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

Might Right Make Might?

In the aftermath of Friday night's loss at Pittsburgh to Pirates LHP Paul Maholm, Cubs manager Lou Piniella called for another right-handed bat, mainly to hit off the bench. Stating the player will almost certainly have to come from within the organization, the candidates named in Paul Sullivan's article in the Chicago Tribune are (alphabetically): 1. Ronny Cedeno 2. Jake Fox 3. Matt Murton 4. Geovany Soto Bringing up Soto to platoon with either Rob Bowen or Koyie Hill (both Bowen and K. Hill are out of minor league options, so it doesn't really matter which one stays and which one goes) could provide one right-handed bat immediately, and Fox (who can play 1B-3B-LF-RF and catch in a pinch) could be the other (replacing Felix Pie on the 25, or Jacque Jones if he can be moved). After going 4-5 Friday night, Cedeno is hitting close to .400 and would probably be an upgrade over Cesar Izturis at SS (if and when the Cubs can find a taker for Izturis).

Comments

Dempster shut down for another week with some more pain in his oblique...

http://tinyurl.com/2yaqt6 I'm not sure what to think about Geovany Soto as a useful righty bat, but I see in the Sun-Times today the Hank White comeback is moving at a snail's pace: Catcher Henry Blanco remained optimistic about coming back this season from the herniated disc in his neck but didn't get as much as he had hoped from what was supposed to be the biggest day yet on his comeback trail. Blanco said he only threw about 80 percent strength on five throws to third base and another five to second, and then he practiced blocking a few pitches in the dirt in full gear -- a first since the injury for all that activity. ''Right now it feels good, but it's still a long way to go,'' said Blanco, who is trying to avoid season- ending surgery.

