WEDNESDAY, 1:44pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the Giants like Park, but want him on a minor league deal.
MONDAY, 8:51pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Cubs and Rays are looking at Chan Ho Park, who relieved for the Phillies last season.
Park put up a mediocre 4.43 ERA last season after a 3.40 mark in 2008, though his walks and strikeouts stayed fairly steady. Park has been far better as a reliever in both seasons- a 2.52 ERA out of the bullpen in 2009, and a 7.29 ERA as a starter.
Park will be 37 in June, so he's certainly not worth a multi-year deal. But he's a fairly decent option in the middle of the game, and should provide bullpen depth for some team.
hopefully no Phillies fans see this. Seeing a former player being called “mediocre” will send them into a tailspin
Do you look to start an argument in every thread? Lol
lol, i was kinda kidding about this one but come on MLBtraderumors arguments are the best on the net
Lol. I can agree with that. Nothing like a good debate. Haha
110% agree. sometimes i come here just to have a good argument.
Man you are OBSESSED with Phillies fans.
Anyway, as long as the team can get it through his thick skull that he’s NOT a starter, Park will offer decent relief.
not obsessed i just like making wisecracks and starting funny arguments. I really don’t have that much of a problem with Phillies fans I just find their buttons easier to push. Yankees and Red Sox fans are even better lol
Heh I can respect that
He looked pretty good against the Dodgers in the LCS. Park is 37 almost? WOW time is going by quick.
It sure is…It doesn’t seem like that long ago that he gave up two grand slams in the same inning to Fernando Tatis…
It really doesn’t seem that long ago..
If the Cubs sign Park, it wouldn’t be good news. Unless they signed Orlando Hudson as well.
That makes no sense whatsoever
Actually Park’s numbers are deceiving. As a reliever he put up a 2.52 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 3.25 K/BB, etc. So as a starter he’s awful, as a reliever he’s worth a look.
Wasn’t he complaining about wanting to start, though?Seriously, players need to look into their own stats/splits sometimes.
Love that avatar, btw =P
That’s the key here.
You make it very clear that Park will be signed as a reliever. No chance of starting. If he is willing to accept that role then whatever team signs him could end up with a very solid late innings contributor.
As you point out, as a starter Park sucks. As a reliever … you could do a lot worse.
Cue the “Hendry will give this guy 3 years/24 mil posts”.
Thought I wouldn’t be surprised.
hendry will give him 3years/24million dollars with 2 player options for 20MM
Dont forget the full no trade protection.
But no really, why would the cubs want another starter who isnt front of the rotation material..they already have enough of back end guys in wells,marshall,samardijza, etc.
Anyone who’s looking at Park is more likely to be looking at him for the bullpen.
Great so now the cubs might add another starter to the bullpen when they already have at least 4 others?…… Marshall,Gorzellany,Silva, and Samardzia
Yep, long-relief guys are apparently Hendry’s newest obsession :(
PS, dont forget Parisi.
I think he would be used as a reliever, much in the same role they were supposedly looking at kiko calero for
I was about to post Park’s name earlier today as someone the Cubs were interested in…and they are interested. Add his name to the list of Cub bull pen rumors.
The Cubs are worried about Calero’s health and want to give one year. He wants two.
Just bargin hunting lil money hoping to find a useful bullpen hand to fill a void,probably a sign hendry is realizing with what he has to work with he is going have to settle,we have heard the cubs linked to half the players left out there…..best hope now is to hope we get one decent guy to fill one of many wholes and hope to get some luck and find a couple low cost guys who play better then expected.
Park was fantastic out of the pen last year. He did have some nagging arm problems though, unavailable some times for multiple days. I would love him back on the Phils but for some reason he has had his head set on finding a starting spot. He won’t get one, and I’m afraid they might have moved on without him with Baez and Contreras
Damn it Hendry. Can you please stop bottom feeding and go after somebody who can actually make a difference. Do you really need another so-so middle reliever?
Park has been able to reinvent his career a few times. He was good out of the pen for the
Dodgers in 2008. He wanted to start last year, the phillies gave him his shot , it did not work out well. Some team could use him in middle relief, he would be perfect for the dodgers with all of the 5 to 6 inning or less starts there pitchers make.
in all seriousness, this would be a good signing for either team. A solid bargain reliever that isn’t all that much worse than Calero and a hell of alot less money
this might be true if it werent for the fact that we have short relievers growing out of our ears in the minors while the team has the gigantic black hole on the bench. I just dont get it…
take it from a guy who pays almost obsessive attention to the hot stove. Alot of the time a weird signing that overloads that particular area of the ballclub can sometimes mean that a trade is on the way…lol intrigued?
Not in the least.And honestly, if we traded young controllable with upside and league minimum salary players just to throw a couple million at a 40 year old with a questionable background (and without the closing capability that was said to be the trait we were looking for) for a position we dont desperately need… Well, read my Avatar (or whatever its called)Hendry, just say no to Park and upgrade the dang bench already before all the semi-passable upgrades are gone and we are stuck with the trash leftovers and the 4A fillers we currently control.
Considering how you are an intelligent fan, I need not remind you that you’re pleading to Jim Hendry here =P.
Yeah, I know :(
But lookie there – he can stumble upon the correct path every so often!
Woohoo for Nady!
(Hendry, now go get Winn!)
