Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 8:25:31 GMT -5
The Cubs went in to the offseason with a focus on improving their pitching, and they look to enter the season with essentially an entirely new rotation. One of the difficulties facing GM Matt Andersen was how to fill an entire rotation without giving up any of his top prospects and to get players that fit the role of being relatively short term fixes, considering the fact that many of the systems top young arms are getting close to being ready. Andersen started the remodel by making a move with the Dodgers, sending minor league utility player Footer Johnson and 5 million in cash over for 35 year old Bob Keegan. Keegan, coming off years where he won 20 and 17 games respectively, fell on hard times last year going 6-3 with a 5.35 era. “We didn’t give up much to get him” said Andersen. “Footer had always done a nice job for us, but he really was more organizational depth than anything, and we were sitting on a nice pile of cash that wasn’t doing anybody any good just sitting there. One of the real appeals to Keegan is that he’s just now entering his arbitration years, which is a little odd considering he’s 35, but it does give us some protection if things don’t work out. We’re not married to any long term deals. We’re confident he can bounce back and throw some meaningful innings for us the next couple of years.”
Shortly after making the move for Keegan, Andersen pulled the trigger on another deal, this time sending OF Bob Hazle to the Cardinals in exchange for pitchers Fred Hahn, Luis Arroyo, and minor league IF Bob Johnson. “We knew going in to the off-season that we had two pretty decent trade chips. One was Johnny Klippstein, who we were able to move for Hank Thompson. We had been looking for a solution at 3B for a while and we felt Thompson would fill that role nicely, and Don Elston and Jim Brosnan’s development allowed us to be comfortable with how our backend of our bullpen looked. The other piece was either Hazle or Don Robertson. We had talked to numerous teams about both. St. Louis wanted someone a little more developed and we were able to grab two really solid arms and a decent youngster in Johnson who may help us down the road.” Hahn is coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign where he went 5-10 with a 6.97 ERA, however he did post a 3.72 ERA his rookie year and has the talent to bounce back. At 27 years old, the Cubs are counting on it. Arroyo is a lefty who has primarily worked out of the pen for the Cardinals, but the Cubs think he has the stuff to settle in nicely to the back end of their rotation. Arroyo is only 29 and the Cubs can control both pitchers for the next 3 seasons, which should help them transition nicely in to the future as the young guns arrive.
Andersen looked to fill out the rest of the rotation through the free agent market, signing 35 year old Johnny Schmitz to a one year deal for just over eleven million, beating out the Red Sox for his services, and bringing in 37 year old Marv Grissom, also on a one year deal, for just over three million. “We really wanted Schmitz” said Andersen. “He has had great success for the Yankees, and he knows how to win. We think he can help us in so many ways beyond just fronting our rotation. Just being around the youngsters this spring will help volumes. We need these kids to understand what it takes to change the culture and to instill a winning mindset.” Grissom was signed primarily to give the Cubs a little more depth and as of now it looks like he’ll start the season in a middle relief role.
The back of the bullpen looks set with Don Elston moving in to the vacated closer role and Jim Brosnan taking Elston’s spot as the primary setup man. Paul LaPalme comes back as the primary lefty out of the pen. Grissom, Fred Baczewski and Cal McLish look to handle the middle and garbage innings. This is probably the last chance for Baczewski and McLish since they’ve proven over the last couple of years that they aren’t capable of handling a starting role.
“We’re satisfied with what we’ve accomplished” said Andersen, “and I really think that we’re a much improved ballclub. We really were against rushing our top young arms and the only way to do that was to bring in guys who were short term, yet quality, fixes. We do anticipate seeing Thorpe, Stanka, Rabe and possibly Striker all at some point this season. Tom Cheney may even get a look depending on how things go in AAA. It’s important to us that we don’t put these guys in high stress situations right away, to let them get their feet wet, as it were, before we throw them in to the fire. In the long run they’ll be better as players for it, and we’ll be better as an organization”.
Shortly after making the move for Keegan, Andersen pulled the trigger on another deal, this time sending OF Bob Hazle to the Cardinals in exchange for pitchers Fred Hahn, Luis Arroyo, and minor league IF Bob Johnson. “We knew going in to the off-season that we had two pretty decent trade chips. One was Johnny Klippstein, who we were able to move for Hank Thompson. We had been looking for a solution at 3B for a while and we felt Thompson would fill that role nicely, and Don Elston and Jim Brosnan’s development allowed us to be comfortable with how our backend of our bullpen looked. The other piece was either Hazle or Don Robertson. We had talked to numerous teams about both. St. Louis wanted someone a little more developed and we were able to grab two really solid arms and a decent youngster in Johnson who may help us down the road.” Hahn is coming off a disappointing sophomore campaign where he went 5-10 with a 6.97 ERA, however he did post a 3.72 ERA his rookie year and has the talent to bounce back. At 27 years old, the Cubs are counting on it. Arroyo is a lefty who has primarily worked out of the pen for the Cardinals, but the Cubs think he has the stuff to settle in nicely to the back end of their rotation. Arroyo is only 29 and the Cubs can control both pitchers for the next 3 seasons, which should help them transition nicely in to the future as the young guns arrive.
Andersen looked to fill out the rest of the rotation through the free agent market, signing 35 year old Johnny Schmitz to a one year deal for just over eleven million, beating out the Red Sox for his services, and bringing in 37 year old Marv Grissom, also on a one year deal, for just over three million. “We really wanted Schmitz” said Andersen. “He has had great success for the Yankees, and he knows how to win. We think he can help us in so many ways beyond just fronting our rotation. Just being around the youngsters this spring will help volumes. We need these kids to understand what it takes to change the culture and to instill a winning mindset.” Grissom was signed primarily to give the Cubs a little more depth and as of now it looks like he’ll start the season in a middle relief role.
The back of the bullpen looks set with Don Elston moving in to the vacated closer role and Jim Brosnan taking Elston’s spot as the primary setup man. Paul LaPalme comes back as the primary lefty out of the pen. Grissom, Fred Baczewski and Cal McLish look to handle the middle and garbage innings. This is probably the last chance for Baczewski and McLish since they’ve proven over the last couple of years that they aren’t capable of handling a starting role.
“We’re satisfied with what we’ve accomplished” said Andersen, “and I really think that we’re a much improved ballclub. We really were against rushing our top young arms and the only way to do that was to bring in guys who were short term, yet quality, fixes. We do anticipate seeing Thorpe, Stanka, Rabe and possibly Striker all at some point this season. Tom Cheney may even get a look depending on how things go in AAA. It’s important to us that we don’t put these guys in high stress situations right away, to let them get their feet wet, as it were, before we throw them in to the fire. In the long run they’ll be better as players for it, and we’ll be better as an organization”.
