Crank that offseason plan: Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are at a serious fork in the road in terms of turning toward competing for the NL Central crown in 2010 or holding a fire sale for a veteran team that doesn't have enough money to improve by much.
There's certainly a wealth off talent at the Astros core. The problem with this squad? Their window of championship opportunity is nearly shut and it may not make sense to bring the same team back in 2010.

With second baseman Kaz Matsui, left fielder Carlos Lee, first baseman Lance Berkman and pitcher Roy Oswalt, there is no shortage of veteran talent that would certainly bring in varying degrees of prospect hauls should the Astros enter a sell-now route.

The problem with all of the above is their bloated contracts. With the exception of Matsui, all three players earn salaries in the $14-20 million dollar range. Couple that with the thought that it would take a Jake Peavy like convincing to get Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause and you can see why Houston is having trouble deciding to go for it in 2010 or sell.

By the front office's own admissions, the 2010 payroll will be significantly smaller than that of the 2009 version. Under that state of mind, I see the Astros with roughly $12 million to spend after arbitration raises and the departure of infielder Miguel Tejada.

Should the Astros head toward a fire-sale you would expect the trade partners for Oswalt to be limited in that he makes a hefty $14 million and has a no-trade clause. I haven't even mentioned the down year (by his standards) he had in 2009.

In fact, it would seem as though the true trade partners for Oswalt's services (barring a Jake Peavy-esque change of mind) would be the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Of those teams, only the Rangers have a significant need to add a top-tier starter. The good news for Houston is that Texas GM Nolan Ryan would have the easiest time trying to convince Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause for obvious reasons. The Rangers also have one of the best minor league systems in baseball.

While I'm not entirely certain Texas could take on a contract as large as Oswalt's, perhaps the Astros could shave a million or two off in hopes of netting one of the Rangers' top prospects.

As far as Berkman and Lee's suitors, it could be just about anybody looking for a middle-of-the-order bat. Both make an obscene amount of money but consistently provide all-star offensive numbers every season.

Berkman had a bit of a down year by his standards in both the health and production department but delivered 25 home runs and 80 RBIs while maintaining a near 1-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Being a switch-hitter only further adds to Berkman's value as an option for teams looking for a designated hitter or first baseman.

Big market teams would be all over a potential trade and Boston is well-known to be pursuing a first baseman. Seems like a great match for both teams.

Matsui had a down year as well but at only $5 million, he could be moveable to a team needing a second baseman and willing to give up a mid-level prospect.

Lee has a ton of value despite a contract that netted him $18.5 million in 2009. He is an automatic 30 home run/100 RBI guy since he arrived in Houston and it wouldn't be much different elsewhere.

The problem with Lee is the same problem he's always had. He's overpaid and he's lazy on defense.

Sounds like Manny Ramirez to me.

The Cardinals, Red Sox and New York Yankees are all in need of a left fielder. There's no reason not to be able to get a deal done.

Without enough pieces in the rotation or in the bullpen, Houston's best bet is to build for the future. Tought luck for Astros fans this year. There's no reason to add middling pieces to an already mediorce team on a budget.

Crank that offseason plan: St. Louis Cardinals

Seeing as how the Matt Holliday OOOPS is still in everyone's mind, let's examine where the St. Louis Cardinals go from a 2009 NL Central title and a swift first round playoff exit.

Currently, the Cardinals have spots open in the rotation, third base, left field and potentially shortstop depending on if they consider Julio Lugo the starter there.

Gasp...they might even consider Brendan Ryan at shortstop as well, this is a Tony La Russa managed club after all.

As each day passes I can't really get a gauge on if it looks more and more like Holliday and fellow left fielder Jason Bay might be out of the Redbirds' price range.

Given the comparison to the 2009 payroll, in 2010 St. Louis has around $20 million to spend after a hefty raise to closer Ryan Franklin.

Technically speaking, the Cardinals are financially capable of signing either Holliday or Bay and letting starting pitcher Joel Piniero and third baseman Mark DeRosa be replaced by a pair of unknowns.

