--RHP Bob Howry, a mainstay of the bullpen since 2006, has likely seen his last days with the Cubs. The Cubs won't offer the free agent reliever salary arbitration. They hope RHPs Chad Gaudin and Jeff Samardzija can step in and fill the void left by Howry late in games over three largely up-and-down seasons.
--LHP Rich Hill has done nothing to help himself in winter ball. Hill, the Cubs' No. 4 starter at the beginning of the 2008 season and seemingly a rising star, was sent to the minor leagues in early May and never returned. In Venezuela this winter, he was 1-2 with a 7.45 ERA through his first six starts. He had walked 19 and struck out 15 in 19 1/3 innings. That suggests the command problems that sent Hill to the minors in the first place have not left him. --RHP Angel Guzman is making an early case to make the club out of spring training. In Venezuela, Guzman was 2-1 with a 4.62 ERA in six starts. Guzman, who turns 27 on Dec. 14, is a onetime phenom who has battled shoulder and elbow problems for most of his career. He spent much of 2008 recovering from Tommy John surgery but wound up pitching in six games for the big club. He could stick as a long man out of the bullpen next spring.
--RHP Kerry Wood is likely to be offered salary arbitration by the Cubs, despite the club's earlier stance that it was done with Wood, who saved 34 games this year. If Wood accepts the offer, he's automatically back for 2009 and would give the Cubs a back end of a bullpen that also includes RHPs Carlos Marmol and Kevin Gregg.
--LHP Sean Marshall won't be a part of any trade with the Kansas City Royals for OF Mark Teahen, club sources have said. Reports surfaced that the Cubs would trade Marshall and INF Mike Fontenot to the Royals for Teahen. The Cubs are lukewarm on Teahen, and they certainly would not give up both Marshall and Fontenot to get him. The Cubs see Marshall as a candidate for the rotation in 2009 and Fontenot as someone who can contribute with his bat from the left side of the plate.
BY THE NUMBERS: 74 -- Walks drawn by 3B Aramis Ramirez in 2008, shattering his personal best by 24. Ramirez drew 50 walks in 2006 for the Cubs but was among several Chicago players who developed more selectivity at the plate in 2008.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Starting we don't need. We've got six good starters, and they're all experienced." -- Manager Lou Piniella, to the Chicago Sun-Times, on whether the Cubs were still interested in San Diego's Jake Peavy. The front office, however, may have other ideas.
