2009 Cubs roster no where near a simmer

Following a flurry of activity on New Years Eve, Cubs fans had a long weekend to ponder what their team will look like come April of 2009. Most realize that the team is not complete and the upcoming sale and announcement of has left a big ball in the air.

This morning ESPN 1000′s Bruce Levine gave an update on the Cubs situation. Levine reports that the Marquis/Vizcaino tade will be complete as early as Tuesday when Marquis takes a physical. The next domino that would fall would be the signing of Free Agent OF Milton Bradley toward the end of the week, possibly Friday. So there is really no news on either of these transactions they are moving along as anticipated. Barring no unknown injuries or medical conditions these deals will happen.

Now the big ball that is still in the air — San Diego Padre ace Jake Peavy. On the Peavy front, Levine said that any trade for Peavy will have to be approved by the new owner(s). Jim Hendry made the move with DeRosa to clear payroll and to put himself in position to make a deal for Peavy.

Of course the Jake Peavy sweepstakes may be nothing but a pipe dream when one considers the fact that Padres could be sold and sold very quickly. I cannot imagine a new owner taking over the Padres and not making keeping Jake Peavy priority #1. He’s under contract, so if the Padres sale is completed in the first quarter which is expected, I don’t see Peavy going anywhere, regardless of what Cub ownership has to say.

At this point I think it is more likely that we see the sale of the Padres completed before the Cubs. Keep in mind the Padres went on the market at the winter meetings in December. The Cubs are nearing 2 years with the ‘For Sale’ sign in front of the corner of Clark and Addison. What do you expect from a franchise that has perfected futility.