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Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
We're about three weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting and Hendry still has at least two moves to make and possibly up to four if the latest from Jon Morosi is to be believed.
The top priorities remain the bullpen and fourth outfielder and according to Morosi, Xavier Nady has floated to the top of the Cubs' wish list. His agent is Scott Boras though and much like all the players the Cubs are interested in, his demands will have to lower into the Cubs price range. Otherwise, Reed Johnson, Rocco Baldelli or Johnny Gomes are the other options.
On the bullpen front, things with Kiko Calero have cooled. No other names are mentioned.
Another starting pitcher is more a want than a need and Ben Sheets is asking too much at the moment.
Finally, the Cubs have shown some past interest in Adam Kennedy and Orlando Hudson, but like starting pitching, not a big priority. If an upgrade at second base is available at the right price, then the Cubs could make a move although I fail to see how Kennedy would be an upgrade.
Comments
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
If there is any GM who could be termed "friendly" with Scott Boras, it's fellow failed minor league player Jim Hendry. They get along very well. So signing Boras client Xavier Nady would not be a problem for Hendry, as long as the Cubs believe Nady can make all the necessary throws from RF (Nady had his second career TJS last year).
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Nady sounds like a good choice to me. Here's hopin'.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Nady would be fine, I suppose. He would bump Hoffpauir or Fuld off the roster, I wonder? Mostly likely bump Hoffpauir unless they'd let Kosuke play center again. Eh?
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
most likely Hoffpauir, but I'm sure it would likely be a competition in spring training. I would guess they'd be comfortable with Fukudome as a back-up center fielder if it came down to that.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Poor MIcah. Dan S projects a decent stick for a bench bat, but who knows about projections?
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/ora...
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 3:33pm.
most likely Hoffpauir, but I'm sure it would likely be a competition in spring training. I would guess they'd be comfortable with Fukudome as a back-up center fielder if it came down to that.
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ROB G: Micah Hoffpauir would probably have trouble winning a job if the Cubs aign a right-handed hitting OF other than Rocco Baldelli or Reed Johnson, because somebody has to be the late-inning defensive replacement for Soriano in LF, and right now that's Sam Fuld's job to lose.
I think one way Hoffpauir could make the Cubs Opening Day 25-man roster is if Jeff Baker plays 2B everyday and Andres Blanco is the only back-up at both SS and 2B, making Mike Fontenot's slot available. But Hoffpauir would have to outhit Fontenot in Spring Training, and even then Piniella might want two back-up middle-infielders even if Hoffpauir shows the better bat.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Baker, Theriot, Blanco and Fountainout? Sounds like Pinhead already has four backup middle infielders.
What do you think the relationship between Barney/Blanco and Castro is going to be. If Castro looks great in ST is he going to get a starting gig at AAA or does Barney's presence block him, or do they both have a chance to knock off Blanco for the MLB spot?
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 5:03pm.
Baker, Theriot, Blanco and Fountainout? Sounds like Pinhead already has four backup middle infielders.
What do you think the relationship between Barney/Blanco and Castro is going to be. If Castro looks great in ST is he going to get a starting gig at AAA or does Barney's presence block him, or do they both have a chance to knock off Blanco for the MLB spot?
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REAL NEAL: I think Blanco gets the MLB back-up SS-2B gig, Barney is the starting SS at Iowa, Castro is the SS at AA, LeMahieu is the SS at Daytona, and Hak-Ju Lee and Logan Watkins remain together at Peoria.
Castro is the type of prospect who might not see one day of AAA. To me, AAA is a place for players who need additional polish in order to become major leaguers because they are a bit short on talent. The best talent goes directly from AA to the big leagues.
My question is how Piniella will manage the transition, as Theriot is replaced by Barney or Castro.
What if Theriot continues to perform as he has for the past couple of years? That's probabbly good enough for Uncle Lou, but what if Barney and/or Castro exert roster pressure from below? Would Hendry do an end run on Piniella and force Lou to play Barney or Castro by moving Theriot in a trade? Or has it already been decided by Hendry/Piniella/Fleita that when Barney or Castro are ready, Theriot gets moved to 2nd base? And if that is the case, what if Jeff Baker is playing well at 2B at that time?
