Cubs Acquire Gregg, Part Ways With Wood

I don't even like saying this, but Hendry wouldn't be throwing Marmol into a Peavy deal...would he?

No...he can't be. But please feel free to reassure me.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3700730

thought he'd end up in texas. i'm still curious to see where the catching surplus goes, and this all but removes the Marlins idea. Yanks? BoSox? We'll see...

As far as Gregg is concerned, totally surprised he's in a Cubs uni. Any chance they'll deal him to another club? Guess we'll see.

But will he wear "Peavy" on the back of his jersey to fool the fans?

w/o wood - the cubs have enough cash to sign abreu or ibanez - hopefully abreu

I'm loving this flurry of action on the relief market. That's two mid-tier closers who were expected to be locks to re-sign with their teams that'll now be available on the FA market (Wood, Hoffman). This could easily depress the prices for the higher end guys.

Ouch. Ceda is probably better than Gregg right now, and surely by the end of the season will be.

Hopefully the Cubs got Gregg to replace Howry. If we got Gregg to replace Wood , I dont like it

So Ceda isn't going to the Padres in a Peavy deal then....

What are they actually offering?

Marshall, Cedeno and Pie?

Ouch. I hate this one.

Like Gregg a lot but I was in love with Ceda. Kid is going to flourish in Miami. Great deal for the Marlins.

Howry isn't a Type A I don't believe. I could be wrong but I can't see him being one.

I would think this signals Marmol closing with Gregg setting up.

"If its Ceda than I'm not sure why we could do this...unless we already knew about Wood leaving. I'm not a fan of this trade so far."

I think this is the end for Wood. That said, I think this further goes to the economic repercussions of the backloaded deals this team gave out. Alot of cubs fans thought there was gonna be this '06 like spending spree, that aint gonna happen. Getting Gregg now enables them to sign that left handed bat that they need. Resigning Dempster and Wood might have made signing the left handed bat improbable.

Wow. Makes you wonder if there are actually 2 different GMs in Florida.

I would prefer Ceda to the entire package they got for Willingham/Olson.

Complete robbery by Florida.

any chance marmol gets dealt in a peavy deal? that would let samardzija get prepared to close long-term, and gregg could hold the position until he is ready. Just a thought.

This is easily the worst move possible by Hendry. I am hoping he doesn't get Peavy because of Peavy's impending injuries, but moving your best young arm for a middle aged middle reliever just seems like something Dave Littlefield had a hand in.

Also not sure how this move gets Lee, Soriano, and Ramirez to hit in October or DeRosa to catch a ball with any kind of range.

Just a thought. Could this in anyway be a precursor to a Peavy deal?

Would it be possible to let Dempster walk, resign Wood, and deal Marmol to go with Gregg/Wood at the back end of games?

I know Atlanta fans are going to want to say I'm being hopeful (I'm not, I love Marmol) but would that be a potential scenario here?

Steal for the Fish. Gregg became closer when Henry Owens went down with an injury. He didn't earn the role as much as fall into it.

Love this move for the Fish, they're shoring up their bullpen with Nunez, Cera, and Lindstrom closing. The pitching is going to be amazing next year.

Still don't understand the Nats trade though.

The Padres wouldn't pay Hoffman 4 million, but are going to pay Gregg 5 million and change after arbitration?

No way they are interested in Gregg.

I agree with the notion that he may be flipped in a peavy deal. Gave up a decent prospect but even if we end up keeping him in chicago with the possible departure of wood it makes sense from a bullpen standpoint. There are so many ? marks in the BP that it was almost a required move

There's been a lot of noise so far about the Cubs/Padres needing to involve a 3rd team in the deal. Given that Gregg's a free agent after this season (and that the deal seems awfully odd otherwise), with the Padres cash flow issues, maybe they want him? It still seems very odd.

DeRosa may be an above-average offensive 2B, but he's a below-average defensive 2B and quite average in RF as well. I would rather have better defense and less offense at 2B, especially given the offensive machine the Cubs were last year.

DeRosa will probably be a type A free agent. I would keep him and let him walk after next year, netting the picks and letting Fontenot Theriot platoon at 2nd after that, if not just leave Theriot at SS and give 2nd to Fontenot full time. The guy had a +.900 OPS in part time duty last year.

Gregg could still be part of a Peavy deal, Its possible the Pads want to contend in 2010 and didnt think Ceda was ready so they would prefer a guy like Gregg. You may ask, "then why dont the Pads trade for Gregg", well, it could be b/c they didnt want to give up a young guy and are having us do their dirty work.... just a thought.

Don't forget Dontrelle! ;)

And Sergio Mitre...

I hardly consider this selling low on Ceda though. I would think his value is at an all-time high right now.

why aren't the marlins getting more heat from the media, dumping their players in the past week. is it becase so far none of the players so far are all that great and they have similar replacements? jacobs, oolsen, willingham, gregg, etc

beane and A's operate similar, yet the haters come out and rake them over the coals...any explanation?

Smart move. Re-stock the farm system by letting Wood walk (collect 2 draft picks). Then let Gregg close and try to get type-A status and let him walk. Trading Ceda could net 4 picks.

There is no way the Padres are taking Gregg in a deal. The only way this makes sense is if Marmol is put in a package. Samardzija cannot be dealt.

Makes sense if Padres like Marmol over Ceda and the Cubs 1) don't want wood and 2) don't think Ceda can step in this yr

Wood will not be returning to the Cubs.

