- Is there a free agent the Cubs are not interested in?!?! According to Ken Rosenthal at Foxsports.com Tim Hudson plans to officially join the free agent market. Hudson who is just coming off Tommy John Surgery went 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in 7 starts that started Sept. 1st. Hudson has always been one of the top pitchers in the game winning 29 games and just losing 18 in the past three years while posting an ERA of 3.41 combined in those 3 seasons. Since he will be declining his option, he is giving up 12 million guaranteed for next season. A lot of baseball guys believe Hudson will get a 2 year deal worth 16 million and others think he will get 3 year deal around 30-35 million. One thing is for sure the Cubs are interested in Hudson. The news with Tim Hudson heading to the free agent market intrigued the Cubs so much they have made him one of their "top targets" this offseason according to someone close to the Cubs internal operations.
I would love to see Hudson on this team. Having a rotation of Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Hudson, and Wells would be so dominate!
- The Denverpost.com said Brad Hawpe could be a trade candidate given the cheap outfield talent of Carlos Gonzalez, Dexter Fowler, and Seth Smith. MLBTR.com said that the Cubs and Mets should have interest in Hawpe. Brad can opt out of this 10 million 2011 option if traded but I think if traded to the Cubs they may want to negotiate a new deal with him. He would be perfect in RF for the Cubs. The only question is do they have enough to land him?
- One SF Giant exec with veto power said we WOULD approve an Aaron Rowand for Milton Bradley trade probably because Rowand is owed 36 million and Bradley is owed 21 million. No trade is expected though because the team does not want to get him chemistry issues by trading for Bradley.
- Ricketts is due to take over the Cubs by late next week. The sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts Family was approved by Bankruptcy Court.
- Tom Ricketts and the rest of the Cubs' staff will have their first organizational meeting the first week of November to address the Cubs needs for next season. Word is the Cubs payroll will increase to 145-150 million next season. The Cubs current roster as it stands with no signing or arbitration is costing the Cubs 120 million. Which means with arbitration raises, new signing, and no subtraction of of money the Cubs will have nearly 25-30 million to spend in the 2010 offseason. That is a good amount.
- Reed Johnson returning to the Cubs is up in the air because of lingering back issues but both sides are confident they can work it out.
- Aaron Heilman is under Cubs control for next season and may be trade bait.
- The Cubs could sign Derrek Lee to an extension. Only adding on a year or two I assume.
Until Next Time......
6 comments:
good stuff today! keep it up. now you will be getting busy with all the rumors! good luck! lol
sure, lets push aside the fact that we need a big rbi man for the middle of the order for the 3rd straight off season, that will help our chances of winning. what a joke.
I don't see any way the Cubs spend the money to get Hudson, when the big gap is an RBI bat. I would love to add him, but I believe once Bradley is gone, adding an outfielder and second basement will take a higher priority.
I would also be extremely surprised if Ricketts raised payroll that significantly this year.
Dang... after you get me to poo poo the idea of signing a SP... you break this news on me... tempting me to go back on my words!
But the 1st priority should be dealing Bradley and then finding a replacement that can collect RBIs, hit in the middle, and play OF.
Then middle IF. Upgrade at 2B. Or at SS and move Theriot to 2B. Or a second basement as Anonymous 3 said. Sorry nothing personal, just found how that ended up being spelled fun.
Then a veteran pen arm (yes, still pushing Hoffman). Although I heard on The Score this morning that Bobby Jenks is a free agent? I just basically want options. Marmol and someone competing for the job next spring or Marmol being named closer as he did have a good Sept and having a veteran fall back guy as the set up. Just have options to fall back on through the season if Plan A struggles.
Then pursue Hudson. Or maybe him being out there will lower the price on Harden.
On a side note, Tribune keeps mentioning the Rangers hitting coach is available. Not only will the player FA rumors be hot, but we'll hear some good stuff on coaches too (I've already heard a push for Duncan since he is not happy anymore in STL since they traded his son Chris during the season).
texas hitting coach, get on it!
Closer Closer Closer. Leadoff guy. Lefty bat with RBI potential. LET'S GO!!!
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