The Cubs won their arbitration case against infielder Ryan Theriot according to Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune. He will earn $2.6MM in 2010 instead of the $3.4MM he filed for.
The 30-year-old Theriot hit .284/.343/.369 in 677 plate appearances as Chicago's every day shortstop in 2009. He won't become a free agent until after the the 2012 season.
Wow, good win by the Cubs. Ryan Theriot is one of really only two Cubs last season who stayed healthy the whole season and hit!.
Well, we (cubs fans) have at least one thing to cheer about this season.
the cubs should trade for alberto callaspo of the royals. The royals are easy to rip off and they have to starting second basemen. Callaspo can hit 11 homers and for a .300 average in the weak Royals lineup, in the AL. He’s a switch hitter and decent glove which is more than fontenot and baker can say. Cubs should offer someone like Hak-Ju Li, (they already have starlin castro and other SS prospects coming up the chain.
I wouldn’t call -7.5 UZR a good fielder. He’s rated substantially lower than both Fontenot and Baker by this metric. And Lee is possibly your best SS prospect– (as good as Castro is, Lee is more athletic and has more range. He may eventually move Castro to 2b.) He’s also the only legitimate leadoff prospect in the system with a great combination of speed and patience at the plate. Overall, he is one of the best prospects in our system and one of the top 100-150 in baseball after only one full season in pro ball. Trading Lee for a guy who really won’t make much difference is a bad idea. CHONE has Callapso projected as a 1.7 WAR player compared to 1.3 for Fontenot and 1.2 for Baker. You’re talking about 1/2 a win at most. Is that really worth giving up a player who figures to be an important part of the post Piniella/Hendry/Soriano/Lee/Ramirez Cubs? If I’m the Royals GM, I’d fall over myself accepting this deal if it were offered. This deal will never be proposed by the Cubs… and thankfully so. The Cubs have much bigger problems to address than to trade a top prospect for a marginal upgrade at 2b.
your probably right. i don’t know the cubs farm system too well. however, I think it’s fair to say they could trade one of their many SS prospects or unnecessary prospects to get an upgrade like Callaspo. While I think its greatly important to look for the future, the Cubs window of contention right now is closing. Soriano is deteriorating, Lee is a free agent after this season and 35 years old. A-Ram proved last year that he’s not invulnerable to injury. Soto is a mystery at this point. Who knows how much Arlington inflated Marlon Byrd’s numbers? I think getting a consistent .300 hitting lefthanded bat that stands as a sure fire upgrade at least offensively for a low cost may be in the cubs best interest for this season. Hak-Ju Lee I admit was probably a bad example, but for the cost of a prospect they probably aren’t going to you, I can’t see anything wrong with them making a deal like this.
They do have a lot of depth at SS/2b in the system. The Cubs love drafting shortstops because they’re usually able to move to other positions if needed. I’d hang on to Castro and Lee but I’d move Barney, Flaherty, Watkins, and Lake for the right guy. Barney is an interesting guy. He’s a very similar player and personality to Ryan Theriot (less speed but a smarter baserunner and a better arm — but his bat is still a bit behind Theriot at this point) and he’s nearly major league ready. He has no place to go with Theriot ahead of him and Castro/Lee behind him. If I’m a GM with a team that needed a SS, I’d see if I could pry him loose. I agree with you that the Cubs window is closing fast. They’ll probably have to squeeze through at this point, but I wouldn’t mortgage the future to make small upgrades. If you can get away with trading some surplus for a guy like Callapso, then I agree it’d be worth a shot.
the cubs have nearly all their positions filled for the next 2 years at least with incumbents except 2b and C, so if there’s anyway they want to improve the offense and get a lefthanded bat its at second or or maybe catcher but I’d say Callaspo is the right player for the right price. What showed last year was that they didn’t have enough consistent Batting Average players, players who could hit in the clutch, and baserunners. Callaspo got nearly 80 RBIS and Runs Scored last year without a full season of ABs. I also think that Jose Lopez of Seattle may be an under-the-radar snag considering he hit around 20+ homers at Safeco and a relatively consistent high batting average, and doesnt strike out much. He would hit 25+ homers in the NL Central. the only thing is he’s another right-handed bat.
Looks like the Cubs have another 800K to spend on a mediocre reliever now. I’m looking for that money to be re-directed toward Calero or Park — especially since Angel Guzman is iffy to start the season.
Braden Looper might be the veteran,cheap,right hander Hendry signs.
I would rather see that 800K applied to Felipe Lopez.
A 2nd baseman who can get on base, and will take a 1 year deal makes a lot more sense than middle reliever plucked off the scrap heap.
Yeah, I’m no fan of mediocre free agent bullpen arms either. Especially when you’ve got plenty of good young major league ready arms in camp. You may be right about Looper, though. He’d love to come here (I believe his kids go to school in Chicago?) and would probably do it for cheap. But it’s hard to get excited about any of these bullpen guys on the market.
As for Lopez, he seems like he’d be a good fit. He gets on base, switch-hits, can lead-off, etc…but I don’t see the Cubs even getting involved. For one, I don’t think a Fontenot/Baker platoon at 2b is as huge a hole as people are making it out to be. And the Cubs seem hopeful Castro can come in and play SS to the tune where they’ve already approached Theriot about moving. (I love Theriot’s reaction, by the way, saying Castro is going to have to come get it.) They probably don’t want anybody in the way when (if) Castro is ready to take over at some point. Personally, I’d be okay if they left Castro in the minors all year but I think the Cubs have high hopes for this season.
Maybe the most important factor with Lopez is his perceived attitude. Whether it’s warranted or not, he has the reputation of dogging it when things don’t go well for him. There’s no way the Cubs are going to bring in a player like that after the Milton Bradley experience.
I agree with you about Castro. I think the Cubs are praying he shows(in spring training) that he can hit .260 this year with the big club. If he can, I think Theriot moves over to 2nd base and Fonenot battles for a utility job.
All the moves this offseason by the Cubs show a new direction in management. This is a very good sign for the future of the team.
In whose fantasy world is John Grabow worth more to the Cubs than Ryan Theriot?
Oh yeah, Hendry’s.