SB Nation - Chicago Cubs

Today May Be The Day Cubs Fans Crash Twitter: All-Purpose Winter Meetings Thread, Day 3

Al — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Will today be the day Milton Bradley becomes a former Cub? Rumors were flying all day yesterday involving the Rays, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners and probably several places not even mentionable on a family blog.

Once again, use this post for all Winter Meetings discussion. If Bradley is dealt today -- or if the Cubs make any other significant moves -- I'll make a separate post.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:36:15 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

Today's Frosty Mug is so full, I didn't even have time to caption this picture of Randy Wolf.

View full size photo »

Some things to read while evening out the teams.

It turned out to be a pretty active first day of the Winter Meetings. The Brewers were the talk of the late night rumor mill, based on reports that they're close to signing a three year deal with Randy Wolf (also noted in Rumorville). Tom H. says the deal is rumored to be in the $25-27 million range, and is also quantifying the amount of smoke surrounding it.

With that said, the deal mustn't be done yet, because Arn Tellem, who represents Wolf, is meeting with the Mets this morning. Jon Heyman says the Mets aren't willing to offer Wolf a three year deal.

Is this the move you were hoping for from the Brewers? I'd be happy with it at this point, as long as the price isn't much above $27 million. There's always some risk involved, but this is almost certainly a better deal than, for example, the four year deal Joel Pineiro is seeking.

Wolf might not be the only starting pitcher the Brewers acquire this week. They've reportedly discussed a deal with the Mets that would send Corey Hart to New York for John Maine, a former student of Rick Peterson who has missed most of the last year with shoulder issues (FanShot). It's unclear how much fire is behind this smoke, but the Mets are also rumored to be discussing a similar trade with the Angels, with Juan Rivera taking Hart's place.

The Brewers also added a little depth to their middle infield yesterday, claiming shortstop Luis Cruz off waivers from the Pirates (FanShot). Cruz played seven positions (everything but pitcher and catcher) last season in AAA, but has virtually zero ability with the bat (a .274 OBP in AAA last season), and Adam McCalvy confirmed the move was made for minor league, not major league depth. The Brewers don't have a true shortstop prospect in the minors above Brent Brewer and Josh Prince, neither of whom played above A-ball last season.

The Brewer bullpen suffered a blow yesterday, as Mark DiFelice underwent surgery to repair damage to his labrum and rotator cuff, and will miss the entire 2010 season (FanShot). DiFelice is 33 and undergoing his second major shoulder procedure, but intends to try to pitch in the majors again in 2011, telling Adam McCalvy "I don't want it to end like this."

This raises the stakes a little bit in the search for additional bullpen help, but the Crew won't be getting said help from Rafael Betancourt. Late in the day yesterday it was reported that the Brewers were unlikely to lure Betancourt away from a return to the Rockies. I haven't seen it confirmed, but I'm pretty sure he accepted arbitration late last night.

Looking back at a rumor from the weekend, In-Between Hops has come out against a Jeff Suppan-for-Juan Pierre deal, fearing the extra $4 million in salary the Brewers would have to take on would make it difficult for them to sign a pitcher like Randy Wolf.

And, looking back even farther, Dave Allen of FanGraphs has a look at the pitch-blocking ability of Gregg Zaun. Ken Macha is making me crazy: I should see this as a positive, but instead I see it as the excuse that might be used to keep an underperforming/overused Zaun in the lineup and a more deserving catcher on the bench.

In the minors, Brewerfan.net has a new Power 50 up. It's always interesting to see how guys move up and down the charts during the offseason. This edition's big gainers were Kentrail Davis, Jake Odorizzi and John Axford, with Hernan Iribarren, Chris Cody and Max Walla losing significant ground.

And around here, we're looking for your help to select a Brewer All-Decade Team in a series we're calling Making Your '00 Face. That link will take you to the voting for first base, where Prince Fielder has opened up what will likely turn out to be an insurmountable lead. Voting for second base will open at 4 pm today.

