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

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Last updated 4-17-2024
 
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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
 




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Ryan Dempster to the Bullpen?

Submitted by Rob G. on

This is just me speculating on what the Cubs will do on Saturday when Ted Lilly returns to the rotation. The most likely option is still either Tom Gorzelanny or Carlos Silva with odds favoring Gorzelanny heading to the pen as Lilly just replaces another lefty. And then either James Russell or Jeff Samardzija going back to Iowa, although someone in the pen still has a week to get their ticket punched.

Lou did not commit to it being Gorzelanny or Silva as of yesterday, even if that's the most likely scenario:

``I didn't say that. I never said that. You all [media] can say what you want. All I said basically is that somebody's got to leave the rotation to go into the bullpen. That's all I said.''

So then that opens the door for someone struggling like Carlos Zambrano, but he's being paid the most and hasn't pitched out of the pen in like 8 years. And Z doesn't seem like the character that would be too thrilled with the move. Plus, if you're actually trying to fix the pen, wouldn't the idea be to put someone back there who is actually pitching well?

So are Randy Wells or Ryan Dempster options? Most likely not, but Wells - as Arizona Phil noted - spent the bulk of his minor league career as a reliever including finishing 26 games. It was 2007 that he last saw regular work out of the pen with a handful of relief appearances in 2008. And then there's Dempster, the Cubs closer from 2005-2007 who racked up 87 nerve-wracking saves and coined the term, "The Ryan Dempster Experience". Nonetheless, he does have the most experience in late-inning situations and he certainly does seem like a different pitcher over the last two years that I for one, believe he'd probably do a lot better and help stabilize the troublesome pen. It probably wouldn't even be a permanent move, just something until the next injury or a trade can materialize. And Dempster seems to have the personality to go along with what might be best for the team (as I'm sure Wells would).

It's not something I envision happening and it would be more of a short-term solution to try and help the team gain some confidence and hopefully go on a nice run. And undoubtedly Dempster the starter is far more valuable, but if he could go 2 innings at a time every few days after being stretched out as a 200+ inning starter, that's certainly something the Cubs could use right now if they're looking for short-term fixes.

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Ryan Dempster
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Comments

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:33 pm

Castro hits his first home run of the season... Rockies president found dead in his hotel room in Utah some "name" pitcher tested positive for PED, could be announced today, apparently not from NY, but sounds like the NL http://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/12527621296

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Submitted by jacos on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:41 pm

"some "name" pitcher tested positive for PED, could be announced today" Maybe it's Z and this whole starter to bullpen stuff works itself out.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:50 pm

Thanks for signaling that the Smokies had an early game today. Another happy minor-league box score to read. The Smokies sure bunch a lot of hits at the top of their batting order. Probably not coincidentally, they lead the league in runs and wins. The Cubs . . . don't. First homer, but Castro is tied for the league lead in RBI at 12.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:40 pm

Check out Theriot's splits last year. He had 64 at bats with two or three men on base. He produced 14 hits, for a BA of .219. With the bases loaded he hit .188 (3 for 16). I think that he gets out of his comfort zone when he tries to go into RBI mode. Not that he's comfortable being a leadoff hitter, either. "Nobody wants to lead the league in singles." He doesn't do the pesky little things that leadoff hitters have to do (like laying down a bunt) to avoid going 0 for 4 and 0 for 5.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:31 pm

After he led the league in 2008, he was interviewed about it, and remarked that "Nobody wants to lead the league in singles." That's just Theriot. A lot of guys would be happy to lead the league in singles. But they're leadoff hitters.

Submitted by jacos on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:38 pm

Silva to the bullpen, did it earlier in his career. Don't need anymore lefty's in bullpen. Shocking news about Rockie's pres.

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:40 pm

I've read now in a few articles the last few days the Cubs say that the long term plan for Russell is as a starter. So my guess is that Gorz goes to the pen and Russell goes down. I'd like to see Samardzija go down as well and Diamond come up. Or maybe Zambrano is the big name suspended and no one goes down.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:41 pm

while Gorz and Silva have pitched well, they also had the luxury of 2 poor offenses in Cinci and Houston...well poor imo. Z has gotten Atlanta, Reds and Milwaukee...and pitched (mostly) well against the Reds.

