Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

For the Series Win

GAME THIRTY-FOUR IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (15-18, 5th, 6.5 GB) AT SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (16-18, 5th, 3.5 GB) Telephone Company Park, 2:30 PM CDT Weather: 68 degrees, Sunny, Wind Out to RF @ 13mph TV: WGN, DirecTV 735 Radio: WGN, XM 189
Jamey Wright, RHP 2-3, 4.61 ERA, 33 IP 19 K, 16 BB, 5 HRSean Marhsall, LHP 2-0, 3.12 ERA, 34.2 IP 26K, 11 BB, 3 HR
Ronny Woo-Woo, SS *Shrunken Head, CF *Having A Horrible May, 2B Please Start Hitting, 3B *Isn't This Why We Got Him?, 1B 1 RBI in 3 Weeks???, C *See I'm Not That Bad, RF One Step Closer to Getting Benched, LF *Still A Rookie, P, P*Randy Winn, RF #Omar Vizquel, SS Lance Niekro, 1B *Asterisk, LF Pedro Feliz, 3B *Steve Finley, CF Mike Matheny, C Kevin Frandsen, 2B Jamey Wright, P

Cubs vs. Wright: Aramis Ramirez: 6-29 207/273/241 1 XBH, 2 BB, 6 K John Mabry: 8-25 320/346/360 1 XBH, 1 BB, 2 K Juan Pierre: 7-14 500/500/786 1 HR, 3 2B, 0 BB, 1 KGiants vs. Marshall:

Sean Marshall has a 0.89 WHIP this year, holy freaking efficiency. It's been more than a pleasant surprise that he's been able to be so effective, so quickly in the majors. Let's hope he keeps it up today and we'll see if he has the guts to go after Bonds. After one comes two, let the streak begin!!!

Comments

Marshall is really giving up some early runs today....we're down 3-0 in the first inning...Can Marshall settle down and can the Cubs' offense perform like they did last night...?

No radio, or tv- Marshall not looking good today?

"Itís been more than a pleasant surprise that heís been able to be so effective, so quickly in the majors." Surprised? You were told --Marshall ready -- Guzman not ready. Can't help it if you didn't listen either time. :0 ) And if Marshall somehow loses it, Rothschild's head needs to roll.

1/3 of an inning- 5 hits, 5 runs- yikes. Well, looks like the Marshall thing was fun while it lasted.

novoa's already up, missing the zone, leaving pitches up, ugly

Marshall looks much worse than Rich Hill did in SF the other day...He's given up more runs in this first inning than he had in his last 20+ innings of work...we're down 5-0 and there is only one out...Dusty is getting nervous and the Cubs have Novoa warming up already....Lets hope the young Marshall can locate his pitches and settle down soon.

ugh

The beatings will continue until morale improves. Yikes - it looks like I picked the wrong time to stop sniffing glue. Off to a meeting...when I return the game should be firmly out of reach.

Greg Maddux.....player/manager?

It'll be interesting to see how Marshall bounces back in the following innings and outings. Is he a fluke or a diamond in the rough? We shall see...

Sean Marshall appears to be following the Sergio Mitre path. We should have traded him after his two straight excellent starts. On a related note, and this may be heresy, but is Jacque Jones really the cause of our problems? He's on a pace to hit 30 HRs (tied for team lead), he's third on the team in SLG, his OPS is higher than it's been since 2003. His OBP could obviously be better, but it's not like he's done terribly, especially over the past few weeks.

One bad outing = we should've traded Marshall. Makes good sense to me. On a more rational note, should Dusty yank him to save his confidence or let him stay to build some? He just walked Vizquel on 4 straight balls.

I think Jacque is starting to come around at the plate. His .266 is close enough to his career average. He has also had a couple of key HRs. If only someone could teach him to throw. Good luck, Dusty don't teach fundamentals, dude.

My opinion, you don't start Sean Marshall in a road day game after a road night game at the end of long rotten road trip and have him face Barry Bonds with instructions to go after him - don't walk him - when the result may be that you serve up the home run that ties Babe Ruth's old record of 714 unless you don't care about the results. You also fire Rothschild... ruiner of pitchers.

CWTP, But it's his turn to pitch. Who are you going to go to if you skip him?

Top of the third, down 5-0, first two hitters (murton & marshall get on), Cedeno comes up with nobody out, and Dusty has him BUNTING. What in the hell???

