Cubs MLB Roster

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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 

 



 

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Game 115 Recap: Cubs 6, Rockies 2

Jonesing for First Place

GameCenter, Box Score, Recap, Photos, Play by Play

W - Marquis (9-7), corner outfielders

L - Cook (8-7), scary beanings

Things to take from this game: 1. Hope Jeff Baker is OK. As detailed below, Baker took a Marquis fastball off of the side of the face. It clearly was a pitch that just got away from Marquis, and let's hope that there are no serious after effects, either for Baker or for the remaining games in this series. 2. Second verse, same as the first Much like the first game of the series, the Cubs were led by Jacques Jones who had an RBI double in the fourth and HR in the sixth, as well as a bunt base hit. Once again Murton added a solo HR and Kendall also threw in some nice hitting as well. Remind you a bit of previous playoff chases where we'd get lifts from odd sources like Marvelle Wynne or Randal Simon? Maybe just a bit. 3. A great Coors Performance by Marquis Marquis really pitched well through six, before coming out of the game after the Baker beaning in the seventh. Good command, using the slider for a few strikeouts and getting a ton of ground balls. 4. Howry escapes the eighth Marmol loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth. Howry came in, and a weak popup, groundout, and flyout later, and the Rockies left with only one run scored. Great relief. The thrilling details, below.
  • A couple of modest rallies mounted in both halves of the first, but nothing comes of it for either team.
  • Kendall with a really nice AB to draw a walk against Cook in the second. Fouled off several 3-2 pitches. Fontenot had singled, now runners on 1 and 2 with no outs, Pie up in the Second Inning.
  • Pie called out looking on a pitch clearly off the plate from the overhead camera replay. Rockies announcers explain it's because Cook is a veteran and Pie is a rookie. Couldn't it just be due to the fact that the ump missed the call?
  • Rockies announcers all over Piniella for not bunting with either Pie or especially with Marquis in the second. Marquis strikes out, and we still have runners on first and second, now with two outs. A Theriot force out ends the inning unprofitably.
  • Looks like Marquis has the at-'em-sinkeball going, tonight. Easy 6-3 DP for Theriot in the Rockies half of the second.
  • Jones surprises the entire planet, with a nice bunt for a base hit towards third, leading off the third.
  • and Lee hits what should be a 3-6-3 ground ball to Baker, who throws it wildly into left field. 1st and 3rd, no outs.
  • Jones with a questionable decision/instinct on a ground ball by Murton. Looks like he was runing on contact, but the ball was a relatively easy chopper to the right of Cook. He easily tags Jones out (well, forces him out of the basepaths, to get called out) and we basically lose an out and a base, as we now have one out and runners on 1st and 2nd.
  • Derosa promptly walks. Bases loaded for Rockies-killer Fontenot.
  • Fontenot hits a weak grounder to second to score a run and advance the other two runners, and then Kendall hits a solid single to center, to score two. 3-0 Cubs.
  • Taveras doesn't try to steal second on Kendall, in the third. Odd.
  • Top of the fourth, Marquis leads off by hitting a double off the CF wall.
  • Jones is white-hot. He inside-outs one off the LF wall, for a double. Like last night, it looked like Holliday again took a really uninspired route towards the ball, but this one more likely was out of reach, no matter what. 4-0 Cubs.
  • IBB to Lee. Fans boo. No more damage done in the inning
  • Bottom of the fourth starts with Derosa barehanding a grounder but throwing it away.
  • Tulowitzki doubles off the LF wall, driving in Holliday with two outs.
  • Marquis ends the inning with a nice K looking of Torrealba.
  • Jeff Baker with a nice diving play of a Pie groundball, to end the top of the fifth.
  • Marquis really looks sharp through 5. Lots of ground balls, some good movement on strikeout pitches, and 67 pitches thrown.
  • Take one guess and the name of the Cub who just hit a shot of a solo HR in the sixth. 5-1, Jones leads.
  • Marquis with another 1-2-3 inning.
  • Jason Kendall with the ugliest hit ever. He gets totally and utterly jammed, squibbing one towards second. Pitcher gives up on it, and second baseman can't get to it. Suddenly, 2 on, 2 out in the Seventh.
  • Tulowitzki with a very nice off-balance, running throw on a slow roller up the middle to get Pie, and end the threat. Still 5-1.
  • Hawpe hits a sinking liner to center, which Pie dives for. Misses, rather badly, and ball kicks high off his body. Could have been an inside the parker, but ball mostly just kicks straight up, and Hawpe held to a double to start the bottom of the seventh.
  • Marquis does a fine job to get two ground outs, putting Hawpe at third with two outs.
  • Scary moment of the season so far, perhaps, as Marquis loses control of a fastball and hits Jeff Baker along the side of the helmet flap, getting as much cheekbone, perhaps even temple, as helmet. Baker lay on the ground for several minutes and the crowd fell very silent. He got up and left under his own power, but it didn't look good live, and looked far worse in slow-motion replay. Here's hoping everything's ok. Marquis, understandably, looked quite upset. Looks like it was just a fastball that sailed up and in, nothing deliberate. No one in the stadium seemed to think it was malicious. Sort of reminded me of Wood, in his early days, how his fastball often seemed to have a natural up and in motion when he was struggling with his command.
