Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

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

47 players are at MLB Spring Training 

33 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and seven p;layers are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors
14 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-9-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 18
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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 6 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 
Cam Sanders 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 3  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 
* Bryce Windham

INFIELDERS: 8
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Matt Mervis
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

NRI INFIELDERS: 4 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith
Chase Strumpf 

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 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Nobody Fucks With The DeJesus

(props to Jacos for the headline)

The Cubs signed OF David DeJesus to a 2-year/$10 million deal with a 3rd year club option. It's actually $4.25M for the next two years with a $1.5M buyout or $6.5M in 2014. A Jim Bowden tweet indicates that the Cubs told him DeJesus will be the everyday right fielder.

Dejesus will be 32 next season and played for the A's last year and had the worst season of his career, a 93 OPS+ on the back of a .274 BABIP. His career slash line is 284/356/447 with a 106 OPS+. Great for a center fielder, kind of okay for a right fielder, but he's getting older and probably gonna be as good or worse than his career numbers going forward. That means baserunning and defense will have to make up some of the difference and if you believe in some of the defensive numbers out there, he seems to been quite an asset. Most of that time was in center, so a move to right field should be no problem. (Correction, played right for A's last year for the most part and put up great UZR numbers if you care for that).  Although he doesn't steal a bunch of bases, his baserunning numbers seem to border on neutral to a slight positive. He's cheap enough and lefty enough that this isn't too big a deal to me and he does nearly see 4 pitchers per plate appearance which fits into the mold of grinding out at-bats. That all being said, it's a big old "meh" move. As Kevin Goldstein tweeted, it's a warm body that fills a need, and for a guy that at best should be worth about 2 wins over replacement, the cost makes it about right. But I have a hard time seeing the big difference between him, Byrd or Fukudome.

DeJesus

Year Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2003 23 KCR 12 10 7 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .286 .444 .571 1.016 159 0 1 1 0 0
2004 24 KCR 96 413 363 58 104 15 3 7 39 8 11 33 53 .287 .360 .402 .763 97 6 9 8 0 0
2005 25 KCR 122 523 461 69 135 31 6 9 56 5 5 42 76 .293 .359 .445 .804 114 6 9 5 6 1
2006 26 KCR 119 552 491 83 145 36 7 8 56 6 3 43 70 .295 .364 .446 .810 108 10 12 2 4 4
2007 27 KCR 157 703 605 101 157 29 9 7 58 10 4 64 83 .260 .351 .372 .722 91 10 23 7 4 7
2008 28 KCR 135 577 518 70 159 25 7 12 73 11 8 46 71 .307 .366 .452 .818 118 10 5 4 4 3
2009 29 KCR 144 627 558 74 157 28 9 13 71 4 9 51 87 .281 .347 .434 .781 107 10 8 5 5 0
2010 30 KCR 91 394 352 46 112 23 3 5 37 3 3 34 47 .318 .384 .443 .827 127 10 4 3 1 2
2011 31 OAK 131 506 442 60 106 20 5 10 46 4 3 45 86 .240 .323 .376 .698 93 14 11 4 4 1
9 Seasons 1007 4305 3797 561 1077 207 50 71 436 51 46 359 575 .284 .356 .421 .776 106 76 82 39 28 18
162 Game Avg. 162 693 611 90 173 33 8 11 70 8 7 58 93 .284 .356 .421 .776 106 12 13 6 5 3
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/30/2011.

Fukudome

Year Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2008 31 CHC 150 590 501 79 129 25 3 10 58 12 4 81 104 .257 .359 .379 .738 89 7 1 2 5 9
2009 32 CHC 146 603 499 79 129 38 5 11 54 6 10 93 112 .259 .375 .421 .796 104 15 3 3 5 3
2010 33 CHC 130 429 358 45 94 20 2 13 44 7 8 64 67 .263 .371 .439 .809 114 5 0 3 4 1
2011 34 TOT 146 603 530 59 139 27 3 8 35 4 6 61 110 .262 .342 .370 .712 97 8 4 6 2 4
2011 34 CHC 87 345 293 33 80 15 2 3 13 2 2 46 57 .273 .374 .369 .742 105 2 1 5 0 1
2011 34 CLE 59 258 237 26 59 12 1 5 22 2 4 15 53 .249 .300 .371 .671 87 6 3 1 2 3
4 Seasons 572 2225 1888 262 491 110 13 42 191 29 28 299 393 .260 .361 .399 .760 100 35 8 14 16 17
162 Game Avg. 162 630 535 74 139 31 4 12 54 8 8 85 111 .260 .361 .399 .760 100 10 2 4 5 5
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/30/2011.

