Cubs signed LHP Ted Lilly, who had been with the Blue Jays, to a four-year, $40 million contract.
Lilly receives a $4 million signing bonus, payable next month, and salaries of $5 million in 2007, $7 million in 2008 and $12 million in each of the final two years. He reportedly could have received $5 million more from the Jays, but Toronto became less attractive to him after Rod Barajas backed out of his deal and Gregg Zaun was re-signed to act as the club's primary catcher. The league switch should be very good for Lilly's numbers, but considering that he seems to have some shoulder troubles every year and still hasn't thrown 200 innings in a season, he's only so good of an investment in fantasy leagues. He makes more sense as a late-round pick in shallow mixed leagues than as a $14-$15 guy in NL-only leagues.
Cubs signed first baseman-outfielder Daryle Ward, who had been with the Braves, to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2008.
Ward is guaranteed $1.05 million. He'll replace John Mabry as the Cubs' top left-handed pinch-hitter and serve as a backup for Derrek Lee. Starts in the outfield should be few and far between, leaving him with no fantasy value unless Lee gets hurt.
Cubs signed RHP Jason Marquis, who had been with the Cardinals, to a three-year, $21 million contract.
All of those silly fools who thought Marquis would need to take a one-year deal in an attempt to rebuild his value clearly underestimated Cubs GM Jim Hendry. Marquis' strikeout rate plummeted even before his ERA skyrocketed last year, and he's hardly the groundball pitcher that he's often described as being. He can eat innings, and it's possible that he'll rebound to 2005 form. Still, there's just not enough upside here to justify this kind of contract, especially when we all know what his downside is. The Cubs will be assigning better bets to Iowa, assuming they don't just trade them for pennies on the dollar.