Harden Will Remain With Cubs, Penny To Giants

Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune) reports pitcher Rich Harden will remain with the Chicago Cubs, with the Minnesota Twins unwilling to part with multiple top prospects.  The deadline has passed and no agreement has been reported, although no one really expected the deal to be done in the first place.

There is a chance the Twins could pursue Harden at the end of the season in free-agency if the Cubs and Harden don’t agree to a multi-year contract or arbitration.  It’s safe to assume the Twins have at least some interest considering they placed a waiver claim on him.

We will find out later today if the Twins indeed placed a waiver claim on pitcher Brad Penny.  The Twins are in great position to claim him, as they are only at .500 yet still in the division race with only 4.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers.

Penny could earn over $1 million for the rest of the season in base salary and escalators in his contract, so the Twins would be on hook for it they claim him off waivers.  If no team places a claim on him, he is free to sign with any team for likely a pro-rated minimum contract.

It is reported that Penny would prefer to join a National League team, so the Twins will likely need to claim him if they want to get him.

Update:  Penny is signing with the San Francisco Giants.  He went unclaimed and had the choice of joining  a handful of teams, including the Twins.

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