Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

AZL Cubs Conclude 2010 Season With Victory

Scoring a run in the bottom of the 7th to take the lead and then seven more in the bottom of the 8th to put the game away, the AZL Cubs closed out their 2010 Arizona League season by coasting past the AZL A's 11-4 at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa Sunday night.

box score

RHP (and ex-3B) Charles Thomas made his second AZL game appearance as a pitcher in tonight's game, throwing one scoreless inning (16 pitches - 12 strikes) and striking out two (both swinging). Thomas is no stranger to the mound, having been used as a "two-way" combination 3B/RHRP at Edward Waters College prior to being selected by the Cubs in the 10th round of the 2009 Rule 4 Draft. At 6'4 230+, Thomas is a load. He looks a bit like Lee Smith, and he throws just about as hard, too. He has good command of the strike-zone  and he looks like he knows what he's doing out there. The son of a high-ranking U. S. Naval officer, Thomas spent most of his first two seasons in pro ball playing 3B, where he hit 244/297/357 in 88 games (342 PA) combined between the AZL Cubs (2009) and Peoria (2010), before getting sent down to Mesa from Peoria and making the move to the mound about a month ago.    

In AZL Cubs roster news, RHP Tarlandus Mitchell (groin strain) has completed his rehab with the AZL Cubs and has rejoined Boise. and RHP Dallas Beeler (2010 41st round draft pick out of Oral Roberts U.) and RHP (ex-C) Alvaro Sosa have been moved up to Boise from the AZL Cubs, with more promotions possible tomorrow, what with the AZL season having concluded while Boise continues to play for another week. Beeler had TJS in 2009 and hadn't pitched much when he was selected by the Cubs in a lower round in this past June's draft, but he got an "overslot" bonus ($150,000) to sign. From what I have seen of him, he can throw three pitches for strikes, and he's a lot more polished than I would have expected for a guy who missed so much time over the past year.  

The AZL Cubs finished the 2010 season 26-29, good for third place in the AZL East, 8-1/2 games behind the 1st place AZL Giants. The AZL Giants will advance into the AZL playoffs, playing the AZL Reds (AZL Wild Card) in a one-game playoff tomorrow night in Scottsdale to determine which team advances to the AZL Championship game Tuesday night against the winner of tomorrow night's game pitting the AZL Rangers (AZL North champion) against the AZL Brewers (AZL West champs) in Maryvale. 

The 2010 AZL Cubs were not your typical Cubs offensive unit, leading the AZL in walks(!) and finishing 3rd in batting average and 4th in stolen bases, but only 10th in triples, and 11th in doubles and Home Runs, in a twelve-team league. The 2010 AZL Cubs were the epitome of an "opportunistic" offense, using walks, stolen bases, bunts, opponent's errors and mistakes, and situational hitting to score runs in drips and drabs (and watching this team was a bit like watching paint dry, too). Tonight's game was a perfect example, as the Cubs took advantage of seven walks, four errors, five wild pitches, and a passed ball, combined with ten singles (and no extra-base hits), to plate 11 runs.

Cubs 2009 5th round pick SS Wes Darvill (Canadian Junior National Team - Langley BC) is the most improved player, and 2B Pin-Chieh Chen is the best player down here who hasn't been promoted to Boise. (Darvill actually was demoted from Boise to AZL Cubs in July, at which point he started to play with confidence), and I would expect the Cubs to move them along together, just as they are doing with Hak-Ju Lee and Logan Watkins. Oddly, Chen has a shortstop's range and a strong arm, but it's scatter-gun so it plays better at 2B. while Darvill has a Ryan Theriot type arm that would probably be a better fit at 2B, but Darvill just plays better and with more confidence when he plays SS. Like Logan Watkins, Chen is a slap hitter and an outstanding bunter, but he needs to work on his base-stealing technique. Darvill looks like he might develop some power as his body matures (he's not there yet, but he's only 18), but he already can steal bases with ease. Both Darvill and Chen are very patient hitters (especially Darvill), and both are not afraid to go deep in the count and take a walk.     

