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

Cubs Payroll Preview 2008-09

I know a lot can change (and very likely will change) over the next couple of seasons, but AS THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW, here is the payroll preview for the Cubs 2008-09: NTC = NO TRADE CLAUSE SIGNED FOR 2008 (15): 1. Henry Blanco - $2.8M 2. Ryan Dempster - $5.5M + $800K in performance bonuses 3. Mark DeRosa - $3.75M 4. Scott Eyre - $3.8M + $800K in performance bonuses (limited NTC) 5. Bob Howry - $4M 6. Jacque Jones – $5M (limited NTC) 7. Derrek Lee - $13M (NTC) 8. Ted Lilly - $7M 9. Jason Marquis - $6.375M 10. Will Ohman - $1.6M + $250K in performance bonuses 11. Aramis Ramirez - $14M (NTC) 12. Jeff Samardzija - $850K, or $600K "split" if optioned to minors (NTC) 13. Alfonso Soriano - $13M (NTC) 14. Daryle Ward – 1.2M 15. Carlos Zambrano - $15M (NTC) PAYROLL SUB-TOTAL - $96.625M (plus another $1.85M in potential performance bonuses) NOTE: Not including Samardzija (who almost certainly will be optioned to AA to start the 2008 season), all of the players signed for 2008 have guaranteed contracts and thus are virtual locks to open next season on the 25-man roster (or MLB DL). It's still remotely possible that Scott Eyre will exercise his player option to be a FA (he has until next Monday to decide), but that's extremely unlikely. ======================== ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE AFTER 2007 (4): 1. Neal Cotts (minimum '08 salary with max 20% cut is $680K - likely 12/12 non-tender) 2. Craig Monroe (minimum '08 salary with max 20% cut is $3.82M - likely 12/12 non-tender) 3. Mark Prior (minimum '08 salary with max 20% cut is $2.86M - likely 12/12 non-tender) 4. Michael Wuertz (very likely will be offered salary arbitration - will likely get around $1M in first year of arbitration) PAYROLL SUB-TOTAL: $1M (guess-timate) NOTE: Unless the Cubs are able to trade the trio, the Cubs will likely non-tender Cotts, Monroe, and Prior on 12/12, but will then likely offer Prior a contract for something like a $1M base salary plus maybe another $4M in incentives (based on GS) for 2008, similar to the contract Wade Miller got last off-season. Whether Prior would accept such a deal from the Cubs is unknown, but my guess is that if he gets non-tendered by the Cubs, he will take the opportunity to sign a similar-type contract with his hometown Padres. ============================= So with 14 players having guaranteed MLB contracts for 2008 (Blanco, Dempster, DeRosa, Eyre, Howry, Jones, Lee, Lilly, Marquis, Ohman, Ramirez, Soriano, Ward, and Zambrano), and with one of the four players eligible for salary arbitration likely to return in 2008 (that would be Wuertz), that leaves 10 slots open on the 2008 Opening Day 25-man roster (AS OF RIGHT NOW) for potential free-agents, or otherwise the slots will default to 10 "auto-renewal" (pre-arbitration) players (plus Angel Guzman earning the MLB minimum while on the DL). Since the new MLB minimum salary for "auto-renewal' players is $390K (and it will be $400K beginning in 2009), that means at least another $4.3M will need to be spent above and beyond the $97.625. So AS OF RIGHT NOW, if the Cubs make no changes during the off-season, the 2008 payroll will be $102M. AUTO-RENEWAL (PRE-ARBITRATION) FOR 2008 (20): NOTE: Players most-likely to open season on 25-man roster in bold 1. Ronny Cedeno (out of minor league options) 2. Mike Fontenot (will likely battle Pagan for 25th spot on roster) 3. Jake Fox (will likely be at AAA on Opening Day 2008) 4. Sam Fuld 5. Sean Gallagher (will likely battle Hart for 12th spot on pitching staff) 6. Angel Guzman (will likely spend 2008 season on 60-day DL) 7. Adam Harben (likely will be in AA on Opening Day 2008) 8. Kevin Hart (will likely battle Gallagher for 12th spot on pitching staff) 9. Rich Hill 10. Carlos Marmol 11. Sean Marshall 