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40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Durham Headed to Brewers; Wood Headed to DL?

Submitted by Cubnut on

Milwaukee acquired second baseman Ray Durham from the Giants on Sunday in exchange for Class A outfielder Darren Ford and Triple-A pitcher Steve Hammond. The two teams waited to officially announce the deal until after they had played one another Sunday afternoon at AT&T Park, per the request of Durham, who didn't want to make his Milwaukee debut versus his former mates.

"Personally it was out of respect for the guys in this locker room," Durham said, saying his goodbyes in the Giants' clubhouse. "It really was a stipulation I asked for."

The 36-year-old Durham, hitting .293 AVG / .385 OBP / .414 SLG / 799 OPS could complement and/or replace 25-year-old Rickie Weeks, who is hitting just .218 in 79 games for the Brewers this season with an OPS+ of 82.

Closer to home, Paul Sullivan makes it sound like the Cubs are inching closer to putting Kerry Wood on the DL for the 12th time in his career, owing to ongoing problems with that blister on his right index finger. Sullivan quotes Lou Piniella as saying:

"We're coming to the point where we're going to have to come to a conclusion about what to do."

If the Cubs were to backdate the DL decision to July 12th, Wood would be eligible to get back on the field next Sunday, when the Cubs wrap up their four-game series against the Marlins at Wrigley Field. According to Sullivan, Carlos Marmol will get to wear the closer's hat so long as Wood is unable to pitch. Marmol pitched a perfect ninth to close out the Cubs' 9-0 shutout of Houston on Sunday.

 

Tags
Kerry Wood
NL Central

Comments

Submitted by navigator on Sun, 07/20/2008 - 07:07 pm

That blister dates back to at least July 9th when he was already said to be "nursing" one.

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Submitted by navigator on Sun, 07/20/2008 - 07:53 pm

If Kerry Wood hasn't tried it already he needs to give STAN'S RODEO CREAM a shot at that blister. It was created by former Dodgers' head trainer Stan Johnston who was a rodeo performer when he wasn't working for the Dodgers. It works. Even Peter Gammons has written about it.

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Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:18 am

He should look into this new product I heard about, "Moises Alou's Blister Juice".

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Submitted by Little Nate Lewis on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:41 am

IIRC, Wood used to use super-glue to help his blisters on a short-term basis.

Submitted by Chifan on Sun, 07/20/2008 - 07:28 pm

he has two good outings after 6 weeks of being bad and now Lou is going to give him the most imporant role in the bullpen? What happens if he blows a few saves and goes right back into his 6-week funk? The wiser thing would be to let Howry close for the week since I doubt Wood needs more than that heal a blister he has already had for a week before the DL trip.

Submitted by Mitterwald on Sun, 07/20/2008 - 07:26 pm

I'm all for a trip to the DL, assuming that this is only a bad blister and assuming that he'll be back as soon as he is eligible. The side benefit, which is resting his arm, outweighs the more tangible benefit, which the blister going away.

Submitted by Mitterwald on Sun, 07/20/2008 - 07:33 pm

That article by Sullivan that you linked was horrendous. Ostensibly about Wood going on the DL, he turned it into a story about how Marmol and Zambrano deal with booing. And not only that, the story empowered fans to boo because booing makes good players "mentally tough." Personally, I don't boo.

Submitted by Mister Whipple on Sun, 07/20/2008 - 07:34 pm

I've never understood the ongoing blister problems that some pitchers develop. Don't these blisters turn into callouses? Why on earth aren't pitchers that have been throwing a ball for two decades not immune to develop blisters?

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Submitted by Wes on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:24 am

Agreed. Happens most often to power pitchers mainly because they grip the ball so damn hard. They're almost always on the fingertips, and the outside of the index finger is usually the trouble spot. When you throwing a breaking ball of any kind (sliders in particular), the way you impart spin on the ball can cause some irritation on that outside part of the index finger. Some guys can grip certain breaking balls in a way that the seam can rub against the outside of that finger as you release the pitch. That only compounds the problem. Now I'm no scientist about why callouses don't form there, but they just don't, I guess. I always figured it was because the skin in that area is sensitive and not as thick as in your palm, for instance. Not sure you'd want a callous to form on your fingertips, anyway. Sure, you wouldn't have blister problems, but you'd also lose any feel you had for the baseball. And of course, as crunch eluded to, guys will usually pitch with them until they just can't stand it anymore. They get really, really nasty.

