State of the Farm - ESPN

[Bockstock]

From ESPN

The bad news here is that the team is still more than a year away from being able to begin a true rebuilding process; the only big contract coming off the books this winter is Derrek Lee. While shortstop Starlin Castro and righty Andrew Cashner have given the club a minor glimpse of the future, the problem is runs scored (the Cubs are currently 12th in the NL ). Josh Vitters hasn't lived up to expectations, so Brett Jackson is the only guy in the system who can seemingly contribute offensively in the next couple of years. There's better news on the pitching level—but much of that goes to the Cubs' hopefully making the decision to return Cashner to the rotation. After selecting him with their first pick in 2008 as the top college closer in the county, the Cubs made the risky decision to convert him to a starter, but they handled the transformation in a way that should be a template for every team considering the same. To toss all of that work aside for a 60-70 inning reliever would be a sad waste of fantastic execution. Another potential answer could be—believe it or not—Jeff Samardzija. His bonus was a little ridiculous, and his career major-league ERA is 5.89, but at Triple-A Iowa, he's added an 87-90 mph cutter that finally gives him a second pitch. This should help him be more successful the next time he's pitching at Wrigley Field. Also at Triple-A, righty Jay Jackson should be able to contribute in a starting or relief role, but the inability to score runs could plague this team for years to come.

[Banks]

Yeah, this article isn't exactly accurate...

The Cubs will have a nice chunk of change coming off the books. There's DLee $13M, as the guy mentioned. Then there's Lilly's $13M... Theriot's $2.6M(With a likely raise)... A nice chunk of change from Silva's contract($4M or so)... Nady's $3.3M... So the Cubs have money to play with.

As for the prospects...Give the Cubs a break. They have incoporated 3 prospects, Colvin, Cashner and Castro, into big roles this season. So of course there is gonna be a drop off.

[Bockstock]

The Cubs will have a nice chunk of change coming off the books. There's DLee $13M, as the guy mentioned. Then there's Lilly's $13M... Theriot's $2.6M(With a likely raise)... A nice chunk of change from Silva's contract($4M or so)... Nady's $3.3M... So the Cubs have money to play with.

Not that I entirely disagree with you, but your facts are off

Silva will make $2 more million next year than this year (Cubs covered $6 million this year, $8 next). Byrd makes $2.5 million more next year than this year. Dempster makes another million. Gorz, Soto, Marmol, Marshall will each make alot more. Fontenot and Theriot gone is nice, though Marmol and Soto could make close to $5-6 million each.

[Bockstock]

oh -I almost forgot Amazing John Grabow will be making almost twice as much next year as he will be making this year, around 4.8 million or something like that

good times with middle relievers

[Banks]

You're right. Raises do need to be taken into consideration...
The Cubs get more money from Seattle for Silva...$3.5M this season, $5.5M for next year. Also, the article completely neglected Lilly's $13M coming off the books, which is a huge amount.

Raises

Fukudome $0.5M
Dempster $1M
Byrd $2.5M
Samardzija $0.5M
Grabow $2.1M
Marmol(Arb raise from his $2.1M)
Marshall(Arb raise from his $0.95M)
Guzman(Arb raise from his $0.8M)
Gorz(Arb raise from his $0.8M)
Soto(Arb raise from his $0.57M)

Off the books

Lee $13M
Lilly $13M
Nady $3.3M
Theriot $2.6M(Arb raise)
Fontenot $1M(Arb raise)
Tracy $0.9M
Baker $0.975M(Arb raise) Baker isn't gone yet...but he most likely will be
Hill $0.7M(Arb raise) Like Baker, Hill will be gone

The Cubs will have around $35M coming off the books as of right now. That's not including a very possible Fukudome trade(of course the Cubs will have to eat some money...but will be shedding some in the process)

The Cubs are then taking on $6.5M in raises, before arb raises. In the end, let's say the Cubs have between $20M-$25M shed for next season. That's pretty good, especially with the likely move that will be made to shed more, and a brand new owner looking to make a splash in his first real off-season.

Apologies for any glowing errors...it's hot!

[Bockstock]

Well I just did the math, the Cubs have approximately $ 125-130 million committed to next year.

Players I left out:

FA: Nady, Lee

Out of options/non-tender candidates: Baker, Guzman, Hill, Hoffpauir, Fuld, Gray

Obviously this changes situation if the Cubs do move Z or Fukudome and free up some cash, maybe eating half of their remaining contracts.

I'm interested to see how Hendry squeezes 4-5 significant moves out of $15 or so million dollars. This just reaffirms the Cubs really should look into trading Marmol over the offseason.

[LeeEila's/rant]

Well I just did the math, the Cubs have approximately $ 125-130 million committed to next year.

All the more reason I think our next manager will be the lowest bidder . We are going to need that couple million on the field.