Winter Meetings: Day One

Here’s your 60-second rundown of all things Chicago Cubs with respect to the 2010 MLB Winter Meetings, which got underway in Orlando today:

  • The Cubs were briefly connected to a James Loney trade from the Dodgers, but that rumor was skuttled in favor of a possible Loney/Jonathan Broxton/Prince Fielder swap. At present, even that rumor looks to be of shake legitimacy.
  • Speaking of the Brewers, they had a busy day. In addition to the Loney rumors, they were internally discussing making Prince Fielder available generally. If they do so, you’d have to believe the Cubs would at least kick the tires. The Brewers also completed a deal with the Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum, swapping second base prospect Brett Lawrie. The team is also making center field prospect Lorenzo Cain available.
  • The Cubs are still talking to/about Brandon Webb, though some are starting to speculate that, because of the number of interested teams, Webb could end up getting a significant, guaranteed one-year deal. If that’s the case, the Cubs would be wise to avoid the situation.
  • Carlos Pena remains the Cubs’ favorite free agent first base target, but he’s being pursued heavily by the Blue Jays (and less heavily by the Orioles, who are slightly wary of his (still-unannounced) asking price).
  • Zach Greinke is being made available by the Royals, and he is willing to waive his no-trade clause in any trade. Despite his elite status, and relatively reasonable contract ($27 million over the next two years), the Cubs have not yet had any rumored interest.
  • And the only actual Cubs news of the day? The Cubs announced Mark Riggins, former minor league pitching instructor, as the team’s new pitching coach, replacing Larry Rothschild. The move was expected, and (coincidently?) will save the Cubs some money.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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