Chicago Cubs: An Action Plan to Build a 2010 Winner

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

First of all, here's a link that will help us establish a proper frame of reference. The sheet attached is from Cot's Baseball Contracts, a valuable source for contract information for baseball players. It breaks down the 2010 financial obligations of the Chicago Cubs.

According to this breakdown, the Cubs are already obligated to $119 million in 2010, a number that's down from the nearly $135 million it reached this past season.

There are a few glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed first and foremost. The biggest area of need for the Cubs is their bullpen. The team stands to lose Aaron Heilman and Kevin Gregg, which makes the team better right away but also vacates two roster spots that need to be filled. John Grabow is also a free agent.

The next area that needs to be considered is the Cubs' depth. Indications are that Jim Hendry likes the idea of Jeff Baker heading to spring training as the frontrunner to become the starting second baseman. That means Mike Fontenot would move back to the bench, with Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir.

Tom Gorzelanny has the inside track on the final spot in the Cubs' rotation for next year right now, adding the second lefty that Hendry and Lou Piniella have coveted.

Having Gorzelanny in the rotation, though, leaves the Cubs with only Sean Marshall under contract asa lefty reliever. The Cubs entered last year with only Neal Cotts in the pen, and that backfired early. Therefore, adding either another starting pitcher or lefty for the pen is an area that should be addressed.

The ideal scenario, and one thats reportedly being worked on, is bringing back Grabow. He was lights-out for the Cubs down the stretch and would be a solid eighth inning guy with Angel Guzman in front of Carlos Marmol, who would presumably becomes the closer next year.

So let's move forward with the following assumptions in line:

• The starting rotation will consist of at least Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells.
• The bullpen will include Guzman, Marshall, and Marmol.
• Gorzelanny and Baker will be on the Cubs major league roster.
• The starting infield will include Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto and Aramis Ramirez.
• The outfield will include Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome.
• The batters on the bench will include Fox, Hoffpauir, Fontenot, Koyie Hill and one of Sam Fuld/Tyler Colvin.

With these assumptions in mind, the following points are what I would like to see happen to the Chicago Cubs this winter. I'll discuss each in further detail below.

• Get rid of Milton Bradley.
• Add John Lackey
• Add Mike Cameron
• Put Gorzelanny, Jeff Samardzija, Esmailin Caridad and Jeff Stevens in the bullpen to begin the season.
• Give Starlin Castro a shot to win a starting job in the middle infield

Get rid of Bradley

I think it's clear that the Cubs will at least make an effort to move Bradley this winter. After he threw Cubs fans at large under the bus and was subsequently sent home for the remainder of the season, players felt more able to open up about their issues with Bradley this season.

His performance on the field wasn't what Hendry had hoped for when he gave Bradley the three year contract many observers, myself included, questioned last winter. Though analysis might tell you he earned his modest $5 million salary in 2009, he is not worth the $22 million that remains on his contract.

The problem with this point is that most other teams would agree with me that Bradley isn't worth the money or years left on his contract. Indeed, Bradley hasn't been with the same organization for consecutive seasons in almost a decade.

That means the Cubs will probably have to eat most of Bradley's salary for him to play somewhere else. So the assumption under which we'll move forward with this discussion is that Bradley is not on the Cubs' roster, but his salary is, keeping the Cubs payroll at $119 million.

Add Lackey

I have written on this topic a couple times over the past couple weeks. Lackey will be the top starting pitcher on the free agent market this winter, but his performances in October are the foundation for why I want him on Chicago's north side.

I believe the Cubs could add Lackey with a five-year, $65 million contract. While the thought of the Cubs adding $15 million to their payroll in 2010 will probably raise eyebrows, Hendry doesn't have a history of writing flat-salary contracts.

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