Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Friday Cubs Hot Stove Round-Up

Oh dear...things should be interesting this weekend.

- ESPN1000 is reporting that Peavy could be dealt by Monday with the Cubs and Braves being the most likely targets.

-  The hot rumor early Thursday was the Braves offering Yunel Escobar and two prospects, but if that is the case, it sounds like Peavy would veto that deal. 

“One of the things we will want to look at some point is, 'Who are you giving up? How much are you weakening your team to make this deal?'” Axelrod said. “If Team X trades three starting pitchers and a starting shortstop to get Jake Peavy, that lessens their chance of being a successful team.”

That sure sounds good for the Cubs chances as the players that have been leaked so far are spare parts (Ceda, Marshall, Pie, Cedeno, Fontenot).

- That same article says the Cubs don't have much interest in Khalil Greene.

- USA Today says it's between Braves, Cubs and Dodgers and even gets confirmation from Jim Hendry that an offer has been made, which is rare for Hendry to confirm such things.

-  A supposed Levine report that I almost feel bad for passing it along, so I hope someone can back this up. The Cubs grand plan would be to trade for Peavy in case Dempster walks, but to try and still resign Dempster somewhere in the 4/50 range. Kerry Wood would still be on the radar at one or two year deal at most.

- Jeff Passan at Yahoo says it comes down to which team will cough up their top pitching prospect.The Padres want Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs or Tommy Hansen from the Braves. Other Cubs that could be included are Sean Marshall, Donald Veal, Felix Pie, Ronny Cedeno and Kevin Hart. Samardzija's no-trade clause is a limited no-trade clause according to Passan, which I did not know. 

UPDATE: Bruce MIles tells Jeff Passan to fuck off. Well not that harsh, but Samardzija does have a full no-trade clause. No wonder no one else knew it was a limited NTC.  Miles runs down some of the possible players that might go in a deal as well.

Comments

Does anyone else agree that it feels like Wooder is just a complete after thought in this whole mess? I'm sorry, but give the man his props and pay him. I know "let marmol take over the closer role" but then who is going to be the lights out 8 inning guy, or guy who comes in when its 2nd and 3rd one out to get that key K. Moving Marmol back is a good idea, but do we really want Kevin Hart, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Guadin, Cotts and whoever else being out setup guys?

[ ]

In reply to by CPH2133

i do and i'm kind of happy about it. i like wood. i think he's got a nice career ahead of him closing. i just don't feel like the team should be throwing him 3+ years/8-10+m a year unless they got a 150m payroll or something. i hope they end up keeping fontenot after all these winter trades. he's nothing special, but he's a starter-quality 2nd baseman and a nice lefty option off the bench.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Agreed. Wood was great and I'd love for him to be back but we can't throw the checkbook at him just got he finally had a good year again. He's a very limited asset at this point. He pitches less than three outs a game, on average, and you can't be ready to just throw a large, multi-year deal at him for that, without addressing other needs first. I'd love to see him come back on a one or two year deal, but if he can get more money elsewhere, good for him. The Cubs and he have to do what's best for themselves and hope those things work out together.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

normally I'd agree that it's unwise to throw big money at a closer, but to a high payroll club it's not a bad thing. For the Twins it's stupid to spend a fifth of their payroll on a closer, but to a team that is going to have a $140-150 payroll it makes sense especially if both Marshall and Samardzija are going to be in the Peavy trade. If both of them are gone that leaves only Marmol as a definite commodity. Otherwise Gaudin & Wuertz should be ok, but they're not setup guys, more like 6th-7th inning guys. Other than that you have a lot of potential in guys like Guzman, Ascanio, Cotts, Hart, but no sure things. Relievers always fluctuate every year, but still I can't see Hendry spending all this money on SP and having an inexperienced bullpen. Hendry can always hit the FA market for a couple relievers, but wouldn't you rather spend $7-8 mil a year on Wood than to sign another Howry/Eyre for $3 mil a year? If the Cubs land Peavy without giving up both of the Marshall/Samardzija, I'd let Dempster walk even if that means keeping Marquis. 4/$50 for Dempster? Me no likey.

