Yesterday I posted a list of starting pitchers who will be free agents at the end of the 2009 season and with Ted Lilly on the DL the Cubs will have to move quickly to either add a starting pitcher or to add a couple of bullpen arms and move Sean Marshall into the rotation.
Lilly is being disabled because of tendinitis in his throwing shoulder but he will also have arthroscopic knee surgery on Monday to clean up a problem that has caused him discomfort for a while. He is expected to be sidelined for approximately three weeks.
Here is a list of relievers who will be free agents at the end of the 2009 season. Some of these names will be of no interest to the Cubs and some will be unavailable for various reasons. However, regardless of how difficult the task might be to accomplish Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry has to find a way to upgrade his bullpen so that he gives Lou Piniella the ability to mix and match down the stretch of tight ball games.
In addition, if Lilly is gone for an extended amount of time that could severely hamstring the starting rotation and force Hendry to have to add another starter. Forget about Roy Halladay because the Cubs don't have the package of players necessary to get him from Toronto plus with the ownership situation so unsettled they cannot take on the type of money that Halladay makes and will make in the future.
Two names on the Arizona roster that could have great appeal to Hendry are reliever Chad Qualls and former White Sox starter Jon Garland who is a former #1 draft pick of the Cubs. Qualls is in high demand from most of the teams in contention but Garland, while not a top of the rotation guy could be serviceable in Lilly's absence. He also has a very manageable contract that is up at the end of this season and contains a mutual option for 2010. Should Hendry choose just to upgrade his bullpen he needs to give Piniella at least one solid lefty that can be used against the elite left handed hitters the Cubs will face the rest of the season.
Three lefty's that can be had without giving up a ton in return are Joe Beimel of the Washington Nationals, John Grabow of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and former Cub Scott Downs who is pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Downs is a fairly attractive option but Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi has been telling other general managers that he wants to get the Roy Halladay deal done before he looks at other moves.
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild has rearranged the starting rotation to compensate for the loss of Lilly by moving Kevin Hart up to start today's game, Rich Harden goes tomorrow, Carlos Zambrano goes Monday night, and Ryan Dempster returns from the DL on Tuesday evening. Randy Wells will pitch Wednesday and Kevin Hart will conclude the homestand on Thursday afternoon against the Astros.
SIGHT SEEN....Carlos Zambrano and many of the Cubs pitchers took part in their pre game running from foul line to foul line accompanied by Zambrano's new dog, "Little Z" who is a Sharpei that is 10 weeks old. The dog was a big hit in the clubhouse before the game, especially when Zambrano dressed the dog in a t-shirt and hat.
