The Cubs are unlikely to walk away from the winter meetings with Kosuke Fukudome under contract, and general manager Jim Hendry gets a little touchy whenever the Japanese outfielder's name comes up in conversation.
"There's a good likelihood that we don't leave here with a new outfielder that's that kind of a player," Hendry said. "And you don't have any assurances you're going to get one. You just have to keep plugging."
But no matter what Hendry says or what the Cubs do this week, the wheels are already in motion to try to bring Fukudome to Chicago. One former Cubs executive said Hendry probably wouldn't have jettisoned Jacque Jones so quickly if he wasn't sure he'd be able to reel in Fukudome.
Nevertheless, Hendry continued to dodge questions about Fukudome on the first day of the winter meetings Monday, saying he didn't want to "disrespect" the player or the Japanese league by talking about someone who has yet to announce he wants to play in the major leagues.
Hendry did say he had spoken to some clubs about potential deals. Asked if he was talking about outfielders, Hendry replied: "We're talking to other clubs about getting better. That's what we do. We don't limit ourselves to positions."
But the Cubs have talked to Cincinnati, sources said, about 26-year-old outfielder Josh Hamilton, the reformed drug addict who hit .292 in 90 games with 19 home runs and 47 RBIs in his first major-league season. Hamilton, a left-handed hitter who can play center or right, is expendable because of the glut of outfielders and the Reds' dire need for starting pitching. The Reds reportedly are asking for left-hander Sean Marshall.
While acquiring Hamilton wouldn't exactly make a huge splash, it could put some pressure on Felix Pie, a standout center fielder who has the potential to become a major-league hitter but has yet to prove himself in limited at-bats.
Manager Lou Piniella was with Tampa Bay in 2003 when Hamilton, the Rays' first pick in the 1999 draft, disappeared in spring training for six weeks and went on a drug binge. When Hamilton returned, Piniella sent him home and told him to go get his life back together.
Hamilton spent the next four years abusing drugs, serving suspensions and nearly ruining his career before finally rehabbing and cleaning up his act.
The Cubs selected Hamilton with the third pick in the Rule 5 draft last December in a prearranged move with the Reds, which then acquired him for cash.
Hamilton's rookie season was an inspiring story to many, and he even surprised himself. In a first-person story in ESPN the Magazine last July, Hamilton wrote: "I've been called the biggest surprise in baseball this year, and I can't argue with that. If you think about it, how many people have gone from being a crack addict to succeeding at anything, especially something as demanding as major-league baseball."
In addition to Hamilton, the Cubs are also talking to Pittsburgh about 26-year-old outfielder Nate McLouth, another left-handed hitter who can lead off and play either center or left. McLouth hit .258 with 22 steals last year, and is a fundamentally solid player with a very high baseball IQ, according to scouts. McLouth can be had for a middle-relief pitcher like Carmen Pignatiello, Neal Cotts or Will Ohman, who also is drawing interest from Atlanta.
While the Cubs don't know if Pie will ever live up to expectations, the acquisition of either Hamilton or McLouth could buy them some time before former first-round draft pick Tyler Colvin is ready. Colvin, a left-handed hitter with power, will start out at Triple-A Iowa in 2008 and could be ready by 2009.
"Colvin is a guy we think can play all three spots," Hendry said. "You'd like to think he's only a year away, but in our position, with the team we feel we can contend with, with a few more pieces, you don't really say, 'Gee, let's not get so-and-so because that might get in this guy's way.' Those things have a way of working themselves out.
"My mentor Gary Hughes told me a long time ago, 'You can't have too many good players.'"
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psullivan@tribune.com