[ ]

In reply to by 10man

they had Percival, Wheeler, and Balfour at the back end for the majority of the season. All of those guys have been around for years..Balfour had bounced around the bigs and minors since 2003-04. JP Howell would be the lone exception aside from Price, but I wouldn't count Price since he came up in mid-Sept and was just buying time for a rotation spot. I champion the idea of having young SPs in the bullpen like the Twins have done, but the difference there was they had guys like Nathan, Neshek, Rincon(when he was on steroids/good) Reyes etc and the others filled in around them. The Cubs would only have Marmol as a sure thing at the end, and given his workloads over the last 2 years you never know.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

Cubs fans love Kerry Wood. He's a Cub for life. But eventually, the fans will turn on him. These days, almost no stars stay beloved forever. I'd rather see him go to another team while we still love him than see him turn in a shitty season one day on an overpaid salary and we start hearing the boos. If Wood leaves now, every time he pitches in Wrigley Field the fans will still cheer him. If he sticks around another 3-4 years, the fans will turn on him at some point, and I never want to see that happen. Thanks for the memories, Kerry, but eventually you'll overstay your welcome, and the same a-holes who booed Sammy (and are starting to turn on DLee) will boo you.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

I really don't know. I'm sure Kerry would be an asset to the bullpen, but possibly a detriment to the team if he's being paid $8 million a year to throw 65 innings. I still want him on the team, I would just hate to see him become the next fallen star in Chicago. Since I don't have the kind of extensive knowledge of our prospects like someone like AZ Phil does, I really don't know who's going to be in the bullpen next year, but here are some guesses: Long Relief: - Marshall, Hart? Middle Relief - Cotts, Wuertz, Gaudin Set-Up: - Guzman/Ceda?, Samardzija Closer: - Marmol

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

None of that sounds too off-base. I think having Guzman and/or Ceda in a setup role is optimistic, though. Guzman's got a pretty extensive history of arm problems and Ceda seems still to be a fairly long way from the majors. Also, I'm not sure I expect Samardzija to be as good next year as he was during his big-league time this year. Not saying he can't, either, just saying he's still more of a role of the dice than we always acknowledge. He showed signs at times of being pretty wild, and he really didn't have much of a season until his promotion to AAA (I'm guessing that was around when he figured out that nasty splitter/changeup that became his second effective pitch).

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

I heard, and I can't remember where, that when he got to AAA they said 'OK, quit working on stuff, get outs' probably because Iowa was in contention for the league title, at which point he quit throwing the change and went to his fastball/slider combo. Maybe I am getting senile (OK, I Know I am getting senile) but I don't remember any devestating forkball.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

unless you're using a different definition of the traditional fastball/slider, he barely threw a traditional slider with the Cubs..... almost exclusively the 2-seam fastball or backdoor slider as some call it. The pitch you throw at a lefties hip and it tails over the inside corner or aim for the middle of the plate and it ends up a few feet outside to the lefty. Then of course his hard sinker, which I believe Wilken refers as his splitter.

He does have a change and traditional slider, which he threw maybe once or twice a game.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Samardzija throws 4 pitches, although he mainly focused on his the fastball/sinker with the Cubs, since he was coming out of the pen. If you look through his game logs on MLB, he'll throw the change and slider maybe once or twice a game. The big difference between his AA to AAA time was (according to Wilken) getting better at repeating his delivery and a small tweak that helped him hide his pitches a little longer.

“He’s got very good movement; is repeating his delivery better; is not as visible to hitters as he was earlier, and that’s why he had the inordinate amount of hits (at Tennessee). He’s not as visible anymore,” said Cubs Scouting Director Tim Wilken.
Also of note according to Wilken, who saw Samardzija pitch in a game against Albuquerque on June 29, is Samardzija’s progression with his slider and splitter.
“There’s a little more depth to it (the slider),” Wilken said. “He’s shown an average changeup and has a good feel for it, and he’s tinkering with a split and the split just disappears at times. I would say there’s good light at the end of the tunnel here.” 
 
This is where things always get confusing with Samardzija and his repetoire. Wilken calls one of his pitches a splitter, Samardzija doesn't. I assume they're talking about his sinker, but sometimes it seems like they're referencing his changeup.

as for any insanity that he's a 2-pitch pitcher...

I’ve been throwing my other three pitches [changeup, slider, sinker] for strikes and that’s kind of been the biggest thing. They haven’t just been show pitches; they’ve been for a reason, and I kind of feel confident. Obviously, I love my sinker and I go to that a lot of times, but my confidence in my other pitches is just up there with my sinker now, which helps me out on the mound and helps me go deeper in the games. 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

he's still a 2-pitch pitcher to me until he actually throws his other pitches more than 1-3 times a game. he can claim his 3 other pitches, but until he can break them out he don't have them in some people's eye. a batter is going up there expecting a series of pitches and right now a batter can go to the plate expecting 1 of 2 pitches almost every time. ...and his splitter/sinker/2-seamer/forkball have all been used to describe his 1 "2 seam" fastball over his "regular" 4-seam fastball.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