Rynox — July 6, 2007 @ 11:36 pm Did the Cub’s ever sign Vitters? =========================== RYNOX: Not yet. None of the top five overall picks have signed, although the sixth overall pick (Missouri State LHP Ross Detwiler) signed yesterday with WAS, getting a $2.15M bonus Because MLB wants its clubs to stay within the so-called "slotting process," it pretty much becomes necessary for the overall top picks to be signed in inverse order (6-5-4-3-2-1) to establish the value of each slot. With #6 overall Detwiler having signed with the Nats for $2.15M, the "bonus value" of the #5 and #4 slots should be more clear, and Vitters was #3 overall. My guess is that the "bonus value" of the #3 overall will ultimately be worth somewhere around $2.5M+. And if the Cubs don't sign Vitters by August 15th, he will play college baseball (he has signed a National Letter of Intent with Arizona State) and won't be draft-eligible again until June 2010, and the Cubs will get the #4 overall pick in next year's draft as compensation for failing to sign their #1 pick. Here is the status of the Cubs 2007 draft picks, including Non-Drafted Free-Agents (NDFA): 2007 RULE 4 DRAFT (SIGNED) 1-S. Josh Donaldson, C (Auburn) at BOISE 4. Darwin Barney, SS (Oregon State) at FITCH PARK 5. Brandon Guyer, OF (Virginia) at FITCH PARK - (DL) 6. Casey Lambert, LHP (Virginia) at PEORIA 7. Ty Wright, OF (Oklahoma State) at BOISE 8. Marquez Smith, 3B (Clemson) at BOISE 9. Clark Hardman, OF (Cal State- Fullerton) at FITCH PARK (DL) 10. Leon Johnson, OF (BYU) at AZL MESA 11. Chris Siegfried, LHP (U. of Portland) at BOISE 13. Jonathan Wyatt, OF (Georgia) at BOISE 15. Marc Sawyer, 1B (Yale) at BOISE 16. Zach Ashwood, LHP (Kansas) at BOISE 17. Arik Hempy, LHP (South Carolina) at AZL MESA 18. Jeffrey Rea, 2B (Mississippi State) at AZL MESA 20. Jose Made, SS (Dominican College) at BOISE 21. Dustin Sasser, LHP (East Carolina) at BOISE 22. Craig Muschko, RHP (LaSalle) at AZL MESA 23. Stephen Vento, RHP (Palm Beach CC) at BOISE 24. Scott Meyer, RHP (Lamar) at AZL MESA 26. Michael Bunton, LHP (College of Charleston) at AZL MESA 28. Bill Moss, 2B (U. of Memphis) at BOISE 30. Luke Sommer, OF (U. of San Francisco) at AZL MESA 31. Brian Leclerc, OF (Florida) at PEORIA 32. Luis Bautista, C (Florida International) at FITCH PARK 36. Billy Mottram, 3B (Dowling College) at BOISE 38. Yuri Higgins, RHP (South Florida) at FITCH PARK (DL) 39. Roberto Sabates, C (Cuban defector - Miami, FL) at AZL MESA 40. Corey Bachman, RHP (VMI) at AZL MESA NDFA: Patrick Brooks, INF (UT - Pan American) at AZL MESA Michael Christl, RHP (Bradley) at AZL MESA Matt Hudgins, C (Virginia Wesleyan) at AZL MESA Chris Rivera, RHP (Virginia Wesleyan) at AZL MESA Derek Schermerhorn, INF (Wichita State) at PEORIA Yusdel Tuero, RHP (Cuban defector) at AZL MESA ======================= 2007 RULE 4 DRAFT (UNSIGNED) 1. Josh Vitters, 3B (Cypress HS – Cypress, CA) - signed NLI with Arizona State 3. Tony Thomas, 2B (Florida State) JR 12. Ryan Acosta, RHP/SS (Clearwater Central Catholic HS - Clearwater, FL) - signed NLI with Georgia 14. James Russell, LHP (Texas) JR 19. Kyle Day, C (Michigan State) SO 25. Victor Sanchez, 3B (Gahr HS – Norwalk, CA) - signed NLI with U. of San Diego 27. Clayton Suss, RHP (Cooper City HS - Cooper City, FL) - signed NLI with Miami-Dade CC 29. Andrew Cashner, RHP (Angelina JC) - signed NLI with TCU 33. Preston Clark, C (Texas) JR 34. Enrique Garcia, RHP (U. of Miami) JR 35. J. C. Casey, RHP (Kickapoo HS – Kickapoo, MO) - signed NLI with Missouri State 37. Mike McGee, RHP/3B (Port St. Lucie HS – Port St. Lucie, FL) - signed NLI with Florida State 41. Jordan Herr, OF (Pitt) SO 42. Colt Sedbrook, INF (Arizona) JR 43. Garrett Clyde, RHP (San Jacinto JC – North) - signed NLI with Texas 44. Bryan Jost, 1B (Minnesota) SO 45. Ryan Lewis, OF (Yakima Valley CC) 46. Tyler Clark, RHP (Springfield Catholic HS – Springfield, MO) - signed NLI with Missouri 47. Josh Walter, RHP (Texas State) SR 48. Carlos Rivera, OF (East Aurora HS - East Aurora, IL) 49. Jordan Rogers, RHP (San Jacinto JC - North) - signed NLI with Rice 50. Blake Murphy, C (Western Carolina) SR If it becomes increasingly clear that the Cubs can't sign Vitters and/or #3 pick Tony Thomas, they may take some of the money they had committed to those two picks and try and sign some of the unsigned players from lower rounds, like RHP Ryan Acosta (son of the late Cubs pitching coach, Oscar Acosta), LHP James Russell (U. of Texas), 3B Victor Sanchez (member of the Team USA Junior National team), and Preston Clark (BA's #5 rated college catcher going into the draft who wants 1st round money to sign).

AZ Phil-- If the Cubs aren't able to sign Vitters and receive the #4 pick in next year's draft, does that automatically become their first-round draft slot, or do they receive the #4 pick in addition to their "normal" first-round pick (that being wherever they stand to draft after this season's end)? i.e. would the #4 pick be our only first-rounder, or would it be a second first-round pick, additional to whatever pick we normally would have?

Sheffield/Cornelia — July 7, 2007 @ 9:40 am AZ Phil– If the Cubs aren’t able to sign Vitters and receive the #4 pick in next year’s draft, does that automatically become their first-round draft slot, or do they receive the #4 pick in addition to their “normal” first-round pick (that being wherever they stand to draft after this season’s end)? i.e. would the #4 pick be our only first-rounder, or would it be a second first-round pick, additional to whatever pick we normally would have? ============================ SHEFF: The #4 overall pick as compensation for not signing Josh Vitters would be in addition to their regular 2008 1st round pick. And if the Cubs can't sign the compensation pick (2008 #4 overall) they don't get another one the next year. It's a one-year thing. Also, if the Cubs can't sign their 2007 3rd round pick (2B Tony Thomas), they will get a "sandwich" pick between the 3rd and 4th rounds in the 2008 draft as compensation. (There is no compensation provided for failing to sign picks from the 4th round or below). And as with the 1st round compensation pick (2008 #4 overall) the Cubs would get for failing to sign their 1st round pick this year, the potential 2008 compensation pick ("sandwich" pick between the 3rd and 4th rounds) for failing to sign their 2007 3rd round pick (Tony Thomas) is only good in the next draft.

