Midweek Roundup: Theriot to St. Lou, Marmol Wants an Extension & More

Theriot to St. Louis
Former Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot has been traded from the Dodgers to the Cardinals. The Riot returns to the NL Central after spending six seasons in the Windy City before being traded at the deadline this past July. Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Cardinals view Theriot as more of a shortstop. Right handed pitcher Blake Hawksworth was shipped to LA in the deal.

Cubs Pitching Coach Decision May Not Come Tomorrow
As a mentioned in yesterday's post, Carrie Muskat has reported that the Cubs will be naming their new pitching coach on Wednesday. Bruce Miles reports that the Cubs say that that is not true and an announcement at the winter meetings next week is more likely.

Marmol Want an Extension
Bruce Miles also tells us that Carlos Marmol has said he wants a long term extension. Barry Praver, Marmol's agent, has been contacted and says he did have talks with Jim Hendry at the GM Meetings. However, these talks do not seem to be far down the line.

Looking at Arms?
According to MLBTR, the Cubs are looking to add an insurance arm even though they have five (actually 6-7) starters. Jeremy Bonderman, Aaron Harang, Kevin Milwood and Vincente Padilla are all in the mix.

Coming Soon: Cubs Spring Training Schedule
Usually the Cubs Spring Training schedule have been released by this time in the offseason. Al Yellon from Bleed Cubbie Blue tells us that the Diamondbacks and Giants were being considered to open to regular season in Taiiwan, so this delayed the process. Another detail that the Cubs are hammering out is whether or not they will return to Las Vegas for a split squad weekend. They have played the White Sox in Vegas each of the last two springs. The schedule should be released later this week.

Jesse Crain a Hot Name
Peter Gammons tweets that Jesse Crain may be one of the hottest relievers on the market. The Cubs are one of nine teams who may be interested in the former Twin.

Deadline to Tender Contracts on the Way
Thursday is the deadline for teams to offer contracts to unsigned players that are arbitration eligible. Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall, Tom Gorzelanny, Geovany Soto, Jeff Baker and Koyie Hill are all arbitration elgible guys this winter. Marmol, Marshall, Gorzelanny and Soto are givens to be brought back, but there is some question when it comes to Baker and Hill. Jim Hendry would like to lock up all six players by Thursday so that arbitration is out of the question.

Former Cub Notes
Thanks to the CCO for this one, ex-Cubs lefty Neal Cotts inked a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. Josh Kroeger has landed with the Marlins organization while Doug Deeds has a minor league contract with the Rangers. Russ Canzler, who played for the Tennessee Smokies in 2010, has left the organization and singed with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Cubs Poll
Thanks to everyone who voted on our last poll on the right sidebar! There is a new one up that asks you to grade Larry Rothschild's time with the Cubs. Don't forget to vote!

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

A Look at Ryan Theriot's Time with the Cubs

Ryan Theriot had been with the Cubs his whole career until last week's trade to Los Angeles. Let's remember The Riot with a little look back at his tenure in the Windy City.

June 2001
Ryan Theriot was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the third round of the MLB First Year Player Draft. He was a shorstop out of LSU.

September 13, 2005
Theriot made his major league debut as a pinch hitter against the Reds.

September 14, 2005
Ryan recorded his first big league hit against Brian Shakelford.

March 10, 2007
First year manager Lou Piniella wastes no time in telling Theriot that he has made the team. It was the first time in his career that the young utility infielder made his club coming out of Spring Training.

May 2007
Theriot, who had played all over the diamond in the first few months, started to get more and more starts at shortstop. He eventually got the everyday nod in favor of Cesar Izturis, who ended up traded in July.

July 14, 2008
Ryan and Johnnah gave birth to their second daughter and third child Georgia Grace. They also have kids named Houston and Macey.

Opening Day 2010
Theriot got the start at short with college teammate Mike Fontenot rounding out the Cubs middle infield as the starting second baseman.

May 1, 2009
Ryan launched his first career grand slam against the Florida Marlins to give him team the lead. The Cubs went on to win the game 8-6.

May 2009
The ex-LSU star went on a power surge, hitting five home runs in the month. He is normally not known for his power, but a little pop was certainly welcome. He doubled his career homer total in the span of a few weeks.

2009-2010 Offseason
Theriot allowed WGN Radio listeners to learn a little bit more about him off the field as he joined David Kaplan for a weekly segment on "Sports Central". He also co-hosted Kap's live broadcast from the Cubs convention in January.

February 19, 2010
Ryan became the first Cub to go to an arbitration hearing since 1993. The Cubs one the case, so he had to settle for a one year $2.6 million contract.

May 7, 2010
The longtime shorstop was moved to second base in order to make room for 20 year old rookie Starlin Castro to take over short.

July 31, 2010
Theriot's Cubs career came to an end as he was traded to the Dodgers along with pitcher Ted Lilly. The Cubs got Blake DeWitt and two minor league hurlers in return.