Around baseball:

Braves: Reliever Rafael Soriano has accepted the team's offer of arbitration.
Cardinals: Have agreed to a one year, $7.5 million deal for Brad Penny, pending a physical.
Nationals: Signed Ivan Rodriguez to a two year deal worth $6 million, acquired reliever Brian Bruney from the Yankees for a PTBNL, and released reliever Saul Rivera.
Pirates: Signed reliever Vinnie Chulk to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Acquired pitcher Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a PTBNL or cash.
Red Sox: Signed pitcher Fabio Castro and re-signed Kason Gabbard.
Rockies: Released outfielder Matt Murton, who is expected to spend 2010 in Japan.
Tigers: Re-signed Adam Everett to a one year deal, and signed reliever Brad Thomas, who has spent the last two seasons pitching in Korea.
Twins: Carl Pavano has accepted the team's arbitration offer.

The Rule 5 Draft is on Thursday, so I'm almost done burying you in links like these: Harry Pavlidis of The Hardball Times and Lisa Winston of MiLB.com have a look at several players who recently played in the Arizona Fall League and were left unprotected in the draft.

Competition is heating up in the market for Edwin Jackson. One report yesterday had the Tigers receiving 12 offers for his services. I guess that's what you get when you put a pitcher who threw over 200 effective innings last season and is due about $5 million on the market.

Speaking of pitchers the Brewers might be interested in, Justin Duchscherer declined the A's offer of salary arbitration.

I think most of us will be happy to see these former Brewers sign elsewhere, and keeping one of them in the division would be a double bonus: Jason Kendall is reportedly drawing interest from the Royals, and Braden Looper has expressed interest in pitching for the Cubs.

In case you were wondering, Keith Law has an explanation of how the Winter Meetings, usually held in a warm vacation spot, ended up in Indianapolis. The cold temps and snow haven't kept people from exchanging some tidbits of info you probably would never have known without the internet (and might not have missed):

There was apparently a small tiff between Scott Boras and new Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog over comments Herzog made about Matt Holliday, a Boras client.
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez didn't shoot anything while out deer hunting with Bobby Cox last week.
Former D-Back, Indian, Ray and Ranger Nick Bierbrodt, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2004, is a ttempting a comeback.
New Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous is battling a cold this week, so he's not shaking anyone's hand.
Speaking of the Blue Jays, radio reporter Mike Wilner has an annoying ring tone and left his phone in the media workroom yesterday.
Craig Calcaterra brought an airport card to the meetings, making him one of the few writers not reliant on slow internet service.

And, of course we're all having fun this week, but Paul DePodesta has a reminder for all of us that many of this week's rumors will be just that, and not to get too worked up over them. Of course, no one ever gets too worked up around here, right?

Away from the meetings, here's a strange story. After months of investigation, Major League Baseball has concluded that new Twins prospect Miguel Angel Sano, who claims to be 16, is somewhere between 16 and 18. Sano also recently changed his name to Miguel Jean. If he turns out to be Miguel Tejada in disguise, the Twins will probably be very upset.

On this day in 1991, Brewer reliever Julio Machado was arrested for murder after shooting a passenger in a car that had just been involved in an accident. Machado was later found guilty and served 12 years in prison.

I don't have any Brewer birthdays today, but it is a Woot-off day, so there's that.

Drink up.

Ryne Sandberg Named Iowa Manager -- Day 2 Winter Meetings All-Purpose Post

Al — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:00:18 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Lou Piniella meets the media on Monday. Looks thinner, too.

Browse more photos »

Rumors flew all day Monday, and all got shot down -- what else would you expect from an event that's as carefully scrutinized as the Winter Meetings?

The only real Cubs news that happened on Monday was the naming of Ryne Sandberg to manage the Iowa Cubs, his third promotion in as many years. Nothing's been said, of course, and probably won't be, but this likely puts Sandberg in line to succeed Lou Piniella as Cubs manager after 2010.

