Cubs Rumors: Bradley, Grabow, Reed Johnson
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times discuss the Cubs' offseason plans in new articles today.
- Both writers agree that unloading right fielder Milton Bradley (owed $21MM) is at the top of GM Jim Hendry's to-do list. Wittenmyer's sources suggest the Cubs might be able to move Bradley without eating 80% of his contract. Sullivan believes the Cubs could kill two birds with one stone by trading Bradley for their desired "RBI guy," one who carries an equally poor contract. Magglio Ordonez and Jose Guillen come to mind for me. However, the Tigers would have no motivation to make the swap and the Royals are not interested (it's a poor match on money and handedness anyway).
- Sullivan says lefty reliever John Grabow wants a three-year deal, and the Cubs "are likely to give it to him." That'd be overpaying, based on last year's market for lefty relievers.
- Sullivan believes Jake Fox and Mike Fontenot are trade candidates. Fox might be a good fit with an American League club.
- Will the Cubs opt for a cheap backup outfielder in Sam Fuld, or will they re-sign Reed Johnson?
- Neither writer expects the Cubs to trade Carlos Zambrano.
Odds & Ends: Braves, Blue Jays, Reds, Mets
Time for another round of links…
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wouldn't be surprised if the Braves could get a team to pick up Derek Lowe's contract. The righty has $45MM remaining on the four-year deal he signed last offseason.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says there's "significant discontent" towards Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston. It's just not as bad as Ken Rosenthal says it is.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says the discontent has been building in the clubhouse all season long.
- From Jeff Blair's Twitter: "Poor Chicago: first they get screwed by [Alex] Rios, then they get screwed by Rio."
- As MLB.com's Mark Sheldon notes, the Reds fired pitching coach Dick Pole.
- Matthew Cerrone and Michael Baron of MetsBlog are divided on whether Carlos Zambrano would be a good addition for the Mets.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that it will cost about $500MM to buy the Rangers.
Odds & Ends: Braves, Blue Jays, Reds, Mets
Time for another round of links…
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wouldn't be surprised if the Braves could get a team to pick up Derek Lowe's contract. The righty has $45MM remaining on the four-year deal he signed last offseason.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says there's "significant discontent" towards Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston. It's just not as bad as Ken Rosenthal says it is.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says the discontent has been building in the clubhouse all season long.
- From Jeff Blair's Twitter: "Poor Chicago: first they get screwed by [Alex] Rios, then they get screwed by Rio."
- As MLB.com's Mark Sheldon notes, the Reds fired pitching coach Dick Pole.
- Matthew Cerrone and Michael Baron of MetsBlog are divided on whether Carlos Zambrano would be a good addition for the Mets.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that it will cost about $500MM to buy the Rangers.
Cubs Rumors: Johnson, DeRosa, Zambrano
Some rumors on the Cubs as their season comes to an end…
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says Cubs GM Jim Hendry had one of his worst offseasons last winter.
- Aramis Ramirez tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune it's not Hendry's fault that the Milton Bradley signing didn't work out.
- In the same article we hear that Ted Lilly wants the Cubs to hold onto Reed Johnson and bring back Mark DeRosa.
- And Carlos Zambrano has a prediction: "Like Arnold Schwarzenegger said, 'I'll be back'." Dunno if Schwarzenegger had a no-trade clause, but Zambrano does, so he has a say in the matter.
Cubs Not Looking To Retain Rich Harden?
The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan writes that the Cubs have no plans to bring back Rich Harden, as alluded to by manager Lou Piniella. Prior to losing the final road game of the season to the San Francisco, Piniella ran down the 2010 rotation.
"You look at our starting pitching here for next year," Piniella said. "You've got (Carlos) Zambrano, you've got (Ryan) Dempster, you've got (Randy) Wells, you've got (Ted) Lilly, you've got (Tom) Gorzelanny, and you've got (Jeff) Samardzija…And if this kid keeps improving, he'll be right in the mix. So we've got six nice arms."
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Piniella characterized the starting five as being "pretty settled." Wittenmyer feels that Gorzelanny has a leg up on Samardzija and Sean Marshall for the fifth slot.
Zambrano, despite his personal frustration, could once again be an elite pitcher. The 28-year-old ace is discouraged by his depressed win total, but still managed to post a 3.69 ERA with 8.0 K/9 – a marked improvement over his 6.2 K/9 in 2008. Lilly has had what you could call a career year at the age of 33, recording all-time bests with a 3.02 ERA and 4.21 K/BB ratio. Dempster's HR, BB and SO rates are in the neighborhood of where they were last year, when he garnered national attention. Wells put up a strong 3.18 ERA on the way to becoming the first Cubs rookie to notch 10 wins since Kerry Wood.
Are the Cubs in good enough shape to let Harden sign elsewhere without having to sift through the lackluster available starting pitchers? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Peavy For Zambrano?
Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune says that there is some buzz regarding a Second City swap of Jake Peavy and Carlos Zambrano:
"Some baseball people believe the White Sox could have interest in the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, possibly even for the newly acquired Jake Peavy. It would be a way for two teams without much money to spend to shake things up, but wouldn't Peavy have more value than Zambrano at this point?"
