Cubs would like Burnett to pitch in Cubbie Blue. Update: AJ would like to pitch for Cubs!

UPDATE- According to Gordon Wittenmeyer, AJ would love to go to the Cubs if he is traded. He said right now he is concentrating on winning games for the Jays but he said "Right now my focus is with this club, but if something like that were to happen, I'd accept it with open arms.'' Burnett has a lot of friends in the Cubs club house and I feel if C.C. is not attainable then they will move onto Burnett, which is not a bad second choice!

Thanks to MLBTR-

Via Buster Olney's latest, Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun Times writes that the Cubs might want to take a second look at A.J. Burnett as the Jays are expected to shop him all throughout the next few weeks until the non-waiver trade deadline.


Last night's Cubs-Jays game served as a bittersweet "scouting foray" as Burnett pitched 5 effective innings, striking out seven, helping his team earn a 3-2 Victory. Pitching for the Cubbies was Sean Gallagher, who according to Wittenmeyer, wasn't in anyone's radar to be the club's fifth starter in June.

But now that they're in first place in the NL Central with the best record in baseball, and after Rich Hill's struggles and demotion, the Cubs are increasingly being mentioned in trade speculation.


Burnett is slated to make $12MM in '09 and '10; and can opt-out of his contract at the end of the season.

I know AJ is a injury pron pitcher and his mechanics are lacking some but he has #1 or #2 stuff and would be a solid addition behind Z in the rotation. I must stress that I feel that the Cubs first pick is to get C.C. and if they can't land him because of the asking price or because he is not shopped, they should move onto Burnett.

One disadvantage of getting Burnett is that he can opt out of his contract at the end of the season, similar to the clause Aram has in his contact this year and last year. He is expected to do so, so basically he would be a rental. But maybe would could work out a window were we can convince him to not opt out or sign an extension with the Cubs. Either way he would be a good pick up. It also should be noted that Burnett has a limited no-trade clause allowing Burnett to block deals to 15 clubs and Sabathia does not.

Soriano goes down and farm guys are up. Cubs sign Ben Broussard.

The Cubs put Soriano on the DL with a minimally displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal on his left hand. He could be out up to 6 weeks but he hopes for a quick recovery and thinks he will be back before that.

Because the Cubs placed Sori on the DL they called up Micah Hoffpauir. They also sent down Kevin Hart and called up Eric Patterson. Both good call ups in my opinion.

Here is a lineup I would like to see against the right handed starters in the interleague series-

1. Theriot SS
2. Derosa LF
3. Lee 1st
4. Aram 3b
5. Fukudome RF
6. Edmonds CF
7. Soto C
8. Hoffpauier DH
9. Fontanoe 2b

against leftys

1. Johnson CF
2. Theriot SS
3. Lee 1st
4. Aram 3b
5. Soto C
6. Fukudome RF
7. Derosa LF
8. Hofpauier DH
9. Cedeno 2b


In minor note, the Cubs sign Bed Broussard to a minor league deal. Ben has only played 10 games in left field last year and has struggled this year. It looks like just to fill a roster spot in Iowa considering Hoffpauier deserves to be with the big club.

Broussard is a lefty with a career .263 avg., .324 OBP, and .450 slg%. Not that impressive, he would likely be in the minors for most of his Cubs career.

Cubs Rumors Rolling In!

Lots of Cubs rumors and news today. Lets check out the hot stove!

- Jon Heyman of SI.com says Meche is "expected to be shopped by the Royals at the trade deadline," Naming the Cubs as a strong possibility. Just yesterday they stated that Meche would not waive his no trade clause to go to Chicago.

-Buster Olney noted "some folks in the industry" believe the Cubs would push the hardest for Sabathia if he becomes available via trade.

- According to Ken Rosenthal the Cubs are very interested in Brian Fuentes. He also stats that Jim Hendry will pursue the best available pitcher at the deadline.

- The Cubs have made it know that they have backed off on the "untouchable status" of Felix Pie, Sean Gallagher, Rich Hill, and Jose Ceda. They are actively scouting teams for a top tier pitcher and had scouts at the Cleveland game yesterday.

My thoughts-

-It would indeed be grand if the Cubs got C.C. Lets just hope the Indians tank soon because if they don't then Sabathia will be in Cleveland the remained of the year. C.C. will cost a ton of prospects but it would be worth it for a number one starter behind Z for the 2nd half and hopefully the playoff run.

-As far as Meche goes, I do not think he wants to be a Cub. So I say throw that rumor out the window.

-Brian Fuentes would be a solid pick up for the Cubbies. He is 0-2 with a great 2.45 ERA. He is a tough lefty that has only walked 8 in 25 innings pitched. He also has 9 saves on the year so he would be great in late inning work. Can you imagine opposing teams facing Fuentes, Marmol, and then Wood in the late innings???!!! Tough!


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In other news-

Lou is planning to call up Micah Hoffpauir for inter league play this weekend. He also plans on having Lee, Aram, and Soriano DH and have Derosa and Micah play out in the field so the sluggers can have a break from the field.

Cubbie Notes

- Lou and Larry are considering taking advantage of these off days coming up before the allstar break. They are considering giving there top 3 pitchers ( Zambrano, Lilly, and Dempster) more starts. They could skip a start of Marquis and Gallagher to give each of the three pitchers 7 starts while giving Jason and Sean each 6. This is a good move by Cubs management. While Jason showed yesterday he pitched well, we all know he is very inconsistent. While it seems Sean Gallagher is getting hit a bit more and looking like the Scouting reports are catching up to him. I like this idea a lot.

- http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/995235,CST-SPT-cuban09.article = Mr. Mark Cuban is looking like he will receive the "book" on what Sam Zell is selling. Other ownership group along with Mark Cuban is expected to receive the book as early as today. This will start taking shape very quickly now. Lets hope the Lords of Baseball pick the right man, and that man is Mark Cuban.

- The Cubs will be looking to add a starting pitcher near the deadline and are currently happy with the lineup how it is. According to Peter Gammons and other baseball officials the Cubs have enough talent like Rich Hill, Sean Gallagher, Felix Pie, etc to add a top notch pitcher. Gammons rattled off Sabathia, Burnett, Meche, or Penny. Not sure how Meche is a top notch pitcher, career wise he is the same as Marquis. I will take the other 3 though!