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

Minor League Camp - Roster Update

The Cubs cut nine players this morning, optioning RHP Mitch Atkins to AAA Iowa and RHP David Patton to AA Tennessee, while sending pitchers Jeff Kennard and Vince Perkins, catchers Steve Clevenger and Blake Lalli, IF-OF Matt Camp, 3B Josh Vitters, and OF Brett Jackson to the Minor League Camp at Fitch Park.

So the Cubs Spring Training roster now stands at 51, including 14 Non-Roster Invitees (NRI). But there are also 150 players at Minor League Camp.

As a result of today's transactions, several players now assigned to Iowa and Tennessee will get moved to a minor league roster at a lower classification. Some might get released. (Usually about a dozen minor leaguers are released by the Cubs during the course of Minor League Camp). And as the Cubs option or send additional players to minor league camp, more minor league players will be released or will be moved downward.

Here are the Cubs minor league rosters at Fitch Park as they were this morning. All players listed were physically present. However, there will be downward movement with the arrival of the nine players cut by the Cubs this morning. For example, I did see pitchers Jeffry Antigua, Robert Hernandez, Josh Lansford, and Mike Perconte leave Field #3 (Tennessee squad) in the middle of PFP, so they probably got moved downward when Atkins, Patton, Kennard, and Perkins arrived. I don’t know who (if anyone) was cut from Iowa or Daytona, and I’m not even sure that Antigua, Hernandez, Lansford, and Perconte necessarily were demoted.

Here are the Cubs Minor League Camp rosters.

NOTE: Players at Minor League Camp are often initially placed one level (sometimes two) above where they will likely play that season, and then they either get released or demoted to a lower level once the Cubs start to make cuts and send players to Minor League Camp at Fitch Park from the big league camp at HoHoKam, with an accompanying downward cascade of players from Iowa to Tennessee, Tennessee to Daytona, etc.

* bats or throws left
# bats both

UPDATED 2010 CUBS MINOR LEAGUE CAMP ROSTERS – SUNDAY MORNING 3/14:

IOWA (35):

PITCHERS (19):
Austin Bibens-Dirkx
Todd Blackford
David Cales
Chris Carpenter
Marco Carrillo
Hung-Wen Chen
Jay Jackson
* Casey Lambert (Limited Activity Only - TJS rehab)
Oswaldo Martinez
Alessandro Maestri
* Scott Maine (Limited Activity Only – elbow surgery rehab)
Trey McNutt
Craig Muschko
Jake Muyco
* Jeremy Papelbon
Gregory Reinhard
* Dustin Sasser
Brian Schlitter
* Chris Siegfried

CATCHERS (4)
Luis Flores
* Mark Johnson (Inactive – player/coach)
Mario Mercedes
* Mark Reed

INFIELDERS (7)
Russ Canzler
# David Macias
Jonathan Mota
* Jake Opitz
Nate Samson
Marquez Smith
Tony Thomas

OUTFIELDERS (5)
Smaily Borges
* Tony Campana
Jason Dubois
Brandon Guyer
Ty Wright

TENNESSEE (35):

PITCHERS (19)
* Jeffry Antigua
Chris Archer
* Ryan Buchter
Alberto Cabrera
Robert Hernandez
Kevin Kreier
Josh Lansford
* James Leverton
Corey Martin
Dan McDaniel
Mike Perconte
* Brooks Raley
Dae-Eun Rhee
* Chris Rusin
Ryan Searle
Aaron Shafer
* Luke Sommer
Josh Whitlock
Hank Williamson

CATCHERS (4)
Michael Brenly
John Contreras (ex-3B)
Garrett Maines
# Alvaro Sosa

INFIELDERS (8)
* Ryan Flaherty
# Marwin Gonzalez
Derek Helenihi
Junior Lake
D. J. LeMahieu
George Matheus
* Matt Spencer
* Ryne White

OUTFIELDERS (4)
* Kyler Burke
* Jason James
Kevin Soto
# Jose Valdez

DAYTONA (37):

PITCHERS (20)
* Jeffrey Beliveau
Justin Bristow
Rogelio Carmona
Eduardo Figueroa
Yohan Gonzalez
Steve Grife
Marcus Hatley (Limited Activity Only – TJS rehab)
Chris Huseby
Dylan Johnston (Limited Activity Only – injury rehab)
Su-Min Jung
Danny Keefe
Jordan Latham
Ronny Morla
Jon Nagel
Dionis Nunez
Julio Pena
Andres Quezada
Jose Rosario
Larry Suarez
Robert Whitenack

CATCHERS (3)
Jose Guevara
* Richard Jones
Jovan Rosa (ex-3B)