Thank you!

a bat? not 20 more pen arms? wow. is each loss gonna be followed by an excuse that lou needs something else? the revolving door is gonna make 1/2 the cubs minor leagues arb eligable within a few years. =p get rid of jones/floyd...find a taker for izturis...something...that's hendry's job, though.

What do you guys think the likelihood is that we'll be able to sign Thomas and Vitters? I know the Trib has apparently put the kibosh on committing money to players beyond this year, but that couldn't possibly extend to the signing of drafted players, could it? Like, is there a chance the Cubs would opt not to sign either guy and instead use the compensation picks next year, when their organizational finances are more clearly defined?

i doubt hendry and crew would draft an unsignable player just to make a public show. if they were gonna do that they could have taken one of the mega-high-end boras boys. they gotta know their budget. hendry's said there's loot for midseason pickups if needed. stuff like the deal hendry and crew swung with the brass preseason a few years ago that gave the club extra loot for maddux might be outta the equation...or taking on someone's huge contract without relief....dunno. i imagine they know what theyre working with money-wise, though. be really irresponsible to move forward in a draft not knowing what you got...very improbable that happened.

BTW, many of the Cubs 22 unsigned picks from last month's draft are top prospects who fell to lower rounds ONLY because they were either 99% committed to going to college and/or because they wanted 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round money to sign. If the Cubs know they can't sign Vitters and/or Thomas, they would not only get compensation picks in next year's draft, but money budgeted for those two picks this year could be offered to a Victor Sanchez (who is a top 3rd base prospect) or a Preston Clark (rated the #5 college catcher in the draft by BA). So if the Cubs believe they have a shot at Sanchez or P. Clark (or Ryan Acosta, Mike McGee, or J. C. Casey), they probably should seriously consider NOT signing Vitters and/or Thomas, and take the compensation picks in next year's draft. MLB will probably be OK with teams giving high-round money to '07 lower round picks once it's clear that the team can't sign it's #1, #2, or #3 pick. But if the Cubs do that (give 1st or 3rd round money to Sanchez, P. Clark, or Acosta), it will probably necessarily have to happen at the 11th hour (close to August 15th).

Sheffield/Cornelia: I know the Trib has apparently put the kibosh on committing money to players beyond this year Daft. If I'm a potential buyer, I would want the Cub's to be doing what's best for the franchise. I wouldn't be so concerned with the financial commitments. Any guesses on how much the Cub's go for? I'm gonna take a stab at it and say $1.13 bn.

crazy...and sad...and probably just a case of chance meets overachieving... derosa's on pace for nearly 100rbi's (47)...aram 51...dlee 41...soriano 32...floyd 30...

#13 That's the thing that kills me! Potential buyers are worried about the Cubs committing $6.6M or $7.2m to Jacque Jones (don't remember the exact amount the Cubs would've ended up paying), but they're about to splash over a billion dollars on the team and other assets?! How could you possibly be worried about something that's 0.7% of the total cost of what you're about to buy...

Boise scored 17 runs yesterday and won their fourth in a row. Even Kyler Burke got into the act with three hits.

from the SD union-trib via ye olde world of cubs-hating roto and amateur comedian clearing house... "The Padres reportedly inquired about the availability of Felix Pie and were told by the Cubs he is as untouchable as it gets."

I was an early Jones detractor--he didn't impress me last year--but if he's untradeable, a reasonable alternative might be to play him. First of all, he's due for a hot streak. Second, Piniella has been working with him in the batting cage and might actually be able to teach new tricks to an old dog. Third, if he has a good July he might make himself tradeable. Maybe you'd rather trade Jones and keep Floyd; but if you can't, then trade Floyd and keep Jones. I'm also thinking about the black hole in right field. The ball that Dmitri Young hit over DeRosa in right on Thursday was catchable and was worth two runs in a close game. DeRosa is a terrific infielder but like a typical infielder is wall-shy. Jones would have caught it. Floyd, no. Murton, no. Pagan, no.

