Scott Feldman has signed a one year deal with the Cubs, terms not disclosed. Good luck to Scott, hope things work out for him.

Check that, terms were disclosed. One year for $6 million! Way too much for him in my opinion.

His agent deserves that commission check.

Feldman was worth 2.3 fWAR this year. $6m isn't too bad for that. He didn't have his best year, and he had some bad luck. I don't think he was a fit for the Rangers, so maybe he'll do better in the NL. Good for him.

Peace out, Scott Feldman.

Bad luck? How about 1 bad inning just about every outing! He could sail along and boom, 3 runs or he would give up 3 runs then get in a groove....Just mind boggling! Go Rangers

Too much cubs

More like bad fielding behind him SEVERAL TIMES and then being jacked around by Washington in and out of pen. Not the greatest pitcher but better than his record.

Andy, Feldman's fWAR is based on his FIP. If you look at his bWAR (which is based on actual runs allowed), it was 0 in 2012. The Cubs are betting that Feldman's fWAR is more reflective of his true talent level than his bWAR.

Generally, fWAR is a better measure of true talent level than bWAR b/c fWAR factors out luck due to small samples. Over large samples, FIP explains 96% of pitcher results. But there are some pitchers who consistently outperform or underperform their FIP. Nolan Ryan underperformed his FIP by a substantial amount due to failure to strand runners.

The question is whether Feldman's underperforming his FIP was due to bad luck over a small sample or whether it's skill related. I lean in the former direction. But I will point out that Feldman also underperformed his FIP by a large amount in 2010, so that would give me some concern if I were a Cubs fan.

The bottom line is that $6 mil just isn't much money in today's FA market.

Great points RFan.
The Cubs window of contention is years away, but the need to have innings chewed up is now. The correct play is to try get those innings without impacting the long term plans. That is exactly what Feldman promises to be. There are no certainties. They may not get 10 starts out of Feldman, but they could get 30. Either way their financial commitment beyond 2013 is zero. Great sign for them.

And, there is this bit of upside for the Cubs: If Feldman performs on the high side of his projection over the first half, say league average or nearly so, they'd have a commodity with real value at the deadline as there are always teams on the fringes of contention who need a back end starter who is only owed two million more bucks this year and nothing beyond.

It was pretty clear Feldman had fallen out of favor with the Rangers and their fans. I hope he does well in Chicago. My question is what are some similar names that we might come in to take Feldman's role? Should we be content with Kirkman being the swing man rather than pitching every 5 days in Round Rock?

I'd mentioned Ubaldo Jiminez as a potential buy-low target the other day. Any chance the Maddux bros could fix him?

@RFan: that was my point. I wasn't trying to suggest that he would necessarily be worth 2.3 fWAR next year, but I phrased it incorrectly. I meant to say that, based on that this year, and his previous years with the Rangers, he would probably be worth a $6m investment, because, as you said, $6m just isn't that much money. The Cubs are still rebuilding, which makes Feldman a reasonable choice for them. I hope that's clearer.

So assuming we add a TORP, what does our depth in starting pitching behind the top-5 look like? Think Neil Ramirez will start the year at Frisco and work his way back to RR. His stuff is too good to write him off. Perez will be in there if he isn't traded. Same with Grimm and Buckel. Think Ross is better suited to the pen. Kirkman could maybe start in an emergency, but we don't have much depth in LH'ed relievers. Wonder which journeymen FA's/6-year minor league FA's/etc. we add for depth at RR. Seems like slim pickings:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/11/minor-league-free-agents-2012/

Brandon Erbe? Omar Poveda? John Maine? Me not know...