Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Rooting Interests

GAME 120 IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (57-62) @ HOUSTON ASTROS (64-54) MINUTE MAID PARK, 7:05 pm CDT, TV: WGN, Fox Sports SouthWest
Andy Pettitte LHP
10-8, 2.62 ERA
116/31 K/BB, 11 HR in 154.2 IP
Greg Maddux, RHP
9-9, 4.54 ERA
96/26 K/BB, 21 HR in 156.2 IP
RF *Matt Lawton CF Wily Taveras
2B #Neifi Perez 2B Craig Biggio
1B Derrek Lee 1B #Lance Berkman
3B Aramis Ramirez 3B Morgan Ensberg
SS Nomar Garciaparra RF Jason Lane
LF Matt Murton LF *Orlando Palmeiro
CF *Corey Patterson SS Adam Everett
C Henry Blanco C Brad Ausmus
P Greg Maddux P *Andy Pettitte
In the back of my mind and locked in a box high upon a shelf, I hold out hope that the Cubs will make some mad dash toward the playoffs in these last 42 games. In reality, we have a 1.08% chance right now. The Giants have better odds right now to make the playoffs as do the Dodgers and every team in the NL East. So, for the rest of the season I have come up with a cheat sheet for my rooting interests, in order of importance. 1. Fantasy Baseball Stats (I have Aramis, Prior and Z on my team) 2. Derrek Lee's Quest for The Triple Crown 3. Greg Maddux winning 15 games 4. Matt Murton getting playing time and doing well 5. Hendry sees enough to realize that Bakerschild (Baker/Rothschild) are not the right coaches for this team. 6. The Astros don't make the playoffs The item above takes precedence over the item below and if the Cubs do make some remarkable run, they will of course take over precedence to all other items. Today Maddux goes for win #10 and he's only got about 8 to 9 more starts to win 6 more games this season. I hope good old Maddog does it once again, just for the novelty and more proof that showing up everyday is almost as important as playing well when you do play. We'll see if the Cubs can recover from yesterday's butt-whoopin'. At least with Maddux on the mound we're unlikely to be witness to a parade of walks. The long ball is another story though. Go Cubs!

Comments

Knowing how this team is we lost to Wendy Rodriguez, and we'll beat Oswalt and Pettitte. As bad as it sounds I hope Lawton gets injured. He has done nothing but take PT away from Murton since he has been here. Hairston will be back Friday, who do you think he will replace on the roster. I figured here are the odds: Wuertz 25% Wellemeyer 20% Murton 20% Wood 20% Cpat 10% Lawton 5%

Ok, I'll take my licks for this comment--but with a lefty starting, why not sit Patterson and play Macias here? If there was ever a time to play the guy, it would be against a lefty in place of a lefty, right?

that's a cavernous center in Houston, you don't want Macias patrolling that. I'm not exactly sure what the Cubs will do when Hairston comes back. I figured Murton was sure to go. There's a good possibility we'll get swept by Houston and if that's the case I think Hendry is may pull the trigger on whatever waiver wire deals he has waiting in the wings (say that 10 times fast) and that'll open up a roster spot. I still don't see them going to 11 pitchers though. They've remained this stubborn so far, might as well ride out the season with it. Maybe Holly will get DFA'ed? Macias is Baker's #1 pinch-hitter anyway.

Patterson hits lefties (hits is a relative statement but his splits are not usual for a lefty) Rob, if Cub fans cared about the odds of the Cubs making the post season, we couldn't possibly be Cubs fans. It goes against the very nature of being a Cub fan. In fact that's why we invented "Wait Til Next Year!" Like our odds will be any better? Hell no! Shame, shame on you Rob G!

Never tell me the Odds! (Sorry about the double post guys I didn't even hit "Post" twice.)

actually Rob, you're being a pessimist. it's not a 1.08% chance of the making the playoffs. it's actually 1.09559%. hehe, apparently the baseball gods have left us mathematically alive to catch the cardinals. if the season were played 10,000 times would the cubs actually win the central once?? hmm...that's what the numbers say.

Yeah I didn't really get that.... How do we have a better chance at making the playoffs then we do the Wild Card? Just cause there's less teams in our way to win the division? Doesn't make sense, but fine 1.10% if you round up...

GL, I think you read that wrong, with a one percent chance we would win 108 times in 10,000 times.

no, guys, it's 1.09559 to make the Playoffs, AKA division + wild card the wild card is 1.08609% chance the division is therefore the difference = .00950%. so basically, once in about 10,000 tries, the cubs would win the division. once in about 100 tries they would make the playoffs one way or the other.