My FEARS confirmed. I have been stating since November that Hendry should have extended Zambrano since last November. Now I hear that I was on the money, bu Hendry fucked it up: If any of you heard this a few minutes ago, Bruce Levine reported that Z's agent came to the Cubs last July and asked for a four year deal. $44MM Management said no (as we know). Unless some unforseen, really extraordinary event happens, I predict that Carlos will not be on this team after this year. This will be the 2000's version of Maddux. Our luck just NEVER f'ing changes... I hope I'm wrong.

that's the problem with floyd...besides his sketchy health...decent bat, reasonable pricetag (even for next season), but he's a questionable enough LF'r before you even account for RF. murton's yet to show much glove in the OF anywhere, himself...pagan's a bench guy type who doesnt play any of the OF spots well, using his speed to overcome ball tracking and bat reading skills... team doesnt have a RF'r...when a ball gets away from your RF'r with a runner on 2nd or 3rd...or a runner going from 1st to 2nd...things can get ugly quick.

"Bruce Levine reported that Z’s agent came to the Cubs last July and asked for a four year deal." 11m a year? for 4 years? that makes no sense...esp. for last summer. Z had a 3.00 era coming into july and didnt exactly stumble. waaaaay to low of a contract for Z (who grugedly took 12.5 this season). just doesnt make sense.

not to pick on levine...but he does say a buncha stuff that seems his sources might be a little iffy...he does manage to scoop some legit good stuff, though. i just wonder how much he cross checks his info. didnt he have buerrle cleaning out his locker yesterday during the 1st game of the cws/min game?

It confuses me, why so many contributors dislike Pagan. I think he makes a very good fourth outfielder. The only thing he lacks is consistant home run power.

I am calling 100 percent BULLSHIT on the Levine story about Z wanting 4/44. Chris Carpenter got 5/63.5 in early 06. NO way Z signs for 4/44 in July.

"I think he makes a very good fourth outfielder." hell, i do too. speed, contact...little pop. he's just a little clumbsy in the OF...not inept by any means. im a fan...especially for his price.

weird about the buerlle thing...very weird. seems like a very legit story if more than 1 source is picking up on it and not attibuting it to a source...dunno what to make of it. dave d's story leaves less up in the air.

VA Phil: I was an early Jones detractor–he didn’t impress me last year–but if he’s untradeable, a reasonable alternative might be to play him. First of all, he’s due for a hot streak. Second, Piniella has been working with him in the batting cage and might actually be able to teach new tricks to an old dog. Third, if he has a good July he might make himself tradeable. I agree. It would solve a lot of problems if Jones would just start hitting. :)

Chad: I am calling 100 percent BULLSHIT on the Levine story about Z wanting 4/44. The whole money thing is very strange: End of '06, Cub's fire club president McPhail Fall of '06, Tribune in trouble '06-7 offseason, Cub's spend money like there's no tomorrow April '07, Tribune sold April '07, Announced the Cub's will be sold after season Now we hear the club will not be taking on future salary commitments and apparently they won't be eating any large contracts. I'm thinking a certain someone who owns Tribune Co. is a little pissed at the Cub's for blowing all the money this last offseason, so he's putting the brakes on everything.

And yeah... 4/44 doesn't sound right to me either. Then again, they're talking last July before the '06-'07 free agent starting pitcher rate hike. If I'm not mistaken, the boost in SP salary started with the Roy Oswalt extension.

Angel Guzman got the start for the Mesa Cubs, I guess he's rehabbing his way back to the big leagues.

Rynox, I noted that Chris Carpenter signed for 5/63. I don't think that Zambrano would be asking for that much less than Carpenter. Granted Carpenter won the cy young, i doubt Z would see himself less worthy of that kind of contract. If the inside source quoted a deal near carpenter money, then i would believe it. I wouldn't be suprised if Hendry offered 4/44 last july.

