Could Marlon Byrd Head Back to the Rangers?

Tomorrow marks the last day that a team can make a trade (via the waiver system) for a player, and include that player on its post-season roster. The Chicago Cubs have already made a couple waiver trades, sending Mike Fontenot to the Giants and Derrek Lee to the Braves.

But are the Cubs done dealing? They are assuredly still working the phones to try and outsource Kosuke Fukudome and Xavier Nady, but beyond that, no one believes the Cubs are considering moving anyone else.

Well, except maybe Richard Durrett, who writes the Texas Rangers blog for ESPNDallas. In a list of potential acquisition targets for the Rangers, Durrett lists a Cub – but not one you’d expect:

Marlon Byrd, Cubs: I only throw this in there because I find it intriguing, but Byrd fits the mold. He can play all the outfield positions and has a big bat against lefties. Byrd is hitting .366 with four homers and 19 RBIs against left-handed pitching this season. But, of course, he has two more years left on his contract in Chicago and I can’t think the Cubs would consider dealing him. Even if they do, it would involve a top prospect. So I can’t see it happening. But could you imagine Byrd back in the Rangers’ clubhouse down the stretch? ESPN Dallas.

Byrd’s contract escalates the next two years ($5.5 million in 2011, $6.5 million in 2012), and it’s possible that the Cubs could have Tyler Colvin or Kosuke Fukudome handle center field until prospect Brett Jackson is ready for the bigs (perhaps as soon as mid-season next year).

But that’s where the “this is possible” stops.

The Cubs love Marlon Byrd, and given his production and defense this year, they’ve got him relatively cheap over the next two years. Further, would Byrd really pass through waivers without being claimed by any NL team or any AL team with a worse record than the Rangers? Given his contract, it seems like a number of teams would be happy to take him on for the next couple of years, even if they’re not competitive this year.

In short, a trade of Marlon Byrd seems highly unlikely for a number of reasons.

Thomas Diamond, Not Jeff Samardzija, Will Be the New Ted Lilly

Now that Ted Lilly is off to greener pastures in Los Angeles, the Chicago Cubs will need a new starter in their rotation. The obvious long-term choice is Carlos Zambrano, but he’s neither stretched out nor pitching effectively, so, despite his protests, he’ll remain in the bullpen for at least a little while longer.

In the interim, the Cubs will call up AAA Iowa starter, and former stud prospect, Thomas Diamond to join the rotation on Tuesday. Diamond was the Texas Rangers’ first-round pick in 2004, but went under the Tommy John knife in 2007.

This season at Iowa, Diamond is 5-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 21 starts and has struck out 104 in 108 1/3 innings. Opposing teams were batting .218 off the right-hander.

Before his Tommy John surgery, Diamond was a top 100 prospect in all of baseball. But since then he’s had a couple crappy years for a couple teams. Diamond has had a resurgent year with the Cubs, to be sure, but questions persist about whether he’s finally got it together, or whether he’s a career AAA player about whom the teams that have released him were right.

Interesting that he got the call over fellow AAA’er Jeff Samardzija (to say nothing of true prospect Jay Jackson or bullpen roustabout Andrew Cashner). Samardzija has thrown very well at AAA since being banished from the big club, but is rarely discussed and is apparently not at the top of the team’s list of future starters.

He’s certainly earned his share of cold-shouldering, what with his bad attitude and crummy secondary pitches, but it still seems cruel to pass Samardzija over during Shark Week. Ba dum ching.

Lukewarm Stove: Rangers Still Considering Xavier Nady

This rumor is about as lukewarm as it gets, given that there are no details beyond that headline. But, hey, you’re here. Might as well keep reading, right?

The Rangers remain interested in a right-handed-hitting first baseman it can pair with Chris Davis. The Cubs’ Xavier Nady is among those on the Rangers’ radar. chicagotribune.com.

The cash-strapped, bankrupt Rangers can look only at cost-effective options. Thus, a guy like Nady – who’s owed just a bit over $1 million for the rest of the season – might be as good as it gets for the Rangers.

As for the Cubs, with the emergence of Tyler Colvin, Kosuke Fukudome is hardly seeing the field, let alone Xavier Nady. Whatever the Cubs could get for Nady would probably be a win.

Texas Rangers Have “Strong Interest” in Xavier Nady

Despite going balls to the wall in their acquisition of Cliff Lee late yesterday, the Texas Rangers apparently aren’t done making moves. They might like to add a first baseman after moving Justin Smoak, and that first baseman might be Xavier Nady.

