The Cubs have traded 30-year old righty starting pitcher Jason Marquis to the Rockies for 34-year old righty reliever Luis Vizcaino. Marquis pitched in 29 games (28 starts) for the Cubs last season and he was 11-9 with a 4.53 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has now pitched in 257 games (198 starts) in his major league career and he is 79-70 with 1 save, a 4.55 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The Cubs have quite a few pitchers ready to compete for the #5 job in the starting rotation so they shouldn’t miss Marquis too much in 2009.

Luis Vizcaino pitched in 43 games (0 starts) last season for the Rockies and he was 1-2 with a 5.28 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He has now pitched in 528 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 34-27 with 7 saves, a 4.34 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He should pitch better now that half of his games won’t be in Coors Field.

The Cubs have signed 30-year old switch hitting Milton Bradley to a 3-year, $30 million dollar contract. Bradley played in 126 games for the Rangers last season and he was 133 for 414 (.321 avg, .999 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 22 homers, 77 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 817 games in his 9 year major league career and he is 803 for 2,867 (.280 avg, .827 OPS) with 440 runs scored, 103 homers, 399 RBIs and 74 stolen bases. This is a calculated risk by Cubs’ management as Bradley has only played in more than 126 times once in his major league career. He also is a hot head who will be in the same dugout with Lou Piniella. Still, Bradley was worth the risk because he is a outstanding hitter.

The Cubs have signed 32-year old switch hitting infielder Aaron Miles to a 2-year, $4.9 million dollar deal to essentially replace Mark DeRosa. Miles played in 134 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 120 for 379 (.317 avg, .753 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 4 homers and 31 RBIs. He has now played in 643 games in his major league career and he is 600 for 2,077 (.289 avg, .693 OPS) with 267 runs scored, 16 homers, 170 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. This was a solid signing for the Cubs as Miles is a pretty solid baseball player.

The Chicago Cubs have traded 33-year old righty swinging Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub. This move wreaks of a salary dump as the return for DeRosa was not much. DeRosa played in 149 games for the Cubs in 2008 and he was 144 for 505 (.285 avg, .857 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 21 homers, 87 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. In two seasons with the Cubs, DeRosa played in 298 games in which he was 291 for 1,007 (.289 avg) with 167 runs scored, 31 homers and 159 RBIs. He will be missed for his bat, versatility in the field and his toughness. 25-year old righty reliever Jeff Stevens is the closest of the pitchers the Cubs received from the Indians to the majors. He was the Indians’ #19 prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. Stevens pitched in 36 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 5-4 with 6 saves, a 3.24 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Stevens only allowed 38 hits last season while whiffing 81 batters in only 58.1 innings. 20-year old righty pitcher Chris Archer has great stuff but he often has no idea where the ball is going. He pitched in 27 games (all starts) in A-ball last season and he was 4-8 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Archer only allowed 92 hits in 115.1 innings last season but he walked 84 batters which is way, way too many! 23-year old lefty reliever John Gaub had some eye popping numbers last season in A-ball. He pitched in 34 games (0 starts) last season and he was 1-1 with 2 saves, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He only allowed 44 hits in 64 innings in the minors while whiffing a stunning 100 batters! It looks as if the Cubs might have gotten a couple of decent arms for DeRosa but they will still miss him in 2009.

The Cubs have re-signed 24-year old switch hitting shortstop Andres Blanco to a minor league deal. He played in 102 games in AAA-ball for the Cubs last season and he was 85 for 298 (.285 avg, .663 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 1 homer, 36 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Blanco has also played in 78 games in his major league career in which he is 57 for 226 (.252 avg, .604 OPS) with 24 runs scored and 19 RBIs. Blanco will likely start the season in AAA and get a call from the Cubs if they suffer some injuries in the middle infield.