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

Free Agent Frenzy

MLB.com is sponsoring another year of Free Agent Frenzy. They give you a list of the top 15 free agents in their opinion and you rank them by team and by confidence level. Winner gets free opening day tickets. Try to use the comments to ONLY post your own picks. (So don't go looking at the comments and then posting your picks, please do that first) Once all the players on the list sign, I'll try and calculate a winner. I'll figure out a prize later. Signing period begins tomorrow so get your picks in quick!!! You can view mine after the jump:
PlayerTeamConfidence Level
A.J. BurnettSeattle Mariners6
Johnny DamonBoston Red Sox4
Kyle FarnsworthAtlanta Braves7
Rafael FurcalChicago Cubs15
Nomar GarciaparraLA Dodgers11
Brian GilesSt. Louis Cardinals12
Jacque JonesSan Diego Padres5
Paul KonerkoChicago White Sox13
Kevin MillwoodBaltimore Orioles8
Bengie MolinaNY Mets14
Matt MorrisLA Dodgers3
Mike PiazzaDetroit Tigers2
B.J. RyanNY Yanks9
Billy WagnerNY Mets7
Preston WilsonArizona D'Backs1
Some quick reasonings: Burnett: Too many teams interested, tough call at the moment, no state tax, big ballpark favors Seattle Damon: Doesn't sound like anyone really wants him for such a highly touted guy, does it? Farnsworth: So begins the list of players I have no idea where they end up Furcal: I'm an optimist by nature Nomar: Dodgers always seemed like the logical landing place for him Giles: Aargh!!! Jones: Just based off some rumors Konerko: Too many good feelings after the Series to leave Millwood: Reunited with Mazzone? Molina: Mets really want him, he's got family there, sounds perfect Morris: Dodgers got some cash this off-season just no one to spend it for them Piazza: Absolutely no idea other than it'll be an AL team Ryan: What the Yanks want, the Yanks pay for Wagner: Toss-up between Phils & Mets, tough call Wilson: No idea how he got on this list, sounds like one of those guys the Pirates take a waiver on in Feb, but I'm drawing a blank on the D'Backs cf

Comments

Man this is NOT easy, but here it goes: AJ Burnett - Boston Red Sox - 3 Johnny Damon - Boston Red Sox - 6 Kyle Farnsworth - Atlanta Braves - 11 Rafael Furcal - Chicago Cubs - 9 Nomar Garciaparra - LA Dodgers - 10 Brian Giles - SD Padres - 7 Jacque Jones - Colorado Rockies - 2 Paul Konerko - Chicago White Sox - 15 Kevin Milwood - Baltimore Orioles - 8 Bengie Molina - NY Mets - 14 Matt Morris - Texas Rangers - 5 Mike Piazza - Baltimore Orioles - 4 BJ Ryan - NY Yankees - 12 Billy Wagner - Philadelphia Phillies - 13 Preston Wilson - SD Padres - 1

A.J. Burnett Baltimore 10 Johnny Damon Boston 15 Kyle Farnsworth Baltimore 6 Rafael Furcal Cubs 14 Nomar Garciaparra Dodgers 7 Brian Giles Cardinals 11 Jacque Jones Yankees 1 Paul Konerko Angels 9 Kevin Millwood Red Sox 8 Bengie Molina Astros 2 Matt Morris Tigers 5 Mike Piazza Rangers 4 B.J. Ryan Yankees 13 Billy Wagner Mets 12 Preston Wilson Tigers 3 A.J. Burnett They've been looking to add pitching for 5 years it seems Johnny Damon I don't see anyone else taking on him. Kyle Farnsworth I can't seem him as a success in NYC and I don't think the Braves can afford him. Rafael Furcal Nomar Garciaparra With Izturis out until midseason he's perfect because he could switch to 3B if Cesar can play SS. Brian Giles Yeah this one sucks Jacque Jones I really have no idea. His market will be created after Giles, Damon and a few others sign. Paul Konerko Kevin Millwood Bengie Molina I think Ausmus will take the san diego spot Matt Morris Mike Piazza B.J. Ryan Billy Wagner Preston Wilson Who knows...

Burnett SEA 4 Damon BOS 15 Farnsworth ARI 10 Furcal CHC 14 Nomar LAD 1 Giles SEA 3 Jones SD 11 Konerko CHI 12 Millwood CLE 8 Molina NYM 9 Morris BAL 6 Piazza BAL 5 Ryan NYY 7 Wagner NYM 13 Wilson STL 2

Burnett Texas 2 Damon Boston 13 Farnsworth San Diego 3 Furcal Chicago Cubs 15 Garciaparra LA Dodgers 6 Giles St Louis 12 Jones Toronto 7 Konerko Chicago White Sox 11 Milwood Seattle 5 Morris San Diego 4 Piazza Baltimore 9 Ryan NY Yankees 10 Wagner NY Mets 14 Wilson Seattle 1 After Piazza I didn't really have faith in any of them- just a crap-shoot.

