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Odds & Ends: Cubs, Giambi, Kikuchi

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Some links to check out as we await the crowning of the 2009 AL Central Champions:

  • Major League Baseball announced today that the transfer of the Chicago Cubs to Tom Ricketts was unanimously approved.  Ricketts will assume day-to-day control of the club when the deal is finalized, which should take place before the end of the month.
  • Jack Curry of the New York Times reports via Twitter that Jason Giambi "raved about the Rockies and said he wants to play in 2010." 
  • Decision time is drawing near for Japanese high school pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and NPB Tracker took a glance at what lies ahead for the hard-throwing lefty.  The 18-year-old is deciding between MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and is believed to have more than 20 clubs interested in his services.  Kikuchi originally planned to speak with only a select few MLB teams, but has now resolved that he will talk to all interested suitors.  
  • More from NPB Tracker as Ryota Igarashi – reliever for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows – eyes a move to MLB.  Igarashi is keeping mum on the subject for now as his team is in the playoff hunt.
  • ESPN's Keith Law chatted about new Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos on the radio today and Drunk Jays Fans has a transcript of the interview as well as a link to the audio.
  • Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times offered up his take on how the internet has changed the way baseball is covered.
  • From the Fish Bytes blog comes the news that the Marlins did not extend contract offers to pitching coach Mark Wiley and first-base coach Andy Fox.  Both men were offered positions elsewhere in the organization.  The rest of the coaching staff will be retained.
  • Dick Kaegel of MLB.com brings us similar news out of Kansas City.  Everyone on the Royals staff will return to their current roles, except for bullpen coach John Mizerock and first-base coach Rusty Kuntz.  Mizerock has been let go whereas Kuntz will become a special assistant to GM Dayton Moore.

Cubs Rumors: Bradley, Grabow, Reed Johnson

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times discuss the Cubs' offseason plans in new articles today.

  • Both writers agree that unloading right fielder Milton Bradley (owed $21MM) is at the top of GM Jim Hendry's to-do list.  Wittenmyer's sources suggest the Cubs might be able to move Bradley without eating 80% of his contract.  Sullivan believes the Cubs could kill two birds with one stone by trading Bradley for their desired "RBI guy," one who carries an equally poor contract.  Magglio Ordonez and Jose Guillen come to mind for me.  However, the Tigers would have no motivation to make the swap and the Royals are not interested (it's a poor match on money and handedness anyway). 
  • Sullivan says lefty reliever John Grabow wants a three-year deal, and the Cubs "are likely to give it to him."  That'd be overpaying, based on last year's market for lefty relievers.
  • Sullivan believes Jake Fox and Mike Fontenot are trade candidates.  Fox might be a good fit with an American League club.
  • Will the Cubs opt for a cheap backup outfielder in Sam Fuld, or will they re-sign Reed Johnson?
  • Neither writer expects the Cubs to trade Carlos Zambrano.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Indians, Draft Order

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Let's take a look around the web on this Sunday evening:

  • Cubs manager Lou Piniella says that Ryne Sandberg will be "in the mix" to succeed him as Cubs skipper, according to Andrew Simon of MLB.com.  Sandberg is the manager of Chicago's Double-A affiliate and could get consideration as soon as 2011 if Piniella does not ink a new deal.
  • Speaking of the Cubs, the Associated Press reports that hitting coach Von Joshua will not return to the team next year but has been invited to fill a similar role for the Triple-A affiliate.  Sullivan identifies Sandberg as a possible replacement for Joshua, although GM Jim Hendry declined to name names.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Indians general manager Mark Shapiro wants to appoint the club's next manager by the end of the World Series.  Hoynes says that while Cleveland's list of candidates includes some people who are already in-house, Eric Wedge's replacement will likely come from outside of the organization.
  • Via twitter, ESPN's Keith Law runs down the 2010 MLB Draft order.  Law also notes that spots 9-11 could change.
  • Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron, who is a free agent this offseason, suffered a minor concussion when he hit his head diving for a ball in the sixth inning of the season finale, writes Adam McCalvy of Brew Beat.  Cameron says that he has had several concussions during the course of his career but assured reporters that he'll "be fine."

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Indians, Draft Order

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Let's take a look around the web on this Sunday evening:

  • Cubs manager Lou Piniella says that Ryne Sandberg will be "in the mix" to succeed him as Cubs skipper, according to Andrew Simon of MLB.com.  Sandberg is the manager of Chicago's Double-A affiliate and could get consideration as soon as 2011 if Piniella does not ink a new deal.
  • Speaking of the Cubs, the Associated Press reports that hitting coach Von Joshua will not return to the team next year but has been invited to fill a similar role for the Triple-A affiliate.  Sullivan identifies Sandberg as a possible replacement for Joshua, although GM Jim Hendry declined to name names.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Indians general manager Mark Shapiro wants to appoint the club's next manager by the end of the World Series.  Hoynes says that while Cleveland's list of candidates includes some people who are already in-house, Eric Wedge's replacement will likely come from outside of the organization.
  • Via twitter, ESPN's Keith Law runs down the 2010 MLB Draft order.  Law also notes that spots 9-11 could change.
  • Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron, who is a free agent this offseason, suffered a minor concussion when he hit his head diving for a ball in the sixth inning of the season finale, writes Adam McCalvy of Brew Beat.  Cameron says that he has had several concussions during the course of his career but assured reporters that he'll "be fine."

