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

Cubs Organizational Report Week 20

Team Records updated through 8/21/05; Individual Stats updated through 8/21/05
Organizational Records
TeamW-LGB/Pos.Last 10
Chicago Cubs60-64(Div)18.0/4th
(WC)6.5/7th
6-4
Iowa Cubs58-6710.0/4th3-7
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx*31-241.5/2nd5-5
Daytona Cubs27-286.0/5th7-3
Peoria Chiefs26-316.0/8th3-7
Boise Hawks25-343.0/3rd4-6
AZL Cubs6-137.5/9th4-6
Cubs Ex W/L: 60-64; (2003) 64-60; (2004) 68-56 * West Tennessee clinched the first half North Division title of the Southern League
TRANSACTIONS
MLB INF/OF Jerry Hairston Jr. activated from DL on 08/20/05 AAA/Iowa OF Matt Murton demoted on 08/19/05 LHP Phil Norton placed on DL on 08/19/05 AA/West Tennessee NONE TO REPORT Advanced A/Daytona LHP Tim Layden promoted from A ball on 08/22/05 RHP Mike Phelps promoted from A ball on 08/22/05 RHP Nate Sevier placed on bereavement list on 08/08/05 LHP Clay Rapada placed on DL on 08/18/05 A/Peoria C Jonathan Douillard placed on DL on 08/20/05 with knee injury RHP Alfredo Francisco promoted from Rookie League on 08/20/05 Low A/Boise RHP Jon Hunton placed on inactive list on 08/16/05; Reason unknown Rookie Leauge/Arizona NONE TO REPORT
INJURY UPDATES
(BOLD indicates an update to a pre-existing injury) MLB SS Nomar Garciaparra left game with back stiffness on 08/17/05; Returned to action on 08/21/05 P - Chad Fox transferred to 60 day DL on 05/17/05; Has "nerve issues" in his right elbow; Still undetermined whether he'll attempt another comeback AAA/Iowa LHP Phil Norton placed on DL on 08/19/05; Reason unknown AA/West Tennessee OF Adam Greenberg should be rejoining Jaxx on Monday LHP Sean Marshall placed on DL on 07/24/04; Complaining of shoulder and bicep soreness, tests to be done OF - Felix Pie sprained ankle on 06/16/05; Placed on 7 day DL on 06/21/05; Certainly won't be called up in September. LHP - Jon Connolly placed on DL on 07/16/05 with "recurring" shoulder injury; Will be out all season INF - Jemel Spearman out sine 04/26/05 because of wrist injury; Had surgery at some point and it should cost him the season P ñ Rocky Cherry left game on 4/21/05 after 1/3 of an inning. Tommy John surgery performed on 05/05/05 Advanced A/Daytona LHP Clay Rapada placed on DL on 08/18/05; Reason unknown OF Kevin Collins placed on DL on 08/02/05 with bone spurs in his foot; Retroactive to 07/29/05; Will miss rest of season with tendon injury in foot. RHP Nate Sevier placed on DL on 08/02/05 for unknown reasons; Retroactive to 07/29/05 RHP Billy Petrick placed on DL on 06/24/05 with shoulder woes; Had season ending shoulder surgery A/Peoria C Jonathan Douillard placed on DL on 08/20/05 with knee injury 1b Alberto Garcia out for season with fractured fibula; Occurred on June 15th while sliding back into first base OF Ryan Harvey missed a few games due to hamstring injury but is playing once again LHP Ed Campusano placed on DL, reason and date unknown Low A/Boise NONE TO REPORT Rookie Leauge/Arizona P- Angel Guzman rehabbing in Mesa and has been assigned to the Arizona Fall League; He's pitched 8 innings, giving up 0 runs, 1 BB, 12 K's so far RHP Jason Wylie has been out cause of complication to a knee injury suffered while moving his couch Other Notable Injuries OF - Nic Jackson had more surgery to clean out his shoulder; Probably out until 2006 P - Chadd Blasko - shoulder surgery; Probably out until 2006 P - Matt Clanton - shoulder surgery; Had 2nd shoulder surgery during off-season, probably out all season PROSPECT WATCH LIST (BOLD indicates injury, * bats lefty, # switch-hitter) Hitters: SS Ronny Cedeno .353/.400/.517 3B *Mike Fontenot (AAA) .271/.384/.418 2B Richard Lewis (AAA) .206/.270/.280 (AA) .246/.373/.333 OF Matt Murton (AAA) .286/.375/.286 (MLB) .339/.415/.464 (AA) .342/.403/.498 C Geovany Soto (AAA) .251/.357/.328 SS/CF *Buck Coats (AA) .282/.340/.398 3B Casey McGehee (AA) .299/.352/.425 OF Luis Montanez (AA) .291/.336/.417 (A) .287/.336/.410 OF Felix Pie(AA) .304/.349/.554 13/22 SB opportunities 1B/OF Brandon Sing (AA) .286/.404/.561 2B Ryan Theriot (AA) .308/.360/.420 1B Brian Dopirak (High A) .245/.300/.395 C Jake Fox (High A) .278/.355/.444 3B *Scott Moore (High A) .268/.343/.475 C Tony Richie (High A) .294/.331/.421 OF Ryan Harvey (A) .266/.310/.502 2B *Eric Patterson (A) .333/.406/.529 38/49 SB opportunities C *Mark Reed (Low A) .261/.311/.405(A) .135/.167/.192 Pitchers: RHP Bobby Brownlie(AAA) 6-5 4.47 ERA/37 BB/63 K/9 HR/92.2 IP LHP John Koronka (AAA) 8-10 4.30 ERA/44 BB/86 K/9 HR/121.1 IP LHP Rich Hill (AAA) 5-1 3.95 ERA/13 BB/83 K/11 HR/57.0 IP (MLB) 0-2 8.57 ERA/13 BB/21 K/3 HR/21.0 IP (AA) 4-3 3.28 ERA/21 BB/90 K/9 HR/57.2 IP (A) 1-0 1.13 ERA/0 BB/12 K/0 HR/8.0 IP RHP Jon Leicester (AAA) 1-7 1 Save 5.63 ERA/36 BB/56 K/13 HR/78.1 IP LHP Carmen Pignatiello (AAA) 1-4 3.79 ERA/16 BB/35 K/4 HR/38.0 IP (AA) 5-4 2.68 ERA/28 BB/77 K LHP Russ Rohlicek (AAA) 3-1 3 Saves/4.74 ERA/41 BB/49 K/5 HR/57.0 IP RHP Jermaine Van Buren (AAA) 2-3 23 Saves/2.05 ERA/22 BB/62 K/5 HR/52.2 IP RHP David Aardsma (AA) 4-0 2 Saves/2.72 ERA/24 BB/39 K/1 HR/43.0 IP (Norwich) 6-2 2.93 ERA/13 BB/30 K RHP Carlos Marmol (AA)3-4 3.52 ERA/33 BB/49 K/10 HR/61.1 IP (High A) 6-2 2.99 ERA/37 BB/71 K LHP Sean Marshall (AA) 0-1 2.52 ERA/5 BB/24 K/1 HR/25.0 IP (High A) 4-4 2.74 ERA/26 BB/61 K RHP Ricky Nolasco (AA) 11-3 3.26 ERA/40 BB/149 K/12 HR/140.2 IP LHP Reynel Pinto (AA)9-2 2.34 ERA/52 BB/110 K/6 HR/111.2 IP (AAA) 1-2 9.93 ERA/24 BB/24 K RHP Jae-kuk Ryu (AA) 9-8 3.42 ERA/46 BB/116 K/11 HR/152.2 IP RHP Billy Petrick (High A) 1-4 5.59 ERA/19 BB/25 K/0 HR/37.0 IP RHP Michael Phelps (A) 0-1 1.59 ERA/3 BB/17 K/0 HR/17.0 IP (RL) 0-0 0.00 ERA/0 BB/2 K/0 HR/ 0.2 IP RHP Mike Billek (A) 2-0 3.42 ERA/7 BB/13 K/2 HR/23.2 IP (Low A) 0-1 2.65 ERA/6 BB/20 K/0 HR/17.0 IP RHP Sean Gallagher (A) 13-5 2.86 ERA/54 BB/131 K/10 HR/138.2 IP RHP Grant Johnson (A) 3-6 3.41 ERA/22 BB/42 K/6 HR/63.1 IP LHP Darin Downs (Low A) 4-4 3.70 ERA/15 BB/46 K/4 HR/48.2 IP LHP Luke Hagerty (Low A) 0-1 29.84 ERA/27 BB/4 K/0 HR/6.1 IP RHP Michael Hyle (Low A) 3-5 3.09 ERA/20 BB/37 K/0 HR/43.2 IP LHP Donald Veal (Low A) 1-2 5.06 ERA/5 BB/9 K/2 HR/10.2 IP (RL) 0-1 8.10 ERA/4 BB/9 K/2 HR/6.2 IP RHP Angel Guzman (RL) 0-0 0.00 ERA/1 BB/12 K/0 HR/8.0 IP LHP Mark Pawelek (RL) 0-3 2.50 ERA/19 BB/47 K/0 HR/36.0 IP OTHERS NOTABLES: 3B Scott McClain (AAA).294/.358/.589 OF Ben Grieve (AAA) .254/.367/.472 RHP Talley Haines (AAA) 2-1 1.82 ERA/5 BB/26 K/1 HR/24.2 IP (AA)4-2 13 Saves/ 1.78 ERA/2 BB/20 K/0 HR/25.1 IP RHP Lee Gwaltney (High A) 2-3 3 Saves/2.68 ERA/16 BB/54 K/4 HR/50.1 IP (A) 4-1 1.56 ERA/17 BB/50 K/1 HR/56.1 IP OF *Sam Fuld (A) .289/.368/.414 GREG MADDUX INNINGS WATCH 382.1 IP over the last 2 years; Needs to pitch 17.2 IP over the rest of the season for his $9 million 2006 option to vest; Assuming he starts 33 games (like last year), needs to average less than 3 innings per start over the rest of the season. 2005 ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE PARTICIAPANTS RHP David Aardsma RHP Angel Guzman SS/OF Buck Coats OF Matt Murton 2B Eric Patterson 1B/OF Brandon Sing MINOR LEAGUE LEADERS Hitting HR - Scott McClain (29) RBI - Ryan Harvey (92) AVG - Eric Patterson (.333) OBP - Eric Patterson (.406) SLG - Scott McClain (.589) SB - Chris Walker (52) Pitching IP - Jae-kuk Ryu (152.2) ERA - Sean Gallagher (2.86) WINS - Sean Gallagher (13) SAVES -Jermaine Van Buren (23) K - Rich Hill (185)