A ball from a right hander that breaks that much away from left handers is called a screwball, and no one throws it anymore because it's hell on your arm... however you're right he does have something that sometimes breaks away from left handers I never noticed it, but you can see it on the fourth pitch here - if I can get the link right. http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200809033416135&c_id=chc The nominated for ROM August one. The third pitch looks like the similiar motion to the fourth pitch, without the pronounced rightward break - I thought that pitch was a slider - it just doesn't look like a splitfinger - forkball to me, where the arm action is supposed to be the same as a fastball. His fastball is more three quarters and the whatever the hell he calls this pitch is more over the top. I hadn't really broken it down before, but I don't like any of his deliveries. There seems to be a more lateral movement on his leg kick on the fastball as well, but maybe that's just wonky camera angles. Then if you look at his First Save video the second strike out he (Ramirez I think), looks like that same breaking pitch. I don't know what you call it, it's got that tailing action from the side arm follow through and also the downward action from the grip? more over-the top delivery. They may need to start his appearances with 'kids, don't try this at home' statements.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Actually a right hander throws a screwball by spinning the ball counter clockwise, which may be what he is doing here, and would explain why his motion doesn't look like his fastball. It would be just about impossible to throw a 3/4 screwball, when you twist your hand your arm is going to tend to follow. I can't see on that little MLB.TV window, but if his thumb is down when he releases it it's probably a screwball.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

The first 2 pitches are his fastball, but they do tail back over the plate just a bit and it's the backdoor slider that I was talking about. It's the same pitch Maddux and Z throw. In reality, it's just a 2-seam fastball and it's Samardzija's normal fastball. Find a clip against a lefty and you'll see them bail on an inside pitch that catches the inside corner. The video you linked just shows it against a righties. I've seen him throw it numerous times and the movement varies.

A screwball, of course,  is a completely different arm motion and grip and dives at the end.

The last 2 pitches look like changeups to me which crunch tells me he never, ever, ever throws. Pitch f/x agrees...

K on Oswalt (fastball): 93, 4" break, 9" pfx 

K on Zimmerman (fastball): 96, 5" break, 12" pfx

K on Utley (changeup): 87, 8" break, 11" pfx 

K on Belliard (changeup): 86, 6" break, 13" pfx 

I've tried to look up the definition on pfx, but I'm confused as hell by it. 

[ ]

In reply to by Chad

if he had a slider, he'd use it. he don't have it. it's just not developed. ...and that change is a pipedream right now. john smoltz throws an ephus and a true screwball, but you don't see him throw it in games and until a batter can consistently expect it as part of his arsenal a batter looking to apply his trade vs. a pitcher isn't up there thinking about those pitches that show up 1-3 times an inning. i have full faith he'll find that 3rd pitch, transition to starter, and do just fine throwing a 2-pitch-heavy outting in the pen this year (as long as his control will allow it). right now, though...i don't think there's many if any hitters going up there looking for anything but 2 pitches when they face samninja.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

right now, though...i don't think there's many if any hitters going up there looking for anything but 2 pitches when they face [insert every relief pitcher in baseball].

I've posted everything i can possibly post about the subject. I've watched just about every single one of his outings (I'm sure so have you). I've even posted his pitch f/x logs which are quite reliable. He throws a change and a traditional slider about once or twice a game which is on par for every other relief pitcher and their 3rd and 4th pitches. He's stuck to his 2 best pitches which is on par with every other relief pitcher.

 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

im saying...you tell the guy to pitch his arsenal...you're not going to see any quality but his 2 pitches. you can bank that if he had his slider...which is supposedly his most developed offspeed pitch right now...he'd throw it. the guy likes to work the zone low...mixing a slider into that is just...bank. it's damn exciting to think this guy might one day develop that slider. i don't think it's going out on a limb to say that the guy would throw the slider if he had a better grasp of throwing the pitch. it compliments what he does with the 2-4 seamers that it's criminal not to throw it more if he has it.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

you can bank that if he had his slider...which is supposedly his most developed offspeed pitch right now...he'd throw it.

clearly this is where we disagree. I see no reason why he'd go to his 3rd/4th best pitches too often if he didn't need them. As the 2 clips Neal showed, he did seem to use his change as his strikeout pitch early in the season. I do agree that he seemed to get away from it as the season went on. 

I'm not saying either the change or slider are great pitches for him yet, although the change sure was fooling guys in those clips, but that could be a newness factor. 

