Offseason
In an attempt to rebuild the team, the Cubs were very aggressive in the free-agent market, signing a number of players with the goal of overtaking the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals in a competitive NL Central to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.
The first change was the signing of a new manager. On October 17, 2006, Lou Pinella signed a three-year deal with an option for a fourth season to manage the Cubs — the 50th manager in team history after Dusty Baker was not offered an extension of his contract following the 2006 season.
On November 14, 2006, the Cubs improved their depth by signing Mark DeRosa to a three-year, $13 million contract. DeRosa had played several positions for the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves earlier in his career. Two days later on November 16, Neal Cotts was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Chicago Cubs for David Aardsma and Carlos Vásquez (minors).
The Cubs made the largest acquisition in their teams history on November 20, 2006, as Alfonso Soriano agreed to an eight-year contract worth $136 million, an average of $17 million per year.
On December 7, Josh Hamilton was drafted by the Chicago Cubs from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2006 rule 5 draft. Several hours later, Hamilton was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds from the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs added two starting pitchers to the rotation, starting with the signing of Ted Lilly on December 15, 2006, to a four-year, $40 million deal. This was followed on December 19, 2006, with the signing of Jason Marquis to a three-year contract worth $21 million.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Chicago Cubs Season