January 24, 2007
Floyd a Cub
It's official, Cliff Floyd joined the Cubs today:
Floyd, a Chicago native, could split time in left field with Matt Murton and also give the Cubs a left-handed bat off the bench.
"It gives us a a lot depth. It will enable us to survive if we have an injury by having an extra quality, quality player on the club, which obviously our depth was a problem last year when D-Lee (Derek Lee) went down," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said.
Floyd, who spent the previous four years with the New York Mets, can make an additional $4.5 million this year in bonuses based on plate appearances and time on the active 25-man roster. The deal includes a mutual option for 2008 that could become guaranteed if he has 100 games started or 425 plate appearances this year.
He could earn $17.5 million over two years if he has 550 plate appearances each season and $15.5 million if he has 500 each season.
When healthy, Floyd is a good player. But he's also 34, and on top of the injuries, he's also facing a decline due to age. I'd rather see Murton get a full shot, but it's not a lot of money to spend for a chance at one or two good years from Cliff.
Seems the Cubs overlooked that Floyd's career stats in Wrigley aren't that impressive. He's batting .221 with a .318 OBA. 3 HR's in 29 games isn't very promising, though maybe 16 RBI's and 12 runs ain't so bad. I just don't know if he will make it through a whole season in Chicago very easy if he can't hit at least .250 there.
90 wins, as in 24 more than 2006? I'll take the under, thanks.
Ill take the push, 90 sounds about right.