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Cubs Rumors: Zambrano, Aramis, GM Search

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Before the Cubs can moving on their offseason, they face big decisions in their next GM, what to do with Carlos Zambrano, and how to handle Aramis Ramirez's $16MM club option.  The latest on each situation:

  • Cubs owner Tom Ricketts told ESPN's Dan Shulman last night that he found it hard to imagine Zambrano would ever pitch for the Cubs again.  Buster Olney points out that the Cubs would have to reinstate or move Zambrano before the end of the season, should the pitcher win his grievance.  On Tuesday, I presented 11 scenarios the Cubs could consider in their attempts to move Zambrano.  
  • Ramirez would have been "pretty much a slam dunk" to return to the Cubs next year under Jim Hendry, his agent Paul Kinzer tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  But now, Ramirez plans to step back, see who the Cubs hire, and also see what's out there on the free agent market.  With his resurgent season, Ramirez may be the only viable free agent starting third baseman, and would be hard for the Cubs to replace.
  • The Cubs have reached out to front office member Greg Maddux about remaining in the organization, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.  Maddux is close to Hendry.  As for the team's GM post, Sullivan writes, "The names of Josh Byrnes, Andrew Friedman and even Theo Epstein have also come up in conversation. While the Red Sox are unlikely to let Epstein out of his contract with a year remaining, the Cubs seem interested enough to explore the possibility."
  • Hendry, who Sullivan speculates could land in Arizona working under Kevin Towers, is off the hook for the Alfonso Soriano signing in the opinion of Wittenmyer.  Wittenmyer says then-president John McDonough drove that disastrous contract.
  • Ricketts said on Friday that he seeks a GM with a commitment to player development, a stronger analytical background, and a track record of success.  I expect him to look into big-name current GMs like Epstein, Friedman, and Jon Daniels first.  Those guys will probably stay put, at which point I can see Ben Cherington, Thad Levine, and Jerry Dipoto being candidates.  Click here to see our top 20 GM candidates, among those who have not yet held that position permanently.
  • ESPN's Jon Greenberg is "convinced the Cubs will be run by a forward-thinking general manager with a strong emphasis on advanced statistics, and reliance on cheap, farm system labor."  I think the stats thing is a big factor – teams tend to go in the opposite direction from the previous guy.
  • Talking to Wittenmyer, Cubs interim GM Randy Bush said he could see a lot of the team's front office members keep their jobs.

Quick Hits: Tigers, Phillies, Soriano

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Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin is starting to look like one of the top acquisitions of last offseason. He has a .279/.332/.408 line with seven homers and 29 stolen bases after today's game. Here are today's ilnks…

Cubs Trying To Unload Zambrano

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2:14pm: The Cubs called the Yankees about Zambrano, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the Yankees have no interest.

1:52pm: The Cubs are "trying to nudge the Yankees into taking Carlos Zambrano, offering up money to offset his salary," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  The Cubs are offering to pay big bucks on Zambrano or Alfonso Soriano in general, tweeted SI's Jon Heyman earlier.  

In June, Zambrano told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports he'd waive his no-trade clause if the Cubs asked.  After the deadline he'll be owed $23.8MM through 2012, and that's the bigger issue given hs middling performance.  In my opinion, the Cubs would have to send about $14MM to make Zambrano's contract palatable, as that'd make him the equivalent of a $5MM a year pitcher.

 

Cubs Willing To Eat High Percentage Of Soriano’s Deal

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Alfonso Soriano's contract may be the most untradeable contract in baseball, but a source tells Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago that the Cubs would be "willing to absorb a high percentage" of the money left on his deal if the right trade offer came along. There is more than $60M left on his eight-year, $136MM contract.

Soriano's deal includes a full no-trade clause, but we recently heard that he'd waive it to go to a contender. The 35-year-old is hitting .249/.291/.445 with 14 homers this year, and an American League team could also hide his suspect outfield defense by using him as a DH. Soriano's contract calls for an $18MM salary this year and every year through 2014.

