Marmol, Guzman (if healthy), Shark (if in the pen) and Vizcaino are hard throwers. If you mean dominant as in ‘doesnt give up any base runners, hits, or walks’ then I’d agree, we need more, but who doesnt. I think that the Cubs have a solid pen going into spring training and this signing would promote competition between some of the fringe arms.

This could be a sign that theyre at least entertaining the idea of letting Marshall start…..dont know a thing about this guy, but if he can be a LOOGY, then great

I assume this will be another Takatsu like signing

What are you basing it on? Certainly not their 2008 values (or in Bradley’s case, any value he’s put up in the last 5 years, save for his 2005 season with the Dodgers).

… perhaps this is a minor league signing with an invite to Spring Training?

What is more intriguing to me is if this does happen now, he will likely occupy a 40-man roster spot, right? There are no spots left, so this may force Hendry’s hand via DFA… or force his hand for a trade — a trade that I have been anxiously anticipating.

you don’t have to give up a roster spot for him, plus the guy could actually help his hitting out

… both.

I was at his 3 homerun game….

I dont know how much those two would remember, Soriano played there when he was a teenager, right? and Lee was an Army brat? So I doubt they have any level of fluency

Fact is, there are several, viable Japanese relievers we could sign, but this seems a bit odd. We couldve taken a flyer on Saito, and Otsuka is still available or Koji Mitsui.

I think it could work, a newly imported Japanese reliever would be completely uknown to the rest of the league, so that would work to our advantage for the first year

If Marshall is slated to compete for a rotation spot than who other than Cotts. Personally I would like $2.5M spent on a proven Guardado but if this 40 year old has something that facing one or two lefties who cannot adjust in the few AB’s well that is another.

Heck he might be a chef as well and able to prepare Fukudome’s meals as well.

… sort of like Shingo Takatsu was last year.

LINKY

Somebody check me on this, but it doesn’t seem to me like Lou is a big LOOGY user to begin with. (Where art thou, Scott Eyre?) So getting another lefty besides Cotts may not be a huge priority.

…they’d have to keep Felix Pie, who’s a dead ringer for Chan’s Rush Hour cohort Chris Tucker.