Cubs Sign Edmonds
5:33pm: He’s a Cub, pending a physical.
3:38pm: Sounds like Edmonds will become a Cub after tonight’s game and may debut tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY, 11:11am: Edmonds has moved from appearing poised to "about to" sign with the Cubs. Cubs fans don’t seem to like the move, but it doesn’t seem like anything to get worked up about.
TUESDAY: Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs "appear poised to sign Edmonds after he clears waivers Wednesday."
MONDAY: According to Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs are "exploring the possibility" of signing center fielder Jim Edmonds. This was first reported by Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000 yesterday evening.
Edmonds, 37, was let go after hitting .178/.265/.233 in 103 plate appearances. It’s hard to say whether Edmonds has anything left. He did hit relatively well in the last two months of 2007. Van Dyck says Edmonds would replace Felix Pie on the Cubs’ roster.
Odds and Ends: Jacque, Lee Hak-ju, Tavarez
Here’s today’s collection of links.
- The Tigers weren’t able to trade Jacque Jones; he’ll become a free agent tomorrow. The Marlins are expected to make an offer.
- The Cubs signed a Korean high school shortstop named Lee Hak-ju. Aaron Shinsano, who works for the Cubs as a scout, says the team believes he’d have been a first round pick in the states.
- Giants owner Peter Magowan is expected to step down Friday.
- Troy Renck says the Rox still want Julian Tavarez but won’t give up pitching prospect Brandon Hynick. Baseball America ranked Hynick eighth among Rockies prospects, they describe him as a command guy with a decent splitter. The Sox are talking to two or three teams about Tavarez.
- Not a surprise, but Jon Garland isn’t likely to sign back with the White Sox.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Lidge, Daniel Cabrera, Bonds, Edmonds
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. I put the Griffey info in a separate post; let’s discuss the rest.
- Rosenthal suggests that Brad Lidge would be harder to replace than Pat Burrell, and for that reason the Phillies will make a bigger effort to re-sign him. I imagine Phillies fans would prefer that course of action. The problem? The Phillies have little chance of offering four years, according to Jayson Stark.
- The Rangers will face a delicate situation in coming years: moving Michael Young to a different position. The chain reaction could make Hank Blalock available. Blalock has a club option for ’09 at $6.2MM.
- Aside from Rick Porcello replacing Kenny Rogers at some point, the questionable Detroit rotation is set and signed through 2010.
- One scout seems to think Daniel Cabrera has turned the corner and shouldn’t be traded. He’ll become a free agent after the 2010 season and earns $2.875MM this year.
- Though it might be seen as a desperation move, the Tigers don’t have much to lose by signing Barry Bonds. Gary Sheffield endorsed it.
- Rosenthal says the Rays and Jays are teams with "possible interest" in Jim Edmonds but are likely to pass. That leaves the Cubs.
- Will Jason Giambi find a job next year after the Yankees decline his option? He plans to try.
- The Red Sox asked about Mark Loretta during Spring Training as "infield insurance." Rosenthal suggests the Sox consider Omar Vizquel, a defensive upgrade over Julio Lugo.
Odds and Ends: Bay, Roberts, Cliff Lee
And here we have some random links I’ve collected over the past day or so.
- The Bucs will try to fill their open 40-man spots through low profile moves, not unlike the Jason Michaels one. They won’t move Jason Bay or Xavier Nady until they’re truly out of it. 4.5 games out of the wild card, they still have a prayer here on May 9th.
- Keith Law’s top 60 prospects list for the June draft has been published. Shortstop Tim Beckham heads the list.
- Gordon Wittenmyer looks back on the Cubs players rumored to be traded for Brian Roberts.
- Juan Uribe, partially on the strength of a great takeout slide, still has life with the White Sox.
- Nick Piecoro reminds us that the D’Backs were close to acquiring Cliff Lee in a deal for Carlos Quentin this winter. That would just be unfair, Lee as a part of that rotation. Ken Davidoff notes that the Mets discussed Lee as well.
- So…did the Yankees really have a shot at Micah Owings in the Randy Johnson deal?
