If you were GM: Cubs

by dasox313 on Nov 16, 2008 4:49 PM EST

The Cubs have a strong organization right now. The major league roster is full of all-stars, the farm system is bursting with talent, the coaches are some of the best in the game, and they have the money to shop around in the free agent market. They made the playoffs in one of the toughest divisions last year. During the year, they traded for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin during July. They showed that they were happy with the team they had when the only tradethey made was the one where they traded for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin. They didn't make any other big moves after that. Already, they are not tenduring a contract to the longest tendured Cub on the team, the closer Kerry Wood. They then showed that they were serious and not trying to make a lower contract by trading for Kevin Gregg.

The Cubs don't need much more on the team except for the bullpen and some left handed outfield power. Now that Kerry Wood is gone and Kevin Gregg is going to fill in on the closer spot, all the Cubs need is some set-up pitchers and maybe some depth for the long run. I would sign 3 pieces for the bullpen. The first one would be Jason Isringhausen. I know that he is a Cardinal and that he blows up a lot, but he is a bigger improvment over Bob Howry. Second, I would sign Arthur Rhodes to take up a lefty spot in the bullpen. He dominated in Florida and Seattle. Neal Cotts can't be the only lefty specialist on the team. Also I would sign Luis Ayala. He is a veteran releiver that will be in the bullpen when the Cubs really need him. The Cubs also could trade for the extra depth in the bullpen.

Second, the Cubs need left-handed power out of the outfield. I would sign Bobby Abrue. He is a veteran bat with a knowledge of the game. He also makes the pitcher work. he might not have the power the Cubs want, but he is surely better han Kosuke Fukudome. If the Cubs don't want Abrue, they could trade for another player like Adam Dunn. The Cubs have the money to and Dunn likes the NL Central. If the Cubs signed Dunn the outfield could be Soriano, Edmonds, Dunn. An all power outfield.

As I mentioned, the Cubs have one of the most talented farm systems in the MLB. They could get B.J. Ryan from the Blue Jays. They said that they are open to trade talks about any player. I think that the Cubs have enough prospects that they could trade away a couple without really hurting the farm system.B.J. Ryan would provide a unhittable lefty with the ability to close when he is needed to. The Blue Jays might not part with the centerpiece of their bullpen so another bullpen piece could be Chris Ray from the Orioles. The Orioles might not part with him because they're building there bullpen right now too. It would probably take 3-5 prospects to trade for Chris Ray. He has a hard to hit delivery, but he tore his rotator cuff two years ago. The Cubs still have a strong bullpen so if they don't trade for a bullpen piece, they will be able to compete with their bullpen.

The Cubs will have a team ready to compete next year. They just need to tweek their roster a bit more and then they will be able to go deep into July. What do you think the Cubs should do?

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sign ryan and abreu

Both would be perfect fits for the cubs.

A ball player's got to be kept hungry to become a big-leaguer. That's why no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues. ~Joe DiMaggio, quoted in New York Times, 30 April 1961

by kdog on Nov 16, 2008 11:10 PM EST reply actions

Abreu is a perfect fit for the Cubs

if you’re a Cardinals fan/Brewers fan/general Cubs hater.

Isn’t Alfonso Soriano enough for the “butcher quotient”?

""Bobby Crosby’s Release" - Sounds like a good title to Mr. Crosby’s first work in his next career now that we know he can’t play baseball." - Joey C.

by Blicks on Nov 17, 2008 12:06 AM EST up reply actions

heh

true dat, espically if the Ivy walls make Abreu even more afarid lol

by RollingWave on Nov 17, 2008 12:54 AM EST up reply actions

Anyway

it depends on how much money they have to work with.

by RollingWave on Nov 17, 2008 12:56 AM EST reply actions

I've heard that it isn't much.

Backloaded contracts and stuff. But then, they’re probably not resigning Wood, and Dempster could be gone. So, it could be quite a bit, I don’t know.

""Bobby Crosby’s Release" - Sounds like a good title to Mr. Crosby’s first work in his next career now that we know he can’t play baseball." - Joey C.

by Blicks on Nov 17, 2008 1:11 AM EST up reply actions

Who are you and what Cubs team are you writing about?

