Day two of the Winter Meetings featured one blockbuster trade ... that is all but official. The Tigers traded Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson, not to the Cubs, but to the Yankees and Diamondbacks. In a seven-player trade Granderson was dealt to the Yankees and the Tigers received Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke and Austin Jackson ... the Yankees top prospect. Arizona picked up Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy in the three-team swap.
As for the Cubs, the Melky Cabrera rumors picked up steam after the blockbuster was announced. But the rest of the day was filled with Milton, Milton and more Milton.
Here are the updates ...
Milton Bradley
Rumors Tuesday afternoon suggested Milton Bradley could be traded as soon as Tuesday night. Bruce Levine reported within 24 hours ... to a mystery team.
Levine shot down the possibility of Bradley landing in Anaheim for Gary Matthews, Jr. ... and so did Cubs.com.
Tim Brown from Yahoo Sports during a segment on XM Radio mentioned the Cubs and Mariners have talked about Bradley ... but said the rumors that would send him to Seattle for Carlos Silva were no where near imminent. The Cubs denied the Mariners are in the mix.
Where would Milton Bradley fit in Seattle? Ken Griffey, Jr. re-signed with the Mariners and they are rumored to be very interested in Jason Bay.
According to a report from Cubs.com, "Jim Hendry has been tight-lipped about negotiations to the point he is keeping the majority of his staff out of the talks."
The Rangers, Rays and Royals are no longer interested in Bradley according to Joe Castellano on XM Radio.
The Sun-Times indicated the trade for Bradley is "three-quarters done" and could be completed on Tuesday night.
Stay tuned ... it is about to get very wild!
Melky Cabrera
Melky Cabrera re-entered the Cubs' rumor mill on Monday ... and his name picked up a lot of steam on Tuesday. When the Yankees traded for Curtis Granderson many feel Melky Cabrera became available in the process.
Bruce Levine, during the Afternoon Saloon on Tuesday evening, indicated there is a possibility the Cubs could get in the mix for Cabrera. The Cubs are interested, just not for two top prospects.
Levine sees Cabrera as a fourth outfielder and would not deal two top prospects for him.
From the Rumor Mill
Bruce Levine reported the Cubs spoke with the Rockies about their outfield depth on Tuesday ... Levine mentioned Brad Hawpe's name.
The Cubs might not have enough young talent to pry Heath Bell from the Padres according to Bruce Levine.
Dan Uggla would be a fit for the Cubs according to Bruce Levine.
Lou Piniella is not afraid to start a 19-year old shortstop according to Bruce Levine.
FoxSports.com connected J.J. Putz to the Cubs on Tuesday morning.
2009 Winter Meetings Recaps
- Day One of the Winter Meetings: More Rumors than Action for the Cubs
- Day One of the Winter Meetings: Tampa or Bust for Bradley?
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ChicagoCubsOnline will have full recaps and updates during the winter meetings. If the Cubs make a move, the CCO will post it. If the Cubs are rumored to be making a move, the CCO will post it ... so check back early and often to discuss all of the moves at Baseball's Winter Meetings here at the CCO.
Well, there's the updates ... and I'm sticking to 'em!
If we get Carlos Silva I am going to go crazy. Jim Hendry should not be talking about the outfield depth he should be talking about starting rotation depth. Suppose one of our starters get injured in spring training we will be in trouble. I guess Jim Hendry will then sign Mark Prior to solve our problems lol.
Ken Rosenthal mentioned earlier the Cubs have talked to the Rangers about Kevin Millwood ... will have in the night recap
One question for the faithful.
How many people would rather keep Bradley then trade for what we have heard is out there? I for one would rather hold on to him and trade him mid season if he is still a distraction (he may have more value at that time also). The return right now looks pitiful!
Funny you should mention that, I was thinking that very same thing this afternoon. We know this is a lost season, what's the point in moving Bradley at a financial loss? I say, send him out to right field every game and let the fans ride and heckle his ass to death. I think that would be a just penance for stealing all that money. Then, by July, Bradley will want to pay the Cubs to move him out of Chicago. Certainly, the Cubs would get twice the return for him from a team in the hunt in July, rather than dealing him now from the absolute weakest position.
OK, 2 days have passed and Bradley is still with the Cubs. I'm annoyed.
Me too...
What happened to being aggressive?
Still trying to be optimistic that JH will pull the rabbit out of his hat and make something (anything) out of nothing... but getting consistently more concerned.
I think almost every Cubs fan is disgusted with the lack of activity and the horrible decision-making by Hendry over the last few years. Is it any wonder it continues into this season?!?
Miles and Fox for 3 marginal players. Hell, Fox alone was worth a top prospect given his showing last year, and though he's not a stand-out defensively, he also was not the butcher he was made out to be, and he also was versatile: LF, RF, 3B, 1B, and catcher. Yeah, I'd say that's pretty good. Heilman for 2 below average "prospects". Funny thing, as I mentioned before, just like DeRosa, we ended up giving up more for Heilman than we got in return (or in the Indians case, they got more for DeRosa than they had to give up to us in the first place).
The latest rumor had a "mystery" team floating around for Bradley, but I think it's a load of crap to be to honest with you, merely designed to increase the very small market for him (which appears to only be the Rays).
