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Cubs Notes: Sanchez, Marmol, Samardzija, Garza

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The Cubs are going down to the wire with another top free agent pitcher, as we heard earlier today that Chicago and the Rangers are the final two suitors in the Edwin Jackson sweepstakes.  Here are some more items from Wrigley Field…

  • The Cubs didn't feel they "were on the cusp" of signing Anibal Sanchez, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but rather just one of the teams in the mix to top the Tigers.  I'd guess that Detroit was Sanchez's ideal destination all along, given how Sanchez apparently gave the Tigers the final chance to top the Cubs' $77MM proposal and left a larger offer from another team on the table at the Winter Meetings.
  • "Carlos Marmol going for a small package of prospects" is the deal that ESPN's Bruce Levine feels is the likeliest trade the Cubs will make before Opening Day.  The Cubs will probably have to include a large chunk of Marmol's remaining $9.8MM salary in such a swap given how Marmol is coming off a tough 2012 season that saw him lose his closer's job.  Chicago nearly dealt Marmol to the Angels for Dan Haren earlier this winter but that trade fell through due to concerns about Haren's health.  Levine also covers a number of other Cubs- and White Sox-related topics in his all-Chicago chat.
  • Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago wonders if the Cubs will look to extend both Jeff Samardzija and Matt Garza this offseason.  We've heard the Cubs have reached out to Samardzija about an extension though Mooney thinks "there's no rush" given how Samardzija is controlled through 2015 and is a local product.  Garza is entering the last year of his current contract and has been the subject of many trade rumors over the last two seasons.

Heyman & Knobler On Oswalt, Norris, Porcello

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The latest from Jon Heyman and Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (links go to Twitter)…

  • There’s no word from Roy Oswalt on whether he’ll pitch in 2013, Heyman reports.
  • The Astros would have to be overwhelmed to trade Jed Lowrie, according to Heyman. However, the Astros have talked to teams such as the Cardinals and Rangers about possible deals involving Bud Norris. Norris, 27, goes to arbitration for the first time this offseason following a 2012 campaign in which he posted a 4.65 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 168 1/3 innings. Even after a mixed platform season, Norris will do reasonably well in arbitration thanks to his career total of 563 2/3 innings. MLBTR projects a salary of $2.9MM.
  • The Tigers had almost a dozen calls about Rick Porcello within a few hours of their agreement with right-hander Anibal Sanchez, Knobler reports. The Tigers are expected to trade Porcello, who’s second time arbitration eligible with a projected salary of $4.7MM. The Cubs called, but there's no match, Knobler adds.
  • The Twins aren't done adding pitching, Heyman reports.

Cubs Designate Jeff Beliveau For Assignment

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The Cubs announced that they designated left-hander Jeff Beliveau for assignment. The move creates roster space for Ian Stewart, whose one-year deal became official today.

Beliveau, 25, made his MLB debut this past season, appearing in 22 games. He posted a 4.58 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 in 17 2/3 innings. The Cubs originally selected Beliveau in the 18th round of the 2008 draft.

Tigers To Sign Anibal Sanchez

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The Tigers announced that they have agreed to sign free agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez to a five-year contract that includes a 2018 club option. The deal is valued at $80MM according to, Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who first reported the deal (on Twitter).

“Anibal pitched tremendously for us down the stretch and during the post-season,” Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski said. “He strengthens our starting rotation and we are pleased to have him back with the Tigers organization.” 

Anibal Sanchez - Tigers (PW)

Agent Gene Mato represents Sanchez, who agrees to terms with Detroit after coming close to a deal with the Cubs. Cubs ownership and Theo Epstein offered Sanchez a $77MM contract in Miami last week, but the Tigers jumped in and won the bidding, Nightengale reports (on Twitter). The Red Sox also talked to Sanchez, but didn't go as high as $80MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).

