Word on the street is that the Chicago Cubs are looking to trade RHP Chad Guadin.  Gaudin joins Angel Guzman, Jeff Samardzija, and David Patton--acquired from the Rockies in the Rule 5 draft--in competetion for the last two spots in the Cubs bullpen.  Troy E. Renck thinks that Gaudin will "likely land on the Rockies' radar."  Gaudin finished 2008 poorly and has had lousy spring, should the Rockies try to acquire him?

Facial hair that would make Sal Fasano proud, via waiversharks.com

In his six years in the majors, Gaudin has made 135 relief appearances and started 50 games.  In 2007, Gaudin was a full time stater for the A's, making 34 of his 50 career starts. That season, he was 11-13 with 154 strikeouts, 100 walks, and a 4.42 ERA in 199.1 innings.  A closer look at his 2007 shows:

6.95 K/9
4.52 BB/9
1.54 K/BB
0.95 HR/9
1.53 WHIP
.311 BABIP
51.0 GB%

As compared to his career marks of:

6.53 K/9
4.15 BB/9
1.57 K/BB
0.98 HR/9
1.52 WHIP
.312 BABIP
43.6 GB%

A week ago, Gaudin turned 26 years old.  He is out of options.

My take: Gaudin is a decent-but-nothing-special pitcher.  His walk rate is a touch high, but his whiff rate is good enough to strike a respectable balance.  His longball rate and career GB% are right about average. 

As far as a place with the Rockies, having such an average pitcher can't hurt, unless he takes the place of an above-average pitcher.  So, if the Rockies land Gaudin, he won't automatically replace a high-upside starter like Franklin Morales or Jorge De La Rosa.  However, he would represent a decent fallback option if a back-of-the-rotation starter gets mired in a prolonged meltdown.

Bottom line, it's better to have Gaudin on the radar than someone like Kyle Kendrick.  As a bullpen/rotation swingman, he'd be a better option than Matt Belisle and perhaps lefty Glendon Rusch.  And finally, he has the facial hair intangibles down cold.

via bleacherreport.com

What do you think Rowbots?  Is the rotation big enough for two former Cubs?  Is the bullpen big enough for two former A's?  Is Gaudin's chin strong enough for that goatee?