Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Morning Dose of Sunshine

NL Central Standings (as of April 23, 2007)
Team W L .PCT GB
Chicago 10 8 .556 0
Houston 9 8 .529 .5
Milwaukee 9 9 .500 1
Cincinnati 8 11 .421 1.5
St. Louis 7 11 .389 2
Pittsburgh 6 11 .353 2.5
Let's add a couple of columns
Team W L .PCT GB RS RA
Chicago 10 8 .556 0 83 72
Houston 9 8 .529 .5 77 73
Milwaukee 9 9 .500 1 90 87
Cincinnati 8 11 .421 1.5 74 85
St. Louis 7 11 .389 2 62 74
Pittsburgh 6 11 .353 2.5 62 80
Now if only baseball was played on a spreadsheet we'd be leading the NL Central. Of course in the real world, we're four games back of the Brewers who we face-off against tonight. Most of this is thanks to our 0-4 record in one-run games, so it's good to know that there's a few pieces in place to indicate we won't be sucking all summer. If you want to look for another silver lining, we're tied for the fifth spot in the 2008 draft at the moment with the Devil Rays. Too soon?

Comments

It's early, but something has to give here. Either we're getting unlucky and we'll turn it around as more games get played. Or we're playing abnormally overachieving baseball but losing anyway, in which case it's going to be a long season. Somehow I know already which one it is.

I am still an optimist. This team can still win half its games in a very weak Central Division if we can trade Joke Jones for an adequate center fielder.

We all know you can let a season get out of hand in the first two months, so the next several weeks are important. We have only won one series -- against the Brewers -- and we need to win a few more soon. I would take .500 by June 1 and that is quite possible, but there are real weaknesses. It's time for Wade to go, I think. I like the Soriano Pie moves. The pen must improve. That's how you lose a lot of close games. How clear was it that the Cardinals were going to put up runs late? That has to stop. If the division wasn't so bad I would say they just can't contend, but it is really bad. None of these teams will run and hide, but a team like this can't get 10 games or more under .500 or it's in deep, deep trouble. Z needs to shut somebody down.

Pluses: Lilly, Marquis, Hill, Cotts, Wuertz, Dempster, Guzman Minuses: Eyre, Howry, Z, Ohman, Miller Eyre has looked like crap since August...Howry is a bit surprising. 3 starts and a 10.54 ERA= Time for a new 5th starter. Wade Miller looks done. He seems like a nice guy and all, but he just isn't getting it done.

FWIW: I was messin' around looking up TheRiot's college days. In 2000 when his LSU Bayou Tigers beat Stanford 6-5 to win the CWS, Theriot was named at SS to the all-tournament team. Joe Borchard and Brad Hawpe were also named to the team. I wonder, with the team's shit-ass prospects of Cedeno-Iz-TURD-is at SS, would Lou ever try TheRiot at SS for a stint? Use Izzy only against LH? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_College_World_Series

I second the "It's time to cut bait Wade Miller" notion. If I were Jim Hendry I cut him today. Call up a middle reliever til the 5th spot comes around again. Then make the call on Guzman or Marmol to take that start. Looking at the winki site of TheRiot you cant help but notice what his natural position is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Theriot

Wow what a season the Cubs have played almost twenty games and teh lineup is as unsettled as it was in Spring Training.

I think it's been mentioned by others already that sending Guzman down to AAA to stretch out his arm is part of the plan already to replace Miller as the 5th starter. Does anyone realistically think that we can get much for this guy in a trade? Or do we just release Wade outright?

Miller has a heavily incentive laden contract. Release him and get it over with. The longer he remains with the big club the more he costs.