Before yesterday, we scored 10 runs in 11 games. The chances of us coming back from a 2-run deficit are slim-to-none... a 5-run deficit?? I'd rather put my money on RED 19. Last time I checked D. Lee had one good hand, I say put a bat in it!

My opinion, you don't start Sean Marshall in a road day game after a road night game ... Why? What does that have to do with anything? It was Marshall's turn to start. And he just didnt have anything good, especially in the first inning.

Question:.........How can the Tribune spend nearly one hundred million dollars and put such an inferior product on the field? Answer..........They have Andy McFailure handling the money. He should be working for the state of Illinois.

#17 of 26: By Steve H. (May 11, 2006 03:09 PM) Sean Marshall appears to be following the Sergio Mitre path. We should have traded him after his two straight excellent starts. On a related note, and this may be heresy, but is Jacque Jones really the cause of our problems? He's on a pace to hit 30 HRs (tied for team lead), he's third on the team in SLG, his OPS is higher than it's been since 2003. His OBP could obviously be better, but it's not like he's done terribly, especially over the past few weeks. I dont think most people have a problem with Jones against RHP. Its the fact that Dusty refuses to sit him against lefties and gives the opposition 4 automatic outs in those games.

The Cubs are doing an amazing job of leaving runners on bases...we just can't seem to get the clutch hits today. I thought the breakthrough last night would give the Cubs much more confidence at the plate...I'm not sure that we're out of the offensive slump. If for some crazy reason the Cubs can come from behind and win today that would be a very good sign...I wouldn't bet on it though.

"It was Marshall's turn to start. " Brilliant.

I don't understand the whole Murton thing. A few weeks ago he was the only one getting the big hits. Haven't watched games in the past 2 weeks, is he playing bad?

he's hitting singles...and that's it...everything is on the ground...he's even getting some singles that are pretty much errors called infield hits thanks to official scoring. he's not in an ob% slump, but he is not the murton he can be. a glance at his ob% looks good, but he is not playing like he should. it should be a temporary move down in the lineup anyway. if he's gonna keep doing this crap though, might as well move him to the #2 slot.

I know it's garbage time - but this is the lineup of a $100MM team!? UGH. N. Perez SS J. Pierre CF R. Theriot 2B A. Ramirez 3B J. Mabry 1B S. Williamson P H. Blanco C J. Hairston Jr. LF F. Bynum RF

doesnt help when almost 1/3rd of it is on the DL.

Some of these comments about Marshall must be the result of people smoking something. I've never read such crap...skip his turn because of daylight? My God, he's just out of AA...look up Maddog's first year stats. As far as JJ goes...the nasty things (he sucks! F*** JJ, etc.)said about him do not reflect only a feeling that he should sit against lefties. After all, that isn't his decision, is it?

1.00 miller 3.65 prior 11.00 wood 13.00 lee btw...to add to the woes...j.jones STILL hasnt recovered from his leg tweaks weeks ago and is being rested late the last 2 games to protect them becuase theyve been bugging him. its not bad enough to DL him...yet...but its enough to earn him rest.

Even with what is on the DL, it's not a 100 million dollar team. This is at best a .500 squad.

That makes 24 runs scored by the Cubs in the last 13 games. The opposition has scored 78 runs in the same 13-game period. So we were outscored 78-24 in the last 13 games. The opposition has scored three times as many runs as the Cubs during that period. This cannot go on much longer without someone's head rolling, can it? I guess we will find out. We have become a laughingstock, again. It was one thing when the Sox were also terrible. At this rate, the Cubs are gonna lose this town. Sure, the hard core Cub fans will stick with the Cubs, but the casual fans will switch to the Sox. Yeah, I know, who needs them. But this is getting really depressing.

With the offense we saw from the Cubs today the only way to win was to have one of our best pitchers out there at the top of his game (too bad Kerry Wood wasn't available)...;-)

Good thing Bill Murray and Rick Sutcliffe weren't at this game, they mighta got drunk and stormed the booth or something.

somebody on the telecast has a sense of humor (hard to believe on this road trip): Exiting music: Band:The Grateful Dead (that in itself is the appropriate innuendo, let alone being vs. SF); Song: Truckin'...what a long strange trip it's been.

