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

Apparently They're Listening on Sean Marshall Now

UPDATE: Deal is done according to a Bruce Levine tweet, don't know the name of the minor leaguers yet and the players must pass physicals.


ESPN Chicago and Fox Sports both reported last night that the Cubs were close on a deal to send the "best left-handed reliever in baseball" to the Cincinnati Reds, possibly for left-handed starter Travis Wood and 2 more minor leaguers. It seems the "2 more" will be the key to deal. And of course, nothing is official yet with plenty of water already thrown on this rumor fire. But it may happen, and if so, let's see why it might make some sense.

Under the new CBA, relievers will almost certainly not being getting their old club free agent compensation and Marshall was set to be one after 2012. Better to get something now than nothing later with 2012 looking like a non-competitive season for the Cubs. Also, it's generally a good idea to trade a reliever for a starter, at least a starter that won't be a free agent until after 2016 and you probably expect to be average or slightly better. Wood will be just 25 next season after all. And as mentioned, there seems to be talk of at least 2 other Reds coming over and we'll have to see who those are.

And as good as Marshall has been the last few years, nearly equally versus lefties and righties, the Cubs do have Jeff Beliveu, Scott Maine and John Gaub to try to slide into that role or the dozen or so free agents they can throw a million bucks at. Of course, there's many that feel the Cubs should pull a C.J. Wilson with Sean Marshall and let him start and then watch him become a Cy Young candidate. That's probably some wishful thinking and I certainly wouldn't be opposed to trying him as a starter, but there were a lot of concerns with Marshall when he did start about losing his stuff after about 80 pitches and arm fatigue. That was a few years back, so maybe he can get over it, but you have to figure the Cubs and other teams are having that exact same discussion we have on these boards, but with about 800% more information available to them and don't feel it's the right move. It would be nice if the fans got an explanation, but at the same time, if the Cubs are trying to trade him under the pretense of the "best left-handed reliever in baseball", they probably don't want talk much about moving out of that role.

Back to Travis Wood, he's probably more of a back-end of the rotation guy that will be pretty cheap for the Cubs if the deal happens. He seems to feature a fastball that averages out at just below 90 mph with a real good change-up and cutter. If he had the Lillyhammer, he'd be a Ted Lilly clone, but his curveball is considered a work-in-progress. He had a very nice 2010 joining the Reds mid-season, capping it with 3.1 IP of scoreless ball replacing Edinson Volquez in the Game 1 of the Roy Halladay perfect game. He took a major step back in 2011.

Here's a scouting report from Kevin Goldstein before the 2010 season where he was rated a 3-star prospect and #5 in the Reds organization.

The Good: Wood's changeup is the best in the organization. It features nearly perfect arm action with considerable velocity separation, and heavy break late. He sets the pitch up well with an 88-92 mph fastball with cutting action, and he showed much better control in 2009 with a simplified delivery.

The Bad: Wood's curveball is a 40-45 pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale, and he'll need to find more consistency with it to succeed in the big leagues. He's undersized, and some wonder if he can handle a 32-start workload.

Perfect World Projection: He has the tools to be a good fourth starter.

We shall await the outcome.

In other Cubs news, they've resigned Reed Johnson to a one year deal to continue hitting lefties.

Comments

Padres rankings from Goldstein had Rizzo #6, but says you "could jumble numbers one-to-seven in any order and not get a big argument" Rizzo was a 4-star prospect. The Good: Rizzo is a classic first-baseman with the ability to hit for both average and power. He works the count well, waits for pitches to drive, and can crush mistakes. He's worked hard on his defense and projects to be average there. The Bad: Despite his numbers, there are some major weaknesses in Rizzo's game. His power nearly disappears against left-handers, and he has a hitch in his swing that often leaves him behind good velocity. Despite his natural strength, he has a tendency to get pull-happy and hunts for power, which led to some silly swings against breaking balls in the big leagues.

trade Garza to the Blue Jays... d'Arnaud or Arencibia, Drabek and Snider (also Gose or Marisnick)? figure you have to ask for at least that much, since you can still trade him during the season or next offseason.

