Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have agreed to acquire right-handed pitcher Matt Garza from the Tampa Bay Rays for a package of prospects on Friday. The Cubs will send Chris Archer, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, Hak Ju-Lee and Sam Fuld to the Rays for Garza and a minor-league pitcher and a minor-league outfielder, according to Bruce Levine.

Garza is only 27, so he is a young pitcher who will be under club control for three years. So why would the Rays trade him? For one, they are trading from a position of strength. They already have a solid rotation  penciled in for 2011. 

According to ESPNChicago.com, Matt Garza is going to the North Side of Chicago. 

The 27-year-old starting pitcher was put on the trading block by the Rays in an attempt to re-tool their organization. They were looking for a shortstop, a catcher and good young pitching according to the article. 

The Cubs in turn traded away: outfielder Sam Fuld, pitcher Chris Archer, outfielder Brandon Guyer, catcher Robinson Chirinos, and shortstop Hak-Ju Lee.

On January 4th, Baseball America released its top 10 prospect rankings for all 30 MLB teams for the upcoming season.

For the Cubs, only four players from last year's list returned to the list in 2011, with Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner now members of the MLB team.

Not only does the list have a different look, it also has a new No. 1 prospect, and it is someone who did not even crack the top 10 last season.

So here is a little closer look at the Cubs' top 10 prospects for the 2011 season, according to Baseball America.

I tend not to put up a ton of pieces like this, but this is my favorite day of the baseball year outside of Opening Day. Every year, two friends and I make the trek to the Hall of Fame for induction weekend. A truly great four days. This year, I would certainly be voting for Roberto Alomar, and he should get in. Four others would be on my ballot as well. I ended up leaving Jack Morris off. Just couldn't make the cut with him.

Why the not-so-optimistic title? Because a fifth place finish in the NL Central isn't quite worthwhile when you're the Chicago Cubs. In 2010, the team sported the highest payroll in the senior circuit at $137.9MM and were 12 games under .500 by the trade deadline.

Under manager Lou Piniella, the Cubs played with little enthusiasm and became complacent with their reputation as a team with a curse.

It will be up to new manager Mike Quade to shake the curse and keep his team motivated during his first full season at the helm, one which needs more ups than downs.

If it wasn’t already clear, the 2010-11 off-season has broadcast to the world the Chicago Cubs’ full-blown dormancy in the National League Central.  I’m not saying the Cubs won’t be heard from in 2011, but they’ll likely make fewer national television appearances than Barack Obama.  Don’t call them the Pirates yet, but also don’t call them the Reds, Brewers, Cardinals, or probably the Astros.  That’s right, the Cubs are officially stuck in .500-ville.  Picture the New York Knicks, except outdoors, and also without LeBron Ja

The Cubs managed to get Carlos Pena for only $5 mil this year ($5 mil deferred until 2012) and stole Kerry Wood for $1.5 mil.  Factoring in arbitration raises though, they only have a few mil left to work with, so what are the rest of the possibilities for the Cubs offseason?  In this article I’ll look at free agent possibilities and later will look at trade possibilities:

The position players all look set and will probably break down to 13 people:

Phil Cavarretta, best known for winning in 1945 the National League MVP with the Chicago Cubs, has passed away.

Cavarretta was born and raised in Chicago. At age 17, he was signed by the Cubs as a amateur free agent in 1934. From that day on he built a relationship with the Cubs organization that lasted 20 years.

For one day, Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry was the smartest man in baseball.

Somewhere, Ron Santo is beaming. Kerry Wood, a longtime Chicago Cub who never looked right in anyone else's uniform, will reportedly come home to the North Side of Chicago.

Multiple sources, including Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of the Chicago Tribune, report that Wood and the Cubs are finalizing a deal.

If true, this news has to warm the hearts of Cubs fans everywhere. Wood became a fan favorite nonpareil in the post-Ryne Sandberg era, and the team has done its public relations a world of good by reeling in Wood just weeks after cutting ties with Sandberg.