Another player who improved a lot during the course of the AZL season is 3B Dustin Geiger (Cubs 2010 24th round pick out of Merritt Island HS - Brevard County, FL). Drafted as a RF after playing 3B in HS, Geiger insisted on being allowed to remain at 3B before he would sign (he had accepted a scholarship to Central Florida and was expected to be a "tough sign"), and it looks like he knows himself pretty well. He has very good reactions to balls hit to 3rd base, and he has a plus-arm (a real cannon), too. If Josh Vitters could play 3B as well as Geiger does right now, the Cubs would not even be thinking about moving him to 1B. Geiger looks like he could develop HR power eventually, because he has plus-bat speed (he just needs to learn to elevate his swing a bit and maybe turn on inside pitches). He could really benefit from the coaching he'll get at the AZ Instructional League.

RHP Austin Reed (2010 12th round pick out of Rancho Cucamonga HS - Rancho Cucamonga, CA) is probably the top pitching prospect who finished the AZL season in Mesa. Reed's older brother Addison is the #1 starter at San Diego State and most scouts figured Austin would follow his brother to SDSU out of HS, but the Cubs enticed him with an over-slot bonus, and it looks like they got a good one. Reed has problems with his mechanics from time-to-time, but when he's got his release point & arm slot in the right places, he has electric stuff and is virtually unhittable. Looks like he might be another another Nick Struck.

Comments

Very intersting article. Looks like the organization dosen't show great interest in finding guys with power. Seems like most of the contenders all have a couple left handed hitting bashers in the middle of the lineup-the exception being the Rays. AZ Phil for GM! Chuck

Orlando Hernandez left Double-A Harrisburg on Sunday after he was told that he was not going to join the Nationals in September. "He asked me directly: 'Will I be a September call-up?' and I said, 'No, but we want you to finish out the season.' And he said, 'No, I'm not going to,'" ----------- cold...

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

I don't have a problem with Castro and Colvin, who have out-performed a lot of the higher salaried guys. Samardzija is not cheap. The Cubs are paying him $3 million. I think you can criticize the Cubs for a lot of things, but not for being unable to spend money. You can criticize them for not spending it wisely, but not for not spending. They've shed some contracts, but they're still up there in terms of total spend. Frankly, when the wheels fall of, as they have, I think it makes sense to look at what you have in the minors.

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In reply to by Dr. aaron b

As if those were the only two options this year... The truth is, Ricketts and Hendry went cheap with a major market team and this is the result. Another disastrous record and EMPTY SEATS up the wazzoo. They knew they were slow and weak defensively, they knew or should have known Lou quit on the team last year and shouldn't have been brought back, they knew Derrek Lee was in the last year of his contract, they knew Aramis wasn't near 100%, and they knew the glaring hole in team was middle relief.... But all was not bad. They were the beneficiaries of outstanding starting pitching --near the top of the league in quality starts, Silva shocked, Colvin slugged out of his mind, Alfonso Soriano returned to reasonable form, Geo picked up where he left off his rookie year, Castro and Byrd are contending for the batting title, and Fukudome is looking like the player he was supposed to be. All these riches have been turned into absolutely nothing primarily because the Cubs didn't sign Matt Capps and give him the closer job, didn't tell Marmol he was most valuable as the bullpen fireman and setup pitcher (jobs he continues to do besides close by the way), and didn't keep Sean Marshall for middle relief and spot starts. Instead, Ricketts and Hendry put their hopes in an old manager who quit on them for the second year in a row, in sore armed relief pitchers who developed ...sore arms, and ultimately a raft of not ready for primetime minor league pitching untalent.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 08/31/2010 - 3:37pm. via paul sully "Welington Castillo is up in case Geo has to go on DL, but won't be activated today." ============================================ CRUNCH: Which doen't make any sense if Castillo isn't activated for tonight's game, because beginning tomorrow rosters expand to 40 and nobody would have to go on the DL. If Soto's knee is too sore to catch and Castillo is in Chicago, then Castillo should be activated today (8/31). If the Cubs don't want to place Geovany Soto on the DL because they think he can return to action fairly soon but also don't want to go into tonight's game with just one healthy catcher, they can bring up a catcher and option Casey Coleman to Daytona prior to the game (the D-Cubs have one slot open on their roster), with Coleman physically remaining in Chicago, and then the Cubs can recall him from the optional assignment next Monday (Daytona's last game is Sunday, and they are unlikely to make the FSL playoffs). Because of Thursday's off day, the Cubs won't need a 5th starter until next Tuesday.

