Hot Stove Buzz #5

NOTE: This is the 100th post in the history of the Cubs Insider blog!  Thank you!

-If there's Cubs news out there, it should come first.  And here it is.  Reed Johnson, the defensive whiz Cub fans love from his tenure at Wrigley between 2008 and 2009, has been signed by the Cubs to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training.  Despite seeing action in just 174 games and getting just 560 plate appearances between the two seasons due to injury and his bench role, he still quickly became a fan favorite for his hustle and unbelievable otherworldly defensive skills.  While his arm isn't the best by any means, he covers a lot of ground and almost seems to enjoy diving and crashing into stuff to make a catch.  For intense Cub fans, the catch he made in the top photo will be remembered for quite some time.  Actually, so will the photo below that.  The bottom line is, it looks like the Cubs have their fifth outfielder.  Fernando Perez looked like the favorite to be the team's fifth outfielder if five outfielders where going to make the roster; that being in spite of the fact that Perez likely needs more seasoning in the minors.  It will be hard to find Johnson playing time in a five man rotation with four guys already dying to play everyday, but don't be surprised to see Johnson sneak his way in the lineup from time to time.
-In other news, baseball's all-time saves leader in Trevor Hoffman retired today.  With 601 saves, he is the only man to reach the 600 mark but likely will be overpassed by Mariano Rivera, who got 500 in June 2009 and has 559 heading into 2011.  Hoffman had a really, really bad 2010 and although he was able to get to the big 600 mark, it's sad to see players once so great struggle like this.  Ken Griffey, Jr. went through the same thing in 2010, and it's just sad to see players who used to mean so much to fans just kind of fade off into retirement after a bad year and few people wanting them to come back.
-The Yankees have been looking at outfielder Andruw Jones for a while.  Jones went way under the radar in 2010, hitting only .230 but also hitting 19 homers in slightly more than half a season's worth of at-bats.  If he were given the keys to a starting job, with the Yankees or the also-rumored Rays, I believe he could shine once again just like back in the day.  He's only 33 and has shown he has a lot of power still.  I worry though, that at his age and that he has played in an average of only 88 games per season since 2008, he could lose interest and confidence in baseball if he doesn't get the chance to contribute to a winning team.  At 407 career home runs, he could easily make it to 500 with a few good seasons.
-The Cardinals are "hopeful" that they can resign first baseman Albert Pujols to a big deal before the season starts, at which time Pujols will no longer negotiate until after the season.  If the Cardinals don't get a deal done this spring, they will have a very short exclusive time to negotiate in the fall before Pujols hits the open market- a scary thought to all Cardinals fans.  Well I think they'd better hurry up and give the man the money he wants or just not do it at all, because he has made the franchise over the last decade and should be given the decency to know his fate.
-The Tigers will gamble on starter Brad Penny for $3.3 million, most likely filling their #5 spot in the rotation.  The Tigers could use a reliable veteran in the rotation, and Penny did well in nine starts for the Giants in 2010.  After five good years with the Dodgers, Penny was a bust for the Red Sox in 2009, but has always pitched well in his season and a half for San Francisco.  The question that remains is, how will he adjust to this change?  We'll see soon enough.