It’s no secret that – for better or WORSE – the Chicago Cubs’ top target to fill the void in center field is Marlon Byrd. But there hasn’t been a whole lot of information available about how much money Byrd is seeking. Conventional wisdom (i.e. – what’s slapping around in my brain) has him wanting a two or three year deal, and a substantial raise on his $3 million salary from last year. This is his first year of free agency.
But whatever that amount is, apparently, it’s currently too rich for the Cubs’ blood. Bruce Levine recently said that Byrd’s current asking price is not realistic.
You have to wonder if he’s using Bobby Abreu’s recent two-year, $19 million re-up as a benchmark for an asking price, which would of course be hilariously silly.
Levin also reported that Scott Podsednik is asking for three years and $12 million, so I guess you never know. Apparently these guys think MLB was immune to the recession. We’ll see if they are right, but let’s hope the Cubs don’t help in that regard.