Latest Cubs Rumors

[aTrUeCUBsFaN]

Here's a roundup of some of the latest Cubs rumors flying around Friday on the Internet.

Milton Bradley: Both Texas and the Cubs scotched a report of a three-way deal that would send Bradley to the Rangers, Kevin Millwood to the Mets and Luis Castillo to the Cubs. A Cubs official said no such deal "was discussed." MLB.com quoted a Rangers official as saying it's "not happening."

Roy Halladay: Blue Jays are fishing for trade partners, but budget-conscious Cubs are unlikely suitors.
Curtis Granderson: The would-be Cub still is sitting in limbo. The Tigers have declined to deny he's available, inviting speculation. If so, the Cubs will put together a decent package, but won't part with either closer Marmol or top shortstop prospect Starlin Castro, which could be a deal-breaker.

Marlon Byrd: Byrd's relationship with new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo is a plus if the Cubs decide they can't wait on a Granderson swap-o-rama. Byrd should be affordable, but wouldn't make as big a splash as Granderson, a hometown kid and clubhouse leader. Mike Cameron is also an option in center if they can't get Granderson.

Matt Holliday: In one Internet report, the Cubs were lumped into a group of teams that could sign Holliday, who reportedly will be seeking between $100-$120 million. But Chairman Tom Ricketts has gone on record as saying he expects only a "slight increase" in the $140 million payroll, meaning the Cubs would have to shed quite a bit of salary to sign Holliday, even if they considered him a potential fit in right field, which they don't.

Mark DeRosa: One of the more popular free agents on the market, the Cardinals' DeRosa is drawing no interest from his former team, despite inquiries made to the Indians last May after Aramis Ramirez's shoulder injury. The Cubs still prefer a left-handed hitting second baseman, which is why they're interested in the switch-hitting Castillo.

Cubs at center of many trade rumors - Chicago Breaking Sports

I keep on hearing 6 teams interested in Bradley, but however I have only really heard about the Rangers interest, and how the three way trade rumor is denied by both the Cubs' and Rangers' officials.

As for Halladay, we can just ignore that rumor. It's hard to see us emptying our farm just to get him. Our starting core is pretty solid, no really need for him I don't think.

Byrd would be a good addition if we can get him cheap and can dump Bradley. We will then have a true CF, which improves the defense a bit.

Honestly have not heard anything regarding us and Holliday. We definitely wont' be able to afford him.

I miss De Rosa. It was a terrible idea to let him go. We definitely could have used him last year. I would like to have him back, but everything we do has to depend on Milton Bradley. What was Hendry thinking last year? There are others OFs available, cheaper, and much better people than Bradley, why did we have to have him?

[missionhockey21]

20/20 is hindsight and I think we all can see how bad the Bradley signing was. But to be perfectly honest, I was in the camp that liked the signing at the time. He was coming off a huge year and it seemed like as of late, Bradley was staying healthy enough to perform. The bright side, if you do end up keeping him is that his two best months were July and August (August was a great month too. +.900 OPS.)

DeRosa is a great addition to a club, but at the price he will likely fetch, I think the cash tight Cubs could use it better elsewhere to be honest.

[aTrUeCUBsFaN]

Really? Even with Abreu available? I mean Bradley is a great bat to have in the line-up (if he performs like he does and is healthy), but he is a d-bag. I felt like that would hurt the team even more than having an average hitter in the line-up. I just can't stand his personality (he's another Manny Ramirez).

It was dumb to trade De Rosa, but I guess we needed to free up some salary. Guess that move went really well, with Ramirez hurt most of the season, and no really back ups. He was a great leader and we did well with him on the team and in the line up.

[missionhockey21]

Don't get me wrong, I thought there were better options and he was overpaid, but the Cubs (at least as far as I could recall) didn't seem to be hurting as much for cash last offseason and in the NL Central, I felt that Bradley could really mash.

I guess I liked it in the sense that if he posted a 1.000 OPS like he did in 2008, it gets pretty easy to overlook some of his many flaws. Kind of like there is a beautiful, charming, and intelligent girl who seems like an ideal girlfriend.... only if she stopped beating you without mercy. The contract wasn't great then and it isn't now, but I felt like Chicago (in addition to other larger market teams) could afford the risk more so than others as a season of Bradley healthy and sane could be huge, unlikely as it may seem.

[aTrUeCUBsFaN]

I guess I liked it in the sense that if he posted a 1.000 OPS like he did in 2008, it gets pretty easy to overlook some of his many flaws. Kind of like there is a beautiful, charming, and intelligent girl who seems like an ideal girlfriend.... only if she stopped beating you without mercy.

LOL. Right, only if she stops hitting you, and Bradley stops being a jerk. Don't get me wrong, his offensive number is a good fit for the team (like you mentioned, July and August, he was on fire). But off the field, he isn't that great of teammate to have around. Sorry Wrigley is an unenjoyable environment to play in, such that other players would like to have the chance to play with such negativity surrounding the team.

Sorry, just disappointed at Bradley's comments. This team needs to find a player who can step it up to lead the team, like De Rosa (still sad about the trade).

[missionhockey21]

I really think the best the Cubs can hope for is that Bradley starts out on fire and again tempts other teams. With his long list of problems, the Cubs would still have to eat some salary I am sure, but it would be getting rid of a problem. A team in desperate need of a bat seems to always be willing to give Milton a chance (of course that was before this contract...)

[aTrUeCUBsFaN]

You are right. But it's just frustrating. I would eat a lot of his salary, if we can get some good players back and get him AWAY from North Side. Then again, I don't own the team, so we will just have to wait and see.

[realmofotalk]

Winter meetings winners and losers - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

But the best move by GM Jack Zduriencik this week was to back off the temptation to take on Milton Bradley in a trade for pitcher Carlos Silva and his bloated contract.

Exchanging the Silva headache (which means eating $25 million over the next two years) for the Bradley headache (eating $21 million plus wondering every day if he’ll blow a gasket again) would not be wise.

I disagree. Bradley still has some value. Carlos Silva is beyond awful plus he's owed more money. The Cubs caught a break.