A few items to pass along from the Central divisions as Tuesday becomes Wednesday …
- The Cubs were interested in Chad Qualls before the right-hander eventually signed with the Phillies, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. As it stands now, the back end of the Cubs' bullpen features setup men Jeff Samardzija and Kerry Wood, and closer Carlos Marmol.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has begun the process of overhauling Houston's identity during a time of transition, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Luhnow has already made several key hires toward the goal of shifting the organization's focus to a combination of better scouting and more advanced statistical analysis. A reputed ideas man, Luhnow pitched Astros ownership a 25-page plan for repairing the organization before getting the job, according to Castrovince.
- With arbitration hearings scheduled with two players – Asdrubal Cabrera and Rafael Perez – the Indians' 20-year streak of avoiding arbitration could come to end, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. However, Indians assistant GM Mike Chernoff told Hoynes that "both parties are clearly trying to get things done." Check out MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker to see where the Tribe stands with their arbitration eligibles.
Acquiring good relievers on one year contracts seems like a great strategy for rebuilding teams. They get players that will generally cost the team less money and is therefor less of a risk, they take advantage of the market for relievers allowing one years deals more than any other position, and they get an asset that can hold a large amount of interest for a contending team at the trade deadline. So a team can spend about one to three million and flip it into a grade B prospect would’ve been a good move for the Cubs, too bad they missed out.
The Royals have also developed a strategy of developing relievers out of their farm system. Which is even more cost effective for a rebuilding small market team. It’s difficult to develop top of the line starting pitchers, but much less so effective middle relievers that maybe only have 2 pitches and won’t be facing a lineup more than once.
Qualls would have been bad considering the Cubs infield defense.
It’s a shame Samardzija hasn’t had the stuff to move to the rotation. That’s an awfully big signing bonus to give to a relief pitcher.
anyone else think that Jeff Lunhow reminds you of Jonah Hill in Moneyball with the 25-page packet to repair the organization?
That seems to be the general trend. I believe Jed Hoyer prepared the same type of presentation when he interviewed for the San Diego GM position.
Feel like the Bears could use Samardzija more than the cubs lol
Am I the only guy who loves this site but hates that the lowly central divisions get gummed up together? I feel it’s discrimination against our fanbase.
If they didn’t do that here, one of these fairly minor stories would have to be its own post.
Go Chipper! I hope he plays until he’s 50. Only for the Braves, though.