Ryan Freel?

Posted by Lionel on May 8, 2009.

Jim Hendry and his old friend Andy McPhail must've realized the other day that they hadn't made a Cubs-O's trade in a couple of months, so they started talking. According to Ken Rosenthal, the O's and Cubs have been in discussions, and the fact that Joey Gathright cleared waivers today added some sizzle to the rumor.
I like Ryan Freel. I like the way he plays the game. And I think there is a use for Ryan Freel on the Cubs, because they could use a backup 3-sack that doesn't require moving lil Mikey and forming the Tiny Triumvirate (I'm still searching for a good term for the vertically challenged threesome of Miles, The Riot and Fontenot covering the 4-5-6 defensive spots). He would also replace Gathright's speed, as he was swiping 35+ bags a year when he was logging regular time.
But my biggest concern is what the Cubs are going to give up for him. According to BA, they have the 27th best farm system in baseball. That's also called the 4th worst. A large part of that is the number of guys they've traded away (they traded away 3 top ten prospects from last year). What that means to me is that they shouldn't be beefing up the Orioles farm system to get a guy who is 2 for 15 this year and is coming off the D.L.
Freel wants out of Baltimore, the O's want to shed his 3.3 million dollar contract, and the Cubs could use a backup 3 sack. So, trade a low (and I mean low) level prospect and take on his salary, or tell Andy McPhail to shove off. He should be focusing on getting Rich Hill back to the majors so the Cubs get a decent player in the PTBNL deal that sent Hill to Baltimore.
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