Looper Throws For Cubs; Signing Not Expected
WEDNESDAY, 2:31pm: MLB.com's Carrie Muskat tweets that the Cubs are not expected to sign Looper.
TUESDAY, 8:36pm: FOXSports' Ken Rosenthal tweets that free agent Braden Looper threw for the Cubs today, and will be flexible on his role if the Cubs want him.
Looper is coming off of a disastrous 2009 season for the Brewers. He pitched to a 5.22 ERA, along with 64 walks and 100 strikeouts in 194 2/3 innings. Worst of all was a league-high 39 home runs allowed.
However, with the Cubs' bullpen pitching to a 6.00 ERA entering tonight's game (and struggling again), Looper may be an upgrade over some of the pitchers out there right now.
If The Cubs Become Sellers
At 5-9, the Cubs have fallen to four games back of the Cardinals in the NL Central. With over 90% of the season remaining, they've got plenty of time to right the ship. Still, let's take a look at who might be available if they don't.
If the Cubs decide to punt on the 2010 season at some point, I don't think it'd be a full-blown rebuild. Well-paid righties Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster should be part of the 2011 rotation (though Z is headed for the 'pen on Friday), and I'd be surprised to see either traded. Aramis Ramirez has said he'll think about his '11 player option after the season; I don't see a midseason trade happening.
Right fielder Kosuke Fukudome could be shopped; we learned earlier this month that the Cubs and Nationals discussed a trade. With $26.5MM owed to him over 2010-11, the Cubs would have to eat salary or take a contract back.
Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly are free agents after the season. If the Cubs want to re-sign them, they're likely to stay put this summer regardless of the team's record. Otherwise, Lee and Lilly could draw solid returns on the trade market (assuming Lilly comes back strong from a shoulder procedure). Although both players stand a good chance of achieving Type A status, arbitration offers are not certain.
Most likely, the Cubs would move smaller pieces if they fall out of the race: Xavier Nady and Chad Tracy are on one-year deals.
Heyman, Rosenthal On Cubs, Rays, Giants
SI's Jon Heyman and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal posted new columns this morning. A few hot stove highlights…
- Heyman received indications that Tom Gorzelanny will remain in the Cubs' rotation when Ted Lilly returns Saturday. That would mean Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, or Carlos Silva heads to the bullpen. Given his past experience in the Cubs' pen, Heyman finds Dempster the most logical choice. I respectfully disagree, as Dempster is the Cubs' best starter. I'd make Silva the long man and continue to scour the trade and free agent markets for relief help. Promoting Andrew Cashner merits consideration, if the Cubs don't think a temporary move back to relief would stunt his development. UPDATE: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets that Zambrano will go to the pen.
- Rosenthal finds a Rays sell-off unlikely, instead envisioning them as bullpen buyers. He notes that the Rays have attempted to trade for various star players the last two Julys.
- Rosenthal believes the Giants' biggest need is "a strong two-way threat in right field." He says potentially available players like David DeJesus and Corey Hart don't quite fit the mold. I'm just throwing it out there…could Elijah Dukes be a fit?
Largest Contracts In Team History
We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.
- Angels: Torii Hunter, five years, $90MM
- Astros: Carlos Lee, six years, $100MM
- Athletics: Eric Chavez, six years, $66MM
- Blue Jays: Vernon Wells, seven years, $126MM
- Braves: Chipper Jones, six years, $90MM
- Brewers: Ryan Braun, eight years, $45MM
- Cardinals: Matt Holliday, seven years, $120MM
- Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, eight years, $136MM
- Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson, four years, $53.4MM
- Dodgers: Kevin Brown, seven years, $105MM
- Giants: Barry Zito, seven years, $126MM
- Indians: Travis Hafner, four years, $57MM
- Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki, five years, $90MM
- Marlins: Hanley Ramirez, six years, $70MM
- Mets: Johan Santana, six years, $137.5MM
- Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, five years, $45MM
- Orioles: Miguel Tejada, six years, $72MM
- Padres: Jake Peavy, three years, $52MM
- Phillies: Chase Utley, seven years, $85MM
- Pirates: Jason Kendall, six years, $60MM
- Rangers: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $252MM
- Rays: Wilson Alvarez, five years, $35MM
- Reds: Ken Griffey Jr., nine years, $116.5MM
- Red Sox: Manny Ramirez, eight years, $160MM
- Rockies: Todd Helton, nine years, $141.5MM
- Royals: Gil Meche & Mike Sweeney, both five years, $55MM
- Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, eight years, $152.3MM
- Twins: Joe Mauer, eight years, $184MM
- White Sox: Frank Thomas, seven years, $64.4MM
- Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $275MM
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Hendry: Cubs Haven’t Considered Releasing Soriano
Cubs GM Jim Hendry said today on MLB Network Radio on SIRIUS XM that speculation about releasing Alfonso Soriano is unfounded.