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

After watching those videos repeatedly, I think that he may need a third pitch regardless because a batter can tell his two pitches apart and the breaking thing isn't something you can risk throwing for strikes. I think Dave Steib is the guy most famous for being a great starter with only two pitches... well I take that back, there was Randy Johnson too. But you've got to have both pitches that look identicle coming out of your hand - or that you can throw for swing and miss stirkes. I think if he throws that breaking thing into the zone it's going to wind up being tossed back into left field by some drunken accountant.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

that video only shows 2 of his pitches, one of them he rarely throws, the changeup. He didn't throw his sinker in that video, which was the "2nd" pitch he normally threw.

Once again for all parties involved...

Pitch #1 - Fastball with a natural horizontal movement that breaks away from lefties

Pitch #2 - sinker

Pitch #3 - changeup

Pitch #4 - traditional slider that breaks away from righties

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

oh okay, I was looking at

"Samardzija nominated for NL's top rookie for August"

let me go through this Marlin game labeled 

"Samardzija pitches two innings for his first save"

Here's my scouting impression... 

Ross K -  fastball

Baker flyout - fastball but with a little more movement as I was saying

Gonzalez groundout - Fastball

Hanley K - changeup

Hermida K - changeup

Cantu flyout - fastball

I didn't see his sinker in that clip, but the 2nd batter that flew out MIGHT have been it, didn't have the drop that I've normally seen though. Here's the pitch f/x data on them.

Ross (FB) - 96, 5" break, 14" pfx

Baker(FB) - 95, 6", 12"

Gonzalez(FB) - 95, 5", 12"

Hanley(change) - 86, 8", 9"

Hermda(change) - 85, 9", 8" 

Cantu(FB) - 95, 5" 12" 

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

apparently an effective enough pitch to strike out Utley and Ramirez.

here's his repertoire with his grips...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DF95m6Ta_E

4-seam fastball 2-seam fastball change slider no mention of a splitter, but on his blog he calls it a splitty. He also mentions sliders and changes on his blog and in the interview I pasted above. Judging from the grips he shows, the changeup has to be his "splitty". I'll revise what I wrote earlier though, most of those fastballs in those 2 clips were 4-seamers, not 2-seamers. I think the only 2-seamer/sinker was to Baker.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

He threw something this season that moved like Z and Dempster's split fingers. Since I can't see how he's gripping the ball, I would have to guess it's either a splitter or a changeup that has significant drop to it. He could be throwing a sinker with tons of sink, but who takes that much off of their sinker? Again, looking back to the first couple weeks right after his callup. I'm referring to the pitch with velocities in the mid 80s that has a lot of drop and tails a little away from lefties. He clearly also throws a fastball that tails hard away from lefties, which was the pitch he relied on most. I don't remember seeing the slider thrown much. I see 3 pitches, but I don't have the bestest eyes, plus what I see doesn't necessarily equal what the batter sees (or fails to see).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

He's got a Daytona Cubs hat on in that clip. He talks about the 'three finger changeup and when he's he says he 'rolls it over' he spins his wrist clockwise, but then he wiggles the ball back and forth. I'd guess that it's morphed into the pitch he was throwing with the movement in to the right handers and that he actually is, maybe unintentionally, throwing it with a small reverse spin.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Yeah, when he went to the bullpen for his call-up that was the first time (I think) he wasn't a starter, other than spring training. He was really good for Iowa when got an emergency callup there - 4 and 1 with a CG in 6 starts, a 3.13 ERA, more than a K per inning and a 1.39 GO/FO ratio. He wasn't able to do any of those things previously in his way up to Iowa, but the talent, stanima and repetiore is there, if he can just get some more control.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

doug, I think that's a genius statement, very sad, but true. And actually all it would take would be his next DL trip, be it small as a hangnail, and almost every bitchy fan would say "I knew we shouldn't have overpaid that guy to be our closer, what were we thinking??" Peavy doesn't make that much now, all things considered, but I am slightly concerned about the whole "extension" thing. I think I've only seen it in print once, but still. And I'm not sure how or why we're Real Neal bashing today, but I'm not. Shout out to Neal.

They just rolled over. Three straight games. WTF... I've been obsessing over the presidential election just to distract my mind. Peavy? Ok. Peavy & Theriot on the same team? Let's hope they get CMT in the clubhouse.

