We should be counteroffering with Dempster. Anyone with any intelligence knew he had a career year going into free agency. Once he showed the true Dempster in Game 1 of the Playoffs & choked, we should have said good riddance.

If you can trick the Yankees into thinking he still has value for his inflated contract, then trade Ryan Dempster yesterday...

Good to hear we are cooling on the 245lb. aging Byrd.

How in the heck is Fontenot penciled in as the starting 2B when Baker outplayed him? Baker is the starting 2B and Fontenot can ride the bench. This is not even a tough decision.

Signing Orlando Hudson would be even better. Then Fontenot can be traded.

100% correct Shane. I am totally with you on 2B. I am just sick and tired of hearing "well, he ia a left handed hitter". For God's sake....these are PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYERS. You make adjustments and learn how to hit at this level. That's speaking of Fontenot batting L.

On the other hand, I am not sure where all of the hate towards Capps is coming from.

To me, Lopez, Capps, and Byrd would be upgrades. I love Angel Guzman, I really think he is the set up guy. However, with Capps, Guzman becomes that all important 7th inning bridge. I am sorry but a Bully of Guzman 7th, Grabow/Capps depending on matchups in the 8th and Marmol in the 9th, makes up for some of the "lack of starting pitching depth" that we do indeed have.

I am very high on Lopez at 2B. I was actually a bit nervous when Milwaukee picked him up last year. He is a solid OBP, some speed, good defense and a decent overall hitter.

I am also leaning towards Byrd over Pods and Ankiel. But all of it depends on the right price. According to all I have read Byrd is a solid hitter, a solid defender (Despite his size) and Texas has raved about his presence in the clubhouse. Besides, it is not like Wrigley's center field is this vast of an expanse. It may however cause some issues in bigger ball parks (Seems we had an issue with that last year).

So My remaining moves are in the following order:

1a-Brad Snyder OF/Bench (2 Years 750K-1Mil)

1-Felipe Lopez 2B (1 year deal 2-3 Mil)

2-Matt Capps RP (2 year deal 3-4)

3-Byrd CF (2 year deal with club option 3-4 mil)

Lineup-

Lopez 2B

Theriot SS

Aram 3B

Lee 1B

Byrd/Ankiel CF

Soriano LF

Soto C

Fuky/Snyder RF

Rotation:

Z, Demp, Wells, Gorzo, Diamond (I think he makes the club out of camp)

Z, Demp, Lilly, Wells, Diamond

Pen

Marshall, Caridad, Gorzo, Guzman, Grabow, Capps, Marmol...Silva (DFA'd or demoted when Lilly returns)

I know it is not ideal. I would rather have an EY JR, Carl Crawford, Chris Davis, insert younger person here, insert high-end starter here.

But given what we have, I would be able to get behind, root for and buy my MLB TV package for a team that looked like that.

I was thinking about a Melky to the Cubs deal after the Braves/Yanks trade. I don't think the Braves will deal McClouth, but I'd expect that Melky or Schaeffer would be available. I wonder if they'd deal Melky for Carpenter plus another solid prospect.

Braves seem to have a surplus of centerfeilders with McClouth, Schaffer, and Melky. They also have Diaz and Jayson Heyward at the corners.

According to Mlbtraderumors.com they are still looking for another outfeilder. Cubs and Braves had rumored talks about Milton/Lowe, any chance they go after Melky or McClouth? What would it take?

not a chance they go after Melky from the Braves. Diaz isn't going anywhere, McLouth isn't going anywhere, and Heyward isn't going anywhere, but he won't even be with the club to start the season IMO anyway. As for Schafer, the Braves have him on the block right now, but there's no way I'd go after him.

Yes, McLouth was a major disappointment for them, and it's quite possible they'll look to move him if Heyward proves he's ready, and if Schafer has an outstanding spring, but with an OF of:

Diaz-LF

McLouth-CF/RF

Cabrera-CF/RF

plus, Heyward on the way, it's really not a surplus that they have, because only McLouth and Diaz have really proven to be standouts at the MLB level. Heyward is unknown, Schafer only had a handful of AB's, and Cabrera has been an enigma thus far in his career (though he's still very young).

It's a shame that we lost out on Cabrera, but it seems like they were asking for an awful lot in return for him, judging by Vazquez. I probably would've taken us Lilly or Dempster to get him, and that's too steep of a price to pay.

