Love them tender (and not)
As we reported they would the other day, the Cubs did as expected and tendered 2010 contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players except for lefty reliever Neal Cotts, to whom they may offer a minor-league deal as Cotts rehabs from elbow surgery.
Look for closer Carlos Marmol and shortstop Ryan Theriot to get good-sized raises, either in salary arbitration or in pre-hearing settlements with the Cubs. Marmol is expected to ask for more than $2 million after going 11-for-11 in save chances this year as the full-time closer, a job he took over in mid-August. Overall, he had 15 saves. He made $575,000 this season.
Expect Theriot’s salary to jump to more than $1 million after he made $500,000 in 2009. Sean Marshall may get $800,000 or $900,000 after earning $450,000 in a swing role this year.
One prominent relief pitcher not tendered a contract was closer Matt Capps of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the move “stunning.” The Cubs and Capps may have mutual interest. The Cubs have liked him in the past, but from that I've been told, they want to see where his market price settles after he made $2.425 million this year. The Cubs pried pitchers John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny from the Buccos last July, so you know they're well-versed in Pirates pitching from a scouting standpoint.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09347/1020667-63.stm
The paper pointed out Capps had his worst season in 2009, going 27-for-32 in saves chances with a 5.80 ERA. Capps, WHIP rose from a tidy 0.97 in 2008 to a feverish 1.66 this year. Capps’ BABIP also rose from .272 to .370, and that figures to normalize downward toward .300 in 2010. Bill James projects a 3.47 ERA and 30 saves for Capps next year, but the Cubs would use him as a right-handed setup man (to go along with Angel Guzman) if they were to sign him.
do you really think Lou would sit Lee much? Fox was a lot better hitter than Hoffpauir. A-ram, if he stays. Vitter's of what I've read is going to be a very good hitter with no D so LF or 1b may be his home.
Fukudome is a 4th OF'er, as been said maybe play him late for D.
Since the theme seems to be bench players this morning, let me throw this out to be thought about....
This is both a critical off season and a critical year upcoming for the Cubs. A couple of main factors in this are: Derrick Lee's last year in his contract and Ramirez' option to become a F/A after the season.
Whatever the Cubs are thinking about 1b & 3b for the coming years, THIS year will be critical (there's that word again) in making that determination.
Derrick is beginning to show some signs of his age, but he certainly could start at 1b for another year or maybe two unless he really falls off this year. But the only real 1bman the Cubs have in the wings is Hoffpauir. The Cubs MUST give him regular ABs this year so they know what their options are at the end of the season. That will mean resting Lee & Soriano more, and letting him have a good number of Fukudome's starts (at least the first 2 or 3 ABs) so that he is on track to get at least 450 ABs. That impacts the thinking for the bench greatly, or it should.
Then there is Ramirez. Will he opt out? He did before. If the Cubs don't have a decent off season and put a good team on the field, I would say it's a lock that he will, especially if the Cubs go backwards in the standings and/or Ws & Ls. His decision could also be affected by what he sees at 1b with Lee & Hoffpauir. And if his shoulder is a problem this year, he might be less likely to opt out, but need to move to 1b, himself, to take the stress off of his shoulder.
There is a LOT riding on THIS season and THIS off season. If either goes poorly we could be looking at a total rebuilding of the club. So consider these things when you think about the "bench". Next year's "bench" could be critical to the future of the Cubs and Jim Hendry, too!
Don't be surprised if the Cubs don't resign Lee, that Soriano maybe asked to play 1st base,
since he has a contract that no one wants, and he did play the infield at 2nd, although not very good. Don't know if the Cubs have a decent 1st baseman in the minors.
It would be awfully tough for Soriano to scoop anything out of the dirt while he's hopping into the air.
I hadn't even considered that possibility. You could by right, although I hate perpetuating RH hitting 1bmen.
As long as any team has a RH hitter playing 1st, they will struggle to maintain even minimum balance in their lineup.
Micah as a starter? No way in the world! He's not an option at all. Josh Vitters in an option at either corner in a year, but Micah has no potential for any team who harbors playoff hopes.
How do you know that he couldn't be a good replacement at 1b? I don't know that. Lou doesn't know that. NO ONE knows that because the kid hasn't had an opportunity to get REGULAR ABs. I don't think he has ever played more than 3 days consecutively in the majors.
He does have the LH power we need so badly in the middle of the lineup, and he has hit for a decent average when he plays more; and as I said in the original post, he MUST get those regular ABs THIS year, or Jim won't really know what his options are, when Lee's contract is up.
