The Latest from the Rumor Mill

Rumors were flying around last week at the Winter Meetings, but it was more talk than action. The Cubs brass did leave Dallas with two moves under their belts. The team sent Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu to the Rockies for third baseman Ian Stewart and minor league pitcher Casey Weathers. The team also claimed Jeff Bianchi off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. Bianchi is a middle infielder that played Double-A ball last season.

The biggest news of the week, however, was the election of Ron Santo to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. We will continue to celebrate Ron's legacy here on Everything Cubs Blog leading up to his induction in July.

Here are a few more news and notes.

• Albert Pujols signing with the Angels last week was good new for the Cubs. The Cub-killer will leave the division instead of re-signing with the World Champion Cardinals.
  
• Many baseball experts believe that the Cubs still have a shot at signing Prince Fielder. Fielder could sign a five year deal with the North Siders.
• Bruce Levine reported this weekend that Prince Fielder believes the Cubs will make the biggest push for him. Levine thinks the Cubs would like to build a championship team around the young, power-hitting first baseman.
• In the next three years, the Cubs television contract will expire with Comcast Sports Net and WGN. The Cubs could look into starting their own TV Network.
• Former Cubs Felix Pie is set to sign with the Indians.
• The division rival Brewers are in the lead to sign Aramis Ramirez, according to Jon Heyman.
• Ian Stewart is looking forward to the chance to play every day with the Cubs.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post has said that he cannot see Theo Epstein passing up teh chance to sign Fielder.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Breaking News: Cubs Trade for Ian Stewart

The Cubs have acquired third baseman Ian Stewart and minor league pitcher Casey Weathers from the Colorado Rockies. In return, Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu have been sent to Colorado. The first trade of the Theo Epstein era is in the books.

Stewart will enter spring training as the Cubs starting third baseman. The Cubs did not conclude the winter meetings without making any noise. Weathers will have a chance to compete for a bullpen spot next season.

The big news today was Albert Pujols's ten year contract with the Angels. Although the Cubs did not land Pujols, this is still good news at the slugging first baseman leaves the NL Central. The Cubs could still be in the mix for Prince Fielder, who is now the top free agent on the market. Peter Gammons believes that the Cubs are a real possibility for Prince.

Today in the Rule Five Draft the Cubs selected RHP Lendy Castillo from the Phillies. Two Cubs prospects were selected in the draft- Marwin Gonzalez (Red Sox) and Ryan Flaherty (Orioles). Gonzalez was then traded to the Houston Astros. The Cubs selected Ricky Alverez in the minor league portion of the Rule Five Draft, but then shipped him to a Mexican League team.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!

Winter Meetings Day 2 Notes

Ron Santo's Hall of Fame election is by far the biggest headline to come out of the Winter Meetings so far. We'll continue to honor and cover Ronnie in the coming days and week here on Everything Cubs blog. However, there are some interesting tidbits from Dallas today.

• The Cubs have reportedly made offers for both Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. They are not willing to offer a long term contract, but will make up for that with a large per year salary.
• The Marlins are the front runners for Pujols with a ten year contract offer on the table. However, they are not willing to give Albert a no-trade clause.
• The Cubs are more likely to sign Fielder, but they are not close with Prince either. They are not willing to go behind a five year deal with the slugging third baseman.
• The Cubs are still looking for a team to take Alfonso Soriano. They are willing to eat most of his contract. The Orioles were rumored to be interested.
• Fielder says he has many suitors and "the coffee isn't even hot yet."
• Carrie Muskat tweeted that Dale Sveum should announce his coaching staff soon. He is still looking for a first base coach. It looks as if Pat Listach will remain on the staff, moving from the bench coach to the third base coach.
• The Cubs did submit a bid for Pujols today, even though Theo Epstein claimed yesterday that he was talking to Pujols' agent about another one of his clients, Rodrigo Lopez.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

2011 Winter Meetings Preview

The Cubs made their first move of the offseason this week, with more possibly on the horizon. Here's the latest.

Cubs Ink David DeJesus
On Wednesday the Cubs announced the signing of outfielder David DeJesus to a two year, $10 million contract that includes a club option for 2014. DeJesus can play all three outfield positions. He spent the first ten years of his career in Kansas City before playing for the Oakland A's last season. DeJesus hit just .240 in 2011 after hitting .318 in 2010.