If the Cubs do not rise to the occassion and win this series in Houston then they will really be out of the Wild Card race...I figure the Cubs must go at least 33 and 10 in their remaining games (and win tonight and Wednesday night)...You would think Hendry would now realize that he has waited TOO LONG to address the pitching situation...Instead of getting Lawton the Cubs needed to go out and acquire a good starting pitcher and a reliable Bullpen pitcher...We are fortunate that tonight and tomorrow we have 2 of our better starting pitchers...Yet, Maddux and Zambrano will have to pitch really well to give the Cubs a chance to win these games...we also need the Cubs to play smart defense...On top of that our offense will have to score early and score often...Good luck Cubs...You should play tonight as if this is the final game in a play-off series...;-)

Lee and Ramirez are starting get hot again and are helping the Cubs remain competitive...Maddux is pitching well and he's already batted a run in...Blanco has thrown out a runner trying to steal 3rd...Yet, Pettitte is a great pitcher and it seems like Murton and some of the other Cubs are having trouble hitting off of him -- lets hope that changes as the game goes on...So far this game looks much better than the one we saw last night.

What a game from Mad Dog. Just what we needed.

And Pettitte's pitch count is already up around 110...Maddux has been very economical and I think his pitch count is still under 70 -- It's possible Maddux will pitch the entire game...Time for some more smart defense...;-)

It's nice to see Houston have trouble with their Bullpen pitcher...We can really do some damage in this inning...Way to go Burnitz...Patterson is looking very good -- like to see that stolen base too...;-)

I just heard that Dusty is going to go with Kerry Wood in the next inning...I would prefer to save him for tomorrow night and let Maddux pitch as long as he can...We always have Dempster as a closer.

Of course, Patterson doubled off 2nd. What reason he had to be that far off the base, I don't know.

Kerry Wood is RED HOT right now...Houston and St. Louis can't touch most of his pitches -- I just wish we could use him more often...;-)

Lawton is 0-5 with 3 strikeouts tonight...Maybe Hendry wishes he had traded for a pitcher instead of "a leadoff hitter"...Murton seems to be more reliable than Lawton and we all know that the Cubs need to upgrade their pitching staff to be competitive late in the season.

CUBS WIN...Finally they have played like a team in the hunt for a Wild Card spot -- now they have to do this again tomorrow and several dozen more times this year...Take it game by game...Great pitching by Maddux, Wood and Dempster was so important...I hope Hendry is working the phones and looking for another pitcher...We can't rely on Rusch and Bullpen folks like Wellemeyer...The Cubs have a chance IF they have the talent in place and IF Dusty uses the talent wisely...Good game tonight.

Scott, Agreed I said we could use more pitching at the deadline.

Why can't we play like this every night. I really hope they move Wood to the pen for good. You can always find a quality starter, but relief like this doesn't come but a few times. He can be another Eck.

Gammons has an article up on insider about waivers. He are some interesting cub notes: 1. Nomar and Wood have not been put on waivers. 2. Rusch, Patterson and Neifi were put on waivers and claimed and were pulled back. 3. The "Todd squad" as Harry Teinowitz would say has cleared waivers.

Seriously, I hope if Hendry is working the phones its as a seller, not a buyer. Tonight's win is nice, but face it the Cubs are done. Trading off anyone at this point of the season, this many games under 500, is just not worth it. If anything, try to get some marginal prospects for guys like Holly or Burnitz who might be able to help you in a year where you have a prayer. I hate to say it, but every day like this that the Cubs pretend to stay in the race is just one less day the Cubs have to get ready for next year. (Wood recovering from surgery, etc...)

Neifi cleared waivers, a team wanted him, and we still have him??? This is what I mean about the Cubs pretending that they still have a chance. Move on and get what you can for the spare parts.

Don't worry about Kerry Wood and surgery...I heard an interview with Hendry the other day and he said that Woody had been evaluated by some of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country...There will be NO difference if the procedure is done in mid August versus 2 months from now...He should have a quick recovery and be back at full strength by the start of Spring Training...Kerry Wood has had no pain recently and he wants to remain active to help the Cubs as long as he can.

I agree that the priority right now should be to set up the team for next year. Trade the people we don't think are part of the future, and play the people who might be. If nothing else, we can learn something about who can help us then. PS - I don't think this is a total surrender on this year. I still want them to play every game as if it matters. Nothing's more depressing than watching a team that doesn't care. It's just that we need a miracle to get back in it, and I think we're as likely to get that miracle with my strategy as any other.