I'd love for the Cubs to get Peavy. There's not one particular prospect we have that I would be so attached to as not to give up in this deal (just don't give up too much). The only thing I'm hoping for is that this gets done sooner. I couldn't stand Peavy being this years Brian Roberts.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Interesting to see you come around, Neal. Is that because of Demp's reported new contract demands? I've been maybe the most vocal Peavy advocate here, but I'd hate to see the Shark shipped out of town. If we could keep Vitters, Veal, and Ceda out of it too, that'd be awesome. But I imagine at least one and probably two of them will have to be included, unless a third team is involved.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

You guys have become such thought Nazis around here. It's like talking to a computer program stuck in a loop. Peavy has shoulder, elbow and forearm issues in his past, and when I say 'past' that goes all the way back to August 2008. At least his triceps seems to be in good shape. He's got a maximum effort delivery that lends itself to spending more time on the DL and probably some time under a surgeon's scaple. Peavy has bombed in all three of his playoff starts. Peavy has run up some great ERA seasons by taking advantage of pitching half of his games in the best pitcher's stadium in the league. Peavy is owed a lot of money over the next four years - it's not like he has a contract that's all that favorable. He'll probably have a higher annual salary than anyone besides Sabathia.

[ ]

In reply to by Newport

I think Peavy makes $11M next year, that's what the papers were reporting, different than what Cot's has.

That's $63M over the 4 yrs if you include his buyout for 2013 of $4M, so that makes it $15.75 M average, below Johann and Z and likely below CC. If you count the $22M in 2013, it's $16.2 M over 5 years.

it's possible he'll ask for an extension or something to waive his NTC that could change that, although it sounds like if it's to one of 5 teams, he would just want the NTC clause for the entire contract. It turns to a limited NTC in 2011 and 2012.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

You guys have become such thought Nazis around here What? I was remarking at you wanting Randy Johnson or Mike Mussina over Peavy. I still have to think about that for a second. Peavy has shoulder, elbow and forearm issues in his past, and when I say 'past' that goes all the way back to August 2008. At least his triceps seems to be in good shape. He's got a maximum effort delivery that lends itself to spending more time on the DL and probably some time under a surgeon's scaple. I agree Peavy is an injury concern but not really much more of one than Dempster. three Exactly. He'll probably have a higher annual salary than anyone besides Sabathia. Um, no, that's flat wrong. You know he's not a FA, right?

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

*Wanting one of the games all time greats, on a one year contract more than a guy who's bound for shoulder surgery and due $62 million, yeah, that should give you pause. *Peavy has as many arm problems every year that Dempster has had in his entire career. Plus, you've got to do more than look at stat lines to determine who's going to be healthy and who's not. Peavy's a guy who every single pitching analysis guy doesn't like. Who says that about Dempster? What are Dempster's mechanical flaws? Is Dempster grunting every time he throws a pitch? *So you think Burnett, Lowe or Dempster are going to make more than $16 million per on their contracts? It's possible, but I think Lowe and Dempster will get about $15/per if they go money shopping and Burnett will get about $13.5.

Nothing in these new articles substatniate what Rosenthal has said about the Cubs offering lower level guys. Someone is making things up.

Anyone else feel like Peavy is really sticking it to the team trying to trade him? Ouch, for Towers. Now he's not allowed to trade him to a team that is giving up players good enough to be important parts of that team (and thus who would probably be important parts of a Padres team).

I'd love to see what Arizona Phil thinks about Mitch Atkins at this point. Maybe with a comparison to Ricky Nolasco (after his AA season) at the time he was sent to Florida.

Am I correct in assuming he has next to zero trade value? I can imagine a change of scenery would help, maybe a different voice in his ear telling him "throw strikes, throw strikes, throw strikes" would help. I hate to see him just banish off the face of the earth like he has. I saw where someone posted his recent stat line at whatever JV league he's pitching at, not pretty...Just thinking out loud i suppose

[ ]

In reply to by CPH2133

Had he thrown well in Winter Ball he probably would have had some trade value. He's had two awful (offal?) starts in a row now - at this point he's going to have to bounce back in the Majors to get some trade value going again. Maybe he can be our lefty specialist, though.

I like Bruce Miles and all, but this was an odd one, when talking about Lee. "And although Micah Hoffpauir appears to be the flavor of the month among many observers, there's no evidence he can produce every day at the big-league level." I don't know what Bruce calls batting .342 with a 1:1 GBP to Line Drive ratio in MLB following slugging .752 in AAA, but I would call that evidence. He did have some ridiculous BABIP luck to get to that .342 but he hits a ton of line drives. In an even 600 At bats in AAA over the last two years he has 58 doubles 2 triples 41 homers 173 RBI's 41 BB's and 80 K's. It would make total sense to me by the end of 2009 to have him with the big half of a platoon if Lee doesn't bounce back and Hoffpauir continues to do what he's been doing for the last three years.

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/braves/entries/2008/1… Morton, Escobar and Hernandez are the names plus another lesser prospect...but the writer seems to be saying the Braves MIGHT be willing to go up that high. then a bunch of quotes from Axelrod that trading Escobar wouldn't mean they'd veto it, just an example he used. Axelrod and Towers are apparently very good friends as well.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.