I'm not sure that Lou Piniella is the guy I would want to be the Cubs manager with young middle-infielders like Barney and Castro nearly-ready, especially if they are legitimate prospects and it gets to the point they are clearly ready.
Having Barney and Castro in big league camp should (hopefully) help Piniella get a feel for what they can do.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
"What do you think the relationship between Barney/Blanco and Castro is going to be."
I don't think they'll be anything more than friends. I mean, there's some sparks there, but they work together. They know better than to get involved.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Nothing new from Morosi here.
While I get the need for a good 4th OF, the desire for a short-term upgrade at 2B and maybe some SP insurance to cover Lilly, I'm not sure that I get the need for another righty RP.
For the right side of the pen, I count Marmol, Guzman, at least one (and possibly both) of Silva/Samardjzia, Rule 5 guy Parisi, Gray, and the kids (Caridad, Berg, Stevens, Patton, Atkins and Parker) competing for a total of 4-5 spots. From the left side, Grabow and at least one (maybe both) of Gorzelanny and Marshall are locks for the pen as well. Gaub is a longshot too. That's about 15 legit contenders for 6-7 pen jobs.
Dealing off some promising kids for a guy like Frasor (and his $2.65 million salary) only makes sense if there is real concern about Guzman's durability (and a guy like Calero makes no sense at all).
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Guzman was pretty lucky when you look at his peripherals last year, throw in his injury history and that leaves Marmol as the only thing resembling reliable from the right side. Almost all those other guys have options left, and with injuries and performance being pretty volatile when it comes to your pen, not a bad idea to get someone else back there. Depends on the someone else of course.
Calero on a one year deal is pretty low risk imo. He's good when healthy and if he gets hurt, then all those other names get a shot.
Not to mention Cashner or Jackson could get opportunities if they're tearing up the minors.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Hendry believes that 80% of baseball is pitching, and I could see whey he would want to give a manager like Lou another experienced arm in the pen.
But the Dodgers had it right when they used middle relief to break in their promising young pitchers, and with our budget constraints, it makes even more sense for us.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
What I like about Xavier Nady when compared to Jonny Gomes and Jermaine Dye is that while he has played mostly RF, Nady has the atleticism to play all three OF positions and 1B (and even some 3B in a pinch), while Gomes and Dye are strictly corner outfielders with no experience at 1B.
Also, Nady is a better hitter than Gomes (who is a strikeout machine and a terrible PH), and Nady is seven years younger than Dye (who had a really bad second-half last year and looked like he might be was washed-up).
And Nady is the kind of a guy who can play everyday for an extended period if necessary (he hits both LHP and RHP). And if he wants a two-year deal, that would be OK, because the Cubs are probably going to need to platoon Fukudome again in 2011, too, so that what Nady would bring to the Cubs in 2010 would almost certainly be needed again in 2011.
Again, my main concern with Nady is whether after having his second career TJS last year (and missing most of the season as a result) he can still make strong throws from RF, or if he has become a rag-arm DH.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Does Hendry have an aversion to weak-throwing players? We have Ryan Theriot playing SS and at various times in the pat had Juan Pierre playing CF and Jacque Jones playing RF and CF. How pitiful would Nady's arm have to be to make him a bigger liability in the outfield than Soriano, anyway?
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Submitted by Charlie on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 4:25pm.
Does Hendry have an aversion to weak-throwing players? We have Ryan Theriot playing SS and at various times in the pat had Juan Pierre playing CF and Jacque Jones playing RF and CF. How pitiful would Nady's arm have to be to make him a bigger liability in the outfield than Soriano, anyway?
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CHARLIE: My main concern with Nady is whether his arm (elbow) is up to making strong throws from RF. That doesn't mean it's a concern of Hendry's. In fact, it's probably not a big deal to him. I'm just saying Nady's arm-strength should be an issue, not that it is.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Point taken.
