The Cubs will hold their post-season organizational meetings in Mesa, AZ beginning today and running through Friday.  On the agenda will be discussions on the 2010 payroll budget, what Jim Hendry can and can’t do concerning Milton Bradley (How much of his contract can the Cubs eat?  What type of contract can they take back in return for Bradley?), and what direction the Cubs want to go concerning their Spring Training home.  The Cubs brain trust will almost assuredly also discuss the teams biggest needs heading into 2010 and how best to meet those needs.

In an article about the organizational meetings, the Trib’s Paul Sullivan indicated that the Cubs have an interest in Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura.  The Rays have until one day after the conclusion of the World Series to determine whether or not to exercise Iwamura’s $4.85 million option for 2010.  Sullivan speculated that the Cubs may try to trade Bradley to Tampa Bay in exchange for Iwamura and Pat Burrell.  In Sullivan’s scenario, the Cubs would then trade Burrell, probably to an American League team.

Iwamura could be a good fit for the Cubs.  He has a history of hitting at the top of the order and he is also an accomplished third baseman, something the Cubs could really use if Aramis Ramirez goes down with an injury again. 

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com has revised his earlier statement that the Rangers would not consider a trade for Bradley.  It was believed that Bradley burned his bridges in Texas after he admitted that he had feigned injuries while with the Rangers in order to not hurt his stats in anticipation of signing a new contract.  But Texas is in bad financial trouble (Is there another kind?) and needs to regain some of the offense they lost in 2009.  Re-acquiring Bradley is one option.

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Carrie Muskat of MLB.com considers the free agent center field options in a recent blog post.  Of interest (at least to me) are Rick Ankiel, Rocco Baldelli (Is he healthy?), and Mike Cameron.  Of course, I don’t think the Cubs will be looking too closely at any of these guys.  I expect their center fielder next year to come as a result of a Milton Bradley trade.  My best guess is that Aaron Rowand will be patrolling center field at Wrigley next year after the Cubs acquire him from San Francisco for Bradley.

For a complete rundown of what I’m predicting the 2010 Cubs to look like, check out A Look At The Offseason report I posted previously.

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Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors.com quotes Bruce Levine from ESPN Chicago who says that the Cubs are working towards a deal with John Grabow to bring the lefty back on a two-year deal worth $6.5 to $7.5 million per year.

I like Grabow and think he could be a very important piece to the Cubs bullpen next year.  Even so, does a multi-year deal for $6.5 to $7.5 million seem a bit steep?  Aren’t there other guys out there with Grabow’s skill set that could be had for less money and/or just one year?   Honestly, I don’t see this as a huge problem either way, but it just strikes me as a bit odd.