January 2010 Archives

It's the final day of January. Pitchers and catchers report to Fitch Park in 17 days and Jim Hendry would like to make at least one more addition to his roster. Not only are the Cubs looking to add a reliever to the backend of their pen, they also have two arbitration eligible players still unsigned ... Ryan Theriot and Carlos Marmol. The Cubs could be staring at their first arbitration hearing since Mark Grace in 1993.

Jim Hendry is excited about the signing of Xavier Nady (just call him X, that's what Nady prefers). The Cubs added a middle-of-the-order run producer, that if healthy, could be more than just the fourth outfielder they were looking to add this winter.

Xavier Nady is coming off his second Tommy John surgery (July of 2009) and the Cubs are planning on using him sparingly during the first month of the season ... as well as in Spring Training. The Cubs feel Nady will begin the year on the active roster and not on the DL with Ted Lilly. As Bruce Miles pointed out, look for the Cubs to use the designated hitter more during Spring Training than in years past in order to get X at bats.

Here's the latest from the mill and other notes as the first month of Twenty-Ten comes to an end ...

After being ranked as one of the worst farm systems in the game a year ago by Baseball America, the Cubs organization made a lot of improvement in 2009 ... and the industry is recognizing the strides made last season.

Starlin Castro was recently named the 22nd best prospect in the game by MLB.com. Castro will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring and many think the Cubs will give him every chance to make the team. Castro was the Cubs lone representative in MLB.com's Top 50 Prospects.

Keith Law ranked the Cubs' system as the seventh best in the game a day before he unveiled his list of the Top 100 prospects on Thursday. Four of the Cubs' top five prospects made Law's list ... and the fifth just missed and basically received an honorable mention.

Starlin Castro (12), Josh Vitters (30), Jay Jackson (50), Andrew Cashner (79) and Brett Jackson are the five best in an organization that has struggled in the past with producing quality players.

Three days after agreeing to a one-year contract with the Cubs, Xavier Nady passed his physical and inked the one-year deal.

The contract will pay Nady a $3.3 million base salary and he can earn another $2 million based on games played.

Updated - 1:09pm CST With additional Info on the Nady signing after his conference call with the media.

It's cold. Really cold. It's this time of year that makes me yearn for the dog days of summer. Remember August 2? The Cubs were in first place. That seems like a long time ago.

Though it was a long time ago, the long, cold and irritating winter has made many a fan forget the reality that is connected to the 2010 Cubs. What is that reality? They are barely an above-average team. Lou claims this team will improve by 10 games. How?

Baseball Prospectus released their projections for the Twenty-Ten season on Thursday ... and on paper, it does not look good for the Cubs.

PECOTA projects a 77-85 campaign for Lou Piniella's crew ... third place in the National League Central Division.

With only four days remaining in January, there are numerous big league players trying to find a job for the upcoming season. The Cubs are looking to add to the backend of their bullpen ... and a reliever with a good track record has expressed interest in the Chicago Cubs.

According to a report from the Tribune, Joe Nelson would like to pitch on the North Side in Twenty-Ten. The 35-year old right-hander posted a 3-0 record with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 42 games with the Rays last season. In two seasons in the Senior Circuit, Nelson is 3-1 in 61 games with a 3.21 EA and a 1.30 WHIP.

During an interview on XM Radio, Chad Tracy revealed his former teammate and good friend, Eric Byrnes wants to be a Chicago Cub. Tracy said Byrnes' first choice for a new team is the Chicago Cubs.

Eric Byrnes was designated for assignment on January 15 by the D'Backs to make room on the roster for Adam LaRoche.

According to multiple reports on Wednesday, the Cubs officially announced they will keep their Spring Training home in Mesa, Arizona. The announcement on Wednesday begins an exclusive negotiating period with the city that could take as long as a year to finalize.

"The deal with the Cubs and the city still requires the Arizona Legislature and voters in Mesa to approve funding mechanism for an $84 million stadium and training facility."

The Cubs are envisioning a full entertainment district with bars restaurants and stores. The project has been dubbed "Wrigleyville West."

According to a tweet from the Sun-Times, Sean Marshall agreed to a one-year deal worth $950,000 on Wednesday morning. Marshall avoided arbitration leaving Carlos Marmol and Ryan Theriot as the last two arbitration eligible players unsigned.

Official releases should be flying out of the offices at 1060 West Addison on Wednesday. Not only are the Cubs expected to announce deals with Xavier Nady and Chad Tracy, there is a press conference scheduled for 11:30am CST on Wednesday morning in Arizona. At that time, the Cubs are expected to make the official announcement that Mesa is their first choice to build their new Spring Training complex ... dubbed Wrigleyville West.

The Cubs announced their Spring Training broadcast schedule on Tuesday. Pat Hughes and Ron Santo will call the first game of the Cactus League schedule against the A's on March 4 ... if you listen close enough you can almost hear those seven magical words. The Cubs first televised game will be on Saturday, March 6 against the White Sox at HoHoKam Park. WGN TV will broadcast the game.

Larry Rothschild spent a little time on XM Radio Tuesday. Rothschild passed on good news about Ted Lilly. Rothschild said Lilly is ahead of the curve right now.

Here is the latest from the mill, more from Rothschild on XM Radio and a few notes as baseball's off-season begins to wind down ...