Cubs Might Not Trade Milton Bradley

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Milton Bradley could be back with the Cubs in 2010, reports Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.  In a session with reporters in which he characterized this season as "disappointing", GM Jim Hendry left open the possibility of the troubled outfielder staying put this winter:

"You deal with the cards you have now," Hendry said. "Right now, he's still a member of the Cubs…Until people come or go, you have to play the cards you have now."

Recently, it has been reported that the Padres could reunite with the 31-year-old.  The Royals and Rangers, on the other hand, are not interested in dealing for Bradley.  In a radio interview, Lou Piniella hinted that Bradley would don another uniform next season.

Bradley is owed $21MM over the next two years and the Cubs would likely have to swallow a portion of his contract in a trade.  Does it make more sense for the Cubs to try and iron things out with the right fielder who is only one year removed from back-to-back ~1.000 OPS seasons, or is he simply not worth the trouble?  Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Cubs Rumors: Grabow, Harden

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The Cubs have four players headed for free agency this winter: reliever John Grabow, outfielder Reed Johnson, reliever Kevin Gregg and starter Rich Harden.  Thanks to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com, we already have news on two of them…

  • John Grabow has begun "preliminary talks" with the Cubs about returning for the 2010 season.  He wants to come back, and has made that known.  "It's just a matter of finding common ground," said the left-hander, acquired from the Pirates on July 30.  "It won't happen until the season is over."
  • Rich Harden has also made it known that he'd like to return.  "I like this team and the organization, and I'm very happy with my time here," he said Saturday. "Yeah, I'd like to be here next year, but we'll see what happens."  Of course, Harden will require a much stronger financial commitment than Grabow.  He's likely to shop around, if only to drive up his price.  And the Cubs have hinted that they might not even want him back.

Olney On Type A Free Agents

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney looks back to last winter when players like Juan Cruz saw their value tumble because the Elias rankings classified them as Type A free agents. Some players are good enough to qualify, but not tantalizing enough for teams to give up the high draft pick that Type A free agents cost if their teams offer arbitration. Olney quizzed a group of executives about this year's likely Type A free agents; here are the details you need to know:

  • Vladimir Guerrero makes $15MM this year, so Olney's execs doubt the Angels will offer arbitration.
  • The executives polled said the Braves seem likely to offer Mike Gonzalez arbitration. It may make sense for Gonzalez to accept, since teams may be reluctant to give up millions of dollars and picks when there are other good relievers available. It doesn't appear that the Braves will offer Rafael Soriano arbitration.
  • Four of the six execs Olney asked say the Cubs won't offer Rich Harden arbitration. He'd be in a position to command $10MM on a one-year deal. Is that such a huge risk for a big-market club like the Cubs to take? Harden has started 51 games since 2008 and could yield a top draft pick.
  • None of Olney's respondents expect the Astros to offer Miguel Tejada arbitration.
  • The execs are split on the Dodgers' plans for Orlando Hudson. The club is cost-conscious, but Hudson is still a talented player who could net the team a draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

Got it? You can find explanations of arbitration, free agent compensation and related terms in our hot stove glossary if it's still a little hazy.

Cubs Rumors: Johnson, DeRosa, Zambrano

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Some rumors on the Cubs as their season comes to an end…

  • Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says Cubs GM Jim Hendry had one of his worst offseasons last winter.
  • Aramis Ramirez tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune it's not Hendry's fault that the Milton Bradley signing didn't work out.
  • In the same article we hear that Ted Lilly wants the Cubs to hold onto Reed Johnson and bring back Mark DeRosa.
  • And Carlos Zambrano has a prediction: "Like Arnold Schwarzenegger said, 'I'll be back'." Dunno if Schwarzenegger had a no-trade clause, but Zambrano does, so he has a say in the matter.

Odds & Ends: Sandberg, Yanks, Padres, Upton

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Some links to read before the final weekend of the regular season…

Rangers Aren’t Interested In Bradley

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The Rangers aren't interested in bringing Milton Bradley back to Texas, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sources make it clear to Sullivan that the club won't look to re-acquire the now-available outfielder. A week ago, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the Rangers feel Bradley became selfish at the end of last season.

Bradley, who led the American League with a .999 OPS last year, hit .257/.378/.397 in the first year of his multi-year deal with the Cubs. There are two years and $21MM remaining on the 31-year-old's contract.

The Royals aren't interested in Bradley; the Padres are open-minded about him and other teams could get involved, too.

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