Freel Would Be Good Fit For Cubs
Over at The Cub Reporter, Arizona Phil recently outlined a sensible option for the Cubs’ leadoff spot that hasn’t been mentioned much. He proposes that the Cubs should find a way to acquire the versatile Ryan Freel from the Reds. Freel compares favorably to Juan Pierre and is further away from free agency.
Update: Kearns For Jerome Williams
According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000, the Austin Kearns trade talk has gotten serious and Jerome Williams, not Sergio Mitre, would be included in the deal.
This new incarnation of the deal seems more equitable. Unlike Mitre, Williams has had success in the Major Leagues in his career. He pitched 106 innings after being dealt to the Cubs for LaTroy Hawkins, posting a 3.91 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Williams posted a spectacular 2.10 ERA in five September starts.
Thanks to Alex
New Rumors: Luis Gonzalez, Brad Lidge
In his latest article, Dayn Perry threw out some interesting trade bait names that I hadn’t heard too much previously. Assuming Perry ran them by Rosenthal for a gut check, there could be some truth to these.
Brad Lidge to the Braves. Now there’s an intriguing thought. Could the Braves somehow emerge with the best closer on the market? One who no one even knew was on the market? I wouldn’t put it past Schuerholz. I can’t see Houston doing the deal for anything less than catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia or shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Luis Gonzalez to the Cubs. This one occurred to me back on November 7th, but it was only idle speculation at that point:
"Speaking of Kevin Mench, why do teams desire him? A redux of Luis Gonzalez would be better for the Cubs. The deal would make sense for the Diamondbacks as well, as Gonzo and Shawn Green are blocking uber-prospect Carlos Quentin."
Troy Glaus to the Pirates. Stranger things have happened, I guess. The Bucs would at least have a nasty 1-2 punch in Glaus and Jason Bay. Littlefield does have a stable of young arms with which he could broker a deal, if he’s willing to cough up the cash.
Kris Benson to the Royals. Ugh. Not so sure if Anna would sit well in Kansas City. Benson as the de facto ace on a team going nowhere doesn’t sit well, either.
Austin Kearns For Sergio Mitre?
George Ofman of WSCR The Score is reporting from the winter meetings that the Reds have offered Austin Kearns to the Cubs in return for Sergio Mitre and and a minor leaguer. I was able to get in touch with Ofman, and he mentioned that the minor leaguer was possibly righthander Ricky Nolasco.
Kearns is still living off an excellent 2000 at A ball and 372 fluky at-bats with the Reds in 2002. He’s got 25 HR pop, but the rest of his appeal is pure perceived potential. Ah, alliteration.
Sergio Mitre has had an uninspiring Major League career with the Cubs, going 4-10 with a 6.12 ERA in 120 innings. If nothing else, Mitre can tell his grandkids about that miraculous 16 shutout inning stretch where he outdueled both Roy Halladay and Josh Beckett in 2005. Seriously, though, Mitre keeps the ball down and could be passable fifth starter one day.
Ricky Nolasco was almost traded to Texas in a Rafael Palmeiro deal back in 2003. Palmeiro vetoed the trade, and Nolasco remained in the Cubs’ system. He has a solid curveball and decent sinker. Nolasco will be 23 soon, and he posted spectacular numbers at Double A in 2005. The starter had previously failed in a 40 inning attempt at Triple A Iowa in 2004.
Thanks to Alex.
Wilkerson Deal Unlikely To Include Cedeno
Interesting article in the Washington Post, found via RotoWorld. The Post confirms the Cubs’ interest in Brad Wilkerson, as mentioned on this site on November 29th.
The RotoWorld blurb and the Post article make a valid point: with the Cubs’ failure to sign Rafael Furcal, Ronny Cedeno is much less likely to be dealt. RotoWorld speculates that Jerome Williams or Corey Patterson could be possible trading chips.
Bowden plans to be active, using money not spent on Esteban Loaiza and Hector Carrasco to acquire a free agent pitcher. Back in October, I speculated that A.J. Burnett could wind up in Washington. The possibility remains, and will increase in likelihood if the team is purchased soon. One way or another, the Nationals are going to acquire several starting pitchers this offseason.
Cubdom Reacts To Furcal Signing
The Cubs’ fan base has taken a reasoned approach to the Dodgers’ signing of Rafael Furcal. Over at The Cub Reporter, Ruz praises GM Jim Hendry for not engaging in a bidding war. He also recommends signing lower-tier outfielders and/or seeing what the kids can do instead of getting involved with Johnny Damon.
CubDumb also doesn’t seem to mind missing out on Furcal.
Notes On Byrd, Burnett, Sosa
Today’s hot stove happenings:
Ken Rosenthal reports on the Cubs’ interest in A.J. Burnett. This confirms our assertion from November 18th:
"It’s sounding more and more like the Cubs will come up with another starter to add to the stable. Then they’ll deal from that depth to acquire an outfielder. GM Jim Hendry may be more inclined to make a big splash with A.J. Burnett than give a lot of money to Washburn. Unlike last season when he had to get Sammy Sosa off the books, Hendry will act early and often. The Cardinals’ interest in Burnett may motivate Hendry to make a better offer to the starter."
Speaking of Sosa, the Mets are mentioned as a suitor for the outfielder. The opinion here is that Sosa has nothing left, and is three years older than his listed age of 37. Only a foolish team desperate to allocate its free agent budget somewhere, anywhere, would take a chance on Sosa. I’m predicting the Kansas City Royals sign him as a PR move.
