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Cubs Sign Chad Tracy

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The Cubs officially signed infielder Chad Tracy to a minor league deal today.  ESPN's Bruce Levine and Jayson Stark first reported the agreement last night, which is worth $900K if Tracy makes the team and another $525K if he reaches 450 plate appearances.

Tracy, 30 in May, struggled to a .237/.306/.389 line in 288 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks last year.  Tracy's future looked bright in May of '06, when he inked a three-year, $13.25MM deal with the D'Backs coming off a .308/.359/.553 season.  But even then he was shielded against lefties, against whom he's never had success.  Tracy's left knee began to bother him, and he had microfracture surgery in September of '07.  A blood clot complicated his recovery.  In March of '09, Tracy told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert the knee was no longer a factor.

Tracy gives Chicago a left-handed reserve bat and corner infield backup for Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee.  The Rockies, Orioles and Mets had also shown interest in the veteran infielder, who will be changing addresses for the first time in his six-year major league career. 

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Cubs Unlikely To Land Halladay

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Although the Cubs would "love" to pull off a deal for Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, they are unlikely to do so as they lack the necessary room in payroll, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

The Cubbies have a combined $42.375MM committed to pitchers Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Ryan Dempster.  They would have a hard time finding a taker for Alfonso Soriano as he is owed $18MM per year for the next five years.  Same goes for Kosuke Fukudome, who is due to make $26.5MM over the next two seasons.  Aramis Ramirez is a hefty contract that could be moved, but as Rosenthal and Morosi point out, he's probably too valuable for the Cubs to trade.  

Derrek Lee will make $13MM in the final year of his contract and could be a match for the Braves, however Atlanta would likely need to find a taker for a big contract (i.e. Derek Lowe) first.

Therefore, it appears that GM Jim Hendry's winter plans will center around finding a new home for Milton Bradley and acquiring a new center fielder.  Interestingly, the post floats the possibility of a three-way deal involving Bradley to net Mets second baseman Luis Castillo.

It seems as though Hendry has quite a few obstacles in his way if he hopes to swing a deal for Doc.  Would you be willing to make all of the moves necessary to create the space needed for such a trade?  What would it take for the Cubs to pry Halladay from the Blue Jays? Let's hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Milton Bradley Suitors

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune takes a look at the Milton Bradley situation in an article this morning.

Sullivan, like many, sees the Rangers as the favorite.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News looks at all the factors there.

Giants GM Brian Sabean was quizzed about a possible bad contract swap for Bradley, and shot down the idea.  The Mets and Rays appear in the mix to a certain extent, with Omar Minaya even admitting he'll talk to Jim Hendry about it.  Luis Castillo figures to be in that discussion, but Sullivan says reports suggest Mets ownership may be anti-Bradley.

ESPN's Bruce Levine adds more detail.  He says Hendry spent over an hour Monday with the Rays discussing a Bradley-Pat Burrell swap, with the $12MM salary difference a key.  A similar gap exists with Kevin Millwood, who Levine believes the Rangers would "gladly" swap for Bradley.  However, Levine says the Rangers will only take about $4MM of Bradley's contract at this point.

A few other notes from Sullivan: the Cubs remain fans of Marlon Byrd, who is now a free agent.  That interest suggests that the Cubs' "left-handed bat" obsession from a year ago has gone by the boards.  Sullivan also mentions that the Cubs "are in no hurry to open up talks with Derrek Lee on a contract extension."  Lee will earn $13MM in 2010 in the last year of his contract.

Odds & Ends: Bumgarner, Rangers, Kim

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Links for Tuesday…

Odds And Ends: Hardy, Johnson, Mets

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More links as we await the next waiver trade…

  • The Brewers put off J.J. Hardy's free agency until after 2011 by keeping him in the minors for 20 days, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out. This should boost Hardy's trade value after the season, when the Brewers will presumably listen to trade offers, now that Alcides Escobar is contributing in the majors.
  • Randy Johnson expects to return to the Giants as a reliever, according to the AP (via FOX Sports).
  • MLB.com's Marty Noble suggests Jayson Werth and Derrek Lee would be good fits for the Mets this offseason.  

Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Dempster, Wood

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Let’s check in on the Cubs’ offseason plans.

  • Cubs manager Lou Piniella says the Cubs will move Kosuke Fukudome to center field to platoon with Reed Johnson.  This move implies Jim Edmonds won’t be back.  Technically Edmonds could play right field, but he also needs a platoon partner.
  • The Cubs figure to be in the market for a lefthanded hitting right fielder.  Piniella expects the team to fill their holes via trade.  Brian Giles, Randy Winn, and Jeremy Hermida could fit the bill.
  • Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald reminds fans that Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee have no-trade clauses, and does not believe either will be traded.
  • Ken Rosenthal figures the Cubs will re-sign Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood.  However, he wonders if a three-year offer from another team could entice Wood.  Rosenthal says the Mets like Wood but can’t take on that kind of risk.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Sunday

