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CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs have reacquired catcher Koyie Hill in a deal with the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations.

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CHICAGO -- Two days after he was taken off the Boston Red Sox's roster, Michael Bowden pointed his truck in the direction of the Chicago area and while driving home he dared to dream a little dream.

It was as if the Oswego, Ill., resident bought a $1 lottery ticket not really thinking he would win, but just to have a chance to go through the what-ifs. Turns out his number did come up when the Chicago Cubs team he rooted for as a boy acquired him in a trade Saturday, sending Marlon Byrd and cash to Boston.

“This past week has felt like forever,” said Bowden, who was designated by the Red Sox on April 15. “Every single day from the first day I was taken off [the Red Sox’s roster] I was waiting for a phone call. There was just the anticipation of that.”

After sitting around in Boston for two days weighing his options, Bowden called the Red Sox to let them know he was driving home. With all that time to think on the open road, thoughts of the Cubs ran through his head.

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A trade of Chicago Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd to the Boston Red Sox appears imminent, a source close to the situation told ESPN Chicago’s Bruce Levine.

Another source indicated the Cubs will receive a left-handed reliever in return.

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The Chicago Cubs are sending reliever Chris Carpenter to the Boston Red Sox as compensation for hiring Theo Epstein as president of baseball operations.

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After designated hitter Victor Martinez tore his ACL during offseason workouts, the Detroit Tigers are in the market for another established hitter.

Here are the top five candidates the Tigers should consider to replace Martinez:

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Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said Wednesday that the team is not shopping pitcher Matt Garza.

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Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said the addition of free agent pitcher Paul Maholm does not mean a rumored trade of Matt Garza is coming.

"As a rule of thumb we aren't going to comment on trade discussions," Hoyer said on Tuesday after announcing the signing Maholm. "I would say with this Maholm contract and the fact that we have six starters right now is not a precursor to anything. I'm not going to comment on trade rumors, but it's important to note that [signing Maholm] isn't a precursor deal."

The Tigers, Red Sox, Blue Jays Yankees and Rangers have all had discussions on acquiring Garza over the last several weeks. Garza has two years of arbitration left before possibly becoming a free agent before the 2013 season.

Garza, 28, made $5.9 million in 2011 and could make $8 million to $9 million this season in arbitration.

Hoyer said the Cubs might not be done adding -- or subtracting -- pitching.

"I think we are very comfortable with the names we have," Hoyer said. "You never know what is going to happen over the course of the winter and what is going to be available to us. But what we said was that a huge priority was building [pitching] depth. We feel like we've really done that. But the minute you feel you have enough pitching, you don't. We are happy with the depth we built up over the winter, but it's a dangerous thing to say you are ever done."

With the addition of Maholm, the Cubs have six pitchers with starting experience for the rotation, including Randy Wells. In addition, Hoyer said Jeff Samardzija will be stretched out as a starting pitcher this spring, but also left it open for Samardzija to return to the bullpen.

"If you prepare as a starter in spring training, it can help you with your command, and it can also help you with your secondary pitches," Hoyer said. "But with this depth that we have, he may be a quality bullpen arm for us."

All along, the mantra from Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer has been to get players who are young, athletic, and left-handed.

With Friday’s trade for first baseman Anthony Rizzo, they appear to have gone back to the future on a player that both of them have admired for five years.

The Rizzo connection runs deep for all of the Cubs’ top execs. Vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod drafted Rizzo in the sixth round of the 2007 draft when he, Epstein and Hoyer were all working for the Boston Red Sox.

After Hoyer and McLeod took over the San Diego Padres management team in 2010, they were able to orchestrate a trade with Epstein that brought Rizzo and other prospects to San Diego for All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

If you’re not confused yet, now you will be. Hoyer and McLeod each signed Rizzo once. They now have traded for him twice in two years. Epstein signed Rizzo once, traded him once and now has traded for him.

I guess all of that goes to say that they are intrigued by the 22-year-old Rizzo. They believe he will be an impact player and should be a starting first baseman in the major leagues no later than 2013.

“He has fantastic makeup,” Hoyer said. “After beating cancer when he was 19 years old, he’s a very strong individual. In San Diego I got to know him better than I did in Boston. He makes a big impression on his teammates and he’s an incredibly hard worker. He’s a leader that can put our organization, our team on the right path as far as our culture. He’s a very impressive individual.”

The trading of Andrew Cashner for Rizzo brings some finality to the Prince Fielder rumors and puts the superstar free agent in the Cubs’ rear view mirror.

Hoyer stated that Rizzo will start the 2012 campaign in Triple-A Iowa. But the Cubs GM left a tiny opening for Rizzo to possibly break camp with the team if he has a great spring training.

“I’m never going to say never,” Hoyer said. “But that’s not the plan we are going into spring training with. In general, I think winning jobs in spring training is a very dangerous thing. That’s especially true with hitters in Arizona. The ball really flies there. A lot of hitters look good. A lot of things can deceive you in Arizona. The plan is that Bryan LaHair will be our first baseman and that Anthony will be in Iowa.”

Rizzo struggled at the major league level last year after dominating Triple-A pitching. Hoyer assumed responsibility for Rizzo’s initial failure.

