Carlos Zambrano has not asked for a trade and the Cubs have not asked him to waive his no-trade clause, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The Cubs did meet with Zambrano’s agent, Barry Praver, but the sides didn’t discuss trading the right-hander. Here are the details on the Cubs and White Sox:
- Praver and the Cubs also discussed Carlos Marmol, an offseason extension candidate who may be offered a long-term deal.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry acknowledged the team’s need for a first baseman and said he anticipates “more volume at that position than what people need at that position."
- The Cubs have not yet talked to the agents for Adam Dunn, but the White Sox are still targeting the slugger. The Tigers are interested in Dunn, but ESPN.com's Jayson Stark heard that the Cubs may not pursue him as aggressively as expected.
- Levine hears that the White Sox are not shopping Carlos Quentin. Stark reported yesterday that the Phillies have interest in Quentin.
Cubs are better off sticking to a 1 year deal with Adam LaRoche then Jim Hendry offering Dunn a crazy contract.
I can see the logic of wanting an Adam LaRoche, as a bridge, to Adrian Gonzalez, but there is no way the Cubs sign Gonzalez when you consider the other teams interested. I’m not sure who the best option would be, but Adam Dunn is NOT the answer. As you said, I hope Hendry doesn’t sign Dunn to a crazy contract.
what makes you think the cubs are going to make a run and adrian? First off the dude is looking for a texiera type contract…and rickets has stated over and over and over that he will lower payroll over the next few years. And with the the influx of prospects coming up the pipe line i dont see a need for the cubs to get adrian, besides they will more than likely get out bid by the yankees/bosox/ maby nats/ rangers/ etc
That influx of prospects has one gaping hole. No first baseman.
isnt there rumors(probably started by people like us) about moving colvin to 1st
there is also the possibility of moving aram to first, would save some errors, extend his career
There have been rumblings of Colvin moving to first. He will take ground balls and work out there some during the winter. I doubt the Cubs move Ramirez to first. If D Lee had a bad UZR, Ramirez’s UZR would be atrocious. Odds are they sign Lyle Overbay or Adam LaRoche or they trade for Gonzalez.
isnt there rumors(probably started by people like us) about moving colvin to 1st
there is also the possibility of moving aram to first, would save some errors, extend his career
He never said to sign him as a bridge to Gonzalez, even if it is a reasonable assumption. Personally I’d like to see them pick up somebody like LaRouche or Overbay on a short-term deal of 1-2 years, and yet I do NOT want them to get Gonzalez. The two things do not need to be tied.
Marmol has 2 years of arb left ( I think) – he made $2M+ last year so I would imagine thru arbitration he is looking at max $8M for those 2 yrs. Whats the harm in offering him 3yrs for $10M with a club option for $12M in 2014. He gets abit of security since a closers value can crap out in a year and if he does well cubs get a closer for 4yrs @ $22M which is not bank breaking. If he declines then ship him off somewhere since we are not going to be super competative next two years and closer would be a luxury.
There is some concern that Marmol’s violent delivery may lead to arm/shoulder problems. In this regard, why not sell high on Marmol and trade him for a package of young talent? Cashner could close and the Cubs would have more young talent upon which to rebuild.
Whether the Cubs want to admit it or not, they are in a rebuilding situation.
Because Cashner got shellacked last year and has one pitch.
The reality is, in part due to his upside and in part due to there just being too many holes to fix, he will likely be in the Cubs’ bullpen next year — but handing him the closer’s job is way beyond premature even if Hendry admitted they were rebuilding and committed to it fully.
Good reasoning but I think he’s looking at more than $8 million over his final two arb years. Papelbon certainly got more and has essentially been trying to set the market for arb closers. If Marmol continues his success he could be looking at $8 million in his last arb year alone.
Possibly – but I don’t see him getting papelbons $$ even in arb.. don’t think stats match up close enough but you never know. He has high trade value now so I personally would prefer to trade him for something we can use ( 1B , 3B prospect ).
Trading him would be nice, but who is going to replace him? He won quite a few games for the Cubs this year. Cashner would be the logical choice to replace him if traded, but Cashner didn’t exactly provide you with the ability to come in and shut people down. His fastball is a plus fastball speed wise, but it is straight, and got hit fairly well.
kerry wood reunion? it has been rumored and there is no way he gets a huge deal…
kerry wood reunion? it has been rumored and there is no way he gets a huge deal…
Cubs should do everything they can to trade for Adrian Gonzalez. If they could keep Colvin, Castro, Cashner, Archer, and Jackson… they still have plenty of pieces and arms that the Padres would like. Trade Wells, Vitters, and 2 good young arms for Gonzalez. No more Dunn talk.. and more “let’s get a guy who’s not very good for 1 year” talk.
