Cubs manager Lou Piniella would bring most of the Cubs’ nucleus back in 2008, though he isn’t sure what kind of changes will be done in the off-season.
“I don’t know,” he said. “There is a lot of uncertainty this winter with new ownership and everything else.”
Piniella will be back in 2008 for the second season of a three-year deal with the team he insists will be the last stop of his career. But he doesn’t know what his club will be like in ’08, much less who will be his new boss.
“I haven’t even looked at it,” he said. “There has been concern about this year only. We have a good nucleus. We’ll see what we do over the winter. I haven’t even looked at next year, and I don’t think our general manager (Jim Hendry) has either.”
The Cubs will have immediate decisions to make on Kerry Wood, Cliff Floyd and Daryle Ward, all of whom will become free agents in November.
They already are expected to wave goodbye to Jason Kendall, Steve Trachsel and Craig Monroe, the three in-season pickups Hendry made who didn’t pan out. Mark Prior is also a question mark, and whether the Cubs will trade Will Ohman, who makes $1.6 million in ’08, and Jacque Jones, who’s due $5 million, remains to be seen.
Here’s a look at some of the key decisions:
*Catcher: With Henry Blanco being paid $2.8 million in 2008, the Cubs hope he can return from his back injury and help tutor promising rookie Geovany Soto in his first full year as a starting catcher. Kendall, who made $13 million this year, slowed down in September and does not have the defensive skills the Cubs want at such an important position.
*Wood: Re-signed for $1.75 million with incentives, but he didn’t make many because he pitched in only 22 games. But Wood’s velocity picked up toward the end of the season, and he became a valuable member of the middle-relief corps. Wood will have the upper hand in bargaining because several clubs will be looking at him as a potential closer in 2008. Whether Wood would give the Cubs another hometown discount remains to be seen, and he even may want to return to a starting role.
*Outfield: Floyd and Ward are both designated hitter possibilities in the American League, even though both made contributions over the course of the season. But Floyd’s drop in power numbers (nine homers and 10 doubles in 282 at-bats) and Ward’s inability to play the outfield because he lacks mobility work against both hitters. Matt Murton should get an opportunity to start in right field, but whether Felix Pie gets the center-field job depends on whether the Cubs can trade Jones.
*Closer: Ryan Dempster is signed through 2008, but has said he would like to come back as a starter. The Cubs already have Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis and Rich Hill penciled into the rotation for ’08, and rookie Kevin Hart is expected to get a shot in spring training. Carlos Marmol is supposed to be the closer of the future, but Dempster stands in the way unless he joins the rotation or is traded.
*Prior: He’ll become eligible for arbitration again, and the Cubs must decide whether to tender him a contract. Prior is coming off shoulder surgery and said he’s rehabbing at a quicker pace than expected, but do the Cubs want to pay him another $3.6 million if they can’t count on him being healthy for the start of the season?