In decades past, naming a popular former player as Cubs manager was almost expected. Phil Cavarretta, Charlie Grimm, Stan Hack, Gabby Hartnett -- all those were Cub greats of the past who served as manager. Since 1960, though, only two former Cub players have managed the team -- Lee Elia (who played only a handful of games as a Cub in 1968) and Don Zimmer, neither of whom distinguished himself as a player.

Sandberg has at least gone about it the right way, learning the craft of managing at the minor league level and working his way up, just as a player would. I'm all for this move.

Use this post for Winter Meetings rumors, posts, comments, etc. today, just as we did yesterday.

Braden Looper hopes to pitch in Chicago

Eli Greenspan — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:13:45 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

Browse more photos »

Free agent pitcher Braden Looper told FOXSPORTS.com that he hopes to pitch for the Cubs next season. The Cubs' rotation, already down one with Ted Lilly out till at least May, is in need of a back-end of the rotation starter.

One NL source said the Cubs have checked on the likes of Randy Wolf and Justin Duchscherer, but Looper could be an appealing alternative. Looper struggled mightily last season giving up 39 bombers through 194.2 innings, walking 64 to 100 strike outs and posting a 5.22 ERA.

"That would be appealing," he said. "You've got to see what your options are. I don't know if they're looking for a starting pitcher, since they have a new owner. But I'm living in Chicago, and I've got three kids in school here, so that would be nice."

The Cubs likely appreciate the gesture, but I don't see them making a move on him.

One source believes the Cubs may try to make a deal for Kevin Millwood of the Rangers. The Rangers have had talks with the Cubs about Milton Bradley, but likely would need to bring in a third team to make a deal happen.

Winter Meetings Catch-Up 12/07/09

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:18 -0000

Okay, with the assorted FanShots and main page posts, let's have one place to chat until some more news or rumors break at the Winter Meetings. I ask that you please continue to post links as FanPosts, just so people know where to look on the blog main page. I may repeat those stories on the front page, just to add more details and for distribution purposes.

If this has made things a bit confusing, I apologize. But I think it's the best way to facilitate discussion among regular commenters and anyone who may be clicking over here (for the first time or otherwise) to check on the latest developments.

Here's the day so far from Indianapolis:

Adam Everett has re-signed with the Tigers, agreeing to a one-year, $1.55 million contract.
Clay Rapada was traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later (or cash considerations).
Several teams are interested in trading for Edwin Jackson, but according to FOXSports.com, the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks may be closest to a deal.
The Yankees are among the clubs interested in both Jackson and Curtis Granderson, but based on what Buster Olney reported on ESPN, the Tigers may have asked for more than the Yanks were willing to trade.
Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Angels are also "still in" on Jackson and Granderson.
Perhaps the Washington Nationals can also be counted among those pursuing Jackson, according to the Washington Post's Dave Sheinin.
In all, 12 teams are reportedly making offers for Jackson that the Tigers are now sifting through.
Fanhouse's Ed Price mentioned a rumor that the Mets had acquired Jackson. But the key word there was "rumor," and this eventually proved to be false news.
Via Yahoo! Sports' Tim Brown, the Tigers are one of four (and maybe five) teams looking at reliever Kevin Gregg. This year, Gregg compiled 23 saves (in 31 chances) for the Cubs, with 71 strikeouts and 30 walks in 68.2 innings. He beat out Carlos Marmol for the team's closer job, but eventually lost it in mid-August.
Detroit also signed minor league pitcher Brad Thomas, as reported by The Detroit Tigers Weblog. Thomas, a 32-year-old lefty, last pitched in the majors in 2004, playing the last two years in Korea.
Finally, the Tigers outrighted reliever Zach Simons to Triple-A Toledo, removing him from the 40-man roster (where Thomas replaces him).

Did we miss anything? Until anything new arises, this can be a place for general discussion. Thanks for your cooperation.

And Now For Something Completely Different: The Andre Dawson Hall Of Fame Twitter Blitz

Al — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:44:31 -0000

What's this all about? Details after the jump.