The bad news for the club is the farm system being significantly depleted with the late season additions of both DeRosa and Holliday. I'm not sure Brett Wallace, whom the Redbirds traded, would be ready to hold down third base in 2010 but he certainly figures to be the third baseman of the clear and present future for the Oakland A's.

All this being said I think it's smart baseball thinking to let Piniero and DeRosa walk in favor of adding a Holliday/Bay type in left field.

With projections for both Holliday/Bay at $18 million, we'll figure St. Louis gets at least one of them with just around $2 million left over.

Piniero had pitching coach Dave Duncan repair him into a serviceable third option in the rotation but why pay for him when he can replaced by someone else Duncan can salvage?

My ideas for the back end of the rotation include bringing back John Smoltz on an incentive-laden deal and adding Justin Duchscherer on a similar deal.

Duchscherer would greatly benefit from Duncan's tuteledge after missing the year with arm issues and struggling with depression.

As for third base? Let's keep the cheap times rolling with a hometown favorite in Joe Crede.

If Crede can pass a physical, he'd play for next to nothing on a one-year deal to prove his back can handle 120-ish games.

Bottom line here is simple: The most important part of the 2010 offseason is finding someone to protect MVP slugger Albert Pujols. Bay and Holliday both have proven they can hit NL pitching and both come with a hefty price tag.

Should the Cardinals somehow get outbid for both? Buy low on Jermaine Dye in left field, Orlando Cabrera at shortstop and Miguel Tejada at third.

Honestly, neither scenario sounds terrible, does it?

With Phat Albert leading the offense and Chris Carpenter (God willing) and Adam Wainwright staying healthy, everything points toward St. Louis challenging for the NL Central crown in 2010.

Crank that offseason plan: Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds have been a mess for quite some time now.

With 2000 being the most year they've got their head above the .500 mark, and 1995 being the last playoff appearance, the Reds have been nothing but a Ken Griffey, Jr. sideshow for the last decade.

Now that he's been long gone for more than a year now are the Reds close to relevancy again?

Nope.

After another mediocre season, the Big Red Machine can't expect to compete in 2010, but they'll try anyways, if for no other reason than to avoid high draft picks.

In all seriousness, this team isn't even close to a playoff caliber club at the present time and they don't have the money to clean up the mess that General Manager Walt Jocketty inherited.

The 2009 version of the Reds won 78 games and finished 13 games behind the NL Central Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They could finish .500 in the 2010 season but all that would do is screw them out of another high draft pick.

So what's the plan? Be paitient, don't spend money and try to sell off assets like the late-Michael Jackson.

The Reds will have a payroll in the mid-$70 million range without adding any free agents. Last season they started with a similar payroll so there's not a good reason to expect that to change.

Did I mention that ace Edinson Volquez will be missing most if not all the 2010 season recovering from Tommy John surgery?

Instead of adding payroll for 2010, the best plan for the Reds would be shedding it. The payroll falls in line with most mid-market teams but it shouldn't even be that high given that their best players make under $1 million (Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Johnny Cueto).

We'll call those three the Killer-J's because if the Reds are ever to build a cornerstone for their franchise, those three will be it.

Before I get into salary purging let's take a look at one of the most pressing situations for the Reds.

Where does Votto, a first baseman, go?

At just under $500 thousand, Votto is too cheap to trade but he has to be moved to the outfield to clear room for stud prospect Yonder Alonso. Votto held his own offensively last year despite some mental health problems and should pair with Bruce and Alonso to form a potential elite 3-4-5 punch.

It might make sense for them to move Johnny Gomes and Willy Taveras out in a trade for some prospects even if it means eating some of the cash. They could stick Votto in left while platooning Chris Dickerson and Drew Stubbs in center.

In theory within the next year or two, this could be an excellent looking outfield if all three reach their maximum potential.

Now onto the messy payroll situation.

Between pitchers Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, Francisco Cordero and third baseman Scott Rolen, the Reds have $46.5 million tied up.

Yikes.

I doubt Jocketty will move Rolen after just trading for him but he should look into it. He still plays great defense and is at least above-average offensively.

Cordero, Cinci's closer, probably has the most value of the bunch and is the least important person to hold onto. He recorded 39 saves with a miniscule 2.19 ERA but a closer getting paid $12 million is a luxury this team cannot afford.

