Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-21-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 14
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cardinals @ Cubs: Game 1 Opening Night Thread

Submitted by Rob G. on

And here we go...

Adam Wainwright vs Jon Lester

#Fowler CF* Carpenter 3B
Soler RF* Heyward RF
*Rizzo 1BHolliday LF
Castro SSPeralta SS
*Coghlan LF* Adams 1B
Olt 3BMolina C
Ross C*Wong 2B
*Lester P*Jay CF
*La Stella 2BWainwright P

No parachat this year(for now), feel free and use the comments. Try and avoid recapping the game, we're all watching or following on twitter or whatever version of Gameday we like, no need to do play-by-play.

I was going to thank the Cardinals for the 5 lefties in tonight's lineup vs. Lester, but Maddon returns some of that favor by starting Ross.

 

Tags
Cubs 2015 Game Thread

Comments

Submitted by The Joe on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:48 pm

This lineup...is awesome. Unless we lose, then I'll be pissed about Ross and about Lester hitting 8th. I reserve that right because I'm an American. /Patriot

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:48 pm

It's crazy that Maddon already considers Soler the team's best hitter. Wow, that was actually pretty fast when you take into account his early slow start due to injuries. The other day, though, I actually witnessed Soler getting fooled badly with the bases loaded and looking bad doing it - hit into a double play. So he IS human.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:42 pm

he's hitting 2nd because the pitcher is hitting 8th (i assume)...which is pretty much the best use (imo) of a lineup with a pitcher hitting 8th (though you can do this without hitting the pitcher 8th). the use of the 2 slot in MLB lineups seems to be stuck in some weird time warp that won't evolve for too many organizations/managers. i'd like to see more legit "middle order" hitters moved to the 2-3+ slot...especially if you don't have 2 really good ob% guys up top to slot 1 and 2.

Submitted by QuietMan on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:48 pm

Sweeney gets DFA'd. Herrera makes the team. I guess that means Szczur too. The Braves OF looks shakey. Maybe they'll bite on Sweeney.

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:47 pm

One of the beat writers tweeted he saw Szczur in the clubhouse, so he's in, as he should be. I don't know much these days about how to wheel and deal but even if the Braves need Sweeney wouldn't it be easier for them to gamble that the Cubs use up whatever amount of time they have to decide what to finally do with him? 10 days according to MLBTR but I only believe whatever AZ Phil says. Also, is Denorfia on the DL? If so, it's Great Szczur's Ghost! in a few days, right?

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:49 pm

O&B: The Cubs have up to ten days (Wednesday 4/15) to decide whether to trade, release, or outright or option Sweeney to the minors (and optioning Sweeney to the minors could actually happen, because he has minor league options left). 

Sweeney can be optioned to the minors because his place on the Cubs MLB 40-man roster has not been taken by another player (Jonathan Herrera technically takes the slot vacated by Drake Britton). If the 40-man roster had been full and Herrera took Sweeney's slot, then Sweeney could not be optioned to the minors. 

So as long as one slot remains open on the 40, Sweeney could be optioned to the minors once Optional Assignment Waivers are secured (and securing Optional Assignment Waivers would be just a formality, because if a claim was made, the Cubs would just say "Thanks a lot!" and pocket the $25,000 waiver price AND save Sweeney's $1.5M 2015 salary AND not have to pay the $500K buy-out for 2016). 

That said, because he has accrued more than five years of MLB Service Tine, Sweeney must give his permission in advance by signing the 45-day minor league assignment waiver (it's good for 45 days once the player signs it) before he can be sent to the minors (by optional or outright assignment), and probably the only way he would agree to be optioned to the minors would be if the Cubs guarantee his 2016 $2.5M club option (that presently has a $500K buy-out), and I don't think the Cubs would want to do that. Or Sweeney might love playing for the Cubs so much that he will agree to go the minors rather than get released.  

But if Sweeney does not agtree to sign the 45-day minor league assignment waiver, and if the Cubs are unable to trade him within the ten-day window that expires on 4/15,  then the Cubs will have to release him. 

