Lukewarm Stove: Samardzija, Yoon, Mariners, Orioles, Wallace, More

lukewarm stoveA bit from the slowing rumor mill to round out your week …

  • The Mariners finally made a significant follow-up move to the Robinson Cano signing, inking closer Fernando Rodney to a two-year, $14 million deal. They’re also making progress on signing Nelson Cruz (who costs them only a compensatory round pick, since they already lost their first for signing Cano). I don’t see it being enough to make a paper competitor out of the Mariners, but it’ll be an interesting story to follow. The rotation is still severely lacking, and, if they aren’t going to pick up a starter in free agency, who knows? Maybe adding a couple more pieces like Rodney and Cruz compels them to try and make a trade for someone like David Price or Jeff Samardzija.
  • Jim Bowden says Bronson Arroyo is going to wind up with the Dodgers or the Diamondbacks, and Joel Sherman says his asking price is down to two years and $22 million. In this market, that’s really not a bad deal for Arroyo, who offers no upside, but limited downside as a reliable back-end starter. If Bowden is right that the Orioles are out, you wonder where they’re going to find their long-awaited pitcher. A.J. Burnett, right? … well …
  • Roch Kubatko says the sense is that Burnett really wants to say in the NL. So the pitcher for the Orioles could be Ubaldo Jimenez or Suk-Min Yoon (or Arroyo).
  • Speaking of Yoon, Paul Sullivan offers a pessimistic take on the chance the Korean righty winds up with the Cubs, despite the fact that the team scouted him in person this week. The reason is what you’d expect: the price tag on Yoon is probably going to be too high for the Cubs. Keep in mind what I said earlier in the week: even if the Cubs like Yoon as an “asset accumulation” piece (he’s just 27) and value him appropriately in that regard, other teams that still need starting pitching for 2014 have an extra incentive to get Yoon right now. In other words, another team might appropriately value Yoon at $8 million per year over two years (he’s worth that much to their team given their expected competitiveness), while the Cubs value him at just $5 million per year over two years.
  • At the outset of the offseason, I started openly wondering at what point the pendulum of young players signing extensions swings back toward them preferring to hold out for free agency, given the exploding free agent salaries across baseball. Dave Cameron takes on a similar topic when discussing the eight-year, $135 million extension the Braves just gave Freddie Freeman – the angle there is not so much the pendulum of choices swinging, but instead the pendulum of teams having to pay WAY more to lock these guys up. So maybe both the teams and the players will start viewing free agency as a more attractive option once again in the next few years.
  • Any interest in taking a flyer on Brett Wallace? The Astros just DFA’d the 27-year-old to make room for Jerome Williams, and he could still have some upside (young, former top 50 prospect, always crushed in the minors). The problem is that he pretty much only plays first base at this point (though he’s played a little third base in the minors the last few years), he bats lefty, and he’s out of options. Seems like the kind of guy the Cubs would like to have around (for the upside), but I’m not sure I see a reasonable fit.
  • More on the Yankees’ rumored plan to destroy the international market this year.
  • 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.

    more cubs news

    WAKE UP, BASEBALL IS BACK

    The day has arrived. Opening Day. The most glorious day on the baseball calendar, save for the day of each Chicago Cubs World Series win, of course. See, I get to say things like that on Opening Day. Maybe the...

    Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

    Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

    The 2024 Chicago Cubs for Dummies

    Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...

    Why Craig Counsell Wanted Miles Mastrobuoni on the Cubs’ Bench

    I don't know why Miles Mastrobuoni bugs some folks, but it's probably heavily-weighted toward his small-sample, bad-batted-ball-luck start last year, and that time he didn't dive while playing in right field. It can be hard to shake initial impressions, I...

    Kinda Sounds Like Craig Counsell May Have a Set Top Three in the Batting Order

    New Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has said, generally, his batting order philosophy is the very simplistic (and very correct): just get your best hitters the most at bats. Sure, there's some play in that to set up good match-ups,...