as mentioned by aaronb in the earlier thread... you can always try and sign Marshall back after this year if he doesn't sign an extension with the Reds.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Thanks, ROB G. I get it, but if true, what incentive is there for anyone to go to a game? Watching a 90-loss team is worse than what we saw last year for fuck's sake. I honestly don't know if that could happen, regardless of what Kapper reports. Besides, that would mean that the "Parallel Fronts" speech on Day One of Epstein, would not be the Plan anymore.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I agree about Soriano, Rob. If they are trading Marshall and pursuing possible trades of Garza, it sounds to me like they won't be serious contenders for Fielder and instead will try to dump whatever contracts they can and use good players whose club control years are running out (like Marshall) to collect young players of whatever value they can get. I won't be surprised to see Soto go at the deadline if he gets off to a good start, and Byrd is a possibility for a trade (probably for some young bullpen guy or a middling prospect on the infield) during the season as well. Dempster, or even Zambrano, might have some trade value at mid-season, too.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

favorite tweet so far re: trade... "Ian Soper @Ian_Soper Who the fuck is sean marshall and why are the Reds giving up Travis Wood and 2 other players for him??? Reds trades have blown dick." that's just...an interesting observation from an NL Central "fan" runner up... "Nick Kirby @Nicholaspkirby At first glance I was pissed about getting rid of Wood. Then I saw Sean Marshall is rated as 86 overall on MLB 2K11, I am ok with it. "

Is Travis Wood a step up from Randy Wells? Would the rotation look like this: Garza, Dempster, Zambrano, Wood, Wells/Cashner (In order of effectiveness)? Is Cashner definitely spending 2012 in the bullpen at this point? If so, who is rotation depth? Samardzija? Maholm? Rodrigo Lopez?

Another Cub 1st round draft choice moves on again. Ryne Sandberg should see a lot of him. per mlbtr... The Phillies announced they've signed...outfielder Luis Montanez to minor league contracts with an invitation to Spring Training.

What's the deal with this prick Kevin Goldstein? He has so much Cub hate, it oozes out of his word processor. Must be a Sox fan. Every article or tweet from this guy related to the Cubs is totally negative, if not downright insulting. Up yours, buddy.

"BarryRozner Amazed that some are shocked about Marshall or Garza or anyone. This precisely what what Cubs said they would do. Too hard to understand? " i wonder if he was ever being mugged and crying about it if the attacker would ask him why he's crying and be in total shock that he didn't understand how to stay cool during a mugging. it's not that hard to imagine some people don't like what's going down no matter how early it is and no matter how bad of a state the team is in. losing marshall isn't a biggie...i wouldn't want to see garza go, myself...some don't want to see anyone valuable go and for them to spend the loot they have.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Wed, 12/21/2011 - 9:25pm — Charlie I'm getting that everyone is pretty down on Wood. I see a young lefty who is probably an upgrade over Randy Wells and who is under control through 2016. If the current regime didn't believe Marshall could start, it seems like a good move for the franchise. If they could get something they liked better, I'm sure they would've done it. I'm not so sure that a relief pitcher is going to be much more valuable at the trade deadline than during the offseason. Jedstein may feel they are buying low on Wood right now, too. ======================= CHARLIE: I think T. Wood is probably comparable to Paul Maholm or Jeff Francis, two FA LHSP the Cubs were supposedly looking at for the starting rotation. Since T. Wood is an auto-renewal guy, the Cubs save about $2.6M in the deal (Marshall's $3.1 M 2012 salary minus whatever Wood gets, probably around $500K), not to mention whatever they don't have to pay Maholm or Francis. As to whether Epstein-Hoyer could have gotten a better return for Marshall, we just don't know that. I neither believe nor disbelieve in the mystical powers of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, so I don't automatically assume that they got the best deal possible, although that may be the case. I would feel better about the deal if the $2.6M in 2012 payroll was added to the $20M likely already available and spent on an impact FA like Prince Fielder. One thing about Jim Hendry is that while he was too often a lousy judge of talent (and how much the talent was worth), he never punted a season. He wasn't very good at doing it, but at least he tried to put a contending team on the field every year. Too many Cubs fans are accepting the idea that Epstein-Hoyer can't build a strong farm system without turning the 2012 Chicago Cubs into a midwest version of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I disagree. Anyone running a large market team like the Cubs should be able to put a contending team on the field every year AND build a strong farm system. The two are not (or should not be) mutually-exclusive of each other.

