The Cubs' season is pretty well already in the tank. Many of us have turned to the minor league updates... others are looking at future minor leaguers available in the upcoming June draft.

Here's one mock. There will be a lot more.

Signing Starlin Castro to a long-term contract extension is so obvious, that even Jim Bowden has identified it as a good idea. That is, unless his endorsement is a giant glowing hint that this is a terrible idea. You decide.

Usually, Bowden's articles as an "Insider" (ESPN uses this term more loosely with each passing day) show why he carries the label "ex-GM". But even Bowden has identified that signing young players to long-term deals is good business.

A common theme already this year has been to look for hope in the minors. We've known this from the first day of spring training.

Well, we should certainly be keeping an interested eye on Extended Spring Training... where many members of last year's heralded draft class and the Dominican Summer League are learning the "Cubs' Way".

This article focuses mostly on top pick Javier Baez, but also has bits about some of the other highly touted names... including comments from some members of the Cubs minor league infrastructure.

Pitcher, and Chicago area native, Michael Bowden was designated for assignment to help make room for a couple of new position (including former Cub farmhand, IIRC, Nate Spears) players to cover for the injury to Jacoby Ellsbury.

Bowden is a player a handful of BCBers have expressed an interest in acquiring. So it might worth monitoring to see if Theo thinks Bowden is worthy of claiming.

How about a 105 year extension for Carlos Santana?

OK, OK... so the hardball talk article suggests that was probably a typo in the tweet (a tweepo?) and that the young Indian signed 'just' a FIVE year extension (money not disclosed as of this typing).

As the article also notes... signing the young guys is definitely in vogue... so building from within will be nearly mandatory. It will also have a ripple effect of making the guys that reach FA even more expensive.

Oh... and Ian Kinsler won't be available through FA for a while, either.

I used the article title... the alternative was "Phil Rogers writes something that is neither pithy or terrible". Anyway, moving on from my pot shot....

This is a good look / summary at how the Cubs have invested in a number of Cuban players. It gives you a little look at where these guys are headed. Phil probably should have included salary / signing info for the others (since he did for Concepcion), but that is relative nitpicking.

Speaking of Concepcion, the article includes some nice bits about a recent outing and how the Cubs will work him into the system.

And I think many of us hope there will be one more prominent (and expensive) name added to this list in the near future.

Not a ton of new info here, but a pretty interesting read that is mostly about McLeod.

It also takes a look at how the Cubs are approaching preparations for the June draft.

I took particular note of this (sorry, don't know how to do a block quote in this box, but it is, of course, from the linked article):

"The Cubs recognize they need to take care of their scouts. McLeod e-mailed his staff last week to say that later this year scouts will be provided company cars, a common benefit in Boston and San Diego."

This is yet another sign of how far this organization had to play catch-up to heavy hitters like...... San Diego..... when it comes to baseball infrastructure. Giving scouts video cameras to create a video library was also discussed.

I hope many keep in mind all the extra infrastructure investments the Cubs are making (more front office personnel, more scouts, new tools & tech, etc.) when they consider how the Cubs aren't "spending any money".

According to Keith Law (Insider article), not until 2015.

(Not sure how to block quote this in this window, so I'll use quotes and rely on the link as my 'source'.)

"Chicago Cubs

It helps that the NL Central is one of the weaker divisions, but the Cubs' rebuilding has barely broken ground at this point -- the new front office has barely had a chance to clear the land. Their moves this winter, other than the trade of reliever Andrew Cashner for first base prospect Anthony Rizzo and pitcher Zack Cates, were largely about moving money around and keeping the 2012 product respectable without making dangerous long-term commitments such as the one wandering aimlessly around left field these days. (And it should be quite respectable, maybe even a little better if their gambles on starting pitchers whose peripheral stats were better than their ERAs work out.)

Chicago's farm system is thin up top but has a lot of high-risk, high-upside players in its lowest levels; even their extended spring training club will be fun to watch this year. But the Cubs' best chance to engineer a turnaround will probably come from trades, starting with Matt Garza but perhaps extending to players such as Geovany Soto or Carlos Marmol if they can re-establish their value with solid 2012 performances; they bought low on Ian Stewart and Chris Volstad and could end up selling high if either player fulfills his former first-round promise in the next two years.

By the 2013-14 offseason, they'll have a significant amount of cash to spend but only a handful of less expensive players in significant roles, so cashing in Garza for the maximum return looks like the critical step in their rebuilding process.

