NEWSLETTER
I have speculated ever since it became clear that Jason Marquis was on the way out the door that among the options Jim Hendry would consider to round out the rotation would be Randy Wolf. You’ll recall, the Cubs flirted with the idea (hey there idea, you look hot) of signing Wolf when he was a free agent a couple of years ago, before signing – you guessed it – Jason Marquis.
Much like in the lineup, Hendry seems hell bent on getting righty/lefty balance into the rotation. Bruce Miles, in his Cubs Caravan wrap-up:
Free-agent lefty Randy Wolf remains a possibility for the back of the rotation. Wolf was 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA last year between San Diego and Houston. DailyHerald.com Blogs.
Now, it’s unclear whether that is coming directly from Hendry, or if it is simply Miles’ speculation. The comments comes directly in the middle of several Hendry quotes, so I’m guess that at a minimum, the vibe comes from Hendry.
Two thoughts after the jump:
1.) I know what you’re thinking: why dump Jason Marquis just so that you can replace him with Randy Wolf? Especially when poor Sean Marshall is just crying for a chance to start again. As a starter in 2007, his ERA+ matched Rich Hill’s that year. Hill was expected to be a mid-rotation starter the next year, and Marshall was banished. Shrug.
2.) If it’s not going to be Peavy, I don’t hate it. Yes, Wolf was 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA overall last year, but after arriving in the NL Central, he was pretty darn good: 6-2, 3.57 ERA and a 119 ERA+ (ironically the same as Sean Marshall’s in 2007).
