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Camping For Another Campaign
Major League Baseball players were allowed to file for free agency on Monday morning. Major League Baseball teams have until Friday at 11 PM Central Time to work out a contract with their own free agents. The Chicago Cubs have one Major League free agent. That free agent is reliever Shawn Camp.
Sept 12, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Shawn Camp (54) pitches against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-US PRESSWIRE
Camp was a late addition to the Cubs as the reliever was added to the Major League roster towards the closing days of Spring Training. Despite being a late addition, Camp arguably was the best move that Cubs’ President Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer made last season. The 36 year old reliever posted an ERA of 3.59 in just over 77 innings with the Cubs during the 2012 season.
The Chicago Cubs have expressed an interest in bringing Camp back for the 2013 season. This may be the point where many Cubs fans criticize the team for wanting to bring a 36 year old reliever back for 2013, a season where the Cubs will look to continue their rebuild project. There are several reasons why the Cubs may want to bring Camp back next season. The first reason is that Camp could potentially be the closer for the Cubs in 2013. Of all the players on the Cubs roster, Closer Carlos Marmol may have the greatest chance of being traded this winter. If the Cubs did trade Marmol this winter, the team is going to need a closer to replace Marmol in the bullpen. Camp could very well be the one to replace Marmol as the team’s closer. By having Camp as the closer, that would seemingly increase his trade value if his performance during the 2013 season warranted a trade. That would then allow the Cubs’ front office to continue in their practice of turning short term assets into long term assets.
Camp has expressed an interest in returning to the Cubs, and it would be somewhat surprising if the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a contract this winter.