A day after saying goodbye to Ricky Gutierrez, Cubs officials arrived in Boston for the annual winter meetings with a new priority list.
Their first order of business is to trade for an established shortstop, and team officials are confident they will complete a deal over the next several days.
Their likely target is Kansas City’s Neifi Perez, but the Cubs are mulling various options so they won’t have to part with a top pitching prospect.
One major-league source said Cincinnati’s Pokey Reese has been crossed off the Cubs’ list, most likely because of the steep demands of Reds general manager Jim Bowden.
Another source indicated that Montreal’s Orlando Cabrera would be all but impossible to acquire this week because of the Expos’ unknown status for next season. Commissioner Bud Selig reportedly put a freeze on trades involving Montreal and Minnesota until the contraction issue is settled.
Other possibilities are Milwaukee’s Mark Loretta and the White Sox’s Royce Clayton. Loretta will be paid $5 million next season in the final year of his contract and Clayton, who has been on the trading block for months, is set to earn $4.5 million.
Perez, 26, played under Cubs manager Don Baylor for three years in Colorado before being dealt to the Royals in July. Although he has a career .279 batting average, Perez hit just .241 with one home run in 49 games after the trade.
Like many Rockies, Perez thrived at Coors Field, where he hit .313 over his career. His lifetime average on the road is .243.
Perez, who won a Gold Glove in 2000, was paid $3.55 million last season and is eligible for a raise through arbitration.
Royals officials have said they’re listening to offers for Perez, who could be replaced by promising rookie Angel Berroa. The Dodgers considered parting with their best young pitcher, 23-year-old right-hander Luke Prokopec, to obtain Perez.
The Cubs could have had a solid, veteran shortstop for next season without losing any players. But they simply weren’t willing to give Gutierrez the three-year contract he desired and didn’t even offer him arbitration.
The Cubs offered a two-year deal for just under $10 million with a club option that included a $500,000 buyout. The Cubs might have boosted their offer to $10.5 million, putting the total value of the package at $11 million.
But Gutierrez, 31, who hit .290 with 66 RBIs last season, said Saturday that he didn’t regret his decision to turn it down.
“Not at all,” he said. “I think I proved myself over the last two years, and I think I can do better than a two-year deal. But I’ll miss it in Chicago.
“The fans were great and the manager took great care of me and gave me a chance to play every day. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”
The Cubs’ other order of business in Boston is to re-sign left fielder Rondell White, most likely to an incentive-laden two-year deal, and add an arm to their bullpen.
Right-hander Jay Powell is expected to turn down the Cubs’ three-year offer, worth about $7.75 million, and sign with either Texas or Atlanta.
