Nady looks to stay healthy, make impact in Chicago

Injuries will surely affect the Super Bowl line for the game, and they’ll have an impact on the upcoming baseball season. It actually starts before Opening Day, as teams will take risks on free agents with injuries in their past. Take Xavier Nady, who signed with the Chicago Cubs recently.

Nady has struggled with injuries throughout his six-year career, and has already had two Tommy John surgeries. When he’s healthy, Nady is a productive outfielder who can give you 20-25 homers and 80-90 RBIs, and they were looking to replace Milton Bradley, the disruptive outfielder who was traded to Seattle. Nady won’t be anything close to the headache that Bradley was on the team, and he’ll just be looking to fit into the squad. With the outfield presumably filled by Kaisuke Fukudome Marlon Byrd and Alfonso Soriano, Nady is great insurance to have on the bunch for the Cubs, and you never know...if any of those outfielders slip up, Nady could take advantage of the chance and snag a spot.

The Cubs were looking for an outfielder, and passed on Jermaine Dye and Reed Johnson to get to Nady, who will be a Cub pending a physical. But the Cubs could do a lot worse than Nady, who works very hard, and he could be an x-factor in Chicago’s World Series odds for next season.