The Chicago Cubs made a bid last week for free agent Japanese pitching phenom Yu Darvish, but in the end it was not enough to win the rights to negotiate with the pitcher. That is a good thing for the Cubs, as Darvish likely will not fulfill the promise that many are expecting.The Texas Rangers are going to hope that Darvish can fill the void that starting pitcher C.J. Wilson left when he opted to go to the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim this offseason.Like Darvish, the Boston Red Sox brought over Daisuke Matsuzaka from Japan at 25 years of ...
Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have been in charge of the Chicago Cubs for nearly two months and have yet to make one significant move. If they don't do something soon, the natives will get restless. Matt Garza has been on the trade block for weeks, and ESPN's Jim Bowden tweets that there may be some package deal involving him going to San Diego for Anthony Rizzo. It is unclear at this point just how real the rumors are, but if that is something the Cubs would be able to pull off, it would be a major coup for a franchise ...
The rumored deal floated by ESPN's Jim Bowden that Matt Garza could be traded to the San Diego Padres for first baseman Anthony Rizzo would be a great, first major player move by Theo Epstein.Garza is a solid pitcher, but Epstein is bringing the philosophy of aiming for greatness. On a great team, Garza is a third or fourth starter, for the Cubs in 2011, he was the ace of the staff.Moving Garza makes sense, especially for a prospect with the tools Anthony Rizzo has—a power hitting left-handed first basemen whom I could easily see in Cubbie blue for 10 ...
The departure of Aramis Ramirez leaves the Cubs without a strong source of power. Chicago will need to remedy this situation before they can even think about contending again.Besides Prince Fielder, most of this offseason's biggest names have already been signed. However, there are still many good hitters available. How the Cubs deal with this situation could impact their playoff chances for years to come.Here are five hitters who could replace Aramis Ramirez in the three-hole next year.Begin Slideshow
The Chicago Cubs were hopeful about Yu Darvish until the end of the bidding, won by the Texas Rangers.But that was smokescreen. They were always thinking about a Matt Garza trade.Which do you believe:That Team Epstein was willing to hand $125+ million and the keys to his new franchise over to an unproven pitcher?Or, that Hoyer & Co. were interested in driving up the bidding on Yu to make Matt Garza more attractive to losers of the Darvish derby?Because the higher the bid on Darvish by Texas, Toronto and the Yanks, the better the odds the losers would overreact and trade ...
The Chicago Cubs have only begin to re-shape their club, but only I know who will be the main players for 2012. Yes, my crystal ball gets hazy at times, but I will give you the starting nine and the five pitchers who will lead the Cubs into battle next season.Remember, the Theo Epstein plan will take time, so don't fret that they didn't make a real offer to Albert Pujols or attempt a real bid on Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish.Likewise, as I have written, don't expect Prince Fielder to be the first baseman unless he takes a shorter deal.But the ...
Recent rumors have the Chicago Cubs potentially looking at the San Diego Padres as potential trade partners for starting pitcher Matt Garza. If the Cubs have any intention of improving their pitching staff for the 2012 season and beyond, moving Garza should be the last move they make.Garza came over to the Cubs last season after the Cubs traded away pretty much the entire farm for the Tampa Bay Rays' stud pitcher. In Garza's first season with the Cubs, he went 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA. He also struck out 197 batters in 198 innings. Last season was the his ...
If new Cubs president Theo Epstein wants to really start his era off right, he's going to have to do everything he can to bring in free agent slugger Prince Fielder.All indications are that he's doing just that, but trying won't be enough in this case.The Cubs desperately need a big-name free agent like Fielder, and with most of the marquee names already off the market, they are running out of options.It's not that Cubs fans won't show up to the ballpark. They are known for packing out Wrigley Field no matter the circumstances.They need something to believe in, though.After years of disappointing seasons, getting ...
Just like the Albert Pujols negotiations, the Cubs are purposely not trying to quash their reported interest in Prince Fielder, even though they have only a small chance of signing the Milwaukee first baseman.Yes, the Cubs presented Pujols an offer, but it was one they knew wouldn't be accepted. It was likely for five years with an average annual salary well above what other teams were offering.In other words, Theo Epstein and the Cubs were hoping that Albert would take a shorter-term contract worth more per year than the other offers.But, in reality, they knew that wouldn't happen.Still, this kept ...
Deal Starlin Castro. Swap Matt Garza for prospects. Find homes for Carlos Zambrano and Alfonso Soriano, even if you have to include an untouchable like Brett Jackson.Admit it, the Cubs roster is two thumbtacks and a wrench short of a junk drawer. At best, it's an assortment of loose screws.Big fixes are needed—the Cubs won 71 games last year.And if Team Epstein is looking to improve via trades, they need to put some ribbons on the trash the Cubs have to offer.Because nobody trades something for nothing, and it costs millions to unload garbage on another team. That means pondering tough deals ...
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