12. Juan Mateo (likely will be in AAA on Opening Day 2008) 13. Matt Murton 14. Angel Pagan (will likely battle Fontenot for 25th spot on roster) 15. Eric Patterson (likely will be in AAA on Opening Day 2008) 16. Billy Petrick (likely will be in AAA on Opening Day 2008) 17. Felix Pie (likely will be in AAA on Opening Day 2008) 18. Carmen Pignatiello (likely will be in AAA on Opening Day 2008) 19. Geovany Soto (out of minor league options) 20. Ryan Theriot NOTE: Of the 10 open slots presently available on the Cubs likely 2008 Opening Day 25-man roster, the two spots in doubt are the 12th slot in the bullpen and the last man on the bench. AS THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW, it appears that Kevin Hart and Sean Gallagher will be the top two contenders for the "12th man" on the pitching staff (long relief), but that would change if the Cubs re-sign Kerry Wood or some other veteran reliever or "swing-man" (spot starter/long relief). It's also possible that Hart or Gallagher could take the 5th spot in the starting rotation, with Sean Marshall going to AAA. And also AS THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW, it appears that Mike Fontenot and Angel Pagan will battle for the last spot on the bench, but that would change if the Cubs sign a FA like Kosuke Fukudome. ========================= POTENTIAL FREE-AGENTS AFTER 2008 (7): 1. Henry Blanco (vesting option or else club option with $300K buy-out for 2009) 2. Ryan Dempster 3. Scott Eyre 4. Bob Howry 5. Jacque Jones 6. Craig Monroe (if he isn't non-tendered next month) 7. Will Ohman 8. Mark Prior (if he isn't non-tendered next month) 9. Daryle Ward ===================== SIGNED BEYOND 2008 (8): 1. Mark DeRosa ($5.5M in 2009, then FA) 2. Jason Marquis ($9.875M in 2009, then FA) 3. Derrek Lee ($13M in 2009 and 2010, then FA - complete "no trade") 4. Ted Lilly ($12M in 2009 and 2010, then FA) 5. Aramis Ramirez ($15.65M in 2009 and $15.75M in 2010, $14.6M 2011 player option, and $16M 2012 mutual option with $2M buy-out - complete "no trade") 6. Jeff Samardzija (thru 2011 + mutual options for 2012 & 2013 -complete "no trade" through 2011) 2009: $1.3M (guaranteed - no minor league split) 2010: $2.5M (guaranteed - no minor league split) 2011: $2.8M (guaranteed - no minor league split) 2012: $3M (mutual option - player can opt out only if he is eligible for salary arbitration) 2013: $3.5M (mutual option - player can opt out only if he is eligible for salary-arbitration) 7. Carlos Zambrano ($17.75M in 2009, $17.875 in 2010 and 2011, and $18M in 2012, plus $19.25M 2013 vesting-player option - complete "no trade") 8. Alfonso Soriano ($13M in 2008, $16M in 2009, and $18M 2010 through 2014, then FA - complete "no trade") ============================ PROJECTED ELIGIBLE FOR SALARY-ARBITRATION POST-2008 (7): 1. Ronny Cedeno 2. Neal Cotts 3. Rich Hill (projected 2+149 MLB ST after 2008 - likely “Super Two”) 4. Sean Marshall (projected 2+132 MLB ST after 2008 – could be a “Super Two”) 5. Matt Murton 6. Angel Pagan (projected 2+143 MLB ST after 2008 – likely “Super Two”) 7. Michael Wuertz NOTE: These projections are based on each of the players potentially eligible for salary arbitration post-2008 spending the entire 2008 season in the big leagues. ============================= So the Cubs have $91M in guaranteed salaries committed to just eight players (DeRosa, Marquis, Lee, Lilly, Samardzija, Ramirez, Zambrano, and Soriano) for 2009, plus an unknown amount of payroll to be committed to as many as seven players who could be eligible for salary arbitation after the 2008 season (Cedeno, Cotts, Hill, Marshall, Murton, Pagan and Wuertz), although of the seven, Cotts is likely to be non-tendered next month, and Pagan (IF he spends enough time in the big leagues in 2008 to qualify for salary arbitration as a "Super Two") would be a likely 12/12 non-tender after the 2008 season.