"CWTP, But it's his turn to pitch. Who are you going to go to if you skip him?" I wasn't implying that he should be skipped (and who would replace him? Rusch has been awful pitching day games), just that sometimes a rookie is dumped into a very disadvantageous slot in the rotation. This last game of the road trip was pretty much programmed to be a likely loss when they left Chicago. Add in the need for the starting staff to carry every game due to lack of scoring, the early time of the game, and a twist of fate that had Barry Bonds looking for #714 every plate appearance and this one didn't look good for Marshall from the get-go. He knew it and that only added to the pressure.

I'm kinda glad that this team did lose today. Now the fans won't totally forget the team's lackluster performance over the trip. They should be booed- every single one of them, and maybe those boos will subsidize the lack of Dusty getting fired up publically against this group of losers. ...On the other hand. Come the beginning of the season everyone was talking about "if we can play .500 ball until Wood/Prior/Miller return, we can still be ok." Now add Lee coming back in about 3-4 weeks, and we can maybe have an offense back too. The divsion does not have a team over .500 in it's last 10 games.

hmmmm...Sut and Bill Murray found Dusty's stash? http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-sutcliffe-interview&prov=ap&ty… Sutcliffe gives rambling, slurred interview on Padres broadcast By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer May 11, 2006 SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Rick Sutcliffe, a Cy Young award winner and ESPN baseball analyst, gave a rambling, slurred interview during the local television broadcast of the Brewers-Padres game Wednesday night. Sutcliffe's microphone eventually was cut off. Craig Nichols, general manager of Channel 4 San Diego, on Thursday described the interview as embarrassing. --- After Wednesday night's game, Sutcliffe and Murray visited the Padres' clubhouse. When Sutcliffe introduced Murray to infielder Mark Bellhorn, who was seated, the actor hugged the infielder tightly and the two tumbled onto the ground. "You were a Cub!" Murray said.

marshall definitely did something wrong today, no doubt about it, and getting 1 hit through 6 innings wasnt too slick either. face it guys, we suck, and we're going to suck until derek comes back. unfortunately by then it will have been too late. what a nightmare this is.

if you want some really good news, our expected win/loss record right now is 13-20, the only team worse is the Pirates. whew!!!!

Holy crap- Will Ohman and Sean Marshall each had one hit today. A relief pitcher had more hits than half the starting lineup. Beautiful. Fucking beautiful.

the reality is that this team is mediocre, really, with - or without - DLee. i think we tend to overlook that...

you know what's amazing about this team...it is so absolutely dreadful now, but they are only 4 games below .500. One even small hot streak and they are right back at .500 at with in breathing distance of the division lead. One little problem. There is absolutely nothing in any facet of the game that leads me to believe this team is remotely capable of a small hot streak. It just surprised me to realize after this epic futility that we aren't 15 games under .500.

"One little problem. There is absolutely nothing in any facet of the game that leads me to believe this team is remotely capable of a small hot streak. It just surprised me to realize after this epic futility that we aren't 15 games under .500." How many times did we say that last year?

A couple of thoughts, questions, and 1 prediction): 1)Bob Brenly will be managing the team next year. 2)Did the Twins give more or less to acquire Luis Castillo than we gave up to get Pierre? I mention this because Castillo is an OBP machine, great fielder, switch hitter, and a much better player than Pierre. 3) Any realistic chance a trade of Ramirez-Wood to Texas for Mench-Blaylock happens?

castillo has been bothered by frequent injury and there's more that one scout out there that have put a death sentence on his speed. marlins got travis bowyer and scott tyler...it'd be like the cubs giving up novoa and wuertz...or something similar. he also came over with a 5m price tag intact.

The Amazing Albert (courtest of BP.com and Will Carroll): Imagine what he could do when heís healthy. Jonah Keri pointed out last week all the things that Albert Pujols did in his first five years. He failed to mention that Pujols has done it all while facing a series of serious injuries. He avoided Tommy John surgery despite a near complete tear of his UCL. He dealt with plantar fascitis for two years, helped by an experimental ultrasound therapy. Now, he has a strained back that some are whispering might be a disk problem. Pujols is playing in pain, something heís shown he can do. The question is whether he can continue to do so at this level or whether heís putting himself at more risk by playing. If the back doesnít do him in, the cascade injuries might. The Cardinals' medical staff, once again led by Dr. George Paletta, has taken some hits in the past. This is their biggest test.

Blalock is just a career .239/.298/.397/.695 hitter away from Ameriquest, no thanks.

