Yes to Nady, no to Thome

I was kind of hoping the Cubs would sign Jermaine Dye as their reserve outfielder, just on the outside chance his career isn't finished, so that at least one of our Chicago teams would benefit. Of course, I was really wanted them to sign Johnny Damon, the loose lefty with even more with World Series experience than JeDye, but knew that was even less likely. Instead, the Cubs reportedly are about to sign Xavier Nady to fill the job of fourth outfielder.

This is actually a pretty good signing. His right-handedness makes Nady a platoon option with Kosuke Fukudome or a direct replacement for Alfonso Soriano when he eventually gets injured (and then injured again... and again), and though he has never played a full season as a starter, he has plenty of starting experience. He also has plenty fo DL experience, with a couple of serious arm injuries in his past, including, missing all of last year after winning an important role with the Yankees in pre-season.

Still, Nady's got pop, with a total of 25 homers and 97 RBIs in 2008 for two teams. At 31, he's a little younger than Reed Johnson.

Meanwhile, the White Sox decided not to sign Jim Thome as a part-time DH. I don't think this is a fatal mistake at all, though I do think Thome's power and plate patience would have come in handy on the 2010 team. Thome may look even more valuable in a couple months if Andruw Jones and Alex Rios are both hitting below .200. Signing him as insurance seemed viable, but Ozzie wants to use the roster spot differently. I eager to see who gets the seat. In the meantime, Thome is headed to the Piranhas. Ugh.