Cubs Will Be Active Over Next Two Weeks

The next two weeks will go a long way in determining whether or not the Chicago Cubs will be contenders in the 2011 season. Things that are expected to be settled this week are the Cubs new pitching coach, and the deadline to tender all players contracts is on Thursday.

As far as next week, that is when the Winter Meetings take place. At the Winter Meetings, is usually when teams make a lot of deals, and usually we see a lot of trades occur. In recent years, Jim Hendry has been one of the most active General Managers at the winter meetings. It is expected this year, that the Cubs will be one of the, if not the most active team at the Winter Meetings. If you remember last year, Jim Hendry laid the groundwork for the Milton Bradley deal to the Seattle Mariners. Like I said earlier, the Cubs will probably make one or two deals next week.

Nonetheless, let’s take a look at what the next two weeks have in store for the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs are expected to name their pitching coach tomorrow. The expectation is that the Cubs will name Minor League Pitching Coordinator Mark Riggins as their next pitching coach. Riggins, is highly respected around baseball, and was previously the Minor League Pitching Coordinator with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Thursday figures to be a big day for the Chicago Cubs, as that is the deadline to tender contracts to players. In total the Cubs have 5 players who are eligible to be non-tendered in Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol, Tom Gorzelanny, Koyie Hill, and Jeff Baker. The Cubs are going to tender contracts to Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol, who will be entering their second year of arbitration. Tom Gorzelanny also will probably be tendered a contract, but that is not a certainty as it is with Marmol and Marshall. As for Koyie Hill and Jeff Baker, the Cubs are in contract talks with both. But, if they get the feeling that either Baker or Hill’s demands are higher than what the Cubs are offering, then they will not be afraid to non tender either one. With young players like Wellington Castillo and Darwin Barney, the Cubs are in position to let Hill and Baker walk.

After this week, the Cubs complete attention will be on the Winter Meetings that take place next week. The Cubs will be one of the most active teams there, as they are in search for a veteran starting pitcher, a first baseman, and a reliever.

The Chicago Cubs are targeting once front line pitchers, who have struggled with injuries in recent years. According to Bruce Levine, the Cubs are interested in Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis, Erik Bedard, and Aaron Harang. Early indications are that the Cubs are focused on former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb, but Webb is getting a lot of interest from other teams. As Levine notes, the Cubs almost acquired Bedard in a trade in 2007, which makes me inclined to believe that Hendry may prefer to have Bedard. If I was not so concerned with Bedard’s injury past, then I would say that Bedard would be a good pickup. But, Bedard has been injured at least once in every year of his career. We can all rejoice, as the Cubs are not interested in Vicente Padilla.

The Cubs are also going to intensify their search for a first baseman next week, and according to a report from Bruce Miles, the Cubs are seriously considering adding Carlos Pena on a one year deal. By now, you know that Pena is a poor hitter for average, but has good power numbers and is a good fielder. Lance Berkman is also on the Cubs radar, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will fit into the Cubs price range.

As you can see, the next two weeks will be very important for the Cubs, keep it here for all the latest.