I gotta hand it to some Cub fans, some of whom have posted above. No matter how awful our team is, this is what we hear from some people: 1) We are in a terrible streak but still within striking distance of the division lead. 2) If we can just hold on several weeks until DLEE, Wood, Prior et al return. 3) Sure, we are playing poorly but so are the other teams in the division at the moment. Look guys, what are we? 6-7 games out? Just a couple of weeks ago we were in first place, by a game, weren't we? We have plunged in no time at all. We need both offense and pitching. Our pitchers have given up an average of about 6 runs a game in the last 13 games. That won't win many games, at least not with this offense. By the time Lee gets back, at the rate we are going we could easily be 15 games out of first place. We don't have the horses, even with Wood in top form, Prior in top form, Lee in top form, Jones in top form, Pierre in top form, etc etc etc to make up a 15 game deficit. This team is not just going through a slump. We are terrible, easily capable of finishing 30 games out of first.

Hideki Matsui about to hit the DL for awhile, fractured wrist. Yanks down 2 outfielders now.

tough day for outfielders, Rowand went out with a broken nose (and it looked bad) crashing into the wall. He won't miss much time, but ouch!!!

On a brighter note, I just saved a bundle on my auto insurance. (seriously)

minor league update for today: (AAA) Pie goes yard, but that's it Walrond gives up 4 runs, 2 earned, commits HIS 5th error of the season. Before tonight he had given up like 18 runs total, but only 8 earned. 4 of those unearned runs were off his own bad throws. (AA) Hoffpauir goes out for the 9th time thise season Montanez up to 361 average Randy Wells (5 IP, 1 ER) season era is 1.61 (Hi-A) Grant Johnson loses (5 IP, 3 ER) season ERA: 5.40 Jake Fox either has 6 errors on the season or committed his 6th passed ball (yikes!)

Does anyone know what starting pitchers are free agents this coming off season? Any "excess" White Sox (Freddy Garcia)? Outside of an acquisition of this kind ($$$$$) AND another bat we are 2 years away at best. I would even be in favor of adding Soriano at second base considering our lack of punch in the outfield.

Jason Schmidt Barry Zito Mark Buehrle (team option) Mark Mulder Greg Maddux Kerry Wood (mutual option) Mike Mussina (team option) Kelvim Escobar Ted Lily Andy Petitte Doug Davis

That list by RobG could have them all having the Cubs as a desirable destination- but TribCo wouldn't go after any of them because of their "young talented arms in the minors."

A few things... 1)I wouldn't mind looking at Soriano, if, and only if he'll play in the OF. That said, to get him we'd have to at least give away Walker, and we all know how much of a push-over manager Dusty is. All this means that Soriano will be playing 2B if he came here- no dice. 2.) This team does suck, but to be realistic, we are no worse off than the Marlins of 2003 or the Astros of 2004. We live in the world of the Wild Card, and as horrible as we've been, we are not that far off from the playoffs. Will we make it- probably not, but it's not like the season is over. We won't know what this team is capable of until the 4 (5 w/ Pagan) guys on the DL come back, and that's the way this team was set up for. DLEE's injury doesn't help, but we've been shown 2 teams this year: 1)when we have guys who hit with RISP we're not half bad and 2)when we don't have that we're awful. Speaking from experience a pitcher knowing that it has no offense will go out and do their job, but once the other team puts up a few runs, they are just going through the motions. If we can score some runs then our pitching will be better...espicially with the younger guys. If we can show our pitchers that even though they give up a mistake or two and we can get those runs back, the picthing will get better. Offense first, pitching will come around, and then streaks like we had in April will come back. This team is not done, we just need offense with RISP.

but...there's only 130 games left. the season is totally over.

Soriano kiling it in May btw. (sarcasm) Hey, did ESPN have 3 commentators talking about D-Lee's wrist injury when it happened? Cause I just had to hear about it from not 1, not 2, but 3 different guys on Sportscenter about Matsui's wrist injury and the effect on the Yanks.

I'm surprised they didn't have a reporter in the hospital with Matsui while he was being x-ray'd and all of that. ESPN is all about the east coast. The only reason that the Cubs have been on is because Mike Greenburg is a N'Western alum. ESPN sucks....I have switched over to Foxsports.com for my mass-media information (and they don't charge for reading their best people).

ESPN must really hate the fact they'll never see a NYY vs. BOS world series since they're the only 2 teams they cover....well besides the team called Barry Bonds.