So, to answer your question, I think we could get Jordan Schafer VERY easily from them right now if we offered young pitching in return. Perhaps a Chris Carpenter or Gaub would get it done. But Melky and McLouth ain't happening, unfortunately

Honestly, with what's available right now, I'd almost prefer the Cubs to go the FA route in CF with Ankiel, then sign Felipe Lopez for 2B on the cheap if possible, and have him as a super-sub, and see what it'd take to bring Uggla to the NorthSide. Supposedly, the Marlins were asking for Jonathan Sanchez straight up. Ever look at Sanchez's comparables? None other than Rich Hill and Tom Gorzelanny are on that list.

We no longer have Hill, but we could offer Marshall, so here's my suggestion:

Gorzelanny and Marshall for Uggla

Rotation to start the year:

Z

Dempster

Wells

Silva

Samardzija/Jackson/Cashner/Caridad/Diamond(whomever stands out in ST)

bench: K Hill, Snyder (if we can re-sign him), Reed Johnson (if we can re-sign him for cheap), Lopez, Baker

C-Soto

1B-Lee

2B-Uggla

SS-Theriot

3B-ARAM

LF-Soriano

CF-Ankiel

RF-Fukudome

*Lopez can spell practically everybody on the IF and OF as well, and Johnson plays all OF positions very well, Snyder has power and a cannon arm supposedly, and Baker is solid defensively. Ankiel and Fukudome at their respective spots improves our OF defense, and we all know ARAM and Lee are solid defensively. That leaves Soriano, Uggla, and Theriot (who can be replaced by Lopez at times...actually both Uggla and Theriot can be replaced by him) as the only weak links defensively.

If Hendry is so worried about pitching depth, he's OBVIOUSLY not worried about quality over quantity.

Once Lilly gets back, Silva gets dropped (unless, in the unlikely event that he's actually doing well). What Hendry doesn't appear to recognize is the fact that we have a laundry list of capable 4th-5th starters in the minors right now, and from our pen last year. I already mentioned a few, but here's a complete list:

Samardzija

Cashner

Jay Jackson

Coleman

Caridad

Diamond

Russell

Carpenter

Atkins

Parisi

*and this doesn't even include signing a veteran after a trade for Uggla is completed. We also replace Marshall with Gaub in the pen, or even Papelbon. Among starting pitching options are: Chapman, Bedard, Lowry, Pedro, Brett Myers, Sheets, and Smoltz.

I realize Gorzelanny was traded for as insurance to possibly losing Lilly at the end of next season, so you'd want to get a lefty replacement that's relatively young like a Chapman, Bedard, or Lowry here. I'd love to get Chapman if possible.

If we got Chapman, our rotation then becomes:

Z

Dempster

Wells

Chapman

Silva, etc.

That's a TON better. I firmly believe that we need a power bat like Uggla and Ankiel in our lineup in order to off-set any potential down years by our other big bats, and if Soto still can't perform like his ROY 2008 season

I like your lineup aaron but i would rather have Lopez then Uggla. Lopez can lead off, and has a better glove. Aaron I was wondering what you thought about Justin Duchscherer ,and y hell nobody has signed him yet. He had some good seasons in oakland, if we could sign him and then trade Marshall for some help off the bench.

RE: Duchsherer, he had injury issues...but more importantly, he had a Greinke moment. If you'll recall, Greinke battled with anxiety disorder and depression, and I believe in Duchsherer's case, it was severe depression. He's only going to get a "prove yourself" deal with 1 yr and option. Reportedly, a ton of teams are interested in him, even though he had the clinical depression and elbow surgery and missed the entire season.

I'm not sure I agree with you about Lopez. While I've been a HUGE proponent for signing him, I'd MUCH rather have Uggla. Put it this way....if you have a player averaging 30 hr, 90 RBI per season and is below average defensively, or a player that averages nearly 10 hr and 50 RBI per season, but plays multiple positions and above average defense...who are you going to pick? Well, it depends on the situation. On a team like the Brewers, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Rockies, Rays, etc., teams with multiple offensive options, you'd want to go with Lopez, but in the Cubs case, we have 2 fairly solid guys we can count on for offense in Lee and ARAM, and Lee is coming off his 2nd best season in his entire career, and ARAM is coming off injury. What does that tell you your focus should be?!?

I have no idea why we're messing around with even considering Podsednik (if that rumor was true), or trading Fox, or going with an OF of Soriano, Fuld/Colvin (as it stands now), and Fukudome. A lot of what Hendry has done has left me absolutely at a loss of words.

Silva?!? Not getting a Teahen, Hermida, and Cabrera were definitely shocking moves to me. Here's why...Hendry has mentioned getting younger, and the Ricketts have stated a renewed focus on player development, but that doesn't mean you can't trade spare parts that don't appear to have much of a future with the team for young MLB guys, right?