Comments

AZ- Any idea how much the Cubs have as a 2008 salary budget? I have heard JH talk about getting some additional funds from ownership but I am not sure how that translates.

Rory — November 5, 2007 @ 11:47 am AZ- Any idea how much the Cubs have as a 2008 salary budget? I have heard JH talk about getting some additional funds from ownership but I am not sure how that translates. ================================= RORY: I'm not sure what Hendry's payroll budget for 2008 is or will be. I guess that's the $115 million dollar (or is it the $120 million dollar?) question!

AZ Phil, Why did you include the performance bonuses in your signed for '08 list? I would guess this is the end for Ronny Cedeno. No options, means he's going to get traded or lost trying to clear waivers when the Cubs decide to send him down after not letting him beat out Theriot for shorstop.

that Miles article from a few days ago said there will be a bump in the payroll, $115-$120 seesm reasonable.

The Real Neal — November 5, 2007 @ 11:59 am AZ Phil, Why did you include the performance bonuses in your signed for ‘08 list? ====================== REAL NEAL: I listed the potential bonuses for the relief pitchers because Hendry loves to add incentive bonuses for appearances and GF when he signs those guys. But I was mainly trying to provide some idea of what to expect (like maybe a $3M-$4M base salary plus perhaps another $1M in potential performance bonuses based on appearances and/or GF) if the Cubs re-sign Kerry Wood as a reliever. With the projected 2008 Cubs payroll presently at about $102M, and if Hendry has (let's say) absolutely no more than a $120M 2008 payroll budget, then re-signing Woody would probably cut about $3M to $4M off the $18M in available payroll, the lesser number if Wood will accept incentives, but the greater figure if he wants more of it guaranteed. But with KW's injury history, I just can't see the Cubs offering him too many guarantees. Which is why I believe that although the Cubs probably really do seriously want him back in 2008, that Kerry Wood will sign elsewhere. Because there is bound to be at least one foolish GM out there who will guarantee Wood's salary 100%, or maybe even sign him for big bucks to be a rotation starter.

AZ Phil is the man.....I have a feeling you know this stuff better than the cubs front office - are you throwing your hat in the ring when the new owner comes in:) Unless the new owner takes a new approach than the trib has in the past 20 years, the cubs better be shrewd w/ trades or get a consistent pipeline of talent if they want to compete w/ as much money they have tied up on their top 5 players.

I actually think the Cubs won't bring back Dempster, Eyre, Howry and Wood. That's a lot of $3 million + contracts for one bullpen. Howry may be a pretty hot trade commodity if he were to be offered around. Jacque and Marquis are the other obvious ways to trim a little fat if the Cubs want to spend on a free agent or a bring in a Tejada or Abreu level contract in a trade. One obvious oversight you forgot in the 2008 budget is the $4K for donuts.

One obvious oversight you forgot in the 2008 budget is the $4K for donuts. Come on... according to manny Hendry has to spend WAY more than 4K for donuts...

One obvious oversight you forgot in the 2008 budget is the $4K for donuts. ========= Donuts; is there anything they can't do?

Real - I actually think the Cubs won’t bring back Dempster, Eyre, Howry and Wood. > Okay, I will ask the obvious, why do you think the Cubs will not bring back almost their entire bullpen in 2008?

AZ Phil, As usual-- great work. Thanks for all of the info. I'm curious-- you list Fuld as likely for the Opening Day roster, and Pie at Iowa (as of right now). Is this because you think the plan is to get Pie more ABs and/or does Fuld make a better 4th/5th outfielder? Also...with the likely OF already of Soriano, Jones, Murton, Ward, and Fuld...that seems to give Fontenot the edge for 25th Man. Does Pagan have options left? I seem to remember that Pagan and Fontenot each had one option left.

