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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
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Milton Bradley: Foot Meet Mouth

(Hat tip to MLBTR for the link)

This article will do Milton Bradley no favors with the fans or the press that is already trying to poke him with a stick like 10-year olds at a zoo trying to wake up a sleeping lion.

"My agent was saying that Jon Daniels was telling him, 'There are days when he doesn’t want to play because of his health,’ " Bradley said.

"Well, you can get a healthy guy to go out there and play 162 games, but he won’t do what I did in 120."

A bit self-serving as the article notes, but rather perceptive as well for a major league player. But unfortunately he goes on...

"If I’m being paid, and I’ve got the commitment to me that I give to them, you make more of an effort to be out there every day," he said.

"When you’re on one-year deals constantly, you’ve got to put up as good numbers as you can. When you have days where you’re not feeling like you can contribute, you’re not going to go out there, because you’re not going to want your numbers to suck.

"So, if you’re in a situation like I am now, if they want me to go out there when I’m feeling a little banged up, I’ve got no problem doing that because they’ve made the commitment to me."

I imagine there are a lot of baseball players that feel that way and Milton sure isn't worried about what people think of him. But that just isn't going to go over well in a new city and a new fanbase that he's trying to win over. We as fans tend to romanticize the game of baseball and ignore that it's a business and job for the players, but on the other hand, Milton should have probably left that unsaid. And you know the Chicago press will be all over him for that one. The article also mentions...

.... Bradley was prone to sporadically calling in sick, including missing 10 of 11 games in early August as the Rangers lapsed from wild-card contenders to pretenders.

Plus, at the same time when Bradley was randomly removing himself from lineups, Michael Young was playing nearly every day despite having broken fingers on both hands.

Young never complained about Milton. That’s not Michael’s style. But his teammates certainly noticed.

No good shall come of this...

Comments

He might be trying to say he'll actually be more willing to struggle through injuries now that he has the security of a long-term deal. Of course he will during the first year to try to get the third year to vest. If he dogs it the third year, it's the kind of shit to shove back in his face and yell, "Get your ass on the field." But, in March 2009, I actually find this refreshing, as I take it to mean he's here to play baseball and put the team above himself. Of course, Rob is right about one thing - the Chicago media can't wait to sink their teeth into it.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

He might be trying to say he'll actually be more willing to struggle through injuries now that he has the security of a long-term deal.

yeah, that's exactly what he's trying to say, but it's going to come off as he just cares about making money. And if he is on the DL all year and not going to make his option, is he going to keep sitting himself out?

The answer is of course not, but that's kind of what it sounds like. And you know, fans and the press in general just don't take kindly to guys saying they won't play through anything. Shall we not forget Mark Prior's vagina for not pitching through a shoulder tear?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I hope MB and the Cubs tear up the league so badly that he can sit the whole month of September and pretend he is shutting it down. Milton strikes me as a no bullshit kind of a guy, and I can appreciate his brutal honesty. He might need to watch how things come across a bit better, but he obviously doesn't care what anyone else thinks. Think about it - Fuku stunk for the last 4 months of last season, DLee was very average on offense, and the Cubs have majorly upgraded a position with Bradley. If Soto and Theriot don't come crashing back to earth, the Cubs offense should be better than last season, with no real holes to speak of (unless Miles gets 400 ABs, of course). I think we could average about 6 runs per game, if all cylinders are clicking and no one breaks down... Speaking of broke, has anyone heard how Scott Eyre is doing financially?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

On paper, they have improved offense output at 2B (if Fontenot starts) and RF, and no one else has really changed with the switch to move Fuku to CF instead of right. I also think DLee and Fuku will be better than last year, so how is that not improved? I don't think it will take miracles to be better than last year, unless you consider Bradley staying healthy being one...

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

D Lee hitting better constitutes a "minor miracle", imo. The trend for him has been in the other direction. The offense is weaker this year. I hope the contenders in the division are also weak. I hope Harden stays relatively healthy (20+ starts). And I hope Demp continues to defy logic. If those things happen and with a little luck it will be a decent year and we should see some Oct. ball again.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Huh? If Marshall is in the #5 slot, and Harden throws 20+ starts in the #4 slot, and Z, Lilly, and Dempster combine to give the same production as last year, the rotation is better than last year. Fontenot has a very good chance of being at least as good as DeRosa. And Fukudome does not have to be an upgrade over Edmonds. Bradley does. Johnson/Fukudome need to be as good or better than Johnson/Fukudome were last year. Of course, you already know that, but it just doesn't fit within your argument as well.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

why does anyone have to break out? the only breakout players last year were DeRosa and Theriot and I guess Soto. Well Edmonds was a huge surprise, but Bradley should come pretty close to that even in a down year for him. If they keep Reed hitting against lefties, he should do about the same. So the offense I think will give back a little, but they were easily the best in the league last year, so now they may be second. Probably not a big difference...

Pitching-wise, and it's a big if, you 've got Harden for a full season, and you've possibly upgraded from Marquis with Marshall or Heilman. That should easily offset anything Dempster gives back and possibly be a gain. I don't really think Z or Lilly are going to be that much different, although it would never suprise me if Z puts up a monster year.