If Sweeney is released and subsequently signs a major league contract with another club, the other club would only have to pay Sweeney the pro-rated MLB minimum salary ($507,500 in 2015) , with the Cubs on the hook for the balance of the $1.5M Sweeney is owed in 2015 (which would be about $1M). The Cubs would also be on the hook for the $500K club option buy-out for 2016,  although that would not be paid until fter the conclusion of the World Series (from the 2016 payroll). 

Submitted by The Joe on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:56 pm

Furthermore, Rob can spell the word Cardinals however the fuck pleases. Get off our back, world.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:23 pm

MLB Network is doing another "State of the Game" show...basically, a round-table of MLB Network analysts/players talking about various topics that need more in depth discussion than a short segment... ...but...they allowed chris russo to participate. uggg... so far he's been derailing the intelligent conversation with yelling about whatever the hell he's yelling about. unrelated example, but pretty much this... http://i.imgur.com/CL6B75a.jpg

Submitted by Charlie on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:27 pm

ohmygodohmygodohmygod! I hope I make it to game time without exploding. :):):) Haven't been this excited for opening day in 10 years.

Submitted by Transmission on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:42 pm

I am so, so happy for baseball to be back.

I also have no cable, and the game's blacked out on my MLB.TV account?  Ugh...  About that no-recapping policy?  :)

EAMUS CATULI!

Submitted by John Beasley on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:55 pm

After decades of waiting, Wrigley Field finally has the necessary upgrade to survive for the long run - parmesan garlic fries! Progress is so heart-cloggingly delicious.

Submitted by John Beasley on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:23 pm

Wow, Kimbrel and Mel Upton to the Padres. Edit: For Maybin, Quentin, and Matt Wisler. The Padres have traded a lot of minor league players for major leaguers this year. Big bet needs a big return.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:05 pm

JOHN B: The 41st slot in the 2015 MLB Rule 4 Draft (First-Year Player Draft) that goes from San Diego to Atlanta in today's trade is the Competitive Balance Lottery (CBL) slot the Padres were awarded last July.

CBL slots are the ONLY Rule 4 draft slots that can be traded.

Once awarded, a CBL draft slot can be traded, but only during the MLB regular season (so it couldn't have been traded yesterday, but it can traded beginning at 3 PM Eastern today). The slot cannot be traded for cash unless it is a financial adjustment made to offset the salary of one or more of the players involved in the trade. Also, a CBL draft slot can be traded only once (only by the club that was awarded the pick). Once traded, the slot cannot be "flipped" to a third club. So the Braves can't send the draft pick (draft slot) to a third team later this season (prior to the draft). 


Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:01 pm

everything beyond the OF wall looks so weird...obviously... that "jumbotron" is going to take some getting used to. i've grown up with certain views of the park and none of them involve a jumbotron.

Submitted by Transmission on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:05 pm

I'm with Rob G:  the scoreboard is hideous.

 

But damn, Messmer was in rare form there.  Hell of a rendition.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:15 pm

are we really gonna do a bunch of interviews after the lineups and anthem rather than play the f'n game? -edit- doh, 8:15 start time...they just did the lineup/anthem early.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:20 pm

i forgot ESPN does that "here's the strikezone" layover...i hate ESPN. i wonder what tiger woods tim tebow johnny manziel is up to.

[ ]

Submitted by Carlito on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:33 pm

Game day strike zone seems glitchy. The pitch they showed was unhittable - much less a pitch that could have been pulled. I'll take their pitch zone with a grain of salt I guess. It had the first pitch to the devil, err I mean Holliday, as a pretty solid strike but it was called a ball.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:33 pm

mike matheney is bringing the IF in a few feet on the grass with a man on 3rd and 1 out in the 1st...for rizzo... that's interesting.

Submitted by Transmission on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:58 pm

Explain to me again the hitting-the-0-for-36-guy-Eighth concept, again?

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:02 pm

i'm not allowed to...long story. (omg joke...gawd...heh) that said, i'll take the trade off of treating the 2/3 slot like tonight even with the 8/9 baggage...rather the 2 slot was treated like this all the time regardless of pitcher lineup slot, though.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:06 pm

jon lester needs daily pitcher fielding drills...now until he can throw a ball to any given base. holy crap...dude, you're getting a zillion bucks a year, learn this skill.