Morris had his surgery Dec. 1 and only missed a start or two. I guess it was the Nationals that claimed Neifi.

All I can say is that Kerry Wood's performance the past two games have been the most the exciting seen I've seen from this team all year. That includes DLee...As for Cpat, I think he looks much better. Its apparent to me they've told him to use his speed more. He was almost picked off first on his bloop single and of course was doubled off on macias' ball. Just overly aggressive. His speed could really add, however.

kerry wood in relief looks almost exactly the same as kerry wood the starter...of course right now the numbers are a bit sexier, though. cant wait to have him back in the rotation and healed. and yeah...cpat, though limited view so far, seems to have traded in his sheltered ego for true confidence (there is a difference...hey mr. rocker) and it seems to suit him fine. hopefully a bad week/month/etc. wont send him back into a spiral of bad habits and old crutches. be nice to have cpat/hairston around next year in CF.

I loved seeing Kerry Wood pitch tonight...Yet, I think Maddux and Dempster could have closed this game out without the additional help...Last night was the big problem...What if at the first sign of trouble Dusty had sent Kerry Wood in to SHUT DOWN HOUSTON'S SCORING DRIVE...So what if you can only use Wood for 2 innings...Then we could have gone to Williamson, Novoa and Dempster to close...If they had all pitched well we would have had a chance to win last night...Yet, we saw Dusty use Wellemeyer and other young and erratic Bullpen pitchers...The game was too important and I think there was a way to save it IF Dusty and Rothchild had QUICKLY pulled pitchers when they got into trouble and gone with the experienced folks in the Bullpen...Wellemeyer should be traded or sent back down to Iowa...He can't throw strikes under pressure and that's required if you're a Bullpen pitcher. Let's hope Zambrano can go deep in the game tomorrow and then lets hope Dusty goes with our more experienced Bullpen pitchers...The Wednesday night game against Houston is A MUST WIN for the Cubs -- treat it as if it was the final game in a play-off series.

well guys, do we go after jason schmidt, aj burnett or jeff weaver during the off season or are we counting on wood in the rotation? i think depodesta gets fired and they trade big chunks of that team.

I need to miss games more often...looks like today was everything last night wasn't. Well, we need a win tomorrow to keep teasing us that they might, could, possibly, if the stars align and it starts snowing in Chicago in August, make the playoffs. My view is, if they can take 3 out of 4 from the Cardinals, 2 of 3 from the Astros, that we might as well ride it out for one more series. Pretty much any lost series between now and mid September and that .005% chance of making the playoffs gets swallowed up. Again, a year ago in Mid August, the Cubs were 7 games ahead of the Astros...the Astros took the final 3 games of the series with the Cubs...knowing that losing any of those games would have virtually knocked them out completely...we are in the same position this year. One problem...Houston was a much better, well rounded, baseball team last year, that took some time to click with a new manager and Beltran in the equation. I don't think Nomar brings to the Cubs what Beltran brought to the Astros. No fucking way the Cubs make the playoffs...but at least for one more day we can distract ourselves thinking deep in the back of our heads "it's still possible"

scott, i disagree with you. i rarely support dusty but at least he had a plan. he's also trying to give wood a "role" and doesn't want him out of that role: set up. wellemyer can't throw strikes, plain and simple. i'd like him to be sent down when haiston comes back but they'll want all the pitchers they can carry in Colorado.

Wood pitched 2 innings on Sunday right? There is absolutely no way he would have pitched yesterday for two innings, and it was unlikely he would have been used for even one. I can understand your concern that Dusty stuck with Welly for too long. BUT, if you have to use your strongest reliever for only an inning in the 5th inning, you are pretty much fucked no matter what. You stop a scoring opportunity in the 5th...who is there to stop an opportunity in the 6th, 7th or 8th? Furthermore....had we stretched out each of our top 3 relievers yesterday, who do we have available today with Maddux on the mound where he tends not to go long in the game. I can understand the arguments that Wuertz should have come in a few batters earlier...but I don't understand the argument about brining a set up man in the 5th inning. Welly is our designated long men in the pen, and he failed miserably, skrewing the whole pen up in the process...Could Dusty have done something to limit the damage a bit...yes...can he only use his top 3 relievers in every game, and pretend the rest of the pen doesn't exist...no. I think it's more of a personell problem than a managerial problem when your starter and long reliever go a combined 4+ innings and give up 10 runs or so.

