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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 

 



 

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Game 142 Recap: Cubs 5, Pirates 10

Fallen

GameCenter, Play-by-Play, Box Score, Photos

W- Matt Morris (9-9), Cheating aging, death and karma L- Steve Trachsel (6-10), Jim Hendry Things to Take from This Game 1. Well, at least Eyre pitched well Eight pitchers used, and five of them gave up more walks than strikeouts. Trachsel was predictably bad, but wasn't helped any by Jacque Jones' very unfortunate bad jump on a Freddy Sanchez line drive to his right. (He broke to the left.) Did I mention the bases were loaded at the time? Wood had no control, Wuertz walked the only guy he faced, etc. etc. Matt Morris wasn't good, by any stretch of the imagination, but good enough to once again make Cubdom detest him. 2. Left on Base For awhile, it looked like the cubs could get back into it. We pulled from 7-2 to 7-5, on home runs by Soriano and Soto (his first in the majors), but Wood's performance in the eighth effectively ended that hope. We also left eleven guys on, including five from Derosa. Especially early in the game, it seemed like we were leaving a lot of guys in scoring position with two outs. On the other hand, it could have been worse - Pirates had 17 LOB. 3. We're out of first. The Brewers beat the Reds. Cheer the Bears on, then read the second-place details, below. Inning 1
  • Matt Morris is the highest paid Pirate, ever. This amuses me.
  • BJB on MM: "Everything's just a little bit shorter and not quite as sharp as it used to be." Ain't that the truth.
  • Murton, running for a foul ball in right, runs into the barely-above-knee-high metal fence on the right field foul stands. Tumbles into the stands, where some Cubs fans catch him. Nice cheer from all the fans, for his effort.
  • A very uneventful first, otherwise.
Inning 2
  • Some sort of rally by the Cubs in the top of the second that results in two runs. Was stuck on the phone with Pappa Trans and missed it Appears to have been a Murton hit, a Jones walk, Derosa advances them, Kendall singles them in. Soriano had a chance to do more damage with Kendall on third and Trachsel on second (after a Trachsel single and a wild pitch) but popped out. 2-0 cubs.
  • LaRoche doubles against the wall in right.
  • Steave Pearce (who?!?!) singles him in.
  • Some slow pitch by Trachsel, tumbling down into the heart of the plate, I have no idea if it was his fastball or curve or god knows what, and Wilson belts it for a double to center. Pearce scores, 2-2.
  • Matt Morris singles through the hole to left. Third base coach waves Wilson homeward, but Wilson hits the brakes, and sticks at third. Game still tied at 2, on very cautious base-running by Jack Wilson.
  • Nyger Morgan singles right back up the middle. 3-2. Kevin Hart warming up for the Cubs.
  • Wild pitch. Runners now on 2 and 3. Wasn't that wild, looked like it bounced right up into Kendall's chest protector, but then squirted away to his right a bit. McLouth walks on the next pitch. Len sounds exasperated. Bases loaded.
  • Rust works faster than Trachsel
  • Freddy Sanchez lines one to center. Jones takes a step and a half left, but the ball is hit to his right. He dives for it, it goes past him. All runs score, and Sanchez tries to go inside-the-park grand-slam. Thrown out sliding feet first into home, close play. 6-2 pirates.
  • Upon further review, Sanchez was safe. Both my fantasy teams have been robbed of an inside-the-park grand slam. Kendall had to receive the throw to the right of home plate, and Sanchez's foot was in under the tag.
Inning 3
  • Nyger Morgan with a ridiculously good catch, diving in full-sprint mode in right-center field to rob Ramirez, ending our half-inning.
  • Kevin Hart in for Trachsel.
  • Some large gentleman bowls a few kids over in pursuit of a foul ball. Gets booed.
  • Hart gets through the third well enough. My feed keeps cutting out, so I haven't had a chance to really see him pitch, yet.
Inning 4
  • Murton infield single behind third base, Jones with a sharp single to center, but Derosa with an easy GIDP to kill the rally. Murton to third. Looks like Marshall will come in, in relief, if Kendall can extend the inning. Nope, liner to third, Hart stays in the game.
  • Jack Wilson singles, Morris bunts him over. Pignatiello comes in for Hart. Sweet, I spelled Pignatiello correctly, without checking. Nyger Morgan bounces one back up the middle, scoring Wilson. 7-2.
  • Morgan tries to steal second, and Kendall's throw is two feet wide to the third base side. Morgan just barely overslides the bag, and an alert Theriot tags the heel of Morgan's shoe, as he's stretching to put it back on the bag. Nice play by Ryan.