Romero — November 5, 2007 @ 1:02 pm AZ Phil, As usual– great work. Thanks for all of the info. I’m curious– you list Fuld as likely for the Opening Day roster, and Pie at Iowa (as of right now). Is this because you think the plan is to get Pie more ABs and/or does Fuld make a better 4th/5th outfielder? Also…with the likely OF already of Soriano, Jones, Murton, Ward, and Fuld…that seems to give Fontenot the edge for 25th Man. Does Pagan have options left? I seem to remember that Pagan and Fontenot each had one option left. ========================= ROMERO: Since he's still only 22, I don't think the Cubs would want Felix Pie to be used as a "4th OF" next season, and I don't think he hits LHP well enough (yet) to be considered for an everyday MLB job in 2008. Pie possibly could platoon with Murton (with Jacque Jones moving back-and-forth between CF and RF depending on whether Murton or Pie are playing that day), but I think the Cubs want Pie to try and learn to hit LHP, and the best place for him to do that is at AAA. So I think Pie will go to Iowa in '08 (he has one option left) and play every day, hitting lead-off or #2 in the order (to get him maximum ABs). What will happen in the meantime in CF and in RF in Chicago circa 2008 would be TBD. The Cubs could sign a FA RF (like Fukudome) or make a trade for one, but I would think the more-likely scenario AS OF RIGHT NOW would be a mixing & matching thing involving Jones, Murton, Fuld, and possibly Pagan, with the hottest bats getting the starts. And Angel Pagan does indeed have one minor league option left. The only Cubs players with less than five years of MLB service time (such that they can't refuse an optional assignment to the minors) who are out of minor league options are Ronny Cedeno and Geovany Soto.

Rory, Because there's only so much 7th, 8th, and 9th innings with a tie score or a small lead to go around. There's also only so much Dempster insurance you'll need and Wood and Marmol will stand for. And finally, there's some better places to spend that money, namely right field and short.

AZ PHIL - With budget restraints, it seems as though the cubs would be limited to 1 or 2 mid level FA's instead of making a big splash this offseason. $15MM in salary will get eaten up pretty quickly unless they unload either Jones, Dempster or Marquis. Out of the 3, I'm guessing Demp would be the easiest moved (but only fetching a mid-level prospect), while Jones may be finally given away w/out eating his contract (1 year, 5MM) if they anticipate bringing another quality OF on board. Finally, Marquis is somewhat untradeable w/ his backloaded contract. Do you think they will spend thriftily and get lower tier guys like Kuroda and possibly Milton Bradley or do you see them trading salary to take on the higher priced players like Fukudome and/or Schilling?

Real Neal - I'm with you on trimming the bullpen fat. Why spend millions of dollars on guys who aren't really any better than some of the minor league guys you could bring up. With guys like Marmol, Hart, Gallagher, Wuertz, and even Marshall available, Hendry could do some good things with the extra money lying around if he could get rid of all those $3-5 million/year contracts he hands out to relievers.

Just curious-- what the freak does Sean Marshall have to do to keep his job?: 2007: 103.1 IP, 107 H, 45 ER, 13 HR, 35 BB, 67 K 1.13 HR/9 3.05 BB/9 5.84 BB/9 7-8 3.92 ERA I would take these numbers every year for a number 4/5 starter. Plus....he's still only 25 years old. And with these minor league numbers: 304.2 IP, 256 H, 89 ER, 16 HR, 93 BB, 298 K 0.47 HR/9 2.75 BB/9 8.82 K/9 17-15 2.63 ERA Plus--- he's tall.

The Real Neal: "One obvious oversight you forgot in the 2008 budget is the $4K for donuts." HA HA good one. That's a lot of Krispy Kreme's

The Real Neal: "One obvious oversight you forgot in the 2008 budget is the $4K for donuts." Oh yeah I forgot, can we please stop with Hendry/donut jokes. They are a tired act...:)p

"what the freak does Sean Marshall have to do to keep his job?" marshall's got a few issues that probably wouldnt be an issue if the cubs didnt already have 2 "better" lefties committed to 5 SP slots. for as decent as marshall is, he's not a workhorse who's gonna give 7+ innings every 5 days. he has a hard enough time getting to 100 pitches and the way he's used by pinella he can barely get to 80-90 pitches sometimes. there's already a lot of "short" guys in the rotation...there's 2 better lefties... on many other teams marsh would be the 4/5 starter and everyone would go on their merry way saying "kid isnt so bad for end of rotation"... interesting to see what the cubs will actually do with him. i could live with 3 lefty starters, but it doesnt really look like its the direction the club was looking to take in the 2nd half of last season.

It doesn't help Marshall that he, Hill, and Lilly all have the same stuff. It can't help any of them to throw on back to back days. Personally, I like Marshall better than Hill. I can't give the numbers to back it up, but when I watch them pitch, Marshall looks a lot more comfortable on the mound than Hill does.