Byrd

Year Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
2002 24 PHI 10 36 35 2 8 2 0 1 1 0 2 1 8 .229 .250 .371 .621 66 13 0 0 0 0 0
2003 25 PHI 135 553 495 86 150 28 4 7 45 11 1 44 94 .303 .366 .418 .784 111 207 8 7 4 3 3
2004 26 PHI 106 378 346 48 79 13 2 5 33 2 2 22 68 .228 .287 .321 .608 54 111 10 7 2 1 1
2005 27 PHI 5 15 13 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .308 .400 .308 .708 86 4 0 1 0 0 0
2005 27 WSN 74 244 216 20 57 15 2 2 26 5 1 18 47 .264 .318 .380 .698 87 82 5 1 5 4 1
2006 28 WSN 78 228 197 28 44 8 1 5 18 3 3 22 47 .223 .317 .350 .667 76 69 6 6 1 2 1
2007 29 TEX 109 454 414 60 127 17 8 10 70 5 3 29 88 .307 .355 .459 .814 112 190 9 5 0 6 3
2008 30 TEX 122 462 403 70 120 28 4 10 53 7 2 46 62 .298 .380 .462 .842 121 186 10 9 2 2 3
2009 31 TEX 146 599 547 66 155 43 2 20 89 8 4 32 98 .283 .329 .479 .808 106 262 11 10 0 10 2
2010 32 CHC 152 630 580 84 170 39 2 12 66 5 1 31 98 .293 .346 .429 .775 105 249 12 17 0 2 1
2011 33 CHC 119 482 446 51 123 22 2 9 35 3 2 25 78 .276 .324 .395 .719 96 176 13 8 1 2 2
10 Seasons 1056 4081 3692 515 1037 215 27 81 436 49 21 271 691 .281 .339 .420 .759 100 1549 84 71 15 32 17
162 Game Avg. 162 626 566 79 159 33 4 12 67 8 3 42 106 .281 .339 .420 .759 100 238 13 11 2 5 3
PHI (4 yrs) 256 982 889 136 241 43 6 13 79 13 5 68 173 .271 .332 .377 .709 86 335 18 15 6 4 4
TEX (3 yrs) 377 1515 1364 196 402 88 14 40 212 20 9 107 248 .295 .352 .468 .820 112 638 30 24 2 18 8
CHC (2 yrs) 271 1112 1026 135 293 61 4 21 101 8 3 56 176 .286 .337 .414 .751 101 425 25 25 1 4 3
WSN (2 yrs) 152 472 413 48 101 23 3 7 44 8 4 40 94 .245 .318 .366 .683 82 151 11 7 6 6 2
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/30/2011.

It's not that I'm advocating bringing back Fukudome, for one he's three years older, but it's hard to see where this improves the team much from the last few years and when you're at the bottom looking up, that should be the goal.

But since this is just move #1 of  what I presume to be quite a few more before the offseason ends, we'll have to reserve some of the judgement on this to a later date. For one, they could be planning to trade Byrd and replacing him with DeJesus and I think that's a bit of an upgrade. Soriano might be on his way out as well and you do need someone to play these outfield positions. Plus you have to save money somewhere if they do plan to make a run at Fielder or Pujols.

Comments

Agreed Rob. this is a move that hopefully will fill a position cheaply, while saving money for Prince Fielder....or something? His numbers don't stand out...and as a RF, a career .776 OPS is pretty mediocre..slightly abouve Nick Markakis' 2011 season. Wait and see I suppose...

So is this part of a "best offense is a good defense" strategy? Even though this guy's been around awhile, I don't know much about him.

speaking of just like Fukudome... his L/R splits are .815 OPS vs. righties, .690 vs. lefties Hoyer says they don't intend to platoon him.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Hoyer, per Sullivan: Hoyer said DeJesus was not brought in to platoon in right, though they probably will add a right-handed hitting outfielder who can play the corners. "I'm sure we'll try to provide that flexibility for Dale," he said. "But we're not signing (DeJesus) as a platoon player." The signing may not affect LaHair, who mostly played right last September after manager Mike Quade benched Colvin. The Cubs appear to be looking at LaHair primarily as a first baseman, after Quade gave LaHair only two starts at first as his team played out the string. "It's a fair assessment," Hoyer said, adding that he likes laHair's flexibility.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"It's a symmetrical stadium pretty much (2 ft shorter at the right field pole), so the only deciding factor would be the wind." It appears more symetrical than it is. The 400' dimension is to the right of straightaway center. True center field is at 390'. True left-centerfield is about 365' and true right-centerfield is 385' -- that is, Wrigley kind of bulges out to right field and the left field bleachers kind of "cheat" in closer to the plate than the right field bleachers do. That said, I don't have any reason to dispute the 120 index number for left-handed power hitters.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

when did they do the bleacher reconstruction? believe that changed some of the dynamics of the wind effect at Wrigley and seemed to change how Wrigley played a bit in terms of what park factors came up. Wrigley sure didn't help Milton Bradley :) (for those that don't recall, bunch of folks seemed convinced that Wrigley was just as friendly to lefties as the Ballpark to Arlington based on what some park factors said about lefties)

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"decent sabermetric take on the deal..." Not sure how he gets from the Cubs' eating $43 of the $54 million owed to Soriano to their "effectively" eating $10 million. There's some sleight-of-hand there; or else he confuses himself by never actually using the 43 number, just asking us to add 27 and 16. (Then 27 becomes 26 and he subtracts 16 to get 10. I think he subtracted 16 twice.) If the Cubs do eat $43 million, that's 80% of Soriano's remaining salary, whereas I calculated that they chipped in 84% of Fukudome's paycheck while he played for Cleveland. Then of course there were the indirect payments to Bradley in 2011. That's a lot of high-fiber greenery for the Rickettses to swallow, but to his credit, T. Ricketts seems to be permitting his new team to write off as much of the Hendry debt as necessary.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Colvin spends 2012 in Iowa unless A.) Byrd or Dejesus suffers a significant injury or B.) Campana completely implodes as an extra outfielder. And LaHair might spend the season in Iowa, too, if the Cubs sign Fielder or Pujols or Pena accepts arbitration. Maybe the Cubs end up trading one of Byrd or Colvin (that'd be a real sell low move) before the season begins, perhaps as part of a move to bring in a serviceable starting pitcher or third baseman. I'm glad the third-year option is a club option. I'd like to only be stuck such a thoroughly mediocre veteran for a couple of years. Hopefully by then somebody is ready to take his place or the Cubs are ready to invest in someone who can make more of an impact.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 3:20pm — Charlie Colvin spends 2012 in Iowa unless A.) Byrd or Dejesus suffers a significant injury or B.) Campana completely implodes as an extra outfielder. And LaHair might spend the season in Iowa, too, if the Cubs sign Fielder or Pujols or Pena accepts arbitration ========================= CHARLIE: Bryan LaHair is out of minor league options, so it is unlikely that he would spend the 2012 season at Iowa. Even if the Cubs place him on Outright Waivers and he is not claimed (which is unlikely), he can refuse an Outright Assignment because he has been outrighted previously in his career. I think the most-likely outcome will be that LaHair make the Cubs Opening Day 25-man roster and will platoon with Alfonso Soriano in LF, and if that happens, Soriano will hopefully get pissed-off enough to waive his "no trade" rights in case the Cubs can find a taker for him. Because even if some club (like Baltimore) will take Soriano (with the Cubs eating 85% of his remaining salary), there still is the matter of Soriano's NTC. Same goes for Carlos Zambrano.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I'm sure you'll get your wish. But I'm very interested, with Joshua gone, who the hitting coach will be at Iowa. Colvin seems to have come up through the system without ever hearing good advice on how to approach an at-bat: what the different counts mean, etc. Or else the good advice he received didn't penetrate his thick skull, with the result that he was not only the worst hitter in the league last season, he was the worst hitter in the city (worse than Adam Dunn). I imagine that Epstein/Hoyer/McLeod will have something to say about who gets to coach the minor leaguers, so that's one small reason for optimism regarding Colvin.

