Cubs Trade Cedeno For Bloated ERA

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Jan 28, 2009 9:52PM

The Chicago Cubs today continued to somehow make their bullpen worse via acquisitions when they traded infielder Ronny Cedeno and pitcher Garrett Olson to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for pitcher Aaron Heilman. Heilman is expected to compete for a spot in the starting rotation, which makes perfect sense given his career that boasts just one season with a winning record and three seasons (out of six) with an ERA over 5.00. Heilman had previously caused conniptions for New York Mets but had recently been shipped to Seattle in a blockbuster trade. As Al over at Bleed Cubbie Blue puts it, "Essentially, it boils down to Pie and Cedeno for Heilman and Henry Williamson."

Elsewhere in the Cubs-a-verse, the $136 Million Man may be out of a leadoff job if this story in the Trib is an indication of what's to come. Soriano insists he'll be a team player, saying at the recent Cubs Convention, "I feel comfortable batting leadoff and any [place] in the lineup. It's not about me, it's about the team and what [manager Lou Piniella] wants to do this year because, I'm 33 now and they think I can't run anymore." He later added, "If the manager wants to move me from leadoff spot, that's fine. I'm tired because every year [critics] start again with the leadoff thing. I don't care, you know?" For his part, Sweet Lou is not tipping his hand at all: "We'll talk to [Soriano] in the spring and see where it goes. We'll put the best combinations out there and the best lineup we can."

Photo of Heilman in most common stance - post-giving up big hit - AP/Ed Betz