statistical twins: Soriano: BA .259 OBP.316 SLG.510 OPS.826 Colvin: BA.258 OBP.317 SLG.510 OPS.826 Soriano: BB/PA .073 Colvin: BB/PA .075 Soriano: 5 steals 1 CS Colvin: 5 steals, 1 CS Soriano strikes out about 23% of his PAs. Colvin about 26% (they are first and second on the team in this statistic). Colvin hits ground balls more frequently than Soriano does.

Samardzija has given up 11 earned runs in four innings tonight. This was the suspended game where the I-Cubs were up 4-0 in the first. This type of performance is why you want to see these guys in pressure situations.

Phil - You are way too smart to be involved with anything regarding the Cubs! I love it! There is no way Hendry (who I am a supporter of) can figure out how to send Coleman to Daytona!!!! Thanks for your last two articles - I am finding myself spending hours looking over them both!

some pathetic douche dove into the CF shrubs to snag a PIT HR ball...and is now being promptly removed from the park. actually, being down 11-2 in the 6th to PIT is pathetic.

After losing 11-10 to Albuquerque in the suspended game where Jeff Samardzija gives up 11 ER, the Iowa Cubs rally to win the regularly scheduled game 8-6, as Marquez Smith blasts two homer runs and an RBI single. Memphis lost their game, so Iowa leads Memphis by one game with six to play in the PCL American North.

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In reply to by Paul Noce

Submitted by Paul Noce on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 10:24am. I'm heading out to Kane County tonight to see Peoria take on the Cougars. I want to see Hak-Ju Lee. Anyone else down there I should pay close attention to? Brett Wallach just started on the 29th, so he won't be going tonight. ==================================================== PAUL N: SS Hak-Ju Lee is one of the Cubs Top 5 prospects, and 1B Justin Bour, 3B Matt Cerda, LF D. J. Fitzgerald, OF Jae-Hoon Ha, and 2B Logan Watkins are all legitimate prospects to some extent, though maybe not Top 15 prospects. Bour is a big dude left-handed hitter who is developing a power stroke, Cerda is a VERY patient hitter who knows the strike zone better than most of the A-ball umpires do, and if he develops fully all the way down the line he will likely morph into a Blake DeWitt type player, Fitzgerald is a good pure hitter, but he probably doesn't have enough power to play LF at the higher levels and he is a defensive liability no matter where he plays, Ha is an athletic defender and very good (but also hyper-aggressive) hitter with power, and Watkins is another athletic kid with speed (former HS QB) who can play 2B-SS-CF. Among the pitchers still at Peoria, LHP Austin Kirk is the best one, a tough-as-nails lefty with power K-stuff (his father played in the NFL, BTW).

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In reply to by Paul Noce

Well the game didn't go well for Peoria, they lost 7-0. Carlos Silva made a rehab start and looked pretty good, holding Kane County down until a big 3 run hr. Silva lasted 4 2/3. Then Robinson Lopez came in, the main pitcher in the DLee trade. He was throwing hard but I couldn't see the MPH scoreboard because a light tower was in my way. It didn't matter though, Lopez was rocked with a capitol R. Liner after liner. Kane County beat him around for a couple of innings until he left. Hak-Ju Lee was impressive. He had a nice line drive swing and all four balls he hit were up the middle. He looks like he has a nice arm but there weren't many balls hit to him. He's fast. Logan Watkins looked impressive defensively, making a couple of very nice plays at second base. He looks so tiny, though. Jae-Hoon Ha was in RF has a very strong arm and looked impressive. Those were really the only guys to stand out.

