Chicago Cubs Imminent moves

Jim Hendry had a busy week. The Chicago Cubs traded Mark DeRosa and signed Aaron Miles this week. They are also going to sign Paul Bako, trade Jason Marquis, and sign Milton Bradley.

The Cubs need a back up catcher for Soto. Before the 2008 season the Cubs never had a catcher who was good at calling games, throwing out base runners, and could provide some offense. With Soto, our backup catcher won’t play as much as he did in the past. Thus, we don’t need to pay for a good back up like Blanco who was a good receiver and is the second best active catcher at throwing out base runners.

The Cubs are looking to bring Paul Bako back for his second stint as a Cub. Paul Bako played for the Cubs from 2003 to 2004 and is a decent back up. Last season he played for Dusty Baker in Cincinnati and played in 99 games. He batted .217 in 299 at bats and made 5 errors and had 9 pass balls. Bako knows his days playing are limited. He has a career batting average of .231 and is 36 years old. He is supposedly going to sign a one year five hundred thousand dollar contract. This would be his lowest salary since 2001 where he made $450,000. The Cubs could go with Koyie Hill, but think Bako is a better option so they will look for him to start around 30 games next season. Hopefully he will continue to mentor Soto. This is where Blanco will be missed the most.

The Cubs have agreed in principal to trade Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies for Luis Vizcaino. The cubs will pay one million of Marquis’s salary and take on all of Luis Vizcaino salary for 2009 of 3.5 million and get 500 thousand dollars for his buyout. The Cubs will save around 5 million dollars from this deal. Vizcaino is paid like a top setup man, but is actuality a mediocre reliever who will give the bullpen some veteran presence with Kevin Gregg. Vizcaino is 34 and appeared in 43 games for the Rockies last season pitching 46 innings with a 5.28 era and has a career era of 4.34. Marquis who has one year of his three year contract left went 11 and 9 in 28 starts last year with a 4.53 era. His departure opens up a roster spot for Jeff Samardzia, Sean Marshall, or possibly Jake Peavy via trade. Jason Marquis is on a family vacation right now and will take his physical when he returns. This is why the trade has not occurred yet. I think they could have received more for Marquis than pretty much a salary dump. He is a good fifth starter who will eat innings for your club and stays healthy.

The Cubs will save 5 million on trading Marquis and have already saved 4 million on trading DeRosa which is 9 million they can use on other needs. They look to add a left handed hitting outfielder with this money. The Cubs have supposedly also agreed in principal with Milton Bradley. Their waiting until the Marquis trade is official and signing Bradley will probably not happen until the middle of January.

Milton Bradley will play center or right field for the Cubs depending on what Fukudome does. If Fukudome can hit Major League pitching than Bradley will start in center with Fukudome in right. If Fukudome struggles like he did last year, than Fukudome will be on the bench with Joey Gathright or Reed Johnson starting in center and Bradley playing right field. Bradley is a switch hitting outfielder with power and speed who batted 321, with 21 homers, and an on base percentage of .436 last year. Bradley could fit anywhere in the line up from the 3, 4, 5, or 5 hole very nicely. The two problems with Bradley are that he is injury prone and has some personality/temper problems. The Cubs have outfield depth so if he misses some games it shouldn’t be a huge problem. The big concern is his temper and that he played with 6 teams in nine year. He has a lengthy past of not getting along with teammates, managers, and members of the media. It could be interesting to see how Bradley handles Chicago. Bradley is the best Free agent outfielder for the Cubs, but none are ideal fits.

The Marquis Trade and Bradley signing are not official yet so let’s see if they happen! Maybe something better will come along before they do!