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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
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Lee Gets Extension

ESPN.com and Buster Olney are now reporting that the Derrek Lee extension is signed, sealed and delivered. The Cubs have a press conference scheduled for tomorrow morning to announce it officially. He'll get a little more than Paul Konerko did this off-season, 5 years for $65 million and a full no-trade clause. His old deal will be voided($9 million plus this year) and the first year of his new deal will go into effect immediately, meaning he's signed through 2010. He deserves more than Paul Konerko, although I'm not fond in any way of the no-trade clause. His defense and strike zone judgement make me a little less hesitant about the five year deal as I expect him to age pretty well. Although by 2010, we'll probably be hoping that we didn't sign him to this deal, but it's the cost of signing big name players, you almost always have to overpay in some way. If he puts up numbers similar to 2005 over the next 3-4 seasons, whatever he ends up slipping to in the latter years of the contract will be the price needed to be paid to enjoy the more fruitful years. Brian Dopirak may as well starting shopping for a new mitt as he'll have to find a new position if he plans to ever play for the Cubbies. If he ever puts up another decent season in the minors, I suppose he'll get himself traded promptly. No worries here, I don't think Dopirak will evolve into anything more than a decent DH, his defense so far has been deplorable in the minors. Next up on Hendry's contract platter, getting Aramis to waive his option after this year and signing Carlos Zambrano to the extension that will keep him a Cubbie for the next ten years.

Comments

Actually, the way I understood it was that it's a 4 year deal because the first year (of the five) is actually 2006 since they threw out the contract he had for this year. Luis

and so goes a chunk of hendry's payroll...wonder what the breakdown is. hopefully d.lee wont be a 15+m player in 09/10...though with a no-trade it dont matter too much unless some other backloaded contracts smack up against it (wood/maddux making 20/21m this season...for instance).

your're right Luis, I either missed it or they just included it in the ESPN.com article. I've updated it now... Hopefully it's a straight $13 mil a year, I suppose we'll find out soon enough. It appeared the Cubs had a little extra money this year, so I think it's money well spent for at least the next few seasons...

yeah, the first of 5 years is 2006, so it expires in 2010. It just seems like given the market place, there was no choice. Either we paid him this much, or watch him walk next year. I think if we are going to be even remotely competitive over the next few years, we need guys like him to be around to build off of and fill in pieces around. And, if Lee keeps playing well, and the Cubs continue to suck over hte next couple years...I'd expect he would accept a trade to a winner to finish his career.

Definitely money well spent. Luis

Cardinals bullpen imploding again... 6-4, 2 runners on, Gabe Gross on, already let in 2 in the 9th

Gabe Gross up, but he grounded out.

isringhousen gives up a run-scoring single and walks the next guy before that ground-out. gotta be great for his confidence. SWEET!

so d.lee and furcal are making the same loot... ha. and it seems no one in LA can catch furcals 90mph tosses since he's got 3 errors already.

Furcal & CedeÒo for 13+ million or CedeÒo & Walker for 3 million? Best thing to happen to the Cubs was Furcal not signing... the extra money will come in handy (if used). Hopefully Hendry has forgotten about trading Walker and sees the value of having an offensive/defensive combo available. Luis

Just like I said in the other thread... That deal sounds a lot like.... Paul Konerkos. Yeah Jim Hendry. No lock up ARAm. the 2006 NL MVP.

Looks like Lee got all those 'loose ends' tied up. I was hoping the NTC would be ony for the first few years and or a club option w/buyout for the last year. Oh well, at least he didnt get a player option like Rammy (BTW, when is it likely that he'll waive that? After the season?) All in all, a good signing.

13 million a year seems like a relative bargain for the best overall player in the league last year who shows no signs of slowing down. I look at it this way: Manny Ramirez Run producing machine Good plate discipline Performs well under pressure offensively Slow, bad baserunner Terrible defender Whiner who asks to be traded even after winning a ring 18+ million D. Lee Run producing machine Good plate discipline Performs well under pressure offensively Plus speed, 15 steals, very high SB success rate Gold glove at key position that masks team shortcomings Team leader, classy guy who wants to play for your team 13 million per I realize that this is comparing apples and oranges to some extent, but still, it makes me feel pretty good. What it boils down to is, as a fan, I love watching this guy play. I am thrilled to have him here for the next 5 years.

Dopirak broke his foot and is likely to be out a long time so I doubt we will see him traded anytime soon. As far as big money contracts look at the mets payroll this year. People talk about how they are spending but their payroll is very similar to the cubs, right around 100 million. If the cubs can count on Cedeno and Murton for the next few years and possibly Pie in center or right I think the cubs will have plenty of money to sign our current studs such as Z and Prior in the next year or two as well as compete in Free Agent signings. A talent producing farm system is the key.

I was speaking in terms of long-term solutions in regards to Dopirak. He wasn't going to sniff the majors till next year at the very soonest and that would have only been if Lee was gone and he hit a lot better this year in AA then he did in Daytona. Since he can't seem to handle 1b defensively, it doesn't bode well for a future position change. If/when Dopirak strings together another nice season (whether it be this year or next), he should be at the forefront of tradeable Cubs prospects. Of course if he can't improve upon his defense, we'll never get anything for him...

Will this signing taking effect in 2006 (vs 07) have an affect on our ability to take on salary at the trade deadline?

hendry's never seemed to have too much trouble getting a few extra million when needed, be it preseason or midseason.

Okay, just finished eating and I am extatic!! we're sure its for sure?

Cubs 4-1 Houston 5-2 Milwaukee 5-2 Cincinnati 4-2 STL 4-3 Pittsburgh 1-7 First Place!!!!!