I would feel better about the deal if the $2.6M in 2012 payroll was added to the $20M likely already available and spent on an impact FA like Prince Fielder. Too many Cubs fans are accepting the idea that Epstein-Hoyer can't build a strong farm system without turning the 2012 Chicago Cubs into a midwest version of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I disagree. Anyone running a large market team like the Cubs should be able to put a contending team on the field every year AND build a strong farm system. The two are not (or should not be) mutually-exclusive of each other.
You are exactly right, Phil.

By my count the cubs have added 2 guys they probably expect to be regulars for the cost of one reliever and 2 bench guys(sorry to the tyler colvin and Lemahieu fan clubs). Let's not act like Sean Marshall was the key to competing in 2012. They also have James Russell which I forgot to mention and he's been pretty good out of the pen. My biggest concern so far is that they seem to think Barney is a viable starter. Obviously adding Fielder, would be nice, but shit, maybe they actually believe in LaHair. But lets see what happens by February before we jump down their throats. To be honest, there were only 3 free agents worth spending on this offseason, Fielder, Pujols and Reyes for where the Cubs are realistically in the winning cycle.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

pen should be fine without marshall unless wood or castro totally blows and no one steps up...it's nice to not have to look for another SP to spend money on for 2012 and to control cheaply for 2013 when Z/dumpster leave the team. ian stewart is...well, i have opinions on him, myself. i can expand upon them with pleading requests. =p still, he's a fair gamble as anyone unless theo-co wanted to give a guy like casey blake a 1 year deal. at least stewart can field... it's not the "safe" moves or cheap gambles i have an issue with as much as there seems to be a lot of average-level support being sought for 2012 to keep the team afloat... i was kinda expecting it, but when aram decided not to tie up 16m of money in 2012 things got a bit more interesting and flexible. that said...i kinda wonder what ricketts influence on the 2012 payroll is...what payroll promises are being made going forward...or if a month+ from now it's all moot cuz we got something worth talking about as a big contributor or an anchor.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

If we're taking gambles on guys like Travis Wood and Ian Stewart instead of signing guys like Jeff Francis and Casey Blake then I'm all for it. Remember when Cubs didn't have the money for Furcal but then signed Neifi, Rusch, and whomever else that added up to Furcal's salary? Theo is doing the exact right thing in that analogy. Fielder's going to hold out for a long time before signing - we know this. Hard to judge Theo before Fielder signs. In the example above Theo will have saved all his nickels to afford Fielder and we'll see if he goes ahead and spends them. I wonder though, if the team ended up going with LaHair and were say $15MM under payroll this year, would we channel that right into Cespedes and Soler? If that's how it worked out I would be happy with it.

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

I agree with that as well. The concern isn't fully that we didn't get enough for Marshall; we won't know that until we know the minor leaguers. Rather, I am impatient for evidence that either (or both) we are going to do something significant for next year (Fielder, Pujols, Darvish, Wilson, or something like that) or make a significant investment in young talent (including trading for top prospects or signing a Cuban). Neither seems imminent and while the moves so far may turn out to be quite beneficial (maybe Stewart becomes exceptional, maybe Wood becomes Ted Lilly, etc.), right now they are minimal. And with the excitement generated by the new Cub-Theocracy comes hope for greatness, and I am growing anxious that such hope is not being evidenced. Mainly, such hope brings a higher expectation for something amazing and fast, which is not usually realistic and we are probably better off that Theo is taking things more deliberately.

Sun-Times Thursday article:
...is former All-Star Bill Buckner, who has agreed to rejoin the organization as a hitting instructor for Class A Boise (Idaho), where he lives. With starting pitching depth being the Cubs’ top priority, acquiring Wood doesn’t mean talks with free-agent pitchers such as Paul Maholm and Jeff Francis would stop, contrary to some reports. Finally, the Cubs also reached agreement with popular, hard-nosed outfielder Reed Johnson on a one-year contract believed to be worth just over $1 million.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/9588014-417/setup-man-sean…

mlb.com, Jonathan Mayo article on Brett Jackson and the Cubs minor league highlights including a pre-post 2011 top ten list that still has the ghosts of Hayden (D'oh!) Simpson, Jay Jackson and Rob Whitenack on it.
"You look at the last couple of Drafts, we drafted a lot of position players," Fleita said. "The next wave of starting pitching is coming, there's a wealth of guys coming at the lower levels. "Some of [the pitching], you could blame me. The shortcomings could've been attributed to that I pushed them a little more quickly than I should have."
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111203&content_id=26…