Good luck Ryan... We'll miss you at Wrigley!

Breaking News: Theriot & Lilly to LA

The Cubs have traded Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers for Blake DeWitt and minor league pitchers Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit.

The Cubs also send $2.5 million in the deal.

Here is some info on Blake DeWitt:

• 2010 stats with LAD: 82 games, .270 AVG, 1 HR, 30 RBIs
• Positions: 3B, 2B
• B/T: Left/Right
• Drafted: By the Dodgers in the first round of the 2004 draft.
• MLB Debut: March 31, 2008
• Born: August 20, 1985

Info on Brett Wallach:

• B/T: Right
• Born: December 2, 1988
• Drafted: By the Dodgers in the 3rd round of 2009
• Position: Pitcher
• 2010 Team: Pitching for Great Lakes of the Midwest League, which is low Class-A ball.
• Stats: 6-0, 3.72 ERA, 17 starts this year

Info on Kyle Smit:

• B/T: Right
• Born: Oct 14 1987
• Drafted: By the Dodgers in the 5th round of the 2006 draft.
• Position: Pitcher
• 3 IP, 0 R allowed in three games with Double-A Chattanooga this season
• 5-3, 2.49 ERA, 34 games (1 starts) with Inland Empire of the Class-A Advanced California League

It's the end of an error the Cubs, who lose two great guys in Lilly and Theriot.

I'll update when more info comes along.

Groundhogs Day Quick Hits: Gregg and Johnson Stay in Blue

• Sorry for the misleading title. Reed Johnson has signed a 1 year deal with the LA Dodgers worth $800,000 plus incentives. In my opinion, this is a steal, and the Cubs should have gave Reed this offer.
• Kevin Gregg, another '09 Cub, also fell today agreeing to a $2.75M deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal also contains options and incentives.
• Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Cubs are one of four teams keeping track of RHP Kris Benson this winter.
• Jon Heyman said last week on MLB Network that the Cubs are the most likely destination for free agent pitcher Chan Ho Park.
• Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says that reliever Joe Nelson is interested in joining the Cubs.
• Check out CCO's great Q&A with Cubs play-by-play man Len Kasper.
• In other former Cub news, Mark Prior is still working on a comeback. Will the Cubs sign him to buddy with Carlos Silva?... ah nevermind.
• Xavier Nady doesn't think it will take him to much time to get back to 100% (coming off Tommy John).
• The Cubs are going to take their time with Nady, because they want him to be healthy for years to come once he does come back.
• The Cubs front office is split on the upcoming Super Bowl. General Manager Jim Hendry is a Colts fan, while assistant GM Randy Bush roots on the Saints. Click the link for a great article by Bruce Miles.
• Muskat gives us the latest on Marmol and Theriot.
• Thanks to TCR for this one- Andrew Cashner is gunning for a spot in the starting rotation.

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

Cubs in Winter Ball, Rumors, and More

Well, here's the latest Cubs rumors from yesterday and today.

• Buster Olney says that the Cubs have maxed out their spending this winter.
• Bruce Levine and others have been saying that the Bradley deal should be done around the first of the year, so we'll see what happens soon, I expect the Cubs to make at least 1 more move before the convention.
• Interesting article I found about Jim Hendry's first round picks.
• Jason Stark says that the Dodgers have contacted Adam Dunn. The Cubs, Nationals, Mariners, and Orioles all also have interest.
• Stark adds that the Cubs have believed to be his top choice before the Dodgers entered the mix.
• The Dodgers also have interest in Bobby Abreu. They seem to be interested in a lot of the same guys as the Cubs.
• Former Cub Micheal Barrett has agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training with the Blue Jays.

Some guys in the Cubs system have been playing Winter Baseball in Venezuela, the DR, and Mexico. I decided to check in on some of their stats:

Andres Blanco (VWL)- .280, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 58 Games

Ronny Cedeno (VWL)- .278, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 46 Games

Jake Fox (DWL)- .353, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 3 Games

Sam Fuld (VWL)- .333, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 55 Games

Felix Pie (DWL)- .304, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 20 Games

Jose Ascanio (traded to FLO) VWL- 3-1, 7 SV, 3.10 ERA, 29 IP

Angel Guzman (VWL) - 2-1, 5.54 ERA, 26 IP

Rich Hill (VWL)- 1-2, 6.86 ERA, 21 IP

Carlos Marmol (MWL)- pitched 2 innings allowed 0 runs

J.R. Mathes (VWL)- 2-3, 3.86 ERA, 32.2 IP

The main thing in noticed is that both Rich Hill and Felix Pie have struggled.

I got this Pat Hughes and Ron Santo CD for Christmas and would recommend it if you enjoy listening to Pat and Ron on radio. It plays lots of their funny moments and I enjoyed. Click Here for the link.

Cubs Trivia Answer from Sat.: Only 2 Cubs remain from '03; Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano.

I'll keep you posted.