Chasing Cubtober: Mark Prior and the non-tender list
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by LMedina86
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a talented pitcher gets injured and has shoulder surgery, but is not given a chance to rehab with his original club. Then, a team lets said pitcher take a full year to rehab and later becomes a Cy Young winner and a World Series champion.
If you don’t know, that is the story of St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter. Carpenter had shoulder surgery while still a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, but the Jays let Carp go because they didn’t want to wait for him to rehab. The St. Louis Cardinals allowed him to do so, and the rest is history.
But for a second, could you imagine a one-two-three punch of Carpenter, Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett at the top of the Blue Jays rotation? I digress.
And that brings us to the news that Mark Prior has been non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs. Prior, a former number two overall pick, will likely be seeking employment elsewhere after he and the Cubs couldn’t come to a contract agreement.
I guess I’ll be the idiot that puts himself on the line and says that this will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Cubs history.
Prior is still young (26) and though his best days might be behind him, but when healthy he is definitely a better option than Ryan Dempster or Jason Marquis. In his time as a Cub, Prior has compiled a career 42-29 record with a 3.51 ERA which is not too shabby.
Prior won’t likely be back with in the big league’s until after the All-Star break, and I guess the Cubs weren’t willing to take a risk on him. It would have only taken about $3.5 million. I probably would have taken the risk.
However, Prior isn’t the only noteworthy name that was non-tendered this evening. There are several players that the Cubs should take a look at. You can view the entire list here.
Oakland’s Kiko Calero tops my list of intriguing pitchers. Calero was sent to the A’s from the Cardinals with starter Dan Haren in exchange for starting pitcher Mark Mulder in one of Billy Beane’s best deals. In 2007, Calero’s ERA was a career-high 5.75, but In his first four years he posted a 3.06 ERA with a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Outfielder Nook Logan formerly of the Washington Nationals could present a viable outfield option. Logan is a speedster with an 80% stolen base success rate (59-for-73). Another available speedster is former White Sox and Braves outfielder Willie Harris. Harris can play both the infield and the outfield, and seemed to put it together in Atlanta where he hit .270 with a .349 on-base pecentage in 344 at-bats.
Catcher Miguel Olivo could be of use to the 2008 Cubs. Olivo, a former top White Sox prospect, is an excellent defensive catcher, but is very limited offensively. Think a younger, healthier Henry Blanco.
The player with the most offensive potential is former Angels third baseman Dallas McPherson. McPherson is the type of player that just hasn’t panned out for whatever reason. In six minor league seasons McPherson hit .301/.381/.578/.979. He could be worth a back-up spot as a corner infielder.
The most talented pitcher on the market is easily Mark Prior. Prior was the second pick in the 2001 draft and in 2003, he won 18 games and almost lead his team to the World Series, while finishing third in the Cy Young balloting. In his career, he has struck out 757 batters in 657 innings and is the type of pitcher who could be elite, if healthy.
Wait. The Cubs let him go. Ouch.