Disagree pageian. Why would they pick up a reliever whose going to get paid like a closer if they intend to spend more big dollars on relief pitching? Marmol is arguably a better candidate for closer at this point than Wood anyway. The Cubs pen is solid, they have other needs, and they don't have infinite dollars to spend. The only way going hard after Wood makes sense now is if Samardzija or Marmol is in a deal for Peavy.

i knew howry was a type a, but i forgot about offering arb. thanks.

if marmol is included for peavy i guess i'm ok with this move, but wood HAS to be resigned in this scenario. the cubs do have some useful bullpen options, but nothing particularly inspiring minus marmol. the padres are letting hoffman go, and maybe they have been asking for marmol all along to be their next closer. however, getting gregg, keeping marmol and letting wood walk i'm not ok with. this has to be leading to something else.

Maromol is going nowhere, hes our future closer and we dont have the farm system or uncommitted cash to sign a FA Closer in the next few years. I still hope Woody stays with the team but Im guessing that given the slow movement on the Peavy front the cubs may try to sign woody and then determine what to do with Gregg. He'd be a nice addition either way and although Ceda may have been a little much I think the mindset this year as in every year since 1908 is "This is the Year"

Now, make a half-hearted effort to resign Wood at a reasonable price. Worst case scenario: he walks elsewhere for more money, and Marmol (who is MORE than capable) steps into the closer role.
Wood didn't exactly blow me away anyway; I think Marmol could be a lot more "lights out".

"what position would Derosa qualify for for Type A / B rankings?"

2nd Base

Since pitching exclusively in relief the last two seasons, Gregg has stranded 32 of his 36 inherited runners, an 88.9 percent success rate. He sounds like a solid setup man. Lets hope hes just obtained to take over for Howry.

Interesting. I guess they were serious about being focused on a left handed bat. It has already cost us Wood, and could it cost Dempster as well?

That being said...The difference between Gregg and Wood will probably be two wins at the most...and hopefully the money we save should be able to pick that back up...along with netting us two draft picks. I like the idea of getting Wilken as many picks as possible.

Marmol ain't going anywere, and Peavy ain't coming to the Cubs.

Welcome Abreau, Ibanez, or Dunn to the Cubs, which makes me want to puke.

Total bullsh*t here.

Bad move for the Cubs. I am not a fan of Gregg at all.

I wonder if the Mets will look to sign Wood? With all these closers available I wonder what kind of contract K-Rod ends up with now??

i hate this move if I'm a cubs fan. How can they get rid of their closer? When did they become sellers and not buyers? OH and Gregg. got to see him a bunch in the NL East and he's definitely a step down. In fact he had been demoted last year and lost his closer spot by the end of the year to Lindstrom. Marmol is now your closer and i hope he can take the mentality of it. Don't know him so i won't say, but it takes a different animal to close games out. Wonder where Wood goes now??

I will personally puke if the Cardinals go out and sign him.

Is the Mets first round pick protected?

P.S.

Woody is going somewhere in Texas..

If we get Dunn I'll reverse my opinion on this. That's the only thing to hope for out of it all.

That would be quite the wicked lineup.

Woody was a first class guy and I share miltie's sentiment but freeing up the payroll was necessary. I had speculated that Kerry might sign on for 1 or 2 years at a discount to play for a contender but its apparent he has other intentions, one of which I presume is playing closer (or in) his home state for a team willing to spend 7-9 million on a proven closer.

If this really is designed to replace Wood with the intent of bringing in Adam Dunn (I don't believe it is) then I hope the team will look into the idea of moving Soriano to RF and planting Dunn in LF. I guess Soriano won't like it but at some point the guy has to start being a team player, not hitting where ever he wants in the lineup regardless of power and .OBP, and shifting positions to better accommodate his teammates abilities. I'm not familiar with Dunn's arm but I'm guessing that Soriano has a better arm than Dunn.

Dunn and Soriano... dear lord. I'm going to have to wear blinders at the games to avoid having to see them in action. Hell, let's get Abreu to play center while we're at it!!

A winn trade poses a problem. Pinella has already stated that soriano is the leadoff hitter and if you look at our record while he hit leadoff it proves we are much better off with Alfonso in the leadoff spot. Lee has a NTC and Pinella has already said that Lee is going nowhere. With Fukudomes move to cf that leave RF open, Im pretty sure Dunn is going to land there, whatever runs he may give up as a defensive liability are going to be made up by his power and walks.

"A winn trade poses a problem. Pinella has already stated that soriano is the leadoff hitter and if you look at our record while he hit leadoff it proves we are much better off with Alfonso in the leadoff spot. Lee has a NTC and Pinella has already said that Lee is going nowhere. With Fukudomes move to cf that leave RF open, Im pretty sure Dunn is going to land there, whatever runs he may give up as a defensive liability are going to be made up by his power and walks."

The record with Soriano leading off? You mean with him in the lineup, he hasnt hit anywhere but leadoff with the cubs. This is the year Soriano hits 5th. Lee grew up in CA, theres s agood chance he would waive the NTC. I do agree about Dunn, he will makeup for his def deficiencies.

Pinella already said he does not intend to move Soriano down in the lineup for 2009. I think it is absolutely needed, but the fact he openly said that concerns me.

It's obvious it needs to be done... Lee is not producing like he had in the past and Aramis can't do it all himself..

Jim Hendry just gave a radio interview and says he wants Wood to go get his 3-4 year mega deal for his family. It won't be with the Cubs.

I suspected when I saw Wood pitch game 2 NLDS at the end when the Cubs were clearly done that it was his last Cub appearence. Sometimes you get that feeling.