Tim's a good guy and I believe he has good sources. Thus I post his information from this afternoon as a source of starting discussion.

The two most interesting points, in my opinion, are:

There are no perfect fits for the right field vacancy, and the Cubs are willing to sacrifice some defense to add that middle of the order lefthanded hitter.

That, unfortunately, has Raul Ibanez written all over it. And:

Teams around baseball are wary of certain Type A/B free agents accepting offers of arbitration. Expect the Cubs to figure out where Kerry Wood stands before deciding whether to offer.

You could call this the "Greg Maddux Clause", because after 2002, when his second five-year deal with Atlanta expired, the Braves intended to let him go. They offered arb as a courtesy and Maddux accepted; the $14.8 million he got is, I believe, still the record for the largest arbitration settlement. That was for the 2003 season, the year he lost to The Former Employee in the NLDS in one of the better postseason games I've ever seen.

At the very least, there is some new information in Tim's post. Have at it.