Mid-Week Cubbie Quick Hits

It's been awhile since we checked the rumor mill, so here's the latest.

• On Tuesday, the Cubs signed 5 players to one year extentions, avoiding arbitration with Mike Fontenot, Koyie Hill, Tom Gorzelanny, Angel Guzman, and Jeff Baker. Ryan Theriot, Carlos Marmol, and Sean Marshall have yet to reacher agreements with the Cubs. If the Cubs cannot come to terms with these players, than they will have to go to an arbitration hearing, which will be held February 1-21. The Cubs have not gone to a hearing since Mark Grace in 1993.
• Carrie Muskat reports that the Cubs are looking at Jermaine Dye and Xavier Nady as possible fourth outfielders.
• The Cubs are in negotiations with reliever Kiko Caleron, according to a report from Jon Paul Morosi. Caleron is seeking a 2 year deal, but so far the Cubs have only offered him one year.
• The Cubs were on there to see Ben Sheets throw on Monday. A source out of Toronto reported that Sheets was "all but signed" by the Cubs, but that rumored appeared to be false. None the less, the Cubs are one of 8 teams with real interest in the right hander.
• Click here to see a video of Sheet's bullpen and his interview with MLB Network afterwards.
• The Cubs are taking a look at free agent left Mark Mulder according to FOXSports.
• Bruce Levine blogs that Padres pitcher Luke Gregerson could be a fit for the Cubs bullpen.
• Ryan Theriot is asking for $3.4 million, while the Cubs are offering $2.6 million. Bruce Miles speculates that this one could go to a hearing.

Let's turn our attention to the always informative Bruce Levine chat on ESPNChicago.com. Here are the highlights from Tuesday:

• Levine likes Jeff Baker better than Fontenot as a starter.
• Randy Wells is working hard to make sure there's no sophomore jinx for him.
• The Cubs would be much stronger defensively with Theriot at 2B and Starlin Castro at SS. Ryan is ready to make that move if the team asks him to.
• If Rick Ankiel's stock continues to fall, the Cubs will consider signing him.
• The Cubs are still looking at San Diego and Toronto relievers.
• Levine thinks Dye would be perfect for the Cubs.
• Jermaine is a terrific clubhouse guy.
• If ownership has any say so, former Cubs from the '80s and '90s will be favored for positions on the coaching staff after Lou is out.
• Hendry will be creative in shelling out money to free agents, so that he is able to bring in all the pieces that he needs.
• Orlando Hudson really faded last year, to the point where he lost his job in LA.
• It doesn't appear that many other clubs have made money offers to Dye.
• The Cubs have fielder offers for Angel Guzman, because they are worried about his health.
• Orlando Cabrera is not a bad idea, but the money would be a factor.
• Next offseason, the Cubs will start major renovations at Wrigley.
• As far as the Cubs outfield, the priority at the moment is Dye.
• Not much is expected from Carlos Silva.
• Geovany Soto is not at the perfect weight for him to start the season.
• Pedro Martinez is not on the Cubs' radar.
• The Cubs will NOT consider shopping Jeff Samardzija at this point.
• Helping Alfonso Soriano was one of the main reasons Rudy Jaramillo was hired.
• Bob Brenly will be in the Cubs' booth for a long time, unless he gets that managers job he wants.
• Bruce doesn't see Andres Blanco as an every day player.
• The Cubs will have a better idea of how much money is left to spend after they sign Theriot, Marshall, and Marmol.

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

Cub Pre-Convention Roundup: Non Roster Guys, The Caravan, the Bullpen, and More

Non Roster Invites
The full list of Chicago Cubs non roster invites to Spring Training was released today. In addition to everyone on the 40 man roster, to following prospects will be in camp to try to impress manager Lou Piniella and his staff:

• Josh Vitters, 3B
• Andrew Cashner, RHP
• Brett Jackson, OF
• J.R. Mathes, LHP
• James Russell, LHP
• Casey Coleman, RHP
• Thomas Diamond, RHP
• Jeff Kennard, RHP
• Vince Perkins, RHP
• Robinson Chirinos, C
• Steve Clevenger, C
• Blake Lalli, C/1B
• Chris Robinson, C
• Darwin Barney, SS
• Matt Camp, INF/OF
• Starlin Castro, SS
• Bryan LaHair, 1B
• Bobby Scales, 2B/3B
• Brad Snyder, OF

