The Cubs got their Japanese outfielder Tuesday night, resulting in part in another free agent whiff for the White Sox.
When the Cubs reached agreement with Kosuke Fukudome on a four-year deal believed to be worth about $48 million Tuesday night, they beat out a field that included the Sox and the San Diego Padres, while achieving their top offseason goal.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. ``He’s a guy we’ve wanted from Day 1. We’ve probably been on this constantly for about 60 days. It’s a great ending.’’
The Sox, meanwhile, made it 0 for 3 this offseason on swinging for big names, losing free agent center fielder Torii Hunter to the Los Angeles Angels and then Florida third baseman Miguel Cabrera when the Detroit Tigers swooped in for a six-player trade instead.
Cubs evaluators have had Fukudome, 30, in their sights since 2004, Hendry said, and the timing couldn’t have been better when he became a non-restricted free agent after the 2007 season.
``He’s the perfect fit,’’ Hendry said.
Besides giving the Cubs their first marquee right fielder since Sammy Sosa, there might not have been a better fit among available players. The Cubs needed a right fielder and desperately needed a left-handed bat for the middle of the order. Fukudome has a legitimate right-fielder arm with enough ability and athleticism defensively to play center if needed – a fallback position for the Cubs if the Felix Pie-Sam Fuld youth movement in center doesn’t pan out.
He’s also a two-time Japanese Central league MVP with a lifetime .397 on-base percentage – a major commodity for the Cubs’ lineup – and enough power to project to about 15-20 homers a year with speed enough to at least hit-and-run and go first to third on a regular basis – another rarity for the Cubs.
``He’s exactly what we were looking for,’’ Hendry said.
Manager Lou Piniella, who called Fukudome a cross between Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui, said last week he expected to bat the new Cub fourth or fifth in the order.
Fukudome hit .351 with 31 homers and 104 RBIs for the Chunichi Dragons in an MVP season in 2006 but missed all but 81 games during the Dragons’ championship season in 2007 after having relatively routine surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.
While it’s risky to project what Fukudome can do in his first year in the majors, his defensive skills, speed and strike-zone discipline translate to any league. And the Cubs are confident he’ll hit well enough to provide gap power if not the occasional home run at offense-friendly N.L. Central parks in such places as Cincinnati, Houston and summertime Wrigley Field.
By focusing on Fukudome, the Cubs built their offseason plans around a timetable they knew early on would move slower than Hendry is used to following. ``We had no assurances we could get somebody else tomorrow [if Fukudome fell through], so it was a gamble,’’ Hendry said. ``But we felt like if we were going to gamble, gamble on the `A’ player. Don’t gamble on the `B-minus’ player.’’
The Cubs also had the luxury of focusing on just a few players this winter instead of going for the roster overhaul they did last year. In this case, getting Fukudome makes the offseason successful in the Cubs’ eyes even if they don’t get the second left-handed bat they’d like to add by spring training.
The Cubs may look to pursue Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts more aggressively now that Fukudome’s done.
``There’s nothing wrong with the lineup we have now,’’ Hendry said. ``If he’s in right and [Mark] DeRosa’s at second, we’re certainly in a happy position. But this puts us in solid position to now make a solid decision if something comes our way rather than reacting because we didn’t get the guy we wanted.
``We haven’t given up our prospects yet. So in any deal we’re positioned to deal more from a strength position. If we hadn’t gotten Fukudome, we might have been in position where we would have had to lump four or five players in for a player we needed, and he wouldn’t have been as good as the one we got.’’
Original article source: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/692279,cubsign121107.article