Jim Bowden tweet that A's need major league outfielders and will use SP to deal for them. Soriano for Gio...done and done.

Dbacks, Indians, O's, Royals, A's, Pirates, Padres, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers, Cardinals (among the teams with the smallest market and smallest revenue) are the 13 teams eligible for the draft lottery, odds to win are weighed by winning percentage so in order of best chance to worst chance. O's, Royals, Padres, Pirates, Marlins, Rockies, A's, Reds, Indians, Cardinals, Rays, DBacks, Brewers 6 get a pick between first and second round (not sure if that's after or before compensation picks yet) 6 more get a pick between second and third round, leaving just one of those teams without a pick.

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In reply to by Jumbo

they still have to temper it with overall pool $$, at least. that one aspect tames down an otherwise scary scenario where a team with money and some tradable pieces could really dominate a draft with a combination of picks and loot. well, that and it's rare anyone drafts a slam-dunk in any draft no matter the position...and beyond rare for it not to happen with the first few picks of the 1st round.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 6:19pm — Rob G.New they get extra pool $$ for that pick though ================================ ROB G: You are correct, sir! A club gets as much Rule 4 Draft Top 10 Rounds pool money to spend (well, it's the club's own money, but pool money meaning "cap space" let's say) as the aggregate combined pre-assigned values of the slots it has in the first ten rounds, regardless of how many picks and how the picks were acquired (normal draft pick, compensation draft pick for losing an Article XX-B FA, or Competitive Balance Lottery pick), minus the value of the slot or slots for any draft pick or picks selected in the first ten rounds who do/does not sign.

I live in KC, so I've seen a LOT of DeJesus over the years. He's OK, $4.25MM would seem a fair price for what he brings to the table, basically a league-average performer with good defense and acceptable OBP. I agree with the Fukudome comp, the only difference being that DeJesus won't look as helpless at the plate at times like Fuku did against lefties. They say they're going to play him everyday, but a Byrd/DeJesus platoon--or even a Jeff Baker or Reed Johnson platoon mate--would work pretty well in RF I think. In fact, given that Byrd makes $5MM, I think I'd prefer Theo and Jed try to trade him and go with the Baker or Johnson option. That platoon with DeJesus would cost $6MM tops and ought to produce well over an 800 OPS and (if Johnson) above average UZR. Not a bad first move for the front office.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I am making a claim based on observation. The statistics support the claim. No, the statistics don't support the claim. They don't support anything, because there is far from an adequate sample to make ANY conclusions other than there is not enough data. Based on the limited statisical data available, you would come to what conclusion? Simple... that there is not even close to enough data to make any statistical conclusion. He had a total of 29 chances in 100 innings. To pretend that it is all meaningful is just absurd.

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In reply to by big_lowitzki

But it wasn't just by UZR, I said "By ALL measures". Also he passed the eyeball test. There is also something called Spring Training where he also played center field. The reason that he moved wasn't because he wasn't playing the position tolerably well, in case some people forgot. We can just agree to disagree. I think you can use stastical evidence of any amount to support a claim. If a guy has one at bat, and hits a home run, I am going to think he's a good hitter. He may not be, but the statistcal evidence I have at that point supports the hypothesis. You think that there's no way to think anything about a player's defensive abilities without three years of data. Fine. If we use your proposed cutoff Epstien has made a mistake in thinking DeJesus is an above average right fielder, because there's insufficient data. By the way, the typical minimum of data points a statician will require to come up with a confidence interval is 30. Why fangraphs says to use 3 years of data (a rule of thumb, which is pretty stupid since some fielders get considerably more chances than others anyway) is basically because of the definition of what constitutes a "data point". It's not just a "chance" which is incorrect terminology anyway. When Soriano had 29 put outs, he probably had twice as many "chances" since any single or double hit to him has a "chance" to be an error if he muffs it or mis-fires the throw back to the infield, or if he throws a way a ball he made a catch on. So he had maybe 60 data points, which is plenty to do a confidence interval. You could be about 99% confident that he wasn't likely to make a lot of errors playing center field. The way UZR defines a data point is something like "a ball hit on the same trajectory (high fly) , with the same speed (hard), from a certain handed hitter (Right), from a certain handed pitcher(left) who tends to throw groundballs(high) to a single fielding zone (X3)." That's why they say you need three years of data, because you're not likely to get 30+ samples of like data for a single season, especially when talking about outfielders (and not that this totally discounts the defensive positioning of the player/coaches and the pitchers ability to pitch to the defense.) There's other problems (like the way they divide responsibility for hits in zones that are between players, and center fielders being able to game the system by catching everything they can) in there as well.

so the cubs just signed a singles hitting, average speed, low-arm-quality RF'r for 2 years. i hope soriano is going somewhere and there's another RF option, honestly. ...3rd base is gonna be fun to fill, too. not surprising since it was almost a given for weeks...but meh. at least the cubs can afford it. also, "Why did DeJesus have such a poor year offensively? When you dig into his numbers, it becomes apparent that DeJesus hasn’t suffered a skill degradation at the plate." what player has fangraphs been watching? did they even see him swing a bat last year? that's just ignorant. BABIP being dismissed outside of ranges as "luck" is getting old. when a guy is pounding what used to be line drives into grounders to the infielders that's not a lack of luck.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

yeah, i saw him swinging like he was a kid again, missing more pitches than he should and blooping stuff off the bat. late night west coast games keep me warmer during the summer...live for those 10pm eastern start times. the line-drive stroke wasn't there consistently. he almost got benched in august before he turned his swing around a bit. i dont think it's horrible, but him in RF...ew. it's a small time contract for a team that can afford it...especially next year.

