Wrigley Rat

Except he will be handed the 5th OFer job, which is pretty much the same thing. He was never going to platoon with Fukudome, since they are both lefties.

no carpenter??? i'd think he'd have to make the top 14. Throw him into the top 15, but where he fits 11-15 is up for debate for me. I have a few concerns for him: - he has been a year too old for his levels, until AA last year where he went 0-3 and posted just average numbers, - his numbers in college never showed much (I know about his injury history...), - I think guys like Rhee, Archer, and Raley may ultimately have better stuff, Reasons for including Archer, Rhee, and Raley: - Chris Archer was amazing at Peoria last year as a 20 year old. More K's than IP, very few hits, 0 HR's in 109 IP. - Dae-Eun Rhee was the Cubs #4 prospect last year and had success in 40 IP at Peoria. High signing bonus/solid scouting reports. I'm a little worried about how he recovers from surgery, though. - Brooks Raley had a good college career, high signing bonus, and is a lefty with great stuff. - Chris Carpenter seems to fit well in that group - which order would people put these four guys & why??? For now, I think you have to go by their most recent accomplishments. Which, for me would put them Carpenter, Archer, Rhee, and Raley, in that order. Carpenter had a very solid year and although his age is a tad high, he's been hurt some, which contributes to that. Archer was great last year, although I would have liked to see him go deeper into some games. Hopefully that happens this year. Rhee WAS great in 2008, but now is a question mark obviously. Raley would be last for me, because we really have nothing to go on of him, other than college. After the upcoming season though, I'm going to predict we look at these guys in THIS order here......Archer/Raley/Rhee/Carpenter. If Archer has a good year at Daytona, he'll start moving up lists quickly. I DO think Raley will succeed, especially with him concentrating on pitching for the first time in his career. I have no idea what to think of Rhee, other than AZ Phil's reports at the end of the season. I figure he comes back but won't have his true stuff until 2011. And although I have Carpenter 1st if I rank them right now, I don't see him staying healthy enough longterm to where we can count on him for anything more than middle relief. This explains my thoughts perfectly - thanks Davell. I'm just trying to stay ahead of the curve! BA does the same thing. They give some credit to a player's "stuff" and some credit to their accomplishments. That's how a Hak-Ju Lee makes it into a Top 10 list before he has any experience (last year). His ceiling is higher than the ceiling + the accomplishments of others in our system. But I do also agree that experience should be taken strongly into consideration, which is why it can be argued that Carpenter, Archer, Rhee, and Raley could be in any order.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/jays-gm-sticks-to-his-guns/article1434416/Take it for what it's worth.

no carpenter??? i'd think he'd have to make the top 14. Throw him into the top 15, but where he fits 11-15 is up for debate for me. I have a few concerns for him: - he has been a year too old for his levels, until AA last year where he went 0-3 and posted just average numbers, - his numbers in college never showed much (I know about his injury history...), - I think guys like Rhee, Archer, and Raley may ultimately have better stuff, Reasons for including Archer, Rhee, and Raley: - Chris Archer was amazing at Peoria last year as a 20 year old. More K's than IP, very few hits, 0 HR's in 109 IP. - Dae-Eun Rhee was the Cubs #4 prospect last year and had success in 40 IP at Peoria. High signing bonus/solid scouting reports. I'm a little worried about how he recovers from surgery, though. - Brooks Raley had a good college career, high signing bonus, and is a lefty with great stuff. - Chris Carpenter seems to fit well in that group - which order would people put these four guys & why???

1 - Starlin Castro 2 - Josh Vitters 3 - Andrew Cashner 4 - Brett Jackson 5 - Jay Jackson 6 - Kyler Burke 7 - Hak-Ju Lee 8 - D.J. LeMahieu 9 - Ryan Flaherty 10 - Welington Castillo Just missed: - Brooks Raley - Chris Archer - Logan Watkins - Dae-Eun Rhee

The Florida Marlins signed OF Jeff Pruitt. The Cubs signed Pruitt on June 15 as their 23rd-round pick, but they voided the contract shortly thereafter, making him a free agent. This is the first we've heard of him since. - BA

1. Anything you've heard to put Patton in the rotation? 2. I wonder if Jackson would start at AA, since he had some conflict with Sandberg last year (when he was demoted).

Great discussion everyone! I started this thread to get this discussion going. I agree with a lot of everyone's thoughts. And actually, I had also thought about some of them like Coleman at AAA. Everyone is helping me revise my guesses - thanks!

