The Cubs Hot Stove Action Thread

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beckdawg

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The Cubs have non-tendered Mat Gamel, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.

The Cubs have avoided arbitration with utility infielder Donnie Murphy, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com (via Twitter), agreeing to a one-year, $825K pact that includes incentives.
 

DewsSox79

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wouldnt it be theo esque to sign daniel hudson?


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beckdawg

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wouldnt it be theo esque to sign daniel hudson?


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If they signed him to a minor league deal I think it would be a smart move. Obviously 2 tommy john surgeries is scary but the guy has pitched well when healthy and he's only 27. He also should be available to pitch again by june at the latest. It would cost next to nothing and would potentially lead to a #2/#3 type pitcher if Hudson returned.
 

CSF77

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CHICAGO -- The Cubs signed infielder Donnie Murphy and catcher George Kottaras to one-year contracts Monday and tendered contracts to seven arbitration-eligible players, including Darwin Barney, Jeff Samardzija and Travis Wood.

The Cubs non-tendered relievers Daniel Bard and Chang-Yong Lim as well as infielder Mat Gamel, who are now free agents. Lim was not eligible for arbitration.

Besides Barney, Samardzija and Wood, the other arbitration-eligible players tendered 2014 contracts include pitchers Pedro Strop and James Russell, infielder Luis Valbuena and outfielder Nate Schierholtz.

A total of 28 players from the Cubs' 40-man roster were tendered 2014 contracts, including 21 not yet eligible for arbitration.

With all the moves, the Cubs' 40-man roster now stands at 37 players.

Murphy, 30, who was arbitration eligible, agreed to terms on a $825,000 deal. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, where he batted .265. In 46 games with the Cubs, Murphy batted .255 and hit 11 home runs.

Kottaras, who also was arbitration eligible, signed a one-year, $1.075 million contract that includes incentives. Acquired last Tuesday from the Royals in a trade for cash considerations, Kottaras made $1 million last season. He is projected to back up Welington Castillo behind the plate.

According to MLBTradeRumors.com, Samardzija is projected to get $4.9 million in 2014, while Schierholtz is projected to get $4.4 million, Wood $3.6 million, Barney $2.1 million, Russell $1.7 million, Valbuena $1.5 million and Strop $1 million.

The Cubs already have committed $49 million to six players for 2014 and will be paying $14 million to the Yankees to cover the last year of Alfonso Soriano's contract.

The Cubs are keeping an eye on the now-expanded list of free agents. Last year, they signed Schierholtz after he was non-tendered by the Phillies, and the outfielder became a regular in right field. Schierholtz set career highs in home runs (21), doubles (32) and RBIs (68), and led the team with a .259 batting average with runners in scoring position.

Bard, once a dominant setup pitcher with the Red Sox, was claimed off waivers in September. At that time, Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations who knew Bard from his Boston days, said the Cubs were committed to the right-hander for the long haul. Bard had struggled after the Red Sox tried to convert him to a starter and battled a strained abdominal muscle this season.

When he joined the Cubs, Bard did not get into a game but worked on the side with pitching coach Chris Bosio. They recorded the sessions, even though Bard was unaware of the cameras as the Cubs hid one in the ivy and another in a door at Wrigley Field.

Bard, 28, appeared in three games in Puerto Rico last month, but retired only one of the 13 batters he faced. He walked nine, hit three batters and threw four wild pitches in those outings. The Cubs could still re-sign Bard, who made $1.8625 million this year.

Gamel, 28, sidelined most of this season because of a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, was acquired off waivers from the Brewers in early October. Lim, 37, signed as a free agent with the Cubs and appeared in six games in September.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/chc...md=20131203&content_id=64348092&vkey=news_chc
 

beckdawg

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This is sort of off topic for the cubs hot stove but I don't get the Tampa/Dback/Reds trade. The dbacks just gave up their 7th best prospect(according to fangraphs) to get rid of $5.5 mil of Heath Bell's salary plus a prospect who wasn't even in tampa's top 20. This.... doesn't make sense to me. He wasn't even *that* bad last year with a 4.11 ERA. I mean it's not like we're talking a Marmol situation here and even then all the cubs had to give up was a international signing slot.
 

CSF77

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Jacoby went to the Yanks. Off the board.

Beltrain is looking at a 3 year deal with the Royals. (Wouldn't mind him to be honest)

Choo is now being tied to Det.