I posted this on the earlier thread: Salisbury/Rosenbloom on ESPN 1000 this morning in Chicago were discussing the lineup and basically echoed the same point I made weeks ago…..OF defense has and will kill this pitching staff if Pie goes down to AAA. Soriano will play LF, Pie has to play CF (only person in the OF who can catch the ball and knows where and how to throw the ball). RF is Lou’s choice Murton/Floyd/Jones - pick 2, trade 1. Rosenbloom said he would forecast a pitching staff revolt if they sent down Pie. I don’t think I’d go that far, but he still makes a valid point. Their proposed lineup: Soriano - LF Theriot - SS Lee - 1B Ramirez - 3B Barrett - C RF (Floyd, Jones, Murton) DeRosa - 2B Pie - CF (except on days when Marquis or Z are pitching he should bat 9th). I really can’t disagree with any of that. Lou has to sort out the pieces of this roster that Hendry stiffed him with and make it work day in, day out. Who could blame him or disagree if Izturis becomes his late inning defense replacement at 2B/SS, Cedeno goes to AAA, Jones or Murton get traded for whatever, Miller gets released/traded, Cherry gets recalled, and Marmol or Guzman takes the next 5th start?

Z will come back to form, the hitters will hit and the Cubs will trounce this division. Miller gets the piece of crap Adam Kennedy out it's a different game. I know, I know you can point at different things int that game but the Cubs won't have Miller pitching again.

JACOS: "Z will come back to form, the hitters will hit and the Cubs will trounce this division." can we quote you?

I blame Z's shaky April and DLee's lack of power on the WBC last yr...it takes time to catch up to that classic stuff. Coke is still working on it too.

If I were Lou this is how I would construct the lineup for the immediate future: ss Theriot Lf Murton 1b Lee 3b Aramis 2b Soriano rf Jones/floyd c Barrett cf Pie On days when Floyd plays put Murton in left. DeRosa platoons with Jack on days when a lefty starts.

I am really wondering at this point if Hendry ever had a permanent Soriano in LF in his mind when he acquired Floyd? Maybe the better question is does Hendry ever think? I am not a Hendry hater but I have no problem in questioning someone's productivity or the reason behind their productivity?

Did anyone else read Telander in The Bright One today? Wow, did he throw Pie under the bus. Apparently Pie, after 5 games, is one of the main reasons that the Cubs are struggling. Sure, it's not a struggling Zambrano, an overworked bullpen, and a pathetic Wade Miller....not to mention an inconsistent offense. Nope, it's Felix Pie's fault....great article Rick....ugh.

We're all friends here, Team. Don't get me wrong. There's some great baseball stuff that gets discussed here. Now that I've said that, don't take this the wrong way, but this moving Soriano back to 2B talk needs to stop right now. I'm even a guy who's willing to sacrifice a little defense to put some more pop in the order, but let's not go overboard here. Let's get something perfectly clear about him as an infielder before somebody or something gets hurt: He's AWFUL. You really don't want do that. It might sound like a nice solution to our current problem, but it's not. A cardboard cutout of Sandberg at 2B would still be a better player than Soriano. Don't do it. It's crazy talk. And that doesn't solve the problem. Then you've got a logjam of infielders instead of outfielders. Now, the current problem is a three man platoon in rightfield. That trick never works. Ever. I don't care how much guys like the manager or want to do what's best for the team. It just doesn't happen. In my mind, we've got an outfielder (either Murton or Jones), a crappy pitcher (Miller), a lefty bullpen arm (Ohman?) and maybe a couple younger arms (I'm a bit more hesitant here) that we could afford to expend. Some combination of those pieces ought to combine to get us some sort of something, which is better than nothing. I'd be even more willing to take a little less than market value for whatever we'd ship out just to solve our problems.

I hope you're not one of the folks bitching about our outfield defense aaronb if that's the infield defense you want to put on the field.

It is good to know that we have a few pieces in place suggesting that we won't suck all summer? Isn't it just as likely that we will continue to throw away too many one-run games and extra inning games? I am sure, from experience, that the Cubs are more than capable of finding lots and lots of ways to lose one-run games and extra inning games.

after listening to Telander on the saturday am1000 radio show with Bob the Builder et al (who's bright idea is it to try to make a radio show a variation of the View for guys?--ugh)...I think he should stick to commenting about the olympics 2016 and skip the baseball season.

Sorry to say it Rob, but I think that would probably have to be the move I would make as well. A lot of us agreed that he he had to hit well to stay. I love the glove, but he just isn't getting on base. It does give me some pause to think about the Soriano-Jones-Murton/Floyd OF from a defensive perspective, but we've got to start hitting and scoring on a regular basis. Doesn't do us any good to have a good defensive outfield out there if we keep losing 2-1. I wouldn't make this a permanent switch by any means, but we've got to get all the good bats in there we can. A little suspect? Sure. But every day our batting order stops producing after the six spot. If Lee, Jones, and Soriano want to start hitting some home runs, we could maybe get away with that.

