The Cubs appear finally made their move to acquire a starting pitcher, agreeing in principle with Jason Hammel on Friday. Hammel pitched for the Orioles in 2012 and 2013 after spending three years in Colorado. Jeff Passan has the details. Sources: Jason Hammel's deal with the Cubs is for one year. Should fall somewhere in the $6M range. Really nice sign. Could …
Cubs Lose Out on Tanaka
The Cubs’ primary free agent target of the offseason is now off the table. Masahiro Tanaka agreed to terms with the Yankees today on a 7 year/ $155 million deal. Ken Rosenthal broke the news this morning, following up with the tidbit that the Cubs were indeed among the finalists. Phil Rogers hears the same, that the Cubs were in …
Javier Baez to play some 2nd base this spring
I think most of thought that if Javier Baez had to be moved off shortstop, which seemed an almost certainty after he was drafted, that he would shift to 3rd base. He made himself into a decent enough shortstop to stick there through the minors and some even said he could stick. It still seems like he'll probably have to …
Tanaka to the Cubs Seems More and More Likely, So Prepare Yourself For Doom
Over the last few days, we've seen ramblings here and there that have indicated the Cubs are heavily in on Masahiro Tanaka. Jayson Stark tweeted about owners talking about the Cubs. Bruce Levine tweeted this morning that he had a source that the Cubs were believed to be the front-runners. Now, Tom Loxas has tweeted specifics of the offer: Heard #Cubs …
Masahiro Tanaka posted, Cubs won’t be outbid?
The Golden Eagles will post Masahiro Tanaka and David Kaplan says that one source told him the Cubs will not be outbid. I just spoke w/an MLB source who believes Cubs will not be outbid on Tanaka. He also said convincing Tanaka to come to Chgo will be hard. — David Kaplan (@thekapman) December 24, 2013
Why I Wouldn’t Post Masahiro Tanaka
When the MLB strongarmed the NPB into this new posting system, we heard a lot of arguments as to why Tanaka would still be posted. 20 million dollars is a ton of money, even if it isn't the perhaps 75 million that the Golden Eagles were on track to get. However, as of late, the President of Rakuten hasn't really …
Samardzija signs a $55m extension? UPDATE: Nope.
All the baseball writers were apparently scooped by the ESPN coverage of today's Indiana-ND game. Had 2 rewind DVR 2 make sure heard it right, but ESPN's Indiana-ND hoops broadcast said Jeff Samardzija has resigned w/ #Cubs for $55 mil. — Dan Hayes (@DanHayesCSN) December 14, 2013 No word on years, but $55 was around the number that we were …
Rakuten President won’t post Masahiro Tanaka?
Following the announced agreement that the maximum bid for a posted Japanase player would be $20 million, it made it less likely that Masahiro Tanaka would be posted. According to this, the team president has said he will not be posted (h/t to RC). Rakuten was the lone NPB team to vote against the agreement and were said to be very angry …
Winter Meetings Roundup
The annual Winter Meetings took place this week and we had you covered here on Obstructed View we were lazy bastards and kept you uninformed. I'd apologize for this. It is the first of the meetings that I have not covered thoroughly in 10 years. I'm just tired of apologizing so let's just get to it. The biggest news is that …
Is there any coal in the Cubs hot stove?
This is a guest post by SVB. Both Myles and dmick have noted some constraints in their ability to write recently, so I’m writing in an attempt to give Myles and dmick a break, as well as to prevent another unloadable 200+ comment thread from developing. Don’t worry, I won’t become the Jay Leno (or even the David Brenner) of …