A.J. Burnett DET 5 Johnny Damon BOS 12 Kyle Farnsworth BAL 6 Rafael Furcal CHC 14 Nomar Garciaparra LAD 9 Brian Giles STL 13 Jacque Jones NYY 4 Paul Konerko CWS 15 Kevin Millwood BAL 7 Bengie Molina NYM 10 Matt Morris CLE 3 Mike Piazza LAA 2 B.J. Ryan NYM 8 Billy Wagner PHI 11 Preston Wilson SDP 1 A.J. Burnett DET 5(Taken to the same restaurant that got Troy Percival to sign in Motown) Johnny Damon BOS 12(Caveman has too many flaws to go elsewhere) Kyle Farnsworth BAL 6(Mazzone fixer upper) Rafael Furcal CHC 14 (our season hangs on this one) Nomar Garciaparra LAD 9 (best fit in LA at this point) Brian Giles STL 13 (typical, he falls in the Cards lap) Jacque Jones NYY 4 (Yanks need a CF and its not Damon) Paul Konerko CWS15 (Hometown discount?) Kevin Millwood BAL 7 (Mazzone is the reason) Bengie Molina NYM 10 (the post Piazza era begins) Matt Morris CLE 3 (Millwoods replacement on a good team) Mike Piazza LAA 2 (A guess but the Angels like to spend and Piazza is a hero in LA) B.J. Ryan NYM 8 (Mets want a lefty reliever but this is a mild surprise over the Yanks) Billy Wagner PHI 11 (Pat Gillick gets his man) Preston Wilson SDP (Turkey day Tryptophan hangover)

In order of Confidence: Damon - Red Sox, 15 Konerko - White Sox, 14 Furcal - Cubs, 13 Ryan - Red Sox, 12 Millwood - Cleveland, 11 Farnsworth - Braves, 10 Wagner - Mets, 9 Molina - Mets, 8 Jones - Padres, 7 Burnett - Seattle, 6 Giles - St. Louis, 5 Nomar - Angels, 4 Morris - Nationals, 3 Piazza - Angels, 2 Wilson - St. Louis, 1

HEY GUYS, I THINK IT'S EASIER TO READ WHEN YOU ORDER THEM BY YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL.

Furcal CHC 15 Damon BOS 14 Ryan NYY 13 Millwood NYY 12 Farns Atl 11 Giles Stl 10 Konerko LAD 9 Piazza NYY 8 Nomar CHC 7 Wagner Phil 6 Morris NYM 5 Molina LAA 4 Jones Col 3 P Wilson Nym 2 AJ Burnett CHC 1 Glad I didn't put my kids college fund on this..........

Burnett TOR 7 Damon BOS 15 Farnsworth ATL 12 Furcal CHC 11 Garciaparra LAD 5 Giles STL 10 Jones SDP 3 Konerko LAA 14 Millwood BAL 8 Molina NYM 13 Morris SEA 1 Piazza OAK 2 Ryan TOR 4 Wagner NYM 9 Wilson NYY 6

Furcal - Cubs 15 Damon - Boston 14 Molina - Angels 13 BJ Ryan - Yanks 12 Burnett - Tornoto 11 Giles - St. Louis 10 Nomar - Dodgers 9 Konerko - Angels 8 Wagner - Mets 7 J.Jones - San Diego 6 Milwood - St. Louis 5 Farnsworth - Baltimore 4 Morris - Angels 3 Piazza - Minnesota 2 P.Wilson - Cubs 1

Nomar Garciaparra Dodgers 15 A.J. Burnett Texas 14 Johnny Damon Boston 13 Brian Giles Cardinals 12 Paul Konerko Sox 11 Jacque Jones Yankees 10 Billy Wagner Phils 9 Bengie Molina Astros 8 Kevin Millwood Texas 7 B.J. Ryan Red Sox 6 Matt Morris Blue Jays 5 Kyle Farnsworth Giants 4 Mike Piazza Mariners 3 Preston Wilson Cubs 2 Rafael Furcal Braves 1

Furcal - CHC 15 Damon - BOS 14 Konerko - CWS 13 Molina - NYM 12 Jones - SD 11 Nomar - LAD 10 Burnett - SEA 9 Giles - STL 8 Farnsworth - BAL 7 Ryan - NYY 6 Millwood - CLE 5 Morris - STL 4 Wagner - CHC 3 Piazza - LAA 2 Wilson - WSH 1 who knows

Steve Phillips (ESPN) predicts Furcal and Giles to the Cubs.

