The Cubs are interested in outfielder Xavier Nady, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Nady's agent, Scott Boras, told Morosi his client is on schedule to be ready for Spring Training after July Tommy John surgery. With Nady and Jermaine Dye reportedly on the Cubs' radar, they appear to be setting their sights a little higher for their fourth outfielder role.
The Yankees and Braves are two other clubs that have been linked to Nady, with previous suitors such as the Cardinals, Rangers, and Pirates going in different directions. At any rate it doesn't look like he will be well-compensated this year.
Another interesting name…That’s a pretty good bat to platoon with Fukudome and fill in for Soriano. I agree that, because of his injury, he shouldn’t be well-compensated this year (though that won’t prevent some random Cardinal fan from insisting that he’ll be signed for 10M/yr). I like Nady as a low cost/high upside signing. It looks like the Cubs are starting to step up their pursuits to fill that 4th outfielder/bench bat hole.
I agree that he would be a good fit for the Cubs. And his price should be fair ($3-5m). However, I don’t know that I would call him a high upside player. Historically, he has been barely above average offensively (using OPS+). The only exception was his crazy first half with the Pirates in 08. His OPS+ other than that has been 92, 92, 104, 102, 108, and 95.
The ability to play all 3 OF positions plus 1B is a huge plus though for a team like the Cubs.
Nady would be an interesting name to sign. Just as you pointed out, his flexibility would bring value to the Cubs needs.
I guess I mean upside relative to guys like Reed Johnson and Micah Hoffpauir when we’re talking about someone with the ability to step in and contribute decent numbers in case of an injury. I agree that overall he’s an average guy offensively and that his first half with the Pirates was a fluke; fueled partially by an unusually high BABIP. But I’ll take the “normal” Xavier Nady over our homely pile of reserve outfielders any day!
I’ll second that thought. Nady would be an upgrade to what they currently have or resigning Johnson (unlikely).
nady would be a great signing to get some at-bats all over the field, not to mention their best bench bat. as a cubs fan, i would love to see them get him on a cheap deal with plenty of incentives.
another fit for him: the mariners
he could platoon with kotchman at first and get innings at both left field and DH to spell bradley and griffey…
I like both names Nady and Dye. Both could be had at a reasonable price 1 would think and both have a big upside if they stay healthy. Let’s grab 1 of them up but make sure we save enough to get Sheets locked in as well!
I still think Dye is the more likely candidate. He already has his home/family in Chicago and he’s supposedly good friends with Derrek Lee. The Cubs may be able to get him at a discount. Nady, should come cheap because of his uncertain health, but he still has Boras as his agent, I believe. It’s still possible he could price the Cubs out.
Come on, Crunchy. Sign them both! 🙂 For as much as we give it to Jimmy for his love of second baseman and middle relief arms, he has a thing for right field types, too. Ha!Seriously though, I got the impression the other day on a radio interview with Hendry that Nady was a target. It sounded like he, Dye and someone else might be on their radar. Interestingly, Hendry all but said they were looking to improve over Johnson, but did not rule him out. I took it as more of a last resort thing.
I’d be estatic if the Cubs got two OF’ers…but we both know that probably won’t happen! I also read somewhere the Cubs had interest in Rocco Baldelli…ESPN, I think. Not too excited about that one — especially because I have serious doubts about Baldelli filling in on a long-term, everyday basis if needed. I understand he has a medical condition which causes him to fatigue easily and affects his ability to heal quickly. In the event of an injury, playing day games at Wrigley regularly doesn’t seem like a good fit for Baldelli or the Cubs.
I know, I was kidding. It will be an outfielder and a pitcher for the pen.
Hendry has liked Baldelli for a while, as has Lou. We know when Hendry likes a player, he forever likes a player!
Man…you’re right! He has had Baldelli on his radar for awhile. But circumstances have changed — I hope Hendry takes that into consideration.
Wish there was some way to talk Hendry/Lou out of that relief pitcher. If they do get one, I hope it’s via trade where we trade a reliever for a reliever. The problem is teams have reportedly been asking for Guzman while I think the Cubs are trying to dangle Marshall (the second part is purely my own speculation).
I think you are right on about Marshall. I get the feeling they are trying to deal him.
Headline: “Cubs sign Dye in attempt to buck trend of clubs valuing defense”? or maybe “Cubs sign Dye in attempt to field worst defense in NL”?Not that I think Dye would be an awful signing at the right price, but he’d have to hit like crazy to outweigh his defensive drag. I’d personally much prefer a guy like Nady.
