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Bankruptcy Won’t Exempt Cubs From Contracts

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The Tribune Co. may take the Cubs to bankruptcy to complete the sale of their team to the Ricketts family, but the club will still be responsible for its players' contracts, according to David Roeder and Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times. Major league baseball guarantees payment on player deals, so the Cubs won't be able to avoid contracts like Alfonso Soriano's and Milton Bradley's. 

A bankruptcy filing would bring the sale of the team closer to completion, but a bankruptcy judge and 75% of major league owners would still have to approve the transaction.

Odds And Ends: Acta, Cubs, Halladay

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Some links to start the week off…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't believe the Mets would fire Jerry Manuel and call on Manny Acta.
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law says Acta's firing reflects worse on the Nats than it does on Acta.
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com says Acta will get another managerial job somewhere.
  • Brandon Inge told Chris Iott of MLive.com that the Tigers haven't played their best, even though they're in first place.
  • John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies have a much better chance at repeating as World Series champions if they acquire Roy Halladay.
  • Sherman points out that the Mets would have to play .640 ball the rest of the way to win 90 games. Doesn't seem likely.  
  • Bloomberg.com reports that the Cubs could file for bankruptcy to complete the sale of the team.
  • Check out the first part of an ongoing series at NESN.com in which I discuss hot rumors around the majors. Click the link for thoughts on Roy Halladay, the Red Sox and the Yankee rotation and check back tomorrow for more.

Cubs Interested In B.J. Ryan

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs have interest in the recently-released B.J. Ryan. The former Blue Jays closer will become a free agent when he clears waivers tomorrow, so any team will be able to pick him up for the major league minimum. The Blue Jays will pay the rest of Ryan's contract, some $15MM over the next year and a half.

The Cubs could send Ryan to the minors if they sign him, then bring him up as a lefty specialist if they believe he can be effective in the majors again. 

Freddy Sanchez Rumors: Saturday

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Yesterday we learned that the Pirates are "pushing hard" to trade All Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez before this year's trade deadline, but nothing appears imminent right now. Here's the latest roundup of Sanchez rumors courtesy of Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports.

  • Kovacevic says the Mariners and Twins remain interested in Sanchez.
  • The Rockies' interest has cooled off of late, and they're now focused on acquiring bullpen help.
  • Biertempfel adds a new team to the mix: Tampa Bay.
  • Edes reports that a NL Central team is involved, and speculates that it could be the Cubs.
  • Sanchez's $8MM vesting option based on plate appearances is an obstacle in any trade.

More Halladay Chatter

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GMs' phones must be ringing off the hook tonight, and most of the incoming calls are probably from your friendly neighborhood baseball beat writer. Let's scope out the latest news from Buster Olney:

  • Olney has updated his previous post on the news, and gets word that Halladay might be open to waiving his no-trade clause.
  • Olney goes on to say that since Halladay would depart after 2010 as a likely Type A, he will command two high draft choices. Thus, all trade offers would have to begin with such talent.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia says GM Tony Reagins has talked to Toronto about Doc.
  • Olney runs through more suitors: the Red Sox, who have "stubbornly clung to their young pitching," the Mets and Cubs, who may or may not have the proper package of prospects, Yankees, and the Phillies.

In other news around the beat:

Cubs Sale Still Unresolved

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TUESDAY, 1:06pm: ChicagoBusiness.com passes on a Reuters report informing us that the Tribune has not reached a final agreement with the Ricketts family or Marc Utay, who submitted a rival bid for the team.

MONDAY, 10:40am: Ameet Sachdev reports on ChicagoBreakingNews.com that Tribune Co. has reached a deal to sell the Cubs and Wrigley Field to the Ricketts family for about $900MM. The deal must now be court-approved and accepted by other MLB owners. Ben Klayman of Reuters hears that the price is slightly lower than the original bid of $900MM.

This move could give the Cubs the financial flexibility to take on salary at the deadline.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Kouzmanoff, Marlins

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A tasty handful of Monday evening links…

  • Chris DeLuca of the Chicago Sun-Times gathered a quote from Cubs GM Jim Hendry on the possibility of his club making a move: "We have a pretty good team,and if our guys all play like their capable … you don’t have to do a whole lot."
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock reports the Padres aren't "getting many hits" from other teams on Kevin Kouzmanoff, but believes that might change soon.
  • According to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, the Reds have signed four Venezuelan amateurs.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a rundown of team-by-team minor league transactions from late June.  It's interesting reading for prospect buffs.
  • Will the Marlins be leaving their payroll issues behind when they move into their spanking new facility in 2012?  Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald doesn't seem to think so.  He questions whether the club will be able to fill their $634MM, 37,000-seat stadium once the luster wears off.
  • Tommy Rancel of DRaysBay.com has more on Venezuelan third baseman Cesar Perez, who was signed this afternoon by Tampa Bay for $1MM.
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reviews the Ryan Freel trade, noting that the Royals must be labeled as "buyers" as of July 6.  Of course, that could change by the time the July 31 trade deadline rolls around.
  • Remember to tune in for the weekly MLBTR live chat tomorrow at 2pm CST.

Edes’ Latest: Giants, Teahen, Relievers

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Currently standing atop the National League wildcard standings, the Giants are looking for a lefthanded bat to add to their lineup according to Gordon Edes of Yahoo Sports. He cites a major league executive who says that San Francisco has focused their efforts on three first baseman: Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff and Adam LaRoche. Edes also says that the Giants have spoken to the Padres about a potential Jonathan Sanchez–Scott Hairston swap.

Let's round up the rest of Edes' rumors…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore has heard from multiple teams about Mark Teahen, including the Red Sox, Cubs, Angels and Giants.
  • The Braves "might be inclined to take a look at" Jose Guillen. The Royals would love to discuss Yunel Escobar.
  • We've heard this before, but if Boston moves a reliever, it will most likely be Takashi Saito.
  • Padres' closer Heath Bell may command the most attention amongst relievers.
  • The Astros are likely to hold on to LaTroy Hawkins and Jose Valverde, barring a collapse before the trade deadline.
  • The Blue Jays would love to move BJ Ryan, but are more likely to see interest in Jason Frasor and Scott Downs.
  • Bronson Arroyo is back on the trade block.

Cubs Sign Casey Fossum

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The Cubs signed Casey Fossum and assigned him to Triple A Iowa, according to MiLB.com. He became a free agent last week when he opted out of his contract with the Yankees. Fossum had been pitching in Triple A Scranton since the Yankees picked him up in May. The Cubs will be his his third organization of the year, as he pitched briefly with the Mets before they designated him for assignment.

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