FYI: Remlinger let up a grand slam in the 10th inning tonight to the Tigers, but the Red Sox still won. They scored 7 in the top half of the 10th.

"What if at the first sign of trouble Dusty had sent Kerry Wood in to SHUT DOWN HOUSTON'S SCORING DRIVE...So what if you can only use Wood for 2 innings...Then we could have gone to Williamson...." I don't think it's wise to waste Wood in what looked like it could be a losing effort. And even if he did shut them down, who's to say Williamson and whoever followed would keep them down. Much to early for your set-up guy. Yes, the game was important, they all are now, but winning the series is a must and resting Wood gives us the best chance to close out wins for Maddux and Z.

Fact is the we need Kerry Wood to start 30+ games for us to reach full potential. Having said that, if Wood was our closer, we would be better than Gagne.

The White Sox just lost 9-4 to the Twins in the 16th inning (a 5 hour and 11 minute game)...The Sox Bullpen failed them and their offense didn't come through at the right time...The Sox have lost a few games in a row BUT they have a cushion and can afford to slip a little...The Cubs don't have that luxury any more...The Cubs MUST WIN every series and they MUST WIN the game with Houston on Wednesday.

"Fact is the we need Kerry Wood to start 30+ games for us to reach full potential. Having said that, if Wood was our closer, we would be better than Gagne." Chad, I do not think he will ever make 30 or more starts in a year again. If he can not do that then he needs to be the closer. We need to find a ace type starter in the off-season. That would be Burnett or Vazquez.

Depodesta isn't going anywhere, he's saving Frank McCourt money, that's all that matters over there now. Jason Schmidt is a bigger injury risk then Kerry Wood, awful iffy proposition, plus he has a team option this year. I would think the Giants would have traded him if they didn't want to keep him around.

The White Sox have not had a pressure game all season long. They will get crushed in the playoffs by any of the other teams they may play. Including the A's who might jsut win a playoff series. that is if they roll the dice well.

CHI, maybe you are right I'm just saying that if he doesn't then I don't like out chances.

Well one thing taught us. Rusch has been in the pen too long to be an effective starter. Two, we don't have that fifth starter anymore. I think that the Cubs need to go make a risky moves by bring up Bobby Brownlie, Jermaine Van Buren.

Re Post 37, Wood has a frayed labrum. He really can't pitch two days in a row. When your starter gets torched as Rusch was yesterday you are going to lose 90% of the games. He was used properly tonight (it must be especially nasty for a hitter who has just been teased for 7 innings by Maddux throwing from 77 mph to 85 mph changeups and fastballs, and then have Wood cup in throwing fast balls in the high nineties. The Cubs are definitely going to bring Woodsy back after the surgery to see if he can start 30+ times next year at least as that role really is more valuable then a set up pithcer or a closer (see the contrast between tonight's start and last night's start). But if he breaks down once more, I think both the Cubs and Wood will have to face the reality that if Wood physically can only give around 100 innings a season, then they might as well be crucial innings out of the bullpen. If starters are so easy to find, how come 24 teams at least are scrambling to find starting pitching right now, including the Yankees, Red Sox, and Angels, Atlanta, etc.?

Zach Duke is the Rookie pitcher who totally shut down the Cubs earlier this year... http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=7512 And Hendry should have gone after him...Duke has not lost a game in the majors yet (he's 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA) and Pittsburgh was smart enough to sign him...Duke is from the Midwest and has a lot of friends around Chicago -- he would love to play for the Cubs and we cleary need him as a starter...I think going after Lawton has not really helped the Cubs at all (Lawton was 0 for 5 last night)...It was a distraction and Hendry should have realized that the Cubs need to acquire reliable pitchers (to start and for the Bullpen)...Without pitching we can count on the Cubs can't win games...The last 2 nights have demonstrated this very clearly.

I missed most of the game last night, but from what I did get to see, Maddux had his A game. I also noticed in the box score that he only threw 70 pitches through 7 innings. With all the innings the bullpen has been piling up, why was he pulled?