Acquired from Miami in a midseason trade, Sanchez struggled upon arriving in Detroit but pitched well in September and in the postseason. The five-year preserves the Tigers' formidable rotation. Led by Justin Verlander, the group also includes Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly. It's possible Porcello will become a trade candidate once the Tigers complete their deal with Sanchez; the 23-year-old has already drawn interest from a number of National League teams.

Sanchez posted a 3.86 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 195 2/3 regular season innings this past season. The 28-year-old also started three playoff games for Detroit, posting a 1.77 ERA in 20 1/3 postseason innings. His average fastball checks in just shy of 92 mph and he generates swings and misses on approximately one in ten offerings, according to FanGraphs.

The Red Sox signed Sanchez as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2001 then, four years later, they traded him and Hanley Ramirez to the Marlins in the deal that sent Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to Boston. The Tigers acquired Sanchez and Omar Infante from Miami in a trade this past July.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Sanchez fourth among free agents, and second among pitchers behind only Zack Greinke. Sanchez would not have been linked to draft pick compensation if he had signed elsewhere, since he was traded midseason.

As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, Sanchez's deal exceeds C.J. Wilson's five-year, $77.5MM contract and falls just shy of the five-year, $82.5MM contracts signed by John Lackey and A.J. Burnett.

Edwin Jackson, Kyle Lohse and Shaun Marcum are among the top remaining free agent starters, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Central Notes: Soriano, Pierzynski, Adams, Royals

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Happy birthday to Cubs great Fergie Jenkins, who was born 70 years ago today in Chatham, Ontario.  The 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner won 167 games in 10 years with the Cubs and wore the red 'C' into the Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 1991.

Here are some items from Chicago and elsewhere around both the AL and NL Central divisions…

  • The Braves don't have any interest in trading for Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  The Cubs are willing to pay $26MM of Soriano's remaining $36MM salary in a trade and have shopped the veteran to the Astros and Phillies this offseason.
  • The White Sox would like to bring back A.J. Pierzynski but only at the team's price, writes Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago.  While the team has kept in touch with Pierzynski's agent, the Sox are prepared to go ahead with Tyler Flowers as their everyday catcher.
  • The Brewers can probably be counted out of the Mike Adams hunt, opines Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link) as the free agent reliever will likely be priced out of the Crew's range.  At least seven other teams besides Milwaukee are known to be interested in Adams.
  • Also from Haudricourt, he outlines how the Brewers have been historically unable to keep their major stars, a trend that may continue given the team's small local TV contract.  The one exception was Ryan Braun, who was already on an eight-year contract when he signed his major extension with the Crew.
  • We heard last month that the Royals were trying to trade Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar, but Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that while the team will listen, they "feel no urgency" to move either pitcher.  The Royals want a lot of rotation depth and could just put either Chen or Hochevar in the bullpen, though K.C. could also wait until March to find better trade offers. (All links to Dutton's Twitter account.)
  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty told reporters (including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that his team is pretty much done its winter shopping, though he hinted that the Reds could add a left-handed reliever.
  • As the cost of high-end pitching has risen, Adam Wainwright is in position to receive a huge payday as he enters the final year of his contract with the Cardinals, writes the Associated Press.  Both Wainwright and the Cards are open to the idea of discussing a new contract before Opening Day.
  • From earlier today, the Cubs and Tigers are the final two suitors for Anibal Sanchez.  The Cubs thought they had Sanchez signed to a five-year, $75MM offer, but Sanchez is giving the Tigers a final chance to match or top the offer.

Cubs Out On Anibal Sanchez

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8:16am: The Cubs are out on Sanchez and the Tigers look like they'll win the bidding for him, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links). Heyman suggests that the Tigers are positioned to sign Sanchez, barring a last-minute mystery team.

FRIDAY, 8:03am: The Cubs have increased their offer to $77.5MM, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Tigers have offered the right-hander $75MM.

THURSDAY, 10:45pm: Sanchez won't make a decision tonight and will continue talking with both the Cubs and Tigers tomorrow, reports Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).