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Jake Peavy, on the block:

  • According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune, the Braves have told the Padres they will not deal Tommy Hanson in a package for Jake Peavy. This despite heavy scouting of Hanson by the Padres in recent days. MLBTR touched on this topic on Friday, but it seems the Braves are standing pat that even Peavy won’t loosen their grip on their prospects. If the Padres are putting something together with the Braves, it’s not likely to be structured around Hanson, or Jair Jurrjens, Jason Heyward and Julio Teheran for that matter. As MLBTR noted before, it could all be speculation from rival GMs.
  • Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune brings us information from Baseball America: Peavy would waive his no trade clause to play for the Cubs. While Rogers notes there’s not much of a fit he suggests a package that includes a swap of Adrian Gonzalez and Derrek Lee. Intriguing, but far fetched.

Cubs Searching For Lefthanded Bat

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune talked to Cubs GM Jim Hendry, while Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times chatted with manager Lou Piniella.  Both said the Cubs are looking to add lefthanded hitting.  De Luca believes Brian Roberts and Raul Ibanez remain on Hendry’s radar.

I mentioned most of the feasible names in the Cubs Offseason Outlook.  Since right field is difficult to play at Wrigley field, players such as Milton Bradley and Ibanez are a questionable fit.  I believe the ideal acquisition would be Brian Giles, but he’d have to be willing to waive his no-trade clause.

Sullivan mentions an idea that is popular with Cubs fans: trading first baseman Derek Lee.  Freeing up first base would expand the Cubs’ options greatly.  Lee is owed $26MM over the next two seasons and has a full no-trade clause.  He hit .291/.361/.462 in 698 plate appearances, down significantly from ’07.  Lee’s ’08 performance was right around league average for his position.  His defense was a bit above-average this year.

I think Lee has positive trade value, especially in a weak first baseman market.  The Yankees and Giants could be fits, though I wouldn’t expect them to give up anything spectacular (especially since a concession would have to be made for Lee to waive his no-trade).  Randy Winn could be a match for the Cubs.

Giants Discussing Uggla, Konerko And Lee?

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The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rogers mentions some names that the offensively-challenged San Francisco Giants are considering acquiring this off-season, specifically, Dan Uggla, Paul Konerko, and Derrek Lee. He writes:

San Francisco, desperate for a proven bat, is expected to pursue one-dimensional second baseman Dan Uggla. The Giants also may kick the tires on first baseman Paul Konerko of the White Sox and Derrek Lee of the Cubs, both of whom have full no-trade clauses. They probably would have to deal a young pitcher—Jonathan Sanchez or Matt Cain.

I understand why the Giants would want to add some bats. They averaged 3.95 runs per game in 2008, just barely ahead of San Diego who had an MLB-worst 3.93 runs/game. But I do not understand why they’d want these three guys specifically.

  • Uggla is arbitration-eligible this year and you’d have to assume he’s due for a pretty big raise from his current $417K salary. Despite this, Uggla will probably cost around $6MM in 2009, which is a steal in today’s market. He’s certainly no defensive asset, but second basemen with 30+ HR power are not exactly plentiful. But here’s the issue – Uggla’s going to be 29 in March, which is rather old for a first-year arbitration player. If the Giants somehow manage to get him on the cheap, then good for them. If they need to give up one of their young pitchers to do so, that would be a mistake.
  • If the White Sox trade away Konerko, they’d be doing so at what could be a bargain price. The first baseman will be 33 on Opening Day and is a 10-and-5 player and as such has a full no-trade clause, not to mention the $24MM due to him over the next two years. I’m not sure how you’re going to convince him to waive that no-trade without tacking on another two years to the end of that deal. And while I expect Konerko to have a decent bounce-back year in 2009, he’s never going to be a 40+HR bat again. The Giants are not going to be competitive in 2009 and Paul Konerko is not going to change that.
  • A similar argument can be made against the idea of getting Derrek Lee to the Bay. Also signed for two more seasons (at $13MM per), Lee’s a bit older than Konerko and his power numbers have dropped quite a bit. And as Rogers mentions, the Cubs will not let Lee go without getting compensated with a Cain or Sanchez in return. Lee may have two more above-average years left in him. Cain and Sanchez is worth far more than that to a rebuilding team like the Giants.

Paul Moro writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here: Paul *at* umpbump *dot* com.

Cubs Never Called Torii

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I don’t have enough for an odds and ends, so this little tidbit gets its own post today.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times learned that the Cubs never put in a call to Torii Hunter’s agent this winter before he signed with the Angels.  Torii’s friend Derrek Lee found this shocking; he could have facilitated some talks. Hunter grew up a Cubs fan because of WGN, like many people outside of Illinois.

The Cubs don’t quite seem sold on Felix Pie as their center fielder, given their interest in Marlon Byrd earlier this year.  He’s had about 200 plate appearances worth of growing pains, and the Cubs apparently want more immediate production.  PECOTA projects a robust .291/.344/.480 line from the 23 year-old this year.

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