SB Nation Chicago - Chicago Cubs Offseason: Cubs, Red Sox Agree To Terms On Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer Compensation

Theo Epstein Compensation: Boston Could Try To Re-Open Talks After Carpenter Surgery

2012-03-30T12:01:08Z

Frustrated by the emergence of a right elbow injury that's ultimately required surgery on reliever Chris Carpenter, the pitcher acquired from the Chicago Cubs as part of the compensation for Theo Epstein, the Boston Red Sox don't consider talks about the compensation to be over now.

According to a source that's spoken with Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe, folks in Boston don't see the negotiations for Epstein's compensation to be over:

The club is weighing its options about what to do next, said the source. This raises the specter that the Red Sox believe the possibility exists that Carpenter was injured when he was traded to them on Feb. 21. A baseball source indicated that the teams agree that that there was no intent or prior knowledge by the Cubs that misled the Red Sox about Carpenter’s condition.

In addition to receiving Carpenter, the Red Sox swapped first baseman Jair Bogaerts for Cubs pitcher Aaron Kurcz. Neither of the pitchers that Boston received would be considered a top prospect, but there's never been a precedent for teams receiving that kind of return for executives.

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Theo Epstein Compensation: Cubs Receive 1B Jair Bogaerts From Red Sox

2012-03-29T18:04:45Z

The Chicago Cubs have hopefully closed the final chapter of the Theo Epstein compensation talks. According to Adam Hoge of CBS Sports, the Boston Red Sox have sent 18-year-old 1B Jair Bogaerts to Chicago:

#RedSox send 1B prospect Jair Bogaerts to #Cubs to complete Theo Epstein compensation.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHogeCBS) March 29, 2012

Bogaerts played in 46 Rookie League games in 2011, hitting an impressive .291/.392/.411 slash with 2 home runs. With only two rookie-league seasons under his belt, Bogaerts is likely years away from reaching the majors.

The Cubs previously sent prospect C+ SP Christopher Carpenter to the Red Sox after weeks of debate between the two franchises. Epstein left the Red Sox organization before the conclusion of his contract, but the unprecedented transition resulted in protracted compensation talks that eventually had to be settled with the help of commissioner Bud Selig.

2012 MLB Free Agency: Cubs Sign MR Shawn Camp To Minor League Deal

2012-03-26T18:52:37Z

According to Carrie Muskat of Cubs.com, the Chicago Cubs have signed reliever RHP Shawn Camp to a minor league deal:

#Cubs sign RHP Shawn [Camp] to Minor League deal. He's at HoHoKam today
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 26, 2012

Camp previously played for the Seattle Mariners, earned $750,000 on a major league deal. His 2011 season did go as well as hoped, though, as the then-35-year-old pitching 66.1 inning with his highest ERA (4.21) of the last three years as well as the lowest strikeout rate (11.0%) of his career.

With almost 500 innings under his belt, the veteran Camp adds extra depth to a projected Cubs bullpen already bolstered with former starters such as Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, James Russell and possibly Casey Coleman.

2012 MLB Offseason: Chicago Cubs Claim RHP Frankie De La Cruz

2012-03-16T18:33:52Z

The Chicago Cubs have claimed 28-year-old RHP Frankie De La Cruz from the Milwaukee Brewers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal:

#Brewers RHP Frankie De La Cruz was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) March 16, 2012

De La Cruz has pitched 32.0 innings in the major leagues since 2007, and spent most of the 2011 season in Triple-A. The long-time starter and swing man pitcher compiled 137.0 IP in the minors last year, earning a 3.88 ERA and 4.16 FIP. In the majors, De La Cruz pitched 13.0 innings in relief, earning a 2.77 ERA and 3.26 FIP.

The Cubs mark the fifth organization De La Cruz has played for since 2007.

2012 MLB Offseason: Cubs Finalize Contracts For 24 Players

2012-03-05T21:51:39Z

The Chicago Cubs signed 24 of their players on Monday, according to ESPN Chicago. The players were all under team control still, meaning the signings were not free agent acquisitions, but rather just 1-year, pre-arbitration contracts.

ESPN Chicago has the details:

The minimum salary this season is $480,000 with five Cubs players agreeing to deals over $500,000. Those players are Jeff Samardzija ($2.64 million), James Russell ($512,000), Starlin Castro ($567,000), Darwin Barney ($500,000) and Travis Wood ($505,000).

