The Cubs and free agent reliever Kiko Calero are in negotiations, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com. The righthander is seeking a two-year deal, though the Cubs are holding firm at one year because of concerns about Calero's past shoulder injuries.
Calero has been connected to quite a few teams this offseason, however we haven't really heard about any hard talks until now. The 35-year-old Calero posted a 1.95 ERA in 60 innings for the Marlins last year, easily his best in the big leagues.
Do you believe in miracles? I will be shocked if Hendry can control himself and only offer a 1 year deal.
IF the deal is good, this will be a great signing for that bullpen. All we would need would be Xavier Nady (at the right price) and I think this could be a very good team. and in a perfect world I would want Sheets, but that seems like a long shot because of the money…
Let’s get the ball rollin! Calero, Dye, then Sheets…… “offseason complete”
I dont know if I want to see Dye in our outfield. I really feel it would be a mess, if we can get nady at the right price we NEED to take that chance. Sheets would be a great addition, but I think he might be too expensive.
Take out Dye and you could be right (Sheets is still an injury risk, but I think he would be a nice addition at the moment). I’ll be upset if he gets us Dye. Dye is gettin old, he’ll be relegated to a D.H. position soon, which the N.L. doesn’t have.
Hendry:
GET CALERO! We need more than just Marmol in there.
Thanks,
Cubs fans.
Ugh. Phillies dropped the ball here in terms of bullpen help…
Ugh, Phillies dropped the ball here in terms of bullpen help…
Wow this would be a great signing. Rejoice, Cubs Fans!
Doesn’t look like the’ll sign sheets, but if they were gonna go for sheets then why wouldn’t they just re-sign harden then?…and as much as i’d like to see Dye on the squad, his defense is pretty bad….which brings me to if were just gonna sign a bad outfielder that can hit, then why didn’t they just sign Adam Dunn instead of milton bradley last offseason.p.s. dye doesn’t hit lefty, so i guess the whole lefty OF thing is done? (get it, dunn) haha.
Because Harden would have gone to arbitration and likely would have gotten 10M guaranteed. Way too much to give for a pitcher with his health history. They thought they could get Sheets on a low base, incentive laden deal…but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen now because Sheets will probably get some pretty big offers. Right now the guess is 7.5M, but that could move up because of his impressive workout and the fact that the Mets are probably getting desperate enough to overpay.
yeah i agree, really needs to be a 1 year deal…really hope hendry doesn’t overpay once again
Agreed! No more overpaying relievers. It’s too bad they gave Grabow so much money. He’s okay, but they could have waited and got him for much less. It would have been nice to have that extra money right now. I’d rather the Cubs didn’t sign a reliever at all…but it’s gonna happen so the best thing that can happen is that it’s a one year deal.
Hope the Giants pickup Calero.That would complete a solid Bullpen, after dumping Howry and Valdez.
Really surprised he didnt receive more offers this offseason
It’s a damn shame that, of all the relievers out there, this guy had to wait until the end of January to find a job.
There are some real moron GMs out there.
yeah if this guy can stay healthy like he did for the most part of last season, as last season showed, he can be down right filthy.
I assume his rather extensive injury report played a part in him having to wait this long but I am surprised a team (like the Giants) hasnt taken a shot at him yet.
I think on a one year deal he is a perfect fit for both the Gigantes and the Cubbies, since it wont be for that much money.. just pray he stays healthy though.
Hendry lets go Hendry Sheets, Calero, Nady or Dye I’m fine with everything else just lets get this signings done. Hopefully the outlook before the seasons starts is.
SP- Ryan Dempster
SP- Ben Sheets 1 year with an option for a 2nd
SP- Carlos Zambrano
SP- Ted Lilly (when he comes back)
SP- Randy Wells
LRP- Sean Marshall
RP- Carlos Silva
RP-Jeff Samardzija
RP- Kiko Calero 1 year deal
SU- Carlos Marmol
SU- John Grabow
CL- Carlos Marmol
C- Geovany Soto
1B- Derrek Lee
2B- Jeff Baker/ Mike Fontenot
3B- Aramis Ramirez
SS- Ryan Theriot
RF- Kosuke Fukudome
CF- Marlon Byrd
LF- Alfonso Soriano
Bench
INF- Fontenot/ Baker
OF- Sam Fuld
C- Koyie Hill
1B/OF- Xavier Nady/ Jermaine Dye
Marmol is gonna be a busy guy…
Hahaha.
LOL! I thought the same thing but I think he meant Guzman…….. I’m not sure my heart could handle two marmols after last years debacle!!!
