Using this system, a different coach will manage the team each month during the season, and members of the group will move between the major league team and its minor league affilitaes.
Over the next five years, the Cubs never finished better than seventh place in the NL East, and only once broke .500 in that span, despite having a trio of hall of famers in Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and Ernie Banks.
Well, actually, I do.
I am 100% faithful that what Peter Gammons says has occurred.
Gammons reported via twitter that the Cubs say “they do not have cash to sign (Prince) Fielder.” Those tricky Cubs aren’t telling the truth to poor Peter.
Unless the Cubs magically turned into a mid-market team, the Cubs can certainly afford to sign the free agent first baseman.
According to Cot’s Contracts and MLB Trade Rumors’ arbitration projections, the Cubs’ payroll stands at $87.1M at the start of free agency. Throw the David DeJesus signing in, and that brings the number up to $92.1M. Add in Ian Stewart’s arbitration raise, the payroll could jump up to a possible $95.1M. Add in a mixture of pre-arbitration players, and you could envision that number being pushed up to $96.6M.
An addition of a premium player of Fielder’s type would certainly cost the Cubs a small fortune, although not as much as one may think. Albert Pujols signed for $27.5M per year, so Fielder could conceivably sign for much less since he lacks the defensive prowess Pujols holds. Is $24M for seven or eight years feasible? Sure.
A $24M addition to the payroll boosts the figure up to $120M in 2012. That’s certainly a hefty figure, but considering the Cubs have maintained payrolls of $134,004,000, $144,359,000, and $134,809,000 the past three seasons, and it’s more than capable for the Cubs to sustain.
Also, when one considers that the albatross contract of Carlos Zambrano ends after the season, the Cubs would be able to afford $19M per year on a worthwhile player. Ryan Dempster’s $14M contract also ends after next season. Two years after his contract expires, Alfonso Soriano’s contract does the same.
If payroll is indeed tight, the Cubs would really have to swallow the bitter pill for just one season. And why not? The addition of Prince Fielder would certainly make the team much better, and would provide the Epstein Administration an impact addition to start their tenure off with.
With the potential free agent class of 2013 and beyond lacking a power bat, the Cubs may be pressured to make a move not only to improve the club now, but also in the future.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweeted yesterday that the Cubs acquired Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers for Tyler Colvin and D.J. Lemehieu. Colvin and Lemehieu may do well, but Stewart (a non-tender candidate) fills an opening in the Cubs’ roster.
The Cubs have been rumored to be talking to the Rockies about Stewart since the Winter Meetings began, with Lemehieu and Colvin being mentioned in separate offerings.
The player that came out of nowhere is Casey Weathers, a relief pitcher with electric stuff. Weathers, a former first round draft choice, is a type of pitcher that may remind you of Carlos Marmol: he features a live fastball that reaches into the mid-90′s, a plus slider, and absolutely awful command.
Weathers has some ridiculous, video game-esque strike out numbers in his early minor league career:12.51, 10.96, 16.20, and 12.05 K/9 since before last season. His flaw, as I mentioned before, is his control. Only once has he posted a walk rate below four in his career. Weathers suffered a blown elbow in 2008 and missed all of 2009 due to Tommy John surgery. Control is typically the last thing to come back following the surgery, so he could be a work in progress.
Weathers could never see a major league bullpen, but his ceiling is that of a closer. At least two more seasons in Double-A could be the forecast for Weathers, so he could be an interesting arm to pay attention as he moves along.
With former Ranger starting pitcher C.J. Wilson going to their division rivals, combined with the Albert Pujols signing, Texas could be more motivated to make a trade for Matt Garza.
It’s going to be interesting to see who wins the Yu Darvish posting. If the Rangers miss out on the exclusive contract talks with Darvish, they would feel heavy pressure to make a move on Garza.
Stay tuned….
Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago has tweeted that the Rangers and Cubs are discussing a package involving the Rangers’ top prospects and Cub starting pitcher Matt Garza.
With C.J. Wilson leaving for free agency, the Rangers are looking to replace his production with Garza. The top projected starting pitcher on the Rangers stands to be Derek Holland. While Holland went 16-5 in 2011, he produced mediocre peripheral statistics.
Neftali Feliz is slated to join the Rangers’ rotation, but he may not be ready to eat the appropriate amount of innings after two seasons in the bullpen.
Matt Harrison would most likely be booted off the rotation with an addition of Garza.
The mediocrity of the Rangers’ starters, along with their strong farm system makes them a prime trade candidate for the Cubs.
I took a look at what the Cubs could get from the Rangers in a Matt Garza trade earlier.
I really would have liked to see him in a Cub Uniform, especially for the $4.5M it took to put him in a Pirate Uniform.
Injuries are probably what kept Theo and Co. away.
Former Cub third baseman Ron Santo has been elected by the Golden Era committee into the Hall of Fame.