Burnett - Boston - 13 Damon - Boston - 8 Farnsworth - Arizona - 5 Furcal - Chicago Cubs - 11 Garciaparra - Dodgers - 3 Giles - Houston - 6 Jones - Yankees - 10 Konerko - White Sox - 12 Millwood - Yankees - 9 Molina - Angels - 7 Morris - Cardinals - 15 Piazza - Baltimore - 2 Ryan - Atlanta - 14 Wagner - Boston - 4 Wilson - Colorado - 1

Konerko - White Sox - 15 Damon - Red Sox - 14 Burnett - Red Sox - 13 Furcal - Cubs - 12 Ryan - Yankees - 11 Millwood - Yankees - 10 Morris - Mariners - 9 Wagner - Mets - 8 Molina - Angels - 7 Jones - Astros - 6 Garciaparra - Dodgers - 5 Piazza - Baltimore - 4 Farnsworth - Atlanta - 3 Giles - Cubs - 2 Wilson - Cardinals - 1 I really don't see why Giles is most likely going to the Cardinals. Surely the Cubs have the money to outbid the Cards if they wanted to.

Rafael Furcal - CUBS - 15 Johnny Damon - RED SOX - 14 Nomar Garciaparra - DODGERS - 13 Mike Piazza - ANGELS - 12 Paul Konerko - WHITE SOX - 11 Kyle Farnsworth - BRAVES - 10 Brian Glies - CARDINALS - 9 B. J. Ryan - YANKEES - 8 Kevin Millwood - ORIOLES - 7 Billy Wagner - RED SOX - 6 Benjie Molina - MARINERS - 5 A. J. Burnett - RANGERS - 4 Matt Morris - BLUE JAYS - 3 Jacque Jones - PIRATES - 2 Preston Wilson - YANKEES - 1

These aren't my predictions, they are those of Steve Phillips, the guy doing those corny, gimmicky GM press conference simulations on SportsCenter. He has a page where he predicts where the top 50 free agents will go (but he doesn't put confidence levels on them). I post them here for the interest of putting up what an "expert" and ex-GM thinks will happen. I certainly like what he has the Cubs doing! AJ Burnett - Toronto Blue Jays Johnny Damon - Boston Red Sox Kyle Farnsworth - Atlanta Braves Rafael Furcal - Chicago Cubs Nomar Garciaparra - LA Dodgers Brian Giles - Chicago Cubs Jacque Jones - Detriot Tigers Paul Konerko - Boston Red Sox Kevin Milwood - Cleveland Indians Bengie Molina - San Diego Padres Matt Morris - Baltimore Orioles Mike Piazza - Somewhere in CA Angels BJ Ryan - NY Mets Billy Wagner - Philadelphia Phillies Preston Wilson - Baltimore Orioles

15 Furcal Cubs 14 Molina Mets 13 Nomar Dodgers 12 Konerko White Sox 11 Ryan Yankees 10 Damon Red Sox 9 Wagner Phillies 8 Giles Cards 7 Jones Padres 6 Morris Mariners 5 Burnett Jays 4 Wilson Astros 3 Piazza Jays 2 Farns Red Sox 1 Millwood Rangers

And now my predictions: AJ Burnett - Baltimore Orioles - 8 Johnny Damon - Boston Red Sox - 14 Kyle Farnsworth - New York Yankees - Rafael Furcal - Chicago Cubs - 15 Nomar Garciaparra - LA Angels - 10 Brian Giles - Chicago Cubs - 7 Jacque Jones - Philadelphia Phillies - 1 Paul Konerko - Boston Red Sox - 13 Kevin Milwood - Cleveland Indians - 2 Bengie Molina - San Diego Padres - Matt Morris - Seattle Mariners - 4 Mike Piazza - Seattle Mariners - 3 BJ Ryan - NY Yankees - 12 Billy Wagner - NY Mets - 11 Preston Wilson - Baltimore Orioles - 9 I thought about using a random number generator to do this, then got lazy and used my best guess instead.

um... make Farnsworth to the Yanks 5 and Molina to the Padres 6.

Dammit Shawn you did not assign a number to Bengie Molina or Kyle Farnsworth. I need to know!

