The Chicago Cubs have signed 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder David DeJesus to a 2-year, $10 million dollar deal. He played in 131 games for the A’s last year and he was 106 of 442 (.240 avg, .698 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. DeJesus has now played in 1,007 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,077 for 3,797 (.284 avg, .776 OPS) with 561 runs scored, 71 homers, 436 RBIs and 51 stolen bases. The Cubs are making a bet that DeJesus will rebound from his worst season of his career. He would be the starting RF for the Cubs if the season started today, but he can also handle LF or CF if the need arises.

29-year old righty swinging outfielder Lou Montanez has refused an outright assignment to the minors and he has become a free agent. Montanez played in 36 games for the Cubs last year and he was 12 for 54 (.222 avg, .615 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 129 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 68 for 305 (.223 avg, .586 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 5 homers, 32 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This isn’t much of a loss for the Cubs.

The Cubs need to make a big splash in free agency and I think they will choose to spend big on one player and then look for bargains. Here is the trio of free agents I think would be good fits for the Cubbies:

1. Prince Fielder - Lefty swinging 1B Prince Fielder would be a perfect fit for the Cubs. He would give the Cubs a big time power hitter at a position of need. Plus, signing Fielder hurts the division rival Brewers.

2. Cody Ross - The Cubs could use righty swinging oufielder Cody Ross in RF in 2012. Tyler Colvin had his shot in 2011 and he failed miserably.

3. Mark DeRosa - Mark DeRosa can play all over the field and he would give the Cubs another solid bat off the bench.

21-year old righty swinging shorstop Starlin Castro finished tied for 23rd in the voting for the 2011 N.L. MVP Voting with Craig Kimbrel (closer, Braves), Carlos Ruiz (C, Phillies) and Mike Stanton (RF, Marlins). Stanton played in 158 games for the Cubs last year and he was 207 of 674 (.307 avg, .773 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 10 homers, 66 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He has now played in 283 games in his first two years with the Cubs and he is 346 of 1,137 (.304 avg, .766 OPS) with 144 runs scored, 13 homers, 107 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Castro has a gigantic upside, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him take home this trophy sometime in the future.

The Chicago Cubs have hired 47-year old Dale Sveum to a 3-year deal with an option for the 2015 season to serve as the new manager. Sveum earned this job by paying his dues. After a nice playing career as a 3B, Sveum worked as a manager in AA-ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. From 2001-03, Sveum compiled a 213-211 (50.2%) record for the Pirates in AA-ball. He then was a coach for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2005. Sveum then moved on to coach the Cubs’ rival (the Milwaukee Brewers) from 2006-2011. Sveum certainly deserves this chance to manage the Cubs, it will be interesting to see what he does with it.

26-year old righty swinging 2B Darwin Barney finished tied for 7th (with Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers) in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year. Barney played in 143 games for the Cubs last year and he was 146 for 529 (.276 avg, .666 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 2 homers, 43 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He has now played in 173 games in his first two years with the Cubs and he is 165 for 608 (.271 avg, .656 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 2 homers, 45 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Barney will likely be penciled in as the starting 2B when spring training starts, but he will have to play well to keep the job.

The Chicago Cubs have fired 54-year old manager Mike Quade. Quade led the Cubs to a 5th place finish in the N.L. Central last year with a 71-91 record (43.8%). The finished 25 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Quade finishes his stint as the Cubs’ manager with a 95-104 record (47.7%) in two years. This was Theo Epstein’s first move as the president of the Cubs and it was the right thing to do.