Hendry turns his attention to lefty hitter

LAS VEGAS - Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Thursday his focus remains on getting a left-handed bat for the outfield.

That had been Job 1 all along until the now-failed talks with the Padres for Jake Peavy heated up this week.

Hendry appears to like Milton Bradley and Raul Ibanez ahead of Bobby Abreu. All three are free agents, but Hendry said he still will explore a trade for left-handed bat who can play right field.

Also, the Cubs will continue looking into the possibility of signing free-agent lefty Randy Johnson. The 45-year-old Johnson was 11-10 with a 3.91 ERA this year for Arizona. Lifetime, he's 295-160.

"We're going to see how it goes," Hendry said. "We still need a hitter. We're covered rotation wise without anybody else. We've certainly had, even before these discussions got heated with the Padres (for Peavy), we did touch base with other people about pitching. To be blunt, we've had some discussions internally about Randy."

Cubs draft doings: The Cubs gained and lost in Thursday's Rule 5 draft. They acquired right-handed pitcher David Patton from the Reds, who had selected him from Colorado in the Rule 5 draft.

Patton, 24, is 21-25 with 8 saves and a 4.46 ERA in 180 minor-league games. The Cubs say he had a fastball that touches the mid-90s (mph) along with a good curveball and slider.

Their most notable loss was lefty Donnie Veal, who went to the Pirates. Veal, a once-highly touted prospect, was 5-10 with a 4.52 ERA at Class AA Tenn before having a poor season in the Arizona Fall League.

In the minor-league draft, the Cubs lost pitcher Mark Holliman to the Brewers and outfielder Yusuf Carter to Oakland.

Sox draft doings: The White Sox lost right-handed starting pitcher Derek Rodriguez to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the major-league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

In the minor-league portion, the Sox lost shortstop Robert Valido to Baltimore in the Triple-A phase. The Nationals took outfielder Richardo Nanita. Also going was right-hander Jason Rice, to Boston. The Sox did not make a pick in the Rule 5 draft.

Also, the Sox reportedly will offer contracts to closer Bobby Jenks and outfielder Dewayne Wise by today's deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.