  • Well, now there's some booing as Marquis leaves the game. Marmol in to get out of the seventh inning jam.
  • and Marmol promptly walks the pinch hitter, Spilborghs. Bases loaded.
  • DEMPSTER up in the seventh, as Marmol goes ball one on Taveres.
  • But Marmol then gets three straight strikes, the last on a nice slider just off the plate. Threat over.
  • Jacques Jones has superpowers. He strikes out on a ball in the dirt that takes a hard, high hop off the catcher, and advances to first. He steals second, and Torrealba just sort of whiffs on his effort to catch the pitch. But the inning ends with a Lee strikeout. Sure looks like he's struggling, at least these last two games.
  • Worrisome start to the Rockies' eighth. Marmol back out, and Matsui gets an infield single. Holliday hits one right back to Marmol, but he's slightly out of position to field it, and it glances off of his glove, losing a good DP chance. Base hit, two on no out. Next pitch, Marmol throws a fastball way outside, Kendall can't quite get to it, wild pitch, runners move up.
  • Marmol's slider is rolling in there like the tide, tonight.
  • Atkins walks. Bases loaded for Hawpe, who represents the tying run. No outs. Marmol looks like a tired pitcher. Howry comes in.
  • Hawpe with a weak AB against Howry, pops out weakly to Theriot. One down, two to go.
  • Tulowitzki with a 5-3 RBI ground out. Score now 5-2.
  • Torrealba flies out to end a huge threat. Really great work by Howry.
  • Matt Murton with a much needed insurance solo HR, opposite field. A true Coors Field HR, as the ball just kept drifting further out to right. Nice piece of hitting, but wow, did that one just sort of float. Manny Corpas evidently doesn't give up many HRs.
  • Kendall singles, then ends the inning by getting caught stealing. Odd.
  • One out in the ninth, Spilborghs strikes out swinging on a wild pitch. Kendall's throw is high, but Lee leaps, twists around and swipe-tags Spilborghs just before he can reach first. Second out.
  • Third out comes on a bizarre 5-4-6 putout. Derosa threw the ball away, Cedeno, playing second, picked it up in right field on a richochet, and threw the runner out at second base. Cubs win.
Parachat Recap Inning 1 A world full of Joneses. Cubs Middle Infield defense. Kendall's defense. Defensiveness about Jessica Alba's, ah, Middle Infield. Inning 2 What should Fontenot's uniform number be? AL Cy Young candidates. The ramifications of a potential Kendall HR. Fit Finlay. Kendall's career against the Cubs. Pie's swing. The strike three call on Pie. Exaggeration Night in Parachat. Other games worth watching tonight. Questec. Comedic alternatives to Questec. Inning 3 Ground rules for balls hit into Helton's beard. Helton has a beard? Great Cubs Beards. Jessica Alba, again. (I guarantee we will see the number of people finding TCR by searching for "Jessica Alba" skyrocket, now.) Brewers/Astros game. Kendall's beard and sudden offensive prowess. A serious beard fixation going on in Parachat, tonight. Fantasy Football, as if anyone could possibly care about that. Johann, with the ultimate mom-related comeback, ever, on Carlos. Continuing to try to find the source of the Jessica Alba has Herpes rumor. (We better double our traffic, for as much as I'm referencing Jessica Alba, whom I couldn't pick out of a police lineup.) How in the world did the inning end without Taveres trying to steal on Kendall? Inning 4 Karaoke Bar assaults. Kendall's second halves. More of this fantasy football pablum. Marquis' double. Quesadillas. Ankiel. The ump's questionable strike zone. Cheering for Jacques Jones. The Roaming Gnome. Amelie Mauresmo and Amaury Telemaco. Russ Cargill, Bernie Brewer and Matt Stairs. Mythbusters. Inning 5 Poking holes in midgets. Penn and Teller. Other TV shows worth discussing. Other games going on tonight. Women sports reporters. Inning 6 More on other ballgames. Bad places to live. The moral, theological, physiological and educational implications of mothering 17 children. "No, God likes it raw." More parachat mom comedic insults unfit for print. Humid Mexican Huevos. Inning 7 Why we're here on a Friday Night. (i.e., excuse-making time.) Sports bloggers reviewing movies. TCR regulars who have leopard-print thongs. (My fingers will be soaked in bleach, now, as a hygenic precaution after typing that.) Pierre power. Herpes. Now, Double Now, and Triple Now. Do we have a Now Cycle? Acronym insertion and "journalism." Fantastic facts about the remarkable career of Bo Flowers. Rockies fans with the IQs of a thermos. The Baker HBP. Marmol = Zeus. Inning 8 More Marmol-fawning. Beers we're drinking. Scoreboards we're watching. Steely McBeam. Jacques Jones has Superpowers. Is the Rockies' PA person Gwen Stefani? Disappointment as the Brewers win. A very alarming "F___ me with ______" contest. Answers included a dirty gyro. I think I might chop off my fingers after this. In what sense is Scott Eyre a nasty lefty? How many facial expressions does Howry have? More or less than the number of pitches in his repetoir? No good can come from asking what any of the slang terms used in parachat mean. Inning 9 Murton worship. Kendall's beard worship. MLB Drug Policy Question of the Night, from nohit: what if Barry Bonds pissed on Moises Alou's hands? Celebrating.