Man, I wish the Braves could signed him. Instead, I’ll probably be watching the Cubs sign him while the Braves don’t do anything because they got no more money left.
I think either Nady or Damon will end up with the Yankees.
the yankees should bring him back. let him be our bat off the bench since we dont have that. he could also eventually start over swisher in right if swish has a bad year. but nady can play right, left, first, and DH. we have the players to shift around. also, i want to see gardner get a shot in left, but if he struggles you can then start nady to give you some pop. he would fit great with the yankees i think.
and i like gardner and i want to see him get a shot, but if he struggles then nady can also fill in for him and give us some more pop.
The Braves really must be confident in what we have…I couldnt imagine Nady getting much more than 3-4 million per year with maybe a little incentive so even though we’re supposedly strapped for cash I think we could squeeze Nady in our budget if they thought we really needed him. Mclouth, Diaz, Melky and Hinske got to hold the fort down until Heyward and/or Shafer are ready to contribute!! I would still like to see Nady in a Braves uniform, there’d be plenty of at bats for him in the OF and at 1st where he could spell/fill in for Glaus. plus we def would not have to rush Heyward or Shafer. I think mid summer call up for Heyward (if needed) and a full year in AAA for Shafer would do wonders for those guys going forward.
What about Rick Ankiel? A left handed bat with some pop that can play all 3 outfield positions. Do we really need another right handed 4th Of/DH type on the Cubs? IMHO Micah and Font are not the answer for left handed bats off the bench. Once Boras is done blowing hot air (with Ankiel and Nady) they should be available on the the cheap for a 1 yr incentive based deal.
The Cubs can make a more attractive offer to a righty in that he will get more playing time platooning with Fukudome in addition to filling in for Soriano and possibly Lee if/when they get injured. Ankiel is not only overpriced, but he isn’t going to replace Soriano or Byrd in the lineup unless they get hurt. There’s no way they can guarantee playing time for him or any other lefty the way they could for a good righty bat. You’re not going to land one of the better 4th outfielders without guaranteeing them a significant number of at bats.
i wish the giants were going after this guy. he has a lot of upside because he should go pretty cheap.
Something tells me Nady/Dye would push one of their other OF (namely Fukudome, since its known that there’s friction b/w Lou and Fukudome) to the bench.
An OF defense of Soriano-Byrd-Dye looks like it would be entertaining.
It won’t be pretty but I don’t think it can be much worse than the Soriano-Fukudome-Bradley outfield we fielded last year. At any rate, the Cubs plan is to give Fukudome the majority of time in RF – rumors of friction notwithstanding.
Not to mention that would mean:
Theriot
Nady
Lee
Ramirez
Byrd
Soriano
Soto
Baker
…does Hendry realize 75% of ML pitchers are RIGHT-HANDED? Epic fail.
Fukudome starts against righties. The Cubs are looking at Nady as a FOURTH outfielder.
So you think Dye is gonna sign with a team that wants him for a 75-25 platoon (and a few pinch-hitting ABs)? Not happening.
“So you think Dye is gonna sign with a team that wants him for a 75-25 platoon (and a few pinch-hitting ABs)? Not happening.”
Other than the usual cocksure manner in which you present your personal opinion, do you have any reasoning, analysis, source…anything…to support what you have to say? Or is it just the standard hubris I’ve come to expect from you?
And to answer your question: Yes, it’s very possible Dye signs with the Cubs because 1) he may not have a whole lot of other options; 2) the idea of staying in Chicago is appealing to him; 3) between the platoon and spot-starting for Soriano and Lee on occassion, he is guaranteed a good number of PAs. There’s also the likelihood that Soriano gets hurt again this year, which would give him more steady playing time. Considering no one has stepped up to offer him a starting role, it may be as good an opportunity as he has out there. There’s lots of reasons Dye would come to Chicago and there are rumors that they’ve already started talking…so yeah, I can easily envision Dye coming here, perhaps even at a hometown discount.
I agree, there’s a chance he stays in Chicago, just not the North Side. Assuming both Chicago teams offer him a similar deal (which is reasonable considering both teams are very close to their respective 2010 budgets), which do you think Dye would take:
A) Stay with the Sox and play full time (30% at RF and 70% at DH) or
B) Go to the Cubs to as a 25% RF platoon/LF backup/1B (seriously?)/pinch-hitter
Not to mention there are 3 teams in California (where he is from) and one from Atlanta (where he came up) that would be willing to give him a starting job. BTW, if you don’t like my opinions, don’t read them and move on.