The Cubs are in a listening mode for other veterans, including outfielder/first baseman Xavier Nady. The Rangers have strong interest in Nady after trading their first baseman for Lee. ESPN Chicago.

No source is given for this “strong interest” line, but I suppose it wouldn’t be shocking. Still, Nady is owed another $1.6 million (plus $2 million if he reaches a games played incentive – though I can’t seem to find what that number of games is), and the Rangers are massively cash-strapped due to their bankruptcy. They were able to take on just $2 million of Cliff Lee’s salary.

Further, they’ve called up youngster Chris Davis, who was rocking it at AAA, to play first base. So they may not be as hard up for a guy like Nady – who hasn’t yet started hitting consistently and isn’t a first baseman by trade – as you might think.

God’s Wrath Watch: Aramis Ramirez Out a Few Days with Thumb Injury

At this point, you could almost call this mercy.

Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has been dealing with a bruise of his left thumb, though he claims it is not affecting his performance. He had x-rays yesterday, and although they came back clean, he’s still going to sit for a few days.

X-rays of Aramis Ramirez’s left hand were negative Sunday, but the Cubs’ third baseman will sit for the next few days to give him time to heal and also a chance to work on his hitting.

Ramirez, who is scuffling at .160, did not play Sunday in the Cubs’ Interleague series finale against the Rangers, which they won, 5-4. He has a bruise and mild sprain of his left thumb. The problem is at the base of the thumb.

“We’re going to give him a little time off,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said after Sunday’s win. “He’s struggled at home plate. We need to give him some time. Sometimes time heals wounds. You work and you work and sometimes it’s better to get away from it totally and just relax.”

However, Ramirez’s thumb is not bad enough to prompt the Cubs to put him on the disabled list.

“According to what the trainer has told me numerous times, it’s just a bone bruise,” Piniella said. cubs.com.

Ramirez has been out of the lineup several days already in the past week, and with today’s off-day, that’s a lot of time off. So far, it hasn’t helped.

As for Ramirez being out of the lineup, the Cubs will play Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker in his absence, and will get more offensive production of the position than they’ve been getting from Ramirez. Which is sad.

Carlos Zambrano to Throw Simulated Game Tomorrow, and Return to the Rotation is Imminent

Despite repeatedly using Carlos Zambrano in a setup role after proclaiming that Zambrano would move to a long relief role in advance of a return to the rotation, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella is sticking to his word: Carlos Zambrano will be stretched out and returned to the rotation.

Zambrano, working his way back to the rotation because he prefers to start [ed: Phil Rogers wrote this, and I have no idea what he means by it], is scheduled to throw 60-65 pitches in a simulated game at Wrigley Field on Monday. He’s been pitching well out of the bullpen lately, including a strong 1 1-3-inning stint on Friday.

Manager Lou Piniella was asked if he would use Zambrano again in the series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, if he needed him to win a game, and after a long pause said he would not.

“When I give the player my word on something, I follow through with it,” Piniella said. “I think that means I’m going to rest him until Monday. I told him he would pitch in [Philadelphia], and I told him we could use him in this series. He’s done his part; I’m going to do mine.”

Piniella reported that Tom Gorzelanny got in a good workout on Saturday after taking a line drive off his pitching hand Wednesday at Philadelphia. The off day on Monday gives Piniella the option to essentially skip him this time through the rotation, especially with Zambrano’s return on the horizon, but Piniella didn’t sound like Gorzelanny would be the odd man out.

“He was throwing in Chicago, and he felt fine,” Piniella said of Gorzelanny, who is 2-4 with a 3.09 ERA in eight starts. “We’re going to get Z back in the rotation … and [after the Monday simulated game] we’ll have some decisions to make.”

Piniella ruled out a six-man rotation, meaning that one of the thus far solid starters will have to be traded, demoted or moved to the bullpen to clear room for Zambrano. Piniella isn’t sure how it will sort itself out.

“I won’t have any more until Zambrano throws Monday,” Piniella said. “We’ll see how he is when he comes to the ballpark Tuesday, and see how it shakes out.” Chicago Breaking Sports.

Piniella suggested late last week that the odd man out would be Randy Wells, but after another very good outing last night against a red-hot Rangers offense, it’s hard to imagine Wells getting the boot.

But… it’s got to be someone. A trade is what should happen, but the move might not be there. Every team in the league knows the Cubs would like to move a starter, and the Cubs aren’t looking to get bent over.