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In reply to by Rob G.

rates don't quantify quality vs. the pitch given to swing at. he wasn't smacking the ball mark-grace-style around the park and he was pathetic against lefties pounding him inside. maybe he made an adjustment as the season winded down and the cubs feel he's got his stroke back...i didn't pay that close attention, but noticed earlier (for much of the season) him blooping and ground pounding hittable pitches via crap contact. it's not the same crap contact as where i was talking about ian stewart...who seems to swing through a plane at the same place no matter where the pitch is...it's like his shoulders/elbows/wrists are locked on one motion.

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In reply to by Rob G.

nah, he hits lefties fine...not with much power. he's not a lefty r.johnson...he's got an everyday approach at the place, esp. when he was with KC. he's not platoon, imo...well, he was showing last year he might be. the age thing doesn't help much while handicapping it. he's always had a nice/clean stroke with his swing. also, your proposed theory isn't my theory. i watched the guy turn hitable pitches into outs at a rate that isn't good for all but his 20+ game hitting streak during april/early may and his late season explosion that started vs. TB. also, you're getting kinda snarky. i'm telling you what i saw. you asked...i told...it's what i saw. if you wanna get all technical, i probably saw at least 250+ of his abs and it was a consistent viewing all year.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

nah, he hits lefties fine...not with much power. he's not a lefty r.johnson. .292/368/447 vs. righties .264/328/362 vs. lefties the last 2 years being even more pronounced keep going, you'll get something right also, you're getting kinda snarky. i'm telling you what i saw. you asked...i told...it's what i saw. sorry for the snark, you started it by attacking an article for being ignorant with your own ignorance. Had you just stopped by saying BABIP just for BABIP sake is lazy, you had something, actually a very good point, but then you jumped to some fucked up conclusion based on a handful of at-bats you saw that could have been easily checked by a simple 10-second internet search. And now you're in the midst of what 98% of the Internet community does, which is dig in your heels and not admit that you made a mistake.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

take out last year with OAK and his first season you got a mid-.340 ob% guy vs lefties...its' been a while since anyone's been afraid to leave him in vs a lefty. last year he lost some ABs vs. lefties, though...lost a week to a thumb...a little while late for his hip. also, what i saw and what im saying isn't ignorant. you're focusing on a statement as a complete statement that's all encompassing rather than me just throwing something i noticed out there. i saw crap quality contact...you see me complaining about him hitting ground balls. he hit crappy fly balls, too. the main point of my criticism was everything being chalked up to luck when talking about abnormal BABIP. i didn't feel the need to fully break down every aspect for dejesus. the guy spent a good chunk of the season turning hitable pitches into pure crap. he is not a guy who gets his ob% from walking...he gets it from his bat putting balls in play and tempering it with a dozen or so walks more than other "average" hitters.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

also, fwiw...i'd be fine with this if they shift soriano and get another option for RF. he's a wheel-spinning byrd-type bat...he's probably not going to help much or hurt much, but when/if he starts sucking it's going to be an ugly decline because he's not got far to fall. i'd much rather have him LF with his arm. his glove is going to be good no matter where you stick him and it's nice to have him as a CF-shift-over option in case of injury or something awesome like lahair showing an everyday starter quality making byrd expendable...or whatever.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I'd like to see a Cubs outfield (and infield for that matter) that has Soriano on the bench waiting to pinch hit in the 8th or 9th inning if he has to be on the team at all. St. Louis and Tampa made the playoffs on the last day of the season.......one game difference. If I was a pitcher on the Cubs and I had to watch Soriano play LF, I would have to throw up every time I got back to the dugout. I don't give a crap what offense he 'brings' to the lineup, his defense is baseball-retarded. Here's your $54M, Fonzie. Enjoy retirement.

