I also think it’s the way to go (waiting … after moving MB that is). There aren’t many, if any, “ideal” fits, particularly considering the combination of open positions and needs. Might as well wait and bide your time, see if a good player pops free. I haven’t contemplated it deep enough to come up with a list of names, although mlbtr does a very good job of that with possible non-tenders listed at the bottom of their team by team reviews. Now, I could see a scenario where teams get proactive in making trades for potential non-tenders, as we’ve seen with the Hermida and Hardy deals. That might change things a bit, but still, at the end of the day, without many ideal fits, waiting isn’t the worst idea.

In general, I think the focus is going to be heavy on the OF. I’ve long felt that Castro was going to be impacting this offseason’s planning. If there’s a middle infield signing, it’ll be something small. I think we’ll be looking at CF and pen help first, with the others a backup areas that may get pondered.

If Hendry had tried waiting last year, we might have had Abreu on a one-year deal rather than MB for (possibly) three.

I don’t care, just get the right players.

The trend last year for the smart GMs was to wait. Unfortunately Hendry was maybe stil mesmorized by Zell’s funny money, had no read on the economy, which is strange considering it was an election year and was the top story starting in September. That he was a season behind the trend doesn’t bode well IMO.

With the WS ending late, this will be an even shorter off-season. And my guess is there will be more players available as free agents this year. With less and less GM’s willing to offer the “extra” year in contracts, and more players willing to take one year deals to prove themselves or hope for something more lucrative next season, I feel we are heading to a place where soon maybe close to half of the league will be FA’s. And if teams still want to wait until January of February to sign players, soon we could have FAs in a minor panic as they may not have any offers. If it ever gets to the point where jobs are on the line, you might see players wanting to sign early for securities sake, at dicount rates….meanwhile your team’s GM is saying “last year the trend was..” when there is a new trend already starting. Point is not to get locked in to convictions, I guess.

I would hope the Cubs know what their needs are and have figured out which free agents they believe could fill their needs. When the pool starts shrinking, maybe it’s time to make a move instead of ending up with the last man standing.