This isn't 100% certain, but the rumbling from the beatwriters is that the Cubs are looking to sign centerfielder Jim Edmonds, recently released by the Padres. From Bruce Miles' new blog:

The Cubs are asking themselves whether Edmonds has anything left in the tank, whether he's healthy and what kind of a fit he would be on the field and in the Cub's so-far harmonious clubhouse.

...

Right now, the right-handed hitting Reed Johnson gets most of the playing time in center for the Cubs. Lefty Felix Pie has struggled for the most part. Entering tonight, he's batting .222 with 1 homer, 7 RBI and an OBP of .286. If the Cubs were to sign Edmonds, they could send Pie to Class AAA Iowa and let him continue working on his swing changes there.

It wouldn't be a shocker if Edmonds landed here.

There's a chance that calmer heads will prevail here; at least I hope there are. I have very little regard for this idea, very little whatsoever.

First off, full disclosure - I used the ZiPS in-season projection tool, and even given his atrocious start to the season it foresees a .247/.341/.432 finish to the season if he were playing in the Friendly Confines, or a 99 OPS+. I think that's quite a bit optimistic, given the scouting reports coming out of San Diego - and yes, I do pay attention to such things. (MGL looks at how a player's bad April should affect his projections going forward, and it's an interesting read; a guy like Edmonds who is so far down on the aging curve may be a special case, as he mentions himself).

But let's do this comparison. Pie's projection for the rest of the season is .265/.320/.414, or a 89 OPS+. So a .331 wOBA for Pie, versus a .352 wOBA for Edmonds. Over the rest of the season - and let's say 500 plate appearances for the rest of the season, considering that Reed Johnson would likely get playing time either way - the difference between the two on offense would be roughly 13 runs, or right around one marginal win. (I go over a lot of this stuff in a previous post, if you feel like you're playing catchup here.)

But that ignores defense. So far this season, according to RZR and OOZ data, which I've converted into a +/- system, Pie has been worth 2.6 runs above the average defensive center fielder; Edmonds has been a whopping 4.6 runs worse than the average defensive center fielder. At that point it would be pretty easy for Edmonds to give back most of his value on offense (again, if he's just going through a slump right now and is not in fact a declining 38-year-old with numerous health issues and quite a few concussions finally running out of gas) on defense.

Do I really think that Edmonds is one of the worse defensive center fielders in baseball at this point? I don't know, but remember - OLD. Edmonds projected at a -6 in CF defense prior to the season, so I wouldn't expect to see Gold Glove caliber play out of him at this point.

So, best case scenario - Edmonds still has something on the tank on offense, gives away most of his offensive value on defense, meanwhile slowing Pie's development as a major league hitter and burning his last option season. Worst case scenario, he stinks on ice, the Cubs either shelve him or make him the next Reed Johnson, and we're no closer to a solution in center field - meanwhile slowing Pie's development as a major league hitter and burning his last option season.

Yeah, I don't think this is the best idea ever.