'll see great chemistry). According to an LA Times article, Matthews believes he's gone from LAA. A deal may make sense --especially compared to some of the other deals I'm hearing, i.e. Wells and his crazy contract.

I know some people that were/are involved in the sale of the Cubs and I was told that Tom Rickett's has a few baseball people in mind that they want to come in and run the club. From there, I only assumed that this "baseball person" would have complete say over the rest of the hirings --GM and Manager. Sandy Alderson sounds like the type of person they would have in mind and in my opinion a solid choice. The problem any of these new hires will have, and it's been discussed quite a bit the last few days in the Chicago papers, is that this team is in a tough position over the next few yrs. because of all of the guaranteed contracts.

Problem is, Hendry will have to use some of this promising youth to bring in the major league ready players Piniella wants to change the teams complexion again for next season. I really wish the Cubs, for once, would wait it out for a real youth movement. I would much rather pull for a struggling young team, than watch a bunch of poor playing vets that have no character.

Why would the Blue Jays do that deal. They would be better off letting the Cubs (in this case) take Rios off of their hands and take nothing back in return. They'll have all the cash and could spend whatever they want next year on a free agent or a trade.

>>ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Alex Rios has been claimed on waivers by an unknown team. The Blue Jays now have three choices: * They can let the claiming team have Rios and the $60MM-plus remaining on his contract. * They can pull him back from waivers and keep him. * They can work out a deal with the claiming team. One executive calls this an "incredible opportunity" for the Blue Jays to shed payroll. >> Wow--someone just stepped into a mess by claiming Alex Rios off waivers. I wonder if Tim Wilken talked Hendry into signing his ex-surprising 1st round draft pick? He bats right handed, so the Cubs probably passed -- I hope. He's set to earn a staggering $12m/yr (including a buyout) over the next 5yrs. His OPS and OBP are poor to say the least --especially for his salary. The Blue Jays may have gotten really lucky.

In San Diego. Pretty sad.

I actually thought it was going to be Gallagher after I read some comments on the trade --something about a major league ready starting pitcher, who already had some experience in the big leagues. It also goes to show that the Padres may have been scouting or interested in Gallagher for sometime. If the Cubs never did the Harden deal last year, I wonder if Gallagher could have been used as the center piece this past offseason in a deal for Peavy. The Cubs could have packaged Gallagher, Patterson, Murton, and a few prospects. This would have filled the Padres need for major league ready players with low salaries.

I haven't seen this posted anywhere yet, so I thought I would start a new topic, but please put it in the International signing thread if need be. According to a baseball prospectus article, the Cubs have interest in Cuban SS Jose Iglesias. In the article, they quote a scout who compares his skills to Ryan Theriot, but with "better hands". http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1311 < A number of teams are interested in Arguelles and Iglesias, but one team is mentioned by every international source I’ve spoken with: the Yankees. Seemingly since the players defected, nearly a year ago while at a Canadian tournament, the players have been tied to the Yankees and many believe they will both end up signing with the Bombers. It won’t be easy for the Yankees, though; expect the other big market clubs and organizations with active Latin operations to enter the fray as well. It’s too early to handicap all the teams that could be involved, but the Cubs are one team that has been mentioned as heavily interested in Iglesias. As a potential late first round pick (if subject to the recent draft), Arguelles would command a bonus of about $1.0-1.3 million, while Iglesias’ 2nd-3rd round projection correlates to a $500,000-$750,000 potential bonus. That being said, Cuban players tend to have their own pay scale, independent of 16-year-old international free agents or domestic draftees, due to the amount of high-level game experience and the refinement most defectors possess. Some sources have suggested the ultimate pay days for these players could be twice or even three times the slot bonuses I’ve suggested. >>

Sounds about right. The Cubs have had some really poor drafts over the last 10yrs. I hope Wilken knows what he's doing, i.e. picking Colvin over Snider in '06. I imagine Harvey was listed as the biggest bust because of where he was drafted (6th) and the level of talent/success of the players that were selected after the Cubs picked him.

This team is becoming worse than the mess we saw in '04. Really sad.

I also just read from Arizona Phil that Tyler Colvin was promoted to AA. Sorry if this was already mentioned.

Interesting mention from an article about Peavy wanting to be a Cub. < Alderson politely declined to comment when asked if he'd be interested in running the Cubs if Ricketts buys the team.>> This is the first I've seen this mentioned. I heard previously that the new owner of the Cubs would be adding a "baseball man" to run the Cubs. I guess Alderson is a candidate. I would hope the Ricketts family would try to get John Schuerolz.

Not only do I believe Selig should be reviewed for turning a "blind eye," I also believe there should be a class action lawsuit brought against MLB and the player's association for allowing this to happen. How many quality minor league players were kept out of the majors because they didn't use performance enhancing drugs? They should all come together and sue MLB and the Players association for the lost income. How many players, who were clean, didn't have the opportunity to earn an income in the MLB because cheaters like Brett Boone stole a spot from them. It's ridiculous.

I just read that the Cubs added Richard Pryer Robnett to the 40 man roster. The Cubs couldn't find a spot for Josh Kroeger, who's practically the same age and has proven himself in AAA, a spot of the 40 man roster, but they reserve one for this guy? This offseason has been extremely frustrating on so many levels. Hendry has really mismanaged his prospects and how to get the best value for them over the last few yrs.

There was a quick blurb on Samardzija in an article from the Tribune (about the Cubs looking at a few Japanese relievers). <<...with Jeff Samardzija getting an opportunity to start in spring training games.>> This is the first I've heard about the Shark getting an opportunity to start. Would he move to the rotation if the Cubs move Marquis?

Don't forget the Cubs have Rule V selection Randy Wells back in Iowa. He's been doing tremendously well and Toronto would likely take him again in a deal for Burnett. The Cubs would likely need to give up Marshall, unless Toronto believes they can turn Hill around.

It appears CF is this years revolving door position for the Cubs. It's reminding me more and more like what happened at catcher last year. Who's next --Fuku, trade?

Edited by mod to delete full article. Please post a link.

This Cub team needs a bit of a attitude makeover (and some offense) more than anything else this offseason. Lee, Ramirez, and Soriano, to an extent. are pretty passive players that don't illicit the gritty, fighting spirit a team like the Red Sox continues to put out there. Lee won in Florida, but he had guys like Lowell who were the spirit of that team. Soriano won a few times in NY, but they had a number of players that filled the leadership role and Ramirez--well, he hasn't been on a championship team--yet. The Cubs have to make changes if they want to win it all--not like they've been doing. I'm not advocating trading Lee or Ramirez, I'm advocating for the Cubs to bring in more passionate players around them.

According to a Trib article, Detroit possibly wants Clay Rapada or Neal Cotts in return. I imagine this will take place after the season when the Cubs can move a player from the 40 man roster. It seems like an awful lot to pay for Monroe--if this is true.