They will most likely contend next in ... 2015"

Not really much new in here, but hey... it's spring.

I'm not sure exactly what his definition of 'contention' is. He mentions a 'playoff spot' in the intro. So I'm not real sure why 2014 would be out of the question, particularly given the two WCs.

I would sure hope 85 or so wins (my rough barometer of 'contention') isn't out of the question for the next three full seasons.

A couple interesting bits in here...

$6M over 5 years, including a $3M bonus.

The 20 year old LHP is now on the 40 man... and is 'expected' to go to Iowa with a chance to help the Cubs this year.

The system rankings were yesterday, today ESPN's Keith Law released his individual top 100 (note: Insider content linked above). He also sorted the list by team's top 10s (also Insider).

Cub Top Ten (ranking in top 100 in parentheses):

Rizzo (36)
Jackson (89... and at this point we have to assume Jax kicked Law's dog somewhere along the way)
Baez (95)
McNutt
Cates
Castillo
Maples
Vitters
Golden
Szczur

Concepcion wasn't included as his signing isn't official, though Law doesn't seem impressed by him, either.

Another bit from his rankings worth noting... Hak-Ju Lee is the #12 overall prospect and Chris Archer checks in at #63. Just food for thought.

I know Law isn't real popular around here and with some good reason. But we can discuss his list, anyway.

Not really a lot of new information here, but it is another list to discuss.

The actual list itself (rather than the article, which is the link above) is also pretty cool. It has stats and a write-up on each guy. It also allows you to sort and easily find other prospect info at the top of the page.

Have at it.

Some small updates on the facilities in the Dominican Republic.

It also makes a brief mention of the Caribbean World Series, saying the Cubs have nothing set up to meet with the Cubans.

I suppose that may be true (nothing set up), but I have to image they *will* meet with the players and agents while they are there.

Fire away.

To sum...

He likes Rizzo for Cashner.

In fact, he's liked all the Cub offseason moves, making note to add Stewart to a questioners list of win/loss evaluations on Marshall, Z, Rizzo.

Named Vitters as one of the most disappointing prospects of recent years. Though he (nominally) likes Vitters' chances of taking more pitches better than Jackson's chances of making more contact.

Turner for Garza = not enough.
Turner and Castellanos for Garza = too much.
Another Tiger "offer" without Turner or Castellanos was panned as far too little.

Doesn't believe Garza will definitely be traded.

He prospect rankings will be out early February.

Again... not a ton of new info. And I know lots of fans don't think a lot of Law and/or his snark.

But he fielded several Cub related questions in yesterday's chat... so I thought it worthy of passing along. So... discuss.

Maybe if we could move Soriano............

Still "no".

He'll play in the Dominican winter league to establish residency.

Soon thereafter, he'll be able to start counting his cash.

So much for the "one more employee from the Red Sox" bit.

An interesting little analysis/write-up and a short video clip on one of the Cubs most talked about prospects.

Is this Vitters' chance to take the hot corner for the Cubs? Discuss away.

I know CF is a position of relative strength in the Cub system... but would we have any interest in placing a bid? Anyone else have any more intel?

I'm not necessarily advocating... just eliciting discussion.

By Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (ESPN Insider content, so some/many of you won't be able to open it).

I normally like BP's work, but I find this piece to be incredibly sloppy. Among the items I disagree with and/or are just flat wrong...

I consider the catching position to be an area of strength for the Cubs' system. While there isn't a bona fide stud prospect, there seems to be a guy at every level with the chance to make the bigs and compete for a starting spot (or surely a back-up spot). I'd think that puts the Cubs in better position than most clubs.

DJLM is listed as a prospect who has shown power in the minors. Um... no.

Listing Campana as "not the answer" should depend on what the question is. Most of us who like TC feel he could be an effective bench piece (or even weapon). You still need those.

I didn't think scouts were all that "mixed" on Szczur, at least no more so than any other prospect.

Goldstein apparently assumes Cashner will not be tried in the rotation, which may or may not be the case.

There are other opinions that just seemed a little... lazy. About the only section I thought he nailed was SP.

Discuss.

ESPN Chicago's Chris Silva reports Cashner will begin his rehab on Tuesday in Tennessee by pitching the first inning of the AA affiliate's game.

Good to see Cashner finally getting back to the mound.