Tonight we will need Zambrano's A Game since the Cubs will face Houston's right-hander Roy Oswalt (2.57 ERA, fourth-best in the NL)...We may also need some good backup from the Bullpen...There's not a lot of margin for error...The Cubs MUST WIN tonight and they must play like this game is the final play-off game of the season...;-)

Dusty claims Rusch's spot in the rotation is "safe"...and here's some speculation about Murton... http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dssports/pro/171sd4.htm Can Dusty afford to gamble with Rusch as a starter...? We don't always have the Bullpen available to bail him out of tough situations...Can Jim Hendry get on the phone and get out the check book and find us another starting pitcher...? Finally, I would like to see Wellemeyer sent down to Iowa when Hairston comes back...We can't count on Wellemeyer to throw strikes so why keep him...? The Cubs need Murton (much more than they need Lawton).

Scott: Who could the Cubs possibly replace Rusch with that wouldn't be an even bigger gamble?

Until Hendry can bring in another reliable starter then I would rather roll the dice with Jermaine Van Buren...Put Rusch back into the Bullpen -- he's better there...That's just my view this morning.

With all the innings the bullpen has been piling up, why was he pulled? When I was watching the game, I thought it had to do with the scoring chance they had in the top of the 8th. They led 4-1 but could have broken it open, as they had runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out. (Unfortunately, they didn't score any more, but I thought that was why Maddux was pinch-hit for.) But in today's papers, Maddux explained that he was gassed, not physically but mentally. ìWhen you face somebody that good, youíve got to hope you win 1-0 or 2-1 or something,î Maddux said. ìHe kind of wears you out mentally more than most guys. Physically, I felt fine. Mentally, I was done. When you face somebody as good as him, youíve got to try harder.î

Scott, Rusch is *not* better as a reliever than as a starter. On the contrary, his ERA as a reliever is something like 1 1/2 runs higher than it is as a starter this season. You've complained about three or four times in this thread about Hendry not getting midseason bullpen help, or about how he has to do it right now. You make it sound as though he could just snap his fingers and come up with some reliable reliever that another team would be willing to have him take off their hands. It doesn't work that way. Did you follow the transactions at the trade deadline a few weeks ago? Apart from Kyle Farnsworth, Buddy Groom, and Ron Villone, no major-league relievers of note were traded. It was, and still is, a seller's market. Very few big-league teams felt, or feel, that they're out of the playoff race. Under those circumstances, trading for a useful reliever this summer without paying robber-baron prices for him has been extraordinarily difficult.

Duke is from Texas. He grew up watching the Rangers. Plus, he's a talented pitcher in PIT's price range. I don't think PIT would want to help us win any more than they already have the last few years.

It's also my opinion that the Cubs should NEVER trade prospects for middle relief. Bullpens are so crazy, I would rather risk bringing somebody up then ever trading for someone.

Two things about keeping Neifi after he was claimed on waivers: 1) As a *backup* middle infielder, he's got value. His defense is at least solid, and he goes through decent spells at the plate. Had Nomar only been out for 2 months, say, Neifi's contribution would have been considered much more positively. 2) A good chunk of the time, when guys like Neifi are claimed, what happens is that the teams involved make a trade. If Hendry does that, then he's getting something in return, as opposed to just letting Neifi walk. He can do that after the season if he wants to, and right now, there's no compelling reason to let him go.

FWIW, it's probably not wise to try to build a world champion out of San Francisco and Pittsburgh discards, disableds, duds, don't-want-to-signs and dfa's.

Bluewater Pennant, Seriously, your fascination with ex-cubs is really not that interesting to the rest of us. Perhaps instead of obsessing over former Cub players you should try watching them when they actually play in Chicago.

The idea of trading for Duke is beyond ridiculous. No sub-.500 small market team is going to trade away its best prospect in his rookie year. Can you think of any precedent for that? Also- it's easy to criticize the Lawton trade after a 3 K effort and a bit of a slump, but wasn't the entire Cub nation crying out for a high-OBP leadoff man at the deadline? As I recall both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus called Lawton the best trading deadline pickup by a contender.

why stop at blaming hendry for not getting zach duke? he should have picked up pujols for LF and snagged tejada to play short while nomar was out. HENDRY MUST GO! INTERNET COLLEGE OF GMS UNITE!

Scott: If Rusch is too much of a gamble as a starter, in what world is a AAA closer a more reliable replacement? Van Buren hasn't even started a game since '03, and that was in the independent leagues.

Rob, how can you place your fantasy team's well-being above D Lee getting the triple crown? Ridiculous. Much less ridiculous than the notion that Hendry would have been able to trade for Zach Duke, but ridiculous nonetheless.

