It appears the Cubs are indeed trying to make some inexplicable moves involving the starting rotation.
I say inexplicable because there are such glaring holes on this team outside of the starting rotation…but here is what we currently know as far as what is happening with the pitching and the Cubs at the winter meetings…
First, the Cubs are looking to shop Tom Gorzelanny (aka: Sloth). Gorzelanny has been somewhat injury prone, but he has been a very good soldier for this team since they picked him up a season and a half ago.
Sloth is also a lefty and is under team control for a little while yet, so he will be relatively cheap.
I would say at this point that Gorzelanny should be one of the top contenders for the #5 spot in the rotation…and even if he wasn’t the #5 guy, he has no problem moving back and forth out of the bullpen and the rotation the last couple years. He has actually shown some glimpses of being a very good pitcher too…and in fact had a couple of decent seasons while with Pittsburgh. He’s no Cliff Lee…don’t get me wrong, but as a serviceable lefthander, he can be very valuable on a team. With all that said, the Cubs might be trying to trade him a bit early as Sloth could be a valuable commodity come the trade deadline in July.
So with Sloth on the block, the Cubs, as I’ve reported before, appear to be looking for another starting pitcher. Right now their focus at the winter meetings for this spot is Brandon Webb who basically hasn’t pitched in 2 years due to arm troubles.
Webb is a former Cy Young winner (and 2 time runner up) and pretty much blew out his shoulder at the very beginning of the 2009 season.
Last year the D-Backs kept waiting and waiting for him to come back, and he never did (something the Cubs are very familiar with).
Look, I know the Brandon Webb will probably come cheap ($3 to $4 million)…but we’ve seen what happens with pitchers like him who have shoulder problems (Mark Prior) and the fact that Webb wasn’t able to return at all last season should be a huge warning flag to any team.
So my question is, why can’t we save those few millions, keep Sloth and then go after a good first baseman like Adam Dunn…oh…um…Adrian Gonzal….oh…crap…Lance Berkm….dammit….
Never mind.
