So far this off season has been pretty weak as far as big moves trade wise. We have seen four top tier free agents find new homes though. Mark Buerhle and Jose Reyes signed with the Miami Marlins and Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson sign with the Angels. Aramis Ramirez signed with the Brewers but that wasn't as big of news as what many were probably thinking of. Prince still has not signed anywhere and I think we can thank Scott Boras for that considering he is trying to get Pujols dollars and years. Right now rumor has it that the Nationals are the front runners in the Fielder sweepstakes. They may not offer him the years Pujols got though they may make him the highest paid player annually.
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On to my team the Cubs. Theo has signed David DeJesus to play right field. I'm not mad about this move even though a lot of Cubs fans are. The guy won't hit 30 HRs but he will get on base, steal bases and possibly drive in some runs even from the lead off spot where he is projected to hit. Theo traded Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu to the Rockies for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers. I like this move a lot. We get a pretty good third baseman in Stewart and a pitching prospect. Tyler Colvin just didn't hit. I was a big Colvin fan so this trade was a little disappointing in that aspect, but I hope going to Colorado will be a good thing for him. DJ LeMahieu could be good and he showed flashes of being good, but he was still unproven. We know what we are in store for with Stewart. He won't replace Ramirez's numbers but really, who would they get that could? Sean Marshall was moved to Cincinnati for Travis Wood and two low level prospects. I wasn't happy about this as I said before, but I understand it. We get a guy with a ton of potential in Wood that is under club control for the next 5 years. Marshall was a FA at the end of this year and no guarantee that the Cubs would be able to sign him. They signed Jeff Bianchi off of the Royals roster in the Rule 5 draft. This one made no sense to me but maybe Hoyer and Theo have seen something in him that I don't so I won't say it was a bad signing. Earlier last week they signed Sonnastine and Corpas to split contracts which could prove to be a good thing. Both are decent relievers who could shore up the bullpen quite nicely. Corpas coming off of Tommy John surgery is a bit of a gamble that could pay off huge. He was a big contributor to the Rockies World Series run in 07. Sonnastine is another low risk huge reward kind of pitcher. Theo got plenty of chances to look at him when he was with the Sox and they faced Tampa. Matt Garza is on the trading block apparently. Even after Theo said he is the kind of pitcher that you build around. I would like to see him stay with the Cubs and get a 4 or 5 year deal worked out. He is a young pitching stud who needs some offense behind him. He should have easily won 18 games last year if not more. The bullpen (Marmol) blew a lead 8 or 9 times in which Garza pitched. If they do trade him, I hope they get a lot in return since Hendry gave up 4 highly touted prospects for him last year. Zambrano needs to go. They have given him to many chances and in my mind if they can't trade him, they need to cut him. He is a time bomb waiting to explode even more than what he has already done. If they can't trade him, eat the 18 million that is owed to him and have a better chemistry in the clubhouse.