Why was Theriot moved from his supposedly natural position in SS to 2B in the minors? Would his offensive prowess outweigh his defensive shortcomings compared to Izturis or Cedeno? I think so.

Wow, Wes. Well said. I pretty much second everything. Soriano at 2B is exactly the type of screwed up, it-worked-3-years-ago (even though it didn't) type of shit we all sit here and gripe about Dusty/Hendry/MacFail/_______ doing all the time. FWIW, I was never a fan of Sori in CF. I'd have given him RF, told him it belonged to him and his 40 homers for the next 8 yrs, even when his knees get bad (Hawk, anyone?) and gone with a L-R OF of Murton/Floyd-Jones-Sori until Pie's ready (maybe this year, but presumably next year). That said, I'm with the Fonz, if Lou says he plays LF, he plays LF. So, who does that put on the block, or are they really going to send the highlight reel back to Iowa?

Man those two baserunning blunders on Friday (Cedeno and DeRosa) were embarrassing. I couldn't watch Sat/Sun, sorry I missed Marquis' gem. I was able to watch the back-to-back-to-back-to-back HR's by BOST. WOW!!!! But overall for the Cubs it's the same old story. Team isn't able to do the small things to pull victories out, instead do stupid things to blow games. Damn, the Cubs spend so much time in the cellar, you'd think the Cubs would have the worlds greatest wine collection by now.

I feel we've gone over this before... Theriot played about as much SS as he did 2b in the minors and I'm sure there are a few reasons for it. He was considered a very good defensive SS coming out of college, 2nd best defensive SS behind Bobby Crosby in that draft. The Cubs seeing his speed wanted him to try and be a switch-hitter which didn't work for him at all and in 2005 he went back to being a right-handed hitter exclusively...a decision he made completely on his own. As has been mentioned, the Cubs stress versatility in the minors and if I recall correctly he was pretty much going along with Buck Coats most of the time who was also a SS, until the team finally realized he'll never cut it there.

Rob G- I think Murton will be odd man out and sent down- Three reasons- -Right handed -Average defense -Seems to be in Lou's dog house (deservedly or not)

the whole soriano to LF thing has been REALLY muddled by the press...especially Fox Sports who put up a damn misleading headline calling the soriano "experiment in CF" over. inside the article is a DIRECT quote from soriano saying what lou told him that's totally opposite from what the headline states about how permanent it is (soriano said it was a temp thing, but will play LF perm if asked). it really does make little sense to move him to LF perm right now when there's 2 LF'rs already who are L/R combo who can both hit and not close to RF types.

Where are all the Izturis supporters waxing on about the magic magician's magical glove? Glad to see people getting religion about Theriot starting at SS. Miller, Cedeno, Izturis all need to be released, benched, traded, killed immediately.

test

soriano to LF, derosa to RF, jones in CF...theriot covering 2nd... its a happy universe unless your name is floyd/murton for a week or two it seems...though floyd/murt will probably get some RF time for the hell of it or necessity/rest/etc.

My post does not seem to be sticking Murton will be sent down imo. I believe once Soriano is in LF for awhile they will keep him there.

oh I agree wes, if anything for the extra year of service time on Pie. Maybe some team will finally cough up something worthwhile for JJ while Pie is down there.

And I think Cedeno stays, as well, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Man, we sit here and have the same arguments. It really frustrates me. But that said, what more is Pie going to learn at Iowa? (which even to me sounds like "when is he going to play the kids instead of all the old shitty guys?" ---sorry)

Theriot, Cedeno even Izturis; and then there's: a Jose Macias sighting... he lead off for the Nashville Sounds against the I-Cubs on sunday going 1-5 and hitting the usual .244 here's his smilin' mug http://tinyurl.com/2tpoza