I think the bench and bullpen are a bit weaker, but it's minor. Bullpens are tough to predict as is...

And I'm not predicting 97 wins like last year, but around the 90 mark.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

You guys are falling in the trap of thinking this season will be a video game. To repeat last season we are having to hope that 1. Milton Bradley plays more than 90 games 2. Rich Harden stays relativly healthy 3. Ryan Dempster defies all evidence and is the Demp of 2008 4. Lee,Aramis and Soriano all avoid the injury bug again 5. Lilly or Z stay healthy as well 6. Miles and Fontenot equal Mark DeRosa 7. Reed Johnson and Fukudome can replace both Edmonds and the 70-100 games that Milton Bradley misses I'm not saying that none of these will happen. But to think they all will is a little bit wishful.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

well yes to repeat 97 wins, then all of those have to happen. Actually if all of those happen, they'll probably top 100 wins since they'll have Harden for a full season and Bradley healthy for most of the year.

Since I said I think they'll win around 90 games, I'm not expecting them all to happen. 7 less wins is pretty significant, it's just the Cubs have a huge cushion.

if bradley's gonna be that brutally honest about something so stupid why wouldn't he follow through on not "calling it in"? he could have avoided it totally, but owned up to it and laid out his plan for the future. don't make it cool...or take away from the fact he now has a "history" of doing it...or make him a warmer/fuzzier classic cubbie scrapper...but the guy just put his own neck on the line. i just hope it doesn't turn into some "thing" the first time he's being held out more than 1 game for rest/minor-injury. that should be interesting.

although I never really followed WSux uproars, this reminds me of Frank Thomas who also was reknown by putting his foot in his mouth on several occasions. Frank never could avoid saying stupid stuff to the Chicago media. It's not like Bradley really meant to create an uproar. I'm sure if he realized the implications of how he was answering the question he could have worded things more pc. Explanation #1: He probably wants more "respect" than he's ever got before. I'm not sure MB even knows what that really means although $$ certainly is a part of the equation. So these one year deals, year after year, especially knowing that many of these years ended badly with injuries. This has made him somewhat of a vagabond...hopefully, until now. And as a one year hire and knowing his history of fragility, he probably was nervous every time his body acted up and instinctively went into cautious mode. Note that the last paragraph is chock full of bullshit. I'll leave it up to someone else to provide a better politically correct explanation. Dan Hampton he's not.

wtf is with the netherlands team...they're in the 7th with a 0-0 game. they keep marching out crappy pitching and shutting teams down that should be plowing through them.

It's amazing what playing good baseball will do for you at Wrigley. Look at what happened to Jim Edmonds, largely considered a huge douche until he started belting XBH & HR and played a decent CF. Like jacos said (or eluded to), I don't think what Bradley says is as important as what he does.

Piniella said he plans to skip his fifth starter (probably Sean Marshall) the first time through the rotation because of a day off between the first two series. That means Zambrano and Dempster will pitch in that early Milwaukee series.

bet you it's Rich Harden that is getting skipped...

I'm sure the Chicago media (and national, probably ESPN) will be all over this and BCB-type Cubs "fans" might be pissed, but honestly, who cares? If you haven't figured out these guys are in it for the money (at least partly) and value their own worth based on how much they're getting paid, you're not paying attention. As someone said, this is at least honest and thus a little refreshing. Keep your head on straight, Milton, keep your ass on the field, and things will go swimmingly.

Who would've thought a team full of windmill-style pitchers could beat the Dominicans? So here's the formula for underdog success in international competition: clogs instead of spikes, pot instead of steroids, and the most famous player should be best known for a hit on an Italian sausage.

If MB has his career year with the Cubs, he can personally get in my face and call me a pansy loser secret Cardinals fan, for all I care -- I'll still have a man crush on the guy.

Well those quotes pretty much sum up what i have said about Bradley. Biggest fucking pussy in baseball. The very fact that he thinks he is more valuable over 120 games than someone who plays 162 shows how stupid, lazy, and full of crap he is.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Last I checked the season doesn't end after 120 games, baseball is played over a 162 games. There is nothing valuable about a guy who is slated as a starter and only "feels" like playing 120 games. Hell he didn't even have to play defense in Texas and still he wasn't up to playing. What is it going to be like when he actually has to carry his lazy ass to the OF each half inning? You might be lucky if he gets 300 AB's.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

you gotta balance your prediction with the fact the guy just came out and offered all of this up. no, it's not patting on the head for telling the truth, so it's not about that... he had no reason to go in the direction he went in, no reason to offer up that wealth of information about the situation, or even "come clean" about anything. he just gave up what was his truth (like it or not) and proclaimed his own view and resolution. he kinda "dropped a bomb" vs. what many many many others would say in his situation and it's not like if he didn't say anything players and GMs were lining up to call him out. it don't make everything fine, but it is what it is...