Who ever Park signs with hes going their, because he wants to start, not pitch out of the bullpen, thats why he wouldn’t re-sign with philly. He wants to start so that way his family in his native country can know when hes going to pitch, instead of hoping he pitches in a game.
chan ho actually had a 2.52 era out of the bullpen last year.
his era is so inflated bc he allowed 27 runs in 33.1 innings as a starter..
Chan Ho Park is a plus arm, no doubt. He’s still able to bring serious cheese as a reliever throwing up towards 97mph, NOT bad at all for a 37 year old. He’s in fantastic shape and good clubhouse guy. He’s actually not a bad starter if whatever team he’s on limits him to 5 innings. After that, he starts falling apart. Seriously, Chan Ho’s had a bad rap ever since he signed that big contract with the Texas Rangers. It’s not his fault he took the money. There are worse options out there. This guy is a former All-Star who still has a lot of baseball left. Personally I’m hoping that the Giants would sign him but Brian Sabean is an idiot who spent all our money on REAL crap like Renteria, Rowand, and Zito just to name a few.
Whoever signs Park needs to have their collective heads examined. I still have nightmares from the too many years Park pitched poorly for the Rangers. He was a complete waste of money.
Cubbies don’t even need middle relief help. They need a lead-off hitter.
Fukudome had an OBP over .400 as a lead-off hitter. Leave him there.
@ home leading off he was .481 away leading off it dropped to .325 so he averaged only .375 when leading off. Still not bad by most standards but nowhere near Ted Williams lead off stats… Obviously Lou doesn’t/didn’t feel comfortable with him leading off fut I do tend to agree with you; it just doesn’t seem to work right for Lou though.
chicago.cubs.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_split…
He would be a good signing if he stops being stubborn and realizes he can be successful out of the pen.
He was arguably are best BP arm last year…but stunk as a starter.
I have no problem with the Cubs getting Park as long as they’re only looking at him as a reliever. He’d be about the 8th or 9th best option to start for them imo. If he’s cheap enough and understands his role then fine. I wouldn’t pay him too much however, the Cubs have plenty of bullpen candidates as it is. Getting someone like Calero makes sense but Park only makes sense if he’s inexpensive, otherwise you couldn’t paid one of the minor league guys league minimum to do what Park could do.
This seems like an inevitability. The Cubs are fixated and have convinced themselves that this is a serious need. Resistance seems futile! The best we can probably hope for as Cub fans is that it’s a one year deal on the cheap — and that they view this “need” as secondary to their outfield/bench need.
If the Cubs signed Park then they would have Aaron Hileman back again. When will we ever learn?
Albert Einstein’s defined insanity as this: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Obviously Hendry is no Einstein.
Nope, more like Alfred E Newman
Wow. Just what the Cubs need! Another Aaron Hileman! Hay! Maybe next we can sign John Smoltz to a three year $12 million contract and make him our #3 starter too! Geezz.
Wow, it is great that the cubs are filling the mop up reliever role. I was really worried about that for them.
Most teams are happy to just let this role get filled by the last pitcher coming out of spring training. This shows the cubs care a lot more. Way to go.
I sense sarcasm. :) The Cubs have not signed Park yet. Hendry likes veteran middle relievers though, so who knows. I can’t believe they would be worried about this role since they have younger/cheaper arms that can do the same thing. The only difference is they are not veterans and Lou does not like young, unproven arms.
Park wants to start though, so who ever he signs with, its going to be because he has a chance to start, which is why he wouldn’t re-sign with philly. He wants to start, because that way people in his native country can know when he is pitching and watch.
You have it. An article I read last year said Park as the first Korean to make it to MLB, is a celebrity back in his country. His desire to start is to allow the folks back home (12 time zones away) an opportunity to know when they can watch him pitch live. It’s really a noble idea on his part, not being stubborn. The Phils gave him every opportunity to make it – even sacrificing the early season starts Happ would have had, but he was soooo much better from the pen. I just hope someone doesn’t offer him a chance to start that’s really not realistic and then have him fall to the pen right off. He’s a good guy.
im sorry but this is a joke…i heard about this last week and wanted to jump of a building. first marlon byrd, now chan ho park – these are the kind of players that sign with the astros or the pirates or the blue jays. seriously this is chicago! totally insulting that this is our team…a joke. ive been a cubs fan for years and im really fed up with them – im more excited for womens basketball that the baseball season this year. turned off entirely.
Please look at the stat first before saying something. Chan Ho was bad as a starting role. But as a reliever in 09′ NL champ team, Park’s line was 2.52 ERA, 1.18 Whip, 3.25 SO/BB, “9.4” S/9, and he DID NOT allow “HR”.
wow i wonder if park will eventually figure out that he sucks at starting
I know what your thinking Jim, but put down the checkbook. Theres other people to be had other than that buster of a pitcher
Bullpen arm, nothing more. He worked well for the Phils and there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t repeat the performance this year. A minor league deal with incentives based on appearances/innings pitched. No way he should replace MadBum in the rotation.
Bullpen arm, nothing more. He worked well for the Phils and there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t repeat the performance this year. A minor league deal with incentives based on appearances/innings pitched. No way he should replace MadBum in the rotation.
Whoever gets this guy better do a complete MRI on his neck. I mean how much punishment can the human neck withstand from all those years of snapping his head to the outfield wall to watch another one leave the yard?