Comments

Baker on demoting Murton: "I explained to him that, 'Hey, man, you've done nothing wrong. You've done everything right that you ask a young man to do for limited action,'" Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "He'll be back. He's going to Triple-A, and he'll just take what he's learned here and keep improving on his game. It's a numbers game."

If that's Dusty's idea of "a numbers game" maybe we should send him over to The Red Sox or the Yankees -- they could really use a manager like Mr. Baker...;-)

theyve got murton out in RF in AAA, btw... l.montanez/b.sing splitting time there in AA...

murton and sing in RF is very good news. even though the cubs NEED a stud at one of the corner outfield spots next year, the fact that that stud could be a RF or LF gives hendry flexibility. (say, giles or dunn)... i think i would be alright with murton being the guy coming in in one of those corner spots, assuming production the rest of this year, fall league and spring training. sing also needed to learn to play OF or he will be less valuable/very likely be blocked like lee. as for center field....bleh. damon will go to the red sox or yankees. honestly i would sign giles and put him there (over 200 career games there) but will he leave san diego?

here's my post from the red sox story. see if anyone sabr-inclined reads it, thanks for your help. hey guys, not in the realm of this discussion at all, looking for some help though i'm looking for the number by which you multiply OBA when you add it to SL in the SABR info stuff? i wanna say it's 1.8, but i don't have my copy of moneyball around to look it up. i'm trying to do some stats stuff regarding baseball playoffs. also, i'm trying to find team OBA against and team SL against (that is, what the pitching allows) in baseball over the last 10 years or so. i can't find it on baseballreference.com or anywhere else. all i really need is Total Bases against, but i can't find that either. anyone? thanks for the help.

Murton in RF? that's odd, especially when Grieve could be playing that position for Iowa. Murton just doesn't have the arm for right and nothing besides steroids will get him that. Brian Giles will demand some years on his contract and I don't see Hendry offering one to a 35 year old. He's pretty poor as a center fielder this year, while about average as a corner outfielder, defensively speaking. I think the Cubs have made enough concessions on the defensive side of the ball, time to start getting some more well-rounded players. SIGN FURCAL!!!

yeah, murton dont have the arm for RF, but hey...it cant hurt for him to at least get a few looks there. i believe he was playing RF in the rsox system for a while. i doubt he's the RF'r of the future, but it cant hurt too much for him to see a few weeks there. doubt it'll hurt his development, anyway. im kinda interested in where they'll play him this fall.

I think he played RF for the JAxx some of the year too, at least by some of the box scores I perused earlier this year. It won't hurt his development but it doesn't help any either. Baker won't put him there, so what's the point?

Matt Lawton, LF Todd Walker, 2B Derrek Lee, 1B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Jeromy Burnitz, RF Michael Barrett, C Neifi Perez, SS Corey Patterson, CF Carlos Zambrano, P

Does Patterson HAVE to play everyday? I understand he's the best defensive choice, but with Hairston back, I'd sure like to see a lot more pinch-hitting for the guy and maybe even a platoon.

estrada back behind the plate today...if lawton/patterson are ever gonna run...today's the day.