Cubs Caravan Updates

The Cubs Caravan got underway today. Carrie Muskat provided us with some updated, include the info that Lou Piniella expects the Cubs to win the division. The team is still looking for a veteran right handed reliever and a 4th outfielder, but outside of that Lou feels the Cubs are "pretty set to go". Today Caravan stops included 4 schools for the Cubs Spotlight on Ready, 1 Boys & Girls clubs for the P.L.A.Y. program, a hospital visit, and the sold out Cubs Care Luncheon. Bruce Miles was at Harry Caray's for the lunch, and blogged on it afterwards. Randy Bush, Cubs assistant GM, told Miles that the Cubs haven't ruled out resigning Reed Johnson. I'll have more on the caravan as it continues tomorrow!

Coaching Swap

According to Cubs.com, Ivan DeJesus will serve as the Cubs first base coach in 2010. Matt Sinatro, who was the first base coach, will fill the role that DeJesus previously held as an assistant to Lou Piniella. Matt will still work with Cub catcher, but now will also be involved with the advance scouting reports.

Lilly Injury Update

Cubs lefty Ted Lilly could throw while in Chicago. Mark O'Neal checked up on Ted recently and Lary Rothschild hopes to see him pitch while they are in town for the Convention.

Updates from the Owners Meetings

According to Bruce Levine, the Cubs will decide on either Naples or Mesa next week. They are looking a 3 sites in Florida and two in Naples. Levine chatted with Crane Kenney about the situation. Jim Hendry told Bruce that his time was well spent at the meetings, and 27 of the 30 GMs were there. Hendry planned to talk to some teams about possible moves tonight.

Jason Bourgeois in Cubbie Blue?

Our friends over at Hot Stove Cubbies have a source that tells them that the Cubs are ready to acquire Jason Bourgeois from the Astros. This was posted at 11:30 this morning, and so far we have heard nothing from big league sources. If nothing else, something to keep an eye on.

Calero Still on Cubs' Radar, Bell Probably Staying Put

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Cubs are among the teams that have checked on Kiko Calero. The interest is "contingent" on how confident they are in the health of his shoulder. The Cubs are committed to Marmol as their closer, but would like to add another late inning guy. Today, I chatted with former Cubs broadcaster Andy Masur right here on Everything Cubs Blog. One of the many interesting things Andy told me was that he doesn't see the Padres moving Heath Bell this off season, but maybe at the trade deadline. While Masur thinks it would be "frustrating" for Bell to have to share time with Marmol as Cubs' closer, Heath could be an option in July if Marmol struggles in his new role in the first half. I would encourage everyone to click the link above and check out the full Q&A!

The Cubs Convention is the day after tomorrow!

I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!

Rumor Roundup: Cubs Still Have a Lot of Work to Do

The Chicago Cubs have a lot of holes and needs right now. Jim Hendry, who has done nothing except dump Aaron Miles, Aaron Heilman, Jake Fox, and Milton Bradley this offseason, needs to get to work. Maybe Jim learned a lesson when he over-payed for guys early in the winter last year, but he cannot wait too long as he has already lost out on many of his targets. The Chicago Cubs need to have an active next month and a half, because right now there are still many areas that need improvement and added depth. Earlier I updated my projected Cub Opening Day roster. Tonight, let's go through some of the areas the Cubs need help, and take a look at the latest rumors...