JOCF asks "why so many contributors dislike Pagan." I'll take a whack at that. Three things I like about Pagan: That was an important pinch-hit single on Thursday that started the winning rally. While he is a timid baserunner (as well as a timid fielder and hitter) he has outstanding first-to-third and second-to-home speed. If a pitcher has any inclination to give a walk, Pagan will accept it. Three things I don't like: He gives himself the take sign on hitters' pitches like 2-0 and 3-1. He hasn't learned the ballhawk's trick of taking his eye off a deep drive for two or three seconds while running full speed to where the ball is going--then picking up the ball again. (Pie does this beautifully, and Nook Logan did it perfectly on Ward's deep sac fly Thursday, which I don't think Pagan would have caught.) He hasn't earned a major-league assignment. Pagan was released by the Mets after a full year in AAA Norfolk. The Cubs signed him and brought him to spring training last year, and he's been a major leaguer pretty much ever since. Why? What did he do in the minors to earn promotion? This was his year at Norfolk in 2005: 516 ab, 140 h, 20 2b, 10 3b, 8 hr, 27 sb, 15 cs, 49 bb, 111 k, 271/333/395 I'd rather the Cubs promoted from within the organization and gave merit-based promotions. What's wrong with Buck Coats? Here are his numbers this year at AAA Iowa: 290 ab, 96 h, 16 2b, 2 3b, 10 hr, 7 sb, 1 cs, 24 bb, 39 k, 331/381/503

"He gives himself the take sign on hitters’ pitches like 2-0 and 3-1." I like that. I am a firm believer that on those counts, you look for a zone. If the ball is in that zone, you rip it. If not, you let it go. And I'm not talking about then whole strike zone, just your favorite part of it. Cause on 2 - 1 or 3 - 2, the pitcher might try to get cute and make a mistake over the plate. Rather than just throwing a fastball like they would 2 - 0, the may hang a slider.

merit based promotions based on numbers can lead you to a flawed player. cubs arent out there selling insurance. ronnie cedeno is hitting .397 with a .472 ob%, btw.

You are cherry picking a bit there with Coats' numbers. This is his 8th minor league season and if he keeps up his first half pace for the entire season it would mark the first time ever he's hit above .300 since high school. I like the kid, but would he be doing as well as Pagan in the role that Pagan is playing on the big league club? I'm not sure about that one, and even if so, the differnce would be negligible.

CUBS JUST HURRY UP AND FUCKING DO SOMETHING ALREADY I'M SICK OF SEARCHING EVERYDAY ON THE INTERNET TO SEE IF YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING. FUCKIN HENDRY!!! Sorry I've ust got some pent up aggression in me right now.

VA Phil, Norfolk has been the toughest hitting environment in the minors . Pagan's EQA in 2005 was .256 for a 271/333/395 line. By comparision, Pie's last year was .261 for a .283/341/451 line.

Mitre at Lowe tonight. I wonder what the major league record for ground balls in a game is. It has to be in jeopardy tonight.

Wiscgrad said: You are cherry picking a bit there with Coats’ numbers. Possibly. I don't know if Coats can catch deep flies either. Many converted infielders can't. He's got a good outfield arm, but so does Pagan. Also, Pagan can bat righty, which is an issue. I just lean towards Cub farmhands when they put up numbers. Cedeno versus Izzy. Coats versus Pagan. Soto versus Bowen. There is an interesting problem if the Cubs send Pie down now. Who gets replaced in the Iowa outfield, Kroeger, Coats or Murton? None of the above, I would say. If Pie goes down, someone has to go up.

Neal said: Norfolk has been the toughest hitting environment in the minors . Is it because they play on the deck of an aircraft carrier?

ward in RF? i dont think even lou is that crazy. ward's OF days were done about 20-30lbs. ago. he was pretty damn bad even before that.

and yeah, ward played LF this year...for 1 inning. he played a couple games there last year for washington, too. he's just a big dude now...not the guy who was in washington. it wouldnt be OMG WTF if he was in RF, but this version of ward would be hauling it heavy out there.

"not the guy who was in washington" not the guy who was in houston...i mean =p his D in the OF was pretty legend-bad, too.

If the team would like to score some god damn runs at some point during this , I wouldn't care where Lou plays anybody. The 3.6 runs/game on this roadtrip is just not acceptable.

3.6 runs per game? That's 3 wins and 2 losses so far and we scored 4 in one of those losses. You're right, that's not very good.

The 3.6 runs/game looks really great compared to our 4.43 team ERA in the last week. Really great, Chad. Break us up. We're that good. Forgive me for thinking that continuing to hang around .500 is crappy.

Soriano 7 Theriot 6 Lee 3 Ramirez 5 Ward 9 DeRosa 4 Jones 8 Hill 2 Lilly 1 Bautista 5 Sanchez 4 LaRoche 3 Nady 8 Bay 7 Doumit 9 Paulino 2 Wilson 6 Van Benschoten 1

...at least ward can hit...and at least this is (hopefully) a temporary assignment for ward. hopefully, no biggie.