DeRosa to Nationals rumor on twitter that Reds granted a window to negotiate extension with Marshall, maybe whether he agrees to one or not will in turn dictate the prospects Cubs get in return (no extension, lesser prospects, signs extension, better prospects).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

That sounds rather complicated. Team A makes "deal" to Team B. If the deal is NOT contingent, whether the player signs an extension should not matter in the quality of the prospects unless, there is a contingency before hand. So, how can Team B negotiate an extension if the player is not on the team? Obviously if there is a contingency (and no one knows this) Team B can stipulate before hand that "if player does not sign an extension, we will only give you players from this list _____ ." But, to me at least, it seems like two different negotiations unless there is a provision of this type.

Keith Law chat If it turns out to be the two guys I've heard, I prefer the Cubs side. Neither is a top-tier guy, but I'd rather have five years of Wood than one of Marshall anyway, and the two prospects are at least good enough to seal this for Chicago in my mind. http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/41805 He's a 4-5 right now, but I think he could be better than that with a change in his pitching plan, using the cutter and change more and the four-seamer less. That's assuming his shoulder doesn't look like hamburger meat after two seasons with Dusty.

more Keith Law Gose is faster, has a better swing, is two full years younger than [Brett] Jackson, and has already shown the aptitude to make significant adjustments since signing. He's still not a finished product, but those are all major factors placing him over Jackson in any rational ranking of players. I'd trade [Garza], or at least try to do so (that's always the intent - "they should trade him" means "they should fully explore the market, and trade him if they get a sufficiently strong offer"). That's how you rebuild. The Cubs' system isn't in terrible shape, but it's not good enough to turn the major league team around any time soon. Padres system after trade for LATOS Very high. Top 5, certainly. I think I could make an argument to put them at the top. Given how briefly the Hoyer/McLeod tandem was running the show, it's impressive how quickly they boosted that farm system. Their '11 draft was expensive, but with ceiling all over the damn place. Re: Rizzo for B. Jackson trade I'd rather have Rizzo and it's not even close.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I think it's a tremendous haul. I love Cole - I believe he has legitimate ace level potential. Yes, he's a couple years away, but Peacock - I'm not the biggest believer that Peacock will be a TOR type arm, but plus velo on the fastball, good breaking ball. If the improved command sticks, there's no reason why he can't be a good end of the rotation arm for the A's next year. His flyball tendencies will be helped by playing in that park and in that division. Milone - He's nothing special, but he's likely able to fill a back of the rotation spot as soon as this year. The A's have a lot of options, but he's basically ... Travis Wood-ish (I think Milone has a better changeup/breaking ball, along with better command, with Wood having a better fastball). Norris - They won't rush him, but he could be ready by 2013. Carlos Pena as a C ... is very valuable. And honestly, it wouldn't stun me if Cole gets a big league cup of tea late in 2012. I tend to think that his was a slightly better haul than the Latos return (albeit, different types of trades, as Padres focused on positional assets). That said, of the three big trades this offseason involving young arms, I think Cole was at least the 2nd best asset moved (parker being the top one moved), and I'm not sure Norris is all that far behind Grandal. I'm more intrigued in Peacock/Milone combination than Volquez/Boxberger, but admittedly, a decent run from Volzquez could bring more trade assets in return for San Diego, so that trade may have a bit more "story" to unfold.

Bruce Miles tweets..
BruceMiles2112 Players still are in turn-head-and-cough mode at the doctor's office. 2 hours ago by BruceMiles2112 Training Just heard that Marshall arrived at CVG at about 3:15 so it should probably be another few hours till announced 2 hours ago

Fun article at Desipio.com called "Jed and Theo are taking out the Trash" Starts out picking on David Kaplan (who has become a giant cartoon character these days)
Our good friend Dave Kaplan breathlessly tweeted yesterday “Breaking Cubs news: Cubs to completely rebuild.” That was breaking news in the same way that “Breaking Bears news: Caleb Hanie still sucks,” would be breaking news.
Then there is this beaut, rolling out the Wayback machine...
In 1932, the old man, William Wrigley died and his idiot son PK Wrigley (the Todd Ricketts of his day) took over and things slowly went to shit.
Eventually getting to the present...
Expect an offseason and summer of the Cubs throwing players overboard. At some point they’ll trade Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, Geovany Soto and probably Carlos Marmol. Some will be fairly easy to trade. Byrd is in the final year of his deal, has no trade protection (a miracle given that Jim Hendry handed them freely) and is relatively inexpensively priced. Somebody will take a flier on Wells and Soto. Some won’t be so easy to trade...
http://www.desipio.com/?p=3794

from the twitter feed up top "darrenrovell darrenrovell Doing deals for Albert Pujols ($254M) & Carlos Beltran ($26M), will net agent Dan Lozano $14M, assuming he takes 5% cut. " if he's a sports business writer he might want to check up on MLB agents that have contracts that give them 5%...it'll be a short list...if it even exists. c'mon guy...that's sloppy work.