Cubs Set to Sign Bobby Howry Officially – Um, to Major League Deal

Contrary to my own speculation – you know, perfectly logical, understandable speculation – the impending Bobby Howry signing will not be for a minor league deal, despite his implosion in Arizona this year. No, it will be for a major league deal, and he’s expected to join the bullpen as early as today.

The Chicago Cubs will sign veteran relief pitcher Bob Howry to a contract on Friday before they take the field against the Texas Rangers for a three-game series, according to a source close to Howry.

Howry, who’s previously pitched for the Cubs and Chicago White Sox, was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks last weekend. The 36-year-old veteran mostly likely will be used in the sixth and seventh innings by manager Lou Piniella. ESPN Chicago.

Obviously this screams desperation – but then again, I guess the Cubs are desperate.

It also screams disaster. Howry had absolutely nothing this year in Arizona, and although his 2009 season in San Francisco was good, it was undoubtedly park-inflated (or deflated, I guess). Before that, he was with the Cubs, and, well, is there anyone here who remembers him fondly?

Howry’s arrival will spell doom for one of the arms in the pen, and although we’d love it to be John Grabow, there’s little hope there. Most likely, recent-arrival Jeff Stevens will head on back to AAA Iowa after a very brief stay with the big club.

Greg Maddux is Mentoring Like Whoa

During the offseason, the Chicago Cubs added one of the best pitchers in the history of the game to their staff – their front office staff.

Greg Maddux has been something of a roving tutor for the Cubs so far in his stint, and the various Cubs pitchers will continue to look to him for advice and support.

“[Maddux] is here to help out, and I think he just wants to stay out of the way and stay in the shadows and kind of hang out and watch baseball,” pitcher Tom Gorzelanny said. “It’s been fun having him around because of the way he is and the guy he is. He’s a funny guy.”

During Gorzelanny’s final spring start, Maddux was in the dugout, and he talked to the lefty between innings.

“If I made a mistake, he’d look at me, and I’d say, ‘Yeah, I know,’ ” Gorzelanny said.

Should the Cubs have Maddux suited up for Gorzelanny’s starts?

“I’ve got Larry,” Gorzelanny said. “Larry’s paved the way for a lot of this. [During] the small amount of time I was here last year, what Larry and I talked about was almost like a light going on. The way [Rothschild] went about explaining things was a lot easier than some of the ways before. He just simplified it. He said, ‘You know what you have, you know what you can do, so just do it. Don’t try to nitpick.’ ”

Gorzelanny, acquired last July from the Pirates, said he didn’t want to pester Rothschild too much or “he’d wring my neck.” So he bounced some things off Maddux this spring.

“This is the ideal situation for me, being on this team and being with Larry and having Greg come around every now and then,” Gorzelanny said. “It’s perfect.”

Carlos Silva feels the same way. The right-hander has one of Maddux’s No. 31 Cubs jerseys framed in his home, and it was there well before he joined the team in a December trade. Maddux’s number is one of six retired by the Cubs.

“This Spring Training for me is very special,” Silva said during camp. “To have Greg Maddux around, he’s my guy. … I was asking him the other day, ‘How can I throw a backdoor sinker to a lefty?’ It’s unbelievable — you ask him something, and the way he answers is … wow.”

“I think [Maddux] will pick up on whatever he wants to do in this game really quickly,” said assistant general manager Randy Bush, who took Maddux on a scouting assignment this spring. “He likes watching guys, and he’s really interested. And he has a good sense of humor watching games. He’s a fun guy — a lot of good one-liners.”

What will Maddux’s future in baseball be? His brother, Mike, is a pitching coach with the Rangers, but he is still deciding. He will travel to the Cubs’ Minor League camps this summer, spend time with the big league team and do some scouting.

“Where he’s more valuable for me is … I put so much pressure on myself on succeeding and doing the right thing,” pitcher Randy Wells said. “He’s good at keeping it loose and keeping it in a funny way.

“I remember one instance, I threw a pitch and I had a guy set up for a strikeout, and I chose the wrong pitch and got a ground ball. I came in, and he asked me, ‘What were you doing there? Why didn’t you throw a changeup there?’ He’s so smart. Sometimes I’ll out-think myself. I’ll think the hitter has got to be looking for it there, but so what?” cubs.com.

Don’t expect Maddux to be in the dugout, working as a true coach any time soon. But hopefully his presence will continue to be felt, even now that the “instructional” portion of the season is over, and the regular season is under way. My guess is, with Maddux’s competitive spirit, he won’t be able to stop himself.

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