Cubs, lefty reliever Grabow agree to 2-year deal

about 2 years ago eths 7 comments 0 recs |

Comments

snore

My general feeling is that this is a mistake, but one we can afford to make just because we are a big payroll team. Would have rather allocated some of that cash to re-signing Harden, but such is life.

by Bradsbeard on Nov 19, 2009 10:35 AM CST reply actions

Agreed.

on all counts.

by CubsWin!Oregon on Nov 19, 2009 12:43 PM CST up reply actions

This is a good sign.

Grabow is an established ML reliever. He made 70 appearances last year. Keeping him doesn’t block anyone in the minors. See Heileman. Trading him means Berg and Caridad, or maybe someone else gets a shot as a right. True. Grabow isn’t a LOOGY, but he is a quality pitcher.
Harden wants a multi-year deal, and a lot of money. Let him go. I saw him pitch several times in person. Sometimes his stuff was electric, sometimes not so much. The one thing I could always count on would be that he’d hit 90 pitches by the fourth inning. He isn’t worth the raise he’d be expecting for the innings he’d pitch.

by Nibbles on Nov 19, 2009 9:36 PM CST reply actions

So you'd rather have John Grabow than Rich Harden?

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Nov 20, 2009 9:12 AM CST up reply actions

Considering the other starters out there

Harden wants more than he’s worth.

And the eighth and final rule: if this is your first time at Fight Club, you have to fight.

by Ace Venom on Nov 20, 2009 10:22 AM CST up reply actions

Do we know how much he wants?

He was worth $8.2 million in 2009, per Fangraphs. He was a 1.8 WAR pitcher. Grabow was a .1 WAR pitcher worth $1 million.

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Nov 20, 2009 10:45 AM CST up reply actions

This is an awful signing

And not because it prevents the cubs from retaining Harden, which there is no way they are going to do anyway. Jim Hendry just vastly overpaid for a middle reliever. A career 1.43 whip (1.41 last year). That kind of production could come out of the minor league system for 450k.

by zambrosa on Nov 20, 2009 12:51 PM CST reply actions