A.J.†Burnett ††††FLA Yankees 9 Johnny†Damon ††††BOS Boston 15 Kyle†Farnsworth ††††ATL Atlanta 7 Rafael†Furcal ††††ATL Cubs 12 Nomar†Garciaparra CHC Dodgers 5 Brian†Giles ††††SD Cubs 10 Jacque†Jones ††††MIN Twins 4 Paul†Konerko ††††CWS White Sox 13 Kevin†Millwood ††††CLE Cleveland 8 Bengie†Molina ††††LAA LAAoA 2 Matt†Morris ††††STL Cards 14 Mike†Piazza ††††NYM LAAoA 6 B.J.†Ryan ††††BAL Cubs 3 Billy†Wagner ††††PHI Phillies 11 Preston†Wilson ††††WSH Toronto 1

A.J. Burnett - Boston 3 Johnny Damon - Boston 11 Kyle Farnsworth - Braves - 6 Rafael Furcal - Cubs 15 Nomar Garciaparra - Dodgers 9 Brian Giles - Cardinals 14 Jacque Jones - Padres - 7 Paul Konerko - White Sox 10 Kevin Millwood - Baltimore 4 Bengie Molina - Mets - 8 Matt Morris - Seattle - 2 Mike Piazza - Baltimore - 5 B.J. Ryan - Mets - 12 Billy Wagner - Philly - 13 Preston Wilson - Arizona - 1

Player Team Confidence Level A.J. Burnett, Angels Johnny Damon, Orioles Kyle Farnsworth, Seattle Rafael Furcal, Mets Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers Brian Giles, Cardinals Jacque Jones, Cardinals Paul Konerko, White Sox Kevin Millwood, Indians Bengie Molina, Angels Matt Morris, Dodgers Mike Piazza, Rangers B.J. Ryan, Yankees Billy Wagner, Rangers Preston Wilson, Tigers

A.J. Burnett, Angels 4 Johnny Damon, Orioles 1 Kyle Farnsworth, Seattle 3 Rafael Furcal, Mets 9 Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers 10 Brian Giles, Cardinals 14 Jacque Jones, Cardinals 8 Paul Konerko, White Sox 13 Kevin Millwood, Indians 12 Bengie Molina, Angels 15 Matt Morris, Dodgers 11 Mike Piazza, Rangers 5 B.J. Ryan, Yankees 2 Billy Wagner, Rangers 7 Preston Wilson, Tigers 6

Damon- Red Sox 15 Konerko-White Sox 14 Wagner -Phillie 13 Ryan- Yankees 12 Farnsworth Braves 11 Millwood -Indians 10 Molina -Mets 9 Piazza- Angels 8 Burnett Red Sox 7 Furcal Cubs-6 Morris-Dodgers 5 Giles-Padres 4 Nomar-Angels 3 Jones-Cubs 2 Wilson- Baltimore 1

So Cubfan, your take on this is that the Cubs come away with nobody. I would put my confidence level on that one at 1.

A.J. Burnett Blue Jays 8 Johnny Damon Red Sox 11 Kyle Farnsworth Red Sox 3 Rafael Furcal Cubs 9 Nomar Garciaparra Dodgers 14 Brian Giles Cardinals 12 Jacque Jones Pirates 6 Paul Konerko White Sox 15 Kevin Millwood Orioles 7 Bengie Molina Mets 5 Matt Morris Cardinals 2 Mike Piazza Angels 4 B.J. Ryan Yankees 13 Billy Wagner Mets 10 Preston Wilson Nationals 1

konerko angels 15 nomar dodgers 14 burnett orioles 13 furcal cubs 12 ryan yankees 11 wagner phillies 10 millwood orioles 9 farnsworth braves 8 damon redsox 7 giles cardinals 6 jones yankees 5 molina mets 4 wilson redsox 3 morris indians 2 piazza whitesox 1

I'm really suprised how many people have Burnett going to the Jays. I also don't think it's more readable doing it by descending confidence interval. That makes me use the wheel on my mouse about 5 times as much.

Player Team Confidence Level A.J. Burnett Toronto 8 Johnny Damon Boston Red Sox 14 Kyle Farnsworth Atlanta Braves 4 Rafael Furcal Chicago Cubs 9 Nomar Garciaparra LA Dodgers 15 Brian Giles St. Louis Cardinals 13 Jacque Jones Padres 3 Paul Konerko Chicago White Sox 12 Kevin Millwood Cleveland 10 Bengie Molina Baltimore 7 Matt Morris Detriot 2 Mike Piazza Detroit Tigers 5 B.J. Ryan NY Mets 6 Billy Wagner Phillies 11 Preston Wilson Baltimore 1 I didn't know if the confedience level was supoosed to be higher or lower the more connfedient. I did closer to one the more confedient I'm. UPDATE Fixed to reflect proper confidence level order

it's the other way around, cubsfan4ever1, 15 means you're most confident that the player will end up there, 1 is the least confident. I'm going to modify your post to take that into account, if you don't mind.

