What remains unknown are all of the arbitration-eligible players including Carlos Marmol, Soto, Theriot, Fontenot, Jeff Baker, Gorzelanny, Angel Guzman, Heilman, Koyie Hill, and Sean Marshall. That’s 1/4 of our 40-man roster.
Add in those potential numbers to the running total and if I were Bradley or Zambrano, I’d start packing.
I’m sure they knew it, but the Ricketts family did not inherit a 134 million dollar team payroll. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s over $160 million next season, and of course this is without the addition of any outside players.
I've said before I think the Ricketts should be just fine since they bargained their way to a better purchase leveraged transfer price on the team. But still, they didn't get rich by throwing money away. This offseason should be pretty interesting, though I don't see Zambrano wearing anything but Cubbie blue in the years to come.
Milton, on the other hand, isn't likely to stay. Most of the rumored trades would hurt the Cubs financially and on the field, although Ken Rosenthal believes many teams have interest and that the Ricketts won't pay too large a portion of his contract. I just can't see Hendry, Lou, or the Ricketts wanting to deal with the head-case headaches.
The winter meetings will tell us a lot. Or drive us all crazy, either way.
I hope they come to an agreement with Marmol, Soto and Theriot. They're the future of the franchise. Soto had a bad season, but I believe 2010 will be a bounce back year. Theriot showed more power this season and I think he'll continue to grow.
ReplyDeleteI like big Z. He is exciting to watch because there is always the chance he could throw a no-no, but at the same time he can come unglued. But he has ace stuff and they have historically let their aces go, i.e., Greg Maddux.