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Submitted by Jace on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:50 pm

I don't see why that would rule out Z, unless you think that he is a "big" name. I certainly don't think he is a "big" name. He has always had "big" potential but he's proven to be way too much of a head case to actually be "big". I think that, at best, he is "semi-big".

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Submitted by Jace on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:06 pm

I remain concerned that it could very well be Z. I am especially suspicious of foreign-born players, especially those that go back to their foreign countries during the off-season. Many PEDs are not illegal at all in many countries, and I have read many accounts of how easy it would be for players to do cycles of these in the offseason, and then stop well before training camp in order to get them out of their system. Until I see who it is, I will be concerned.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:19 pm

good to see the Cubs near the top in something though The New York Mets organization had the most players suspended in that four-year span (16), followed by the Chicago Cubs (13) and St. Louis Cardinals (12). The Marlins were in the middle of the pack with six. At the major league level, only nine players on 25-man rosters were caught, each one from a different team.

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:46 pm

Updates on the PED issue say its a semi-big name but not a big name. This is just totally my speculation, but it might be Marquis. It wouldn't surprise that he would take something, and him finding out about the positive test might explain his terrible start the other day.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:19 pm

I like the Z to the pen idea. Maybe he will focus a bit more in short stints. It's hard to believe I am saying this, but Silva hasn't done anything to merit being "demoted" - he does tend to throw strikes, which is nice.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:52 pm

i'd love to see that in the cubs bleachers. a crew of 20-30 year olds un-distracted by the game on the field would rip out the TV monitors to beat each other over an argument over which cubs player was the crappiest and which one of them is more homosexual than the other.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:31 pm

I liked what you said in an earlier post about just having guys who play good fundamental baseball and surround them with 2 guys who can smack the shit out of the ball. Although, there are not a lot of Pujols in the world. Pujols is actually my worst nightmare. I hate the Cardinals almost obsessively and he comes along. I would probably be okay with a dirty nuke in St. Louis, that's how bad it is.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:25 pm

confirmed that he starts suspension now http://twitter.com/jcrasnick so what's the deterrent for PED use if you're having major surgery and a lengthy recovery?

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:37 pm

it's sick he's even involved in baseball. MLB shows us all these roids commercials..well, the same 2 for the past 10 years...and what they deliver is the continued hiring of the players. ...now they're in charge of coaching youth...and getting standing O's... jason giambi could teach kids something, himself, when he gets finished with his continued employment in the game.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:13 pm

Volquez statement: Dominican doctor prescribed medication to help me and my wife start a family. Those meds were also an MLB-banned drug

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Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:42 pm

Agreed....Soriano needs to pull his head out of his ass. However, a bigger story might be Ramirez hitting like Mick Kelleher, and the bullpen putting out fires like Mel Rojas. Soriano's lack of hustle is nothing new...it's just exacerated by his horrible defense and increase in swinging at every breaking ball in the dirt. Yeah...he's hitting a little better..but meh...

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Submitted by navigator on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:03 pm

To me his swing looks a lot more loose, "loopy".
I don't think you're imagining it. There's a loop at the back of his swing right now. He might be timing the ball okay but the super-slo-mo on HD showed him swinging on a different plane than the ball was on, time after time.

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Submitted by Sweet Lou on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:13 pm

You were correct then and you are correct now. The only thing I'll add is that Soriano had some goodwill built up over the years. Him sucking in 2009 could be somewhat forgiven because he had been an important part of two playoff teams in the two previous years. Milton Bradley didn't have any goodwill built up with Cubs fans. In fact, he came loaded down with baggage. There was no forgiving Bradley for his transgressions. I think Soriano's goodwill account has about run dry. He'd better start building it up again quick if he doesn't want fans to completely turn on him.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:18 pm

soriano's "goodwill" was just a bunch of words, anyway. people put so much value on those who accept blame, but so little value on what they're gonna do now that they've accepted that blame. it's easy to accept blame or give yourself a peg-down, but hard to follow-up on it...it's harder when no one holds you accountable and it's up to you to actually get it done.