Peavy, as you may remember, listed the Cubs as a team he was willing to be traded to when the Padres first looked to move him. Zambrano has solid numbers for the year, posting an ERA of 3.69 and 8 strikeouts per 9 innings.
With just two starts in black and white, people are already wondering if Peavy will be a part of the team's 2010 plans. Big Z has had a very strong September (2.81 ERA, 38 K's in 32 IP) but frustrations on the north side of Chicago have put every Cubbie under the gun.
Starting in 2010, the continuation of Peavy's contract will pay him $52MM over three years plus a club option. Zambrano will earn $53.75MM in the next three years with a vesting player option for 2013 worth $19.25MM.
Could an intra-city trade of this magnitude ever happen? Should either team pursue such a trade or is this simply a case of the grass being greener on the other end of the Windy City?
Heyman On Pujols, Holliday, Acta, Cubs
The Cardinals want to lock up Albert Pujols, but Jon Heyman of SI.com wonders if they can keep him and Matt Holliday. One GM says there's "no chance" the team can keep the two stars, despite owner Bill DeWitt's goal to "lock up both of them." Here are more details on the Cardinals' superstars, along with the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Heyman says it's illogical to expect Pujols to demand anything less than $30MM per season.
- Holliday is "thought to be interested" in a deal comparable to Mark Teixeira's $180MM pact. No doubt Holliday would have interest in that kind of deal, but would any team consider it? (I doubt it.)
- There are many reasons it makes sense for the Cards to try to lock up Holliday and Pujols. As Heyman says, such an attempt would show manager Tony La Russa, pitching coach Dave Duncan and the fan base that the team wants to win at all costs.
- Heyman hears that the Astros will interview former Nats manager Manny Acta for their managerial opening.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro is facing pressure to fire manager Eric Wedge, especially now that the club has lost 11 straight.
- Not surprisingly, two GMs consider Alfonso Soriano untradeable. He has $90MM remaining on his contract.
- The Cubs would have to eat a "decent chunk" of Carlos Zambrano's contract if they decide to trade him. A trade doesn't seem likely, however.
- If the Cubs deal Milton Bradley, Heyman considers the Padres a logical fit.
- Execs around the league expect Roy Halladay to be on the trade market again this winter.
Odds & Ends: Jays, Zambrano, Harden
A few more evening links….
- The Blue Jays have some uncertainty at catcher heading into 2010, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. With Rod Barajas poised to test the free agent market, Raul Chavez, Kyle Phillips, J.P. Arencibia, and Brian Jeroloman could all be in the mix for time behind the plate. GM J.P. Ricciardi also tells Bastian that Scott Downs and Jason Frasor could split closing duties in Toronto next year.
- BP's Christina Kahrl at ESPN.com says so many factors stand in the way of trading Carlos Zambrano that the Cubs would probably have to accept "pennies on the dollar" to move him. She figures if they're looking to deal, the Cubs need to hope they receive interest from a starter-hungry team convinced that Big Z could be their missing piece, like perhaps the Mets.
- Rich Harden has been shut down for 2009, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Has Harden thrown his last pitch for Chicago? He says he'd like to return, but Sullivan suggests that the Cubs likely won't offer more than a one-year deal. Check out Tim's rundown of this year's starting pitching free agent class for an idea of how Harden fits into the market.
- R.J. Anderson at DRays Bay gets involved in the Felix Hernandez chatter by wondering if the Rays might try acquiring the Mariners ace this winter. It seems unlikely, but they apparently made at least one attempt prior to the trade deadline.
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune chimes in on Ken Williams' assessment of the 2009 White Sox. Rogers points out that the Chicago GM should be blaming the team's $25MM payroll cut, or even himself for failing to acquire any talent that helped the 2009 team in the Javier Vazquez and Nick Swisher deals.
Stark On Bradley & Zambrano
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears that the Cubs will likely try to move Milton Bradley for another "problem" player this offseason. Eric Byrnes, Pat Burrell and Bronson Arroyo haven't been discussed, but they are the kind of expensive player the Cubs might consider trading Bradley away for. There will likely be takers for the unpredictable outfielder, despite his year-long struggle in Chicago.
Stark hears that Bradley's teammate, Carlos Zambrano, is far less likely to be traded. Baseball men say the Cubs have never shown any interest in dealing the big righty, so he's likely to be their Opening Day starter once again in 2010.
Perrotto’s Latest: Cubs, White Sox, Chipper, Josh Johnson
The latest from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus:
- The Cubs are trying to sign John Grabow and Reed Johnson before they reach free agency.
- Perrotto says those that know Chipper Jones believe he would actually retire after next season if he can't perform up to his standards.
- There's a possibility the Marlins will try to deal Josh Johnson this winter even though he won't be a free agent until after 2011. Johnson is not anticipated to take a hometown discount to stay in Florida.
- Perrotto expects Russell Branyan will re-sign with the Mariners before he reaches free agency.
- Seems like pure speculation, but a Jake Peavy for Carlos Zambrano deal this offseason would not surprise some in Chicago.