“We called him up because we weren’t getting any first base production in San Diego,” Hoyer said. “It was too early and a mistake on my part. So I didn’t do Anthony any favors there.”

As for Cashner, it appears he’ll most likely be the primary set-up man for Padres closer Huston Street. Cashner’s shoulder injury after his first major league start on April 5, 2011 was basically the end of his season last year. During a rehab session on May 16, he re-injured his strained rotator cuff and didn’t pitch again until September, when he came out of the bullpen in the last month of the season.

Cashner, a No. 1 pick by the Cubs out of Texas Christian in 2008, pitched in the Arizona Fall League in October and November strictly out of the bullpen.

Hoyer also said that the team still hopes to re-sign free agent Kerry Wood and it appears that right-hander Jeff Samardzija may have to stay in the bullpen rather than get an opportunity to switch to the rotation.

Hoyer said on Friday that he expects more moves in relation to the pitching staff.

“When I see what happened in the rotation in 2011, the injuries to Cashner and [Randy] Wells set the season on the wrong path because there wasn’t enough depth in the minor leagues. We have worked hard and will continue to work hard on adding even more pitching acquisitions so we can go seven, eight and nine deep and that we feel we can replenish the bullpen as well.”

The Cubs are still trying to figure out if they are going to trade starter Matt Garza. The team also has had continuous conversations with the agent for free-agent left-hander Paul Maholm over the past five weeks.

The Chicago Cubs may have gotten their first baseman of the future, and his name isn't Prince Fielder.

The team acquired Anthony Rizzo from the Padres in a deal that sends right-hander Andrew Cashner to San Diego.

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The Chicago Cubs traded disgruntled pitcher Carlos Zambrano to the Miami Marlins on Thursday.

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The latest trade by the Chicago Cubs is a clear message from management to the fan base that the team is at least one year away from contending in the NL Central.

Picking up young starting pitcher Travis Wood and a possible starting second baseman of the future, Ronald Torreyes, for Sean Marshall, who is arguably the best left-handed setup man in the National League, is an indication that building up the organization’s youthful manpower is the main focus for Theo Epstein & Co.

Epstein, the team’s president of baseball operations, confirmed that aggressiveness by stating on Friday that he’ll continue to talk to teams about trading Matt Garza for a batch of young prospects.

Although Epstein hasn’t ruled out signing Garza to a three- or four-year extenstion, the only real way for the Cubs to contend in what is now a strong NL Central is to dump out of the 2012 race and prepare for the future.

The Toronto Blue Jays seem to be the best matchup for the Cubs in a Garza deal. After just missing out on Japanese starter Yu Darvish and watching left-hander John Danks re-sign with the White Sox, the Blue Jays best chance to compete would be to acquire Garza before the start of the season.

Toronto’s No. 1 pick from 2010, right-hander Deck McGuire, will be the focal point of any negotiations between the Cubs and Jays. The 22-year-old pitcher was a combined 9-5 at three different minor-league levels in 2011. The Blue Jays are convinced he’s near major-league ready.

The Cubs will also inquire about the availabilities of left-handed pitcher Justin Nicolino and power-hitting outfielder Jake Marisnick. Nicolino, a 20-year-old pitcher, was 6-2 with a 1.33 ERA at two minor league levels last season. He allowed just 39 hits in 61 innings. Marisnick is considered a five-tool prospect and hit 14 homers at the lower-A level last year.

The Cubs, who have no great agenda to trade Garza, are also preparing to talk to his agent about a long-term deal. So far they don’t like where the trade talks are going.

Players over 30 years of age should be aware that they really aren’t a fit for the Cubs at this point.

Attempts to move veteran outfielder Alfonso Soriano to an American League team have been futile so far. The Cubs may have to eat somewhere in the vicinity of $40 million of the $54 million Soriano is still owed in order to find an AL team to take Soriano as their designated hitter.

For the short term, you can call them the Chicago Carps -- as they will continue to bottom feed for 2012 and try to build a championship caliber team for 2013 and beyond.

The Chicago Cubs will continue to try to improve their starting rotation, and part of that process may be to trade top starter Matt Garza for depth.

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The trade sending Chicago Cubs' left-handed reliever Sean Marshall to the Cincinnati Reds for Travis Wood and two other players was made official on Friday, the teams announced.

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The Chicago Cubs will get minor leaguers Dave Sappelt and Ronald Torreyes in the deal that sends Sean Marshall to the Reds for Travis Wood, a team source told ESPN.com’s Keith Law.

Sappelt is a 24-year-old outfielder who has spent the bulk of the last two seasons at Triple A. In four minor league seasons, the 5-foot-9, 195-pounder hit .309 with 31 homers and 184 RBIs.

He did spend some time with the Reds last season, batting .243 in 118 plate appearances.

Torreyes is a 19-year-old infielder who played in Class A ball last season. In 306 plate appearances, he hit .356 with three homers and 41 RBIs with a .398 on-base percentage.

Marshall is only under contract for one more season, so the Cubs agreed to deal him for a younger left-hander in Wood who can help shore up the Cubs starting pitching. The Cubs had one of the worst rotations, statistically speaking, in the majors last season.

Getting two minor leaguers with upside affirms new Cubs president Theo Epstein’s commitment to player development.