The bad news is that contract in it of itself. The Reds will have to eat at least half to net a prospect of value because of the deep trade/free agent market for closers.

Harang and Arroyo had rough seasons but they've had some success before. It'd be a terrific buy-low opportunity for another team even if it means the Reds only get an low-A minor leaguer out of the deal.

The financial flexibility gained from moving any of these players would be well worth getting undersold on the prospect side of the trade.

If Jocketty can clear even half of these contracts, Jocketty would have roughly $25-28 million to spend if without even adding to the current payroll for the deep free agent class of 2011.

Something to look forward to: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Brandon Webb and Javier Vazquez are all unrestricted free agents after this season.

Instead of quick fixes and burying themselves deeper in bloated contract hell, the Reds best bet is to be paitient and hope that pitchers Homer Bailey and Cueto take a big step forward in 2010.

Crank That Offseason Plan: Milwaukee Brewers Edition

What went wrong for the Milwaukee Brewers after making the playoffs in 2008?
Just about everything that involves throwing the ball to the opposing team and staying healthy.

But let's start with the positives.

Perennial All-Stars Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder had monster seasons and return for 2010. Ace Yovanni Gallardo and future Hall-of-Fame closer Trevor Hoffman will also be back on the mound for the Crew next season.

The bad news is that injuries and poor pitching (CC Sabathia took his hefty frame to the Big Apple) buried this team alive.

It's also bad news that trading offensive parts for pitching is murky because the Brewers are forced to sell low on guys like right fielder Corey Hart (injury) and shortstop J.J. Hardy (since traded to Minnesota).

From a prospect standpoint, the Brewers didn't want to part with shortstop Alicdes Escobar or third baseman/first baseman/future designated hitter Mat Gamel.

So here we are: The Brewers are still desperate for pitching and don't have a ton of tradeable parts they are intrested in trading.

So after the Hardy deal that netted newly-minted center fielder Carlos Gomez, the Brewers stand to shed roughly $12-13 million off the payroll by letting center fielder Mike Cameron walk along with declining pitcher Braden Looper's option and not offering second baseman Felipe Lopez arbitration.

Pitcher Dave Bush figures to get a raise over his $4 million salary in 2009 and it may be best to non-tender him. This would leave the Crew with Gallardo, Manny Parra (who really needs to realize his potential) and Jeff Suppan.

This rotation certainly doesn't scare anyone and it will remain one of the worst in baseball unless they can get two starting pitchers one way or another. With Escobar sliding into Hardy's spot at shortstop and second baseman Rickie Weeks coming back from injury, the infield seems like a lock (though I don't know if you can count another season like Casey McGehee had.

Where does that leave Mat Gamel? He can't really play anywhere besides third base or first and unless you plan on moving McGehee for something of great value it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to hang out to Gamel that much longer. Sure, he may be needed down the line to potentially replace Prince Fielder at first base but the time is now for the Brewers to win.

With roughly $10-15 million to spend, the Brewers are limited in what they can do. The best idea is to trade Gamel and some other minor leaguers for an established starting pitcher on the trade market. Hart is also another possibility to be traded for a pitcher.

My idea would go as such:

Under the assumption that the Brewers don't have an enticing enough package to aquire Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays, it makes sense to go after either Atlanta Braves pitcher Javier Vazquez or Edwin Jackson from the Detroit Tigers using Gamel and Hart as a package if necessary.

Neither will probably have as good of seasons as they did in 2009 but the Braves have the ability to trade pitching in favor for a player like Gamel. Vazquez is only getting traded if they can't move Derek Lowe first but unless they eat a monstrous portion of that contract, he isn't going anywhere. Chipper Jones can't be at third base forever and it remains to be seen just who will be starting first base for the club anyway.

The Tigers on the other hand need to clear payroll above all else. Jackson may not repeat his numbers for Tigers so it might be time for them to sell high. The Brewers will like the fact that Jackson hasn't pitched against the National League since his early days in Los Angeles. I would figure Gamel would be included in this package as well.