I'm with Crunch, Soriano in LF causes more problems than it solves. Floyd/Murton in RF is just wrong on many levels. Murton's going to get run on all day as will Floyd and Floyd's going to allow a lot of triples out there. Send Murton down and your right-handed bench options are Theriot, Blanco, Cedeno on most days and one less guy to pinch-hit for Floyd/JJ on most days. Bad idea all around... Either Soriano has to move back to CF or move him to RF. Hopefully it is just a temp thing until his hammy is okay...

pie doesnt have much to learn...he needs to mature with his skills, though. does this team really need to burn through service time of a free swinger who's power/selection isnt developed? i mean, if the guy was bouncing hits off the wall or putting them over the wall its one thing, but the hits since spring are all low-flying liners with the speed giving him the doubles/triples rather than hitting the ball with elevation. its not like hollandsworth/dubois is out there blocking him...he's being blocked by guys who can hit this level better than pie right now. he's 22...wanna let go of him at age 27 or let him mature his body/play more and execute his game closer to his prime?

I didn't think about Murt going down... interesting, but I don't think I see it. And Rob, I'm also willing to bet Hendry still has the "JJ potential suitors" rolodex card handy from the winter, and is probably making calls as we speak.....

Wes:
In my mind, we’ve got an outfielder (either Murton or Jones), a crappy pitcher (Miller), a lefty bullpen arm (Ohman?) and maybe a couple younger arms (I’m a bit more hesitant here) that we could afford to expend.
I hate to burst the collective TCR bubble, but Murton is the guy that just doesn't fit with the outfield. Soriano in LF, he's not going anywhere, Jones in RF, our ONLY everyday left-handed power threat. That leaves CF and Floyd & Murton left over. Not good! It seems logical that Jones is getting moved to CF, but for RF I'd like to see a legit RFer, left handed, with occasional pop (15-20 HR). It would also help if his arm didn't suck. It's probably the correct move to move Pie back to Iowa, I don't think he is the immediate answer, although he has impressed me a lot during this stint. It's been well documented that I haven't been a big fan of Pie, but while he hasn't hit for much average, he's shown some discipline at the plate and is at least making pitchers work to get him out. His defense is everything it was supposed to be and at times more.

hell, soriano RF/j.jones CF i could live with...very easily. if pie is the future of CF and murton is around for the next 4+ after this year...hell, this year is this year, but that's a move that makes some sense for the future if there's gonna be experiments.

It's going to be interesting in the OF, because none of these guys is exactly crushing the ball right now. Jones:.292/.361/.323 2 2B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 2B Soriano: .260/.302/.400, 0HR, 1RBI, 7 2B Floyd: .261/.277/.370 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B Murton: .278/.333/.306 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 2B

Lou already said Pie needs to play everyday and it's not going to be with the big club at least not until a trade goes down. You guys do see the problem with sending Murton down even if he doesn't start? Floyd, Ward, JJ, Pie all absolutely, positvely cannot hit left-handers. Murton's not off to a hot start, but we all know he'll come around. He already has the last few days.

DB-- gd point, but I say Sori comes around and gets hot shortly, and Jones' bat is fairly predictable. It's Cliffy (streaky/injured) and Murt (younger/harder to predict) that I'm a little concerned about, but I think at the end, there's going to be plenty of juice in the order. Kind of unrelated, but MAN I dig The Riot and MAN I dig Rich Hill

Dusty - Soriano will be JJones will probably get there Floyd I'm suprised a leg had not fallen off yet Murton-????

If the cubs minor league braintrust was wrong on Theriot's need to be a switch hitter to make it to the majors, maybe they are equally wrong about his ability to play SS at this level?

floyd's been running hard/well for what its worth...who knows how long it will last, but its there for now. just like rondell white...you just KNOW he's gonna get injured sometime...that's what he's paid to do. =p

Rob G.--well said, but I'm really thinking the trade may go down to keep Pie with the big boys. Just a gut feeling.

soriano LF pie CF derosa/jones platoon RF derosa/theriot 2B theriot/izturis SS murton gets sent down

I don't disagree, with Izturis/Cedeno being utterly useless at this point, I'd certainly give it a shot. I can't say I'm impressed with Theriot's D at second though and shortstop is way more important especially with 2 lefties going every 5 days and then Marquis and Z are usually groundball pitchers. I imagine it's time is coming at some point though as Izturis/Cedeno continue to prove their worthlessness. Derosa can play some SS too in a pinch, as ugly an option as that is...

the minors, esp. AA and below is all about screwing with someone's natural ability to gauge how far you can push it or what you can add/drop to make it better. relievers that start, pitchers with 1-2 pitches trying out 1-2+ more pitches theyve never thrown, switch hitting, moves from defensive positions they've played their whole lives to learning new moves in a new place....etc etc. theriot never forgot how to hit right handed...he just didnt adjust to the switch-hitting. the club adapted...

