That deafening silence fans have been hearing from Cubs camp this off-season has been that of GM Jim Hendry, whose wild spending habits on mediocre-at-best free agents has been curtailed by new ownership. Hendry, however, awoke from his hibernation Wednesday morning with his checkbook blazing.
Upon hearing the news that 48-year-old Jamie Moyer would undergo Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow this week, Hendry immediately inked the veteran lefty to a three-year, $18 million contract. For Moyer — who becomes baseball’s oldest Tommy John patient — it will be a homecoming of sorts as he returns to the organization where his lengthy career began in 1986.
Hendry explained that the move makes fiscal sense for his cash-strapped team.
“We back-loaded the deal so that when Moyer hits the age of 50, the contract will escalate three-fold,” said Hendry. “While Jamie is out of commission rehabbing his bum arm the next two seasons, he will double as our pitching coach. I’m always looking for ways to save the Ricketts family some extra cash and this is a perfect solution to replacing the beloved Larry Rothschild.”
Cubs owner Tom Ricketts, who is out of the country in Turkmenistan looking for additional funding sources for his ballclub, was unavailable for comment.
By Jeremy Barewin