The problem is, so far this year, all of the young guys that you'd like to maybe have Hendry go after, have all been traded/signed, such as: Josh Fields, Teahen, Granderson, Cabrera, Hermida, Brian Anderson, etc.

I also realize that a lot goes on behind the scenes that we don't know about. Who knows, the Tigers could've been asking for Castro, Vitters, and Cashner for Granderson for all we know (and that's a ridiculous price to pay for him), or the Royals could've been asking for Castro for Teahen...who really knows. What we do know, however, is that Hendry is NOT a good GM. He constantly gets absolutely taken in trades, and over-commits to free agents, often going well above and beyond in terms of years and dollars than other teams do, and yet, it's been said that many players want to play for the Cubs. How does that work?!? How do you get suckered into going 3 yrs $30 million with a player like Bradley that had been through almost a team a year since his debut? Then, how in world do you end up giving him a 75 game automatic 3rd year option in there as well, especially when the player was a lightning rod, coming off a career year, and had actively recruited the Cubs himself?!? It's like the Dawson scenario (except Dawson was actually a good guy...Bradley is NOT). Any GM in their right mind would've said, "okay Milton...you wanna play for us that bad, huh. Okay, let's see you prove yourself with us. We'll give you a 1 yr deal for $6 million, and a player option that vests after _____ AB's, or _______ games played, or ____(performance-based), at the identical salary as the first year, then we'll add in extra bonuses you can achieve for stats and awards"

It just blows my mind how dumb Hendry really is, hence the amount of negative things I have to say about him, and how little faith I have in him to do the right thing, and make the right moves, and get full value in trades, etc.

I wonder if Silva will even pitch 50 innings for us before he's gone. He has Mark Prior disease.

Thanks for stealing my thunder this time LOL. Right with ya Aaron as usual.

I really want Chapman. When I learned he was a lefty topping out at 101 I salivated!

Sorry McLouth

I have not been in a long time I miss so much. Carlos Silva is a Cub and I think that will be a disaster but we did get rid of Milton Bradley. The Yankees got Vasquez for nothing only Jim Hendry can not make these kind of deals.

Maybe, David, who knows what Cashman and the Steinbrenners value more? I myself, would take Z over Vazquez nearly everyday, particularly on a big team in a big division. Doesn't matter though, it's over.

The only suitor left is LAA, I did not mean to say there are many.

Seattle is dealing Morrow now, to the Blue Jays for a prospect and a nobody. Why in HELL couldn't we have gotten something of value or just HOPE packaged into the Milton deal. That kid throws heat, and will be good.

I personally do not like Z, he drives me nuts, but I always pull for him. Every year...could be the one...I hope it is too, David, I really do. But I fear a serious injury is constantly lurking with Z. One that has the Cubs paying a him for a year of rehab and the final year for his comeback.

While I obviously don't know Cashman, I did ask two of my close friends in NY. Both said they preferred Vazquez to Z (one said by a wide margin) and both said they wouldn't have dealt Melky for Z straight up unless the Cubs kicked in a few million PER YEAR of Z's salary. Also, if you read the message boards for other teams, it seems that many fans of many teams wanted Javy ... very few wanted Z.

I hope you are right and I'm wrong and there is a taker for Z, but I don't see it. I'll be the first to eat my words if I'm wrong.

The real problem with the Cubs is player development. Until that is fixed, we're going to have to rely on bounceback seasons and career years from veterans to win. Other GM's aren't going to make bad deals with us in order to help the Cubs win.

Finally, all that said, I personally like Z this year. His K rates improved last year and the fact that he pitched less than 200 innings each of the last two years may help his durability for 2010. I think he'll have a very solid season.

Why are we wasting all our time and resources pursuing a reliever (Capps) who is no better than guys we already have on the team (Guzman)? I can't believe we are seriously thinking about paying another reliever 3 to 4 million dollars a year to be average like howry, heilman, gregg, etc. It seems to me that our roster is not complete each year until we sign someone that we know will blow at least 5 or 6 games during the season. How about we give some of our young guys a chance to shine in the pen instead of taking every washed up reliever that Pittsburgh trades or cuts. We should be spending this money from the Bradley trade on hudson and a center fielder. The words Mike Fontenot and starting should never be used in the same sentence. Hudson could hit at the top of the order and solidify our middle infield on defense. keep baker as a utility player and get a bag of balls for Fontenot. We currently have too many guys on this team that are "starters" that would not even be a good bench option for the phillies or any of the other top teams. The answer is not another 30 plus player coming off the best year of his career in one of the best hitters parks in the majors. Just look at how bradley, matthews jr. and a few others have worked out for the poor organizations that signed them for big bucks. It just seems to me that we have learned nothing from the past season. we continue to sign the same type of players and get the same type of results.