Someone on bleacher report (Seattle - arguing that signing Fielder is a bad idea) is claiming that batters in front of a stud like Fielder will not benefit from Fielder by seeing better pitches and that it is "one of the dumbest things he has ever heard". I still operate on the theory that a 3 hitter will see better pitches with a Fielder or Pujols batting cleanup - because the pitcher will not pitch around him or nibble with the stud on deck. Am I operating on outdated urban legend? This writer gave a 7 game sample as proof which is an absurdly deficient sample of course: (2011 world series - batters in font of Pujols were 6/57 or something like that). Does anyone know if the stats bear out to support hitters seeing better pitches when they are followed by a world class hitter?

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

not sure if you realize it, but Matt Bush has reinvented himself as a power pen arm and is actually mildly intriguing. He was in AA for the Rays last year, could be in AAA next year, and might be in the bigs sooner than later. As for the other moves - They aren't exciting, but for a rebuilding team, I don't find fault with any of the moves. Stewart - Third base market was bad. I liked Headley, but he was going to cost an arm, a foot, and more. This gives us an intriguing talent who had some injuries to try. It's not like we gave up a ton - LeMahieu and Colvin had questionable pro potential as starters. Who else were you going to target? DeJesus - Don't have a big problem with this either. I entered the offseason wanting another top of the order option. I'd like to get one more option, but DeJesus isn't signed down long term, looks like he wanted to be here. No harm here that I can see, and fills a position that they clearly wanted to address, as they didn't believe in Colvin, for understandable reasons. Corpas is a small gamble. I doubt they gave him much or guaranteed him a spot. Why not? Don't see the problem with it, bringing a guy to spring. It's like the Bianchi/Reed Johnson moves. Don't see the big issue with them as they fill depth roles that were needed. About the only move I had an issue with is exposing/losing Flaherty/Gonzalez, guy who could fill utility roles and be stopgap options, and then signing Bianchi for such a role. That said, it's really not the biggest deal out there.

[ ]

In reply to by toonsterwu

Oh, I don't disagree with any of this analysis. My point though is that we're not the Pirates or Royals. I don't see how the Cubs can justify literally blowing the whole thing up and filling the roster with stopgaps for the next two years. Who the hell is going to pay $50/ticket for a game at Wrigley to watch a 100-loss team? The payroll is large enough that they Jedstein could also bring in a couple of decent players to at least make the team marginally competitive while the Master Plan works itself out. I mean, the Cardinals sign Carlos Beltran today, the Nats trade for Gio Gonzalez, and the Cubs sign.....Manny Corpas. The contrast speaks volumes.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

For anyone who might care, Manny Corpas does not get an automatic "no trade" through 6/15 because he was not an Article XX-B MLB free-agent. (He was an MLB Rule 55 minor league FA post-2011). Corpas has accrued 4+076 MLB service Time through the 2011 season and has two minor league options left, so he can be optioned to the minors in 2012 up until he reaches five years of MLB Service Time, although he would have to clear Optional Assignment Waivers (which are revocable and thus just a formality) before he can be sent to the minors. BTW, of the 237 post-2011 MLB Rule 55 and Article XX-D minor league free-agents who have signed contracts for 2012 so far, Corpas is only the 6th to get a Major League contract (IF-OF Matt Antonelli, C Chris Gimenez, RHP Joe Martinez, LHP Jose Quintana, and LHP Donnie Veal are the others). Corpas will be eligible for salary arbitration if he is still on the Cubs 40-man roster next off-season, and he cannot be an Article XX-B MLB FA until post-2013 at the earliest (and that's only if he accrues at least 96 days of MLB Service Time in 2012).