  • Getting very dark in Pittsburgh. Pray for rain.
Inning 5
  • Fontenot hits for Piggy, walks. Soriano then swipes at a ball quite a bit outside, and launches it over the CF fence. 2-run HR, suddenly 7-4.
  • Sean Marshall in for his first professional relief appearance. Can any good possibly come out of this?
  • a GIDP and ground-out later, and the answer is "yes."
Inning 6
  • Very quick top of the 6th for the Cubs.
  • Pearce single and Paulino walk to start the sixth, sac fly puts runners at first and third, and Morris gets taken out for a pinch-hitter. Marshall's also coming out, in favor of Wuertz. He walks the pinch-hitter, Josh Phelps, and in comes Eyre to face the next hitter, Morgan. This inning is taking for-freaking-ever. Bases loaded. Somewhere in all of this, Soto came in for Kendall.
  • Full count on Morgan, with the rain coming down pretty well. Strikes him out on a pitch low and away, Morgan with a feeble swing at it. Two down. McLouth flies out, and Eyre gets out of it. Nice work!
Inning 7
  • Soto leads off the seventh with a solo HR off of some rolling junk from Romulo Sanchez. Right over the 378 sign in left-center, now down 7-5. Congrats, Geovany.
  • Eyre with another effective inning- has really looked sharp. Walked Bautista, but Soto gunned him down when he tried to take second on a wild pitch.
Inning 8
  • Chacon in. It's just a cavalcade of washed up suck, today, on the mound... Gives up a leadoff double to Ramirez.
  • Only sound in the Pittsburgh ballpark is the "Let's go Cubbies" chant.
  • Murton bounces back to the pitcher, Ramirez has to stay.
  • Jones lines one, but right to Bautista at third. Would have been a run-scoring double.
  • And a Derosa ground out ends a promising inning. Still 7-5.
  • Wood in, Pearce walks to lead off the inning. Paulino (who, as Len notes, has really long arms!) hits one the other way to right, putting runners on 1st and 3rd, no outs.
  • Jack Wilson walks on four straight, bases loaded, no outs. Jose Castillo in to pinch-hit for Chacon. Goes to a 3-2 count.
  • Castillo hits one just out of Lee's reach, and just on the chalk line, for a two-run double. 9-5 and Ohman in. Lee got really mad, thought it was a foul ball. Looks like it got line, to me, but it was certainly close.
  • Grounder to Lee leads to a weird rundown, with Wilson caught up between third and home. Run back to third, where the runner from second, Castillo, is now standing. Batter, Morgan, meanwhile, has made it to second. Result is an out, and runners on 2 and 3, right where they began.
  • McLouth walk, bases loaded again.
  • Sanchez with an RBI ground out. Tried to turn a 6-4-3 on it, but no hope. 10-5
  • Maybe I should start live-blogging the Bears game. Benson for three yards up the middle
  • Grossman clobbered for a sack, looks hurt. Blindsigded, someone missed a block, lucky to be able to hold onto the ball.
  • Out of the eighth without further damage.
Inning 9
  • 1-2-3, game over.
Parachat Recap Inning 1 Getting settled in. Matt F'ing Morris. How do you spell "carom"? The Brewer/Reds game. Football games on TV. Inning 2 Family Guy/Dane Cook Kool-Aid routine. Our unhealhy fascination with Dane Cook's career continues. Hurricane tracking on the east coast. More of the Mil/Cin game, and football games. Cubs starting catcher options in 2008. Why is Trachsel even pitching this game? Is Merv Griffin dead? Moaning and groaning. Inning 3 Moaning and groaning, continued. American politics. Scouting report on Kevin Hart. Giving it to a kid. What the heck is this cutter-thingy that Hart throws, and why don't we see more cutters in the NL? Inning 4 More moaning and groaning, more Hart scouting. Donte Hall. Will Kendall single or ground out? The world wants to know... Tastes in beer. Lou's quick hook with the pitchers/use of bullpen. Inning 5 Post-traumatic stress over the Chip Caray/Joe Carter years. Soriano's streaking. Randy Moss pulling his pants down. Skippy. More "where are they now?" updates from Family Ties. Todd Marinovich, meth, and skateboarding. Jesus on Stilts. Who brought the suck? Inning 6 www.gizoogle.com and The Dialectizer, applied to major league baseball news and notes. Katie Couric reading the CBS trademark disclaimer after it's been gizoogled. Things that are light but persistent. A shortcut for sending the thunder sound. Inning 7 Fun with the control button on the keyboard. REPLICA BRICK. Football games. Eyre. Inning 8 Any hope that Soto will get some regular PT? Bemoaning the stranded runner. Football. Luis Gonzalez's triplets. Giving up all hope. Bears game is on. Turtles. Inning 9 Budweiser Commercials. "It was all foamy, like he had nipple rabbies." And I think that we will just leave the recap, on that line.....