You’re opinion is you’re opinion. I can choose to like them or not like them. But what I don’t choose is to accept them at face value. You obviously have your bias against the Cubs as a Sox fan, but that’s nothing unusual. Your everyday, average Sox fan is like that. It’s just that you state them like they are fact and then do nothing to support it – or give support that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Even this last attempt is just hypotheticals and unsupported assumptions about teams willing to give Dye a starting job. Hypotheticals and assumptions are fine to try and raise questions, but you try to pass them off as fact and it just doesn’t fly.
For example — hypothetically, of course — If the Sox offered a similar contract with more playing time, Dye would absolutely choose the Sox. There’s no question about that. But the Sox have shown no inclination to do this to this point. They’ve already signed Andruw Jones to fill this righty DH role and there’s been no activity that suggests the Sox are actively pursuing Dye at all. Hypothetically, your comment makes sense but it doesn’t stand up when you scrutinize it against any of the information we know about Dye and the Sox right now.
As for your statement, “if you don’t like my opinions, don’t read them and move on.”
Do you not find this statement ironic when you consider that it comes from someone who’s icon says “Fire Al Yellon”? (For the record, I don’t read Al Yellon’s website and I am not familiar with any of his opinions — so I am not defending him in any way.)
But, in our own words, “if you don’t like his opinions, don’t read them and just move on.”
As for me, all I’m asking is that if you want to debate some issue with me, don’t expect me to accept your opinion as indisputable fact. I, in turn, expect you to support your opinion and make a better argument.
Unless Fukudome tears it up for a full year, I wonder if the Cubs would try and move him after 2010. He would have only one year left, even though Lou will likely be gone as manager. Anyhow, I’m hoping Fukudome can be consistantly good all year at the plate.
Hopefully Hendry has finally figured out that there is no need to offer big money to either guy. If you look back to last year any player that wasn’t signed by February was getting kinda nervous and lost he leverage in negoiations. Wait for a while and maybe two mill would get it done.
Go ask Loften, Edmunds, Luis Gonzalaz about what happens when u turn down an offer and they all of a sudden quit coming in. Now I know both Nady and Dye will get an offer from somebody this year but veterans are going to have to realize that things have changed.
In many cases on many teams what would u rather have an aging veteran who is only going to get older and injury prone get couple mill or give a prospect the league minimum and hope that you catch lightening in a bottle.
Please Hendry be patient.
By the way, if Grabow would have hit the open market what kind a contract do people think he would have recieved? Would he have even signed by now???
Hendry gave this average pitcher whatever he wanted, don’t get me wrong I’m glad he is on the team but he isn’t an elite set up guy.
Since as a Cubs Fan, I am used to being dissapointed. I am happy to know that whoever they get as a fourth outfielder will be better than Hoffpauir. IE: R. Johnson, X. Nady, J. Dye, or the recently released E. Byrnes. Still Hope Sheets is not a pipedream.
we need to be happy hendry is looking at ml caliber options at 4th of as opposed to just trotting out Fuld and Hoffpauir. yikes! We have three possibles:Johnson, Nady, Dye and a darkhorse now in the recently released E. Byrnes. I just hope they really are going to make a strong effort to land Sheets. Still in did beleif over Harden but… that’s hendry
Yeah both would be nice,problem with dye is i think he would rather catch on with someone where he could get regular playing time maybe as a dh although i would love to see him in a cubs uni……Nady would be a ideal pick up,but as you stated with boras as his agent he may require more then the cubs have unless it was heavily back loaded with incentives, not sure hendry will be willing to pay a price like that for a fourth when u consider the tight payroll restraints.But who knows if either of them stays on the market long enough they be willing to concede some to catch with someone.
I’ve said it before, some team is gonna get a bargain by signing Nady. I believe he’s gonna show everybody that he still is the hitter of ’08. Might be a good idea for the Braves to sign him. It would be wise to have a Glaus back up plan, not to mention a little extra depth in the OF when their bats prove to be weak.
if the Cubs sign a healthy, productive Nady, they will have a new problem. He will be much, much better than Soriano.
Does Lou have the guts to sit Soriano if he’s hitting .219 with 3 H.R.s in mid-May?
God, can the cubs just bring up someone from Triple A/
COME ON BRAVES GET NADY DAMN IT