OT -- By the way, until further notice, I'm giving Michael Wuertz official "bad-ass" status: 10.0 IP, 4 BB, 12 K, 0 ER It's tempting to picture him in a closer role, but man, how useful will he be pitching the Cub's out of binds in innings 6-8?

theriot never forgot how to hit right handed…he just didnt adjust to the switch-hitting. the club adapted… Theriot did all the adapting, it was completely his idea to scrap switch-hitting.

the club didnt trade his ass away like willis, though. convinced he was expendable based on his mechanics he got ranked a bit low not only on scouting lists, but on the cubs own lists. hendry's had a theriot hardon for a few years now...even calling him up when he wasnt gonna be used. whether it was additional coaching in the bigs or what i dunno, but he even came up to replace injured pitchers. i'd like to know what was going on there, honestly...and what he was doing for chunks of that time.

and yeah, i know willis was a list-pick on a trade, but putting up those numbers being a lefty with a 90+mph fastball...even being on that list says something.

Just got a call from Ed Wade, former Phillies GM, saying he is coming in town to scout the Defenders (Giants) games this upcoming weekend vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Twins). He said he is a scout now for the SD Padres. I guess that is what Hendry has to look forward to doing when his magical run with the Cubs is over.

I blame Dusty for Theriot's struggles last year, with a touch of Michael Barrett to blame too for good measure.

If Soriano stats crushing the ball while playing LF, Lou won't move him. What's wrong with Soriano/Pie/Jones? It strengthens the defense, adds some speed, and Pie can hit 7th while he learns MLB pitching. Assuming Soriano/Jones/Lee/Ramirez/Barrett eventually play (hit) to their capabilities, this offense can afford to have Pie in CF. Makes the Floyd deal look pretty stupid, though.

What’s wrong with Soriano/Pie/Jones? It strengthens the defense, adds some speed, and Pie can hit 7th while he learns MLB pitching. And what do you do when a lefty comes in late or starts?

looking through the Iowa stats... hoffpauir 369/411/662 4 HR, 23 RBI fontenot 302/362/491 5 BB/ 1 K E-Pat 256/304/279 3 BB/ 10 K Moore 218/358/291 1 HR/10 RBI/11 BB/ 20 K O'malley 1.25 ERA 5 BB/9 K Marmol 1.65 ERA 4 BB/ 24 K Cherry 3.86 ERA 0 BB/12 K

AA stats Fox 275/296/490 2 HR/10 RBI/1 BB/16 K Dopirak 212/235/303 1 HR/10 RBI/1 BB/9 K (i believe he's been out with an injury the last few games as he's only played 9 G to date) Gallagher 3.12 ERA 5 BB/17 K Veal 9.00 ERA 13 BB/8 K anyone know who Josh Kroeger is? Holliman 0.00 ERA 3 BB/16 K

