Cubs Rumors

Odds & Ends: Sheets, Blanco, Coghlan

By Tim Dierkes | May 15, 2009 at 3:48pm CDT

Links for Friday…

RotoAuthority talks about the popular fantasy pickups this week.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels says Ben Sheets is "watching from a distance" while recovering from elbow surgery, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers "apparently are in position to sign Guillermo Pimentel, a top outfield prospect from the Dominican Republic" for $1.5-2MM.
Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says Red Sox reliever Javier Lopez cleared waivers and will head to Triple A.
Sam Miller of the OC Register assembled a lineup/slideshow of prospects who deserve a big league shot.
Henry Blanco isn't sure why he wasn't able to re-sign with the Cubs, according to the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan.
Nick Yohanek, the fan who caught Chris Coghlan's first big league home run, explains his side of the story in asking for the following for the ball: a signed Coghlan game bat, a signed Coghlan ball, and a Hanley Ramirez game bat. What's your take on this?

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Trades Possibilities

By Cork Gaines | May 15, 2009 at 8:42am CDT

On this date 11 years ago, the Marlins traded Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson and two others to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. Piazza's tenure with the Marlins would last five games in which he was 5-18 with a triple and 5 RBI. Seven days later he was traded to the Mets for Preston Wilson and two minor league pitchers that would combine for 5 career appearances. To this day, Mike Francessa of WFAN in New York City will tell anybody that listens that he was responsible for convincing the Mets to make the deal. So far this season we have seen a couple of minor deals. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Feeling Dodger Blue feels now is a good time to trade James Loney and wonders if Jorge Cantu can be had.
Fire Brand of the American League addresses the possibility of the Red Sox trading Brad Penny and looks at some players the Red Sox might pursue.
6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba takes an early look at the teams that might be buyers and sellers at the deadline.
Around the Majors takes a look at the 2010 free agents that are represented by Scott Boras.
Jorge Says No! discusses whether Koji Uehara was the best free agent signing this year.
The Bottom Line wonders if the Red Sox missed an opportunity to sign Jason Bay to an extension.
El Lefty Malo takes a look at several players the Giants let go and whether the moves were smart in hindsight.
Goat Riders of the Apocalypse proposes some names that can be brought in to fix the Cubs bullpen.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds & Ends: Byrd, Fox, Kobayashi

By Tim Dierkes | May 11, 2009 at 3:47pm CDT

Links for Monday…

MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince says the Indians signed 31 year-old reliever Blaine Neal to a minor league deal. Here's a look at Neal's minor league work – nice job for the Tigers' Triple A club last year.
Masahide Kobayashi explains why he's struggled in the U.S., talking to Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro wrote on Thursday that free agent pitcher Paul Byrd has a $3MM asking price.
It might be time for Chad Fox to hang up the spikes. He owns a 3.79 ERA in 228 career innings. Would've been 3.45, without his Cubs career.
Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News runs through the list of Scott Boras clients linked to performance-enhancing drugs.
Rany Jazayerli likes Pedro Martinez as a comparable for Zack Greinke.
A.J. Hinch's contract runs through 2012.
RotoAuthority looks at the pitchers who have improved their walk rate the most this year.
MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo gives an overview of this year's draft.
Current members of the Newark Bears: Rob Mackowiak, Keith Foulke, Shawn Chacon, Abraham Nunez, Carl Everett, Jay Gibbons, and Michael Tucker.

Ryan Freel Traded For Joey Gathright

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 8, 2009 at 6:14pm CDT

6:14pm: MASN's Roch Kubatko has more from Orioles president of basball operations Andy MacPhail. Apparently the trade took about four days to complete.

"We know the tool he has," MacPhail said of the newly acquired Gathright. "He's 28 years old and he's got great speed. A career .260 hitter without much power. I think people have a pretty good understanding. But he really creates more of an inventory for us at a position that is still somewhat up in the air."

4:44pm: According to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald the Orioles will pay the difference between the two players' salaries. Basically the teams are paying the same amount as they would have had they not made the deal.

4:22pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Orioles will continue to pay part of the $3.3MM Freel will make before the end of the season.

3:38pm: The Orioles have traded Freel to the Cubs for Gathright, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Gathright has already cleared waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

12:54pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Cubs are talking to the Orioles about a trade for Ryan Freel. As Rosenthal points out, the Cubs have more oufield depth than expected, thanks to Micah Hoffpauir and Kosuke Fukudome. Joey Gathright, who has batted only 14 times this year, is expendable. The Orioles are talking to other clubs about Freel, who has about $3.3MM remaining on this year's contract.

Indians To Sign Luis Vizcaino

By Tim Dierkes | May 8, 2009 at 1:08pm CDT

1:08pm: MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports that the Indians could announce a move this afternoon.

FRIDAY, 12:19pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports heard that the Indians intend to sign Vizcaino. He will either join the team immediately or tune up in the minor leagues first. The Indians' pitching struggled again last night, allowing 12 runs without recording an out at one point.

THURSDAY, 1:43pm: The Twitter post from Gaylord Sports linked below has been removed.