You’re going to have to add one other person there to complete the 25 man roster, and don’t count on Sheets being a Cub, and you can’t just leave Tom Gorzellany out of the picture. Samardzija/Silva/Gorzellany for the 5th starter spot, and Gorzellany taking Lilly’s place until he is off the DL. Don’t forget about Gaub. That guy will almost certainly be in the Cubs BP at some point during the year. Xavier Nady would be a nice addition to the bench.
His 1.4% HR/FB is one of the more unsustainable peripherals I’ve ever seen. A 52% fly-ball rate is a bit worrying too. Certainly worth a one year deal though…
A one year deal? I’m about to poop myself!
we have to get someone so i guess he will do. Sheets probably went from a small chance to almost no chance with the angels signing pinero the mets will still need someone and they have much more money. Nady had surgery so unless he can be had for a million or two then dye would be the better run producer. they are worried nady cannot throw well because of the surgery. Dye would at least provide rbis if and when soriano goes down or kosuke struggles.
this is not a signing i would enjoy. moar like aaron miles
Calero & Nady are a step in the right direction for the organization: veteran role players who can help the team now but won’t handcuff them long term. A 4th outfielder who can actually hit the ball out of the park rather than a gritty, “grindy” try-hard guy like Reed Johnson. A few other observations:Sheets. Would everyone PLEASE stop with the wild speculation about how much he will realistically command? I don’t care how “impressive” he looked yesterday, he still missed all of 2009 with an elbow injury and has a checkered injury history. NO team, no matter how desperate they are for pitching, or to make a splash with their impatient fanbase, is going to guarantee him 10 million dollars plus incentives and a player controlled option year. If he wants to pitch in MLB this year he’s going to have to be a little more realistic with his salary expectations.Those of you posting potential 2010 Cub rosters, don’t forget about Angel Guzman and Esmailin Caridad for the bullpen. Caridad was quite impressive in limited innings last year and Guzman made great strides as a potential 8th inning guy. Don’t count on Samardzija even making the team unless he wins the 5th starter job. And enough of Sam Fuld, the guy is nothing more than the 2nd coming of Doug Daczenzo. Keep an eye on Brad Snyder in spring training, this guy could be a late bloomer. He can play all 3 OF positions, has a cannon for an arm and showed tremendous power at Iowa last year before getting hurt. In fact, if he hadn’t gotten hurt we might have seen him in the majors before Jake Fox last year.
Oh, and one more thing? Stop saying we don’t have any money to spend. We have as much as the Ricketts family says we have, and that’s not necessarily set in stone! Yes, ideally they’d like to keep the payroll lin the 140 million dollar range, but if spending a few more shekels to bring in a player the caliber of Sheets is realistic and they think he can help the club win, you can bet they’ll loosen the purse strings for him!
You guys are way too excited over a possible signing of a guy named “Kiko”.
Could be worse. He could be named Coco.
I’d like to see them re-sign Reed Johnson instead of Dye, I’m OK with Nady.
Let’s not begin planning the World Series Victory Parade just yet because the Cubs have “interest” in Kiko Calero.
I still think the biggest need for the Cubs, by far, is a lead-off man who can get on base and score some runs. A 4th outfielder with some pop is also badly needed.
I don’t think another middle relief pitcher is a priority. Scoring more runs is.
Yep and lets pull that magical leadoff man out of Jim Hendry’s rear and sign him immediately… oh and that run producing outfielder that would love to be in a reserve roll is just sitting by the phone waiting for the Cubs to call…
Its time to be a little realistic about this upcoming season… the free agent market is thin, the ones that are left would not be a significant upgrade from what we already have. We’re returning the majority of what won the division two years ago. Bottom line… unless Carlos and Dempster have the types of years they did in 08 and DLEE and Aramis BOTH stay healthy enough to produce… unfortunately there is no way we will hang with St. Louis again this year. Carpenter and Wainright are both too good at the top of the rotation and Pujols and Holliday are absolute mashers. Those four players are what drive both ball clubs. Last year, three of our four struggled for various reasons. Hopefully our minor adjustments have helped and three of St. Louis’ four have problems this year!
That magical leadoff man is out there, his name is Felipe Lopez. I know I am dreaming that either Ricketts will loosen the purse strings or some of the overpaid players will suddenly develop some honesty and want to renogotiate thier contracts down but Lopez would be a great fit. He could play 2B, leadoff and become a super sub if Castro is ready. He plays multiple positions and could fill in for the DL player of the month. And it is rumored that the dreaded Cardinals are interested in him. Then sign Jonny Gomes to take Jake Fox’s position.
Dreamworld : Lopez, Bedard, Gomes, Branyan, Colero.
Reality : Gomes, Colero.