You know, they have a saying in downstate IL: you can put a hat and a dress on a duck but it's still a duck. And that's the story on Soriano......he's a Left-Fielder everyone, that's the deal, period. You can try him in RF, they've tried him CF, and others have tried him at 2B. HE's A LF!! Now, unless you trade him or keep Pie on the ML roster, Jones is the only other person on the roster who can play CF. That leaves Murton and Floyd or DeRosa to play RF. Again, your best option is DeRosa in RF. Hendry (who overall I really don't hate) needed Cliff Floyd to play everyday OF like Pamela Anderson needs bigger breasts. The good news about ML outfield play is thank God for advance scouts. That's why you don't see too many plays where the OF has to run a long way for the ball. Point has been made, that when you do Cliff Floyd will play singles into doubles, and doubles into triples. Murton have baserunners running from 1st to 3rd more often than congressman take 'fact-finding' trips. Not a great long-term scenario.......beginning to see the problem in sending Pie to Iowa? Question - What is Pie going to learn about hitting in Iowa that Lou couldn't teach him in Chicago? He has something like 1,800+ minor league AB's which is about 800 more than Corey Patterson ever got before being rushed to the majors. Come on, let's call this what it really is. Murton is a LF for a team that doesn't have Soriano playing LF already. On this team, he's a very nice RH pinch hitter who can play some limited LF/RF. Until he's traded: Soriano, Pie, Jones is the best OF available. Cliff is a great LH pinch hitter who can start 2-3 times a week in RF while Jones moves to CF and then Pie comes into play defense in the 7-8th innings. That would fix the OF for this year. Lee, DeRosa, Theriot, and Ramirez are the IF. There's many teams that have won titles with worse catching than Barrett/Blanco. Starting pitching in this division is more than fine when they kick Wade Miller to the curb for Guzman or Marmol. Then use any of these surplus pieces or mid-level prospects to improve the bullpen. The issue with this team isn't just the OF defense or Izturis sucking right now or HR's not being hit. It's balancing the lineup in a holistic fashion. You need a combination of offense, defense, and situational hitting. That's what Soriano, Theriot, Lee, Ramirez, Jones, Barrett, DeRosa, and Pie gives you.

"You know, they have a saying in downstate IL: you can put a hat and a dress on a duck but it’s still a duck.You know, they have a saying in downstate IL: you can put a hat and a dress on a duck but it’s still a duck." That's funny, cause in Missouri the phrase goes: "You can put a hat and a dress on a duck and call it your wife."

I keep hearing about "sending Guzman down to AAA to stretch out his arm." Does his arm need to be stretched to go three innings? This was his line Saturday at Iowa: 3.0 ip, 6 h, 5 r, 5 er, 2 bb, 0 k, 1 hr, 15.00 era The last thing we need is a fifth starter who causes the bullpen to get busy in the third or fourth inning. When Hill or Pie or Cedeno get sent down, they do well. Not Guzman. Too much love here for a guy just because he throws 97. If the hitters are impressed by his fastball, they will tip us off by swinging and missing.

problem is you have 2 hitters worse than Izturis on days when lefties start with Pie and Jones in there. Derosa can takes JJ's spot, but leaving Pie in there against a lefty is just as bad an idea.

his first start in over a month and your already throwing guzman under the bus? impressive... Especially after he pitched relatively well in the majors. I suppose Pie is done too after his major league stint this week?

Good post Rob!!! Holliman, Marmol, and Hoffpauir have looked really good in partucular, and it's nice to see Ryan O' Malley have a couple of nice starts. Josh Kroeger: Drafted 4th Round in 2000 by the D-Backs....Bats Left, Throws Left...no really outstanding skills....career #'s in the minors of .276/.327/.429... Hit .167 in 54 AB's with Arizona on 2004.

Hey Rob...read Telander today...he sure thinks Pie isn't ready....threw him right under the bus!!

#78- I suppose Pie is done too after his major league stint this week? pie is toast.

dusty- 100%. candidates for demotion ought to be murton or cedeno. candidates for dismissal ought to be ward or miller. candidates for trade ought to be jones or murton. any/all of these should take place before demoting pie. just my take on it.

Pie is the exact opposite of Corey Patterson, who was considered a 5 tool player. Problem with Corey was he had no baseball instincts. Pie is loaded with instinct. His next level of "seasoning" needs to be in the majors. Stick him in the 8 spot, keep him there, and by the end of the season he'll have nudged his way up at least a couple notches. We're not talking an Izturis-like bat here. Pie has not looked awful at the plate, and has smoked the ball right at people a few times. If they hadn't been right at people he'd have a much better average, given the small sample size. Pie has nothing more to prove in the minors. It's time to see if this kid can play.

The most useless 'position' player on the Cubs is Daryl Ward. If I am getting rid of somebody, it's Ward. If he doesn't want to go to AAA then buy him out. Soriano was playing a pretty solid center. Don't know where you guys get this stuff. And Jones's weak arm in center is going to get tested 35% more than in right.