[ ]

Submitted by Sonicwind75 on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:25 am

But the reason baseball has declining national TV ratings is due to "pace of play." Maybe it's not the product that needs fixed but the packaging of it. Between the old Buck/McCarver broadcasts on Fox and the crews ESPN fields it is a wonder baseball has any casual TV watchers left. Thankfully I watched the game at local sports bar and the sound was off since the Spurs were playing. (Midwest transplant living in Austin, TX)

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:21 pm

the new wrigley field DJ likes to kick some old 80s/90s dance-rap jams...i think it's just a CD shuffler with "Jock Jams"

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:31 pm

defense and the lack thereof

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:51 pm

dat D, tho...sigh. obviously, we need to send soler and castro down to work on their D. hahah...ugg.

Submitted by waveland on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:53 pm

looks like Russell is the one that needs to be called up asap, also Lester must not have wasted much time working on holding runners this spring

Submitted by Charlie on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:17 pm

Definitely a bit let down by the D and failure to drive in those leadoff baserunners, but Motte and Coke both have looked good, and the Cubs are still in this. Push some runs across this inning, Cubs!

Submitted by Charlie on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:07 pm

Is Walden's pitching motion legal? Edit: Upon review, I can't find any definitive rule against the weirdness Walden does his feet, even though he's basically jumping a few inches forward and then delivering his pitch.

Submitted by billybucks on Sun, 04/05/2015 - 04:28 pm

In true Chicago fashion, a major letdown following an over-hyped build-up. See "Bears, Chicago, 2014 season". And thus ends the quest for the perfect season.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:04 am

For what little it's worth,a few season ticket holders on my Facebook feed seem to be very eager to sell as many of their season tickets as they can for the regular season. The bathroom, concessions, etc were nightmarish according to them. 

Submitted by Carlito on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:24 am

I'm expecting it to take somewhere between 45 and 80 games for these guys to turn into a team, learn each other, mature etc. the Cardinals are a winning machine with rapport etc. gonna be fun (and frustrating at times) as the weather warms and we learn who they are as a unit. Bullpen still on a roll!

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:03 am

i wish people would shut the hell up about the bathrooms. obviously theo has a plan for why there was so much bathroom congestion. it was probably because less people in the stands and more people in line for the bathroom puts less pressure on lester or something like that. yeah...that. it's brilliance is self-evident if you open up your mind. everything happens for a reason and it's part of a carefully crafted master plan. hail theo.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:25 am

GOOD Baseball is back Cubs are relevant (for now) Bullpen BAD 0-13 w/ RISP. Lester, 0-55 career, batting 8th (Can you imagine if Dusty did that?) Soler looking lost in RF UGLY Shutout in back to back season openers Bleachers Video board in LF Go Cubs! Thought I would make my yearly appearance on TCR early while the Cubs still matter.

[ ]

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:24 pm

Good to be back gents. Glad to see so many familiar names. But at the same time glad not to see some certain familiar names, if you know what I mean. I hope to be around much more as the Cubs are actually relevant and I like the way the organization is going. The past few years it was tough to talk about team daily.

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:42 am

I saw a lot I liked last night (bullpen, good ABs by Fowler and La Stella, some hard hit balls by others), and some stuff that really frustrated me (defense, situational hitting, holding runners), but the bottom line is that the Cubs played a solid game and lost just 3-0 to Adam Wainwright, when their starting pitcher didn't have great stuff and didn't even make it through 5. And a few breaks here or there--a sliding catch rather than the ball boucning off the glove, a 2-run HR instead of a flyout with the wind, etc.-- and the outcome is different.

Submitted by billybucks on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:30 pm

The problem with today's game is that the bullpens are too damn good. Last night's game -- in innings 7,8 & 9, there was a total of 2 his and 9Ks. After the 6th inning, it's a parade of guys throwing 95+mph. Bleh.

[ ]

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:38 pm

Pitching has clearly gotten better over the past few years and that has carried over into the bullpens. It used to be the plan to get to middle relief ASAP and take advantage of those guys, but that isn't so easy anymore. It doesn't bother me as much, but I can see how it can be a bit boring/frustrating to have the door slammed on you the last 3-4 innings by relief guys.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:04 pm

Rob G.: "Maddon returns some of that favor by starting Ross." Not sure if you actually watched the ESPN2 broadcast, but they did address Ross saying in 22 of Lester's last 25 starts Ross caught for him. So I would assume for the time being that he will be his personal catcher.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:16 pm

Not sure if you actually watched the ESPN2 broadcast, but they did address Ross saying in 22 of Lester's last 25 starts Ross caught for him. So I would assume for the time being that he will be his personal catcher.