Outfield Update
This move does not bode well for Tyler Colvin, who will have to earn his playing time since DeJesus could be the opening day starter in right field. Brett Jackson will be in the mix in Spring Training as well and Marlon Byrd could be shipped out before the start of the season. The Cubs are also searching for a buyer for overpaid leftfielder Alfonso Soriano.

Chris Bosio and Jamie Quirk Added to Coaching Staff
The Cubs have announced the Jamie Quirk will join Dale Sveum's coaching staff as the bench coach, while Chris Bosio will serve as the pitching coach. Mark Riggins will not return to the staff, while Pat Listach could be back as a base coach. Quirk was the Astros bullpen coach the last two seasons. Bosio, who coached with the Brewers in 2011, and Sveum have a long history together. An official announcement of the full coaching staff is expected this week.

A Busy Week Ahead?
Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer has said in several interviews that he expects the team to be very active at the Winter Meetings next week. There are rumors circulating that the Cubs are planning a full roster overhaul. Carlos Zambrano, Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd and Matt Garza could be among the players that the Cubs are shopping, although Epstein has said he would like to build his pitching staff around a player like Garza. The team has been connected to Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols and Mark Buehrle.

Ron Santo
Today marks the one year anniversary of Ron Santo's death. He will have another shot at the Hall of Fame on Monday as this year's veteran committee vote is release. It would be a shame to see Ronnie go in without him there to see it, but it would be a great honor none-the-less. We'll have more on Santo's potential Hall of Fame induction Sunday and Monday.

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

Weekend Roundup: Getting Set for the Busy Season

The Cubs should start making offseason moves some time in the near future! Here are the latest news, rumors and notes-

• According to several reports, Dale Sveum has asked Chris Bosio to be his pitching coach. No word on whether or not Bosio will accept the offer.
• Carlos Zambrano got hit in the face with a line drive while pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League last week. He will not pitch for Caribes again until December 6.
• If Craig Council decides to retire, there is talk of him joining Sveum's staff.
• Buster Olney tweeted this weekend that neither Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder are ideal long term targets for the Cubs.
• The Cubs offered arbitration to Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Pena, but not Kerry Wood. Wood is still expected to return, while Ramirez will most likely turn down the arbitration offer.
• Bruce Chen, a pitcher whom the Cubs had some level of interest in, re-signed with Kansas City last week.
• According to ESPN Chicago, Dale Sveum has the support of Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
• The Cubs are rumored to have interest in CJ Wilson.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!

Getting Set for Camp Quade

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posting during the second half of this week. Things have returned to normal and we should be able to be a regular posting schedule leading up to the start of Spring Training. Don't look now, but we are only 2 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting! Infact, many Cubs players are already in camp.

Let's catch up on the latest from Mesa and more!

• The Cubs regular season TV broadcast schedule has been released. Opening Day on April 1 against the Pirates will be on WGN!
• Bench coach Pat Listach will plan and run the day-to-day activities during Cubs camp, starting with the first workout next Monday.
• Bruce Miles reports that Mike Quade and Jim Hendry will meet with the media on Sunday (tomorrow).
• Brett Jackson does not have a good chance to make the club out of Spring Training, but he could get an opportunity later in the season.
• Bleed Cubbie Blue has had an in depth interview series with Tom Ricketts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
• Buster Olney reports that if Albert Pujols becomes a free agent, the Cubs could be the top bidders for him.
• HoHoKam Park public address announcer Tim Sheridan has been blogging daily from Mesa.
• Jeff Samardzija will not compete for a spot in the rotation. His only chance to make the team will be in relief, according to ESPN Chicago.
• Bruce Levine previewed the Cubs pitching staff on his blog. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation are up for grabs with Carlos Silva, Randy Wells, Todd Wellemyer, Braden Looper, Casey Coleman, Andrew Cashner and James Russell all battling for them.
• Both Chris Carpenter and Jay Jackson will get long looks this spring.
• Levine also previewed the Cubs infield. During Spring Training, Blake DeWitt, Darwin Barney, Jeff Baker and Augie Ojeda will all see time at second base. The Cubs would love for DeWitt to win the job outright. Ojeda and Barney will battle for a roster spot.
• It doesn't sound like Levine thinks that Max Ramirez or Welington Castillo will have a shot to challenge Koyie Hill for the backup catcher's job.
• Guys that have already reported to Mesa include Carlos Marmol, Marlon Byrd, John Grabow, Carlos Zambrano, Steve Clevenger, Ryan Dempster, Tyler Colvin, Matt Garza and Casey Coleman.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted with all the news out of Arizona this weekend.