So assuming they get one of those two pitchers, what's the next step? Sign up some comeback candidates to fill out the rotation and hope for the best. The first few names that come to mind are Mark Mulder, Erik Bedard and Rich Harden. It wouldn't cost a ton to get any of these reclamation projects and if it works out, the Crew will come up roses.

Building A Champion: The 2010 Cubs

Cubs fans would have a lot to celebrate if I could pull this off.

   

In mid-October, I was challenged by a friend/reader to rebuild the Cubs.  It’s not as if that is a new concept to me, seeing that I’ve played this game on PlayStation, PlayStation3, XBOX and XBOX 360 many times before. However, the catch was to do it fairly, so not to take advantage of dumb computer GM’s that don’t appreciate young talent.  

Starting Point: The Cubs’ Opening Day payroll was $134,809,000, and I was given the opportunity to bump the payroll to $150 million after negotiating out of the original $145 million projection.

When building this team, my goal was to patch some holes with long-term solutions without spending too much money.  It was a difficult task, and one that will likely go unrewarded.

When you're done, I'd appreciate your criticisms in the comments section.  Thank you.  And without further to do, the 2010 Cubs, as pieced together by yours truly using The Hartwig Plan.
 

MUST-MAKE DECISIONS

1) Milton Bradley: To trade or not to trade?

For a guy who hit .257/.378/.397 in 2009, you wonder why his name is being thrown around in trade rumors.  Oh, that's right, he's batshit crazy.  The most logical place for Bradley to land is in Texas, where he would be reunited with Rangers manager Ron Washington and the designated hitter position.

In return, the Cubs would acquire right-handed starting pitcher Kevin Millwood, who is slated to make $12 million in 2010, which will be the last year of his contract.  Obviously, the Cubs would either have to chip in a prospect or cash to make up for Bradley's 2011 season, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Millwood went 13-10 with a 3.67 earned run average in 31 starts.  He and Rangers management seemed to be at odds toward the end of the '09 season as he came closer to reaching contract escalators for a team that was out of the playoff push and was looking to save money in the process.  A one-year stint in Chicago could benefit Millwood and the Cubs, while Bradley's return to the heart of the Texas line-up just might be what the doctor ordered for Crazy Uncle Milton.

2) John Grabow: long term deal, arbitration, or not?

This one is too easy, it doesn't need a lengthy explanation -- especially since both sides are inching toward a deal.  Jim Hendry should put a two-year offer worth $6 million on the table.  If it isn't accepted, you take Grabow to arbitration.  And if he signs elsewhere, collect your draft picks and use them wisely.

FLEXIBLE DECISIONS

3) Who's on second? Jeff Baker, Mike Fontenot, Aaron Miles or somebody entirely different?

Neither Mike Fontenot nor Aaron Miles could start for my rec league softball team.  Jeff Baker is the top candidate if the Cubs do not bring someone in from the outside.

I plan on signing Chone Figins to a three-year deal and placing him at second base.  His speed at the top of the order adds a dimension the Cubs haven't had in a long time -- if ever.

4) Do you make room for Jake Fox on this team somehow or do you look to trade him?

Jake Fox is a serviceable player, but is more suited for the American League.  I would trade his bat for a hard-throwing bullpen arm.  In an attempt to find a team looking to fit my criteria, I found the Boston Red Sox, a squad that could use a right-handed thumper opposite of David Ortiz.  In return, I ask for righty Manny Delcarmen.

FREE AGENCY

5) Which positions are in most dire need of an upgrade?

The Cubs need help at second base, in the outfield and in the bullpen.  For the solutions to those problems, read the upcoming transactions.

6) Name three (or more) free agents you’d consider, at a price.

1. Sign 2B Chone Figgins to a three-year deal worth $30 million.  10: $8MM, 11: $10MM, 12: $12MM.  The Cubs need to add speed at the top of the order, and even though he slumped in the playoffs, I think Figgy is a game-changer at the top of the order.
   
2. Sign P Ben Sheets to a one-year deal worth $6.5 million (plus incentives: $200K first day on active 25-man roster, $50K for making NL All-Star team, $75K for NLCS MVP, $100K for WS MVP, $100K for finishing in the top three of Cy Young voting, $40K per day on active 25-man roster from July 15-October 3, $100K for NL Comeback Player of the Year. Sheets missed all of 2009 and is a perfect candidate for rotation insurance.  He's familiar with the NL Central and has a proven track record of being nearly un-hittable at times.  Maybe pitching half of a season would do him good.
   