Also, the Cubs have got to start giving our young players a chance. And by chance, I don't mean a few ABs in September when the season is over, or sitting on the bench 4 days a week, playing twice and PHitting once. If we keep treating them like Hoffpauir has been treated, so far, it will have a very negative impact on our minor league system, and people well start thinking the Cubs can't draft, or can't develop players, etc, etc, etc!!! I hate to use Pie as an example, because it may still be a little early, but the O's gave him a chance to play the second half last year. At first he wasn't hitting, but gradually he began hitting and got better and better until he wound up hitting about 290 over all during the 2nd half of the season. He just needed consistent ABs. That's what any young player needs, and without it, they have NOT been given a real chance.
Vitters isn't as developed as a hitter as Micah is, yet; and I don't think he'll be ready before 2012 unless he is unduly rushed. Not only that, as long as they continue to play him at 3b in the minors, he needs to play that position when he comes up. It's tough enough adjusting to the majors, without being asked to change positions and adjust at the same time.
Hoffpauir isn't an everyday player.
He will be 30 years old on on March 1.
Forget Cotts, save the money, let him sign with the W.Sox or Cardinals, the teams he loves anyway. Use the money on Calero or Capps.
Hey fellows the Hell with Marlon Byrd (will want a multi year contract. and will be difficult to get rid of), and Gomes, they will disappoint, remember this at
the end of 2010.
Cubs are going to have to work hard to get me interested again.....the thrill is so gone with the Cubs.....
I was convinced San Diego would non-tender him. He would have looked great at the back-end of the Cubs rotation. Anyway...
Do the Cubs like DJ Carrasco? I was surprised the White Sox non-tendered him.
Some of the interesting position players non-tendered yesterday, who may look good on the Cubs bench:
Kelly Johnson - 2B
Jack Cust - OF
Ryan Garko - 1B
Jonny Gomes - OF
Ryan Church - OF
Garrett Atkins - 1B/3B
Pirates non-tendered Matt Capps and I read that the Cubs have interest. He had a down year in 2009 but Hendry should get an offer out to him quickly. That would take care of RH setup man and backup closer and make Guzman a 7th innning guy along with Grabow. Capps made $2M something this year and is worth more than Grabow if his down year wasn't due to injury or is something that is completely healed now.
If the Cubs go after and sign Marlon Byrd and Jonny Gomes, and bring back Reed Johnson, they could have a pretty nice platoon in CF and RF that shouldn't break the Rickett's bank and would be strong defensively. The increased revenues from the hike in ticket prices for 2010 ought to take care of getting rid of Bradley and getting something like this set up. Here's the splits for the past three seasons combined:
CF
Byrd vs RHP .302 .359 .829 in 959 AB's w/26 HR
Johnson vs LHP .329 .395 .878 in 292 AB's w/5 HR
RF
Fukudome vs RHP .262 .372 .789 in 818 AB's w/20 HR
Gomes vs LHP .267 .341 .844 in 296 AB's w/17 HR
That's not great but if Soriano and Soto rebound as Ramirez stays healthy, it would make for a solid lineup.
Of course, if Baker was capable of playing RF against LHP, there would be no need for Gomes. Baker crushes LHP and could also serve as a backup for 2B and 3B.
...The Cubs like just about anybody for the bullpen. Much will depend on how much the Cubs will have to pay. For the bench, Cust is an interesting name. Power, high strikeouts, OK wOBA. His OPS and OPS-plus have declined in recent years. Atkins had an OPS-plus of 66 this year.
I'd agree that Capps is absolutely worth a look. Bruce, would you care to guess how long of a deal he'd be looking for? It seems like if he asked for anything longer than a year, the expense could be prohibitive.
I think the Cubs would want to keep it to a year. Capps, I believe, has at least another year before he's eligible for free agency.
Good to know!
Wouldn't Capps be too expensive a gamble if Harden was too expensive a gamble?
Looking at Fangraphs, Capps velocity actually went UP 2 full mph this season. Wouldn't that imply its not an injury? With the increased velocity, his pitches might've had less movement which could account for the giant increase in hits, and then he may have lost confidence which could account for the walks.
Be interesting to see which Matt Capps showed up.
I wasn't aware that his velocity went up. Sure seems like it wouldn't be due to injury then. I'm thinking that Hendry would much rather spend $3.5-4M for a guy like Capps than at least twice that amount for Harden, especially if he's worried about Harden's health and he feels he has his rotation set with Z, Lilly, Dempster, Wells, and Gorzellany/Marshall/Samardzija,etc., or has his eyes on a SP.