The Cubs had D Lee and Lilly last year. It sounds like they are trying to get guys who are similar to those guys in production to fill out the team. That’s not gonna cut it. Either rebuild with all youth, or go for it with Gonzalez.
keeping colvin, castro, cashner, archer and jackson is asking alot…your talking about trading for one of the best 1st basemen in the game the past few years without giving up your top prospects….Yes i doubt castro will be in a deal he seems like he is untouchable. but If i were the padres GM considering i dont have to trade adrian(can offer arb and get two top picks or wait to the dead line and get a good deal from other teams) I would ask for a deal starting with colvin vitters cashner and jackson
Castro, Colvin, and Cashner aren’t really prospects anymore. So by keeping Archer, and Jackson.. the Padres can have their pick of our 3, 4th, or 5th best prospects in the minors along with Randy Wells.. a guy they’ve asked about several times before. They’ve also been high on Vitters.
The 3rd, 4th and 5th best prospects might get the Padres to consider it. I would think throwing in Randy Wells should get it done though. 😉
The Cubs could also just sign Derrek Lee to a cheap incentive laden contract. We know the type of glove he brings and his value is way down. Give him a chance to restore his value and then go from there.
Hmm…the Lee/Zambrano reunion tour.
Why does everyone keep listing the Yankees as a potential destination for Adrian Gonzalez? Unless they are planning on trading Texiera, I don’t see how Gonzalez fits onto that team. They guy will be 29 or so next year, so I doubt he is going to agree to be a DH.
The Mets might not even be a great fit if Ike Davis plays well this year. So, you are down to the Red Sox, the Cubs, the White Sox, the Dodgers (not great because of Loney and money problems in general), and perhaps a few other dark horse teams. But overall, if SD does not resign him, he is really only going to have a few very serious bidders. So, overall, I hope the Cubs wait on him until next year, as I don’t think he puts them over the top this year anyhow. The pitching staff (especially the starters) just doesn’t have enough high end arms.
well one of two(tex or adrian) could play left or thrid(i believe both have done it in their career) or simply both could rotate at dh and 1st
I don’t see any scenario where the two are sharing first base and DH duties, and in your first and third scenario, where one first has to assume the two of them would still be any good at 3B, which is much, much harder than 1B, where does ARod play? I don’t see him agreeing to be a DH too. So then a 3 way DH situation comes up. Also not likely.
well one of two(tex or adrian) could play left or thrid(i believe both have done it in their career) or simply both could rotate at dh and 1st
A-Gon is a great player, no doubt. He is the type of player a team like the Cubs should get if they are a 1B/big bat away from seriously contending. The Cubs are far from seriously contending. The Cubs have too many holes to fill and far away from a deal like Gonzalez to make it worth it. Unfortunately, the timing is not now. A short term, stop gap guy at 1B is the better direction. Keep the top prospects, develope the team to get into a serious contend mode.
Cubs are going to sign a Adam LaRoach or a short-term answer. On ESPN 1000 they already said that Ricketts is going to lower payroll and play what ever big contracts they have out. Kosuke Fukudome, A-Ram, and Carlos Silva are in their last years of their contracts. I think this is Sorianos 5th year of his contract -___-, Z is in his 4th year. So basically in 2-3 years hopefully we will be back on track, with all the young talent coming up. Josh Vitters, Brett Jackson, Jay Jackson, Chris Archer, Trey McNutt, Brandon Guyer ect.
All they have to do is keep an eye on the market for A-Gon. If it looks like he will be dealt mid season then go for it. Otherwise all they need to do is wait for free agency and not give up the prospects. They aren’t projected to do a lot this year and he alone won’t make that much of a difference.
If they do trade Ramirez, i would want prospects. I don’t think Ellsbury would be the long term solution for the leadoff spot. As far as Scutaro is concerned, why bring him here just to sit on the bench. Castro is the SS and we already have DeWitt and Barney for 2B. We don’t need Scutaro.
Agreed, if the Cubs are bad enough this year too, there first round pick next year might even be protected. Even more reason to sign a big name player next offeseason.