Garland Out, Cabrera In
Now it gets interesting. The first of perhaps many moves?
ChicagoSports.com:
Cabrera, an excellent shortstop who also is signed only through next season, is due $9 million; Garland is due $12 million. Normally the money goes to the team taking on salary, but Garland's trade value was so high that Williams was able to get cash even though he is shedding the bigger commitment. That almost never happens.
Williams compares the deal with the trade that sent Carlos Lee to Milwaukee for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino before the 2005 season. The difference between Lee's $8 million salary and the combined $1.85 million due Podsednik and Vizcaino allowed Williams to make some more moves, most notably signing A.J. Pierzynski and Orlando Hernandez.
It's clear Williams wants to sign one of two free-agent center fielders—Torii Hunter or Aaron Rowand—and the extra flexibility will help. But the plan to add players through free agency runs deeper, and Williams is confident he can turn Garland into Cabrera and another player or two.
"The message I have been giving everyone we have targeted is we are 100 percent committed to winning a championship in 2008," Williams said Monday. "Yes, I always have my eye on the future, but I'll tell you this: Last year did not sit well with any of us. I'll be damned if we go through that again."
