CHICAGO (AP) -- The Cubs were on the verge Wednesday of signing free agent outfielder Jim Edmonds, who was released last week by the San Diego Padres.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said before Wednesday night's game that Edmonds was on his way to Chicago and must pass a physical before he can join the team.

An eight-time Gold Glove winner and four-time All-Star, the 37-year-old Edmonds strained his right calf in a spring training game on March 6 and started the season on the disabled list. He was activated on April 5 and batted .178 in 26 games with one homer and six RBIs — well below his .286 career average.

"I think just in general most people feel he's still got something left in the tank. I think he's going to be a motivated player," Hendry said. "Obviously we're not going to ask him to have to go out there every single day."

Hendry said scouts felt that Edmonds was improving before he was released. Hendry said Edmonds may have tried to come back too soon from the calf injury.

Edmonds had an $8 million salary this year, which is being mostly paid by San Diego. The Padres received $2 million from the St. Louis Cardinals when they acquired Edmonds on Dec. 15 for minor league third baseman David Freese.

Edmonds was a key figure in the very heated Cardinals-Cubs rivalry during his eight years in St. Louis. He has 32 career homers against the Cubs, including 17 at Wrigley Field. A left-handed hitter, he might platoon with Reed Johnson in center field.

"There are really no negatives in it," Hendry said. "You're not giving up players and you're not spending a lot of dollars. ... Hopefully, he'll be able to give us a great portion of the Jim Edmonds we all knew and used to fear in a lot of ways. He used to play well against us and played well in this park."