Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times has a Cubs update for us this morning.
Let’s start with Kerry Wood, who would garner plenty of interest on the open market. Despite rumors that Wood might look elsewhere for a chance to start, he’s likely to stay with the Cubs as a starter.
The Cubs are on Curt Schilling’s list, and they’ll be in the mix for him if his price is reasonable. I take that to mean not much more than $12-13MM. A cheaper option might be Hiroki Kuroda, though that could take a three-year commitment. So, perhaps a larger cash outlay.
The Cubs will probably pass on Alex Rodriguez, though he would’ve been a nice fit at shortstop in my opinion.
Options: the Cubs exercised Daryle Ward’s for $1.2MM. They passed on Steve Trachsel’s $4.75MM option, which is a relief since there had been rumors of exercising it. Cliff Floyd is probably gone as well.
