Aaron Miles is not a starter but a genuine utility/spot starter in the roster plan/roles. Miles can play 2B, but also in spot or pinch duty can play SS, 3B or an inning or two in the OF offering Piniella flexibility. He also is a solid switch hitter who can spray the ball and bat near .300.

Now the Cubs have surplus in the middle IF with Theriot-Fontenot and Cedeno (who is arb eligible and probably expected to gain a salary between $890K-$1M) Fontenot is one dimensional as being a serviceable defensive 2B but has a good bat from the left side where his OPS was actually better than DeRosa or even Utley but with only 300 AB’s.

Miles acquisition must be viewed in that salary context, $5.5 (DeRosa) minus $2.2M (Miles) or gain of $3.3M. My guess is that Miles allows the Cubs to move Cedeno who is Theriot’s backup.

Bradley is probably only going to get 70-80 starts and appear in 100-110 games not unlike Floyd did for the Cubs in ’07. Cubs will rest him against LH starters (playing RJohnson in CF and moving Fukudome to RF). Bradley is about the playoff lineup and why the Cubs gave RJohnson $3M this year—-meaning the Cubs will have Bradley and Miles on the bench late in games.

The other point is that if the Cubs do engineer a trade for Peavy they will gain a true ace and not psuedo ace (Zambrano) who will bring 200 IP to the rotation (roughly 40 more than Marquis) with probably 8-10 more quality starts. Their rotation will be unquestionably the strongest in the NL (even with an injury) with Peavy-Zambrano-Dempster-Lilly-Harden offering no weakness to the opposition.

They still are short a true lead off hitter and where I think Cubs have another deal in their plans.

who will they trade to get that “true” leadoff hitter…and how many of them are available? oh, wait….Juan Pierre is avaiable!!!

I was surprised to see them trade Derosa. They only trade Derosa if they have a Peavy deal in the works….imho. No way they downgrade 2b, unless Peavy is coming in another trade.