Today is the day when Article XX-B MLB Type "A" and Type "B" free-agents who were offered salary arbitration on 11/23 must decide whether to accept or decline the offer. We know that Aramis Ramirez will decline (or else he wouldn't have declined the player option part of his $16M mutual option for 2012), but Carlos Pena might accept, and if he does he immediately goes back onto the Cubs 40-man roster. And because he would no longer be considered an Article XX-B MLB free-agent, he would NOT receive the automatic "no trade" rights through June 15th that Article XX-B MLB free-agents get if they decline salary arbitration and sign an MLB contract, so Pena could be traded if the Cubs subsequently sign or acquire another 1B later this off-season that they like better. If Pena does accept the offer of salary arbitration and the Cubs and Pena cannot come to an agreement on a 2012 contract, the matter would proceed to an arbitration hearing sometime in February. The Cubs could offer Pena a contract for any amount of money and without regard to the max 20% cut rule that normally applies (although the salary offered must be at least the MLB minimum salary), but the three-person arbitration panel would have to choose either the Cubs offer or Pena's figure, so the Cubs couldn't low-ball him and win. If a contract is awarded through the arbitration processs, the Cubs could release Pena at the end of Spring Training (prior to the start of the 2012 MLB regular season) and pay him 25% of his 2012 salary as severance, but only if he is clearly outplayed in Cactus League Spring Training games by other players competing for his slot on the 25-man roster. If he is not clearly outplayed, the Cubs could still release him at the end of Spring Training, but then they could be on the hook for Pena's entire 2012 salary (minus the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary if he subsequently signs with another club) if Pena files a grievance (which he certainly would) and wins (which he very likely would).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Wed, 11/30/2011 - 6:42pm — Rob G these links say the deadline is Dec. 7th and I haven't seen one bit of news today about any accepting or declining which would be rare for this point of the day, even if the deadline is midnight. ================================= ROB G: The deadline to offer salary arbitration to Article XX-B MLB free-agents was 12/1 and the deadline for a player to accept or decline the offer was 12/7 in the 2006 CBA, but (with the agreement and approval of the MLBPA) the dates were changed last year to 11/'23 (salary arbitration offered by the club) and 11/30 (salary arbitration accepted or declined by the player). The change was made at the same time the MLB contract tender date was changed from 12/12 to 12/2. (BTW, the 12/2 contract tender date will remain the same in the new CBA).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Here is a fairly coherent article from September 2010 that succinctly explains the changes MLB & MLBPA introduced last year, more than a year before the 2006-11 CBA was scheduled to expire. http://phillies.scout.com/2/1007609.html The article notes the change from a 15-day "exclusive period" post-World Series to only five days post-WS (which was also the case this year), as well as the change in offering salary arbitration to MLB Article XX-B free-agents having been moved up a week from 12/1 (club offer) and 12/7 (player's decision) to 11/23 (club offer) and 11/30 (player's decision), and the MLB contract tender deadline moved-up ten days from 12/12 to 12/2. BTW, RHPs Frank Francisco and Jason Frasor were the only two free-agents who accepted salary arbitration offers last year, and their decisions were reported on November 30th and the players were added back to their respective club's 40-man roster on 12/1. (Francisco eventually got traded to TOR in the Mike Napoli deal). Now, I suppose there could have been still another change made again this season that was not announced in the media, where free-agents who are offered salary arbitration get two weeks instead of one week to decide whether to accept or decline, but I don't know why the clubs would have agreed to that. Making the salary arbitration decision period two weeks (which is a full week longer than before) essentially ties the hands of clubs who offer arbitration to their free-agents for two full weeks instead one just one, and it makes it more difficult for clubs to make FA and trade plans going into the Winter Meetings when they have salary arbitration offers to their own free-agents hanging over their heads for most of the week, which is one of the reasons why all of the deadlines were moved-up last year. In the new CBA (starting next season), clubs (and their free-agents) must make important decisions even earlier. Clubs must decide by the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series whether to tender a one-year guaranteed contract with a salary at least equal to the average salary of the 125 highest-paid MLB players the previous season to their Article XX-B MLB free-agents in order to receive a compensation draft pick if the player subsequently signs with a different club, and then free-agents who are offered such a contract have seven days to decide whether to accept the offer.

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

To reply to ROB G and to myself, I can see that the deadline for MLB Article XX-B free-agents to accept or decline offers of salary arbitration has indeed (once again) been moved back to December 7 (the date in the 2006-11 CBA) from November 30 (apparently the change was made for only the 2010-11 off-season), and the MLB contact tender deadline has also been moved back to the old date (December 12) from December 2 (again, the deadline from last year, which BTW will be the contract tender deadline in the new CBA), although somewhat strangely the December 1 salary arbitration offer deadline (like the other dates, also part of the 2006-11 CBA) was once again moved up to November 23 this off-season. (this was the only deadline change made last year that remained the same in 2011).

Iannetta to Angels for Tyler Chatwood, Rockies sign Ramon Hernandez

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

This lineup is turning into Starlin Castro and seven other starters, just like the rotation turned into Matt Garza and four other pitchers. And neither Castro nor Garza are likely to carry the club. If the Cubs aren't going to rebuild, they need to start redistributing some of their wealth away from the bullpen; turn Marshall into a starter somehow, shop Marmol as soon as he recoups some value, and do not pay market value for a relief pitcher until there's another Division Champs or Bust season. I'm starting to get on board with the idea of dealing Garza in order to fill more of the various gaps (if the Cubs aren't going to sign one of the sluggers this offseason).

Move along if not interested...but a query for those who like to talk about this stuff. I joined a new league and inherited a relatively thin roster...but the roster does have Felix Hernandez and Adrian Gonzalez, and now I'm getting deluged with offers for them. Most of them are ridiculous 4-1 deals that net me volume but not much else. But this one guy REALLY wants King Felix and has now offered me one that intrigues me: Carlos Gonzalez, Jeremy Hellickson, Chase Utley, J.P. Arencibia and Jhoulys Chacin for Felix Hernandez and David Ortiz Not worth going into league specifics (ask me offline if interested), but I will say that (a) I do need an OF (currently have Choo, Fowler, Abreu, L. Cain, Raburn, Cuddyer) and really need a 2B (Cuddyer/Raburn are eligible there, other is Brian Roberts), plus I have an Utley man crush despite him being in decline. With Hellickson, my SPs would be: Hellickson, Strasburg, Chacin, Cueto, E. Santana, Chapman (assuming he starts). This league starts two catchers; I have Montero and Soto. He earlier offered a 5-1 deal (and hasn't rescinded it) that offered Yonder Alonso and David Price with Utley, Arencibia and Chacin for King Felix minus Ortiz. He threw CarGo into the mix after I mentioned he was someone I'm interested in. Worst-case scenario, I keep Hernandez, which I'd intended to do anyway. Any thoughts? Thanks to anyone so inclined.

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In reply to by Tito

Carlos Gonzalez, Jeremy Hellickson, Chase Utley, J.P. Arencibia and Jhoulys Chacin for Felix Hernandez and David Ortiz
My initial reaction is: Why the hell would anyone offer that and why the hell would you refuse it? I mean the earlier offer is completely different than this offer. Cargo isn't a "pot sweetener", he's a "centerpiece".

