It seems vulgar to obsess about stupid little rumors in light of the sadness we’re all feeling today. But – as I heard once – time moves constantly, and in one direction.
So we move, too.
With the Chicago Cubs satisfied to sit out the middle tier starting pitcher signings – Jon Garland, Jorge De La Rosa, Javier Vazquez, etc. – they’ve started to look instead at the high upside, high risk, reclamation starting pitchers. But even those guys are being gobbled up quickly: Erik Bedard has gone back to the Mariners, Zach Duke is going to sign with the Diamondbacks, Jeff Francis is probably going to sign with the Mets, etc.
One guy still in the mix for the Cubs is former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb, who hasn’t pitched in the bigs since Opening Day 2009. According to Jerry Crasnick, the Cubs are picking up their pursuit of Webb – no doubt in response to the other options flying off the board – together with the Nationals.
It remains unclear what it will take to sign Webb, in large part because his medical status is a bit of an unknown to the public. Unless he gets a mega-blessing from a serious of doctors, it’s hard to see him getting a ML deal (i.e., guaranteed), save maybe a minimum with incentives. A split deal is a possibility, where Webb would sign a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. From there, if he makes the team, he graduates to a big league deal with a stated value (something more than the Major League minimum).