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Submitted by JoePepitone on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:47 am

"Not sure you'd want a callous to form on your fingertips...you'd also lose any feel you had for the baseball." Speaking as a guitarist, you have to form callous on your fingertips to keep the damn strings from killing you -- but after they form, you still have a lot of feel for the strings. In fact, I'd argue that by the time you form a good callous, you have much better feel for the strings, with much more subtle fine control, touch and feel -- but without the pain. On the other hand, the problems with being unable to form callous on the sides of the finger makes sense to me. The fingertips and palm are specifically used for grip and tactile contact. Not so the skin on the side of the fingers. I would also mention that my son had quite a bit of trouble for about a year with sub-cutaneous pain in the middle finger of his throwing hand. It wasn't a matter of blistering on the surface of the skin -- it was pain in the deeper tissues underneath the skin. He had to wear a little rubber tip on his finger for a while (the kind sold in office supply stores for counting paper money, etc. -- for practice, not during games) until the sensitivity went away.

Submitted by Dmac on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:19 am

I don't believe anyone will question Woody's "toughness." The guy could've easily just bagged it last year, after his umpteenth rehab - not to mention coming back to the Cubs at a discount. He really loves this team and this city, as old - fashioned as that sounds these days.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:46 pm

The Cubs and Wrigley Field are for sale. Seven groups sent in opening bids last week, and a real-estate firm made a separate bid for the ballpark. Are we to believe that all these smart businessmen are secretly hoping the Cubs keep up their losing ways? Are we to believe they're hoping 100 years stretches to 110 so they can sell the team and make a huge profit? http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-080720-…

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:23 pm

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=a9cySP4qZygU&refer=… Mark Cuban and John Canning plus Thomas Ricketts, founder of Incapital LLC and whose father is chairman of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; Rocco Landesman, a Broadway theater owner; Don Levin, owner of a minor-league hockey team in Chicago; Jim Anixter, president of A-Z Industries Inc.; and Sports Properties Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition firm that has raised $215 million, are the other groups that submitted bids, the newspaper reported, citing sources it didn't identify. http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2141628120080721 Real estate executive Hersch Klaff is one of the bidders for the Chicago Cubs baseball team in an auction that could top $1 billion, two sources familiar with the process said on Monday. Klaff, president of Chicago-based Klaff Realty LP, heads one of at least 10 groups bidding for the team, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified because the sales process is ongoing. according to the article above, it was 7 groups plus one who just submitted a bid for Wrigley. I would assume Klaff or Sports Properties Acquisition is the one who just bid on Wrigley.

Submitted by Chifan on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:48 pm

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Baseball/article/463960 The article cites a source that says Krivac only goes to games to scout. I dont know why with additions of Harden and Gaudin, Rich Hill finding the strike zone, Brady Quinn's favroite target throwing well in AAA, and 2 other good spot start options in Marshall and Hart already in the MLB pen why they want another SP. I think its more likely he was scouting one of their catchers (Barajas and Zaun), Eckstein, Scutaro, or their bullpen. Of course, he could have been sent as a plant to get Mollaziak to overpay for Burnett if Jimbo thinks he could punk the Cards rookie GM.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:49 pm

can't remember if I read this or heard it on XM radio this morning, but Lou said something that the bullpen is pretty rested and they're going to hold off on putting Wood on the DL to see if the blister clears up.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:28 pm

I see it was already mentioned here by Chifan, very possible that I 3/44'd based on that post and thought I heard or read it somewhere else...

looks like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue 

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Submitted by Chifan on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:26 pm

I dont buy it. In his 4 outings since coming off the DL he has been dominate. Even in his last start he didnt get hit hard it was just Texas Leaguers and falling in love with cutter early in the game, I am not a pitching expert but I thought the cutter is one of the most stressful pitches to throw. I would like to what Wes's take on post-DL Z is.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:41 pm

the last time Z went with the lower arm angle he all sorts of problems with his control. The big concern is that his shoulder is still hurting and he's just compensating for it. Yeah, he might be able to be effective for awhile, but how long?

Just something to keep an eye on... 

Submitted by Jace on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:35 pm

... and now Fonzie is pinch-hit for in his 4th AB. I thought they were going to try to get him 6 or 7 ABs... I hope this doesn't mean that he reagravated anything, though I have to admit that it did occur to me that the only reason he would have walked in his previous AB was if it hurt to swing... Was that wrong?

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Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:25 pm

Since it's his glove hand, it probably gets pretty sore just from playing catch if he happens to catch the ball not perfectly in the webbing. There's not much chance of re-injuring it though. When I broke my third and fourth metacarpals my doctor told me it would actually heal stronger than before as the healing process causes the bone around the break to become thicker. Anyway, when I broke my hand normal movements didn't hurt at all, but any impact to it, like I would imagine a baseball in the glove (or in my case, shaking hands with people) hurt like a bastard. Soriano will be sore for awhile, but unless he takes another fastball off the same spot he's not going to re-injure himself.

Submitted by Jace on Mon, 07/21/2008 - 07:05 pm

Oh, for God's sake... Please tell me that he doesn't show up in the game tonight... I know that we need him, but we need him healthy, not after one rookie-league game of rehab...

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

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  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

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