I think Hendry (along with most other GM's) will attempt to fill their holes they seek to fill through trades and not free agency. When Mike Piazza and Kyle Farnsworth are touted as two of the top 15 free agents...can you say the market is rather lame this year? Who cares if the Cubs pick up anybody on this list? Furcal will go for the money and the Cubs will NEVER outbid anyone. The Mets want him...they will get him. The Cubs will not get any of the top talent in this years pool because they either don't need them (Konerko) or the price will be too high to experiement with questionable talent OR the price will be way too high and too long for someone worth having that the Cubs will pass. They will make moves picking up players you haven't heard a great deal about from teams willing to make a trade.

15- Konerko - Wsox 14- Damon - Rsox 13- Wagner - Mets 12- Molina - Mets 11- Nomar - Dodgers 10- Ryan - Yanks 9- Millwood - Indians 8- Jones - Padres 7- Burnett - Blue Jays 6- Furcal - Braves 5- Wilson - Royals 4- Giles - Cards 3- Farnsworth - Yanks 2- Morris - Cards 1- Piazza - Angels

Kyle Farnsworth St louis Bengie Molina Mets Rafael furcal Cubs Paul konerko White sox Bj ryan Yanks Billy wagner Mets Nomar garciaparra Dodgers Brian giles Yanks Preston Wilson Marlins Aj burnett Seattle Matt morris Tigers Kevin millwood Baltimore Jacque jones san diego Mike piazza Angels Johnny damon Boston 15--StL likes fireballers in the pen, and call it a hunch 14--the mets want him, omar writes big checks 13--we're his only real suitor besides Atl, and we'll pay him more 12--ozzie guillen, although not necessarily his decision, is ready to trade the rest of the team to keep him 11--cash-man writes big checks, too 10--didn't rate this one higher cause philly may keep him, but I doubt it 9--it just fits 8--slightly overpriced, slightly aging player whose name most fans have heard of? this one's a gimme 7--cheap, aging player to platoon/backup their prospect once they get rid of pierre to us 6--they like him, he likes seattle 5--they won't get aj 4--bal needs pitching too 3--pads want a decent outfielder, this is their best bet 2--back to LA 1--probably stays, but this one's really up in the air these are my best not-really-educated guesses, please criticize as applicable

A.J. Burnett SEA Select Confidence 5 (Seattle, I guess) Johnny Damon BOS Select Confidence 12 (Boston icon) Kyle Farnsworth ATL Select Confidence 4 (Proved himself in Atlanta) Rafael Furcal ATL Select Confidence 14 (Loves Atlanta, should be back) Nomar GarciaparraLAD Select Confidence 8 (Cubs don't need him, Dodgers do) Brian Giles STL Select Confidence 11 (Will help bring chamionship to St. Louis) Jacque Jones NYY Select Confidence 10 (Yankees want em, Yankees got em) Paul Konerko CWS Select Confidence 15 (Look at his hand, look at his contract) Kevin Millwood NYY Select Confidence 7 (Rich boy needs better pitchers) Bengie Molina NYM Select Confidence 13 (Nueva York ama a espaÒoles) Matt Morris STL Select Confidence 3 (A must for the Cards) Mike Piazza LAA Select Confidence 6 (Southern Cal loves Piazza) B.J. Ryan BOS Select Confidence 2 (Boston needs a HEALTHY closer) Billy Wagner NYM Select Confidence 9 (Omar's top priority) Preston Wilson SDP Select Confidence 1 (Friars are a shot in the dark) *No Furcal means Atlanta's streak will end.* *Cubs will only compete for Wild Card* *If Mets get Manny, Mets win World Series* *Yankees win AL East*

Free agent game huh? Here it goes Damon Bos 15 Burnett Tor 14 Ryan NYY 13 Furcal Chic 12 Nomar LaD 11 Korenko ChiW 10 Thomas BAL 9 Farnsworth Bal 8 Piazza Min 7 Wagner NYM 6 Morris Atl 5 Millwood Chic 4(I hope) Wilson Was 3 B. Molina NYM 2 B. Giles Stl. 1 JMHo scooter

anyone gonna keep track and grade this stuff? It will be interesting how we do. scooter

I will, I'll keep the comments open until the first free agent on the list signs. once they all sign, I'll calculate a winner.

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.