Wittenmeyer speculates on a retreaded lefty starter...I thought we got rid of Tom Gorzellany.
Sources say another player who could be a value signing is left-hander Chris Capuano. After significant struggles in his final two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, the former 18-game winner signed with the New York Mets last year and went 11-12 with a 4.52 ERA in 31 starts. ‘‘We know we have to add pitching depth, and that’s something we’re focused on,’’ Hoyer said.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/9164009-573/david-dejesus-…

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In reply to by The Real Neal

Not sure there was much news in the BP analysis...writeup by RJ Anderson
Meet the first notable signing of Jed Hoyer’s career in Chicago. The last two seasons of DeJesus’s career resemble a whirligig, with some ups and downs and a move from right to left. Back in 2010, the Royals were poised to trade DeJesus at the deadline to a member of a captivated market. Reportedly, talks had gotten to the point with the Rays where Jake McGee’s name was bandied about. Before Dayton Moore pulled the trigger, DeJesus suffered a thumb injury, ending his season and those talks alike. Kansas City still elected to trade DeJesus, despite projected Type-A status, to Oakland for Vin Mazzaro and Justin Marks. DeJesus did not maintain that status, hitting .240/.323/.376 for the Athletics—an output that culminated in the second lowest True Average of his career. If DeJesus had elected to sign a one-year deal to rebuild his value, no one would have batted an eyelash. Instead, the Cubs gave DeJesus a guaranteed two years and $10 million, with the chance to earn more. Ostensibly, DeJesus will become the team’s starting right fielder for now, therefore removing Tyler Colvin from the starting lineup. DeJesus might leave fans feeling a twinge of déjà vu with a skill set similar to Kosuke Fukudome’s. He can play center field, making him something more than a tweener, and has in the past. Unlike the prototypical center fielder, DeJesus does not steal bases well or often and has more stolen base failures than successes over the last three seasons. A .277/.349/.417 offering since 2009 paints a picture of what DeJesus offers at the dish, including struggles against left-handed pitching; some walks, never more than 9.1 percent; some power, but more gap-based than light tower; and good contact skills, excepting 2011. One wonders what role, if any, residual effects from the thumb injury played in his down 2011. Another factor is Oakland’s ballpark. Wrigley Field is more endearing to left-handed hitters than the previous ballparks DeJesus has played home games in, making an offensive bounceback a possibility. At the same time, DeJesus will turn 32 in December, and expecting a slight decline is reasonable. Using Wins Above Replacement Player, DeJesus has been worth 3.8, 1.7, and 2.1 wins over the past three seasons. Suggesting that DeJesus is a two-to-three-win player is not a stretch. With DeJesus now in the fold, the Cubs would like to move Alfonso Soriano to another team. Hoyer may find that moving Soriano to another dimension is an easier feat, with the $54 million and no-trade clause in his contract to overcome. Alternatively, the Cubs could look to trade Marlon Byrd, who has $6.5 million remaining on his deal. The impetus to trade Soriano or Byrd is to make room for top prospect Brett Jackson. Jackson played well last season while splitting time between the high minors, so expect to see him patrolling the Wrigley outfield at some point this summer, and expect DeJesus to be flanking him.

how many wins was Fukudome? At first glance it looks like an upgrade. Fukudome did draw more walks (except for 2010) with a career high of 112 (2009). DeJesus career high was 87 walks (also 2009) but he did draw 86 last year. Fukudome WARP: 2008 @ 1.6 2009 @2.3 2010 @1.7 2011 @1.0 DeJesus WARP: 2008 @2.6 2009 @ 3.8 (career best) 2010 @1.7 2011 @ 2.1

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In reply to by big_lowitzki

But it doesn't do us much good, even if he is a relative bargain, unless we make a lot of other moves. In the meantime it could retard the growth and consequently value of other players. Just by itself, probably not a good move, but let's see what else happens. If we sign Fielder, Johnson and Beuhrle, having him for less than $5 million looks pretty nice.

Building with young core (hope someone asked who that is besides Castro) does not envision moving Marshall out of pen (non-existent) SP is top priority at winter meetings

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In reply to by Rob G.

Thu, 12/01/2011 - 4:58pm — Rob G. I'm still trying to justify that Garza could be had (for a high price), but LH bullpen guy cannot. could just be posturing and all, but both are set to be free agents around the same time. And hard to see how trading Garza makes them any better this year. =========================== RON G: Especially when Sean Marshall is going to be a free-agent after next season, and if he remains in the bullpen there is no way he gets a $12M+ (guaranteed money) contract offer from the Cubs post-2012 (which would be required to net a compensation draft pick). Either you move him to the starting rotation in Spring Training or trade him. At least Matt Garza is under club control through 2013, and as a starting pitcher he actually might be worth a one-year $12M+ contract offer post-2013 so that the Cubs would get one compensation draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

https://twitter.com/JordanBernfield he's either spewing BS or Fielder isn't really in the picture Theo: "As far as adding a left handed bat? Yeah, it'd be nice, but under the right circumstances. But we're not going to force anything." Says if they do, it needs to be someone who can defend, run the bases well, be a solid club house guy, etc.

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In reply to by Rob G.

No pun intended, but if I were to sign Fielder, I'd probably do it with a front loaded contract. You figure he is going to play first for three or four years, so you give him more money then, then cut it back in years 5-8 when you figure you'll slot him as a DH (or to make him tradeable to an AL team as a DH). Prince, get on the treadmill, you have to be a speedy first basemen to play for the Cubs. That's probably what has kept us out of the World Series, Frank Chance could steal some fucking bases!