Calling out Milton Bradley, a player that hasn't had an at bat? Is someone seeking a scape goat for the DeRosa trade? I live in DFW area and attended several Rangers games. The Rangers were in the Wild card until late August due to all the freakin' runs they could score. Bradley was very much a part of that as any TR last year. The losing streak that got them out of contention was due to injuries to Blalock and Kinsler at key times that were blamed for the collapse, that plus the season long lack of pitching. While I'm sure Bradley got tired of losing 12-8 after leading 7-2, etc. Losing like that became an every day experience, and Ron Washington was in great danger of losing his job. The Rangers (read: Nolan Ryan) now are paying Mike Maddox (former Brewer) a lot of money to turn the staff around and that's where the major changes have been made. Nobody is calling out Bradley for last year. Nobody. Bradley is still liked here and for the most part fans and media wish he would have stayed. The only other thing that prevented him from a monster season here, IMO, is the stupid, idiotic, dumb, horrendous, stinko DH rule in the American league, altho (to his credit) it gave him a paycheck while his knee was healing. So he's giving an honest answer as to why he had 200 less AB's than Hamilton. So what? Everyone else did too, except Young. He's gonna have a good year, and D Lee will respond with one of his best, and Aramis will be MVP...put that in your archives and smoke it. Now, let's give Aaron Miles a chance, too, shall we?

[ ]

In reply to by artskoe

This is a great quote because at one point it makes the arguement when the going gets tough, Milton Bradley goes into "Operation Shutdown." When his team was dealing with serious injuries Bradley could have stepped up and played instead he called in sick with the sniffles or whatever. People are missing one major factor of his contract. I keep hearing over and over that he needs to play to get his vesting 3rd year option. Mmmmmm no he doesn't. His contract 3rd year kicks in only if he spends less than 75 days on the DL. But for people that don't know a thing about Bradley is that he has made a career of going weeks without stepping on the field and not going on the DL. He is a master of the "day to day" injury. Remember he missed 42 games last year with only 1 short DL stint in April(i think). The rest of the games he missed he was never placed on the DL. He can easily come in under the 75 days on the DL in the 2 years and still only get 300-400 AB's a year. He is gonna get his $30 million and he is going to do it by playing the least amount of games he possibly can. You can pretty much bank on that, that is what his entire career has centered around. Getting paid by doing the least amount of work and effort to get it.

[ ]

In reply to by artskoe

I'm with you on this, artskoe... Let's not throw everyone under the bus before the season even kicks off! Bradley will be an upgrade over Edmonds (IMO) Fontenot will be an upgrade over DeRosa (IMO) All the other 6 starting positions are the same guys as last year, so assuming the 6 as whole play as well as last year (some guys better, some guys worse), you lose nothing there. Hoffpauir is an upgrade over Ward. Miles is serviceable. Gathright is not an offensive juggernaut, but he would be the same as Pie (defense, PR, bunting). Backup C is worse, but who gives a shit? Keep in mind that the division as a whole is worse than last season, with no Sheets and CC, so MY OPINION is that we'll be as good offensively against lesser opponents as we were last year. No one can predict injuries or how long/hard a guy is going to play, so this is all semantics anyways. We may not win 97 games again because we could (if things go well) be resting a lot of guys come September. Let's see how it all plays out, shall we? I like discussing different points of view without being called a 'tard, so thanks to those of you who can control yourselves...

So we really have people here who think Fontenot can approach DeRo's 2008 season? Or are we talking about his 2007 and previous years? Because I don't see any way Fontenot approaches the DeRo of last year, and I like the guy.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

If Fontenot can put up nearly the same numbers as DeRo, but do it batting left handed, doesn't that actually make him better than DeRosa? I mean, from the left side of the plate. Come on. DeRo can't do that. ps. Actually a big Fontenot supporter. He'll do just fine. The offense will be just fine regardless of where Lee hits, too. It's all going to come down to how many healthy starts the team gets from Z, Lilly, Dempster, Marshall, Harden, and Heilman, and how few starts they need Gaudin, Atkins, Wells, Guzman, and miscellaneous others to make. 87 wins takes the division (it would be fewer, except everyone gets to play the Pirates).

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

fontenot is/was a 1-position (2nd) guy with a "boring" middle IF bat with developing power. he puts the ball in play and doesn't take a lot of walks. granted, his power probably taps out around the 20HR area, but 2nd base hasn't been an issue the past few years so he's been lingering in pinch hit and AAA/majors roles. he's nothing special...not trash. he's added more muscle to his frame the past 2 years, too, fwiw.

I'm a proud Dutch-American today...go Big Orange. Also, sorry to be slightly OT, but so much of this thread reminds me of some Seinfeld dialogue: FG: They still have no pitching. Gooden's a question mark. ...You don't recover from those rotator cuffs so fast. JS: I'm not worried about their best pitching. They got pitching. ...They got no hitting. FG: No hitting? They got hitting! Bonilla, Murray. ...They got no defense. JS: Defense? Please. ...They need speed. FG: Speed? They got Coleman. ...They need a bullpen. JS: Franco's no good? ...They got no team leaders. FG: They got Franco! ...What they need is a front office. JS: But you gotta like their chances. FG: I LUV their chances.

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