At any rate, I just want to re-iterate some possible moves the Cubs should make:
TRADE:
OF-Melky Cabrera, BJ Upton, Dunn, Hawpe, Fowler (supposedly he has no spot in OF with Spilbourghs, Hawpe, and Gonzalez, so he has been rumored to be available)
IF-Uggla, Chris Davis
P-McCarthy, Millwood
FA:
OF-Ankiel, Kearns (only for platoon)
IF-Blalock, Chad Tracy, Felipe Lopez, Hinske
P-Putz, Rafael Soriano, Garland, Ardolis Chapman, Brett Myers
The most realistic of these signings/trades might be Ankiel, Kearns, Blalock, Lopez, Myers, and now Melky Cabrera with the Granderson trade. That would not be a bad haul at all for this offseason IMO...not ideal...but not bad. Do I think Hendry can even make these realistic moves?!? Absolutely NOT!! He already missed the boat with Hermida, Teahen, and Hardy, focusing too much attention on Bradley. He seems to get way too narrow-minded in his focus, rather than identifying key needs, and doing the right thing for the organization.
Peavy last year? C'mon...That was utterly ridiculous that he pursued that nearly the entire offseason, and had to settle for the likes of Miles, Gregg, Gathright, etc., because he was too pre-occupied with acquiring him. When you focus all your attention on pipe dreams, you'll miss out, and he certainly did, didn't he?
I realize BJ Upton might be really hard to get, given his affordable contract, versatility, age, and previous productivity...but the others wouldn't be that tough at all to sign/acquire.
Lopez, by far, makes the most sense for the simple reason that he's played all OF positions, and all IF positions, and has a good bat, PLUS, is a switch hitter. He'd be cheaper than Hudson, and actually would probably outperform him anyway.
Article on the Cubs coming to Florida in todays Fort Meyers News-Press newspaper. I was one of two people that was interviewed for article. Check out www.news-press.com
Chuck
Chuck, very cool.
Here is the direct link:
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200991207065
As I've mentioned in the emails I think they could really be moving.
i am reading that the yankees might be the mystery team in a three way deal with nick swisher landing on the north side.
I said it sunday night....not much is going to happen at winter meetings. don't get your hopes up.
These meetings are becoming irrelevant, compared to years gone by.
Everyone needs to be patient, these are week long meetings. Let the big things happen like Granderson going to the Yankees. That now opens up more possibilties for Hendry to move Bradley. He is being very quiet about the whole situation which means he is working on something big.
Nobody knows better than Hendry that his job is on the line here. He is getting it from all angles that Milton Bradley can not be a Cub any longer. I am not a Hendry supporter by any means - but this is his one last chance to do it right. I think he knows that and lets just sit back and enjoy the ride good or bad - because we have the future to look forward to.
Hendry can't catch a break on here...c'mon guys...a trade like Bradley isn't going to be put together in a matter of hours of the meetings starting. Looks as though tomorrow something happens...that's fine by me.
Also, yes Hendry made some decisions that didnt work...but does anyone really believe that he is not being guided by Mr. Ricketts at this moment? You think Ricketts just bought the team and is not involved?
Let's look at the fact Hendry is on the verge of moving Bradley....has moved Miles...and moved Heilman....he got rid of the players that I think we all complained most about. No we didn't get much back but what in the world did you expect back from those players? He also traded Fox who obviously was not going to make it in Chicago....and though he tore it up for awhile...once teams figured out throw him all off-speed he wasn't much of a threat.
So far I am fine with what JH has done this offseason.
I agree with a few who have mentioned I'd rather keep Bradley. I said that weeks ago. Why eat someone else's crap contract when there is a chance that Bradley might bounce back from his horrid season? Maybe he would pick up from the second half of last year. Having hos former hitting caoch from Texas with the Cubs now might be a great thing for him.
I certainly hope this mystery team is not the Mariners and we are not about to get Silva....that would SUCK. Someone wrote something on a previous post that Silva was a ground ball pitcher. In 2006 Silva led the AL with 38 homeruns allowed! He only averages about 80 strikeouts per 200 innings. Horrible. Hey, but the optimist would say he is 8-1 with a 3.83 ERA as a National League pitcher.
I said earlier when the mystery team was announced that I thought it would be the Angels and Gary Matthews Jr. I'd rather have Bradley but maybe this wouldnt be so bad. It would give us a CF that we need so Fukudome could shift back to RF. Maybe that opens the door for Reed Johnson to come back to be Fukudome's platoon against lefties. Also, note just as we have mentioned Bradley and Jaramillo, Matthews enjoyed his best season under Jaramillo as well. In 2006 with Texas he hit .313 with 44 doubles 6 triples and 19 homeruns. So, maybe there's hope there too.
Joe, sorry, but Hendry doesn't catch a break for most here because of the ridiculous moves he's made.
His dilemma with Bradley is his own doing based on the 3rd year option gimme that he put in place. Without that one stroke of stupidity his options (both from a financial and overall movement basis) would be much more flexible. I think what gnaws many here is Hendry's inability to admit to his feeble moves...Heilman, Gregg, Bradley, Miles, Gaithright, JJones, Floyd, Soriano (based on contract length and no-trade provision)....the list is so long it's both laughable and sad at the same time.
This is a proud franchise with the most dedicated and passionate fan base. With the 3rd highest payroll in all of baseball, we deserve a better run organization with more astute leadership at GM, Manager, Pitching coach, etc....and certainly better results.
Hey Joe, that was me re: Silva being a sinkerball pitcher...but obviously the sarcasm did not come thru...he is awful.
And three words for you re: Matthews '06 production: H. G. H.
He is bum.
I am in the keep Bradley camp if a trade cannot be made that does NOT eat more than 5M$, and is not for some other useless part. So, in my world, that means the Cub keep him around for bit longer.