The Cubs have a lot of guys under contract for next year, which makes things difficult when you're trying to improve on an 85-win division championship team. But despite the division championship, the Cubs have several holes that need to be filled.
The outfield seems set with Alfonso Soriano, Felix Pie and Jacque Jones from left to right. However, I'm not satisfied with that trio on paper. In order for the Cubs to improve (and the key word is improve) one of those spots needs to be upgraded.
Pie hit .362 in Triple-A last year and could make the big jump Cubs fans expected him to make this year. He's still young and relatively an unknown commodity, making him the Cubs top bargaining chip this off-season. More on this later.
The contract Jones signed in 2006 is up after next season and is no longer an albatross. After his .332 second half average, JJ could be used as trade bait. If not, a right field platoon of Jones and Matt Murton (who is a career .328 hitter against left handed pitching.)
Fan favorite Ryan Theriot won over manager Lou Piniella with his hard work and overall solid play. Fans will be clamoring for Theriot to lead-off next year, but his on-base percentage (.326) was lower than Soriano's (.337) and as much as I like "The Riot" that doesn't translate to being an everyday player, sorry.
The place where the Cubs could use the biggest improvement is at catcher. Six Cubs combined to bat .239 last year, providing a major hole behind the plate. Geovany Soto will likely make the squad after his .389 batting average in 18 games, but I wouldn't get too excited about it just yet.
The starting rotation is solid with Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly and Rich Hill at the front of the rotation. Jason Marquis and Sean Marshall are pretty solid options in the number five slot. Both were solid in the first half, but struggled in the second half. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild's biggest job will be to straighten out that duo in the second half.
Mark Prior again is a wild card, but we'll cross that bridge if we get to it.
This may surprise you, but the Cubs had one of the best bullpen's around. Closer Ryan Dempster converted 28 saves in 31 chances, despite losing the trust of the fans. Scott Eyre got out of Piniella's doghouse to post a 0.81 ERA in the second half and Bobby Howry posted a 3.32 ERA and was the Cubs most consistent reliever.
Closer-in-waiting Carlos Marmol posted "video game numbers" with 96 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings as Piniella's bullpen ace. In limited action, Kerry Wood notched 24 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings of work.
EXPLORING THE FREE AGENT MARKET
Last year the Cubs made major strides in improving this team in the free agent market by signing Soriano, Marquis, Lilly and utility man Mark DeRosa. Still, this team has major holes to fill, but thankfully there are free agent alternatives.
Target number one is Alex Rodriguez, who if he exercises his out clause and signs with the Cubs, could be moved to shortstop. Rodriguez has expressed his interest and man love for Piniella and his 54 homers and 156 RBIs line would look nice between Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.
The Yankees hold a $16 million option on Bobby Abreu's return to the Bronx, and he would be the top right fielder available if he hit the market. Abreu is an OBP machine posting a .369 clip in 2007 while swiping 25 bases as well.
Also consider Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome as a potential right field fill in. For more on Fukudome, I'll link to MLBTR.
The Cubs could re-sign Jason Kendall and have a catching duo of Kendall and Soto. Kendall hit .270 with a .362 OBP in 57 games with the Cubs. The best free agent out there is another Yankee, Jorge Posada, who posted carer highs in batting average (.338) and OBP (.426) in 2007.
EXPLORING THE TRADE MARKET
In an attempt to not spend big money this off-season, the Cubs could look to improve via trades. Braves shortstop Edgar Renteria could be expendable with the emergence of Yunel Escobar.
For the Cubs to acquire Renteria, they would likely have to trade Marshall or Dempster and a mid-level prospect, for the Braves are looking to improve their starting rotation and their bullpen by any means necessary this off-season.
Miguel Tejada talks could resurface this off-season with former Cubs boss Andy MacPhail rumored to be shopping Tejada this off-season.
The biggest name on the trade market could be Twins starter Johan Santana, who becomes a free agent after the 2008 season. It would take a creative package of top prospects and a major league ready talent for the Twins to shop Santana.
My proposal is fair and as follows:
- Felix Pie. The Cubs top prospect is just what the Twins need. Pie would fill their center field hole at a cheap rate for a long time when Torii Hunter leaves as a free-agent.
- Donnie Veal. Veal is the Cubs top pitching prospect. Veal is a lefty in the mold of Dontrelle Wilis who projects to be a top of the line starter.
- Rich Hill. I'll pause for a moment so you can wipe that shocked look off your face. Santana won't come easy or cheap, that's why you have to throw a major league ready--or in this case--a major league starter to replace Johan in the rotation.
- One of the following prospects would probably put a deal in motion and help the Twins reload their minor league system: 2B Eric Patterson, SS Ronny Cedeno, SP Sean Gallagher.
No comments:
Post a Comment