Cubs Rumors; Fu-Te Ni on Cubs radar?

Well I'm off for the holidays! I'll have plenty of blog updates over the next 2 weeks. Right now there's not much to talk about concerning the Cubs. Before Baseball's Winter Meetings there were tons of different Cubs Rumors going around each day mostly about Jake Peavy. Since the Meetings there hasn't been as much rumors and still no big moves by the Cubs. But here's the latest Cubs Rumors:

• Rafael Furcal has resigned with the Dodgers. He joins Ibanez in the category of guys high on the Cubs list that signed. The Cubs better find their left handed bat soon.
• The Cubs have stepped up their pursuit of Milton Bradley.
• Steve Stone said that he thinks Bradley would be an awful signing for the Cubs.
• Phil Rogers think Joey Gathright will compete for the 25th spot on the roster.
• Milton Bradley is also on the Angels radar.
• The Tribune says that the Cubs have interest in Fu-Te Ni. He is a left handed pitcher from Japan. The M's, Twins, Tigers, and Braves also have interest.
• Adam Dunn is telling people that if the Cubs will have that's where he wants to go.

I think the Cubs should add Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu for right field. I'm not a big Bradley fan but if the Cubs sign anyone I'll be happy that left field is solved. I would be in favor of Dunn but Dunn in right and Soriano in left would be horrible defensively. I think the Cubs better act quickly before Bradley ends up going to LA and by that time Abreu could already be signed. Fu-Te Ni is a guy that could really help the bullpen.

What do you think? Feel free to comment. (You don't even have to log in or anything.)

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted as always.

Cubs sign Joey Gathright

The Cubs have agreed to a 1 year 800,000 deal with Joey Gathright who was non-tendered by the Royals last Friday. Gathright adds speed off the bench and can play all 3 outfield positions. It seems that Felix Pie is out of luck because he is out of options which means that he can not be sent back to AAA and Gathright is a similar player to him except Joey is a better hitter. Gathright is a left handed bat, but the Cubs will continue to pursue a middle of the order, left handed bat for right field.
Quotes from Jim Hendry:

• "We set out to find a real speed guy for the club and a left handed hitter and he makes a lot of sense."
• "He's a world class speed guy who can do a lot of things for us."
• "If he's not starting, he's a tremendous piece off the bench every day."
• "We're a long way from opening day, a lot of things can happen."
• "I feel confident that we'll end up with a good left handed hitter, there's still a lot of things to do."

In my opinion, the Gathright move does add some speed and depth, but this isn't going what we were hoping for. I would expect that the Cubs still acquire 1-2 more left handed hitters that are everyday players, not just bench guy. I don't think the Cubs really needed another backup outfielder because we already have Reed Johnson (or Kosuke if Reed starts) and DeRosa or Hoffpauir can back up the corner outfield spots to give Soriano and our new right fielder days off.

More Gathright Info:

• 27 years old
• Bats: Left, Throws: Right
• Played for Tampa Bay 2004-06, KC 2006-08
• .263 Career average
• 1 Career HR, 78 SB
• Drafted by Rays in the 32nd round of the 2001 Draft
• 22 RBI & 21 SB in 2008.

Other Cubs Rumors:

• According to Ken Rosenthal, Fucal is headed back to the Braves.
• Bobby Abreu is seeking a 3 year, $48 million dollar deal.
• Kevin Towers said he will listen to all offers on Peavy, but is no longer actively trying to trade him.

What do you think of the Gathright signing?

I'll keep you posted.

My Cubs Roster 2009

Here's what I would like to see as the Cubs opening day batting order next year.
CF C. Figgins
1B D. Lee
3B A. Ramirez
RF A. Dunn
LF A. Soriano
C G. Soto
2B M. DeRosa
SS R. Theriot

Here's my Starting 5:
Big Z
Dempster
Lilly
Harden
Randy Johnson

And the Bench:
Paul Bako
Micah Hoffpauir
Mike Fontenot
Reed Johnson
Ronny Cedeno (or other back up infielder)

The Pen:
Jeff Samardija
Kevin Gregg
Carlos Marmol
Angel Guzman or Kevin Hart
Neal Cotts
Sean Marshall
Chad Gaudin

What do you think? Tell me what batting order you would like to see out there on Opening Day 2009 by writing a comment. It's easy to comment, you don't even have to log in. ☺

This is what I would like to see happen, however I think it is unlikely that Lou will shift Lee and Soriano spots in the order and that Jim will add both Figgins and Dunn. Right now it seem the Cubs will add Milton Bradley. Other possible lead off men for the Cubs in 2009 would besides Alfonso and Figgins are Orlando Hudson, Brian Roberts, and Rafael Furcal. (The Cubs have some degree of interest in all 3.)
I'll keep you posted.