It doesn’t help Marshall that he, Hill, and Lilly all have the same stuff. Yes, and Marshall's stuff is the worst of the three. Marshall's curveball isn't as good as the Lilly Hammer or Hill's. Marshall doesn't throw as hard as Lilly or Hill, and doesn't have a very good change. Although, Hill doesn't haven't a very good change either.

this same stuff between the 3 strikes me a bit odd. Marshall's got a 2-seamer he throws mostly, with more of a sweeping curve compared to Hill's and LIlly's drop-down curve. I also think his change is okay, definitely better than Hill's. Hill and Lilly seem pretty much the same to me, Lilly with the better change, Hill with the better curve. Both rely heavily on locating their fastballs which are the 4-stream, straight-as-an arrow variety.

AZ Phil: What about prorated signing bonuses? Wouldn't that add about $4-5 million to the payroll?

Went out to a Mesa game and there could have been some problems today! Looks like Clevenger either hurt his knee or ankle today trying to beat out a hit and Fuld got hit by a pitch around the wrist area and they took him out of the game after he ran the bases that inning. Also saw Steve Stone at the park, along with our scouting director Wilken.

Makes me sad and mad to scan that list of overpaids and mediocres. I was hoping we were finally done with Trib and Hendry. This is such a dupe job. All the mix-match talk about Fuld, Pagan, Murton, Jones. Theriot versus Cedeno. How to use Dempster. Pretending Z, Sori, Lee, A Ram are great when they're not. Hendry's desperate, mostly dumb spendathon didn't work. Now we increasingly pay for that. The over-30s get worse, not one star among the youngsters. AzPhil, do you work for the Cubs? It's the same mindset. The solution on Pie, who can do nothing more in the minors, is to....go back to the minors!!! A little more patience, people!! Hope!!! Optimism!! Yeah, believe in Hendry, who didn't just get Trax for insurance. He ousted Marshall, the better pitcher. Only the latest hammer to hit you over the head and tell you Hendry isn't baseball-smart enough. My hope resides not in these chuckleheads, but in the next owner and GM.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jon_heyman/11/05/monday.s… Heyman believes Mets, RSox, Giants, Angels, Dodgers are top 5 potential Arod landing spots with Tigers an outside shot. Mets or Dodgers would be bad for the Cubs, the rest probably wouldn't matter much, at least not immediately. mentions Gagne to Rangers or Tigers Dusty was mentioned for Dodgers job while they were deciding what Little would do but he took Cincy job before it got anywhere.

Petitte decline his option, although he said it's either the Yanks or retirement. Just buys him more time to decide...

Well this is finally an interesting thing from Muskrat (at least, to me): "This year, the Cubs had a .333 on-base percentage and 500 walks while hitting .271. The last time they had an on-base percentage above this year's was 2001, when it was .336 (577 walks). In 2006, they had a .319 on-base percentage, 395 walks, and batted .268. In 2003, when they also won the NL Central Division, they had a .323 on-base percentage, 492 walks, and hit .259."

ALLEN — November 5, 2007 @ 4:19 pm AZ Phil: What about prorated signing bonuses? Wouldn’t that add about $4-5 million to the payroll? ====================== ALLEN: Signing bonuses are almost always paid immediately, up-front, and in total when a player signs a contract. That's why they're called a "signing bonus." Occasionally a bonus can be spread-out over a specific period of time and/or paid in installments, but that is the exceptioin rather than the rule. However, to determine a club's payroll for luxury tax/revenue sharing purposes, the CBA mandates that signing bonuses be "prorated" over the length of a player's contract, even though they usually aren't actually paid that way. And so when you see a club's "payroll" at the beginning of season, signing bonuses are included (and are prorated) as part of each player's salary. So the "payroll" as it appears in the media isn't really the club's actual payroll. For instance, the Cubs ACTUAL 2007 payroll (including hefty signing bonuses given to Soriano, Ramirez, and Zambrano when they signed their contracts) was $122M. But because signing bonuses are prorated over the length of a player's contract when determining payroll for luxury tax/revenue sharing purposes, the Cubs ADJUSTED 2007 payroll was only $107M (and that includes partial seasons for Izturis, Monroe, Kendall, Trachsel, et al). Going into 2008, the Cubs payroll stands (right now) at $102M, but when the Soriano, Ramirez, and Zambrano signing bonuses are prorated and included that way in the Cubs '08 payroll, it increases to $105M. So to answer your question, the ADJUSTED 2008 payroll (with signing bonuses prorated over the length of each player's contract instead of included as "lump sum" payments made at the time the contract is signed) is $105M, not $102M. But the ACTUAL 2008 payroll (right now) is $102M.