And apologies if this was already posted elsewhere.

There are some things that aren't stupid in this piece.

But I bet you can find many more things that are.

In a 'Modest Trade Proposals' column this morning, the Phil suggests the Cubs trade ARam to the south side (to call his "bluff" on the family thing).

That idea, in and of itself, isn't crazy.

What would the Cubs get in return??

Brent Morel or Jake Peavy and some "intriguing young players" (I mean, why name names, Phil, why would any readers possibly expect you to know anything about the White Sox minor league system???).

Oh... and the Cubs get to pay the remaining freight on ARam ($5M in salary and the $2M buyout).

Discuss.

Note... this is primarily a 'just for fun' article from ESPN's Eric Karabell (who is mostly a fantasy sports writer), so don't take it too seriously.

But in the article he projects each team's "face of the franchise" in 2016. Here's his bit on the Cubs:

"Chicago Cubs: Felix Hernandez, starting pitcher. Most people would say Starlin Castro, and I do like him, but when the Cubs trade the farm for King Felix late in 2012, he'll become The Man. Sorry, Seattle."

Other Cub-ish related notes... he has Pujols in St. Louis (but you may be surprised/intrigued by the comment) and Prince in Arlington.

Discuss.

(EDITS to include updated links.)

I watched Baseball Tonight earlier today and they were doing their Cubs preview.

The highlight was the link above which shows Ryan Dempster impersonating Chris Farley's SNL character "motivational speaker Matt Foley". It was great.

Here's their interview with Mike Quade.

And here's their "full preview".

Here's my summary of their preview.

It was a very surface preview, as you'd expect. And much of it is stuff we've already known. Still, I thought it might be worth a look and discussion.

Tim Kirkjian (who, is IMO a really solid national level reporter) and John Kruk both *glowed* about Mike Quade. They love his energy and think he might be a perfect fit to breathe some life into the club (shared a couple stories about Q's energy).

Kirkjian reported that Tom Ricketts went to the Cubs players at the end of last season to ask for their feedback on the manager. Soriano "stood up" and said "keep Quade".

Both said they really like the top of the Cubs' rotation if we get second half Z. The also like the depth of the rotation in the 4 and 5 spots.

They liked the offseason moves, though I found it curious they didn't really make all that much mention of Garza, though he was frequently seen in the video.

Other bits seen in the b-roll (video): Colvin taking throws at 1B with Pena (again, not surprising) and Guzman seemingly throwing easy (seen in the background of the Quade interview).

Again, not all that much info, but they seemed to buy into some upside for the Cubs as possible contenders.

Didn't see this posted anywhere else... please delete if duplicate.

The Matt Szczur signing isn't new, but I thought the quote from Sully's article from Matt about the Cubs' 2014 OF was worth pulling out and looking at.

Szczur said Cubs general manager Jim Hendry told him he wanted to see him as the starting center fielder in 2014, with Brett Jackson in left and Tyler Colvin in right.

"For him to say that, I totally believed him," he said. "He wasn't beating around the bush. That helps out a lot."

At least three things stuck out to me about this quote.

First, I'm a little curious what Soriano thinks about this, since 2014 is the last year of his contract.

Second... why would Jackson go to left and Colvin to right when Brett is widely seen as the superior defender (and Colvin's defense has been questioned, in general)?

Third... Hendry seems to definitely believe Colvin has staying power. I think we all assumed this, but to (apparently) be that specific to Szczur reinforces this.

Lastly, the 2014 comment suggests they will start reasonably slowly with Szczur's development. Perhaps A/A+ ('11), A+/AA ('12), AA/AAA ('13) is the projected arc.

And, yes, for all of these points I fully realize that Hendry isn't absolutely banking on Szczur and a lot can happen between now and 2014. It also may be a bunch of lip service to get Szczur to sign. I dunno... but it is January, so I found it interesting and worth discussing.

(Apologies... I tried to put the quote from the article in a block quote and thought I was doing it right, but clearly am not. Same with the page break.)

Apologies if this was posted elsewhere... I didn't see it in the game preview or in the game thread.

But the Cubs made a roster move today. They promoted LH RP Scott Maine and optioned Justin Berg back to Iowa.

With the promotion, Maine was added to the 40-man roster, which is now full.

Discuss this groundbreaking move amongst yourselves.

(And this is the first fanshot I created, so here's hoping it turns out ok!)