--snip--

The full list of players who agreed to deals Monday:

Right-handed pitchers: Alberto Cabrera, Lendy Castillo, Casey Coleman, Rafael Dolis, Marcos Mateo, Samardzija and Casey Weathers.

Left-handed pitchers: Jeff Beliveau, John Gaub, Scott Maine, Russell and T. Wood.

Catchers: Welington Castillo and Steve Clevenger.

Infielders: Barney, Adrian Cardenas, Castro, Bryan LaHair, Junior Lake, Anthony Rizzo and Josh Vitters.

Outfielders: Tony Campana, Dave Sappelt and Matt Szczur.

The two most notable signees are SS Starlin Castro and RP Jeff Samardzija. Castro, now a veteran of two full MLB seasons, becomes arbitration eligible after the 2012 season, meaning his salary should increase exponentially at that time. Samardzija, meanwhile, signed a major-league contract out of college and recently re-worked his contract with the Cubs following his seemingly permanent relegation to relief duty.

The Cubs started their 2012 season with Sunday's spring training game against the Oakland Athletics, and they will begin the season at home on Thursday, April 5, taking on the Washington Nationals.

Cubs Rumors: GM Says Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd Will Be With Team On Opening Day

2012-02-29T21:43:14Z

The Chicago Cubs expect to have outfielders Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd in the starting lineup on Opening Day, as Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told ESPN's Jim Bowden on Wednesday. Both have been in trade rumors during the offseason as the Cubs retool under new management, but it appears that they're both staying put for now.

Soriano, 36, was more heavily discussed in rumors this offseason given his massive price tag and declining performance. While the slugger still has legitimate power, hitting 50 homers combined over the past two seasons, he's no longer a good runner, he's not a particularly good defender and his on-base skills have devolved from mediocre to downright awful. Over the next three seasons he's owed $54 million, so Chicago would need to eat a significant portion of that figure.

Byrd, on the other hand, hasn't been brought up nearly as much despite having the organization's top prospect emerging behind him. The 34-year-old has played well as the full-time center fielder for Chicago over the past two years, but he makes $6.5 million in 2012 and isn't exactly a good first-division starter. He likely would garner more interest than Soriano on the open market, although power is always at a premium.

Theo Epstein Compensation: Boston Will Receive Better Player In Swap Of PTBNL's To Complete Deal

2012-02-29T21:32:54Z

Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told ESPN's Jim Bowden on Wednesday that the Boston Red Sox will receive the "slightly better player" in the future trade of yet-to-be-named players that will finally complete the compensation for Theo Epstein's move to Chicago.

The Red Sox have already received relief pitcher Chris Carpenter from the Cubs as part of the compensation for allowing Epstein to leave Boston despite still being under contract, but the two sides also agreed to swap players at a future date to complete the deal.

While it's still unclear when that move will take place, it's been said that the deal should happen before Spring Training is over. At this point, names that could be going either way in the trade haven't been publicly discussed yet, but it's reasonable to assume that major pieces won't be on the move.

2012 MLB Offseason: Brett Jackson, Anthony Rizzo Poised For Mid-Season Call-Ups

2012-02-28T22:08:06Z

The Chicago Cubs have a pair of top prospects on the cusp of reaching the majors, and 2012 may be the year they finally stick at the major league level.

Outfielder Brett Jackson, who played in Double-A and Triple-A in 2011, may well earn some considerable playing time in 2012. According to Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors, however, Jackson's callup may not occur until mid June at the soonest. Nicholson-Smith reports that Jackson -- if called up sooner than mid-to-late June, would be eligible for Super Two arbitration, meaning his cost to the Cubs would rise considerably.

If the Cubs call him up in late April, they will still have Jackson under team control through 2018, but if he comes up any sooner or starts the season with the team, he would only be under control until 2017. If the Cubs are already out of contention by mid June, it seems likely they would begin to look towards calling up Jackson, and given his service time issues, it seems likely they would have little else standing in their way at that point.

The other Cubs prospect likely for mid-season callup is 1B Anthony Rizzo. Though the Cubs have already committed to 1B Bryan LaHair for the starting role, Rizzo will lose Super Two eligibility around late August, meaning a September callup may well be in his future.

Rizzo played a little with the San Diego Padres in 2011, giving him 0.068 years of service time, according to Nicholson-Smith, so the soonest the Cubs are likely to call him up appears to be sometime in July when he at least will earn an additional year of team control.