Chicago Cubs and Mark Buehrle In Regular Contact?

One of the biggest areas of need for the Chicago Cubs this winter is addressing the pitching staff. Mainly the starting rotation. Matt Garza has transformed into the ace of the staff, with Ryan Dempster being a viable #2 option in the rotation. Behind Garza and Dempster, the rotation is a bit of a question mark. Randy Wells‘ second half of the 2011 season was likely enough for the pitcher to remain in the rotation for the 2012 season, and it has yet to be determined if Carlos Zambrano is going to return next season. The fifth starter’s spot in the Cubs’ rotation remains vacant after a season that saw the slot occupied by veterans such as Rodrigo Lopez and Ramon Ortiz.

In any event, the Chicago Cubs are likely to add one starting pitcher and depending on what the plan is for Zambrano, there is chance that the Cubs will pursue a second starting pitcher. The Cubs remain interested in Japanese ace Yu Darvish, though not much movement can be made on Darvish until he is posted and Major League Baseball officially declares him a free agent. Even if Darvish is in their plans, it will likely be more beneficial to the Cubs to pursue free agent veteran starting pitcher.

With that said, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports tweeted last night that the Cubs and the agent for Mark Buehrle have had multiple discussions already this off-season. The Chicago Tribune initially a few weeks back that the Cubs would have interest in Buehrle if the price was right. Buehrle is in high demand this off-season as the Miami Marlins, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Chicago White Sox have expressed interest in the veteran starting pitcher. Given the amount of teams interested in Buehrle, the pitcher will likely receive the contract he is seeking. At this point the contract demands of Buehrle have not been made public, though some have speculated that the pitcher could receive a four year, $30 million contract.

Buehrle would be a tremendous addition to the Cubs’ starting rotation. Ideally, Buehrle could slide in behind Garza and Dempster as the #3 starter in the rotation. For one Buehrle is a left-handed starter, and the Cubs have been searching for a left-handed starter ever since Ted Lilly was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lilly, who came to the Cubs from the Toronto Blue Jays, quickly made the transition from the American League to the National League and became one of the Cubs’ top pitchers in their rotation. Buehrle would likely be down a similar path. After spending his first 11 years in the American League with the White Sox, Buehrle has posted a career ERA of 3.83 and has gone over the 200 innings mark in every year that he has been a starting pitcher. Last season with the White Sox, Buehrle was 13-9 with an ERA of 3.59.

The question now becomes will Buehrle be interested in crossing over from the South Side to the North Side. Given how loyal Buehrle has been to the White Sox over the course of his career, it would be hard to imagine him leaving the White Sox in favor of the Cubs. But that is thing about money; it tends to make player’s forget any  animosity they have towards a certain team. In this case, money may make Buehrle forget the difference between black and blue.