INFIELDERS (8)
* Matt Cerda
* Justin Bour
Dwayne Kemp
* Hak-Ju Lee
Jordan Petriaits
Rebel Ridling (Limited Activity – appendectomy rehab)
Greg Rohan
* Logan Watkins

OUTFIELDERS (6)
* Francisco Guzman
Jesus Morelli
* Nelson Perez
* Alvaro Ramirez
Cody Shields
Blair Springfield

PEORIA (36):

PITCHERS (20):
Frank Batista
Tim Clubb
Diego Encarnacion (Limited Activity Only – injury rehab)
Jesse Ginley
Gian Guzman
* Cody Hams
* Austin Kirk
Luis Liria
Toby Matchulat
* John Mincone
Tarlandus Mitchell
* Marcos Perez
Carlos Rojas
Melvin Rosa (Limited Activity Only – injury rehab)
* Drew Rundle (ex-OF)
Jake Schmidt
Adam Spencer
Nick Struck
Tzu-An Wang
Yao-Lin Wang

CATCHERS (4):
* Sergio Burruel
Jae-Hoon Ha (ex-OF)
Brandon May (ex-3B)
Carlos Romero

INFIELDERS (8):
# Arismendy Alcantara
# Robert Bautista
* Pin-Chieh Chen
* Wes Darvill
# Rafael Disla
D. J. Fitzgerald
Charles Thomas
* Bobby Wagner

OUTFIELDERS (4):
# Vismeldy Bieneme
Runey Davis (Limited Activity – injury rehab)
Dong-Yub Kim
* Kyung-Min Na

BOISE/MESA (EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING: The Boise/Mesa Spring Training roster is established prior to the start of Minor League Spring Training games (March 18th), and will consist of players moved down from Peoria and players who are rehabbing from injuries. This squad then becomes the Cubs Extended Spring Training (EXST) team at Fitch Park April-May-June.

BEYOND FITCH PARK

DSL CUBS (combined roster) - (59):

PITCHERS (36):
Jane Bremon
Darlin Castro
Miguel Corletto
* Welington Cruz
Antonio Encarnacion
Denis Estrada
* Carlos Galvez
Ramon Garcia
Enyel Gonzalez
Alvido Jimenez
Joel Lanfranco
* Richard Leyba
Eric Martinez
Hector Mayora
Pedro Medina (ex-OF)
Roneidy Mejia
Jadel Mendez
Loiger Padron
Amaury Paulino
Enyelberth Pena
Felix Pena
Junior Pena
Starlin Peralta
Roderik Pichardo
Francoris Pineda
Ramon Reyes
Albert Robles
Jhon Rodriguez
Santo Rodriguez
Braulio Rosario
* Abner Ruiz
Julio Sanchez
Yilver Sanchez
Deuris Severino
Jose Tineo
Francisco Turbi

CATCHERS (5):
Yonan Fuenmayor
Miguel Gonzalez
Yamel Liria
Ricardo Parra
# Hector Suarez

INFIELDERS (9):
Joel Altagracia
Yohan Astacio
Melvin Camarena
Carlos Figueroa
Gregori Gonzalez
* Carlos Henry
# Jose Montecino
Juan Pena
* Melido Perez
# Jesus Rodriguez

OUTFIELDERS (9):
Xavier Batista
Alejandro Damian
Dariyn Figueroa
* Eduardo Gonzalez
Jasly Gonzalez
Albert Hernandez
Manuel Pestana
# Gregorio Robles
Rander Valdez

NOTE: The two Cubs Dominican Summer League teams (DSL Cubs #1 and DSL Cubs #2) are formed prior to the start of the DSL regular season in May. In the meantime, the players are assigned to the Cubs Dominican Academy in Boca Chica, DR.

MLB AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY (2):
Jin-Yeong Kim, RHP
* Sean Williams, OF

RESTRICTED LIST:
Francisco Acosta, RHP
Wilson Contreras, C-3B
* Clark Hardman, OF
NOTE: Hardman was placed on the Restricted List in October 2008, F. Acosta was placed on the Restricted List in July 2009, and W. Contreras was placed on the Restricted List post-2009 after he was suspended by MLB for testing positive for a prohibited substance. Players can remain on the Restricted List for no more than two years before they have to be reinstated or released.