Comments

Can I just how much I love watching the games in the chat? Also: "Tell me you're gritty, tell me you're gritty."

LOL

Ah Trans... I missed these. And now you did two in a row, so we are going to expect them again! :) And dirty gyro may have been the worst thing that I have seen in parachat. Ever.

The only thing that worries me is this notion that there's a connection between my return, and us outscoring the Rockies 16-4. I'm being set up for the fall, here. This really was a funny and fun night.

I would have included that word in yesterday's recap, but I didn't want to try to spell it. Later, all.

I see Monsieur Murton has hit a couple of homers lately. That ought to get the Murtonologists all riled up. Never mind they were hit at "Curs" Field, y'all. I didn't see the shot against the Astros, but I'm going to guess it was barely into the Crawford Boxes, no?

I didn’t see the shot against the Astros, but I’m going to guess it was barely into the Crawford Boxes, no? no, it was a mammoth shot to left center field as you could easily have checked yourself.

Good point, no. Murton was the only Cub playing at Coors field these last two days (and at the Juice Box on Tuesday, where he had to come off the bench to hit his HR) so he had an unfair advantage. The rest of the Cubs have been playing in RFK and Safeco. Weren't they switching in Super Balls too, when he came up to bat? Since his recall: .367 .406 .700 Friday night was his 2nd time he's got a chance to start consecutive games since May 27th. Thursday was the first. I have to give credit to Pinhead, he actually tugged his left ear and put in the best defensive outifeld for the first two games of the series. Let's hope the alignment (and the winning) stays the same. Now if we can just get some more Soto and Cedeno in there...

Hendy on waiver claims from Muskett's notes: "I don't want to get into specific guys I've claimed. I mean, this is part of the business. I've probably claimed a dozen guys this week. What I try to do is make claims of anybody that I thought could possibly help us. Most of the time the claims you make, really the other team has no interest of moving the guy anyhow, but that's what you do every day."

Barrett has had a concussion for years; why let it sideline him now. Is it wrong to take great delight from seeing my Parachat contributions as part of the summary?

Interesting stuff about Zambrano from that article. Someone needs to drill it into his thick skull he shouldn't break bats: "With Aramis Ramirez unavailable, Carlos Zambrano will get more pinch-hitting opportunities so Piniella can save his bench. "I told him the other day in Houston, he wasn't trying to hit the ball in the seats, he was trying to hit the ball out of the state," Piniella said. The Cubs also would like Zambrano to stop breaking his bat over his knee after strikeouts, as he did Wednesday. "I think he uses a cracked bat when he does that," Piniella said. "No, we don't want that. I mean, he can hurt himself.""

Now if we can just get some more Soto and Cedeno in there… Tell you what Real Neal, I'll just put you in charge of pulling Ronny aside and teaching him to not swing at sliders a foot off the plate with two strikes, then. The kid does have a good ceiling. But he can't hit a big league breaking ball right now. Never has. Particularly when he's trying to hit with two strikes. When the scout got around that the kid would chase a slider away like it was his 8th grade homecoming date, he was done. He can sure hit a AAA breaking ball, or else he'd be hitting his weight down there, too. I don't think it matters what kind of sabermetric portfolio you can put together on the kid, until he fixes the huge hole in his swing, he'll never have any reason to take playing time away from our starting SS. However, I do agree on Soto being on the big club in a backup/PH role.

What I found surprising about this article is the fact... I always like to wait a while before I give any credence to anything Paul Sullivan writes. Not saying it might turn out to be true, but Paul Sullivan should write for US Weekly.