"Never been a thought to it," Hendry told host Jim Memolo. "No. Those things are speculated by probably people in your profession, not ours."
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer wrote yesterday that he thinks there's a 50-50 chance the Cubs release Soriano before his contract expires at the end of the 2014 season. It's not at all surprising to see Hendry deny that the Cubs have given any thought to releasing the left fielder, who will make $90MM over the course of the next five years. But even if no one in the Cubs front office has considered releasing Soriano, they may have to at some point.
Soriano, 34, hit .275/.329/.519 with 110 homers in the three years preceding his contract with the Cubs. In the three-plus years since, he as a .274/.327/.506 line with 83 homers. Soriano's batting line is similar, but his power has dropped off since joining the Cubs, he's no longer the stolen base threat he once was, and his outfield defense was poor last year, according to UZR.
Odds & Ends: Downs, Soriano, Dodgers, Guillen
Here are a variety of news items as baseball wraps up another Jackie Robinson Day…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Phillies can't take on any extra salary right now and the presence of two Philadelphia scouts at Blue Jays games is just "normal coverage." Rosenthal adds, however, that Jays reliever Scott Downs "makes sense" for Philly's relief needs.
- ESPN's Rob Neyer believes "there's a 50/50 chance" that the Cubs will release Alfonso Soriano before his contract expires at the end of the 2014 season and the club will simply eat what is left of the $90MM owed to the underachieving outfielder.
- The Dodgers are satisfied with rookie A.J. Ellis as their backup catcher and will likely not look to acquire another backstop in the wake of Brad Ausmus' back surgery, reports Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Tom Van Riper of Forbes Magazine tears down the myth that players step up their production in the last year of their contracts.
- Jose Guillen was the subject of trade rumors over the winter, but the Royals outfielder had a much more traumatic offseason experience as he tells The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton about a life-threatening health scare.
- Barry Bloom of MLB.com reports that Hal Steinbrenner (unsurprisingly) wants Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Joe Girardi to remain Yankees, but isn't willing to break the club's policy of in-season contract negotiations to work on extensions. "I hope everybody is reasonable and we can work it out easily. But there's no doubt I want them here," Steinbrenner said.
- As we approach the 50th anniversary of the infamous Rocky Colavito/Harvey Kuenn swap, Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer looks back at the trade that infuriated Indians fans.
GM Initiation: Jon Daniels
Jon Daniels was announced as the new general manager of the Rangers on October 4th, 2005. At 28, he was the youngest GM in Major League history.
In mid-November of '05, Daniels struck his first deal. He and Cubs GM Jim Hendry agreed on a trade that would send righty Jon Leicester to Texas for a player to be named later. Minor league pitcher Clint Brannon was sent to the Cubs as the PTBNL in March. Daniels was kind enough to answer a few questions about his first trade.
MLB Trade Rumors: How long did you have your eye on Leicester before making the deal? He was coming off a rough year in Iowa; what did you see in him? As one of the Cubs' better prospects heading prior to the '05 season, were you surprised they'd part with him for a player to be named later or cash?
Jon Daniels: He was an out of options reliever – a guy we'd had good reports on in the past, had recently gotten over an injury I believe. We looked at him as a nice buy low opportunity, with a chance to pay dividends if it clicked. The Cubs didn’t have a spot for him – some clubs hold their out of options guys as long as possible – others recognize he's not part of their plans and move quicker, that's what happened here.
