Rumors, Rumors, Oh and More Rumors

Chicago Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly has probably made his last start for the Chicago Cubs. Lilly pitched 5 and a third scoreless innings tonight while striking out 8 batters. As many as 8 teams were in attendance watching Ted Lilly Houston, as well as Houston’s starter Brett Myers.

According to a report from Bruce Levine, the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the front runners to land Ted Lilly. Ever since losing out on Cliff Lee, the Dodgers and Twins have intensified their talks with the Chicago Cubs for a Ted Lilly. The Detroit Tigers and New York Mets also have interest in Ted Lilly.

The Chicago Cubs have benefited from waiting till the last three days for trading Ted Lilly. Lilly is coming off three excellent starts, and has maximized his value in any trade. If the Cubs were to trade with the Twins, it is easy to suggest that catcher Wilson Ramos maybe part of a package heading to the Cubs.

Wilson who made his debut in early May for the Twins while Joe Mauer was out with an injury, hit .296/.321/.407 in 28 plate appearances this season. It is not entirely certain how the Cubs would use the 23 year old backstop. I heard suggestion that the Cubs groom him as a first baseman, but nonetheless it is always nice to get a young talented, prospect in any trade.

Quick Hits

• Ryan Theriot has gained a lot of interest around the league over the past week. Bruce Levine mentioned in one of his radio segments that Theriot could likely be the first to be traded. The Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, and San Diego Padres have all expressed interest in the Cubs second baseman. As of now, Colorado is showing the strongest interest in Theriot.
• Sources close to Derrek Lee insist that it is highly unlikely that the Lee waives his no trade clause for any team. However, the Chicago Cubs still do not intend to bring Derrek Lee back next season.
• The Chicago Cubs are willing to pay a part of the $4.95MM left on Kosuke Fukudome’s contract this season, and quite a bit of the $13.5MM owed to him next year in order to trade him. However, it still remains unlikely that the Chicago Cubs will be able to trade Fukudome.
• The Chicago Cubs are telling teams that Carlos Zambrano is very much available in a trade. But, with $42.7MM left on his contract the Cubs probably will have to wait till the off-season to trade the beleaguered pitcher.
• Tomorrow we will begin our T-Shirt Giveaway. We will be giving away Two T-shirts,  come back tomorrow to read the detail on it.