Edmonds Plans On Playing Next Year
According to Buster Olney, Jim Edmonds intends on playing in 2009. His agent, Paul Cohen, told Olney that Edmonds is "definitely coming back."
Edmonds hit .256/.369/.568 for the Cubs this year after struggling with the Padres. He'll meet with Cohen to discuss his plans in the next few days. Lou Piniella has said that he plans on platooning Reed Johnson with Kosuke Fukudome in center field in 2009.
About a month ago, Edmonds was considering retirement, but Cohen says his client is ready to play again in 2009.
Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Dempster, Wood
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.
Hendry Signs Four-Year Extension
7:35pm: Hendry commented on all kinds of topics to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. He sounds a little more intent on re-signing Dempster than Wood. Hendry is not sure whether Jim Edmonds will retire, but he sees Felix Pie making the team out of spring training.
Cubs chairman Crane Kenney doesn’t expect any major moves that would require significant increases in payroll. Kenney said a few weeks ago that he anticipated a bump in payroll.
12:13pm: According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs have extended GM Jim Hendry’s contract through the 2012 season. He can now focus on free agents Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood, as well as acquiring a lefthanded bat.
Edmonds Considers Retirement
Jim Edmonds is mulling over retirement, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. The 39 year old is not complaining of breaking down physically and was a starter on the Cubs postseason roster so it’s evident the guy can still play. Still, as many-a-ballplayer considers at his age, Edmonds says, "I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do, what’s best for my family.”
While Edmonds admitted to "soaking it in" during his final games, Wittenmyer writes:
"The Cubs are expected to leave the door open for Edmonds to return but won’t break the bank to keep him off the free-agent market. Whether he returns to Chicago could come down to whether another team goes after him hard, whether a team closer to his Southern California home pursues him or whether he decides to retire."
There are 18 reasons to expect Edmonds to return. Needing only that many homeruns to reach the 400 mark, Edmonds should be motivated to find a full time role with a club this offseason. The outfielder made $8MM with the Cubs this season and while that amount could come down a notch, if Edmonds is healthy and motivated to put up another 20 homerun season then he should find plenty of interest.
Odds and Ends: Kershaw, Medders, Tavarez
Hopefully they’ll let you leave work early today in anticipation of the holiday weekend. Before you go, here are some random links.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at Clayton Kershaw, who may be called up soon.
- Brandon Medders was DFA’d to make room for Doug Davis. Not to be mean, but the 28 year-old reliever doesn’t do anything particularly well.
- The Glendon Rusch signing takes the Rockies out of the Julian Tavarez sweepstakes. Jayson Stark said the Brewers made a run at Tavarez a week ago.
- Paul Sullivan suggests that Jim Edmonds may be on a short leash in Chicago.
- Jon Heyman grades last winter’s trades.
- We’ve filled the Sunday afternoon writing gig…many thanks to all who applied.
Cubs Sign Edmonds
The Chicago Cubs have signed Jim Edmonds to a contract for the remainder of the ’08 season. Edmonds, who was released by the Padres last Friday, will make about $284K, the prorated league minimum.
To make room on the roster, the Cubs demoted Felix Pie to AAA. Pie was hitting .222/.286/.286.
This is a move that costs the Cubs nothing and could end up with big rewards. Since Pie had minor league options, the Cubs did not have to give up a player in the hopes that Edmonds can turn his season around. Edmonds was hitting .178/.265/.233 at the time of his release, but posted .252/.325/.403 last season for the Cardinals. That marked his first season with an OBP below .350 since he was a member of the Angels in ’99.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
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.
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.
Edmonds Released By Padres
FRIDAY: The speculation was accurate; Edmonds will be released today.
THURSDAY: Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune reads between the lines and believes Jim Edmonds‘ time is up with the Padres. The 37 year-old center fielder is hitting just .180/.267/.236 in 102 plate appearances. His defense isn’t passing muster, either.
Sullivan figures Edmonds will be released soon, or perhaps the Padres will buy him some time with a DL stint. They’d have to swallow $4.75MM to sever ties. Cutting veteran dead weight seems in vogue this year.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Griffey, Olney, Tavarez, Edmonds
A lot of links today, so let’s get to what is being said about some trade and signing possibilities in the Blogosphere…
- The Darth Boss George Brigade wants Hank Steinbrenner to sign David Wells to prove that Hank is indeed his father’s son.
- River Ave. Blues says the Yankees are too smart to sign Wells and then goes on to list about 87 pitchers that should be given a shot in the Highlanders’ rotation before Wells.
- Redlegs Rant feels that Ken Griffey Jr. is behind the recent stories that speculate on him being traded.
- Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M’s are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
- The Tribe Time Report sees plenty of holes in Buster Olney’s recent theory that Garret Atkins would be a good fit for the Indians.
- Brewers Nation agrees with Olney that the Brewers should trade Ben Sheets.
- Sox & Pinstripes doesn’t want to just give away Julian Tavarez but they also note that the bullpen needs help and Tavarez isn’t the answer.
- Batter’s Box says Brad Wilkerson should fit in well with the rest of the Jays lineup, which also lacks the ability to hit for average or power.
- One writer at Fanhouse doesn’t understand why Kevin Towers is so disappointed in the play of Jim Edmonds. They feel it was pretty obvious that the Pads were getting a player well past his prime.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.