Outfield
Right now, the 40-man roster consists of 5 outfielders: Alfonso Soriano, Sam Fuld, James Adducci, Tyler Colvin, and Kosuke. You can forget Adducci, Colvin showed some promise but will likely start the year at AAA, and Fuld is a 4th outfielder at best. Soriano and Fukudome have shown inconsistency and injuries over the past few seasons, so you cannot count on them to start each and everyday for you. Most likely, both of them will either suffer an injury or go through a slump at some point in 2010. So the point is, the Cubs need to add outfielders (note the plural). Phil Rodgers says that the "Cubs aren't blown away by any of the outfielders on the free agent market." He speculated that Fernando Perez, a speedy Rays outfielder who is recovering from shoulder surgery, "would be an interesting gamble". Perez would cost the Cubs a top prospects according to NBC Sports. Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel, and Scott Podsednik remain options according to Rodgers. Reed Johnson could still resign with the Cubs. Carrie Muskat has told us that the Cubs like the way he plays, but are concerned about his ability to stay healthy. Last week I had a numbers breakdown that compared Johnson with other Cub outfield candidates. The other new and interesting Cub outfield rumor comes from Bruce Levine. Mr. Chicago Baseball says the Cubs have had talks with the Rockies about a trade that would bring Ryan Spilborghs to Chicago to replace Reed as the 4th outfielder. Spilborghs has good defense and plays all 3 outfield positions. In an article separate from the one where he wrote about Perez, Phil Rodgers (who is sometimes accused of making up rumors himself) reports that the Cubs would "immediately make an effort to land Jacoby Ellsbury" to fill their center field/leadoff hole if the Red Sox end up with Holliday or Bay. Rodgers goes on to say that this scenario helps explain why the Cubs have been so patient in studying their outfield options. Ellsbury would cost the Cubs a major prospect package. Phil listed Josh Vitters, Hak-Ju Lee, Andrew Cashner, and Jay Jackson as guys that could be included. The Cubs are also rumored to have interest in Johnny Damon. Dave O'Brien reports that Melky Cabrera (who was acquired from the Yankees last week) could be used as a trade chip. Jon Heyman tweets that if the Braves consider trading him, they should contact the Cubs, who'd love him for center field. In addition, David DeJesus could be an option. The Cubs have spoken to the Royals about DeJesus. Levine reiterated that Byrd and Podsednik remain 1-2 on the outfield list.

Pitching Depth
Sure, the Cubs have Carlos Zambrano, Randy Wells, Ted Lilly, and Ryan Dempster all returning, but with Harden gone via free agency and Lilly starting the season on the DL, there are two spots open in the rotation to start the year going into Spring Training. I'd like to see more than one good year out of Wells before you can count on him, and Big Z is never a sure thing. Although overal the rotation is solid, the bullpen is not. Carlos Marmol is the closer, he had good stuff but his control is a question mark. John Grabow and Angel Guzman are the only other guys that you know will be in the pen right now, and after that there's four question marks. So for two rotation spots and four bullpen spots we have Carlos Silva, Mike Parisi, David Patton, Jeff Samardzija, Tom Gorzelanny, John Gaub, Esmalin Caridad, Mitch Atkins, Jeff Stevens, Sean Marshall, Justin Berg, and Arismendy Mota all in the mix in Spring Training. On problem: will hese guys pitch well? The big Cub rumor on the pitching side going around today was that the Cubs have had talks with Jose Contreras' agent about the possibility of the former White Sox hurler to pitch for the Cubbies in 2010. The veteran right hander would "bring a certain amount of protection for the team, considering the unknown status of rehabbing lefty Ted Lilly" according to ESPNChicago.com. Contreras could be in the rotation until Lilly returns and then would be moved to the bullpen. Kiko Calero is also still on the Cubs' radar for the bullpen. The Cubs had to move on to other options for the bullpen after they lost out on former Pirates closer Matt Capps who signed with the Washington Nationals just before Christmas. The other Cub pitching rumor is that Carlos Zambrano could be available. Jon Heyman tweeted tonight that the Yankees "definitely had talked to the Cubs about Zambrano, who appears eminently available." Big Z has a no-trade clause, and right now it doesn't seem like it would make sense for the Cubs to trade him unless they get an ace pitcher back. Some rehab guys like Ben Sheets are on the Cubs radar. The Cubs are talking with Ben Sheets. Carlos Silva could also be a major factor in the rotation.

Middle Infield
Not a lot of rumors related to the Cubs middle infield to report. Carrie Muskat told us a few days back that the Cubs are fine with going into the year with Andres Blanco, Jeff Baker, and Mike Fontenot as the second baseman. We've heard a lot about Starlin Castro this winter. Castro could be ready for the big leagues at some point in 2010. At the start of the year, Theriot is expected to be the short stop. Former Cub infielder Mark DeRosa is close to signing a 2 year $12 million deal with San Fransisco. Felipe Lopez, Orlando Hudson, and Kelly Johnson are among the free agent middle infielders that make sense for the Cubs. Orlando Cabrera could be an option if the Cubs are willing to move Theriot to second.

The Cubs are also in need of a solid pinch hitter.

Well that's it for tonight, lots of great stuff to come in the next few days!