The Cubs got their Japanese outfielder Tuesday night, resultingin another free-agent whiff for the White Sox.
When the Cubs reached agreement with Kosuke Fukudome on a four-year deal believed to be worth about $48 million, they beat out afield that included the Sox and the San Diego Padres while achievingtheir top offseason goal.
"It's a great addition for us," Cubs general manager Jim Hendrysaid. "He's a guy we've wanted from Day1. We've probably been onthis constantly for about 60 days. It's a great ending."
The Sox, meanwhile, made it 0-for-3 this offseason on swingingfor big names, having lost free-agent center fielder Torii Hunter tothe Los Angeles Angels and then Florida Marlins third baseman MiguelCabrera when the Detroit Tigers swooped in for a six-player tradeinstead.
Cubs evaluators have had Fukudome, 30, in their sights since2004, Hendry said, and the timing couldn't have been better when hebecame a non-restricted free agent after the 2007 season.
"He's the perfect fit," Hendry said.
The Cubs needed a right fielder and desperately needed a left-handed bat for the middle of the order. Fukudome has a legitimateright-field arm with enough defensive ability and athleticism toplay center if needed, giving the Cubs a fallback if the Felix Pie-Sam Fuld youth movement doesn't pan out.
He's also a two-time Japanese Central League MVP with a lifetime.397 on-base percentage -- a major commodity for the Cubs' lineup.He has enough power to project to about 15 to 20 homers a year andenough speed to hit-and-run and go from first to third on a regularbasis -- another rarity for the Cubs.
"He's exactly what we were looking for," Hendry said.
Manager Lou Piniella, who called Fukudome a cross between IchiroSuzuki and Hideki Matsui, said last week he expected to bat the newCub fourth or fifth in the order. Fukudome already has requested --and will receive -- uniform No. 1.
Fukudome hit .351 with 31 homers and 104 RBI for the ChunichiDragons in an MVP season in 2006 but was limited to 81 games duringthe Dragons' championship season in 2007 after having relativelyroutine surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.
While it's risky to project what Fukudome can do in his firstyear in the majors, his defensive skills, speed and strike-zonediscipline translate to any league. And the Cubs are confident he'llhit well enough to provide gap power, if not the occasional home runat hitter-friendly National League Central parks in Cincinnati andHouston and Wrigley Field in the summer.
By focusing on Fukudome, the Cubs built their offseason plansaround a timetable they knew early on would move slower than Hendryis used to following.
"We had no assurances we could get somebody else tomorrow [ifFukudome fell through], so it was a gamble," Hendry said. "But wefelt like if we were going to gamble, gamble on the 'A' player.Don't gamble on the 'B-minus' player."
The Cubs also had the luxury of focusing on just a few playersthis winter instead of overhauling the roster as they did last year.Getting Fukudome makes the offseason successful in the Cubs' eyes,even if they don't get the second left-handed bat they'd like to addby spring training.
The Cubs might look to pursue Baltimore Orioles second basemanBrian Roberts more aggressively now that Fukudome is done.
"There's nothing wrong with the lineup we have now," Hendry said."If he's in right and [Mark] DeRosa's at second, we're certainly ina happy position. But this puts us in solid position to now make asolid decision if something comes our way, rather than reactingbecause we didn't get the guy we wanted.
"We haven't given up our prospects yet, so in any deal, we'repositioned to deal more from a strength position. If we hadn'tgotten Fukudome, we might have been in position where we would havehad to lump four or five players in for a player we needed, and hewouldn't have been as good as the one we got."
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