STATUS/WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN (BY ME):
Julio Castillo, RHP
Manolin DeLeon, RHP
# Matt Matulia, INF
Scott McClain, 3B
Arismendy Mota, RHP (AAA Rule 5)
NOTE: J. Castillo, DeLeon, and A. Mota might be delayed to due visa problems, or one of them might be on loan to Los Broncos de Reynosa (the former Tijuana franchise) in the Mexican League (as RHP Oswaldo Martinez was last year), and Matulia and McClain (like Mark Johnson) might be signed to minor league player contracts but are actually working as coaches. (The Cubs like to have one or two player-coach position-players with each of their four full-season minor league affiliates, available to temporarily replace any position-player who might go on the 7-day minor league DL during the course of the season. Last year, C Mark Johnson and INF Matt Matulia at Iowa, INF Jose Made at Tennessee, C-1B-3B John Contreras at Daytona, and C Mario Mercedes at Peoria, were the player-coaches).

Comments

Arizona Phil, I love your stuff. Someday I hope to return to AZ and take your place, but in the mean time I'll continue to coach at the high school level and watch my Peoria Chiefs as often as I can. I have a question concerning your statement about the player-coach position players. I remember Casey Kopitzke acting in this role during previous years and now he is the manager of my beloved Chiefs. I never really thought of him as a prospect, and when I saw him at spring training in '04 he seemed to be doing more coaching than playing which I thought was odd at the time for a young guy. Let me get to my question. Are you saying that Mario Mercedes is more of a long term organizational guy than prospect in the eyes of the Cubs' brass? I liked what he did last year when Brenly needed a rest. He never really seemed to play the role of coach, although he coached first from time-to-time, but almost everyone on the roster did at some point. He seemed to be one of the true "good guys" on the team, and he became a favorite of the group I attend games with. I'm just curious on your take of Mario. Thanks, P-town Tom

[ ]

In reply to by mrcoach00

TOM: Mario Mercedes was released during Spring Training) 2009, but then was re-signed when the Cubs decided to release Carlos Perez right at the very end of Minor League Camp. Mercedes ended up getting a lot more playing time at Peoria than was originally anticipated, and he did a surprisingly good job for the Chiefs when he did get a chance to play. I would expect Mercedes to probably move up to Daytona with Nelson Perez and Junior Lake in 2010, and then eventually get into coaching or managing in the Cubs organization, just as Casey Kopitzke did. Same goes for Robinson Chirinos, BTW. Mercedes served as a "Big Brother" mentor for Nelson Perez and Junior Lake at Peoria last year, just as OF Min-Kyu Sung did for Dae-Eun Rhee in 2008. (Sung was a 25-year old South Korean who played college ball in the U. S. at Nebraska-Omaha, and Oneri Fleita signed him as a NDFA prior to the 2008 season specifically to provide a "Big Brother" mentor for Rhee while Rhee was at Peoria. Sung eventually did get activated at some point during the season and even got a couple of ABs with the Chiefs). The Cubs recently signed a retired South Korean professional player named Woong Chen Cho as a "Special Spring Training Instructor," and he is presently working as a coach (mainly with the Korean players) at Minor League Camp.

It's nice to see Kyler Burke and Ryan Flaherty in AA. They seem so much closer to being major leaguers than when I see them listed on single-A rosters. It'll also be fun checking in with Mike Wellman for updates on Jay Jackson, Starlin Castro, and Chris Carpenter. It's nice to have good things going on in the minors.

Phil, I noticed the following * Mark Johnson (Inactive – player/coach) Do you know if there are any special rules concerning player coaches in the minors? How does it work? Osiris Also from p-town.

[ ]

In reply to by Osiris

Submitted by Osiris on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 8:44pm. Phil, I noticed the following * Mark Johnson (Inactive – player/coach) Do you know if there are any special rules concerning player coaches in the minors? How does it work? ================================================ OSIRIS: The player-coach is signed to a Minor League Uniform Player Contract (UPC), and then is put on the Disabled List with some vague injury or illness until he's needed. (It helps a lot if the player-coach has some pre-existing medical condition that can be used on the DL form). Then he gets reactivated whenever a position-player from his club goes on the 7-day DL, and then he gets put back on the DL when the player he replaced is reinstated to the active roster. The reason a player-coach is valuable in the minor leagues is because it just isn't cost effective to bring a replacement player up from a lower classification to replace a position-player who goes on the DL for a week or so. It's better to have the replacement "warm body" there already. And it also is good if the player-coach is a catcher, although a "super-sub" utility player capable of playing multiple positions is useful, too. And then while the "player-coach" is inactive, he can provide a minor league manager valuable assistance by perhaps coaching 1st base, or by throwing BP, or by hitting grounders during infield practice, or by warming up pitchers in the bullpen. Minor League teams usually have just a manager, a pitching coach, and a hitting coach, so a "player-coach" (especially one who is either a catcher or a "super-sub" type utility player) can really come in handy. Pitchers going on the 7-day DL are usually replaced by pitchers from a lower classification within the organization, though. You don't find too many player-coaches who are pitchers because it's just too hard for a pitcher to stay in playing shape between roster activations.