Comments

Steave Pearce (who?!?!) singles him in." Pearce was a stud this year in the Eastern League (AA). I got to see him a few times this year when he came to Norwich, CT. His line: .334/.400/.586/.986, 14 HR, 72 RBI in only 81 games. He was on the Futures Game. He even put up better numbers in AA, when he got promoted. He also played in the Eastern League All-Star Game we hosted. Definitely a player to keep an eye on in the future.

heh. upon further review, I had him flagged in one of my fantasy leagues, after having looked at his stats at baseball cube. I then proceded to totally forget him....

Performances and pitching like that are why we absolutely do not deserve to be in the postseason.

and at the end of the day, you just knew that playing guys out of position, like jones in CF, would come back to bite you...

Just don't understand the Trachsel experiment. Marshall has been good for us this year. Certainly as good as Trachsel would have been.

the trachsel experiment probably has a chunk to do his "cheap" option year. i suspect the same thing is going on with monroe right now attempting to make j.jones expendable for 08 so pie can get time and split with a somewhat competent backup. so far its 0-2... hendry has more flexibility and options this offseason thanks to those 2 trades, but in the "now" of running for the playoffs theyre just low-risk/low-payoff-probability types. what's the point? meh...

"heh. upon further review, I had him flagged in one of my fantasy leagues, after having looked at his stats at baseball cube. I then proceded to totally forget him…" I wonder what league that is...

Well, at least the Cubs outscored the Bears today. A great day for Chicago sports.

hopfully if they are going to throw the season away, they do it this week and not the last week of the season like 04

Dbacks sweep 6-5 Cardinals lose a 4-2 lead in the 7th Valverde gets a save after nearly melting down...bases loaded walk to Eckstein before getting Molina to F9 on a bleak day, a ray of sunshine...

and at the end of the day, you just knew that playing guys out of position, like jones in CF, would come back to bite you… Blah... Jones has been great in CF all season (or least once he got moved there). It was a bad play, but it wasn't why the game was lost. Jones really isn't playing out of position - he has been better in CF than RF. He also came up as a CF.

Since beating the Brewers to go up 2.5 games on them, the Cubs are 4-6. Not good, but not the meltdown it has felt like. The problem has been that the Brewers have gone 7-2, and are pounding the baseball.

Well, just, bleah. Sucked to be sitting in the rain during this game; and that sinking feeling was dropping out of first, with the Brewers 10-5 final posted for most of the later part of the game. guh. Trachsel vs Morris, wasn't expecting a gem from anyone, but a result like this (losing the series) doesn't build any hope for the rest of the month. All I can say is that I'll go to the next couple of Pirates games and root like HELL for them to beat the Brewers. (Meanwhile, somebody go root against the Cards)

Good point billybucks. Seems like the Brewers' freefall has ended. Sigh. Looks like we're gonna have to actually win some games to take this division. And cubster, it's a ray of sunshine just about any day the Cards lose, but especially today. Thanks.

I get the feeling that, given enough time this offense could go on another tear. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking. The pitching should hold up, but the Trachsel experiment shows you what happens when you try to fix something that isn't broke. He'll be DFA'd or benched before October.

I certainly expected more out of Lee this year. He's been hitting for average just fine, but he's not clobbering the ball like you expect from a #3 hitter. Fortunately, it looks like he's back to his usual self thus far in September. UNfortunately, it appears as though he's not going to regress (or progress?) to the mean, he's just hitting his normal pace now. That will help, but after a 46 HR 2005, I expected more than a 20 HR year from him. This alone is a big reason why the Cub's haven't just walked away from the pack in the NL central.

Not just DLee Ryno. Aram, Sori, Uncle Cliff and JJ are all not hitting to potential. Combine that with a pitching downgrade (Trachsel) and you are not good enough for the postseason. Dissappointing but true.

This weekend against the Pirates...as well as our past two series with the Astros...is the reason I can't remain optimistic with this team. We just don't beat the teams we are supposed to beat and our big hitters are no longer big hitters. However, long live The Riot

looks like we miss oswalt and cub killer w. rodriguez. but the bad news is we face woodrow williams

First draft of this team's epitaph: First place on Sept. 1st, healthy team, $100MM payroll, easy Sept. schedule... The last bit remains to be filled in.