You know what, Adam? I agree. I don't think we'll catch them. We have too many teams to contend with that we don't play. With that said, I just want to see them play well. I want to see them make a run. I want to see a team and manager that try everything to win each night. Give me a reason to sit & watch (or listen to) them for 2-3 hours.

Maddux may have been mentally worn out after 7 as he said, but if no one had been on base, I'll bet he would have finished the game. I was OK with pulling him in that situation b/c a hit could have broken the game open, but you just know that he would have summoned up his hidden tough bastard strength and finished if they hadn't. I'll bet he was just being a team player in those post-game comments, and secretly inside he wanted to close it out. PS - remember those comments a couple weeks back when he said ERA, wins and innings are all that matters? A lot of folks keyed in on his soft dissing of other stats like whip, but I thought the most interesting thing was his inclusion of innings pitched in his short list. If Carlos, Mark, Kerry etc. learn nothing else from him, I hope they learn that. You want something done right, do it yourself. Don't leave it to the bullpen, especially the Cubs bullpen.

I think Scott makes an excellent point about Hendry not being able to deliver Zach Duke. As the organization's Triple A-B team, couldn't he just have called him up?? Can I make a suggestion to Scott? Before making ridiculous trade demands put yourself into the opposing team's GM's shoes and ask yourself if this trade makes sense for your team. Other teams are not out there trying to make the Cubs better, they're trying to make their own teams better. Sheesh!

Just to chime in. I hate the Cardinals. I hate the Sox more. No chance to get Duke, so forget it. The facination of Ex-Cubs ended with the Ex-Cub factor in 2001 World Series. I'd rather see if we can upgrade Rusch before putting him into the rotation for 2006.

And Hendry should have gone after [Duke]... Scott...a GM cannot just trade for any major league player. The team actually has to want to trade him. Why would the Pirates trade Duke? He is a very cheap and very good pitcher. Small-market teams do NOT trade cheap talent unless they are going to be a free agent and will likely lose them at the end of the year. That is not the case with Duke.

Why hasn't Hendry gone after Clemems, Martinez, and Santana?

Why haven't the Cubs traded for A-Rod and made the Yankees pay his salary?

"The idea of trading for Duke is beyond ridiculous. No sub-.500 small market team is going to trade away its best prospect in his rookie year. Can you think of any precedent for that?" I don't know about trading away players during their rookie year... but the Pirates have a knack for trading away top tier talent early in their careers. Can you say Jason Schmidt? Aramis Ramirez?

Why haven't the Cubs traded for A-Rod and made the Yankees pay his salary? Because the Yankees want Neifi in return.

Good answer Anonymous. Andy, when the Pirates traded Schmidt he was 28, had an ERA of 4.61 for the season, had never had an ERA below 4.07 and was a free agent after the season. It made sense for them to trade him at the time. You're right about Ramirez though, that never made much sense for them.

As for who'll get sent down on Friday when Hairston returns: ìItís big who has options and who doesnít,î manager Dusty Baker said. ìWhatever happens, itís only a short period of time before Septemberís here.î Goodbye Murton... Another good one from Baker regarding Murton's playing time ìIt depends where we are,î Baker said. ìWhat are you going to do with (Matt) Lawton? What are you going to do with Jeromy (Burnitz)? These guys make quite a bit of money, too. Theyíre here to play.

Because the Yankees want Neifi in return. We might be able to tolerate losing Neifi if they'd throw in Rivera, and maybe Jeter. Just as long as they don't ask for Macias. No f-ing way to that man!

Play the guys who get paid the most? Interesting managerial perspective.

It pains me to have to explain this. The comment about Grudzielanek had everything to do with the present state of the Cardinals lineup (the team we have to beat and our bitter rivals THUS RELEVANT) and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Grudzie once played for the Cubs. M.G. batting cleanup for the Cards is comparable to Neifi Perez batting cleanup for us. It's quite a story. I'll leave it to the resident geniuses to figure out why on their own.

Bluewater Pennant, Seriously, your fascination with ex-cubs is really not that interesting to the rest of us. Perhaps instead of obsessing over former Cub players you should try watching them when they actually play in Chicago.

#80 of 85: By Jim C. (August 17, 2005 09:39 AM) The Pirates didn't want to pay him and Aram did not like playing in Pittsburgh.

BJ (#72), I agree. I've always thought the true pitching triple crown should be Wins, ERA, and Innings. I understand that K's have predictive value, but their effect is basically captured in ERA.

Seriously, your obsessing over my every post is extremely gay and downright creepy.

Wow, calling someone gay as an insult. That's classy.

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?