I love how Red Sox/Yankees is deemed "greatest sports rivalry of all time" by who else, ESPN. Well, seeing as how all three frickin' games were on ESPN this week, I imagine it's hard to create any other kinds of rivalries. After all, rivalries are created- they don't just naturally happen. Speaking of the Matsui injury, that makes two of their starting outfielders on the DL. However, it won't make a big difference with their offense. Hey TribCO, that's called depth. Good to have just in case your top hitter goes down.

"We are terrible, easily capable of finishing 30 games out of first. " Man. I wish you weren't right but, I'm afraid you are.

Did they just say Bobby Abreu's name will be considered for a Yankee deal? Wow. The Yanks still have FIVE all-stars in their everyday lineup and they wanna go out and get another all-star? Must be nice, huh Hendry? According to Jim Hendry, it will be difficult for the Yankees to make a deal since it's too early for anyone wanting to make a deal at this time. No one wants to deal, right Jim? Gimme a fucking break. Asshole.

Crunch- Of course it's easy to have depth with $200 million payroll. But $100 million can't provide depth? Come on.

according to ESPN, the major leagues are the Yankees minor league system. They just pick whoever they want, whenever they want. Abreu's not going to the Yankees.

nazey...if the yanks had a 100m team they'd be struggling to find 3rd place. the yanks have 6 players who make the cubs payroll combined. the yanks get a bad contract...they just spend more...its a tool 2/3rd of mlb cant use. they use the tool of money to the point of strangling competition. i would not be a fan of this team if they were a 200m team in a 70-100m "upper level" market. i couldn't sit through 162 games of it...after all, part of a game for me is competition. its not about WS wins...its about wins...and there's a huge difference between 100m and 200m...100m to be exact.

yeah rob...i caught that. "we're gonna be hearing a lot about bobby abreu the next few weeks." hey espn...he plays for philly...he's doing well there, too. he's been doing well there even before a home run derby. we'd hear a lot more about him if you'd actually give air time to it. now we get to hear about baseless trade rumors involving the yanks and abreu. wee.

The sad part is the Cubs have depth. The problem is when you lose 3 of your best players to injuries, and 2 of your starters underperform considerably (Pierre and Ramirez) -- even with a 100M payroll you wont have depth and will get shalacked.

The Phillies would love to get of Abreu's contract if they could get a 1 or 2 starter in return. However the Yankees dont have one that they would be interested in unless the calendar in Gillick's office still reads 2003. Man I wish Hendry would have done that Abreu for Prior deal at the winter meetings or for Tejada.

Here;s a trade that will never happen: To Philly: Zambrano To NY: Abreu To Cubs: ARod Just a dream Just a dream

Arm. "We don't have the horses, even with Wood in top form, Prior in top form, Lee in top form, Jones in top form, Pierre in top form, etc etc etc to make up a 15 game deficit" Well actually..... Pierre 04 326/374/407 221H 12 3b 49RBI 100R 45SB Walker 03 283/333/428 166H 38 2b 85RBI 92R Lee 05 335/418/662 199H 50 2b 107RBI 120R 15SB ARam 04 318/373/578 174H 32 2b 103RBI 99R Jocko 02 300/341/511 173H 37 2b 85RBI 96R Barrett 05 276/345/479 16 HR 61RBI 32 2b Murton 05 321/386/521....or decent '06 Cedeno 06 308/331/436....NOW Zambrano-2003,2004,2005,2006. take your pick? 04 16-8 188k/209.2IP 1.22WHIP 2.75ERA Prior-03 18-6 245k/211.1IP 1.10 WHIP 2.43ERA Wood-03 14-11 266k/211IP 1.19WHIP 3.20ERA Maddux-02 16-6 2.62 ERA 1.20WHIP Miller 02 15-4 144k/164.2ip 3.28ERA That may win the division after the AS break. Plus if the bullpen also had career years... Howry..wait, he is having a career year Eyre..see above Williamson...Please re-live rookie year. Ohman...please do what you did last year Novoa...impoving at least, that's not saying much Rusch....SUCK MY BALLS!! Hill...learn to like Des Moines Marshall...you'll get your chance, someone will get hurt. Guzman...keep at it, and see above. Bench guys... Hank White...Rusch, Maddux, Marshall all have better averages than you, and Z is on your tail. JHJ, Neifi, The Riot..someone please demand a trade! Bynum....I know you are only 26, but please retire, at least briefly. Mabry....Demand you play 1b everyday until DLee comes back The white sox are getting easier to watch, the delirium has started early this year. I am currently shopping for an AL team to root for for the rest of the summer..that is not named the White Sox....Detroit and Cleveland are the top candidates for my services.