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In reply to by Paul Noce

I've been impressed with Jae-Hoon Ha. Last night he was 3 for 5 including a double that was crushed off the left-field wall. His average is up to .324 and he has surprising power. He doesn't steal much, but has very good speed. He plays RF and has the arm for it, but his speed seems to be a more natural fit for CF. I believe he was a catcher in high school, but AZPhil indicated that he was VERY raw! Lee has been solid at SS despite the elevated error total (33). He has virtually no power, but does tend to spray liners to all fields. He has plus speed, but his SB attempts seem to be on the decline (only 2 SB attempts in last 10 games despite .390 OBP). Honestly, I have been disappointed with Logan Watkins and DJ Fitzgerald. Watkins has plus speed, but little else to offer offensively. Fitzgerald swings the bat well at times, but appears completely overmatched at others. I sincerely hope that DJ gets it figured out, but I have my doubts.

that memphis loss snapped a 7 game win streak; good to cool them a bit before the showdown in des moines over the long weekend...carpenter pitches the opener for the i-cubs friday night; hasn't looked good since the call-up...

from the trib: Hendry was in Albuquerque on Tuesday to watch Triple-A Iowa and to begin the managerial interview process with manager Ryne Sandberg, so he didn't have to witness the drubbing.

Once Daytona is eliminated in the Florida State League, several of their players (Lemahieu, Flaherty, Ridling, and/or Brenly) could be moving up to Tennessee, with some accompanying movement from Tennessee to Iowa (Campana, Guyer, B. Jackson, M. Spencer, and/or T. Thomas), and then the Cubs can bring some players up from Iowa, even if the I-Cubs are still alive in the PCL.

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

Interesting idea, Phil, but the positions don't fit. You're replacing Tennessee outfielders with infielders from Daytona. At this point, I would leave Tennessee and Iowa the way they are, see how they do the rest of the way. At 82-51, the Smokies have the third best record in the minor leagues, behind the Midwest League (low-A, Dodgers) Great Lakes Loons, 85-48, and the International League (AAA, Rays) Durham Bulls, 85-52. At 79-59, the I-Cubs have the best record in the 16-team PCL. At some point, many of these players will have to come to Chicago and learn how to lose, but there's no reason to rush it.

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In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Back in September 2005, Ryan Theriot was brought up to Chicago from AA West Tenn while the DiamondJaxx were in the middle of the SL playoffs, when Ronny Cedeno went on the DL with a broken thumb and the Cubs were down to just one healthy SS. Somebody asked Theriot (who was West Tenn's starting SS) if he would have rather stayed in West Tenn and help the Jaxx win the Southern League championship rather than come up to Chicago just to sit on the bench on a team that was out of contention, and The Riot replied "Are you nuts? I'd rather be in Chicago." So if the Cubs need back-up help at 3B or catcher or some other position, Jim Hendry is not going to think twice about disrupting the chemistry of the Iowa Cubs or the Tennessee Smokies if it means helping the Chicago Cubs, even if the Cubs are going nowhere. No matter how well they are playing, minor league clubs are always first & foremost slaves to the parent MLB club.

Why was Gorzelanny pulled after 2.2 innings?

another double switch (soriano left last time)...awesome quade. this time baker is in at 3rd, barney moves to 2nd, and dewitt is out. im really starting to question how he handles this team beyond keeping everyone comfortable and loose. there's been a lot of screwy substitutions, pinch hitting, lineups, and exits, imo.

OK- maybe it's time to admit that the Jeter comparisons were pretty good. He still looks physically like Renteria to me, but he seems to have a little better idea of how to hit and a little more pop than the young Renteria did.

Quade lost me with his Lou-like Marmol in the 8th inning tomfoolery in a meaningless game. With all those Sept 1st call-ups, he can't find 1 (one) to get 1 (one) out without giving up 2 (two) walks and 1 (one) run like Marmoldy usually does? Bring on number 23!!!

Barney made a couple of nice plays today, reminding me how he looked the couple of times I saw him in ST. If my eyes didn't deceive me, he fielded a ball that hit third and deflected farther away from him. Then he made a bullet throw to second for the force. If you missed it, watch SportsCenter.

Down 9-1 after four innings and losing 13-6 going into the top of the 9th, the Iowa Cubs--knowing Memphis had already won its game--storm back with a nine-run 9th inning capped by a Marquez Smith three-run home run, and defeat the Albuquerque Isotopes 15-13. Jason Dubois belts two three-run homers, Brad Snyder rips two doubles, and Jeff Stevens throws a scoreless bottom of the 9th for the save.

