Who is Joey Gathright? UPDATE: He's a Cub, that's who.

UPDATE: Cubs have signed Gathright. As the always-insightful waxpaperbeercup points out, this probably means Felix Pie is not coming back, and I personally can't imagine the Cubs letting him go via free agency, without any return on their investment. Look for him to be major trade bait in the upcoming weeks and months.

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Cubs.com is reporting that the Cubs have another left-handed outfielder on their radar.

Joey Gathright.

Who?

Joey Gathright.

Gathright could be added to the roster this week and compete for a spot on the Cubs' bench. He was non-tendered by the Kansas City Royals on Friday after batting .254 in 105 games this past season with no homers and 22 RBIs. The left-handed-hitting outfielder was 4-for-14 (.286) as a pinch-hitter.

Mmm. Nothing like a 25% hitter with no home runs to spice up the playoff lineup. Granted I'm not saying the Cubs would sign him as the answer to their everyday lefty problem, but still, do we have room on the roster for this guy?

Upside? He's 27, so on the young-ish side, and can steal bases. He's also played with Pinella before in Tampa.

And apparently, according to youtube, he's got ups. For what that's worth.

The Dempster Contract

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick

Four years, $52 million.
Player option for 2012.

$4 million signing bonus.
$8 million in 2009.
$12.5 million in 2010.
$13.5 million in 2011.
$14 million in 2012 (Dempster's option).

Dempster is currently 31.

With this signing, he'll probably have the fifth or sixth highest salary on the team next year. Last year, Lilly was fifth (or so) with $8 million, Dempster made $7 1/3 million.
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By comparison, Zambrano is 27 and made $16 million last year alone. He signed a five year, $91.5 million contract mid-season in 2007.

Dempster Deal Done?

ESPN reports the Cubs are close to re-signing free agent pitcher Ryan Dempster, to a four-year, $52 million contract.

Ken Rosenthal of foxsports.com first broke the story.

UPDATE: The Sun-Times reports the deal is done. (via Another Cubs Blog)

Postseason Awards and Kevin Gregg vs. Kerry Wood

Geovany Soto wins NL Rookie of the Year with 31 of 32 first-place votes. The Reds' Joey Votto received the other top vote. Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays won the AL ROY award.

Lou wins NL Manager of the Year and donates his bonus to a Chicago charity. He previously won AL Manager of the Year in 1995 and 2001 while in Seattle. Charlie Manuel from the World Champion Phillies is second, Florida's Fredi Gonzalez finishes third. Joe Madden of the Rays won the AL counterpart.

Carlos Zambrano wins... a batting award. He batted .337 with four home runs and won his second Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger award at the National League Pitching position, winning previously in '06.

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The Cubs also acquired reliever Kevin Gregg this week from the Florida Marlins in a trade for Minor Leaguer P Jose Ceda. Before the deal was made, Cubs GM Jim Hendry reportedly told last year's closer, perennial Cub Kerry Wood, that the Cubs would not be re-signing him (unlike the unprofessional way the Padres treated their closer).

There was no question, even before Wood's famous 20K game, that he always had the talent to be an elite pitcher, which made his often inconsistent play all the more befuddling. I never knew "which Kerry" would show up in the ninth inning, and "routine" saves felt few and far between. One or two run leads at home became nail-biters until the end. I feel sad to see him go-- he always seemed like a nice guy-- but from a purely business perspective, the Cubs weren't getting the value for what they were spending and needed to move on.

I'm not exactly sure where Gregg fits in the Gaudin/Samardzija/Marmol picture, but the Cubs still seem relatively deep at reliever, and got younger to boot.

Wood was the 13th highest paid Cub last year, earning $4.2 million. In contrast, Gregg was the 2nd highest paid Marlin, but at only $2.5 mil. Gregg is younger and performed almost as well with less talent around him, and was acquired for less money (even if Wood signed a one-year with a pay-cut).

Kevin Gregg entered the majors in 2003 and spent four years with the Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels before being traded to the Marlins for the '07 season. Last year in 68 2/3 innings and 72 appearances, he went 7-8 with 29 saves, 58 K and a 3.41 ERA/ 1.28 WHIP .

Kerry Wood last year pitched 66 1/3 innings in 65 appearances, posting a 5-4 record, 34 saves, 84 K and 3.26 ERA/1.09 WHIP.

Both Gregg and Wood are righties.