The good guys at Cubscast are sponsoring a Twitter blitz tomorrow to promote Andre Dawson's candidacy for the Hall of Fame. You can find out more details here. I've agreed to help them promote this, because I think Dawson belongs in the Hall, and this is an interesting experiment to see if such a Twitter blitz will actually get enough attention to make this a trending topic on Twitter.

So tomorrow, if you have a Twitter account, please tweet something about Andre's candidacy, using the hashtags #Dawson4TheHall, and also include the #cubs and #mlb tags. It starts at 1:20 pm CDT on Tuesday, December 8.

MLB Trade Rumors: Alfonso Soriano to the Braves for Derek Lowe?

raygu — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:00:16 -0000

by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

4 months ago: Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano launches a grand slam off Houston Astros relief pitcher Chris Sampson during the 13th inning of a baseball game Monday, July 27, 2009, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

View full size photo »

Everyone knows that the Braves are looking to deal one of their excess starting pitchers, starting with Derek Lowe. We all know they will deal either Lowe or Javier Vazquez. How about dealing one bad contract for another? Alfonso Soriano to play left field for Derek Lowe?

The Cubs have been rumored to deal Milton Bradley to the Rays for Pat Burrell, but where would Burrell play? He can only play LF or maybe 1B, but the Cubs have Derrek Lee at 1B. It would make sense for the Braves as they need a power bat in their lineup, and they aren''t going to get alot if they deal Lowe, so why not take on another bad contract in Soriano.

Soriano will make $18 million in each of the next 5 years through 2014, while Lowe will make $15 million in 2010-2012. If the Cubs eat some of Soriano's contract, or throw in a prospect or two, it might even out the deal.

The Cubs would use Lowe to replace free agent starting pitcher Rich Harden, and team him up with Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells in the Cubs rotation.

Does this deal make sense for both teams?

Poll

Who would hang up first in a proposed deal of Alfonso Soriano for Derek Lowe?

Tampa Bay Rays News and Rumors for December 7th: Interest in Kevin Gregg, Update on Milton Bradley Swap, The Mets Interest in Pat Burrell, and More

R.J. Anderson — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:00:30 -0000

New/General Rumors

Up first, a Tweet from Yahoo! Sports writer Tim Brown:

Early market for Kevin Gregg: Rays, Nats, Tigers, Rockies...

Gregg was eligible for Type-A compensation but the Cubs chose against offering him arbitration due to a poor season. His career FIP is 4.00 and last year it was 4.93. Wanna know the secret behind that horrible year? It has to do with the fact that 15% of his fly balls went over the fence, his previous career high was 11.6% and his career percentage even now is 8.5%. That's what we call a prime candidate for regression towards the mean. Ignore the home runs (i.e. use xFIP) and Gregg had one of the best seasons of his career when it came to strikeouts and walks. He misses bats and should be a bit undervalued, I suppose it really comes down to asking price.

More after the jump, including the latest on Pat Burrell and Matt Lindstrom.

Pat Burrell/Milton Bradley

Next, we have a Tweet from the New York Post's Joel Sherman

#Rays growing less hopeful of swapping Burrell to #Cubs

Could be posturing, could be serious. Who knows. Lots of disinformation and bluffing will occur during these next few days. Keep that in mind. Same with this Tweet, also from Sherman:

If Burrell goes to #Cubs for MBradley, #Mets consider Castillo-for-Burrell, but r hesitant because of defense/makeup issues with Burrell

And finally -- for now -- there is a report out there that Burrell has been dealt to the Cubs, who then dealt him to the Mets. I'm not linking to it because A) It doesn't pass the smell test, and B) I think Sherman, Rosenthal, Olney, whomever would have more information by now, like, say, the other players names. We'll see.

[Note by R.J. Anderson, 12/07/09 12:37 PM EST ]An update on this comes from the aforementioned Tim Brown:

Rays source on Burrell to Mets: "News to us."

So there's that.

And here's this, from David Lennon of NewsDay:

lenno212

Oh, and forget Burrell to #Mets - period. Source just said team not interested in him. Not in 3-way, not in any way.

