Cubs Rumors

Talkin’ Ryan Spilborghs

By | June 6, 2009 at 1:48pm CDT

With the promotion of 23-year-old outfielder Carlos Gonzalez from Triple-A, Ryan Spilborghs now stands as the fifth outfielder in Colorado. He's not an All-Star, and probably never will be, but Spilborghs deserves a bit more playing time than he'll get with the Rockies. Thus, he's on the proverbial trading block.

As Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported Friday evening, "The Red Sox have interest in Spilborghs, and Tampa and Atlanta are looking for outfield help. The Cubs have always liked Spilborghs as well."

ESPN.com's Rob Neyer reported the Braves' interest on Friday, but with the Nate McLouth deal in the books, is he really a good fit? Is Spilborghs destined for reserve duty wherever he goes? For reference, the 29-year-old is batting .262/.326/.440 with five home runs, 25 RBI and six stolen bases in 168 at-bats this season. He's earning close to the league minimum.

Zambrano Says He’ll Retire At End Of Contract

By Mike Axisa | June 6, 2009 at 8:57am CDT

According to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, Cubs' righthander Carlos Zambrano says he will retire at the end of his current contract. Zambrano is currently in the second year of a five year, $91.5MM million dollar contract that he signed before the 2008 season.

"After this contract, I'm done," said Zambrano, who is signed through 2012 with a vesting option for 2013. "I'm serious. I don't want to play. I want to help this team, I want to do everything possible to win with this team, but after five years or four years, or whatever I have left on my contract, I just don't want to play.

"I want to stay home and see my daughters grow up and hang out with my family more," he said. "Do you know how many Mother's Days I spend with my mother? Do you know how many things I've lost in my life?

"It's good to be here, it's good to play baseball — don't get me wrong," Zambrano said. "But five years, four years, whatever I have left in my contract, I will retire. That's it."

Zambrano turned 28 just this past week and just won his 100th career game last night. Like the quote says, his contract doesn't expire until after the 2013 season and has a vesting option for 2014 based on health and Cy Young voting, but it seems a bit odd that he would announce his intentions to retire so early. Perhaps he's just frustrated by some of the recent issues he's deal with. What do you guys think?

Mike Axisa writes for River Ave. Blues.

Draft Updates: Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Phillies

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 5, 2009 at 5:11pm CDT

Here's what five of last year's playoff teams plan to do with their draft choices…

MLB.com's Ian Browne says the Red Sox are happy to be selecting 28th because it means they were successful in the majors last year.
Like the Red Sox, the Rays pick late, but they're not used to it, having had the first overall pick the last two years. As MLB.com's Bill Chastain reports the Rays are considering 15 or 20 players with their 30th pick and there's some speculation they could go for a catcher.
The Cubs are focusing on doing well deep into the draft according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Their first pick will be the 31st overall.
The Phillies' first pick will come after 74 players have already been selected. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports that they'd like to add more bats and left-handed pitching.
The Angels, on the other hand, have five of the first 48 picks. MLB.com's Lyle Spencer says they'd like to add some power at the corner infield and outfield positions. They're one of many teams interested in high school outfielder Everett Williams.

And some buzz surrounding the nation's top amateur players…

ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill hears that the Mariners may be intimidated by the demands Scott Boras will likely make for his client, Dustin Ackley. He's considered the best college hitter in the draft, but the Mariners are apparently not willing to offer more than $6MM to sign him. Aaron Crow could be an alternative for the Mariners.
ESPN.com's Keith Law believes it would be a mistake for the Padres to take Mike Minor with the third pick. Check the article out for more updates on some top talent.
In a separate piece Law tracks the improvements some players- Stephen Strasburg, for one- make between high school and college.

Heyman On Contenders’ Needs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2009 at 1:21pm CDT

Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Dodgers would have to overpay for Jake Peavy, the Red Sox are going after bats and the Giants are "dangling" Jonathan Sanchez. Here are the details:

It's unlikely the White Sox could pry Cliff Lee away from the Indians.
The Brewers aren't sure whether they'll go after a hitter or a pitcher.
Heyman cites a source who says the Dodgers believe they'd have to pay "insanely" more than anyone else if they want to acquire Peavy. That's not much of a problem for the Dodgers, who are looking strong as-is.
The Red Sox are "aggressively seeking help," according to their competitors.
The best player they have a realistic shot at is Victor Martinez. If the Red Sox are going to deal for V-Mart, they'll likely have to part with young pitching.
Along with Nick Johnson and Aubrey Huff, Heyman says Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham are "possibilities" for the Red Sox.
Not surprisingly, the Mets would not deal Fernando Martinez for Matt Holliday.
The Giants are "dangling" Jonathan Sanchez.
The Cubs remain the favorites for Peavy, though they haven't called the Padres about him recently.
The Yankees, Angels and Rangers are looking for relief help.
One AL exec believes Erik Bedard would not adjust well to the attention if he's dealt to the Phillies.
And could George W. Bush team up with Nolan Ryan to re-purchase the Rangers?

Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Peavy, Indians, Torre

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 1, 2009 at 2:59pm CDT

Odds & Ends: Ibanez, Pettitte, Fontenot

By | May 30, 2009 at 3:40pm CDT

Your Saturday evening links, with more to come…

ESPN's Keith Law has made some significant changes to his Top 100 MLB Draft Rankings. It's subscriber-only, but a great read for those looking to catch draft fever.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times asks (and attempts to answer) a popular question: "What is going on with Raul Ibanez in Philadelphia?"
Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues takes another look at Andy Pettitte's incentive-laden deal with the Yankees.
Cubs manager Lou Piniella is high on Mike Fontenot at third base. "Fontenot is honestly our best option there," Piniella told the Chicago Sun-Times. "When we get Aaron Miles back [from the disabled list] it will help the situation too. But we feel very comfortable with Fontenot at third, and we can use [Bobby] Scales and [Andres] Blanco at second."

Odds & Ends: Igarashi, Cubs, Cardinals

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 2:53pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker talks about hard-throwing Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi, perhaps the top free agent from the country for the 2009-10 offseason.
I did a Q&A over at Coast to Coast Baseball.
Some doubt with the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family: Tribune owner Sam Zell said, "We've made it very public that the Cubs don't fit into the long-term picture of the Tribune. So if the Ricketts deal doesn't get done, I'm sure there will be other ones."
In separate articles, Dan Uggla and Octavio Dotel comment on the possibility of being traded.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Edgar Renteria was a good signing for the Giants, if you ignore the actual contract. Eh?
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses various third base trades the Cardinals could make.
SI's Tom Verducci likes Freddy Sanchez for the Rays. What's wrong with Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist?
Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to Braves GM Frank Wren about the team's need for a bat.
FanGraphs' Matthew Carruth asks: Where's Odalis Perez?

Heyman On Peavy, Astros, Greene

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 1:21pm CDT

A new column from SI's Jon Heyman…

If you are sick of hearing about Jake Peavy now, just wait until later this summer. The pitcher's no-trade clause has "wreaked havoc" on the Padres, but they'll keep trying to trade him. There are competing opinions as to which teams Peavy would accept a trade, but the Cubs and Dodgers seem to be named most often. Neither club is a perfect match. Over at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Michael Hunt discusses the Brewers possibility; he worries that Peavy's contract could become a burden for the Brew Crew.
Heyman discusses the situation with Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Could he be fired so soon after having his option picked up? Heyman believes Ed Wade might be a bigger problem, and even suggests that "privately [Shawn Chacon's] inappropriate actions were cheered by some other players." Astros owner Drayton McLane told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle that a dismissal of Cooper is "not in the cards," yet Wade doesn't believe in giving votes of confidence.
Heyman talked to one person close to shortstop Khalil Greene who "could see the 29-year-old walking away from the game after this season." Update: Greene's on the DL.
A competing exec told Heyman he wouldn't be stunned to see the Giants dangle Matt Cain, even though they haven't yet. Heyman suggests gauging the value of Jonathan Sanchez first makes sense.

Stark On Peavy, Oswalt, Phillies, DeRosa, Giants

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 2:28pm CDT

Let's take a look at the latest Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark.

The Padres' recent winning streak has not changed their intention of trading Jake Peavy. The Dodgers and Cubs are in Peavy's first tier of choices, follwed by the Giants, Cardinals, and Astros. The Angels would be the one AL team he'd consider. The East Coast is a long shot. Also, Peavy will want his 2011-13 partial no-trade clause to become a full no-trade. Peavy's friend Roy Oswalt has been unsuccessful in lobbying Astros owner Drayton McLane, as the 'Stros can't take on Peavy's contract. As for the Dodgers, GM Ned Colletti told the L.A. Times he hasn't talked to the Padres about Peavy since the pitcher vetoed the White Sox deal.
Stark talked to scouts who believe Oswalt has "lost his edge" and needs a change of scenery. The Phillies have inquired on him, but they've asked about everyone: Peavy, Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay, Doug Davis, Erik Bedard, Cliff Lee, Aaron Harang, Brad Penny, Chris Young and Jason Marquis. Popular Phillies trade targets include Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco, Travis D'Arnaud, Freddy Galvis, Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown, and Antonio Bastardo.
The Braves are interested in bringing Mark DeRosa back to Atlanta. He came up with them and was non-tendered in '04 after tearing his ACL. But to deal young arms, the Braves would want an impact bat. Stark says they're "mostly listening" rather than shopping Jeff Francoeur. His trade value is difficult to gauge.
The Mets seem content to wait out the first base trade market.
The Giants seek a middle-of-the-order bat, and Jonathan Sanchez is being dangled. Three targets they haven't had success on are Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, and possibly Carlos Lee. Lee, according to one Stark source, doesn't intend to waive his no-trade for anyone.

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 8:44am CDT

Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.

RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.

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