More I see it I believe that they will stay pat in the OF now. They should have a few in house RH options for RF. I believe Lake is not getting AB's blocked. I'll bet they let the farm come up and use the OF to plug bats.

So IDK what they will do now. The roster stands at 37. I see 1 rule V. 2 left. 1 SP and maybe a closer. I don't see a bat added.
 

patg006

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I don't see a bat added.

So the biggest issue in 2013 was the inability to score and drive in RISP. And the plan is to ignore the problem.

Well that sounds like perfect logic.
 

Flacco4Prez

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This is going to be the worst Cubs opening day roster since they last made the playoffs in 2008
 

Capt. Serious

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So the biggest issue in 2013 was the inability to score and drive in RISP. And the plan is to ignore the problem.

Well that sounds like perfect logic.

Remember, Theo is a genius.
 

Boobaby1

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Jacoby went to the Yanks. Off the board.

Beltrain is looking at a 3 year deal with the Royals. (Wouldn't mind him to be honest)

Choo is now being tied to Det.


More I see it I believe that they will stay pat in the OF now. They should have a few in house RH options for RF. I believe Lake is not getting AB's blocked. I'll bet they let the farm come up and use the OF to plug bats.

So IDK what they will do now. The roster stands at 37. I see 1 rule V. 2 left. 1 SP and maybe a closer. I don't see a bat added.

If they stand pat right now with this suck fest of a roster, there won't be anyone in the stands.

(Cricket's)
 

DewsSox79

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If they stand pat right now with this suck fest of a roster, there won't be anyone in the stands.

(Cricket's)

chicago baseball. its rough being a chicago fan. I feel your pain.


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waldo7239117

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Pretty sad when the Blackhawks are the ONLY ticket in town for a city this big.

Well injuries derailed the Bears and Bulls season. Ellsbury overpaid, No way in hell I would go to 3-years for Beltran, not a fan of Choo and I was surprised, I thought Jarrod S. was underpaid. You don't see that much these days. No way on hell I pay 10 million for Nathan. You trade a quality pitcher for shit to save money and then you pay 10 million to a closer, I don't get it.

I want to Cubs to try and qcquire Brett Anderson. I doubt it will happen, but if he stays healthy, he can be a hell of a pitcher. I think it's the gamble, you have to make.
 

Boobaby1

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Well injuries derailed the Bears and Bulls season. Ellsbury overpaid, No way in hell I would go to 3-years for Beltran, not a fan of Choo and I was surprised, I thought Jarrod S. was underpaid. You don't see that much these days. No way on hell I pay 10 million for Nathan. You trade a quality pitcher for shit to save money and then you pay 10 million to a closer, I don't get it.

I want to Cubs to try and qcquire Brett Anderson. I doubt it will happen, but if he stays healthy, he can be a hell of a pitcher. I think it's the gamble, you have to make.

I knew this was going to come about teams overpaying.

When will people get it that these owners AINT losing money. When we start hearing about all of these teams that seemingly overpay and start going bankrupt, then and only then would I worry. If you want a free agent, you are going to have to pay. If you want Tanaka, you will have to pay. Simple as that.

Sure, it would have been nice for the Cubs to ink Ellsbury at a modest 3 years, 45 million with no one else coveting his services, but in the real world, he got good money, and if the Yankees hadn't had signed him, he probably would have went for 140 million to someone else.

Now I am sure that Ellsbury will be the next man put under a microscope on every at bat and dissected as to what a horrible signing it was for the Yankees when he goes 0-4, and how the Cubs are so much better with Junior Lake in center while barely getting to 69 wins yet again.

As for Beltran, he should be the type of player the Cubs could use because he is an RBI producer, switch hitter, high OBP, and a power hitter in a friendly hitting ballpark and the Cubs could use him until the prospects come to fruition however long that is going to take. But if you think he is going to sign for 2 years and 20 million, guess again.

If the Cubs are going to start taking a winning approach, they need to do a little better job addressing the offensive struggles at the parent level instead of throwing Sweeney, Murphy/Olt, and Junior lake at the problem and calling it a day.

And they wonder why tickets sales and the radio/TV audiences are down?

As far as the Bears and Bulls, I am a fan of both, but the same could be said about injury problems with Prior, Wood, Lee, and Ramirez but I am not going to get into this what might have been thing with injuries.
 

patg006

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Well injuries derailed the Bears and Bulls season. Ellsbury overpaid, No way in hell I would go to 3-years for Beltran, not a fan of Choo and I was surprised, I thought Jarrod S. was underpaid. You don't see that much these days. No way on hell I pay 10 million for Nathan. You trade a quality pitcher for shit to save money and then you pay 10 million to a closer, I don't get it.

