After thinking some about rycub's forum post yesterday, and not coming up with much of an answer, I came across today's Tribune article by Dave van Dyck that seems to summarize what the Cubs' options are. So, let's take a look at some of the names mentioned in the article.

Aubrey Huff: Huff had a very good year with the Devil Rays in 2003, hitting .311/.367/.555 with 34 HR. However, he trailed off a bit in 2004 before leaving a crater last year, turning in a .261/.321/.428 line. For comparison's sake, that's almost identical to Jeromy Burnitz's .258/.322/.435 (although Burnitz's defense is much better, making him more valuable than Huff).

I'd say that Huff comes with serious question marks. At first glance, it seems unlikely that Huff will continue hitting as poorly as he did last year. Then again, he's never played more than 102 games in the outfield, and he'll obviously have to play in the field full-time in the NL. How will his offense hold up without the luxury of DH'ing two days or so a week? I'm not sure I wouldn't have rather stayed with Burnitz.

Cliff Floyd: Floyd turned in a very strange season in 2005, not only staying healthy all season for the first time since 2002, but apparently becoming one of the best fielding outfielders in the league in left. Baseball Prospectus put him at a whopping 14 runs above average, stunning given not only his frequent leg problems, but also that it's only his second above-average year in his career. Needless to say, I'm not sure I really believe that.

Offensively, Floyd was easily better than anyone the Cubs had last year excepting Lee and Ramirez, but his bat has never really been an issue. Simply put, Floyd is a valuable player when he's healthy, which is unfortunately not all that often. van Dyke mentions that Floyd may not be available, but a Floyd deal would probably be worth exploring as long as the Cubs didn't have to give up too much.

Jacque Jones: van Dyck says that Jones is not "a priority". That's good, since I'd rather try Corey Patterson in right than wait for Jones to recapture whatever lightning he bottled in 2002 - which was only barely adequate for a corner outfielder anyway.

Milton Bradley: He's "a fallback" according to van Dyck, whatever that means. Why a fallback? Other than the injury history, inconsistent play, and personal baggage, what's not to like?

Seriously, a healthy Bradley, kept under control by Dusty Baker, is an ideal solution to the extent that it's possible. Bradley does a good job of working the count and getting on base, and has decent power and plays good defense. If the Cubs bring him in, I'll be happy to keep an open mind, and cut Dusty some slack if he can get production out of him without too much boat rocking.

Kevin Mench: A few weeks ago, I wrote this about Mench:

Mench would be a decent stopgap, but he's only an average corner outfielder, both offensively and defensively. It's pretty inexcusable that the Cubs don't have anyone like him already in their farm system, but we're talking about an organization that spent a good part of the year wasting time with Dave Kelton and Trenidad Hubbard manning the corner outfield spots at Iowa.

I'll stick by that, as it's really an important point; why don't the Cubs have someone like Mench in their farm system? Average hitting outfielders, by definition, shouldn't be that hard to come up with.

Austin Kearns: Probably a pipe dream after Sean Casey's trade to the Pirates, and honestly, I'm not much of a fan of Austin Kearns anyway. I'm sure that playing for the circus that are the Carl Lindner/Dan O'Brien Reds takes its toll on a psychological level, but Kearns is constantly hurt and not very productive even when he's healthy. Maybe his organization has turned him into a headcase, and a change of scenery could do him good, but ... I don't want to be put in a position where we need to count on that.

So, if that's the list of the Cubs' best options, it would appear that there aren't too many good options. Of the names on this list, I'd rank their value this way:

1. Cliff Floyd
2. Milton Bradley
3. Kevin Mench
4. Aubrey Huff
5. Austin Kearns
6. Jacque Jones