Thanks, Phil!
Re: Does Hendry have an aversion to weak-throwing players?
We should be so lucky.
Re:
If Nady was such a good hitter he wouldn't have this much trouble finding work. For their careers, Gomes and Nady have had the same OPS+ (OPS to league average adjusted for park factors) but Gomes has played in baseball's tougher league and toughest division for most of his carreer.
I agree about the defensive flexibility, but Baker already offers a similar skill set.
The best thing would probably be as suggested above, use young guys for the bullpen, and then sign Hudson and push Baker to reserve and Fountainout to the SS/2B backup spot.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Somebody remind me just why the Rox let Baker get away? Was it simply the injury? He had a reasonable rebound in the 2nd half. Did I hear say Lou he thought Baker would be good batting 5th?
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
he was coming off the 60-day DL and they didn't have room on their active roster or anywhere to play him...and he sucks.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
I think the last point is most important. I am just glad that Hendry doesn't repeat the mistake of anointing someone the starter at second base based on what he did in half a season. Oh, wait! Scratch that.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
fwiw...
over the last 3 years, their splits
Nady in 227 AB's
vs LHP: 278/358/454 812
vs RHP: 297/340/504 844
Gomes in 296 AB's
vs LHP: 267/341/503 844
vs RHP: 223/307/456 763
for their career, Nady at 5.8% BB/9, 19.9% K/9 and a .342 wOBA, Gomes at 9.9% BB/9 and 32.2% K/9 and .344 wOBA
I'd prefer Nady myself if he can throw.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
it's a decent arm when it's not falling off...which is pretty much yearly.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
The thing that gets me about Nady is that he has gone from being the opening day starting right fielder for the Yankees, to being viewed as a valuable free agent being looked at for a starting gig (in Atlanta and elsewhere), and now he has fallen to being looked at as a potential platoon partner or 4th OF.
And he's the same player he was at the beginning of last year when he was the starter for the eventual World Champions. The only thing that changed was he had (a second) TJS.
I don't get the impression that teams are overly concerned with players who have TJS. It's fairly routine these days. And yet, poor Nady's stock has plummeted.
Re:
I don't get the impression that teams are overly concerned with players who have TJS. It's fairly routine these days.
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I'd agree with the above especially for position players except that this is his SECOND Tommy John surgery. The basic operation takes a tendon graft from the forearm from a small tendon called the palmaris longus.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http:/...
On a second surgery they have to take a graft from somewhere else. Other sites are available (the other arm or a tendon from the calf (plantaris) but that means he's gonna have two limbs involved to recovery. I'm not sure why his graft failed but it's pretty unusual for this to happen (expecially when it's not a pitcher). This would make me a bit leary too (Chad Fox alert!) but my guess is he'll be OK.
Nady is the best mix of hitter with some power and defensive RF for a righty bat. If his arm isn't right though and he can't throw that's a problem for RF (but not as much for LF or PH), Reed Johnson is probably the next best option. I thought about Gomes as I do like his power... but I don't like his K rate and his defense is bad.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
If his defense is bad, wouldn't Kukudome replace him in the 7th anyway? (that is, after we have a 7 or 8 run lead)
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
"For their careers, Gomes and Nady have had the same OPS+ (OPS to league average adjusted for park factors) but Gomes has played in baseball's tougher league and toughest division for most of his carreer."
As you note, OPS+ is already adjusted. The tougher league and division have already been accounted for, so Gomes doesn't get extra points for them.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
Wrong.
"OPS+: This is OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) as measured against league average with ballpark effects taken into consideration. "
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
OPS+ is calculated relative to the league of the player.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/bat_g...
"...6.Using these adjusted values compute what the league average player would have hit lgOBP*, lgSLG* in a park."
So a 100 OPS+ in the NL in 2009 is equal performance to a 100 OPS+ in the AL in 2009, even if the AL player had better OBP or SLG.
Re: Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Nady and Kennedy
There's no mention in there about adjusting across leagues or about quality of competition. Read it again.
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