The Cubs traded reserve outfielder Justin Ruggiano to the Mariners for a AA relief pitcher named Matt Brazis. Brazis has good minor league numbers, but is not exactly a major acquisition. Ruggiano, on the other hand, played well last year, at least against left-handed pitching, although he was hurt a lot. I think he missed about two months altogether.
The Cubs seem to be on an endless quest to find a right-handed hitting platoon player to match with a fairly talented left-handed hitter, in this case, Chris Coghlan. These right-handed platoon guys are a dime a dozen, but they rarely work out that well, probably because the expectations are really high and they tend to get far fewer plate appearances than their left-handed counterparts. So, as a consequence, it is harder to keep them fresh, etc.
Anyway, the latest guy mentioned is Jonny Gomes. His numbers are significantly inferior to Ruggiano's, but he apparently has some intangibles the Cubs like. Personally, I hope they take a pass on this guy. He strikes out a lot and he is not a very good defender and he is strictly a platoon player.
Another outfielder mentioned on the rumor mill is Colby Rasmus. That's another one I don't particularly get. He is a free agent coming off a bad year. He has had some decent years, but, again, he strikes out a humungous number of times. Also, since the Cubs want some sort of mentoring veteran presence, it is hard to see Rasmus filling the bill here. By all accounts he was clubhouse poison in St. Louis, or at least La Russa hated his guts there and pretty much ran him out of town.
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