The Cubs are on pace to finish with the franchise's worst record in over 30 years, but that doesn't mean they will be passive this coming offseason as they rebuild. GM Jed Hoyer told MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that the club will have financial flexibility and be active on the free agent market this winter.
“We will have financial flexibility,” Hoyer said. “We’ve been diligent to make sure we do have flexibility and we’re efficient going forward. We’ll obviously be active in the free agent market. That’s a big part of our research and work now is evaluating free agents. We have some money to spend and we’ll focus on it heavily.”
Chicago opened the season with a payroll north of $100MM, but pricey commitments to Carlos Zambrano and Marlon Byrd will come off the books this winter. Alfonso Soriano ($19MM) and Carlos Marmol ($9.8MM) figure to remain on the payroll next season, plus Matt Garza is heading into his fourth year of arbitration as a Super Two. He earned $9.5MM this year.
Hoyer and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein figure to seek short-term deals for any free agents, similar to the two-year, $10MM contract given to David DeJesus last offseason. Since they remain in rebuilding mode, any short-term commitments would be considered potential trade bait at next year's trade deadline as well.
They need to grab a couple of low risk SP like Maholm. Flip them at the deadline if they need to. Then next year start spending the money on some SP, 3B, and a Catcher if none have developed better by then.
Would have been really nice to have received Turner, Brantley, and Flynn for Barney and Garza. That would have really helped this team move forward a lot quicker. Right now they are so far away from competing that even three or four good free agent signings would result in a sub-.500 team.
It’s a tricky business. The Cubs are looking to sign FA, whom other teams don’t want, at a cheap rate, hope they have a good 1st half and then flip ’em for some young goods. Sounds easy—(sarcasm)
Melky Cabrera, Carlos Villanueva, Ervin Santana.. All viable options
i can see Villanueva easy, santana would be alright. but i dont see Melky the OF is already kinda full.
My thinking behind that is Brett does another half at AAA.. That’s the only scenario I see that with…
grab some starting pitching and bullpen arms.
Mannn, not trading Matt Garza last offseason is really looking bad for them now.
Certainly things did not work out the way they had hoped. Both Jackson and Vitters are NOT ready. Rizzo has had a nice half a year, but they will need major production out of him. Not being able to acquire Delgado for Dempster along with not being able to move Garza was a big failure by the front office. I know things happen, but this was the plan the entire year. Imagine if they had acquired Delgado, Turner, Brantley, and Flynn for Dempster, Garza, and Barney. Things would have been a lot different had they been able to pull these off. I guess we’ll see what happens in the offseason, but they are a long ways away and everything that happened this year certainly didn’t help.
Every free agent longs for the chance to ink a deal with a team likely to make them trade bait at the next trading deadline. Good strategy Cubs. When did you last win a title?
Why not? Get more money locked in for the duration of the contract, play half a season and then be traded to a contender in a playoff race. Doesn’t sound half bad to me.
Heck, I bet Boras will be talking to the Cubs quite a bit tis offseason.
You’re self-described as a “parent” so I’m going to guess you have a family. What do you want to bet that upwards of 90 percent of players who reach the age of free agency have families as well. Roll that around in your head a little bit and then look at what you wrote and you can answer your own “why not”? without any help from me.
try rolling around in your own head the idea that best offer wins, whether that means more money, a better chance to increase their value for 2013 free agency, an extra year, or just guaranteed playing time.
Maybe on your planet but where most of us here reside there are teams that attract free agents and teams that don’t. I defy you or anybody to identify a player who indicated he signed as a free agent with a team in the hope or expectation of being traded elsewhere. Give me one example or admit you’re clueless.
fighterflea:
Except for the guys at the very of the careers, which the Cubs would have no interest in signing, baseball players sign where they get the most money/can reestablish value and, to a lesser extent, places they want to play (like Wrigley).
The two-to-three-year-deal guys know, in this era, there is a solid chance they are going to be traded during the term of the contract. In spite of their history, the Cubs have had no trouble attracting and signing the two-to-three-year-deal value/bargain guys. So, the Cubs, who have the money, can pay market and pick up the sort of guys a rebuilding team needs.
Please feel free to point out all the guys in baseball, not at the very end of their careers, who signed for less to play for “a team that attracts free agents.”
As you said to sarcasm_robot, maybe on your planet, but on planet Earth, zero people gave you thumbs up and eleven gave you thumbs down.
jb226 is correct, in that the Boras guys looking to reestablish value would look at the Cubs, much like Pena did a couple years back on a 1 year deal.
i could see Epstein looking at Madson for example and boras is probably not going to want more than a 1Y w/player option at 2 in order to get his value up after TJ and everyone knows Marmol cannot be counted upon to close daily.. Madson would fit, then Marmol if madson can’t go out there back to back days.
Pena even would have fit again had the Cubs not had Rizzo. I see mid level FA willing to sign (like dejesus did) and upper tier ones looking to raise value before reentering the market.
Every free agent wants job security..if we go a 2nd or 3rd year that most teams wouldn’t than the player might take that. When the Cubs are close to contending again they should have no problem signing their choice of free agents.. Lots of money and a chance to end the biggest drought in professional sports. They’ll take it.