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The thing to keep in mind with the situation the Cubs are in is that we have a lot of decent to good young players coming up from the minors over the next couple of years. Jackson, McNutt, Vitters, Castillo, Whitenack, Struck, LeMaheieu, Flaherty, Cabrera, etc., are all guys who project to be major leaguers of some value, but not a single one projects to be a star. This system and current ML team doesn't lack role player types, we've got a ton. What the Cubs lack is star talent. I don't see how bringing in a bunch more role player types (Maholm, E Jackson, back of the rotation filler, Encarnacion, etc) really helps us much. We'll have young players coming up in the next year or two who will be as good or better than those players (or who can be). What we need is stars, guys who can be part of a core going forward. Those guys cost money, yes, and demand big contracts, yes, but if we're going to contend on a consistent basis at any point, we have to be willing to give star contracts to star players. Wilson, Fielder, Pujols, CC are star players. They aren't Alfonso Soriano and shouldn't be equated as such. Signing Pujols or Prince or Wilson isn't a 1-2 year quick fix. These guys are really likely to be fantastically great players for the next 3-5 years (maybe more for Pujols and Prince). They're long term and short term signings and they're the type of star player we lack and won't have for multiple years going forward given the situation our farm is in. We should absolutely be major players in pursuing every one of them.

Wilson's WAR is 5.9 this year. It's taken 2 and a half seasons for Maholm to match that one for Wilson. In 2 years starting, Wilson has posted a 10.5 WAR combined. In 7 years in the majors, Maholm has posted a 13.8 WAR combined. At 30 years old, Maholm better come super cheap to have any chance of being worth taking over Wilson.

Yeah, it probably won't be real to me until I see Theo on the podium with the Cubs logo in the background. I love Ricketts.

Haha, that is nice (and weird) to say. Personally, I prefer Pujols but if Theo/Hoyer/McLeod go with Fielder instead, I won't be critical.

Two main reasons for the existence and rationality of that belief: Prince's weight vs Pujols' excellent physical fitness and Pujols being a once in a lifetime, transcendent talent.

Kinda surprised the board didn't break when Tim posted the official announcement. Must be because it's late Friday evening.

Sounds like it. I'd say he's officially a Cub now, so there's no reason why he wouldn't do the negotiating.

That's good news if it means less involvement by the Lucchino/Henry duo. If nothing else, Epstein and Cherington could come to an agreement and then Bud would force the owners to sign off on that.

I feel bad that this was the first thing I thought when I saw Tim's post. It seems odd that they'd give out an official release before finalizing completely the compensation issue, but if the compensation issue was completely finalized, why didn't they announce it in the release? I'm guessing Bud got sick of Boston pulling their crap and told them to let Theo go and he'd decide what was fair compensation. I hope Bud doesn't decide what's fair. Maybe he intervened and said they had to go off the closest precedent to this situation? That'd be the MacPhail to the Cubs move.

There's actually a good chance of that happening, I'd think. Unless Moorad goes crazy, it sounds like it'll be a pretty easy transition to get Hoyer and McLeod signed and in town now that Theo's official.

I feel bad that this was the first thing I thought when I saw Tim's post. It seems odd that they'd give out an official release before finalizing completely the compensation issue, but if the compensation issue was completely finalized, why didn't they announce it in the release?

They've claimed they have no interest. That could be posturing, though. Or trying to avoid tampering.

Rumors have also indicated the Rangers are going to be pitcher crazy this offseason too. I think Wilson will be their top priority, though they could be a surprise suitor for either Pujols or Fielder.

It actually would have been a shrewd move then. Epstein's minor league OBP (he was still a minor leaguer at the time) was .414 and his first two years in the majors he was at .355 and .363. Being super cheap at the time, it was a good idea to go after him. He wasn't a great player by any stretch, but he was useful and cheap and was an OBP machine at the time.

I think the bidding will start out with quite a few suitors while it hovers in the $18-22 million range or so, but once it starts getting into the mid-high 20s, I think 2-4 real suitors will remain and everyone else will fall off. There will probably be more than 7-8 making token offers in that initial range, though, I think.

I may be erring in assuming the Red Sox can bump payroll up as necessary if they choose to, much like the Yankees but not to the same degree. In all honesty, I think NL teams will have the inside track on Pujols anyway. I'm pretty sure he prefers playing first rather than DHing and while I think he'll entertain offers from AL teams and use them to boost the overall value of the deal, I think he'll end up in the NL. Fielder's more likely to be in the AL, I think. Something like the Cubs getting Pujols for (throwing out a random amount) 10/280 and then the Angels/Red Sox/Yankees fighting over Fielder at a little less in money and years than Pujols got. I just don't see the Cards being a factor. It'd take nearly everything they have just to bring Pujols back and they may not even be able to afford him alone without boosting payroll. If he were going to go back to St. Louis at a major discount, I think he would have done it before the year.

I don't remember Epstein being unaware of Murton being in the trade, but I think the Red Sox viewed him more as a rather inconsequential throw-in, while Hendry really liked him. Memory may be failing me there, though.

Angels need a 1st baseman, Blue Jays might, Orioles do, Yankees and Red Sox could use a DH (though Pujols strongly prefers to play 1st I think). Nationals might be a factor as well. Obviously the likelihood of some of those teams being a factor varies, but those are the teams that might jump into it, off the top of my head.

Oh man, that would just kill TT. I hope it's not true for his sake. I'm gonna guess Starling Peralta and Dallas Beeler. We need 24/7 suicide watches for TT if that ever gets even rumored. As a secondary pick, I'm guessing Rhee and Rosscup.

According to Cot's they have $35 million in payroll freeing up after this season, not including whatever arbitration players cost them (Theriot, Schumaker, McClellan (all Arb 3), Motte, and Boggs (both Arb 1). Their free agents include Pujols, Edwin Jackson, Furcal, Rhodes, Laird, Patterson, Punto. The only way I could see them offering Pujols more than $20 million or so is to let all FAs go, get lucky in arbitration costs, and sign no other FAs. Or they could raise payroll above the $109 million it's currently at, but this is the highest it's ever been, so I don't know what their capacity to do that is.

This is kind of my thinking. It's hard to imagine Pujols actually leaving the Cardinals, but if he were willing to take a major paycut to stay in St. Louis, why didn't he take the offer before the year? The Cards are going to have to really up their offer to have a shot at keeping him, I think.

Reports are that McLeod is coming over to be assistant GM. Not scouting director. so? I thought you were implying that McLeod would replace Wilken as scouting director.

I'd really hate to see Kurcz, Antigua, or Liria go. Beeler and Rhee would be disappointing as well, but not quite as much. Far as I can tell, the rest of that list wouldn't hurt that much with the great class we have coming in. Am I way off on this?

With the depth of upside we have in the lower levels, the relative weakness at the top, and Ricketts' commitment to spending on the draft and international signings, I'd rather give up the kids further away than McNutt. If I were unsure of how much Ricketts was going to spend on the draft, I might agree with you, but it's harder to get a highly talented near sure thing in the minors than a couple of high upside kids in low A when you spend like Ricketts is.

Bryan LaHair. Sorry TT.