- Even with a sweep of the White Sox the Cubs will have to do a lot over the next 4 weeks to make them buyers. Rumor has it Ricketts and Hendry have set two evaluation dates for the Cubs, July 10th after the Pirates game and July 25th an off day for the Cubs. I am hearing the factors being taken in will be the Cubs record, how far they are out of the wild card and division lead, injuries, and how the Cubs are currently playing. Basically I see if the Cubs are 10 games out on July 10th they will begin to sell of parts of this team.
- That brings me to my next thing. The term fire sale has been spoken in the front office team sources have said. We have seen the Marlins go through a fire sale to bring in youth and reduce payroll and I think that is exactly what the Cubs need. Except one difference, I expect the Cubs to be huge factors in free agency next season.
- Ricketts said the Cubs WILL HAVE money to spend this coming offseason on big ticket free agents if they choose to go that route. The Cubs have been linked to Fielder, Pujols, Sabathia, Wilson, and Yadier Molina.
- The Cubs are expected to make all their veteran players available via trade. Here is a list of players I have compiled via email and other websites of players that will be made available
Doug Davis
Ryan Dempster
John Grabow
Rodrigo Lopez
Jeff Samardzija
Randy Wells
Carlos Zambrano
Koyie Hill
Geovany Soto
Kerry Wood- Only if he approves the trade since he took a discount to stay here, very unlikely he is traded.
Aramis Ramirez- Says he will not waive it but will change his tone as the deadline approaches.
Jeff Baker
Blake DeWitt
Carlos Pena
Marlon Byrd
Tyler Colvin
Kosuke Fukudome
Reed Johnson
Lou Montanez
Alfonso Soriano
- Marlon Byrd is expected to make his rehab start with Iowa next week. It will be good for the Cubs and their fans to see Byrd back in action.
- The Cubs have been scouting all levels of the KC Royals, San Francisco Giants, and the Texas Rangers recently. The Giants have been scouting Geovany Soto so the Cubs could pull off a deal with them. A couple of players that could interest the Cubs on the Giants side are Brandon Belt or one of the many young arms they have in their system. The Cubs have also been scouting the Royals because of their youth and depth at positions the Cubs need upgrading for next season. The Royals have prospects Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas filling the corners for years to come. They have recently signed Billy Butler to an extension but he has been pushed to full time DH will the emergence of Hosmer. It is also rumored they would consider trading Butler for young pitching or a solid young inexpensive catcher. Since the Cubs main areas of upgrading for next season is likely 1st and 3rd base players like Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and Kila Ka’aihue could be targets for Cubs scouts. Adding Gordon or Butler would be a nice addition for the Cubs going into 2012. In Texas the Cubs have been exclusively been targeting Chris Davis who is hitting .364 with 14 homers in 25 games at the age of 25. He can also play 1st or 3rd! But I have been told they are also keeping an eye on Micheal Olt but he is not ready for the show and is currently on the DL. He is in high A ball hitting .286 with 10 homeruns and a .395 OBP in 54 games. To me I can see the Cubs exploring the young and inexpensive route before eventually spending big bucks on Fielder or Pujols. If the Cubs can land Fielder I would love if they could trade for a Chris Davis or Alex Gordon to play 3rd base for them next season.
Until Next Time..