3. Sign P Billy Wagner to a one-year deal worth $7 million (plus incentives: $50K for making NL All-Star team. $75K for NLCS MVP, $125K for Rolaids Relief Man, $100K for NL Comeback Player of the Year).  Wagner will be out to prove himself on a make-good, one-year deal.
   
4. Re-sign P John Grabow to a two-year deal worth $6 million. 10: $2.75MM, 11: $3.25.  Cubs get Grabby -- again.
   

TRADES

7) Name three (or more) realistic trades that could improve the Cubs.

1. Cubs trade RF Milton Bradley to Texas Rangers for P Kevin Millwood.  Bradley returns to Texas, where he had his best year under manager Ron Washington. The Cubs get Kevin Millwood, an expiring contract that serves as some insurance in case Ted Lilly doesn't return as soon as expected. The Cubs would pick up $6MM of Bradley's $10MM remaining contract in 2011 after Rangers chip in $1MM of Millwood's 2010 salary.
2. Cubs trade Ps Jeff Samardzija, Jeff Stevens, SS Ryan Theriot and OF Tyler Colvin to Detroit Tigers for Curtis Granderson.  The idea for this trade stems from this blog I wrote after reading this news story that suggested the Tigers could possibly trade Granderson.  I think it's a steep price for the Cubs, who give up a pair of quality young arms, an up-and-coming outfielder and a more-than-serviceable (especially by Detroit's standards) middle infielder, all while clearing up $36.75MM of salary. (And yes, it ushers in the Starlin Castro era at shortstop)
   
3. Cubs trade UTIL Jeff Fox to Boston Red Sox for P Manny Delcarmen.  The Cubs don't have a position for Fox.  The Red Sox have an abundance of bullpen arms.  Fair trade?
   

SUMMARY

I accomplished all of my goals going into this thing.

• Get rid of Crazy Uncle Milton? Check.
• Re-sign Grabby? Check.
• Acquire speedy second baseman? Check.
• Add bullpen arms? Check.
• Pick up rotation insurance? Check.
• Bring in center fielder that is actually good at playing center field? Check.
• Inject anabolic steroid? Um. Un-check?

Alright, so I didn't do it all.  The Cubs are still missing a power-hitting left handed bat, but I think Granderson can get back to the days of 20 homers, 20 doubles and possibly 10-15 triples even though Wrigley is far from a triples park.  Some of his gap doubles might turn into home runs at Wrigley.  Just keep him away from lefties (.183 BA in 2009) and Lou Piniella's offense will be fine.

Your 2010 team should look a little something like this:

C - Geovany Soto - $575K

C - Koyie Hill - $475K+

1B - Derrek Lee - $13MM

2B - Chone Figgins - $8MM (signed via free agency)

SS - Starlin Castro $402K

3B - Aramis Ramirez - $15.75MM

IF - Aaron Miles - $2.7MM

IF - Andres Blanco - $400K

LF - Alfonso Soriano - $18MM

CF - Curtis Granderson - $5.5 (acquired via trade)

RF - Kosuke Fukudome - $13MM

OF - Sam Fuld - $402K

UTIL - Jeff Baker - $415K+

SP - Carlos Zambrano - $17.875MM

SP - Ryan Dempster - $12.5MM

SP - Ted Lilly - $12MM

SP - Kevin Millwood - $11MM (acquired via trade)

SP - Ben Sheets - $6.5MM

SP - Randy Wells - $402K

SP - Tom Gorzelanny - $433K+

RP - Billy Wagner - $7MM+ (signed as a free agent)

RP - Carlos Marmol - $575K+

RP - Sean Marshall - $450K+

RP - Angel Guzman - $422K+

RP - John Grabow - $2.75MM (re-signed via free agency)

RP - Esmailin Caridad - $400K

RP - Manny Delcarmen $476K

In: Chone Figgins (free agent), Billy Wagner (free agent) Ben Sheets (free agent), Curtis Granderson (traded from Detroit), Manny Delcarmen (traded from Boston), Kevin Millwood (traded from Texas)