Did you write that the Cubs farm system is bursting with talent? That couldn’t be further from the truth. Take a look at Baseball Prospectus’s review on the Cubs minor league system: You’ll need a membership to see it in full. http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8296
After trading(wasting) away Ceda for Gregg, they now have one five star prospect and one four star prospect, with a bunch of “eh” material behind them.
Here’s the summary by Kevin Goldstein: “Yup, that’s about it. The Cubs are not a team based on youth; even Soto turns 26 in January. They are also not a team in need of a youth movement, and that’s a good thing, because this is a weak system in which finding any future Cub stars requires quite a bit of dreaming.”
And how can you address the Cubs without pointing out the need for at least one more starting pitcher. Dempster is a FA and I doubt he resigns, leaving Zambrano, Lilly, Harden, Marquis and Marshall to fill out the rotation. The Cubs should look to upgrade over at least one of either Marshall and Marquis.
Also, signing Abreu shouldn’t even be a consideration. He wouldn’t be much of an upgrade over Fukudome, and he could very well end up being the lesser of the two. On this very site Sky Kalkman had Fukudome only two runs behind Abreu. I fully expect Fukudome to improve to some degree next year offensively and Abreu is bound to decline a bit, making Fukudome the better option next year.

by dakoose on Nov 17, 2008 11:04 PM EST reply actions

Dempster reportedly just resigned for 4 years

But I had the same thought about Cubs prospects. I can’t claim that I follow the Cubs minor leagues closely, but everything I’ve read in trade rumors suggests that they are too weak to be able to get anyone of substance based on their minor league depth.

I could be wrong though

by staplemaniac on Nov 18, 2008 5:06 PM EST up reply actions

wow, re-sign and resign are polar opposites and eerily similar if you're a tard like me

Same with deft and daft. Just sayin’

I could be wrong though

by staplemaniac on Nov 18, 2008 5:07 PM EST up reply actions

More ideas:

Move Fukudome to center and let him play.
Trade for Randy Winn for right field.
Let the bullpen be with Gregg/Marmol as co-bullpen-aces.
Trade Rich Hill and Mike Fontenot’s career year (and whatever) to the Orioles for Brian Roberts. Or at least give Hill a starting job.

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 19, 2008 6:31 PM EST reply actions

You assume Andy MacPhail is stupid, which is wrong...

and Hill far from deserves to be near a major league mound at this point, and it looks like he was injured most of the season or had a Grienke-like mental collapse, neither of which I’m aware of.

I like the Winn idea, but the Cubs have hardly anything left to trade… Fontenot might actually make sense here, along with Cedeno maybe? Still, it seems Winn doesn’t want to go anywhere. I think if I’m the Giants or Padres, I have a no no-trade-clause policy. Too risky.

I think that Mark DeRosa, Reed Johnson, Mike Fontenot, Fukudome, and Pie should be kept and play 3 spots according to splits and overall performance.

The Cubs hardly any prospects or money to spare. It looks like any improvements will have to be done shrewdly, which is not something Hendry is known for. They had to know that back-loading all of these huge, unnecessary contracts would come to bite them. It looks like they’ll have to go with what they have got, and keep everything still while the players get a year older and the salaries higher(FWIW, I don’t think “Shark” has much of a chance as a starter, at least knowing what we do… bullpen or bust for him).

This doesn’t leave a lot of room for backup if and when Theriot and the CF crew flail, but that’s how spending money and players works.

by Daniel Berlyn on Nov 21, 2008 5:27 PM EST up reply actions

I wasn't implying Andy McPhail was dumb.

Any unfairness in the trade proposal was my ignorance over Hill’s worth.

Of course, Brian Roberts has one year left at $8MM. That’s a really good price for his services, but it is just one year. No reason to overpay for that.

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 21, 2008 8:06 PM EST up reply actions

Not that anyone would be overpaying for Roberts

which would have to happen for him to be traded, but the fact that he’s still an Oriole speaks volumes of the Owner’s infatuation for him; he’s the face of the franchise. If anyone gets traded, I see it being one of their offense heavy players, IE Huff, Mora or Scott, Hernandez if possible. Or relievers, but I can’t even remember if they have any good ones anymore. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some well timed dismantling at the trade deadline. I think it’s great how quickly MacPhail and Co. have given the O’s a bright future after a decade of sludge.

As for the Cubs, to reiterate, I think they should just stand pat and hope they don’t lay a brick in the playoffs.

by Daniel Berlyn on Nov 22, 2008 6:57 PM EST up reply actions