Mark, you hit the nail on the head. We have gotten at least 50 less RBI from Soriano than people expected. (Part of that is down to his injuries but his replacements did not come close to picking up the slack.) DLEE's RBI totals also are way off from what we expected. Is it just that the pitchers figured out how to take the home run bat out of his hands with the outside pitches? Even ARAM's numbers are off. Heck, I think we expected at least 40 home runs from both ARAM and Soriano and have gotten about half that number, though Soriano is picking it up now in games we are losing. Where does this team go next year to get added production? Will Hendry's "plan" be for ARAM, DLEE and Soriano all to just do "better"? That is what I am guessing.

If you consider the fact that D-Lee's second half numbers look more like his regular numbers I'd say he was still being bothered by the wrist in the first half and as such his power numbers were down. So I'd be willing to bet he hits some more homers next year. I wouldn't count on another 46 HR year, but 33-35 I'd say. And as for Soriano, I'm figuring he's going to take more of the Moises Alou route, needing about a year as a Cub before really coming around as a hitter. Optimistic? Sure, but I think there's some basis for those beliefs.

Trachsel has done this upchucking thing for two other clubs in September, so he's got to be out for his next time as a starter. He choked it up for Toronto in 2000 when he was traded by Tampa to Toronto before the deadline (sounds familiar hey) and he choked it up last yr for the Mets when it counted.

Ugh... I finally am able to go to a Cubs game this year, and rain is in the forecast. This could really suck...

First off, what is with all the question over whether a team "deserves" to make the playoffs or not? Isn't this another case of "that's why you play the game on the field?" If we gave it to the team that had the best roster, we wouldn't have to play the game. Second, Trachsel and Monroe are going to turn out to be pretty dumb moves for Hendry. We sent off Clay Rapada, Buck Coats, Scott Moore, and Rocky Cherry. Seriously, two left-handed bats and two relief pitchers for Trachsel and Monroe? Scott Moore hit a grand slam for the Orioles the other day. What has Monroe done with the bat? I know many people would be perfectly happy to give up any or all of these four guys. None of them are five-tool players or pitchers with nasty stuff, and Rapada and Moore had the most upside as far as possibly being somewhat effective players in the majors. But why send off four guys who are dirt cheap and have at least some upside for one month rentals of guys who don't fit the team's needs and are not playing very well? If you trade for pitching, make sure the pitching you get is better than the pitching you already have. If you trade for a right-handed hitting center fielder, make sure he can play center field and hit some. Hendry is bad about some of these things.

Leaving for Wrigley in about 10 minutes. In Ted I Trust. Fuck, it can't get worse, can it? Just kidding.

Some on TCR are saying the Cubs should acquire a lefty reliever this winter. It's unfortunate that the Cubs no longer have a guy in the sytem as close to the majors as Jerry Blevins.
Blevins earned a win in his Triple-A debut, as well. The left-hander, who was acquired for Jason Kendall in July, threw 2.2 innings of relief on Saturday. He allowed one hit and no runs and he struck out four. Blevins had appeared in 17 games for Double-A Midland since joining the A’s organization. He was 1-3 with a 3.32 ERA. He struck out 29 and walked only five in 21.2 innings for the Rockhounds. Blevins was named to the Phoenix Desert Dogs’ Arizona Fall League roster earlier in the week.
At the time of the trade, Hendry said something to the effect that while Blevins would be a major leaguer, lefties in the bullpen are not a priority in the Central Division. One of the dumber things he's said recently.

Hendry said something to the effect that while Blevins would be a major leaguer, lefties in the bullpen are not a priority in the Central Division. Got a source for that? I don't recall him saying that.

ARM: "Will Hendry’s “plan” be for ARAM, DLEE and Soriano all to just do “better”? That is what I am guessing." Let's all hope that it is not Hendry's plan to make.

Wes — September 10, 2007 @ 9:07 am Ward is having fluid drained from his knee today. Dunno how long that usually takes, but I’m assuming he’s unavailable today. http://www.suntimes.com/sports.....10.article ........................................................................ 10 minutes with a long needle. Insert cortizone shot on most occasions. Probably a leg/knee wrap to keep swelling down. He should be ready to go today.

hmmm, still plenty of seats available. I was just able to reserve a block of 8 terrace reserved behind home plate. The experience today may be reminiscent of a September game in 1967.

hmmm, still plenty of seats available. I was just able to reserve a block of 8 terrace reserved behind home plate. through cubs.com? there were no tickets available this weekend - I ended up buying through stubhub.