Rob I do. But a player can change. A player can sack up and learn to be clutch. Not to mention that ARod is clutch. Just not in the playoffs. So let him get us to the playoffs and let Derrek Lee be Mr. Clutch. BTW, Murton is showing clutch tendencies.

Jim Tracy speaks for managers everywhere: "Everybody keeps asking me questions about how much longer you're going to go with this or that. Right now, I've got a bench with two guys with bad legs, a backup catcher, an infielder and an outfielder. So, everybody, don't ask me any more questions about how much longer we're going with this guy or that guy and make it seem like I have a plethora of choices. I don't! I don't! We're trying to make this group go as best we can." http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06132/689514-63.stm

And Tracy was pretty steamed too. It was interesting to hear a baseball person shouting and using the word "plethora" at the same time. The audio clip was precious. Somewhere, Yogi Berra is scratching his head and wondering what (or who) Plethora is....

"but once the other team puts up a few runs, they are just going through the motions"- That pitcher does not belong in the major leagues. I can think of an corner outfielder the Yankees might be interested in playing rf at Clark and Addison.

nothing like a losing streak to bring out the Dusty I can't stand: [regarding booing] "We still have to play, right?" Baker said. "I hope we get less [abuse]. We're going home licking our wounds. We're not going home looking for more woundsówe're going home to heal. This can happen to everybody." At least Barrett gets it right: "Our fans are great, and I'm excited to go home and have the support of our fans," catcher Michael Barrett said. "But I do expect a reaction, and I don't blame them one bit for the reaction we'll probably get. I'm not even a big fan of booing, but realize it when you deserve old Dusty. Just once in his tenure as Cubs manager, take some responsibility for the team you're supposed to be in charge of...sheesh. You have my permission to use this Dusty: "I'm looking forward to going home, it's been a tough stretch and we need a little of that home cooking. I'm sure the fans will get on us and you know what, we deserve it. We've stunk up the joint the last 2 weeks and it's up to me to find a way to get this team going." etc, etc, etc

apparently according to the radio, this is today's lineup (if we play, sounds gloomy in Chicago) Pierre CF Perez 2B Cedeno SS Ramirez 3B Barrett C Mabry 1B Murton LF Hairston RF Guzman-P Baker already said he wanted to give Walker a day off and Jones tweaked a groin injury, Ronny batting 3rd? Neifi 2nd? ugh, although Neifi has hit Williams okay for his career, not that that has mattered much lately.

*I can think of an corner outfielder the Yankees might be interested in playing rf at Clark and Addison.* Dream on. First, the Cubs can't trade Jones until, what is it, June--at which time Matsui will be back? Secondly, the Yanks wouldn't part with anyone of any value/don't have any prospects nor do they need to trade Alex Rodriguez just because he has drawn two negative comments from Steinbrenner.

Matsui's out 3 months, but Sheffield should be back relatively soon.

*Jonah Keri pointed out last week all the things that Albert Pujols did in his first five years. He failed to mention that Pujols has done it all while facing a series of serious injuries. He avoided Tommy John surgery despite a near complete tear of his UCL. He dealt with plantar fascitis for two years, helped by an experimental ultrasound therapy. Now, he has a strained back that some are whispering might be a disk problem. Pujols is playing in pain, something heís shown he can do. * It's helps if you're on roids.

Today's lineup Gene Clines Gene Clines Gene Clines Sammy Soser Poser Michael Barrett Gene Clines Gene Clines Gene Clines AAAA Pitcher

Forgot about JJ can't be traded. Neifi second? Murton obivously would clog the bases batting second.

bitterly LOL!

If we trade Jones to NY it would have to be for a prospect, not a mlb player. We can't get Phillip Hughes, because he's on the 40-man roster and makes more than whatever the minimum is in such a deal. Same with Melky Cabrera. However, do we think the Yanks would be willing to part with Eric Duncan? Jones-for-Duncan would give them a corner OF'er and the Cubs a 1st baseman to fill in for Lee. He's also hits lefties well (.333/.346/.458), a skill we currently need in our lineup. If i'm Jim Hendry, i do this in a heartbeat. I probably don't do it if i'm Cashman, but The Boss just might...