No one can seriously think that the same pitcher who asked for $15 million from an arbitrator would have not only accepted but would have asked for a 4/44 just a couple months earlier. Just because you might want something to be right so it will confirm your fears, doesn't mean it makes sense to suspend reality or common sense to get that confirmation.

Its so hilarious how many people are on the Ronny Cedeno bandwagon again lol...most of you wouldn't have cared if he was released earlier this year. Almost ANYONE can put up numbers at AAA...I won't mind seeing him again but I doubt he's a radically changed player from what we've seen before.

Almost ANYONE can put up numbers at AAA… ------------------------------- Exaggerate much? Not that I know what to do w/ Cedeno. He didn't meet expectations during prior trips to the bigs, but his Iowa numbers sure are impressive. Wouldn't mind him coming up if we get rid of Izzy, although we'd still have three solid middle infielders (DeRosa, Theriot, Fontenot).

Austin Kearns hit his first extra base hit in two weeks. Nats 4 Brewers 2, 5th...only one out

Wow, death by a thousand singles (and Jock's ground rule double). What happened to "this team is built to hit HRs?"

Marmol = Nasty. Chad Cordero walked a tightrope tonight, but the Nats won 5-4. In the 9th, Cordero gave up a 1 out HR to Estrada, but got the last two groundouts with Hart on 2nd, leaving Fielder in the on deck circle. Overall an excellent night, Cubs 2 games over .500 with Z pitching tomorrow and the win guaranteed an over .500 record at the All-Star Break.

...and they are 3.5 out of the wild card pending the outcome of the Dodger-Marlin game. Go Sergio Meatball Go!

*Its so hilarious how many people are on the Ronny Cedeno bandwagon again lol…most of you wouldn’t have cared if he was released earlier this year. Almost ANYONE can put up numbers at AAA…* No shit...wasn't Jason Dubois just inducted into the AAA Hall Of Fame?

We really need to keep Ward around. He is a really good bat off the bench and has filled in admirably when he's been asked to. Also, games like this, where we score 7 runs without one HR, let me have some hope in this team. The long ball has become such a crutch, and seeing us piece together runs with timely hits is wonderful and refreshing and please god let them keep it up.

"No shit…wasn’t Jason Dubois just inducted into the AAA Hall Of Fame?" -no I think you mean the AAAA Hall of Fame.

Johann, let me echo what you said about Daryl Ward. I love this guy on our bench. If only we could find a Glenallen Hill to be his right handed counterpart. However, it's great to see us score all those runs but it was mostly off a scrub pitcher. It's not like we touched up Roy Oswalt for 7 runs on 14 hits.

True, true, Chad. But in the standings, a win against a scrub pitcher counts just as much as a win against an Oswalt or a Peavey. I'll take them everytime.

Chad, you are supposed to touch up a scrub pitcher for 7 runs. That's something good teams do and something we haven't always accomplished. Against the very good pitchers, you should judge your lineup did a good job if they got 4 runs. You are very rarely going to score 7 runs off a Peavy, Santana or Oswalt.

How about old Reggie Sanders from KC? He's about to come off the DL, you can get him for nothing, and he would have no issues with a pure bench role. He would seem to be the ideal RH bench bat counterpart to Ward that Lou and all of us are clamoring for. Sanders has always been able to hit.

"Its so hilarious how many people are on the Ronny Cedeno bandwagon again" in this tread i count...1. not much outcry. dunno where the 'cedeno support' bandwagon post is. did i miss something?

and that 1 said they prefer cedeno over izzy...not exactly a far stretch to call it reasonable.

1 thumb donw on Sanders and one thumb up for Cedeno - though he did go 0-4 today. I keep hoping Jim does something bold, like gettin Tejada or a right fielder (Rios?). For all his detractors he picked up Ramirez, Garciaparra and Lawton at the trade deadline for the three years the Cubs were in contention, so adding a bat is definetly part of his MO.

Johann, I'm with you. What I'm saying is that 7 runs off of 13 singles is not something we can count on. We need some power cause when we face better pitchers, we need the three run homers. I want Reggie Sanders.

All three of them were the best players hitters that moved at the deadline during their respective years (not to mention Lofton), though the Cards trumped us a bit with Walker off of waivers in '04.

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.