Levine also mentions that there is interest in Kosuke Fukudome, John Grabow, and Marlon Byrd. The Indians are among those interested in Fukudome.

Hendry Explains Deadline Approach

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Cubs GM Jim Hendry aims to limit his trades to players he knows won't be returning next season, he told Rick Brown of the Des Moines Register.  Hendry explained:

"Why would we trade anybody who we think is going to help us next year or the years after?  I would say if we move anyone it would be somebody we clearly knew wouldn't be back.  We're not going to move people that we think are going to help us.  Why would I trade Sean Marshall?  Why would I trade Darwin Barney? Those calls kind of stop quickly. It makes no sense."

The next logical question is which Cubs players clearly won't be back.  Aramis Ramirez won't be accepting a trade this month, and Ryan Dempster has full no-trade rights as well.  Kerry Wood probably has a say in whether he's dealt.  That probably leaves Kosuke Fukudome, Carlos Pena, John Grabow, and Reed Johnson as the Cubs' main trade candidates.  However, I'm guessing the Cubs haven't ruled out re-signing Pena, so he's not a lock to be dealt.

An August trade appears possible for Ramirez, based on his agent's comments yesterday to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Paul Kinzer said that when his client's children return to the Dominican Republic in August for the start of school, "that could possibly loosen up" Ramirez's stance.  Ramirez's $16MM option for 2012 technically becomes guaranteed upon a trade, but Kinzer said his client would want the option dropped.  The agent does not feel the request would pose a problem for most teams.

There's also left fielder Alfonso Soriano, whose contract pays $18MM a year through 2014 and makes him virtually immovable.  Talking to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, Soriano wasn't even aware he has a no-trade clause.  But he did say he'd waive it to go to a contender.

NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Soriano, Betemit, Pence

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Four teams are within striking distance of the NL Central lead: the Brewers, the Cardinals and the Reds and Pirates, who are currently playing at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The latest links from the division…

  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio that he can take on payroll and would prefer not to trade players currently on the Major League roster (Twitter link).
  • Alfonso Soriano told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com that he isn't worried about trade rumors, since he doesn't control what happens leading up to the trade deadline. The 35-year-old has 14 homers and a .255/.298/.456 line for the Cubs, who owe him $18MM annually through 2014. Soriano told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he would consider waiving his no-trade clause to join a contender.
  • Dave Gershman of Beyond the Boxscore suggests the Cubs should consider trading Sean Marshall if they can get a top prospect like Jonathan Singleton.
  • The Brewers and Royals are still in contact about Wilson Betemit, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Brewers have had interest in the infielder since earlier in the month, but haven’t made substantial progress so far. Morosi reports that the Brewers would like any acquisition to be capable of playing the outfield.
  • Rival teams get the impression that it will take a "major, major overpay" to obtain Hunter Pence from the Astros now, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).

Chicago Notes: Wood, White Sox, Soriano, Ramirez

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Let's check out some items on the Chicago teams, who are both in action tonight..

  • Cubs GM Jim Hendry says that he's gotten phone calls from teams inquiring about players that he's not interested in moving, and the teams know that before they call, writes Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
  • At some point, the Cubs will let Kerry Wood know which contenders have serious interest in him and let him make the choice of if he's traded, and where to according to Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter).
  • Meanwhile, the club is telling teams that they have no interest in talking about Sean Marshall in any potential trade, Olney tweets.
  • The White Sox might make a trade with the Braves in the weeks leading up to the deadline, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  Though it's possible that nothing is imminent, GM Ken Williams' special assistants Dave Yoakum and Bill Scherrer have been watching Atlanta over the past two or three series.
  • Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com wonders if Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and John Grabow could be of interest to the Yankees.  Although the Yankees already have a solid base in their everyday lineup, Levine writes that Ramirez or Soriano could add some punch as a designated hitter.