#95 of 100: By j-damn (May 12, 2006 11:40 AM) *I can think of an corner outfielder the Yankees might be interested in playing rf at Clark and Addison.* Dream on. First, the Cubs can't trade Jones until, what is it, June--at which time Matsui will be back? Secondly, the Yanks wouldn't part with anyone of any value/don't have any prospects nor do they need to trade Alex Rodriguez just because he has drawn two negative comments from Steinbrenner. - J DAMN: As a Type XX FA, Jacque Jones has an automatic "no trade' through June 15th. However, he can waive the "no trade," but even if he does, the Cubs cannot trade Jones (or any other Type XX FA, like Eyre, Howry, or Mabry) for cash in excess of $50,000, or for a player making more than $50,000, or players making (combined) more than $50,000, until June 16th. Since the 2006 MLB split contract minimum for players on the 40-man roster who are optioned to the minors is $54,750 (exception is players who are on the 40-man roster for the first time and who have no MLB service time), the Cubs could get back a player or players not on the 40-man roster, or a player or players on the 40-man roster for the first time who has no MLB service time, as long as the 2006 salary or combined 2006 salaries do not exceed $50,000.

"However, he can waive the "no trade"" I know I'm undercutting my own trade proposition, but I'm sure JJ would want to leave the Wrigley pressure cooker to head the tranquil, Marlin-like, day in the park that is the New York Yankees.

#60 of 102: By Rob G. (May 11, 2006 09:21 PM) minor league update for today: (AAA) Pie goes yard, but that's it Jake Fox either has 6 errors on the season or committed his 6th passed ball (yikes!) - ROB G: Actually Pie went yard twice, a solo shot, and a three-run job. And Fox has three errors, and six PB. Here are the defensive numbers for Cubs catchers: 1. Michael Barrett 8-41 CS (20%) ñ 3 E, 4 PB 2. Henry Blanco 3-5 CS (60%) - 0 E, 0 PB IOWA: 1. Geovany Soto 11-44 CS (25%) ñ 5 E, 1 PB 2. Casey Kopitzke 4-8 CS (50%) ñ 0 E, 1 PB WEST TENN: 1. Jose Reyes 7-18 CS (39%) - 0 E, 0 PB 2. Tony Richie 5-18 CS (28%) - 0 E, 1 PB DAYTONA: 1. Jake Fox 11-42 CS (26%) ñ 3 E, 6 PB 2. Alan Rick 1-12 CS (8%) ñ 0 E, 3 PB 3. Olin Wick 1-2 CS (50%) ñ 0 E, 1 PB PEORIA: 1. Mark Reed 10-22 CS (45%) ñ 2 E, 3 PB 2. Jake Muyco 12-21 CS (57%) ñ 4 E, 1 PB 3. Justin Morgan 4-8 CS (50%) ñ 1 E, 0 PB

If that lineup is true, Dusty should be fired today. Neifi second? Cedeno third? What about Murton? Barrett? Shoot - even Hairston? That lineup is terrible.

And can't we at least see Theriot in the lineup? If we need to see two crappy middle infielders playing out of position (Neifi and Hairston), can't we at least see Theriot at 2B?

#103 of 104: By jacos (May 12, 2006 12:37 PM) "However, he can waive the "no trade"" I know I'm undercutting my own trade proposition, but I'm sure JJ would want to leave the Wrigley pressure cooker to head the tranquil, Marlin-like, day in the park that is the New York Yankees. --- JACOS: He might. He knew what he was getting into when he signed with the Cubs, because he's good friends with LaTroy Hawkins. So a chance to go to the Yankees and MAYBE get booed or stay with the Cubs and DEFINTELY get booed, plus having a better chance to get into the post-season with the Yanks than he probably has right now with the Cubs, might motivate him to agree to a trade. And as I've posted here before recently, whether you agree with the move or not, the Cubs were inclined to bring Felix Pie up from AA last July (before it was known his ankle injury was season-ending), so why would Hendry not be inclined to do it now if J. Jones can be traded?

yeah that was a mid-game update on the Iowa game. some high quality defense Fox is showing there in Daytona. He better keep hitting.