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In reply to by Paul Noce

I think there's a lot of confusion over this "big league" bench thing. Sandberg's sat on the big league bench for years - why does he need to do it for three more years to become a manager? Did Joe Girardi spend any time as a manager before getting his first big league gig? Did Trammel, did Gonzales? Or is it that the Cubs are special, and they cannot hire anyone without experience to be their manager? In almost every case a manager who has experience has been fired or let go - two of the 'top' guys we're talking about here got let go by the Marlin. Sure, we've got this career Cubs guy with an excellent track record of winning in the minors, and 15 years of big league experience - but let's replace him with a some third base coach that Bobby Cox likes. I am 95% positive it's all just smoke and mirrors to build hype for Sandberg's anouncement, thankfully, but can anyone explain with a rational explanation why Sandberg wouldn't be the guy?

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In reply to by Paul Noce

Sequence of events. 1. " Did Joe Girardi spend any time as a manager before getting his first big league gig?" 2. "Girardi was the bench coach for Joe Torre for one year before he got the Marlins job." 3. "And he managed in the minors for how long? 4. "You're changing your argument." I hope you can see that I didn't change the argument. The Marlins hired him with 0 managing experience, he spent one year in the intense scrutiny of Miami, was laid off and then was prepared for the most intense market in the world. Now, if the missing skill that Sandberg has is talking to the press, how does that skill get addressed being a bench coach? Do bench coaches give interviews to the media after each game?

Len mentioned this yesterday on the air, but Barney and Snyder were named to PCL all stars. Chirinos, Campana and Guyer named to Southern League postseason team. Daytona Cubs on FSL postseason team: LeMahieu, Ridling, Brenly. (No pitchers.)

yeah, the adduci ripped glove thing is right out of 'the natural...' then, w/ his team still down 13-12, sandberg calls for a double steal w/ fuld & adduci; pretty ballsy! before this road trip the i-cubs were 0-42 when trailing after 8; they've won 2 in the 9th this week on the road w/ a stripped-down roster & a hot team breathing down their necks...managerial?

On a Cubs' days off(well, more than all the other ones they've taken this year)... Am I the only one that thinks this gripe that the Marlins have against Nyjer Morgan stealing second and third after getting plunked is pretty ridiculous??? I certainly am not trying to say that Nyjer is a great guy, but what is the problem with taking out frustration about being hit by stealing bases? I am also not trying to defend Nyjer for his reaction when thrown behind in his next AB...

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In reply to by Jace

I think a suspension and fine for the Marlins manager and the pitcher, of about 15 games each is appropriate. Morgan kept his response in the context of the game, and I've never heard of the unwritten rule that you can't steal when you're down by a lot. I've always had a problem with catchers blocking the plate. They're like "we got all this armor on, so we will block the plate." when no one else is allowed to do it. If you're going to block the plate like that, you get what you deserve. If you simply apply the tag like they do at 1st, 2nd or 3rd, you don't get hurt. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Washington-Nationals-Florida-Marlins…

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In reply to by The Real Neal

p. 20 OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner. p. 66 7.06 When obstruction occurs, the umpire shall call or signal “Obstruction.” (a) If a play is being made on the obstructed runner, or if the batter-runner is obstructed before he touches first base, the ball is dead and all runners shall advance, without liability to be put out, to the bases they would have reached, in the umpire’s judgment, if there had been no obstruction. (Further down p. 66) NOTE: The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

That's not what MLB and the witnesses claimed. They say he was being heckeled, turned and whipped the ball into the stands towards the heckler(s) and instead drilled an innocent bystander in the head. Now how that's only 7 games, and the Cueto kicking is only 7 games, I'll never know. I remember a Blackhawks player in the early 80's, Tom Lysiak, I think, who had a penalty called on him and he skated over fast and slammed on the brakes but bumped the ref, most likely intentional. The NHL suspended him 20 games, that's approximately 1/4th of the season. Cueto was intentionally kicking players while wearing metal spikes, trying to hurt people, and was basically punished by missing one start. Morgan acts like a complete ass and tries to hurt a fan and only gets 7 games. It's crap. Morgan should have gotten at least 20 games for that. Charging the mound after the Marlins threw at him twice is a different story and understandable.