"I’ll just put you in charge of pulling Ronny aside and teaching him to not swing at sliders a foot off the plate with two strikes, then..." He kind of reminds me of Sosa when he first came over to the Cubs from the Sox - the guy always lunged at low outside balls, took him almost two years to start to lay off those pitches. And someone needs to help Pie actually take a few pitches now and then - the kid swings at everything right now.

Things are too quiet around here. Time to start an argument. If you want to get Derrek Lee out this year, it's pretty simple. Throw a waist-high fastball down the middle, a tad inside. He'll probably pop it to the first baseman in foul territory (or maybe out of play). Maybe that's in the scouting report, maybe not. No pitcher would believe it anyway. They keep throwing him breaking balls on the outside part of the plate, which he swats pretty efficiently to center and right. DeRosa has trouble with fastballs down Main Street, too. Somehow, when he's through swinging at that pitch, he's off balance, falling toward first. But like Lee, he feasts on outside pitches. Both guys are terrific hitters, but as a fan, you'd like to see a guy with a more normal swing who can pull the ball with power. That kind of hit is more satisfying, somehow. It's an aesthetic point. Numbers guys on the board won't know what I'm talking about, or will pretend not to.

Lee has been one of the more annoying players to watch hit lately. He seems to really thrive when Soriano is in the lineup though.

Lee has been one of the more annoying players to watch hit lately. He seems to really thrive when Soriano is in the lineup though. Not really sure what Soriano in the lineup has to do with it. He seems to just be in a slump.

Lee's swing has actually changed. It was talked about at the beginning of the year how his swing was more level, so he was hitting a lot more doubles and singles instead of HRs. I think a lot of that was because of his wrist. Then at some point I remember reading/hearing that he was trying to adjust it to hit more HRs. For a big league hitter, adjusting your swing that much can a big deal, so it's not surprising to me he's having some difficulties. He's still been one of our best and most consistent hitters all year, so I'm not too worried about him snapping out of this slump. He looks tired more then anything, and if we win today, I'd like to see him sit tomorrow so he can get two days off.

Dave - Ohman is great if you like to watch the other team hit HR's and smashes off the wall. I squirm every time he comes in - sort of like Kyle Farnsworth, Jr.

Tell you what Real Neal, I’ll just put you in charge of pulling Ronny aside and teaching him to not swing at sliders a foot off the plate with two strikes, then. Yeah, because that's all you have to do is teach him. Cedeno is unable to learn from experience. He is unable to see a pitch a couple times from a pitcher and say 'Oh, I need to lay off that pitch in the future'. He's really unique in this. The same guys that say Cedeno isn't going to hit at the majors are the ones that said that Hill's stuff won't translate to the majors. Guess what, you were wrong then, and you're wrong now.

*no, it was a mammoth shot to left center field as you could easily have checked yourself.* Mammoth as in Pujols' mammoth shot off of Lidge in the NLCS? Or "mammoth" as in just about every home run hit to left at Ten-run Field? *Good point, no. Murton was the only Cub playing at Coors field these last two days (and at the Juice Box on Tuesday, where he had to come off the bench to hit his HR) so he had an unfair advantage.* The rest of the Cubs haven't hit many home runs anywhere either. I don't know if this validates the fact that Murton--who supposedly has allllllllll this power--doesn't seem to hit home runs against major league pitching in non-bandbox parks. But it was nice to have a couple Murtonologists answer my call. Thanks, guys.

Mammoth as in Pujols’ mammoth shot off of Lidge in the NLCS? Or “mammoth” as in just about every home run hit to left at Ten-run Field? Who said anything about Pujols? It hit the wall well above the arches just to left of the 404 ft mark. You're being an idiot. Go watch the HR yourself.

I don’t know if this validates the fact that Murton–who supposedly has allllllllll this power–doesn’t seem to hit home runs against major league pitching in non-bandbox parks. Don't make things up. No one has said Murton has "all this power." We have just said that he will probably develop 20-25 HR power.

Silly dave, since we said that Murton will be good and will hit HRs, that automatically means he's going to break the HR record. There is no middle ground here.

It's impossible to hit a HR to Left Center at Minute Maid without it being a mammoth shot.

Once I saw Sosa hit one of the glass above the railroad tracks in left center. That I would call a leviathan shot. Longest HR I have ever seen. It made Pujol's shot seem like a popup.

My concern about Cedeno - There's been several Cedeno's in MLB after Cesar. They all came up with a lot of bally who, but in the end, none ever excelled. They were all average players. I don't know the relationship of all of tem from Cesar to Roger to Ronny, but they all seemed to disappoint for whatever reasons.

Never said he wouldn't learn. Read it again, mensa member. I just don't want him to learn in a pennant race.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • 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.