Chicago Cubs Cubs will be very active in free agent market

GM says club particularly interested in shoring up starting pitching

By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune reporter

8:56 p.m. CDT, September 26, 2012
DENVER — The holes on the Cubs roster are apparent to anyone who has been paying attention this summer, and despite giving chances to a slew of kids, the team won't sit out the free agent marketplace this winter.

"We're obviously going to be active," general manager Jed Hoyer said before Wednesday night's game against the Rockies. "I don't think there's going to be any question about that."

Hoyer said how much money the Cubs will have to spend "will be determined by the market," adding they will be aggressive in the search for starting pitching.

"We have some money to spend and that's an area we're going to focus on heavily," he said, adding: "We certainly need to bolster our rotation."

Jason Berken, a waiver claim from the Orioles on Sept. 7, started for the Cubs on Wednesday as they continued the drive for 99 or fewer losses.

Hoyer said 100 losses is "is a round number we clearly want to avoid" because people will focus on the number.

"But if we avoid it, it doesn't mean I'm going to feel better about the season," he said.

Despite one of the worst seasons in club history, the Cubs attendance was strong enough to make the team profitable. Hoyer said "all the money will go back to the team in one form or another, whether it's things that can help us for the future, or whether it's free agents, or keep money aside for the next free agent class, all the money baseball operations as a whole is given is always going to go back to the club."

With the huge contracts of Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano off the books, the Cubs can front-load contracts with bonus money, much as they did with Starlin Castro's $60 million deal. The budget flexibility was something the Ricketts family has waited for since buying the club.

As for the prospects called up, Hoyer called it a "mixed bag" and that some will start next season at Triple-A Iowa.

"Certainly not every guy has shown we need to reserve a spot for him at the beginning of next season, but that's to be expected," he said. "A lot of those guys, maybe they feel like they're ready, but if they start the year out at Iowa it's probably a positive for our roster in a lot of ways."

The success of the Angels' Mike Trout in his second call-up is something the Cubs believe their struggling prospects can aspire to emulate the young star.

"Obviously he has been the best player in baseball since he came up (a second time)," Hoyer said. "That first time in the big leagues, it's really difficult to evaluate. I've had a number of players tell me the butterflies don't go away sometimes that first time up. They're nervous all the time."

Hoyer, President Theo Epstein and manager Dale Sveum will evaluate players and the coaching staff in the next week. A lot of difficult decisions are looming.

"October, when you're not in the playoffs, it's a really good planning time," Hoyer said. "… It's always more fun to have almost no planning time, playing in the World Series, but you might as well use the month to your advantage."

To bad the starting pitching market sucks this offseason.

They will be lucky if they can get another Paul Maholm.

Just sayin'

No matter what they do you will not be happy, so just prepare yourself now.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Sign Maholm
trade him for prospects at deadline
Repeat if necessary

I am happy with some of the young talent they've garnered and are developing this year.

I like the plan.

Maholm has a team friendly 6.5M option for 2013 which ATL will exercise in a NY minute.

Team option I believe. He will be a Brave again next year.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Okay scratch that idea.

Trade Ian Stewart for Maholm.

Problem solved.

Maholm pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings tonight and picked up win # 13.

Don't expect anything different from last offseason, according to a friend of mine who would know.

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Git on back there.

Well in that case.

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Team Cutler.

"shoring up"...implies there is something already there and the extra is in a supporting role

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

This is welcome news.


We'll see what the payroll is. If its under 80 Million, Ill be upset.


Really should be 100 but Ill give a little leeway


Sign some veteran pitching. Flip at deadline.

Garza and Szmardzija are both decent.

There is something there, Garza 2...Shark 4..Wood 5..just need an ace and a #3.

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Why would you be upset? They're still gonna suck next year whether they spend $80 million or $100 million, so why bother? Spending just to spend? Dumb.