Yeah, I had no idea Ross is going to catch Lester most of the time. God Bless you're back.

/dripping with sarcasm font

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:08 pm

One other thing that was something we should all keep an eye on, and the ESPN announcers went through this in detail last night, but Lester has issues throwing over for a pickoff move to 1st base. He did not throw over one time last year and only 13 times in the past 3 years. Seem to be he has a little phobia throwing over. Not good. And the Cards got big jumps on him all night long. Not a huge deal, but in the NL where there is more running, the Cubs might want to work with him on that.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:17 pm

it's a long known (and humorous for other team's fans) thing of his...and he's never been pressed into doing something about it. there's a lot of oldschool managers in the NL who are going to have their guys run on 1st motion. greg maddux got away with it, but greg maddux would also induce ground balls and crappy contact with some great IF defense behind him (well, most years). there's a huge glaring hole in lester's game with men on base. it would be nice if that was more of a priority than hitting him 8th or having david ross around to frame his pitches. he's gotten away with it so long, who knows if anyone will bother to make him correct it.

[ ]

Submitted by Carlito on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:35 pm

I cannot believe I've never seen that before. I love Mr. Brooks!!! Pretty much the best spit take ever.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/06/2015 - 04:58 pm

Only the Marlins... They have a retractable roof, but are currently in a rain delay as they had it open at start of game as it was sunny. You'd think they would look at radar though and understand that storms blow through Florida pretty quickly all the time and be prepared. Guess not...

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 04:49 am

well, the issue is...is he ever going to fix this? STL just stole 3 bases vs him and they're usually not much of a running club. he is very fast to the plate, but while d.ross can frame some pitches his arm is on the decline. i'm pretty sure we're in for more of this, not less of this. that same KC club that stole on him in the playoffs in 2014 is the same club that didn't attempt to steal off him in the regular season. his catcher is VERY important heading this off, and it's not the pitch framing skill that's going to solve the issue.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 04:25 am

yes...he had an out at 3rd, all day long...he chose to jog over to 1st and soft lob the ball for the out there. it was "socks for christmas" all over wrigley based on the fan reaction to the choice. ross would have had a 2nd CS if he didn't bounce it 5ft in front of the base... STL stole like 55-something bases last year (57sb 32cs)...they made 4 attempts (3 successful) off a lefty a couple nights ago.

[ ]

Submitted by Sonicwind75 on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 04:37 pm

With the random strike zone on Sunday, it was hard to tell if pitch framing had any benefits. However, the old fashioned, throwing the ball to second defensive metric seemed rather woeful. Remember thinking that Welly could have had a couple of those runners but instead the runner jogs over to third on the throwing error. Regardless, a pitcher that won't throw to first and a personal catcher with a weak arm seems like a bad recipe.

[ ]

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 04:57 pm

Well Ross has a 37% CS rate for his career, and league average is in the high 20s. He was also at 41% for Boston in 2013. He was down last year (22%), but that is probably mostly a function of Lester not throwing over to first.  And in Sunday's game Ross had one nice throw to get Carpenter in the 2nd, then had one bad throw that he bounced when Wong tried to steal in the 4th--though the release and arm strenght were good and Wong would have been out had the throw not skipped. There was then no chance at all on the double steal in the 5th, that was all on Lester. So I am not sure there is enough info yet to say that Ross has a weak arm. He is not Molina or anything, but I think he'll be decent at the throwing component of his game, when taking into account how Lester holds runners going forward.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 04:34 pm

just putting this out there, but Castro is terrible at catching throws at the bag. He always short arms it and I can't recall one time I've even seen him come up with a short hop. Yeah, the throws weren't great by Ross or Soler, but Castro seems to never ever come up with that throw.