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

HAGSAG: Julio Castillo was convicted of Felonious Assault in Ohio last August. As a result, he might be having problems getting an H-2B work visa. If so, the Cubs might opt to loan him to Los Broncos de Reynosa (Mexican League) so he can get some innings under his belt. Animal is only 22 and he throws 95, so I doubt that the Cubs want to cut him loose just yet. And AAA Rule 5 RHP Arismendy Mota (acquired from the Nationals for $$$ after the Rule 5 Draft) may also be having on-going visa issues, since he spent the last FOUR seasons pitching for the DSL White Sox. NOBODY spends four season in the DSL (well, at least until Mota did). Also, the Cubs signed one Latin American player during the off-season, 23-year old Venezuelan SS Carlos Figueroa. I neglected to put him on the DSL Cubs roster in my original post, but I have subsequently added him to the DSL Cubs combined roster.

Speaking of the minor leagues, BP did a throw-together study of where teams would have finished in the standings based on WARP, had they kept all their amateur signings - ie never made any trades or ML FA signings. The Cubs for last year came in at 69-93 - which isn't too bad considering that two of their 'name' guys, Wood and Soto had down years. That beat the Brewers (68), the Mets (68) Reds (64), Orioles (68), Rays (66), Padres (55) and tied the Angels and the Astros. The Rockies came out on top with 108 wins. Looks like it's subscriber only. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=10257#commentMe…

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

Based on my viewing of the live box score, I'll keep updating as the game goes along. Top 1st - Theriot Singles - Barney makes out, Theriot to 2nd - Colvin singles, Theriot scores (1-0 Cubs) - Millar makes an out - Baker makes an out Bottom 1st - First two batters make outs, Giambi with a 2-out double, Tulowitzki out to end the inning Top 2nd - Hoffpauir makes an out - Hill makes an out - Fuld Singles - Zambrano doubles, Fuld Scores (2-0 Cubs) - Theriot makes an out Bottom 2nd - Hawpe singles, Barmes makes an out, Lo Ducca grounds into a double play Top 3rd - Barney, Colvin, Millar go down 1-2-3 Bottom 3rd - Payton and Francis make outs, then Gonzalez and Herrera hit back to back doubles, Gonzalez scores (2-1 Cubs), Giambi makes an out to end the inning Top 4th - Baker, Hoffpauir, and Hill go down in order Bottom 4th (Adduci into RF, Hoffpauir from RF to 1B, Millar out of game) - Tulowitzki and Hawpe make outs, Barmes doubles, Lo Ducca makes an out to end the inning Top 5th (Manny Corpas now pitching) - Fuld, Zambrano, and Theriot go down in order Bottom 5th (Gaub in to pitch) - 1-2-3 inning, Payton, Young (K), and Gonzalez Top 6th (Chacin in to pitch) - Barney makes an out - Colvin another single - Adduci makes an out - Baker makes an out to end the inning Bottom 6th - Herrea Walks **Parisi in for Gaub - Parisi error on a pick-off attempt, Herrera to second - Tulowitzki home run (3-2 Rockies) - Hawpe and Barmes make outs Top 7th - Hoffpauir and Hill make outs - Fuld Walks, steals 2B - Tracy pinch hits for Parisi, makes an out Bottom 7th - Lo Ducca singles (Frey pinch runs) - Payton singles, Frey to 3B - Young sacrifice fly, Frey scores (4-2 Rockies) (Looks like Throwing Error on Fuld on the play) - Parisi wild pitch, Payton to 2nd (I think) - Payton steals 3B - Pacheco pinch hits for Gonzalez, fielders choice RBI -

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Bottom of 7th continued... - Herrera makes the third out Top 8th (Daley in to pitch) - Castro, Barney, and Colvin go 1-2-3 Bottom of 8th (Berg into pitch) - Miller, Nelson, and Paulk (all PHs) go 1-2-3 Top of the 9th (Morales in to pitch) - Adduci, Wright (PH), and Hoffpauir go 1-2-3 End of game, Rockies win 5-2 Highlights for Cubs - Theriot 1-3 with a run - Colvin 2-4 with an RBI - Fuld 1-2 with a walk, SB, and run - Zambrano 4 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 1 ER - Berg 1 IP, 3 up, 3 down Lowlights for Cubs - Outside of Theriot, Colvin, and Fuld, Zambrano had the only other hit - Parisi just plain sucked, in getting just 5 outs he had an error, a wild pitch, a runner steal 3B off of him, gave up 3 hits and 3 runs, including a HR to Tulowitzki. He rightfully took a blown save and a loss.

I read in Sun Times that Cubs are thinking of bringing Millar north. No. See Gary Gaietti 1999

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.