So where will everyone be assigned this year? Who is ready to skip a level? Who is repeating? Here are my thoughts (but they will probably change once non-roster invitees are announced)... Chicago: Geovany Soto Koyie Hill Derrek Lee Mike Fontenot Ryan Theriot Aramis Ramirez Andres Blanco Jeff Baker Alfonso Soriano Marlon Byrd Kosuke Fukudome Sam Fuld Reed Johnson Carlos Zambrano Ryan Dempster Ted Lilly Randy Wells Tom Gorzelanny Sean Marshall Carlos Silva John Grabow John Gaub Angel Guzman Jeff Gray Mike Parisi Carlos Marmol Iowa: Steve Clevenger Chris Robinson Bryan LaHair Tony Thomas Darwin Barney Marquez Smith Matt Camp Blake Lalli Tyler Colvin James Adduci Brad Snyder Andrew Cashner Jay Jackson Thomas Diamond Jeff Samardzija Esmailin Caridad Jeremy Papelbon Greg Reinhard James Russell Scott Maine Blake Parker Justin Berg David Patton Jeff Stevens Vince Perkins - released J.R. Mathes - released Ezequiel Astacio - released Micah Hoffpauir - released Matt Matulia - DL (player-coach) Tennessee: Welington Castillo Robinson Chirinos Ryne White Jake Opitz Starlin Castro Josh Vitters Jonathan Mota Russ Canzler Matt Spencer Tony Campana Ty Wright Brandon Guyer Chris Carpenter Casey Coleman Hung-Wen Chen Craig Muschko Mitch Atkins Marco Carrillo Luke Sommer Dustin Sasser Alex Maestri Marcos Mateo Brian Schlitter David Cales Todd Blackford - released Mark Reed - released Daytona: Michael Brenly Luis Flores Rebel Ridling Ryan Flaherty D.J. LeMahieu Jovan Rosa Nathan Samson Marwin Gonzalez Robert Wagner Jason James Brett Jackson Kyler Burke David Macias Chris Archer Jeff Beliveau James Leverton Ryan Searle Rafael Dolis Mike Perconte Oswaldo Martinez Ryan Buchter Chris Siegfried Hank Williamson Dan McDaniel Manolin DeLeon Chris Huseby Jake Muyco - released Austin Bibens-Dirkx - not sure if he's still here? John Contreras - released Greg Rohan - released Mario Mercedes - released Peoria: Richard Jones Jose Guevara Charles Thomas Logan Watkins Hak-Ju Lee Derek Helenihi Junior Lake Jordan Petraitis D.J. Fitzgerald Francisco Guzman Jose Valdez Nelson Perez Brandon May Aaron Shafer Justin Bristow Dae-Eun Rhee Ronny Morla Robert Hernandez Austin Kirk Jeff Antigua Alberto Cabrera Chris Rusin Brooks Raley John Mincone Timothy Clubb Josh Whitlock - not all of these guys can make the team, but some combination... Yohan Gonzalez Josh Lansford Dionis Nunez Kevin Kreier Ken McNutt Justin Bour - released

Casey Coleman has been invited to spring training. http://www.news-press.com/article/20100110/SPORTS/1100357/1075/Mariner-grad-Coleman-gets-early-gift

I'm just searching for some info about LaHair, and here are some edited down articles/comments... http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mariners/2008/07/lahair_up_hulett_down.html http://bleacherreport.com/articles/231793-heres-a-thought-bryan-lahair-deserves-another-shot http://projectprospect.com/article/2006/11/09/prospect-profile-bryan-lahair http://prospectinsider.wordpress.com/2007/03/07/no-8-bryan-lahair-1b/

1B - Bryan LaHair http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2010/01/cubsnews010910.php

Not sure if this has been confirmed, but Brad Snyder is most likely one of the non-roster invitees. http://muskat.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/01/1810_winter_ball_update.html

Just reading some of the rumors around and I noticed one about the Cubs inquiring about Jason Fraser from the Blue Jays. I've never seen him pitch, but my gut tells me he would be a bad idea. His numbers indicate he is a ROOGY who does well at home on turf. He's in his last year of arbitration eligibility and is coming off of a solid year, so he's likely to make around $3,000,000 as a relief pitcher. He would likely be gone after this year. He seems to have terrible endurance issues - he rarely works more than an inning in relief (and tires if he does), and his statistics on back-to-back days, one day off, and two days off have been bad for years. He needs to work an inning or less and then get three days off in order to be successful. This is why he has only pitched around 50 innings each year. :( Not worth even a low-level prospect to me.

I don't strongly disagree with you, but Johnson would not get many AB's in that platoon. Usually, the lefty in a platoon gets paid more than the righty since they get more AB's. Fuld doesn't really deserve 450 AB's next year. Maybe he will after another nice showing as our 4th OF'er. Johnson also was not a great solution as a leadoff hitter IIRC. I wouldn't mind letting Colvin, Fuld, Adduci, and Hoffpauir duke it out in spring training. The most valuable member of that group would start in right or center (Fukudome can still play CF if need be). Perhaps you could convince me that a Reed Johnson/Fuld/Hoffpauir platoon could work, but I think that money ($3 millionish) could be better spent elsewhere (2B, SP, RP). Of course, if he accepted $2 million, I'd have to do it assuming he's healthy. The lineup would then look something like this: 1 - Fukudome/Fuld 2 - Theriot 3 - Lee 4 - Ramirez 5 - Soriano 6 - Johnson/Fukudome/Hoffpauir 7 - Baker/Fontenot 8 - Soto