Some of my favorites: Toonsterwu, Springs and Quietman all in the same thread! Thanks for all the insight/opinions particularly the minor leaguers. There has been a lot of minor league talent changing rosters this offseason. John Fay (Cincy Enquirer Reds beat reporter) tweets... @Johnfayman It's looking like there will be no official announcement of the Marshall trade tonight. Didnt get for his physical until 3.

Jon Heyman tweet... @JonHeymanCBS Manny corpas signs major-league deal with cubs. Rangers also offered big-league contract. ==== Rangers must not have had much cash left after Darvish?

per Keith Law...
Cubs to receive Travis Wood, Dave Sappelt, and Ronald Torreyes for Sean Marshall. Deal to be announced later today.
http://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/150238039451512833 per mlbtr...
Sappelt, a 24-year-old outfielder, hit .243/.289/.318 in 118 plate appearances for Cincinnati last year, his big league debut. He produced a .313/.377/.458 batting line in 336 plate appearances for their Triple-A affiliate in 2011. Torreyes, a 19-year-old infielder, hit .356/.398/.457 in 306 plate appearances at the Low Class-A level this past season. Baseball America ranked Sappelt and Torreyes as the Reds' 20th and 22nd best prospects, respectively, in last year's Prospect Handbook.
Certainly not Corcino.To paraphrase KLaw..."Clearly not zeros." None of these two were on Az Phil's list:
21-year old Venezuelan RHP Daniel Corcino is a Reds Top 10 Prospect, so if he's included it would probably be worth making the deal. Otherwise, the Cubs could possibly get somebody like CIN 2010 2nd round pick OF Ryan LaMarre (U. of Michigan), RHP J. C. Sulbarran (2008 30th rounder out of a Florida HS, but got a $500K over-slot bonus to buy him out of NLI with U. of Florida), 3B David Vidal, 2B-SS Henry Rodriguez, super-sub type IF-OF Cody Puckett, one-time Cal State-Fullerton Friday Night Starter & three-time All-American RHP Daniel Renken, RHP Tim Crabbe, or RHP Josh Smith.

and a John Sickels article from 6-30-11, reviewing Sappelt:
Scouts point to strong contact hitting skills and plenty of bat speed that results in gap power and occasional home runs. He doesn't draw tons of walks, but he keeps his strikeouts under control. He has above average running speed, but is not yet an effective stealer, swiping 80 bases but being caught 46 times in his career. Although Dusty Baker mentioned in spring training that Sappelt needs to improve his fielding, in the minors he's received good reviews for his play in center field, and he throws well. While most scouts see Sappelt as a future reserve outfielder due to his size, he's proved doubters wrong at every level so far. He is certainly one of the more interesting potential promotions for later in the year.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/6/30/2249330/prospect-of-the-day-da…

Torreyes article 8/5/11...
All I knew was that he was from Venezuela,” Dragons manager Delino DeShields said. By the time the second baseman, now 18, returned here in mid-June this season, it was as if Roy Hobbs himself had arrived, absent some bulk, of course. Back home (Venezuela), he is compared to Dustin Pedroia, the similar-in-size Boston Red Sox All-Star second baseman — and nobody laughs. In fact, scouts do not think Torreyes’s stature will hinder his rise to the major leagues and, incredibly, nobody with a trained eye seems to put it past him to make a name for himself at the highest level.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/dayton-dragons/energetic-t…

from the red reporter thread...
As an 18-year-old, hit .356/.398/.855 in Dayton last year. Turned heads in the Venezuelan league in 2010, hitting .390 there, and worked all the way up to Dayton. Good defensively, and only struck out 19 times in 278 ABs last year. As disciplined of a minor league hitter I’ve ever seen. From RSC's year-end writeup Ronald Torreyes Ronald Torreyes hails from Venezuela and his name is kind of like a Spanglish portmanteau word for “Bull Eyes.” He certainly had the bull eyes this season, as anyone who’s a regular Farmer’s Only Reader will know. Torreyes started the year in extended spring training, but joined the Dragons in June as one of the youngest players in the Midwest League. Over the remainder of his season prospect mongers thrilled to the 18-year-old second baseman’s microscopic 6% K-rate.

Sappelt made a nice catch on a ball headed to the left field corner off the bat of Soto in the 4th inning on Sunday, 8/7. Len and Bob made a big deal about the catch, and then Bob mentioned a scout who told him about going to games to see other players but by the end of the game, he was mostly watching Sappelt.

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?