10:46am: According to Luis Vizcaino's agency Gaylord Sports, the reliever has been acquired by the Indians. The Cubs designated Vizcaino for assignment on April 23rd to make room for Jeff Samardzija. Vizcaino is owed $4MM, and presumably the Cubs will assume $3.6MM of that. They released him at some point, so he signed with Cleveland as a free agent.

The Cubs jettisoned Vizcaino after 3.6 scoreless innings. It seems they never wanted him; acquiring him was just a way to move some of Jason Marquis' salary.

Miguel Angel Sano Drawing Attention

By Tim Dierkes | May 4, 2009 at 9:51am CDT

Miguel Angel Sano, a 15 year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, is coveted by all 30 teams according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He'll turn 16 in May. The signing period for international free agents begins July 2nd. Kovacevic says Sano could command a bonus of $3MM.

Kovacevic says the Pirates are one of the favorites for Sano. GlobalPost has an informative video about the kid. In the clip, Sano wears apparel representing the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Cardinals at various times, for what it's worth. He was wearing an A's jersey when ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. and Luke Cyphers saw him. Sano is not worried about proving he's 15 years old, saying in the video, "Let them investigate me." To read a bit about his personality, check out this blog post.

Odds & Ends: Perez, D’Backs, Baez

By Tim Dierkes | April 27, 2009 at 9:57am CDT

Links for Monday…

RotoAuthority looks more closely at the Pirates' MLB-best rotation.
Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Marlins won't be pursuing Luis Vizcaino.
On Saturday, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wrote that the Rangers don't expect to be in on Pedro Martinez, but could have interest in Vizcaino for a Triple A job.
Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts has a quick American League Elias rankings preview.
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post thinks Oliver Perez may be headed to the bullpen or even Triple A if he'll consent. Perez has pitched poorly in three of his four starts. He's had streaks like this before, though.
With Brandon Webb out for at least six weeks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wonders if the Diamondbacks will be sellers this summer.
Could Danys Baez have midseason trade value? Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun thinks it's possible, despite the pitcher's $5.5MM salary.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks back at last summer's Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal with the Pirates.
Murray Chass thinks Ned Colletti deserves a contract extension. Do you agree?
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. wonders who will be the first American-born player to exploit a draft loophole by dropping out of high school and living in another country for a year to become a free agent.

Odds & Ends: Minaya, Bradley, McClain

By Tim Dierkes | April 24, 2009 at 9:53am CDT

Links for Friday…

Yahoo's Gordon Edes on what might've been: Alex Rodriguez in Boston.
MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone interviewed GM Omar Minaya.
Milton Bradley is not a fan of the Chicago media. He explained why in an exclusive chat with MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
Rob Bradford of WEEI talks about the scarcity of middle-of-the-order bats on the free agent market, as it relates to the Red Sox.
Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald wonders if Luis Vizcaino could return to the White Sox.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Sponichi report indicating that the Hiroshima Carp are in contract talks with minor league veteran Scott McClain.
Mike Thomas of The Herald News caught up with Shea Hillenbrand and got the player's take on the various incidents in his career.

Odds & Ends: Robinson, Benitez, Lee

By | April 23, 2009 at 4:11pm CDT

A few links for Thursday…

According to Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post, former Nationals manager Frank Robinson has been named Special Assistant to the Commisioner. He'll basically work as an advisor to Bud Selig.
Milton Bradley had a 10-minute meeting with Cubs manager Lou Piniella on Thursday, presumably to discuss his on-field antics and clubhouse demeanor. He was thrown out of a game and suspended last week. He has also blown off the Chicago media a few times, and lazily ran out a grounder during Wednesday's game.
Peter Gammons of ESPN said in a radio spot Thursday that he doesn't believe the Indians will end up trading Cliff Lee.
The Newark Bears of the Atlantic League have signed former major leaguer Armando Benitez. He spent part of last year with the Blue Jays, but is best remembered for his time as a closer for the Mets, Marlins and Giants.

Luis Vizcaino Designated For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | April 23, 2009 at 9:41am CDT

9:41am: Vizcaino has been designated for assignment, according to ESPN's Bruce Levine. Levine says Cubs GM Jim Hendry "tried to be creative with other teams, including the Washington Nationals, and tried to save some money before having to release Vizcaino."

Assuming Vizcaino signs elsewhere at the minimum salary, that'll be $3.6MM lost for the Cubs. They also sent $875K to Colorado in the January Jason Marquis deal. So the Cubs will end up paying $4.475MM rather than Marquis' $9.875MM salary.

THURSDAY, 9:04am: Sullivan seems a little more sure, writing today that Vizcaino "is expected to be released to make room for Samardzija."

WEDNESDAY, 4:56pm: According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs will call up pitcher Jeff Samardzija on Thursday to join the bullpen. Sullivan adds that Milton Bradley is back in the lineup (ie not headed for the DL), and lefties Neal Cotts and Sean Marshall won't be sent down. For Sullivan, it all adds up to the possibility that reliever Luis Vizcaino may be released. To do so, the Cubs would have to assume the $4MM owed to him.

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