MLBTR: The Cubs ended up getting Brannon in March to complete the deal, but got only 7.3 A ball innings out of him. Did any of the other choices on the Cubs' list of possibilities end up playing in the Majors?
Daniels: I don't think there were other names, actually. Brannon was the only guy we discussed. He'd had some low level success the year before – might have actually set the Northwest League ERA record if I recall – but didn't do well in Chicago. That's OK – Leicester hurt himself in some odd off-field deal and didn't really pan out here – no one made out in this one.
MLBTR: Does the Leicester trade hold significance for you as your first deal, or was it overshadowed by the bigger trades that soon followed?
Daniels: Not a lot of significance other than the fact I get to say I traded for Jon "Lester" before people realize it’s the one spelled "Leicester."
MLBTR: What kind of relationship did you have with Jim Hendry prior to the Leicester trade?
Daniels: I knew Jim some from his dealings with John Hart when I worked for John. We'd spent some time together at GM and Winter Meetings before, but we didn't have a lot of history together. We've worked together a couple of times since.
MLBTR: At just 28 years old, what kind of reception did you get from other GMs after you got the job?
Daniels: Respectful and positive for the most part. My age was a novelty for the first while, but more with media and fans than with counterparts around the league, at least outwardly.
2011 Contract Issues: Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have one option situation due after the season, and it's a crucial one. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez faces a $14.6MM player option, which he'll think about after the season. Ramirez also has a $16MM mutual option for 2012, which can vest if Ramirez wins the LCS or regular MVP award this year or next or makes the All-Star team both years. Though he might not be able to get a $15MM salary on the open market, he could find more than one guaranteed year. I expect history to repeat itself – Ramirez will opt out but eventually agree to an extension to stay with the Cubs.
The Cubs also have a pair of important free agents: Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly. Both players want to stay, but it sounds like discussions will occur after the season. The question might be more on the Cubs' side - GM Jim Hendry has a history of retaining his own free agents if he wants them back. New Cubs Xavier Nady and Chad Tracy signed one-year deals, so they'll be eligible as well. Ramirez, Lee, and Lilly will earn about $41MM in 2010.
Increases to players under contract will total $6.1MM for 2011, topped by Marlon Byrd's $2.5MM bump. On the flip side, the Cubs will pay Carlos Silva $6MM in 2011 as opposed to the $12MM they would've paid Milton Bradley. Geovany Soto will get a raise as a first-year arbitration player, while the Cubs' second-year group includes Ryan Theriot, Carlos Marmol, Mike Fontenot, Jeff Baker, Sean Marshall, Angel Guzman, Tom Gorzelanny, and Koyie Hill.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Rosenthal On Bullpens, Marcum, Crawford
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a few hot stove offerings…
- Rosenthal names the Cubs, Cardinals, Rays, Phillies, and Marlins as teams with bullpen question marks. I'm thinking the Blue Jays might be able to extract something useful for their veteran relievers in a few months.
- Rosenthal speculates that Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum would be attractive on the trade market. Marcum is under team control through 2012. It's not known whether the Jays would entertain trading Marcum for even younger and cheaper players.
- Carl Crawford should command at least $12-14MM per year and at least a seven-year contract as free agent, opines Rosenthal.
Ricketts: Cubs Have Payroll Flexibility For 2010
New Cubs owner Tom Ricketts joined WSCR's Mully and Hanley show this morning; listen to the audio here. Asked about payroll flexibility, Ricketts replied:
With respect to this season, there's still some flexibility in the payroll should there be something that comes up down the line that looks like a fit or a need.
The Cubs' payroll is already north of $140MM, but it appears that family ownership will allow for added flexibility. Over the offseason the Cubs added $26.7MM total for four free agents ($9.9MM in 2010 salaries). Raises for current players exceeded $14MM, led by Ryan Dempster's $4.5MM increase. On the flip side, money was saved by the departures of Milton Bradley, Aaron Miles, Neal Cotts, Kevin Gregg, Rich Harden, Aaron Heilman, and Reed Johnson.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the Cubs add a reliever this summer. The offense could be tricky to augment, as the Cubs are locked in with sizeable contracts aside from catcher and the middle infield.