Mlbtraderumors just said that according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Capps will choose between the cubs and nationals tomorrow night

If the Cubs are going to spend money on a Free Agent Hitter it should be on FELIPE LOPEZ. Not any of those CFs who have either peaked out or are terrible. Lopez is an excellent OBP guy. He is a switch hitter with even splits. He has gotten better and better each of the last 3 years. He is under 30. He has decent speed and plays good defence. He also fits the Cubs needs for a reliable, low-risk middle infielder. Granted, I don't know what kind of money he is asking for, but this is the guy the Cubs NEED. I would love to hear and argument for any of those guys listed above over Felipe Lopez.

I second that notion.

I agree that Lopez would be a very nice addition. Given the contracts handed out so far this offseason, I could see him signing a year deal in the $4-5 million range. The argument against him versus the other players listed would be that the Cubs need a CF more than a 2B.

The Braves will use the money they saved to sign a free agent or two. DeRosa could very well be headed back there. So at the end of the day the Braves will end up with more than Melky and Dunn out of the deal.

I read in the Trib that Zambrano and his agent were never recently contacted for any reason. Not only that, they both emphatically said that the no-trade clause will NEVER be waived for any reason. I am sure Soriano's position is similar. In my opinion, those two players alone won't keep the Cubs from being good, but it will keep them from being great.

Gary, I think Soriano would waive his to go to the Yankees, but that is the only team. If I recall correctly he was very upset when they traded him to the Rangers. The only problem is that horrible contract, which I don't think any team would take right now even if the Cubs offered to pay 10m a year on it.

We just have to hope Rudy can get him back on track.

Joel,

I know you think I do nothing but hate, but here's the reality of the Cubs' trade of Bradley for Silva--from another voice.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/what-are-the-cubs-doing

Braves fans not to happy about this deal, but it appears they are getting one of the Yanks top pitching prospects. They (fans) think Melky is a 4th outfielder.

Seems to me the Braves now have a glut of CF's on the roster. Although a couple are pretty young.

If Javy Vazquez (coming off a 15 win, 200+ K, sub 3.00 ERA season) and his $11 million salary only nets Melky and a mid level prospect, it's pretty clear the Cubs would get significantly less in return for Z.

David, you've been sort of hammering on this for the past couple days, and I have to completely disagree. Zambrano is, imo, far more valuable than Javy Vazquez. You are pulling a total Hendry and comparing a career year for Vazquez vs. a career low for Z.

Now remember, I am a big proponent of finding a suitor for Z, but that is all but over now, as the Yankees were the ideal mate, in my opinion.

Zambrano, at age 28, has a career win % of .607 and ERA of 3.51. Vazquez is 32, a career .500 pitcher and a 4.20 ERA. His banner year last season came in the NL East, next year in Yankee his ERA will be back up over 4, no doubt. I just believe that a team like the Yankees would covet Zambrano more then Vazquez. Look what they gave Burnett last year, he of 10 wins per season and 8 losses over the course of 9 seasons. Actually, they career lines between Zambrano and Burnett are pretty close.

I don't understand why you think the Yankees wouldn't give up a 4th OF for Z.

I do understand why they wouldn't talk to Jimbo if indeed he asked for Joba or Hughes AND a position player. That is just dumb.

If Hendry had any sense he'd be calling Moreno today. There is a market for Zambrano. I'd take Brandon Wood, who the Angels are very sour on, and maybe Ervin Santana who is real crapshoot too, but could pay off nicely.

its official, Melky is a Brave and Javi returns to NY NY, Z is going to stay in a Cub uniform

Leave it to the New York Post to send us into a spiral. I should have known better. However, the Yankees have too many outfielders, and we need a young CF. If not Z, who could we ship to them for a Melky or a Gardner? Young bullpen arms is about the only hole they have right now...

According to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal...

Yankees in serious talks with Braves for Javy Vazquez ... Yanks would send Melky to the Braves.

accoding to mlbtraderumors.com: yanks close to getting javier vasquez; for melky cabrera so we can forget about him.

if JH and uncle lou want a leadoff batter so bad: then the 2b position should be priority: felipe lopez, o hudson or even orlando cabrera will cost less than marlon byrd.........CF could be left for reed johnson/sam fuld or a 1 yr deal of about 4M for rick ankiel if we got a 2b mentioned above.

Trading Z wouldn't be all that bad. If the Cubs got Cabrera or Gardner and a good pitching prospect, not necessarily Joba or Hughes, then used the cash from Z's deal to get Joel Pinero and Orlando Hudson, the Cubs become a ton better.