- Getting sick of Milton Bradley rumors??? We are too! That is why the Cubs will want to try to trade him as soon as possible, maybe right after the World Series, although that may be unlikely. The Cubs have set a self-imposed deadline of December 2nd to deal Bradley because they want to go into the winter meetings on Dec. 7th without him in Cubbie blue and addressing other needs.
-It should be noted that the Cubs could also look to see what the trade market is Jake Fox, Micah Hoffpauir, and Mike Fontenot. They also may just outright release Aaron Miles or trade him for another contract worth 2.7 million next season. How about Miles and Fontenot for Luis Castillo and his contract? Mets get 8 million in salary relief for the next 2 seasons. I bet they would do that.
- According to Yahoo's Tim Brown the Rays will only consider trading for Bradley if the Cubs eat most of his contract, that way the Rays could release him at any time and not take a financial hit. I am sorry the Cubs just won't do that unless you subtract Burrell and add Upton in the deal or keep Burrell and add Iwamura to the deal.
- This winter will be a busy one for Jim Hendry and new owner Tom Ricketts. The Cubs are reportedly looking at free agents and players via trade. The holes they would like to address one way or another as followed-
---Power hitting RBI guy for the outfield--- My guy- Brad Hawpe
---Good defensive, speedy, guy for 2nd base---My guy- Chone Figgins
---Maybe a veteran southpaw starter---My guy- Doug Davis
---Veteran for the bullpen--- Matt Herges
This is an good way to go about the offseason. You are making one trade and signing 3 free agents. With Hawpe making 7.5 million next season and a 10 million dollar option he is a steal for a guy who will hit .285 with 20+ homers and 80+ RBI. Figgins would be the Cubs big offseason price tag. He is likely to cost around 4 years 44 million but well worth it since the Cubs need a leadoff man. Doug Davis maybe the back of the rotation starter the Cubs have been looking for. He would likely cost the Cubs about 8 million a season which is not that bad. Matt Herges may come about 1 million for next season because of the flooded relief market. With these 4 players the Cubs will be adding about 25 million in payroll but could be subtracting money as well by getting rid of players like Bradley, Miles, Fonty, and others.
Here are my 2nd choices for the Cubs needs-
Power Hitter- Nick Swisher
2nd base- Orlando Hudson/Akinori Iwamura- It is a tie between the two.
Veteran Lefty- Randy Johnson/in house
Veteran Pen- Guillermo Mota/Kiko Calero
I would also like to add that the Cubs should sign Kelvim Escobar to a contract this offseason. He only pitched 5 innings this season because of arm problems but he is a very good pitcher with upside. He could basically go the route of Mark Prior and rehab until he thinks he is ready. Wouldn't you pay just a million to a guy that could help your team next season? The same guy that went 18-7 with a 3.40 ERA last season? I would!
One thing is for sure... This will be a fun offseason!
4 comments:
Swisher would be horrible here.. we dont need him!!!!!!
we dont need swisher .250 batting average either.. we have enough of those..
The Cubs dont need to worry about the back of the rotation assuming T Gorz, Marshall, and J Sam arent traded in the offseason. Until we hear or see otherwise, I'm assuming the wallet wont be opened much wider than last season despite the new ownership. After all they did just spend almost $900 mil to buy the team.
Therefore focus the limited funds to an upgrade at either 2B or SS and assuming Bradley is dealt a RBI producing OF.
Then spend money on the pen. The name I want is T Hoffman. He signed a one year deal with the Brewers last season and proved he can still get people out. The only question would be if Hoff would be willing to accept a set up role if not compete for the closer job with Marmol. Either way it would be a solid back end of the bullpen. Or tweak your Randy Johnson suggestion and see if he would consider extending his career as a lefty set up or closer. He's already got his 300 wins as a starter. And maybe pen work will help him stay healthy for a whole season. We still have some quality young arms that could fill out the rest of the bullpen and of course they need to resign Grabow.
I do not see Ricketts spending alot of money on players. Cubs pitching was 5th best in the majors. Their hitting and defense is what sucked. I think Gorzy is the 5th starter, Caridad and Gaub make the team next year. What i do see the cubs getting is a middle infielder. A SS and moving Theriot to 2B. I also think the cubs will still have bradley next year. They won't eat his contract. And i hope like hell the cubs could stay healthy.
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