Cubs willing to eat millions to get rid of Kosuke Fukudome

As usual the Cubs are trying to trade Kosuke Fukudome and this time Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that they’re willing to pay “part of” the $4 million he’s still owed this season along with “quite a bit of” the $13 million he’s owed in 2011. For the third time in three seasons Fukudome has slumped following a strong April, hitting just .218/.319/.321 in 61 games since May 1. For his career he’s a .335/.446/.558 hitter in April compared to just .239/.345/.365 in all other months. Of course, even .239/.345/.365 isn’t totally useless and setting aside the monthly splits Fukudome is a career .257/.365/.402 hitter in 1,466 plate appearances overall, so if the Cubs are willing to foot the bill for the bulk of his remaining salary he’d be a decent pickup for quite a few teams as a platoon starter or bench bat.