We all wish Ronnie could see it for himself.
Power.
Vigor.
Authority.
Essence.
These words can only attempt describe the impact of a mustache.
In anticipation for a season of inevitable futility, the Cubs are going to need all the help they can get.
The Cubs are going to need Dale Sveum’s mustache.
Just look at that thing. That mustache is an example of pure strength.
If anyone has seen today’s version of Dale Sveum, he appears to be impersonating Lex Luthor from Smallville (played by Michael Rosenbaum).
There’s nothing there.
The mustache has proven success since the beginning of time itself. From Albert Einstein, Philosopher Friederich Nietzsche, Joseph Stalin, Chicago’s own Mike Ditka, Hulk Hogan, Tom Selleck, and Burt Reynolds, just to name a few. Those names are but a small sample of the epic history the mustache has carved itself out.
The Cubs need that mustache.
With the rumor mill swirling about the projected departure of Matt Garza, the Cubs will have to fill his vacancy with a suitable starting pitcher to eat up innings. Although this team isn’t projected to win by any stretch of the imagination, there are options on free agency that would allow the Cubs to fill the void with decent players.
Two such players, lefty pitcher Erik Bedard and righty Rich Harden, are two former top-notch starting pitchers who have seen injury issues plague their playing history. Bedard, a former Oriole and Mariner, ended his season with the Red Sox and started 24 games last season–the most since 2007. Harden, who was once a Cub for a year and a half, has had a career riddled with injury issues and inconsistency, all while showing spots of sheer dominance.
The two could most likely be had for the cheap; Bedard is entering his 33 year-old season and Harden has only once thrown more than 20 starts consecutively once in his career.
Given Harden’s injury past, the Cubs could make Harden a reliever. He has never been able to show consistent command, and a move to the bullpen would hide that fault (as it does its best for Carlos Marmol). Furthermore, Harden has shown that he is a far more productive pitcher earlier on in the game.
Throughout his career, Harden has held hitters to an OPS 25% better than league average in the first inning. That number drops to 18% better in the second, and 20% worse than league average in the third. From innings 4-6, Harden has 15% worse than league average.
More reliever-specific, Harden has held hitters to an OPS 23% better than league average the first time facing an opponent, and has been exactly average the second time around the lineup.
Bedard, on the other hand, has shown (when healthy) that he can be a rather productive pitcher in the past. He has posted better than average ERA for the past six seasons, and has performed better than average at things pitchers can control (FIP) his entire career, sans one season.
The knock on Bedard, however, is that he is the staple of a five inning pitcher, having only exceeded six inning per start once in his career, and never throwing more than 200 innings.
Bedard is a very decent pitcher though. His strikes out more than eight batters per nine, walks less than four per nine, and gives up home runs at an average rate.
Given the amount of quality the Cubs have in the back end of the bullpen with Marmol, Wood, Marshall, Russell, and Samardzija, the Cubs could pair Harden with Bedard in games Bedard starts. This would allow Bedard to comfortably throw five innings, with Harden to throw two, and not putting added strain on either of their arms. Give the ball to Marshall and Marmal and call it a night.
This could be a winning formula, but if it doesn’t work out, the 2012 season is essentially a lost one anyway. If one or both succeed, however, their value can be built up for a deadline trade that benefits the franchise in the long run.
The Cubs finalized an agreement with veteran outfielder David DeJesus to a two-year agreement. Obviously, the casual Cub fans may be inclined to scratch their heads, seeing shades of Kosuke Fukudome in the new signing.
And why not? The two outfielders are very similar batters:
While there’s certainly some bad memories brought up by the thought of Fukudome, the fact remains that he was a useful player. He was not, however, a relatively useful player. That is, of course, relative to the cost of his services.
The biggest positive in the DeJesus deal, is that he is very cost valuable. The deal calls for $10M over two years, with a club option for $6.5M. There hasn’t been any word as to whether or not the option will be voided if he is traded, so let’s assume that clause doesn’t exist.
DeJesus has been consistently a 2+ WAR contributor throughout his career, including 4 WAR seasons in 2005 and 2006. Simply assuming he is going to be a 2 WAR player, especially considering he was such last season for the Oakland Athletics (whom have one of the worst hitting stadiums in the league), is essentially certain, barring injury.
Given the free agent market rate at about $5M per win accumulated, DeJesus would accumulate $20M if he is simply a 4 WAR player over the two years. That’s an extremely valuable asset to a team that has little to no chance of contending. Why? Because that sort of value can be flipped to a contending team in need of an upgrade or if an injury strikes.
Given the new climate of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Cubs will be forced into finding more creative ways to replenish their farm system. The sign-and-trade- the-veteran scheme may be an old one, but given the opening in right field and poor talent elsewhere on the field, it’s hard to call this signing anything but a win for the Cubs.
