Cubs Sign 4

- The Chicago Cubs sign Augie Ojeda and Braden Looper to minor league deals today. Ojeda broke into the Majors with the Cubs in 2000, he will now find himself battling for a spot at the age of 36. Looper could be a very valuable asset to the Cubs. The guy does not walk to many and keeps the ball down which is perfect for Wrigley. He will likely have to wait until an injury pushes a player out of the pen or rotation to get a shot pitching for the parent club. Both guys are good back-ups in case of injury.

- The Cubs sign two really good young Cuban players. Outfielder Ruby Silva signed for $1.2M and will start in A ball this year. He bats left-handed and can play all three outfield positions and even some middle infield. He is a plus runner with a plus arm but needs work in the batters box. The Cubs also sign catcher Yaniel Cabezas for 500K. He is a catch and throw catcher and scouts compare him to a young Yadier Molina. He could become a valuable defensive backup for the Cubs even if his bat does not develop.

- Here is the Cubs ST non-roster Invites-

Pitchers
Chris Carpenter
Angel Guzman
Jay Jackson
Braden Looper
Trey McNutt
Scott Rice
Todd Wellemeyer

Catchers
Steve Clevenger
Chris Robinson

Infielders
Matt Camp
Bryan LaHair
Scott Moore
Augie Ojeda
Bobby Scales
Marquez Smith
Josh Vitters

Outfielders
James Adduci
Brett Jackson
Reed Johnson
Luis Montanez
Brad Snyder

Until Next Time...

Wellemeyer Back and Levine Notes...

- Todd Wellemeyer signed a non-guaranteed minor league deal worth $800,000 along with $400,000 in incentives. The last time Wellemeyer was effective was with the Cards but struggled last season posting a 3-5 record and a 5.68 ERA with the Giants.

- Fukudome could be traded but only if the Cubs eat 7 million of his contract.

- Levine expects the Cubs to sign Garza and Marmol to 3 year contracts.

- Levine said the Angels were never serious on Soriano but did not deny there was talks or interest from both parties.

- Levine says Jay and Brett Jackson have legitimate chances or getting called up this season. I say also look at Trey McNutt. He has some filthy stuff!

- According to my source and hinted by Levine, the Cubs are looking to sign a veteran back-up SS to come off the bench. Orlando Cabrera is a guy the Cubs are interested in but they have also been linked to Cristian Guzman, Willy Aybar, Juilo Lugo, and Felipe Lopez.

Until Next Time...

Soriano Was Almost An Angel...

According to my sources Alfonso Soriano almost packed his bags and headed west to Anheim before the Angels traded for Vernon Wells. Back on January 10th and 11th we at HSC told about the two trade rumors we received regarding the Cubs and Angels. One of those trades involving Soriano among others going to the Halos for Scott Kazmir and others.

We have now heard that a potential deal with the Cubs and Angels was actually in place twice before talks broke down. The first deal did involve several players that included Juan Rivera, Fukudome, Gorzelanny (before he was traded), Soriano, Kazmir, and Napoli. After talks stalled between the two teams Gorzelanny was traded to Washington.

But that was not the end of it. Sources tell us on January 19th the Cubs and Angels had a deal in place that would have sent Soriano and John Grabow to the Angels for Mike Napoli, Juan Rivera, and a minor league reliever. Soriano actually makes 14 million less that Wells but Vernon has a better glove, younger, and can play CF. Word is the Cubs were waiting for the Angels to sign off on the deal when Alex Anthopoulos stepped in with the Wells deal. Sources even say that Soriano was ready to sign off on the trade but the Angels chose Wells, even though more expensive, is the more complete player than Soriano. Once again we see a trade that almost happened fall through at the last minute.

We at HSC will continue to give you the latest rumors and news through out the entire baseball year. So keep reading and posting!

Until Next Time...