I am leaning towards the CRUNCH camp, in that I just am getting more and more ambivalent on how many wins a manager is responsible for. Or losses. Hendry got the "coveted" guys. No World Series. We have had "Riggs", "Zim", Frey, Durocher, Marshall, Lockman, Gomez, Gene Michaels, Lefevre, on and on and on. ONE pennant?! ONE World Series from the bunch?! This is a problem much deeper than one guy, imo. Too many Day games, money, bad luck, bad farm club, poor advance scouting, poor scouting, shit facilities at the big club, I could go on - but you all know the story here. I was hoping Ricketts would just hit "Re-Boot" and buy top management first - with a proven track record (John Schuerholdz, Epstein, Jocketty) but it is clearly not going to happen in 2011.

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In reply to by The E-Man

I originally thought that Ricketts' plan was to make Hendry be the GM who suffered through the immovable contracts for a few years before handing over the team to a GM who could fix the team with a reasonable amount of resources. Once I saw the committed money for 2011, 12, 13, 14 I realized that there's only one more year of dealing with so many of these contracts. Any really good GM could start fixing the team even with the immovable contracts of Soriano and co. Somewhere I heard or read that Hendry staying on is the Ricketts family giving the fans the middle finger, and in a way I understand that. But I think the family actually believes that he's good at what he does, or more likely, that he has a good player development staff with Fleita and Wilkin.

Iowa lost to the Isotopes 13-3 last night...and now they are tied with Memphis with 4 games in Iowa vs Memphis to wrap up the season. The Memphis Redbirds beat New Orleans (Zephyrs) 3-2. But the I-Cubs chances for the playoffs are worse than one might think. For them to go to the playoffs they have to win 3 of 4 (splitting the series doesn't get them a play-in game):
Iowa and Memphis will play the final four regular season games Friday at Principal Park. The Cubs and Redbirds' head-to-head record this season is tied at 6-6. In the event of a tie, Memphis would clinch the tie-breaker because their division record is better than Iowa's.
Division Record Memphis 22-22 (4 remaining) Iowa 18-26 (4 remaining)
this was written before Thursday's results...
If Iowa wins and Memphis loses tonight, the Cubs would clinch the division title with two wins in the final four games against Memphis. The same scenario is true if both teams would lose tonight. If Memphis wins tonight and Iowa loses, they would need to win three of four games from Iowa to win the division outright.
http://iowa.cubs.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100902&content_id=1421…

First of a Series
5-5-2010 The Rickettses have already started changing the culture—or trying to. One of their first moves was to purge the clubhouse of (Lou's beloved) ice cream, soda and candy. They also hired a nutritional consultant. This was at the behest of Todd Ricketts, Tom's brother, a fitness enthusiast, who rightfully wondered whether a healthier, more energized team didn't stand a better chance of optimizing performance.
Yeah, that really worked. But then Fail is Todd Ricketts' middle name. As far as I can tell Todd has never had a real job. He used to list his occupation as "homemaker." Dad gave him a pile of money and he invested part of it in his sister's fake travel agency which evaporated and in a friend's bicycle shop. Apparently this makes him a fitness expert.

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In reply to by Charlie

imo... it's bad enough the players have to deal with the craphole that is the cubs lockerroom and clubhouse. when you start taking perks away (hopefully they weren't being abused) things get a little more cramped and a little less home. if they take gum away there will be a mutiny =p yeah, they're making 400K-400billion dollars and shouldn't complain blah blah blah, but they can make that elsewhere, too, without putting up with the baggage that comes with playing at wrigley...from the crap facilities to all the day games.

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In reply to by Charlie

Sometimes little things can be pretty frustrating. For example, I used to work at an office where the kitchen was always stocked with bottles of water, coke, diet coke, bagels, fruit, cookies, etc. It was great. I've been in enough offices to know that's an exception rather than a rule, but after awhile you really get used to it. Then one day, they had to cut costs and the stocked kitchen went away. Of course that's not a huge deal, and it's not going to make anyone quit, but it was pretty damn annoying. I think a good rule of thumb for any organization is to never provide a benefit you don't intend to keep forever. No matter how small, people are going to be annoyed/pissed when you take something away from them that they're used to getting.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s a fantastic deal for SF

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?