I'd like the Cubs to look at the following pitchers for our bullpen: - Octavio Dotel, - Will Ohman (coming off shoulder surgery last June), - Russ Springer (who is very old!), - Jose Valverde (one can dream), and I would only sign them if we got them cheap. Here is what I would pay: - Valverde: up to 4 years at $5 million each. - Dotel: 2 years at $3.5 million each. - Springer: 1 year at $2 million. - Ohman: 1 year at $1.5 million and $1.5 million in incentives. I guess I'm bored - If we can't get Calero, then Dotel would also be nice for the back end of our bullpen. Valverde would be a great prize if his market fizzles - I'll give him the closer's job and tell Marmol to suck it up! :)

So here are some thoughts and notes on Kiko Calero: http://www.60ft6in.com/Marlins.html http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/C/Kiko-Calero.shtml Had shoulder surgery in 2007, resulting in a lost season in 2008 (and a poor season in 2007). My thoughts: I like him a lot and have since his days in St. Louis, but his fastball is extremely hittable, and he throws it a lot. He relies on spotting his fastball outside of the hitting zone, but his walk totals were up a bit last year. That could be a bad sign of things to come, despite the excellent numbers. But just like Carlos Marmol, when you give up so few hits, you are bound to walk somebody. I see Calero as a similar pitcher to Michael Wuertz, with less of a fastball, but slightly better control. His numbers against the Cubs last year are amazing in limited action. His splits are also favorable for pitching with the Cubs (day, away, grass, etc.). In 2007, he made $1,600,000 and that was his highest salary in his career. He had four previous seasons of excellent work, was young(ish) and was becoming a late inning guy (23 holds in 2006). Now he will be 35 in 2010. Despite reports that he is seeking a big payoff (aren't we all), I don't see many teams offering that. I'd offer him his choice of these contracts: 1 year deal at $2.75 million plus $.5 million in incentives based on games played and innings pitched 1 year deal at $2.75 million plus a team option for 2011 at $3.25 million or a $.25 million buyout 2 year deal at $5.5 million (2010: $2.75 million, 2011: $2.75 million) 3 year deal at $7.5 million (2010: $2.5 million, 2011: $2.5 million, 2012: $2.5 million) I think that is his market value, but as time passes, I think he loses value. My values were slightly higher before making some adjustments. If anyone pays more than this, I would think they overpaid. And as many have stated here and in other threads, spending this type of money on the bullpen isn't a great idea with all the arms we have at AAA. I just like the idea of having a few veteran arms towards the back of the bullpen. If Calero signs some time in February or later, I think those numbers would have to be lower and probably only a one-year contract.

It's official - he has signed a one-year deal with the Nationals. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091223&content_id=7851706&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

I think signing Capps is a bit of a risky move after a nearly 6.00 ERA last year (even if his other numbers were decent). He's never been dominant - just solid. I would be fine with a one year contract at $3.5 million with $.5 million in incentives. If you can work in a team option for similar money next year with a small buyout, I'd be all right with that too. But at two years, I'd be more likely to offer $2.5 this year and $3 next year and I'm guessing he'd be better off taking the Nationals gig, closing out some games, and trying to cash in next year.

Buster Olney reports that the Washington Nationals are finalizing terms of a deal, but Capps' agent says, no. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4768894

I guess it is being confirmed that there was at least a discussion about Zambrano heading to the Yanks. We would have accepted Kei Igawa's two years at $4 million per year contract in the deal.

Here's my best attempt at it: - Carlos Silva makes $11.5M in 2010, $11.5M in 2011, and has a $12M mutual option with a $2M buyout in 2012. - Milton Bradley makes $9M in 2010 and $12M in 2011. In 2010, we are paying $2.5M more than before the trade. In 2011, we are paying $.5M less than before the trade. In 2012, we are paying $2M more than before the trade. With Seattle giving us $5.5M in 2010 and $3.5M in 2011, here is the annual savings: - In 2010, we will save $3M overall. - In 2011, we will save $4M overall. - Before the 2012 season, we will pay $2M more than before. Total savings: $5M.

Released: RHP Erik Hamren, RHP Billy Muldowney, RHP George Pineda, LHP Jayson Ruhlman, LHP Melvin Vasquez - as per BA. Muldowney must not have recovered from surgery. Ruhlman is a bit of a shock for me, although his age caught up with him.

I would prefer to not trade Zambrano, but if a trade could be worked out like this, I would consider it: Yankees get: Carlos Zambrano Carlos Silva Solid Prospect Cubs get: Robinson Cano (who is great but overpaid in 2012 and 2013) Melky Cabrera (who I think is a 4th OF'er) a lower level pitching prospect The Cubs get a middle of the lineup lefty (Cano) for four years, a replacement level CFer, and salary relief. The Yankees get a top of the rotation starter and a solid prospect. I don't think it would happen, but that's what I would need to make the trade.

Do the Red Sox want Carlos Silva? :(