Gammons’ Latest: Bradley, Griffey, Padilla
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post to discuss.
- Gammons says Cubs manager Lou Piniella would like to add a left-handed hitting right or center fielder to bat fifth. Milton Bradley and Ken Griffey Jr. seem like long shots though. It’s odd that the Rangers wouldn’t want to move Bradley.
- Gammons notes that the Rangers wanted Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Heilman, and Deolis Guerra for Vicente Padilla in the offseason. Even as a negotiation starting point, that’s a ton for Padilla.
Teams Scouting Griffey, Dunn
If the Reds slip out of contention in May, Walt Jocketty might begin to field offers for corner outfielders Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn. Both are paid well and have at least some control over trade destinations. According to MLB.com’s Jim Molony, "a few teams are having their scouts keep an eye" on the pair in case they become available.
The standard speculation for Griffey is that he could be traded back to Seattle after he gets his 600th home run with the Reds. Junior might be a nice boost in right field for the Ms if Wladimir Balentien needs time to adjust. I doubt the Mariners would give up Jeff Clement for Griffey though. There’s been some Chicago speculation, never mind that both the Cubs and Sox are set at the corner outfield positions.
Dunn would help the Padres, who are last in baseball in both OBP and SLG. The Jays, Mets, or Indians could also make sense.
Odds and Ends: Burrell, Pedro, Fukudome
Today’s link collection.
- Jon Heyman notes that Pat Burrell only wanted to go to the Yankees or Red Sox when the Phillies tried to trade him a few years ago. They’re not great fits, but perhaps Burrell will have those two clubs at the top of his list when he hits free agency.
- Ross Newhan looks at the Dodgers’ trade of Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields. He rates it the worst in franchise history. He also names the Brad Penny acquisition as the fourth-worst.
- Josh Kalk takes a look at Kosuke Fukudome‘s hot start for RotoAuthority.
- The Dodgers and Juan Castro have mutual interest.
Heyman’s Latest: Lofton, Owings, Sabathia
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up.
- Heyman and Buster Olney both believe the Cubs should sign free agent Kenny Lofton to help fill in for Alfonso Soriano. However, Olney noted that the Cubs don’t seem interested.
- Apparently the Yanks pushed hard to get Micah Owings in the Randy Johnson deal a few years ago. Ross Ohlendorf still looks interesting, at least.
- Heyman has heard whispers about C.C. Sabathia having arm problems but admits there’s no real evidence. Sabathia threw 256.3 innings last year (postseason included), an increase of almost 60 IP over 2007.
Cubs May Have Use For Murton After All
One of the players most-rumored to be traded in the past month is Matt Murton after he failed to make the Cubs opening day roster and was sent to AAA. Now it appears the Cubs may have a use for Murton after all, recalling him from the minors today.
Jon Greenberg notes that Murton is still not an everyday player but could get an occasional spot-start in the outfield as well as regular pinch-hit at bats.
Earlier this week, Ken Rosenthal noted that the Rays were still interested and earlier this month wrote of the Padres also pursuing the outfielder. The sticking point appeared to be the Cubs demand for a top pitching prospect.
This could just be a ploy by the Cubs to try and up the offer from other clubs, showing that he is still of value to the Cubs or the Cubs are just now realizing that he is just more useful in the majors than he is in the minors.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Lugo, Murton, Scherzer
A handful of random links…
- Josh Kalk did a guest post at RotoAuthority, using PITCHf/x data to analyze C.C. Sabathia‘s early struggles.
- Nick Cafardo comments on Julio Lugo‘s unimpressive Red Sox career, noting that Jed Lowrie is nipping at his heels. Is there any chance the Sox consider guys like Orlando Cabrera or Rafael Furcal this winter?
- Christina Kahrl believes leaving Matt Murton in Triple A was the right move.
- White Sox beat reporter Joe Cowley explains that real baseball is different from fantasy baseball.
- The Scherzer Watch begins, especially for fantasy leaguers.
- Joe Sports Fan offers their list of the seven worst baseball contracts.