Out: Milton Bradley - $9MM (traded to Texas), Jake Fox $402K (traded to Boston), Ryan Theriot - $500K (traded to Detroit), Jeff Stevens $400K (traded to Detroit), Jeff Samardzija - $2.5MM (traded to Detroit), Aaron Heilman - $1.625MM (non tendered), Neal Cotts $1.1MM (non-tendered)

You're everyday line-up: Granderson (CF), Figgins (2B), Lee (1B), Ramirez (3B), Fukudome (RF), Soriano (LF), Castro (SS), Soto (C)

All for the low, low price of $151,420,000.  This team wins a division as constructed, right?  Alright, well, I went over the budget by a million -- it's not as if the Cubs aren't gonna raise ticket prices anyway.

So, how did I do?  Is there anything you would do differently?  Was I fair?  Comments go in the comments section.  Duh.

Crank that offseason plan: Chicago Cubs

I started with the Chicago White Sox and now I move onto the Chicago Cubs and what they should do over the course of the offseason.

MUST-MAKE DECISIONS

1) Milton Bradley: To trade or not to trade?

Without question you got to trade crazy Uncle Milton right? Perhaps not. With his former hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo on board the Cubs may have a shot at fixing their confused and disoriented right fielder. Of course, the Cubs want to trade Bradley ASAP but they may have to try to restore a little bit of value because he doesn't fit on many teams due to his antics and inability to provide adequate defense. He did, however, stay healthy which should help his value out a bit. A straight salary dump doesn't make sense and I don't think the club has a viable option in right field to repalce him, either.

2) John Grabow: long term deal, arbitration, or not?

I think this should be the easiest decision the Cubs make all offseason. Of course they, at the very least, offer Grabow arbitration but if he declines you can't let him walk, even for his type-A compensation. The Cubs haven't had an even remotely capable lefty out of the pen since "Stevie" was on the team and it's always difficult to find a reliable lefty on the open market. My best idea would be to offer him arbitration only if a long term deal cannot be reached.

FLEXIBLE DECISIONS

3) Who's on second? Jeff Baker, Mike Fontenot, Aaron Miles or somebody entirely different?

This has been a huge area of concern for the Cubs with no in-house candidate capable of truly holding down the job. I thought the Miles signing last year was weird from the get-go but I didn't expect him to be as bad as he was either. At this point I think you can rule out the Fontenot era and Jeff Baker isn't anything more than an better version of Andres Blanco so it would seem the best solution is to go outside the organization for some help be it by trade or free agency.

4)Do you make room for Jake Fox on this team somehow or do you look to trade him?

Fox was one of the better stories of the 2009 season for the Cubs but he's best served as a designated hitter for an AL team. He could have some value as a first baseman as well but neither position is open for him on the current club. He could be a valuable trade chip along with Josh Vitters to get a second baseman or a closer (both are areas of concern).

FREE AGENCY

5) Which positions are in most dire need of an upgrade?

Without a doubt, second base and closer are in the most dire need of an upgrade with the potential that right field an area in need of an upgrade as well. The rotation appears to be in OK shape.

6) Name three (or more) free agents you’d consider, at a price.

Sign Chone Figgins for 3-years at $12 million-per-year. The Cubs are going to be in a bidding war with just about every team with money to spend for the versatile and speedy Angel. Beauty of it is Figgy can play positions where the Cubs need the most help (OF and 2B).

Sign Billy Wagner for one-year at whatever price it takes to be the highest bidder.

Sign Orlando Hudson for 2-years at $8 million-per-year. He brings good defense and switch hitting skills which helps the Cubs two-fold.

TRADES

7) Name three (or more) realistic trades that could improve the Cubs.

Trading a package of Jake Fox, Josh Vitters and Jeff Samardzija to the Washington Nationals for Adam Dunn, Christian Guzman and John Lannan.

Is this too much to give up Cubs fans? It would fix the Cubs need for lefty power by adding Dunn and fill the hole at second base with Guzman. Lannan has a career ERA under four and just posted 3.88 ERA in 2009. Fox doesn't have a position and as long as Aramis Ramirez stays healthy there's no room for Vitters either. The Nationals would be up for this deal because Dunn doesn't help them win in the future and Guzman is overpaid.

