NEWSLETTER
Late last week, the Chicago Cubs reportedly entered negotiations with reliever Kiko Calero to fill the “need” for another right-handed, late-inning reliever. For whatever reason, those talks have cooled – with some speculating that Calero is holding out for a two-year deal, and the Cubs wisely sticking to a one-year offer, given Calero’s shoulder issues.
In the meantime, the Cubs have apparently started looking elsewhere, and their gaze has landed firmly on Chan Ho Park, according to Jon Heyman. Together with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cubs are looking at Park for a bullpen spot following his successful – if not great – stint in Philadelphia last year. Park, who will be 37 next year, has had a roller coaster career – in his younger days, he was a successful starter before falling off the map. He reclaimed his career in 2008, putting together a great season for the Dodgers.
Park has started and pitched out of the pen the past two years, so the Cubs could be viewing him as another possibility to compete for a spot at the back end of the rotation. If the Cubs land him, hopefully it’s just for the pen: Park was dominant as a reliever last year for the Phillies, but as a starter, he couldn’t keep his ERA under 7.
At the outset of the offseason, Park turned down a $3 million offer from the Phillies, so one has to wonder what he’s expecting to get now. Presumably he would prefer more than one year, and probably more than $3 million per, but he’s highly unlikely to get both of those desires satisfied. At a minimum, let’s hope he doesn’t get them satisfied from the Cubs. Assuming he’s re-thought his previously rejection, a one year $3 million deal would be just fine.