"I think the Cubs have made enough concessions on the defensive side of the ball, time to start getting some more well-rounded players. SIGN FURCAL!!!" I whole-heartedly concur. I'm not a big fan and he may not be the ideal way to spend $10 mil. a year, but aquiring Furcal would be going in the right direction. I love Walker... a great gamer and real team player, but him & Nomar are a weak middle infield. Furcal & Hairston would be a hell of an improvement. For a team of groundball/strikeout pitchers, the Cubs would be much better off with excellent defense up the middle. Plus Furcal & Hairston are both 1&2 type hitters. Furcal is an excellent base-stealer/runner and he's also entering his prime years. Plus Dusty would have his speedy leadoff guy.

I liked Hairston as our lead-off hitter...He actually HIT the ball much better than Lawton has since coming to the Cubs...Why is Dusty using Lawton in this crucial position...? We can't afford a lead-off player who rarely gets on base. I hope Lawton surprises us in a positive way. I would actually like to see Murton play in Lawton's position. I wonder what Bobby Cox would do with Dusty's stable of players...?

rumor has it that macias hits hudson like a stepchild. if la russa managed this team, macias would play tonight and cpat would be on the bench...i predict the cubs will declare themselves officially out of the race after maddux's next start. they'll go with a rotation of Prior, Zambrano, Mitre, Williams and Hill. I think Mitre and Hill will ultimately be traded during the offseason.

$10 mil might be a bit much, I mean that's about what Ramirez makes and more than Lee. Of course he might end up getting it. But thinking of the teams that need SS next year, a quick rundown. Braves (I'm hoping/assuming that they plan on giving the job to Betemit) Marlins (they can't afford him) Nationals (Guzman isn't the answer, but doubt they'll have the cash) Cubs D'Backs (isn't that Stephen Drew's postion? no reason to block him) Blue Jays (no way they spend money on a SS) White Sox (I could see them making a move there) Twins (no money) Mariners (some guy named Yunlesky Betancourt is playing there right now, could be a factor) White Sox, Braves, Cubs or Mariners? White Sox won't get into a bidding war that's for sure, but if his price is more like $8 to $9 mil for 4-5 years, I don't mind the risk. $10 mil for 5 years though would be too steep and if he gets it, god bless him. Then resign Nomar and make sure Neifi isn't anywhere near the team or find a new manager, so when Nomar goes down, Cedeno gets the PT, not Neifi!!

.i predict the cubs will declare themselves officially out of the race after maddux's next start. they'll go with a rotation of Prior, Zambrano, Mitre, Williams and Hill. I think Mitre and Hill will ultimately be traded during the offseason. Maddux is going to get dropped from the rotation? Never, ever, ever!!

rob g. i know the cubs aren't going to drop him-i'm being sarcastic.

Sorry, add a smiley face next time or something.....

Does Patterson HAVE to play everyday? I understand he's the best defensive choice, but with Hairston back... Funny, I was thinking the same thing except swapping the names Patterson with "Neifi", and Hairston with "Nomar and Todd Walker."

Rob, Your forgetting two teams that might be Furcal's strongest suitors other than the Cubs. The Rangers and Yankees. If the Rangers trade Soriano they will want a SS so Young could go back to 2b. Furcal's speed and strong arm make him a natural CF. If the Yankees can't get Damon, Furcal might be better than any other option avaliable. They would have to give him 5/50 to get him to change positions but that is chump change for Steinbenner and they have alot of money coming off the books in Bernie and Brown.

stranger things have happened I supposed, but don't see any reason why he'd switch positions. How many times has this happened in baseball again? Big time FA has signed and change positions.

I agree with the Furcal talk - let's try and get him to go along side Hairston. What exactly is the word on why JHJ is so unliked though?

hairston's a bit self-centered and pouty. that's mostly been taken care of suposedly...he didnt make many friends when he first got to the cubs and found out he wasnt gonna be a starter. he initially thought he was gonna be the cubs starting 2nd baseman over walker...i got no comment on that one... that said, he's supposedly not a distraction or whining anymore. i wouldnt get your hopes up about furcal in such a tight SS market...hell, the cubs are gonna be "lucky" to keep neifi and he'll probally be starting for someone next year based on the fact he can field like a champ and makes decent contact without K'ing. garciappara at least should come cheap...low base with incentives. cubs have sunk a lotta loot into him and his wife and he's sold a suprising amount of merchandise. the OF/bullpen/bench/5th starter issues should be cute...especially if rusch wants to blaze a path toward some other team. the 5th starter issue could directly be associated with wood's recovery progress and that may be addressed very late.

Trade Patterson, Wood Holly and some cash for Johnny Damon.

Help me with this guys. We (myself included) seem to want to give Murton some kind of chance in the outfield next year; but a majority of you want to turn SS over to Furcal, without giving Cedeno a shot. Personally, I feel he is a more rounded talent than Murton, and has a good presence in the box, along with better minor league stats. I wouldn't spend $6MM on him much less $10MM. Spend the money on a better leadoff man and give Cedeno a shot.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.