Cubs To Determine Deadline Approach

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Members of the Cubs' front office will meet early next week to determine their approach for this summer’s trade deadline, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The team intends to pursue top prospects and young players, but the details have yet to be determined, according to Levine.

It appears likely that the 30-44 Cubs will become sellers, in which case some pricey veterans could become trade bait. Aramis Ramirez won’t be one of them, since he won’t approve a trade, but Carlos Zambrano, Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome may find themselves on the trade market. Zambrano and Soriano have said they wouldn’t block trades.

GM Jim Hendry and assistant GM Randy Bush will direct top Cubs scouts during the meetings. Hendry will advise the scouts to monitor the clubs he believes match up best as possible trade partners for Chicago.

Cubs Rumors: Zambrano, Dempster, Soriano

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A few Cubs rumblings from ESPN's Bruce Levine…

  • Yankees scouts watched Carlos Zambrano pitch on the Cubs' recent road trip, writes Levine.  Levine notes that these were not advance scouts, but rather top advisers to GM Brian Cashman.  Hopefully they saw his start against the Cardinals rather than the Phillies.  Levine is of the opinion Zambrano would waive his no-trade clause, as a friend of the pitcher told him earlier this month, "At this point Carlos would probably let the Cubs trade him to Siberia."  As a 4.50 ERA guy in the National League with clubhouse concerns and over $28MM remaining on his contract through 2012, Zambrano would be a tough sell for any team.
  • Some of the Yankees top evaluators have more interest in Ryan Dempster, reports Levine, as you might expect.  They'll get a look at him Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.  Dempster has $7.7MM remaining on his contract this year, as well as a $14MM player option for 2012.  He also has full no-trade rights and strong ties to Chicago.
  • Alfonso Soriano told Levine he expects to stay with the Cubs (he's signed through 2014), but if the team wants to trade him he wouldn't stay.  Soriano, who is owed about $64MM through '14, has a full no-trade clause.
  • I tackled the possibility of the Cubs becoming sellers earlier this month.  They're ten games out in the NL Central and the wild card.

Reyes Open To Playing Other Positions

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Jose Reyes told Constantino Viloria at the Spanish-language New York paper La Opinion that he is open-minded about his future with the Mets. As in past interviews, Reyes dismissed the possibility that he would play anywhere but with the Mets, the organization that scouted and signed him as a teenager in the Dominican Republic. The team holds an $11MM option on Reyes for 2011, which seems a no-brainer given the options on the free agent market.

However, Reyes added a new twist by telling Viloria that while he would prefer to stay at short, he "hasn't ruled out" changing positions. More specifically, Reyes mentions that "I played several games at second base for the Mets," referring to the 43 games he logged at the keystone in 2004.

Reyes' preferences aside, there is an argument to be made for bumping the 27-year-old one slot to the right. First of all, one of the team's top position prospects (along with Fernando Martinez and others) is 18-year-old shortstop Wilmer Flores, who has been showing promise at the lower levels of the Mets system—though some see his future outside of the infield. In any event, once the Mets are free of their commitment to Luis Castillo at the end of 2011 (or sooner by trade), there is no ready replacement within the upper levels of the system save Ruben Tejada, a natural shortstop like Reyes but without his speed or offensive ceiling.

In terms of offense, Reyes' .735 OPS this season compares little better to other second basemen than it would have back in 2004, when the likes of Jeff Kent and Alfonso Soriano were setting the power bar. For now, his production puts him firmly on the Orlando Hudson watershed line (.729 OPS), well below boppers like Cano/Pedroia/Kinsler/Utley but still above the slappy types like Schumaker/Theriot/Barmes.

However, after a few more months of an injured Castillo, Alex Cora and fliers like Tejada, Reyes' willingness to switch could resurface as a topic of discussion, especially as it may give the team the flexibility to either finally trade Castillo or package one of the shortstop prospects for pitching, as has been bandied recently.

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