That's not a fact, Ed. Baseball is a funny game. Wouldn't it suck if a bunch of those young guys played their asses off and the team won 83 games with Volstad going 2-16 while the Cardinals won the division with 86 wins and you could have signed a guy like Greinke? I wouldn't worry so much about Big Joe Ricketts' money. It's just less that he'll have to influence elections.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Finding an ace isn't shoring up. Those guys are the shoring up of an ace.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I see where you're coming from, but they're farther away than 2 starting pitchers. Major question marks at catcher, CF, and 3B, and I don't think there's anyway in hell Soriano replicates what he's doing this year in 2013. I'm a big believer in the theory of guys producing with nothing to play for, and this shit team hasn't had anything to play for since the end of 2008. Let's see them produce when the expectations are there.

I also agree with you about Big Joe's money, and I hope I didn't come across as "he has the right to NOT spend." I was more coming from that spending for the sake of appeasing fans isn't the way to go. As Mac likes to say, "Never confuse activity with accomplishment" and I view the Cubs' news yesterday as more activity than anything. I should probably give the new regime more of a benefit of the doubt, but it's difficult for me to do. It's still the Cubs.

I'll certainly grant you that they seem to be, but maybe not. A lot of shit happens over the course of a winter and then a season. Thinking they were further away than they really were is what got Washington in a trick bag with Strasburg. Now you've got one of the best teams since the 1998 Yankees shutting down its best pitcher during its best chance to win. They won't be this good again. That I'm almost sure of.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

and I believe Dempster is 7-1 with Texas. But trading both resulted in the Cubs having a chance to perhaps draft #2 overall, where they can get an impact player, rather than drafting #12 -15 and getting someone that is far less talented. They will need to get some starting pitchers to fill in those spots vacated by Dempster and Maholm. It was fine to use scrubs this season to finish out the season. But if they don't upgrade the rotation, when tickets go on sale for single games in February....good luck.

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Go Cubs!!!!

2010 MLB Draft
Sox took Chris Sale at #13

Keep on keeping on, Stephan!

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Even further proof that you do not have to have a top 5 pick to get an impact player.

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and who was picked in the 3rd round in that draft, Addison Reed.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Drafting in the top 3 slots results in getting a shot at someone like Stephen Strasburg, David price, Evan Longoria,Justin Verlander, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Mark Mulder or Alex rodriguez. Keep your exceptions to the rule like Mike trout or Mike Piazza for that matter. the rule at pick 25 is more like Michael Main, Hank Conger, kyle Waldrop, Bobby Crosby, Nate Bump, (who???....exactly) or if you are lucky Mike MacDougal or Matt Garza. When compared over a few decades, the success of a pick taken even a handful of picks later, is far less likely to be an impact player.

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Go Cubs!!!!

There are virtually no sure things in the baseball draft. A team desperately in need of pitching that can't afford to wait 5 years to develop it is in the best position to get a 3 or 4 yr collegiate starter that is almost major league ready in those top few picks. If they didn't desperately need a polished near mlb ready pitcher I wouldn't care where they picked....but they do and this puts them in a position to get that guy. The Astros have also become cheap and could very well opt for a top high school player and not the more expensive, more talented, and more mlb ready collegiate player.

Kenny hit big on Sale and half the league passed on him. Good for him, excellent pick. He also drafted his own son in the 6th round which was fucking stupid and a waste of a pick.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Because I will take it as an indication that keeping the payroll as low as possible will be a priority going forward.

I don't see them spending 40, 50, 45. then 200 million all of a sudden in year 4. I wouldn't mind an owner who wants to win as much as possible while building long term. Thats the beauty of a big market you don't have to totally bottom out in order to rebuild

But Theo & Co. insisted you did and that's why you're about to lose you're 97th game.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I dunno about insisting on sucking this bad..just how it worked out..not much talent in the minors thanks to Hendry/Wilken and that can't be fixed in a season ...I think they are embarrassed and would like to avoid this bad of a season next year...I have no problem with them grabbing a few free agents a year sooner than they planned..either way there are jobs that need to be filled and the young kids suck for the most part...someone needs to fill those holes.

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