Matt Lindstrom

A Tweet from Buster Olney regarding Matt Lindstrom:

Rangers perhaps the most serious among teams in discussion for Matt Lindstrom. Two teams have fallen out of running, two other teams in.

And a Tweet from Frankie Piliere, formerly of the Rangers organization as a scout:

Rangers look like front runner for Lindstrom from what I've heard. Hard to find solid info on Lindstrom rumors but I think Tex is leading

This from the Miami Herald:

Lindstrom trade rumors are swirling, but I'm told that the Rangers' interest in the hard-throwing reliever is not as strong as some reports have led to believe. And the Rays' interest in Lindstrom is mild at best.

More coming throughout the day.

All-Purpose Winter Meetings Post, Day 1

Al — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:00:28 -0000

Major league general managers, player agents, media and assorted hangers-on have all arrived in Indianapolis to spend the next four days in climate-controlled comfort and hash out trades and free-agent signings. We'll also see the Rule 5 draft on Thursday, before everyone heads home.

Use this post for discussion of Winter Meetings topics all day today -- please don't post a large number of FanPosts or FanShots on this topic, unless there's a link from some other source that is truly important and should stand out from the rest.

If the Cubs make a trade or signing, I'll put a new front-page post up as soon as possible.

Let the dealing begin!

Two Free Agents

DanUpBaby — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:00:19 -0000

by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

View full size photo »

Current state of the official rumor of the weekend, that the Cubs were about to trade Milton Bradley and sign Mike Cameron: no no-comment. Cameron for Bradley isn't a major upgrade, but after a season in which Bradley was declared The Problem the Cubs are more or less forced to make it.

I don't doubt, at this point, that team chemistry is important in some vague capacity, and starting from that viewpoint it's impossible to avoid counting Milton Bradley among the members of the un-sainted Dick Allen class. But I think the Cubs—and the Red Sox, the Yankees, the Mets—have a particular disadvantage when dealing with ostensible clubhouse cancers. Everything Milton Bradley did for an entire disappointing year bounced around among the fans and the media and the postgame comments until his exit became inevitable. In less demanding markets it's easy for a bounce-back year or a winning team to obscure things like this, but Chicago needed stories, and Milton Bradley became the big one.

Cameron is, of course, one of the potential bargains of the offseason, and the Cubs, who trotted out three tweener corner outfielders last year, are in need of someone who can unquestionably handle center field. It would have been nice to see him playing right for the Cardinals, and spotting Colby, too young to be platooned, against the proverbial Tough Left-handers", but that was probably always wish-casting; I don't see any reason for him to play a corner so long as at least one suitor wants him in center.

Meanwhile: I'm not sure this is a good thing, but the decision to offer arbitration to Mark DeRosa*—uncertain after the Braden Looper non-move last year—is shaping up to be one of my favorite moves off the Cardinals off-season. Take a look at the friendly Rotoworld box and then follow the jump.

I could see DeRosa getting $27 million after his 2008 season, during which he became a Chicago folk hero; he's three years older than Chone Figgins, but until then DeRosa was the better super-utility guy. (I was surprised to learn that Figgins has played so little second base of late, and done it rather poorly; I can only guess that a player's perceived versatility goes up as he steals more bases.)

But Figgins's 2009 was a Fangraphs-watcher's dream, a career year on defense and a career high in walks; meanwhile DeRosa played just two innings at second base and had a poorly understood wrist injury. The end result is that Chone is the proud owner of USS Mariner's heart, and DeRosa's desired contract, on the heels of a smaller deal accepted by a better second baseman, Placido Polanco, seems a year too late.

Of course, if things play as they ought to, none of that is any concern of ours. DeRosa might be a minor upgrade to David Freese, but Julio Lugo is already making the minimum as designated Schumaker-platoon-partner-who-shouldn't-play-shortstop; whichever third baseman didn't earn the starting job would be basically irrelevant on the bench as it appears to be shaping up.

Things will hopefully be a little less nebulous after today's Winter Meetings begin in force. Am I remembering this wrong, or are they usually held in places a little more seasonally appropriate than Indianapolis?