Plus Duncan could play 3B (albeit averagely). If the Yanks were desperate enough I'd take Cj Henry and a guy like Tyler Clippard for Jacque if they wouldn't do Duncan. If Abreu or Hunter isn't an option for the Yanks I could see them going after S.Stewart since he's moderately priced and I believe his contract is up at the end of the year. Twins could plug Lew Ford or Cuddyer in LF since they're supposed to call up Kubel for RF soon. The Yanks only have 3 top tier prospects so I'd imagine they're going to be stingy with Hughes, Duncan and Henry and the Phils aren't going to trade Abreu for less than a #2 starter. I don't think Wang and a prospect is going to get it done. If the Yanks do acquire Stewart it will give the Cubs competition for the weakest armed OF with Damon to go along with Stewart.

What more is there for Pie to learn in the minors. Get him up with the club. Rotate him in at all outfield positions.

Cause your not going to trade Jaque right now for minor league crap. Let's get back to the real world people. Not to mention Jacque is 2nd on the team in OPS, and 1st against righties (971). You want to trade somebody, trade Pierre, at least you'd get something for him. His defense has been worse than Jones and he's hit far worse.

What more is there for Pie to learn in the minors. Better plate discipline, work on his D a little, stay away from Dusty as long as possible. :) Hey newsflash, the rest of baseball is not the Yankees personal minor league system. No one's getting traded for awhile.

#108 of 108: By Rob G. (May 12, 2006 12:46 PM) yeah that was a mid-game update on the Iowa game. some high quality defense Fox is showing there in Daytona. He better keep hitting. -- ROB G: Jake Fox has defensive shortcomings to be sure, but he is improving. Whether he will continue to show improvement, or how much he will improve, is anyone's guess. Also remember that Fox is repeating A+ Daytona for the second year in a row (Like Scott Moore last year), so he needs to get up to AA and then let's see how he fares with the bat. But it sure would be nice to develop a catcher who can hit AND hit with power. And I still believe Geovany Soto is the frontrunner to be the Cubs back-up catcher next season. He will have two full years of AAA and three Spring Trainings with the big club, he knows all of the Cubs pitchers, and he is a decent hitter (albeit with no power). The only problem he has is his throwing, but his other catching mechanics (blocking balls in the dirt, framing pitches for the umpire, and blocking home on plays at the plate are all positives. I believe the Cubs will sign a couple of catchers with some MLB experience to AAA contracts and ST NRI to compete with Soto next Spring just in case he falters, but I believe Soto will be the definite frontrunner to be the Cubs back-up catcher next season, with Reyes going to AAA (and he is a prime candidate to get outrighted, BTW), Fox going to AA (and he is a VERY prime candidate to get added o the 40-man roster after the season), Mark Reed to Daytona, and Yusuf Carter to Peoria.

RobG- Buster Onley has an insider article about Yankees trading for Abreu. I don't have the cash on me to read the rest. Are you saying ESPN is hyping a trade for the Yankees when there is nothing to be had? "Shocked, I say shocked!"

I'm sorry, do the Yanks have a 1 or 2 starter to give the Phils for Abreu? Ummm...no.

Go Guzman Go! oops hits first batter with a pitch

The gist of the Olney peice is that the Phillies were trying very hard to unload Abreu this past winter and might do so for some not-that-great prospect talent in return -- "maybe a couple of Grade B prospects" -- because it would wipe his $30M off the books for them and provide them with some flexibility to make other moves. Talks about how statheads love Abreu and scouts generally think he's lazy and disinterested. The problem for the Yankees is timing. The Twins could be selling any and all parts -- in a couple months. The Brewers could be shopping Lee -- in a couple months. If the Yankees are willing to provide some prospects (and they don't have much) and either take on a salary (Griffey, Abreu) or take a rental for the year (Lee, Hunter), they should be able to do so. Just not in the middle of May.

The Yanks do have Pavano and Dotel coming back soon, so they may believe they have depth at pitcher to deal. Chad I'm definitely stealing "sack up" for my own vernacular. That communicates well!

The Phiilies are in 2nd place (I believe) on a hot streak, that makes no sense unless they get somebody useful.

Regarding Jake Fox, He was outstanding in every way this spring. No errors. Threw out 2 of 4 stealing. Hit a ton.

"What more is there for Pie to learn in the minors" Dunno Chad maybe a better line than .269/.331/.446 with four steals in eight attempts and he had 1 HR going into last night's game. Those numbers don't exactly cry out "give me a chance".

hello! http://www.dirare.com/Sweden/ online directory. SMART Yellow Pages, About DIRare, Search in Business Category. From online directory .

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).