Petitte decline his option, although he said it’s either the Yanks or retirement. Just buys him more time to decide… More time to decide what? If he has a contract as is going to play for that team no matter what, he has until Feb 12th (or whenever mandatory reporting day is) to decide.

If he has a contract as is going to play for that team no matter what, he has until Feb 12th (or whenever mandatory reporting day is) to decide. His agent said that Petitte wanted to free up a spot on the Yankees roster, and that if Petitte decided to come back that they would be able to reach a deal within 24 hours.

E-Man: The Cubs' OBP did improve. But it still didn't rank among the upper half of NL teams. MLB.com writers are shills. C Muskat is arguably the shilliest of the shills. Here's a stat that's more revealing, if you're ready to really lose your breakfast. Since 1945, the Cubs have ranked among the upper half of NL teams in OBP just once ('84). Once!!!! That's our boys!!!

Rob G: Bruce Levine said the payroll will be about 125 mil. Barry Rozner said about 115 mil. Paul Sullivan said about 105 mil. Not one cited an inside source, even an anonymous one. These guys just don't care about accountability and responsible journalism. They just throw stuff out there. In a quote just after we were eliminated, Hendry strongly suggested the payroll would be same or slightly up from '07. Intuitively, that makes sense. This is a lame-duck ownership that already put gigantic, questionable long-term contracts on the books for the next guy. I'm going with Sullivan's 105 estimate. Bruce Miles actually hasn't joined in the guessing game in print, but he told a friend, probably 105-110 range. Hendry should be madly trying to shed Jacque, Dempster contracts. More difficult on Marquis, Eyre, but those too. If he goes way over budget first by signing an impact guy--assuming his bosses would even allow it--then he's put himself in an unfavorable bargaining position on the get-rid-of guys. In other words, the other GM's will know he's over budget and will play harder hardball.

"1945, the Cubs have ranked among the upper half of NL teams in OBP just once (’84)." I didn't look at all of the years, but in '69 they were 5th of 12. In '85 they were 4th of 12. So I am going to go ahead and say you're making things up or mis-informed. That '85 team had a really good offense.

mike — November 6, 2007 @ 10:01 am Since 1945, the Cubs have ranked among the upper half of NL teams in OBP just once (’84). Once!!!! That’s our boys!!! ============================ MIKE: Really? Since 1945, the Cubs have finished in the upper half of the National league in OBP in the following seasons: 1946 1964 1966 1967 1969 1970 1971 1972 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1984 1985 1988 1989 1993 1998 2001

mike — November 5, 2007 @ 6:04 pm Makes me sad and mad to scan that list of overpaids and mediocres. I was hoping we were finally done with Trib and Hendry. This is such a dupe job. All the mix-match talk about Fuld, Pagan, Murton, Jones. Theriot versus Cedeno. How to use Dempster. Pretending Z, Sori, Lee, A Ram are great when they’re not. Hendry’s desperate, mostly dumb spendathon didn’t work. Now we increasingly pay for that. The over-30s get worse, not one star among the youngsters. AzPhil, do you work for the Cubs? It’s the same mindset. The solution on Pie, who can do nothing more in the minors, is to….go back to the minors!!! A little more patience, people!! Hope!!! Optimism!! Yeah, believe in Hendry, who didn’t just get Trax for insurance. He ousted Marshall, the better pitcher. Only the latest hammer to hit you over the head and tell you Hendry isn’t baseball-smart enough. My hope resides not in these chuckleheads, but in the next owner and GM. ============================== MIKE: Do I work for the Cubs? No. I don't work for the Cubs. Here's a better question. Are you retarded? I'm serious. Because you sound like a moron.

what Dave said about Petitte, decide between coming back to the Yanks or retiring. Are we at a point that we're just arguing to argue, Neal?

[...] The Cub Reporter had a great post about what the payroll looks like for the Cubs in 2008 and 2009, courtesy of Arizona Phil. It’s well worth the read. (Source) [...]

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

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

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

  • crunch (view)

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

  • Eric S (view)

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

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

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

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

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

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

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • 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.