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In reply to by The Real Neal

He says:
If FanGraphs had a statistic for the most vacant position based on an organization’s ability to fill the void internally at the triple-A or big league level, the Cubs third base position might top that list.
Funny thing, the Cubs just had three guys double-A or higher who still project as third basemen (assuming Vitters does) who finished in the top ten (4, 8 and 9) in hits in the AFL. Maybe first base and left field are worse trouble spots.

"If there is a move that makes us that much better in the short term, but it's at the expense of doing things the right way, through a corps of young players, we're not going to make that move. Any rumor you hear or any potential player move, it's probably worth your while to assess it through that lense. "I'm not going to say we aren't going to make a move that's unanticipated, or catch people by surprise, or not perfectly fit into that little box that's generally our philosophy. That's how we are evaluating moves as we look to build this thing." not sure what that says about the DeJesus move, it doesn't really block Jackson since he'll be playing CF by next season at the latest. Certainly don't think much of Colvin and not sure what means for Ha or Szczur. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/7329/epstein-not-tipping…

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In reply to by Rob G.

Doesn't seem like there is any point in considering Ha or Szczur when handing out 2-year contracts to right fielders. They've got plenty of seasoning time left in the minors.

I wouldn't worry about blocking minor leaguers. If there's no room for them on the big league roster, they can play in AAA. If they are destroying AAA and absolutely need a big league spot, you trade DeJesus or someone and make room. This is how normal ball teams work... we're just not used to seeing it in action.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-cubs-dejesus-rea… on B. Jackson “He’s the type of guy we want here, and he’s got a bright future here,” Epstein said. “That said, I believe in having a player just about fully developed by the time he comes up to the big leagues. There has been a trend in the industry to kind of promote guys pretty quickly from Double-A. I don’t know that Triple-A is really looked at as a developmental level anymore, and it should be. “Triple-A, we like to think of it as finishing school, and if a player still has weaknesses, and they all do -- everyone does as human beings -- Triple-A is a place to really round out, turn those weaknesses, get them to at least league average and then come up to the big leagues. We’re going to continue developing in the big leagues, but the job of the player development department is to fully round out our prospects. If a player seems ready and knocking on the door, for a position player especially, we’re going to really look to round out there development before they come up.”

I would get rid of George Offman tweets from the site- georgeofman Soriano in play? 3 A.L. teams kicking the tires. Don't know them yet but Cubs would have to pay plenty and want youth in return He's the genius behind Jason Schmidt 3/44 and Furcal to cubs being done deals.

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In reply to by jacos

u, 12/01/2011 - 4:22pm — jacos I would get rid of George Offman tweets from the site- georgeofman Soriano in play? 3 A.L. teams kicking the tires. Don't know them yet but Cubs would have to pay plenty and want youth in return He's the genius behind Jason Schmidt 3/44 and Furcal to cubs being done deals. ========================= JACOS: Since the Cubs are basically just trying to unload Soriano and save a liitle bit of salary in the process, Soriano to the White Sox for Alex Rios might fly. Here's why: Soriano would probably be more-willing to waive his NTC if he can stay in the same city, the players' salaries over the next three years are close enough to where they could be equalized ($39.5M for Rios and $54M for Soriano 2012-14, with the Cubs and Sox splitting the $14.5M difference at $46.75M if the Cubs pay the Sox $7.25M), and Rios would actually fill a need for the Cubs (the RH-hitting 4th OF Hoyer talked about yesterday, not to mention opening up LF for a younger player). The White Sox would exchange Rios for Soriano and add $7.25M in payroll spread over three years, and the Cubs would be exchanging Soriano for Rios and save $7.25M in payroll over the next three years (the $7.25M saved representing about 15% of Soriano's aggregate salary 2012-14, the 15% being the amount of savings the Cubs are reportedly looking for in any trade they might make).

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

Phil, I don't disagree with any of your logic or math here, but I had the experience of watching Rios 'play' CF at two games at The Cell this summer. One was the game vs. Detroit where he brutally misplayed two catches any MLB CF has to make. I really can't say he's losing the defensive component to his game, and it might be he (like a lot of White Sox players this year) had a motivation problem. My observation was he needed a manager who was willing to put his size 11 shoe up his ass once in awhile. I think you'd be trading Soriano for a 'Soriano' with potential to play better defense if he felt like it. Theo and Ricketts are by their own admission familiar with the concept of 'sunk costs', so if I could get an AL team to take Soriano with the Cubs paying $40M of his remaining salary that's the move I would be making. Until the Cubs get at least 3 #1-#2 starting pitchers like the Phillies, they need 6 or 7 everyday players who are solid average/plus at their defensive position.

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In reply to by George Altman

My thinking is that the Cubs aren't going to get a prospect of value back for Soriano even if they eat 85% of his remaining salary, so eating 85% of his remaining salary and at least getting a useful spare part (a veteran big league RH-hitting 4th OF who can play RF against the tougher LHSP) back in the deal is probably the best they can hope for. Also, getting Soriano to waive his "no trade" might not be that easy, but staying in the same city might help make it more attractive to him. I don't think of Rios as a potential front-line OF, just as a replacement for Reed Johnson and (if necessary) an occasional (or even frequent) platoon mate with David DeJesus in RF. No question Rios would provide a lot more HR power than your average 4th OF.

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

A's are allegedly one team that at least kicked the tires on Soriano. They claim to have no major league outfielders at the moment and obviously lack power in their lineup. I'm sure they would expect to pay no more than $3-5M per year of Soriano's remaining salary and give up very little in the trade. If Mariners don't land Fielder or Pujols, I could see some interest there. White Sox only in a swap of bad contracts for Dunn or Rios, but I don't think know what that gets them other than a hopeful change of scenery. Tigers have always shared similar like in players that Hendry and the Cubs did, maybe there's something there.

"some managers want to go around and kiss all the guys...i'm...i'm not good at kissing...guys." welcome back to baseball bobby valentine. you've been missed.