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Submitted by Sweet Lou on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:24 pm

Crunch -- I don't agree. In fact, until Soriano said something about Bradley last year, I don't think I ever even heard him speak. The goodwill I was thinking about was his on-field play in 2007 and 2008. I think it also helped that Soriano joined the Cubs after his terrific seasons in Washington. Unfortunately, being a 40/40 man in Washington and then helping the Cubs to two consecutive playoffs only buys you so much forgiveness. Fans are no longer in the mood to accept his shoddy defense and him admiring fly balls that stay in the ball park.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:25 pm

Soriano said something interesting the other day, now that the media is obsessed with his death spiral. He said, "baseball is a hard game." Look. I know he makes scads of money. More in one day probably than I make in a week and I have a good job. But this isn't fucking Russia. We're supposed to like it when people reach the pinnacle of a profession, and Soriano has. How many MLBers are there. Fuck this booing bullshit. Just let him end his career here with some dignity and hope to got the Wrigleys -- I mean, the Ricketts, find a way to eat his contract. Jeesus fucking christ sometimes I think some of you have actually played the game on a professional level. PS not meant for Sweet Lou OR Crunch. Just a general diatribe.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:23 pm

lulz... felix pie gets injured, l.montanez gets recalled. today the o's sign corey patterson to a minor league deal. awesome.

Submitted by Paul Noce on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:31 pm

Sending Dempster to the pen makes no sense for tons of reasons. One, he was shit as a reliever. Two, having a reliever who makes $12-14 mil per year is insane. Three, he's actually been good as a starter, much better than we can expect Gorz to be, so move Gorz to the pen and send Russell down and be done with it. - On another note, allowing cheating drug offenders to serve their suspensions while on the DL is complete bullshit. That's no punishment at all. It's just more proof that Selig and MLB doesn't give a damn about cheating. I still say the best punishment for drug cheaters is to cut their arms and legs off. No suspensions necessary.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:39 pm

it makes some sense if they actually want to improve the pen, but it is bloody unlikely. But if criteria is past performance in the role, Gorz is sporting a 6.88 ERA as a reliever in his career. And if I kept track of my arguments, you believe Dempster is an overpaid starter living off one good season, so you probably wouldn't mind seeing him out of the role.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:38 pm

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/04/brenly-rips-into-soriano-d… "He called me because some media asked the question, 'Why didn't I run?'" Soriano said. "But I explained to him why. I could've made third, but I don't want to make the second out at third either." I take it all back about Soriano being selfish. He's clearly just stupid. (for those that didn't catch it, the rule of thumb is don't make the first or third out at third base). Piniella said he told Soriano: "'When you hit the ball, even if you might think it's a home run, leave the box, and when you recognize it is a home run for sure, then you can go into your trot." Awesome that this little league rule, needs to be explained to your highest paid player (need to be telling Aramis the same thing fwiw).

Submitted by Cubster on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:20 pm

Zambrano 80 pitches thru 4 innings. at least it's easy to do the math for how many pitches/inning he's at... and Pelfrey is coming off of his save (the Mets only save on the year) and now is working on a no hitter, geez.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:13 pm

9 SB's by the Rangers tonight off Wakefield/V. Martinez through 6 innings

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Submitted by W Flag on Wed, 04/21/2010 - 04:35 pm

Yeah, I'm perfectly okay with signing him. He can't pitch any worse than the bullpen has already. Maybe bringing a veteran relief guy back into the fold to maybe solidify the front end of the bullpen, if he comes cheap, it absolutely makes sense. If they try to start him though, I'll be thoroughly angered. If you kick out Gorzo and Silva, for frickin Looper, I might give up on being a Cubs fan. The first situation wouldn't anger me at all though.

Recent comments

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  • Sonicwind75 (view)

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  • Childersb3 (view)

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  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

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  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

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  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

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  • Childersb3 (view)

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