Just a day after the Chicago Cubs traded top left-handed reliever Sean Marshall to the Cincinnati Reds, the Cubs signed reliever, Manny Corpas, formerly of the Colorado Rockies. Corpas was signed to a major league deal despite not pitching at all in 2010, following Tommy John surgery on his arm.
The move is yet another sign that Cubs president Theo Epstein is shaving down the team’s payroll where he can, while bringing in journeyman-type players on the cheap in hopes that the Cubs can field a somewhat competitive team while waiting for their prospects to develop.
The Marshall trade and Corpas signing also makes it more clear that the Cubs most likely aren’t serious contenders for signing top free agent, Prince Fielder. While the Cubs may have made an offer, it could have amounted to a stab in the dark, a low-ball offer to gauge where Fielder and his agent stand, and to drive up the price on the slugging first baseman.
While the sending off of popular Cubs players will become routine by the end of year-one of the new front office, it should also come as no surprise to Cubs fans, following years of former GM Jim Hendry’s lavish spending on free agents, including several contracts weighed down by no-trade clauses.
While the Cubs may find lightning in a bottle with the Corpas signing, his recent numbers say otherwise. The once successful reliever has an earned run average of 4.82 over the last three years with the Rockies.
2002 COL-min 5.73 29 2 33.0 37 21 4 18 42 1.667 11.5 2.33
2003 COL-min 5.79 15 0 84.0 98 54 7 22 47 1.429 5.0 2.14
2004 COL-min 3.05 43 3 44.1 48 15 3 13 52 1.376 10.6 4.00
2005 COL-min 3.78 47 2 69.0 83 29 2 14 52 1.406 6.8 3.71
2006 COL-min 0.99 42 19 45.1 27 5 1 6 42 0.728 8.3 7.00
2006 COL 3.62 35 0 32.1 36 13 3 8 27 1.361 7.5 3.38
2007 COL 2.08 78 19 78.0 63 18 6 20 58 1.064 6.7 2.90
2008 COL 4.52 76 4 79.2 93 40 7 23 50 1.456 5.6 2.17
2009 COL-min 0.00 3 0 2.2 2 0 0 1 3 1.125 10.1 3.00
2009 COL 5.88 35 1 33.2 44 22 3 7 24 1.515 6.4 3.43
2010 COL 4.62 56 10 62.1 66 32 7 22 47 1.412 6.8 2.14
5 Seasons 3.93 280 34 286.0 302 125 26 80 206 1.336 6.5 2.58
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original TableGenerated 12/23/2011.
The Cubs are hoping for a performance similar to Corpas’ 2007 season when he posted a 2.08 ERA in 78 relief appearances, along with a 1.06 WHIP.
Theo Epstein has wasted no time implementing the plan laid out during his early media sessions when he and new general manager Jed Howry arrived in Chicago. The Cubs have already received some prospects, and a young pitcher with plenty of upside, Travis Wood.
The Corpas signing is another session in the retraining of Cubs fans who have become accustomed to a couple of big name players being on the field, while the rest of the team is in disarray. Hopefully for the Cubs, Epstein’s grand plan pays off in a few years.
-James Kries