I want to Cubs to try and qcquire Brett Anderson. I doubt it will happen, but if he stays healthy, he can be a hell of a pitcher. I think it's the gamble, you have to make.

Bulls were pretenders to begin with. Bears need a defense again. I recommend that since we aren't going to see a guy like #54 for a very long time, follow the Bengals' D. Build the trenches and let the rest look better than they really are.

Brett Anderson, though nice that he's coming off a shit year--will cost Almora or Soler. Cant see Boy blunder doing that. He's a good pitcher, and easily would be a great rotation piece--but small market cubs don't like spending monet
 

Boobaby1

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Bulls were pretenders to begin with. Bears need a defense again. I recommend that since we aren't going to see a guy like #54 for a very long time, follow the Bengals' D. Build the trenches and let the rest look better than they really are.

Brett Anderson, though nice that he's coming off a shit year--will cost Almora or Soler. Cant see Boy blunder doing that. He's a good pitcher, and easily would be a great rotation piece--but small market cubs don't like spending monet


:clap:
 

beckdawg

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I knew this was going to come about teams overpaying.

When will people get it that these owners AINT losing money. When we start hearing about all of these teams that seemingly overpay and start going bankrupt, then and only then would I worry. If you want a free agent, you are going to have to pay. If you want Tanaka, you will have to pay. Simple as that.

Sure, it would have been nice for the Cubs to ink Ellsbury at a modest 3 years, 45 million with no one else coveting his services, but in the real world, he got good money, and if the Yankees hadn't had signed him, he probably would have went for 140 million to someone else.

Now I am sure that Ellsbury will be the next man put under a microscope on every at bat and dissected as to what a horrible signing it was for the Yankees when he goes 0-4, and how the Cubs are so much better with Junior Lake in center while barely getting to 69 wins yet again.

As for Beltran, he should be the type of player the Cubs could use because he is an RBI producer, switch hitter, high OBP, and a power hitter in a friendly hitting ballpark and the Cubs could use him until the prospects come to fruition however long that is going to take. But if you think he is going to sign for 2 years and 20 million, guess again.

I was reading something earlier about Beltran on fangraphs and it suggested he's not the type that will age well over a contract. This wasn't really in reference to the cubs but instead the supposed 3 year off he has out there from the Royals. Take that for what you will. I'll stand by my comments that it's not really something that makes sense for the cubs because it's not really accomplishing anything other than making a bad team marginally less bad.

As for Ellsbury, I'm not sure it's really an overpay. It's the going rate for FA of that caliber. But, again I don't see it making sense for the cubs until they have more parts MLB ready. An argument could be made for him being a Jason Werth type for the cubs the way the Nats signed him earlier than they were ready. It's a valid claim but personally, I'd rather see them stick with potentially flippable players for this year. I did mention before I thought Crawford to the cubs would be interesting if the dodgers ate enough to make him a $10-12 mil/year player because he would both be a potentially good player(played really well when healthy last year) and also the type of guy that if you aren't in contention you could trade at next year's deadline.

I'm guessing it will be another 2 years before the cubs are in on Ellsbury like players because they don't appear to be this year and next year there's very little offensively on the market. Maybe with the Yanks spending on Ellsbury they wont be in on Cano any more and his price drops considerably. If so, I really wouldn't hate the cubs signing him but the numbers he's supposedly wanting don't seem realistic for what the cubs plan to do.
 

beckdawg

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Brett Anderson, though nice that he's coming off a shit year--will cost Almora or Soler. Cant see Boy blunder doing that. He's a good pitcher, and easily would be a great rotation piece--but small market cubs don't like spending monet

Think that is way high on Anderson. I agree he's worth looking at but if the A's trade him I really can't see him going for a top prospect. He's been hurt too much. Over the past 4 seasons he's only started 43 games. There's no way that's worth a top 35 prospect. I could see him costing something like Vogelbach. At that point he's maybe worth the gamble but his health would scare the crap out of me even there and to pay anymore than that would be crazy in my opinion.
 

waldo7239117

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I don't care if the owners are losing money, it's still ridiculous. But the Yanks will be screwed at the end of it, especially with NTC.
 
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