Fowler, Cahill among Cubs to file for free agency
It doesn't take long nowadays for the baseball off-season to start.
Hours after the Kansas City Royals won the World Series, eligible major-league players filed for free agency Monday.
Eight Chicago Cubs players filed, including pitcher Dan Haren, who has announced his retirement.
The most important and interesting Cubs players filing are center fielder Dexter Fowler and relief pitcher Trevor Cahill.
A day after the Cubs' postseason run ended with a sweep at the hands of the New York Mets in the NLCS, team president Theo Epstein acknowledged that Fowler likely would want to test the market, especially at 29 years old and this being his best, and perhaps only, chance to cash in big on the open market.
This past season Fowler had a hitting line of .250/.346/.411 with 17 home runs and 46 RBI as the Cubs' primary leadoff man. A switch hitter, he batted .326 from the right side, .228 from the left.
If the Cubs are unable to re-sign him, they may go for a stopgap, such as Denard Span, until prospect Albert Almora shows he's ready.
Cahill, 27, signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs in August after being released by the Atlanta Braves in June. He was a September call-up and went 1-0 in 11 games with a 2.12 ERA.
Manager Joe Maddon relied on Cahill down the stretch, and the right-hander seemed to find new life in his career.
The other Cubs filing for free agency were outfielders Chris Denorfia and Austin Jackson, and pitchers Jason Motte, Fernando Rodney and Tommy Hunter.
Among the big names hitting the market are pitchers David Price (Toronto) and Jordan Zimmerman (Washington). Those two likely will take their time seeing how the market develops.
The Cubs may show interest, but after signing Jon Lester to a six-year, $155 million deal last December, they may focus their attention on younger, more contract-friendly pitchers via the trade market. Epstein has cited starting pitching as an area of priority for the Cubs this off-season.
Cubs players eligible for salary arbitration are pitchers Jake Arrieta, Clayton Richard, Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon and Travis Wood, outfielder Chris Coghlan and infielder Jonathan Herrera.
Cubs lose staffers:
The Milwaukee Brewers have raided the Cubs organization as they named Derek Johnson their new pitching coach. Johnson replaces the fired Rick Kranitz, who spent many years in the Cubs organization, including at the major-league level.
Johnson was the Cubs' minor-league pitching coordinator.
The Seattle Mariners have named Joe Bohringer a special assistant to new general manager Jerry DiPoto. Bohringer was the Cubs' director of pro scouting from November 2011 until early September, when he moved into a scouting role after the Cubs named Jared Porter director of pro scouting.