Option Two: Trading said package for Brian Roberts. It wouldn't be a Cubs offseason story without an attempt to trade for Roberts.

SUMMARY

Basically, the plan is laid out. The Cubs need to upgrade second base and find a closer. It's more important then trading Milton Bradley, trust me. The good news is that there are plenty of options from both a free agency and trading standpoint for both positions. It should be a relatively easy fix. I'm not too sure about the back end of the rotation but there's more important issues to address. The other key for the 2010 season? HEALTH. The Cubs should be neck and neck with the St. Louis Cardinals if everyone stays healthy. Aramis Ramirez wasn't 100 percent at any point this season and when you're missing one of your top-two hitters, it's bad news. The Cubs also never had a closer this past season, either. Kevin "Kelly" Gregg was a joke from the get-go and general half-ass playing did this team in (see Phonsi and Geo Soto). Bounce back seasons all around and the Cubs are contenders again with just minor tinkering needed. Here's looking at you Rudy J.

Crank That Offseason Plan: Chicago White Sox

I'll try to keep this short and sweet, highlighting areas of question for each team. I'll start with the Chicago White Sox.

MUST-MAKE DECISIONS

1) Octavio Dotel: Arbitration, or not?

Dotel – Walk

2) Jermaine Dye: Mutual option, arbitration, or not?

Dye – Buyout

FLEXIBLE DECISIONS

3) One-year contract for John Danks? If not, what would you pay to extend him?

I think a multi-year offer similar to the one Jon Lester got would be fair. I can't think of a more comparable pitcher to Danks than Lester. If he doesn't go for that then go to year-to-year with him.

4) One-year contract for Bobby Jenks, extension or trade?

Jenks – You have to keep Jenks but under no cirumstance should they offer him a multi-year deal. The problem with trading Jenks is that it moves everybody in the bullpen up one job. So, while Matt Thorton would probably make a solid closer (see Brian Fuentes) it moves both Tony Pena and Scott Linebrink into roles they should not be in on a contender.

FREE AGENCY

5) Which positions are in most dire need of an upgrade?

One of the corner outfield spots are in dire need of an upgrade more than anything else on this team. It would be nice to have at the spot filled by an athletic player not named Scott Podsednik. I simply don't think he'll be cheap enough to make sense nor do I think he can duplicate his career year in 2009.

6) Name three (or more) free agents you’d consider, at a price.

Sign Bobby Abreu to a 2 year $20 million dollar contract. (I don't expect the Angels to be able to sign him along with Chone Figgins and John Lackey)

Sign Joe Beimel or Will Ohman for a 1 year deal around $2.5 million

Sign J.J. Putz to an incentive laden deal.

TRADES

7) Name three (or more) realistic trades that could improve the Sox team.

I don't see any trade as a likely scenario unless we're getting a superstar outfielder for Jenks but he didn't have the season that would warrant something like that. I'm thinking we should stand pat till the trade deadline if we need an extra piece (see Chris Getz getting bit by the injury bug).

SUMMARY

Obviously, the White Sox need to replace Dye at the very least and I assume they'll need to replace Scott Podsednik as well. All in all the White Sox need a backup catcher to replace Ramon Castro, two corner outfielders, a lefty out of the pen to replace Randy Williams and a designated hitter. Kenny Williams isn't a guy that spends big bucks in the free agent market and most of his moves are made through trades.

The White Sox don't have a ton of money to spend due to the trades and waiver claims made for Jake Peavy and Alex Rios, respectively. My key to the offseason is getting Bobby Abreu to fill one of the corner outfield spots and beyond that, one buy low right-handed option out of the pen and a semi-reliable second lefty would be lovely.

Getting a backup catcher isn't critical because no matter who it is they'll probably be terrible. They always are. Cole Armstrong makes sense in the short term but he's essentially a bad version of A.J. Pierzynski (throws righty, bats lefty). I'm fine with rotating the designated hitter spot especially if either Tyler Flowers or Dayan Viciedo can make the club.