Pie needs to be the guy the Cubs carry for defense who's allowed to have trouble hitting. NOT izzy, not Cedeno. not any et cetera. Just Pie. He won't learn anything in Iowa about hitting major league pitching. Zip Zero Nothing Nada.

"Pie has not looked awful at the plate." Extrapolate his numbers over a full season and it comes to about 192 strike outs. Same pace as Ronny Cedeno.

Rob G, If your #77 was about my lineup, I would clarify that no lineup (including my suggestion) is for 162 games. Having DeRosa play RF against certain leftys and using Izturis off the bench is a given. My only problem with sitting Pie is too often young players get labled 'can't hit rightys/leftys just because of which side of the batter's box they stand. I feel a hitter should get 100-200 AB's against each type before we make that assumption. At some point Lee, Ramirez, Barrett, and Soriano started playing against all types of pitching.

Ok Neal...extrapolate Derrek Lee's numbers, and he hits 63 doubles, no homers, and hits .348/.451/.449 with 99 RBI.... That isn't exactly the most scientific method you're using, with only a 5 game sample size.

you can look at Pie's minor league splits and realize he has trouble hitting lefties, it's not going to get better in the majors. Right-handed hitters have had the advantage of facing righties most of their lives, you just don't get far very far as a right-handed hitter if righties own you to the tune that lefties have owned guys like Floyd, JJ and Pie so far. Lefties though can progress just fine as long as they hit righties considering how much less they have to face a lefty. I'm all for giving him his shot everyday, it's basically him vs. JJ though, you just can't have both of them being a major crutch when a lefty starts or gets put in as a reliever. Same goes for Floyd. Derosa can start for one of them, just not both. That's why I think Murton is pretty safe from going anywhere anytime soon.

his first start in over a month and your already throwing guzman under the bus? I'm not throwing anyone under a bus. A guy puts on a Cub uniform, he's okay with me. Anyone--even Darryl Ward. (Well, maybe not Ward. If you were making the money he's making, wouldn't you go to the gym in the offseason?) I would say the same thing about Guzman that I've said about Pie. If the Cubs like him, they should play him, ready or not. Let him take his lumps, and climb the learning curve, at the big-league level. I'm just saying that "Gooze" hasn't really pitched well at any level since he hurt his arm.

OK Dusty, Felix Pie has had some of the best looking strike outs in the history of the game. My bad.

Dude...it's been 5 games. He's made some bad outs...I know that no rookie has ever done that before. He's also had a little tough luck, hitting 3 or 4 line drives right at people. My point was/is, 5 games is a little quick to judge a rookie isn't it?

I’m a 50+ year Cubs lover and I’ll say this: There is not one offensive player on this team that other teams fear. There is not one legitimate clutch hitter on this team. There is no relief pitcher on this team that other teams fear. This team has zero excitement. This team has five starting outfielders,none who can be depended upon. This team has three “bangers” who have provided no bang. Not one player on this team,besides ARam,possibly,has a clue at the plate. Izturis is possibly the worst hitting infielder in baseball. Z has a nerve demanding more money. Any team that would waste time and big bucks on three pitchers who have not a prayer of being the pitchers they once were,or even a facsimile thereof,cannot be counted on to make credible decisions nor contend for anything,never mind a championship of any kind. 300 million for what turns out to be a rebuilding year is ridiculous to the extreme. For 50+ years I’ve seen this kind of incompetence and puffing to fill seats,only to be brokenhearted yet again. IMO,the only light at the end of this dark tunnel is the fact that Pei will have a year to learn how to hit ML pitching to go along with his speed and superb defense and become a future AS. Then again,he’ll probably be traded for another bumbling idiot. And don’t tell me it’s early,I’ve seen this kind of incomptence from this club for over 50 years……absolutely heartbreaking.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    LHP Blake Weiman appears to have been the last cut from the AAA Iowa roster. He is with the Tennessee group at Minor League Camp.

     

  • crunch (view)

    bruce bochy is hobbling rather badly for a guy who's had 2 hip replacements.  his gait is extremely wonky taking the lineup card to the ump.

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.