Cubs Roster Crunch a-Comin’
For the first time since the last week of Spring Training, there is a roster crunch a-comin', as Henry Blanco (Saturday), Daryle Ward (Monday), and Aramis Ramirez (a week from Friday) are all eligible to be reactivated from the DL next week.
There are five position players presently on the Cubs 25-man roster who have both minor league options left AND less than five years of MLB Service Time (so that they cannot refuse an optional assignment):
Mike Fontenot
Matt Murton
Angel Pagan
Felix Pie
Ryan Theriot
Koyie Hill is out of minor league options, so if the Cubs want to send him back to Iowa to make room for Blanco, K. Hill will first have to clear Outright Waivers (which are irrevocable). And because he was outrighted previously in his career, Hill will have the option to be a free-agent even if he does clear waivers (although when a player who has the option be a free-agent after being outrighted is outrighted during the season, he will normally accept the outright assignment, because otherwise he gives up his major league contract and minimum $60K minor league split).
Also, as of Saturday (June 16th), the following players signed or re-signed by the Cubs as Type XX FAs after last season will no longer have automatic "no trade" rights:
Henry Blanco
Mark DeRosa
Cliff Floyd
Ted Lilly
Jason Marquis
Daryle Ward
Kerry Wood
(Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano were also signed as Type XX FAs after last season, but like Derrek Lee, they have long-term iron-clad "no trade" rights in their contracts independent of the rights they get per the CBA).
So when Blanco, Ward, and Ramirez are ready to be reactivated next week, what will the Cubs do?
First of all, it's extremely unlikely that Lou Piniella would want to cut back to 11 pitchers, because he almost got stuck on Sunday when he had 12 pitchers on the roster (and as long as Jason Marquis and Carlos Zambrano can PH on days they aren't pitching, a five-man bench isn't really a "five-man bench").
I would think when Blanco gets reactivated, K. Hill gets placed on Outright Waivers, and the Cubs hope he clears waivers and can be outrighted to AAA, and that he will not exercise his right to be a FA until after the end of the '07 season. (And as I said, players normally accept outright assignments when they happen during the season).
When Daryle Ward is reactivated, the Cubs could option Angel Pagan to Iowa, as long as Uncle Lou feels comfortable with Felix Pie playing CF against LHP. Otherwise, the Cubs might try to trade Ward (if anybody is interested), or they might even just place him on Release Waivers and eat the remainder of his 2007 contract (with a $1M salary, Ward will only be owed about $600K if he gets released, minus whatever his new club pays him, which would normally be a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum, probably somewhere around $200K, so that it would only cost the Cubs $400K net to release Ward). It's fairly obvious that Daryle Ward has no place with the Cubs. (Because DeRosa can play 1B if anything happens to D-Lee, and because Floyd, Jones, Fontenot, and Pagan all can provide LH bats off the bench, Ward is a misfit on the Cubs roster as it is presently structured, but there are probably other MLB teams where he would be a good fit as a LHPH and occasional 1B).
And when Ramirez is reactived, the Cubs will probably choose to option either Pagan, Fontenot, or Murton to Iowa at that time.
If it's Murton (and I think that's most-likely candidate right now), it would be for the expressed purpose of getting him more regular ABs and PT in RF at AAA. Then while Murton is at Iowa, Mark DeRosa could go back and forth between 2B and RF (platooning with Cliff Floyd and/or Jacque Jones in RF as needed), with Angel Pagan the late-inning defensive replacement in RF. Or (again) if the Cubs feel comfortable with Pie playing CF against LHP, Angel Pagan could get optioned out when Ramirez returns. Or Fontenot could be the Odd Man Out when Ramirez returns to the active roster.
Meanwhile Hendry will probably be working overtime trying to find a taker for either Jacque Jones or Cliff Floyd, opening up a spot for whoever gets sent out when Ramirez returns, although Jones does have a "limited no trade" right in his contract that allows him to refuse a trade to certain MLB clubs that were designated by Jones prior to the start of the season.
FREE-AGENTS AFTER 2007:
Michael Barrett
Scott Eyre (player option for 2008)
Cliff Floyd (player option if vested, or else club option for 2008)
Cesar Izturis (club option with buy-out for 2008)
Wade Miller
Daryle Ward (club option for 2008)
Kerry Wood
Carlos Zambrano
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE AFTER 2007:
Mark Prior
Neal Cotts
Roberto Novoa (could be “Super Two” if he remains on 60-day DL)
Michael Wuertz (as long as he remains on 25-man roster for entire 2007 season)
SIGNED BEYOND 2007:
Ryan Dempster (thru 2008, then FA)
Bob Howry (thru 2008, then FA)
Jacque Jones (thru 2008, then FA)
Will Ohman (thru 2008, then FA)
Henry Blanco (thru 2008 + club option with buy-out for 2009)
Mark DeRosa (thru 2009, then FA)
Jason Marquis (thru 2009, then FA)
Derrek Lee (thru 2010, then FA)
Ted Lilly (thru 2010, then FA)
Aramis Ramirez (thru 2010 + 2011 player option & 2012 mutual option)
Jeff Samardzija (thru 2011 + mutual options for 2012 & 2013)
Alfonso Soriano (thru 2014, then FA)
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MINOR LEAGUE OPTION STATUS (6-11-2007):
* Can only be optioned to minors after clearing Major League Waivers
BOLD indicates player’s minor league option has been exercised for 2007
NOTE: A minor league option for a particular season is exercised once a player has spent at least 20 days (aggregate total) on optional assignment to the minors in that season (count starts on MLB Opening Day)
NO MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT:
Koyie Hill
ONE MINOR LEAGUE OPTION LEFT:
* Ronny Cedeno (will be out of minor league options ST 2008)
Angel Guzman (19 days on optional assignment so far in 2007)
* Rich Hill
* Roberto Novoa (on 60-day DL)
* Will Ohman
* Geovany Soto (will be out of minor league options ST 2008)
* Michael Wuertz
TWO MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT:
* Neal Cotts (will have one minor league option left ST 2008)
Brian Dopirak (will have one minor league option left ST 2008)
Mike Fontenot (will have one minor league option left ST 2008)
Carlos Marmol (will have one minor league option left ST 2008)
Scott Moore (will have one minor league option left ST 2008)
Angel Pagan (will have one minor league option left ST 2008)
Felix Pie (will have one minor league option left ST 2008)
* Mark Prior (60-day DL)
* Ryan Theriot
THREE MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS LEFT:
Rocky Cherry (will have two minor league options left ST 2008)
Buck Coats (will have two minor league options left ST 2008)
Sean Gallagher
Sean Marshall (will have two minor league options left ST 2008)
Juan Mateo (10 days on optional assignment so far in 2007)
* Matt Murton
Clay Rapada (will have two minor league options left ST 2008)
FOUR MINOR LEAGUE OPTIONS:
Jeff Samardzija (will have three minor league options left ST 2008)
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