    Los Angeles Dodgers Signing Will Smith to a TEN-YEAR Extension

    The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again. And by it, I mean they have signed a funkily-structured contract that is going to leave some folks annoyed. The Dodgers are extending catcher Will Smith on a DECADE-long deal with a...

    The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview

    On Monday, during a team-building conversation with some of the Bleacher Nation and Betsperts Media Group folks, we discussed sports—shocking, I know—and Brian Twining asked the group what their favorite sport was. For me, it's baseball. There's no debate. I...

    We Have to Talk About Some of the “Deals” the Cubs Sat Out in Free Agency

    This week, in a conversation with Jon Greenberg at The Athletic, Cubs President Jed Hoyer made an honest and sober (but also moderately disappointing) admission about the 2024 Chicago Cubs: "We need to perform probably at or a little bit...

    The Chicago Cubs Are Reportedly Now Worth Over $5 Billion

    Given all the tumult in the baseball broadcasting world, and the uncertain future for that portion of revenues, you'd be forgiven for expecting that MLB franchise valuations would slow their recent surge. But, according to Sportico at least, you'd be...

    Reds Second Baseman Matt McLain Had Shoulder Surgery

    The injury to Matt McLain's shoulder issue obviously wound up being worse than he and the Cincinnati Reds had been hoping. The damage to his left (non-throwing) labrum ultimately required surgery: https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1772993402604339478 When the hope is that a guy can...

    Latest News

    WAKE UP, BASEBALL IS BACK

    The day has arrived. Opening Day. The most glorious day on the baseball calendar, save for the day of each Chicago Cubs World Series win, of course. See, I get to say things like that on Opening Day. Maybe the...

    Pac-12 Basketball Predictions, Computer Picks and Best Bets | March 28

    There is one game featuring a Pac-12 teams on the Thursday postseason college basketball schedule, the Clemson Tigers versus the Arizona Wildcats. Make sure you check out below for today's best bets!How to Bet on Pac-12 Games[lasso rel="draftkings-promo-1" id="299003"]Best Pac-12...

    Rays vs. Blue Jays Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Tampa Bay Rays look to start their season with a win as home favorites (-135) in a season-opening matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on MLB Network, live from Tropicana...

    Astros vs. Yankees Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Houston Astros look to start their season with a win as home favorites (-156) in a season-opening matchup with the New York Yankees. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on YES, live from Minute Maid Park.Houston's...

    Tigers vs. White Sox Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Detroit Tigers begin their season as -181 favorites in a road tilt against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on BSDET.Tarik Skubal starts for Detroit while Garrett Crochet is Chicago's starter for the contest.Tigers...

    Reds vs. Nationals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Cincinnati Reds begin their season as -154 favorites in a home tilt against the Washington Nationals on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, live on MASN2.Cincinnati's Frankie Montas gets the start, and he'll go against Washington's Josiah Gray.Reds vs. Nationals...

    Dodgers vs. Cardinals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Los Angeles Dodgers (1-1) will look to Will Smith, red hot after a four-hit game, to lead them in a matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals (0-0) on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on BSMW. The Dodgers are -232...

    Marlins vs. Pirates Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Miami Marlins look to start their season with a win as home favorites (-133) in a season-opening matchup with the Pittsburgh Pirates. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on Sportsnet PT, live from LoanDepot park.Miami's Jesus...

    Padres vs. Giants Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The San Francisco Giants (0-0) are the underdogs on the moneyline (-106) in Thursday's contest against the San Diego Padres (1-1). Game time is set for 4:10 PM ET on NBCS-BA. The Giants are favored against the spread in this...

    Twins vs. Royals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Minnesota Twins look to start their season with a win as road favorites (-122) in a season-opening matchup with the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET on BSN, live from Kauffman Stadium.Pablo Lopez...

    more cubs news