The Cubs have several issues and needs this offseason and one of them is to get a guy to play 2nd base and to either turn around Milton Bradley or trade him. There are many problems with these issues, the Cubs will have a hard time trading Milton Bradley and the 21 million left on this contract and the 2nd base market is good but could get very expensive. The Cubs could kill 2 birds with one stone by trading Milton Bradley to the Mets for Luis Castillo.
The Mets are already talking about trading Castillo this offseason and signing Orlando Hudson. The Mets would be taking Bradley's attitude and some money but I would expect the Cubs to pay some of Bradley's contract to get him out of Chicago. The Mets would fill the void of Gary Sheffield in the outfield with Milton and be able to split time between Francouer and Tatis in the corners if they resign Tatis.
The Cubs would get a really good 2nd baseman who hits for average, steals bases, and has a really good OBP that would make Cub fans not miss Bradley at all. The Cubs could then turn to the outfield market which had some really good bargains last season. They could still go sign Chone Figgins or trade for Mark Teahen or Carl Crawford (I WISH!) and have them play right or sign a free agent. The Cubs could go the cheap route and sign guys like Andruw Jones, Scott Podsednik, Marlon Byrd, Eric Hinske, or Randy Winn. They could also get in bidding wars for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, or Johnny Damon. I think the Cubs should go after free agents Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero, Hideki Matsui, or Jermaine Dye who will be the in the middle money market and will not break the Cubs bank.
If the Mets would in fact do this trade then the Cubs could get a good guy to leadoff guy (career .293 hitter with a .364 OBP) or 2 hole hitter (.304 hitter a .382 OBP) in Castillo. I would drool over a getting Castillo and Abreu next season or even Dye. The Cubs would not only have better hitters in the lineup but better defenders and a higher team OBP.
My lineup-
1. Castillo 2b
2. Fukudome CF
3. Lee 1st
4. Abreu RF
5. Aram 3b
6. Soriano LF
7. Soto C
8. Theriot SS
9. Pitcher
I love that lineup with speed, power, and OBP. Get it done Hendry!
