Posts tagged ‘offseason moves’

As discussed in today’s episode (download – mp3) the Cubs are closing in on signing John Grabow for two years and upwards of $7.5 million, which is getting plenty of Cubs fans talking (always a good thing). I’m of the opinion that it’s a fair price for a guy that could solidify the left-hand side of the bullpen in 2010.

The Cubs made another move today, sending RHP Aaron Heilman to the D-Backs for two prospects, which most Cubs fans are probably very excited to see.

The fly in my ice cube is when Cub fans are fed the following information, as excerpted from an article on the moves by Bruce Levine:

With a projected $140 million payroll, general manager Jim Hendry was in a position where he had to move peripheral arbitration-eligible players in order to find money for veterans such as reliever John Grabow, who is expected to sign a two-year, $7.5 million contract by the end of the weekend.

It would not be incorrect to say that some of the money saved in the Heilman trade will go toward Grabow’s contract, which will increase about $1 million a year.

This agitates me a bit not because trading Heilman is a bad move (though I would have kept him and settled his arbitration case), but because it infers that Jim Hendry has an airtight budget this offseason. I’d thought that the DeRosa salary dump after 2008 and the fact that Hendry never tried to negotiate a multi-year deal with Kerry Wood that same offseason were anomalies. Until proven otherwise, this is the new status quo for the Cubs. The $300 million offseason happened because an ownership group was ramping up towards a sale.

How an airtight budget fits into a “win this year at all costs” philosophy is anyone’s guess, because to me it’s oil and water.

Anyway, something to keep an eye on. Levine also made mention of Fontenot possibly not being a Cub in 2010 for salary reasons.

As announced in Monday’s episode (download – mp3), the Cubscast Photo Caption Contest is back! To submit an entry, simply click on the photo below and enter your caption as a comment. Everyone is welcome to participate (even if you’re on a limited offseason spending plan). First prize this week is a Cubscast Prize Pack which includes a Cubs-related book. Official Photo Caption Contest Rules.

(Photo Credit: Charles Andersen)

Congrats to Roger, the winner of this contest! Roger’s winning caption: Learning of the possible deal to the Cubs, Granderson’s first order of business is to practice his NLDS sweep look.

Contest ended on Sunday November 22nd at 10 p.m. CT..

Thanks to everyone that participated!