6:10pm: If the Tigers do top the Cubs' offer, USA Today's Bob Nightengale says Sanchez will sign with Detroit, thus seemingly shutting the Cubs out of a chance to counter.  The Tigers had offered a four-year contract to Sanchez, Nightengale says, and CBS Sports' Danny Knobler adds that Detroit was believed to be hesitant to go to five years for Sanchez (both  Twitter links).

5:57pm: The Tigers are being given a "last chance" to match the Cubs' offer, reports Bob Nightengale.  The Cubs thought they had a done deal with Sanchez.

5:08pm: The deal is not yet complete, as Sanchez's agent Gene Mato tells CBS Sports' Jon Heyman that he is still talking to other teams.  Sources tell Heyman that the Tigers are still "very much in [the] mix."  (both links to Twitter) 

4:50pm: The Cubs have given their rebuilding process a major boost by agreeing to sign free agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez to a five-year contract, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  The deal could be worth $75MM, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, who said earlier today that the two sides were close to an agreement.  The contract will become official once Sanchez passes a physical.  Sanchez is represented by Mato Sports Management.

The signing is a surprise given that the Cubs were thought to be at least a year away from pursuing big-ticket free agents, instead signing such low-cost/high-upside pitchers as Scott Baker and Scott Feldman and signing Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa this winter.  Yet, it was Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and company who outbid five other teams (including the Tigers) for Sanchez's services, according to Nightengale (Twitter link).  Sanchez, 28, is young enough to be a key rotation piece for the next contending Cubs team, and Chicago now has an ace atop what looks like a very solid rotation that also includes Matt Garza, Jeff Samardzija, Travis Wood and one of Baker or Feldman.

Sanchez was ranked as the fourth-best free agent available by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes, and the second-best pitcher behind only Zack Greinke.  The righty has posted a 3.70 ERA, an 8.1 K/9 rate, a 2.89 K/BB ratio and an average of 196 innings over the last three seasons with the Marlins and Tigers, also pitching very well in three postseason starts for Detroit last October.

This post was first published on December 13th, 2012.

ESPN On Ichiro, Indians, Adams

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Here are some rumors from ESPN.com's baseball writers, starting with a note from Buster Olney (all links go to Twitter)…

Cubs Notes: Soriano, Price

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Since winning the NL Central in 2008, the Cubs have seen their win total decrease every year. Here's the latest on the Cubs as they seek to improve on their 2012 mark of 61-101…

  • The Cubs are willing to pay approximately $26MM of the $36MM remaining on Alfonso Soriano’s contract if they get the right prospect back in a trade, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Soriano, who turns 37 next month, hit 32 home runs and posted a .262/.322/.499 batting line in 2012. He'll earn $18MM per season in 2013 and 2014. The Cubs have discussed Soriano with the Phillies and shopped him to the Astros, according to recent reports.
  • Other teams have complimented the Cubs’ methodical approach to building a contender, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes (Twitter links). Olney points out that the Cubs could be well-positioned to pursue a trade for David Price by next winter.

Cubs Agree To Sign Chang-Yong Lim

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The Cubs have agreed to sign South Korean right-handed reliever Chang-Yong Lim, reports Yonhap News. The split contract is worth up to $5MM at the big league level, and it includes an interpreter and a personal trainer.

"I am happy that my dream has finally come true," said Lim to reporters. "I am not getting any younger, and it's great to have the chance to experience something I never have before. I am going to tackle this challenge head on."

Lim, 36, is currently rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery, and the Cubs don't expect him back until 2014. Roughly a half-dozen clubs made contract offers, including the Red Sox and Rangers. Lim had been with the Yakult Swallows in Japan since 2008 after spending several years with the Samsung Lions in South Korea. He pitched to a 2.09 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 128 saves during his time with Yakult.

Lim was posted for MLB teams by the Lions back in 2002, but the winning bid of only $650K was rejected.

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