Would it make any sense for the Cubs to kick the tires on Jose Reyes? He's looking at $15-$18 million/year for five or six years right now. I seem to recall that AZPhil feels that Castro will ultimately end up at second base. Would now be the time to make that move?

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitcher reports from Thursday's A's - Cubs game at Sloan Park in Mesa, for anyone who might not have seen it: 

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 92-95
    CT: 89-91
    SPLIT: 81-84
    SL: 79-82 
    CV: 71-73 
    COMMENT: Second consecutive masterful and dominating performance by a Cubs LHSP at Sloan Park... threw 4.1 IP of shutout ball, scattering three singles, issuing no walks, and striking out nine (all nine swinging), with the other outs being four weak-contact "straight up the elevator shaft" infield pop outs... threw 70 pitches (51 strikes - 19 swing & miss!!!)... he did not throw too many pitches in any one inning (16-16-18-15-5) so he was able to avoid getting gassed... he had all of his pitches working so he was able to mix it up really well and keep A's hitters off balance...      

    CAM SANDERS
    FB: 95
    COMMENT: Relieved Imanaga with one out and a runner at 1st base in the top of the 5th, and immediately induced a slick 3-6-1 DP on his very first pitch (Sanders is an outstanding athlete)... 

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 92-94 
    SL: 78-81 
    COMMENT: Threw a shutout top of the 6th... issued a lead-off walk and then struck out two (both swinging) and got a P-5 to end the inning... 19 pitches (12 strikes - five swing & miss)... despite the lead-off walk this is the best Almonte has looked so far this spring... a few noteworthy items about Almonte are that he is making $1.9M, he is out of minor league options, he can elect free-agency if he is outrighted (but if he is outrighted and then elects free-agency he will forfeit his $1.9M salary), and if he is not outrighted by April 26th he will have accrued five years of MLB Service Time by that date and can't be sent to the minors without his consent starting on that date... 

    CARL EDWARDS JR
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 85-87
    CV: 77-78 
    COMMENT: Walked the lead-off hitter on four pitches in the top of the 7th with the Cubs up 2-0, then got a 1-3 come-backer (runner on 1st base advanced to 2nd)... an RBI single plated a run, then a K-swinging on three pitches for the second out, followed by two consecutive walks to load the bases (and end his day)... he really labored throughout the inning, needing 27 pitches - only 11 strikes (41% strikes) -  five swing & miss, three on FB, to get just two outs... also threw a WP... if he doesn't have impeccable command, CJ's his stuff is too marginal for him to be of any use to the Cubs in 2024... as a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent who signed a 2024 minor league contract, Edwards gets an automatic opt-out on Opening Day, but if he doesn't exercise the opt-out, the Cubs will probably make him a free agent anyway.., this was a bad performance by a pitcher who was on the wrong side of the bubble the day he signed with the Cubs in February... 

    DANIEL PALENCIA
    FB: 94-97
    SL/CT: 87-89
    COMMENT: Relieved Edwards with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the 7th and came back from a 2-0 count to get an inning-ending F-7 FO to the warning track in LF (near grand slam)... came back out and threw a shutout top of the 8th (K-swinging on a SL, a 6-3 GO, then a two-out single, and finally another K-swinging on a SL to end the inning)... 21 pitches (14 strikes - three swing & miss)... threw eight SL/CT and two of his three swing & miss were on that pitch... FB velo was down a couple of ticks from last outing when he was hitting 99... I really like Palencia better as a multi-inning "bulk" reliever than as a one-inning "high-leverage guy," because he has the stamina for it, and he is essentially stuff over command at this point in his career... 

    EDWIN ESCOBAR
    FB: 93-94
    CH: 86
    SL: 82-83 
    COMMENT: Pitched a shutout 9th to pick up the save... Induced a 3-1 GO to start the inning, then after surrendering a single that brought the tying run to the plate, a L-4 DP that doubled the runner off 1st base saved the day... 12 pitches (8 strikes - no swing & miss)... he got the save but he didn't fool anybody...

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    The spring training GOAT is at it again!

  • crunch (view)

    bote with his 5th homer of the spring. maybe he'll get better if they send him to AA rather than AAA. meanwhile, madrigal hits singles sometimes.

  • crunch (view)

    morel HBP on the foot. he stayed in the game. he also hugged the catcher afterwards because he does stuff like that.

  • crunch (view)

    at this point i honestly believe the problem is him, not the public allegations that got dismissed or some of the other accusers that never materialized in charges.  it has to play a role in public perception and is the end of the line for some teams, but it's icing on the cake that is bauer.

    even last year in japan it got to the point a teammate had to publicly call him out on Twitter for being disrespectful.  it's like he never learns.  dude is in his 30s and he's still the self-absorbed guy he was as a 21 year old in ARZ...his only year in ARZ after pissing off everyone he could and getting traded well below his value.

    once social media became a thing beyond posting stuff on MySpace or Facebook, things only got worse for exposing his way of doing things beyond the clubhouse and field.  you can't contain the jerk-ass stuff from the public at large when he's out there showing his ass on every piece of media he can access.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Oakland A's are probably the one MLB club that could sign Trevor Bauer and not have to worry about incurring push back from their fans, since they already have alienated their fan base and don't seem to care.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    And now Ian Happ is facing RHP JosE Romero, so he is batting LH. 

  • crunch (view)

    it was reported by The Athletic that no MLB scouts were in attendance for his performance.

    i gotta imagine someone with the dodgers was paying attention to how their minor leaguers were faring vs a former cy young winner who still has stuff in his arm even if it wasn't a known MLB scout, though.

    bauer is publicly offering his services for league minimum.  it's not the money keeping him from a contract.  he just wants his foot in the door again.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Ian Happ is taking "live" BP right now on Field # 6, facing LHP Blake Weiman (so he is batting RH).

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    If a minor league player under club control does not have his minor league UPC renewed by March 15th, the player is automatically released.