Manny, realistically, what do you think the chances are that Hendry will not be back? If he can survive last year's disaster, I cannot see Hendry getting fired for the team finishing five games out or less. Yes, our record won't be anything to boast about but Hendry and Muskrat and the rest of the apologists undoubtedly will focus on "we were just three games out of the playoffs" or whatever.

re: #37 - i think that we can all hope that the team is sold and that the new owners decide to hire a proven GM that has proven he knows how to build a legit organzation.

Yeah, dave, got the tickets on Cubs.com a few minutes ago. and regarding your discussion with Va.Phil, this is the only quote I remembered Hendry saying at the time. "He's a good, young left-handed reliever," Hendry said. "He's really gotten better and will certainly be a Major League pitcher. Billy's scouts did a good job, as they always do."

oh... and the Cubs must have released more tickets this weekend (I believe I last checked on Saturday). Oh well... at least my tickets were cheap, even if they suck.

ARM: "Manny, realistically, what do you think the chances are that Hendry will not be back?" Honestly, I think it all depends how fast new ownership can be put in place. If it takes until March or so, like some articles I have read are predicting, then I think the chances of Hendry being let go are very slim. I don't think current ownership/McDonough will fire Jim, as I am sure they are trying to stay the course until new ownership comes in and makes their own decisions. Now if ownership can be put in place by years end, I think it would be much more realistic that the ax would fall before 2008. But I honestly can't see any new ownership keeping Hendry on very long with his record. After this season, Hendry would have been GM for basically 5.5 seasons, and given more than enough money to win on a year in, year out basis and hasn't. If new ownership is in place before 2008 season starts, and the Cubs get off to a mediocre to bad start, I can very realistically see Hendry get fired mid season next year. But you are right, I think the chances Jim being let go before next season are very slim unfortunately. Teflon Jim will live for another year...:)

Will Hendry’s “plan” be for ARAM, DLEE and Soriano all to just do “better”? ___________________________________ I guarantee we hear lines like this. Along with "if DLee, ARAM, Sori hit to potential, we will walk away with the NL Central" etc etc. We heard it for 2/3 years for Wood and Prior!

cwtp--Hendry said something about lefty relievers not being a priority in our division, referring to the Blevins trade. It may have been on WGN during a game. He usually sits down in the booth and talks to Len and Bob after a trade. If so, it may be in an mlb.com archive. I'll look for it if I get a chance.

It's okay Va. Phil, I believe you. Regarding Hendry, could the Sun Time's "Inside Pitch" column been more shallow and wrong? Here's what they wrote Sept 7: "Jim dandy Say what you want about Jim Hendry's role in the Cubs' problems the last two years, but it's hard to imagine the general manager doing a better job of adding -- and subtracting -- players to fill needs this season. Whatever direction the team takes over these final 3½ weeks, Hendry gets high marks for adding catcher Jason Kendall in a trade with Oakland just before the July 31 non-waiver deadline and even higher marks for adding role-playing veterans Craig Monroe and Steve Trachsel in more complicated August waiver trades -- all at relatively little cost to the Cubs." Well, I like Jason Kendall and all, but his addition was unnecessary and he's a #1 or #2 hitter and we are missing power not base hits. He solved nothing and doesn't know our pitching staff. We should have kept Michael Barrett, put him on the DL and sent him to a shrink instead of just dumping him. Then we should have brought up Geo. Soto ---how dumb was it to make him wait while the decks were cleared of the likes of Rob Bowen and Koyie Hill--- and batted him fifth or sixth -- we're getting no production from those slots and it shows in Aramis Ramirez's low number of runs scored.If Soto were in the lineup behind them and hitting the way he has all year, Lee and Ramirez would see better pitches. Monroe's a disaster --- can't hit LHP and if he can't hit LHP he can't hit at all. So why's he still around? Trash was brought in because of Z's poor performance, not Marshall's, Z was pitching like a bad #5 not an ace. So Hendry panicked and did what his old boss McFail told him to do. Take a worthless old wreck off his hands. How gullible can you get? Marshall has done just fine as a #5 and should have been left there. In fact, the day he was demoted he actually had lowered his ERA below 4.00 .But in true Cubs fashion, they actually were depending on him to bail out the millionaires at the top of the staff by going deep into games. Fricking ridiculous.

Agreed. I would say the Kendall trade has worked out and he's performed better than he has performed better offensively than at any time since he was in Pittsburgh. Monroe has not done the exact thing he was brought here to do. Credit to Jim for recognizing a righty bat was a need and filling it. But Monroe has hit like crap. Trachsel sucks. I dont have anything else to say about that. I do not give high marks on either move.

"Trash was brought in because of Z’s poor performance, not Marshall’s, Z was pitching like a bad #5 not an ace." Do you really believe that?

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.