In yet another Rosenthal scoop, the Indians nabbed Paul Byrd for two years and $14.25MM. There’s a club option for the third year. We first reported the Tribe’s interest on November 29th. Byrd should provide decent value at what’s become the going rate for a middle-of-the-rotation starter. The fallout: the Angels will have to bring in a name pitcher if Jarrod Washburn also leaves town. I think he will, and the Angels kicking the tires on Erik Bedard, Livan Hernandez, and Jason Marquis.
The Mets moved quickly on Paul LoDuca, giving up one of their best remaining pitching prospects. Juan Pierre remains the last man standing, and the Marlins haven’t been waiting around to ditch their expensive players. Pierre should be gone as soon as the Fish find a team desperate enough to part with a top-notch prospect. The feeling here is that that team will not be the Yankees.
Thanks to Jerry and Alex
Cubs Rumermongering: Lowe, Lugo, and Roberts?
I caught a well-respected source shortly before he left for the winter meetings in Dallas today.
He didn’t have anything on which way Rafael Furcal is leaning, but he did confirm that the Cubs’ offer of five years and about $50MM is on the table. This is nothing new, but now you have one more source authenticating the fact that the Cubs guaranteed the fifth year. Some sources have claimed that the Cubs came out of the gate with 5/50, but in reality their initial bid was four years and $38MM.
The Cubs are still in on Juan Pierre. You’ve surely heard mention of interest from the Yankees, White Sox, and Padres lately. Just a reminder that the Cubs do indeed have Pierre on their radar currently.
We’ve been talking about Milton Bradley for a week now, and talks are heating up with L.A. Another name the Cubs are seriously considering is Derek Lowe. Lowe had a resurgent year in Los Angeles, and Hendry would feel much safer being able to pencil in 32 starts from him for ’06. You can never have too much pitching.
Here and there, you may have heard that Carlos Zambrano could be had in a trade. That’s absurd, of course.
Will Carroll mentioned in his Mill today that the Braves will snag Julio Lugo if Furcal departs. It works the other way too – the Cubs will be hot on his trail if Furcal re-signs with Atlanta.
Finally, the Cubs are thinking about dealing for Dave Roberts to help out as a sort of utility outfielder. The Padres have little need for him at this point.
Where’s Javier Vazquez Headed?
Ken Rosenthal had an informative article yesterday about starting pitchers likely to be traded. It’s not loaded with new information, but it’s a handy summary. One bit of new info (at least for me) was a list of likely suitors for Javier Vazquez. Rosenthal named the Braves, Cubs, Mets, and Indians as likely to be interested. In the same sentence, Rosenthal mentioned that Vazquez’s trade request was to join a team closer to his home in Puerto Rico.
Vazquez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. I’m not sure if he still lives there, but it’s a reasonable assumption. If Vazquez’s true main concern is to be as physically close to possible to Ponce, and Rosenthal’s list of suitors is accurate, it would be helpful to know the distance from Ponce to each team’s city. That’s why I compiled this handy chart.
| Distance from Ponce, Puerto Rico (miles) | |
| Atlanta | 1548 |
| New York | 1632 |
| Cleveland | 1851 |
| Chicago | 2064 |
| Phoenix | 3000 |
You can see why he was getting a little homesick playing in Arizona. If geography is any indicator, Atlanta is the frontrunner. Maybe they would ship Kyle Davies and change over to the D’Backs.
Ah, but what if Vazquez simply wants to be near large numbers of Puerto Ricans? New York blows other U.S. cities out of the water, of course.
How about Puerto Ricans as a percent of the total city population? Not a big surprise:
| % of Total Population | |
| New York, NY | 9.0 |
| Chicago, IL | 1.8 |
| Cleveland, OH | 1.6 |
| Atlanta, GA | 0.5 |
| Arizona | 0.4 |
Though Atlanta is a little closer to Puerto Rico, the Vazquez should feel right at home with the Mets. Indeed, such a trade is on the table.
Brad Wilkerson To Cubs For Ronny Cedeno
I promised myself I was going to take the evening off from rumormongering, I really did. But this one was too sweet and reliable to leave til the morning. Here’s the scoop – stay with me on this one.
A source went to college with Barry Larkin‘s cousin, Michael. (Michael is a wide receiver at Miami at Ohio, by the way). My source was in Cincinnati for Thanksgiving, as was Michael Larkin. Michael passed along the following info to my source via his cousin Barry.
It appears that Nationals GM Jim Bowden has asked Barry Larkin what he thinks of Cubs SS/2B Ronny Cedeno and for Barry’s help with Cedeno’s defense if he’s acquired. The Nationals’ front office has a covert concern that Jose Vidro is done for his career, and Cedeno would be an ideal safety net at 2B. Plus, the team wasn’t exactly thrilled with Cristian Guzman‘s horrific season in ’05.
Barry Larkin relayed to his cousin that the potential deal was Ronny Cedeno for Brad Wilkerson straight up. Then the info got to my source, and now it’s in your adoring hands. Believe it if you want to – I think it’s on the level.
Ronny Cedeno was ranked 16th among Cubs prospects by Baseball America before the 2005 season. He’s 23 years old and has a cannon arm. He hit .300 in 80 ABs with the Cubs in 2005. Before that, he managed a .355 mark in 245 Triple A at-bats.
Brad Wilkerson had an off year at age 28, ranking 13th among all CFs. He’s got superb on-base skills. He spent time at all three outfield positions and first base in ’05. He’s yet to reach free agency.
Thanks to Rob G.