-edit- or what Charlie said, must have been typing that when he posted his.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 04:55 pm

just watching the guy is enough to tell you his arm is declining...both last season and this spring. his arm is accurate enough, but lacks zip and he's lost a step (not literally) getting out of the crouch to throw. he's 38, though. most of his "speed" comes from how quickly he gets out of the crouch anyway...and the whole process is helped by how quick lester is to the plate (which is rather quick). i don't mind getting lester a personal catcher, but i would have rather they looked for someone with present skills rather than historical numbers...especially on a 2 year deal.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 04:05 pm

jose molina? ...ugg, this is a dark hole to tread into...we'll be hank whiting it up in no time.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    welcome back happ!  double off the wall 1st PA back.

  • crunch (view)

    oh yeah, totally, i was just chiming about why i fan like i fan.

    i would like nothing more than hendricks to keep on hendricks'ing.  guys with his stuff can throw for a long, long time as long as it works.

    he velocity is actually up a minor amount this year.  it's really "damn" when a guy like him not only has gas in the tank, but it's looking like it was years ago.  he added a curve a few years ago and it helped a little bit, but he's throwing it less and less while the fb/change combo are less effective.

  • Alexander Dimm (view)

    CRUNCH—There is no one person in this community I’m talking about.  My remarks were not directed at you or anyone, but at a tone I’ve noticed lately. 

    You have a great, dry sense of humor and there is thought behind your comments.   You and I don’t always agree but I always understand your position.  

    Lastly, and I’ll be quiet, I agree with you on Hendricks.  We can dislike the recent performance but still love the guy.  Lots of questions about his future.
     

  • crunch (view)

    myself, i make a good amount of outrageously unrealistic comments that are sometimes "violent"...like my recent suggestion of "pulling the bandaid off" by having hendricks throw every inning of every game until he's on the IL.

    i would hope any athlete that cares about what is written on the internet realizes how casual fans can be about treating their lives like scripted TV characters that don't have real lives.  it's not an excuse to do it, but there's a lot of it out there.

    but yeah, in real life i'm rooting for guys to have long and healthy careers even if i'm not happy with current performances...except for some guys...and i'm pretty sure i don't leave grey area for those comments...and almost all of them are not good humans whether they're playing baseball or not...

    hendricks was getting a good amount of boos in his last game.  i would bet a million that he will get a standing O every time he visits wrigley in his post-playing days, or a return with a new team should his career continue...or if he comes back and puts in an oldschool good performance.

  • Alexander Dimm (view)

    What are the chances we can back off on gloating over other people’s misfortune?  One of the things I appreciate about the TCR community is that the remarks are more productive and add to how I like to follow the game.  

    Lately, however, I’m reading comments that are just mean.  If I were an MLB player, I would hate to get a back or finger injury and have someone write ‘hurrah!  I hope we never see him again!’  Especially when it is someone we were praising not long ago.  I’m not saying ‘don’t express how you feel’ but some comments lately seem downright mean spirited.  Stuff I expect from other communities but don’t often see here.  The TCR community has always spoken the truth but never with such a dark tone.

    Just my two cents.  I hope Hendricks comes back and is the professor we all know. He can pitch for the Cubs as long as he wants in my book.  

  • crunch (view)

    happ is back (and starting), mervis DH, tauchman gets RF.

    morel 5th in the lineup.  hoerner continues to lead off, even vs a righty.

  • George Altman (view)

    I don't care to see Hendricks or Smyly on the 26-man Roster the rest of the season. Both, stupid signings and option pick up by Jed. 

  • crunch (view)

    i know the cubs are paying the guys, but for the sake of the win/loss column this is some great news.

    woo!  people getting injured!  kick ass!

    sportsball is cruel.

    would have liked to keep cooper, but it looks like they're gonna go with wisdom if they have to pick a righty who's gonna K 1/3rd of his PA's.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Edwards would be my guess, or maybe they’re hoping Sanders or R Thompson can finally figure it out 

  • Cubster (view)

    So it’s Mervis, Wesn and Little for Cooper, Hendricks and Smyly. Count me in. Starting rotation for now: Taillon, Imanaga, Wicks, Assad and Brown-Wesn. Eventually Steele. 

    Lineup

    Hoerner, Happ, Bellinger, Busch, Morel, Swanson, Tauchman, Mervis, Amaya.

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