After letting their top target, Mike Cameron, slip away to the Red Sox while they tried desperately to unload Milton Bradley, the Cubs are now left holding six million dollars, and wondering who will be manning center field next season.
Looking at the list of available free agents, I'm not convinced that anyone out there can provide any more bang for the buck than former first round pick Tyler Colvin. Let's examine the potential candidates on the free agent market:
Rick Ankiel
Pros: Left handed power hitter, strong arm.
Cons: Horrendous plate discipline, coming off worst year to date.
Marlon Byrd
Pros: Coming off the best season of his career.
Cons: Looking to cash in on best season of his career with multi-year deal.
Scott Podsednik
Pros: Lead-off hitter, base stealer.
Cons: Was relegated to the minors just a year ago.
So I feel that the smartest and safest move would be to re-sign Reed Johnson to serve in a platoon role with Colvin, taking some of the pressure off of him, and making the job Colvin's to lose heading into camp.
In a brief call-up last season he flashed some solid leather, and if his Double-A stats from last season are any indication, he is a developing hitter who is very close to major league ready at the plate.
With that six million dollars, the Cubs can then sign the righty arm for the back of their bullpen that they have been looking for, perhaps someone like Matt Capps.
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