Rich Hill going against Nashville tonight (Brewers) gave up a homer in the 1st another run on an error by Buck Coats(who's playing 2nd for some reason) and a double steal (gave up a hit in there too) Juan Mateo starting for the Jaxx Grant Johnson for Daytona (so far 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K) Peoria already won today (7-5), 1b Ryan Norwood hit a HR and 3B Brandon Taylor as well

Felix Pie still "en fuego:, just hit a grand slam for Iowa.

Rob G.: "Next up on Hendryís contract platter, getting Aramis to waive his option after this year and signing Carlos Zambrano to the extension that will keep him a Cubbie for the next ten years." You forgot what will REALLY be next on his platter...first doughnuts and then reupping Baker for 2 more years. Since Lee just signed for $13 million per, I have a hard time seeing how ARAm (a lesser player at this point) would get much more than his $22.5 over the next 2 years by sticking with his current Cubs contract.

Fantastic job. Great signing, had to happen. We now have our face-of-the-franchise guy for the next 5 years. This isn't risk free of course -- we're banking on a single season (2005) trumping his prior body of work. But this is clearly a risk worth taking in light of the market prices for the Furcals of the world. Fun fact: he signed w/ N. Carolina basketball in the class that included Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace.

Felix Pie still "en fuego:, just hit a grand slam for Iowa. Hmmm....how long until Pie gets called up and Jones becomes a bench player? I don't see Dusty doing it, but I don't see Pie being much worse than Jones.

Manny -- can we have some unqualified mad props from you for Hendry? Pleeease?

no offense to aram's bat and his hard work on his D/arm (which are showing nicely)...but the guy has a noticable limp on him. when he runs to first he looks like henry blanco on colder/tighter days. even if he does start hitting like a 12-13m player, his best bet may be sticking around for the 11.5m insted of risking it on the FA market for an extra 500K-1.5m a year.

You forgot what will REALLY be next on his platter...first doughnuts and then reupping Baker for 2 more years Oh, I certainly didn't forget anything.

Congrats to hendry for getting this done... Lee is worth every penny and now Hendry needs to get Baker done. Then has Z and ARAm to work on this offseason.

Rob G.: "Oh, I certainly didn't forget anything." Well, then you will most likely just be mistaken then when Baker gets signed soon. I am 100% convinced it will happen and I don't think there have been ANY signs to make anyone think otherwise based on his and Hendry's comments.

I'll look for A-Ram's limp here in Pittsburgh for the weekend series, and let you know. Thanks for the tip- I miss this sort of thing tracking Cubs entirely by Audio or TCR.

433: "Manny -- can we have some unqualified mad props from you for Hendry? Pleeease?" I just said in my above post (#30), that I give Hendry congrats for getting it done. I said he HAD to get it done, he did, so it was a very good job by him. NO COMPLAINTS by me on this move.

There's the love! Sorry, couldn't resist. It's nice when the TCR family can agree on something for a day. God bless us, everyone. So, the "loose end" had to be the no-trade clause, unless there are other interesting contractual provisions we don't know about. As far as player demands go, I don't mind the fact that he's essentially demanding to stay with the Cubs. Even when the guy negotiates tough he gives us warm fuzzies.

I wasn't commenting on what will happen, I was commenting on what should happen. There's no good reason to commit to Baker just yet, he has a lot to prove this year, plus the demand for $4 million managers isn't very high. Most teams can't afford Baker, there's almost no risk in waiting until the end of the season. If the Cubs stay healthy (thus make the playoffs), I think it's pretty obvious that Baker stays...

"If it's a deal I feel is fair for me, I would sign it. It's still a business. I always look at it as if there is a deal that makes me happy now, why not sign it? I don't think $2-3 million a year more is going to change my life," he said. gawd. i love derrek lee.

if you look at the crop of potential free agents next year, Lee would have very likely been the best positional player available and 5/65 (i suppose it's actualy 4/52) is going to seem like a steal next off-season. (hopefully..)

Rich Hill so far 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 51 pitches MILB.com now has live gameday for AAA games, I'm not sure if it extends beyond AAA

433: "There's the love! Sorry, couldn't resist. It's nice when the TCR family can agree on something for a day. God bless us, everyone." Hey, I am all for poking fun, like you were obviously doing. It is just the others who aren't poking fun and attacking that get annoying. Anyways, most of us were in agreement that Hendry needed to get the deal done and most of us thought it was dragging on too long and we might miss the window to get Lee before the offseason. But Hendry came through and did a very good job.

Ron G.: "There's no good reason to commit to Baker just yet," Well, there was really no good reason to commit to hendry, but the Cubs did that. This is the Cubs we are talking about. The day Baker gets reupped will be a somber day on here and a day that I will be looking forward to, to see the reaction and thoughts towards Hendry.

Rob G.; "I wasn't commenting on what will happen, I was commenting on what should happen." Oh, because the comment came off like you were saying what was actually next for Hendry to do. No where in that comment did you say it is what you want Hendry to do. Just came off as fact more than opinion.

given his "raise" its pretty much a 14m a year contract. still, guy is pretty much a sure-thing 13+m a year guy if he walked and if anyone can ever "earn" anything money-wise in the game...he pretty much has. ortiz just got 13m to hit dingers and very little else. that still doesnt take care of their 1st base situation in boston.

I was moving to the front of the line of people who were getting nervous and impatient about this deal, but all's well that ends well I guess. And the deal is really a 4 yr/$57 million extension, if you look only at the new money and the new years (he was making $8 million this year).

isn't everything I write here an opinion? unless I'm citing a source....

With Derrek Lee already scheduled to get $9.417m in 2006 (including last $667,000 installment of $2m signing bonus from 2004, with his orginal $8m 2006 salary increased this past off-season by $750,000, triggered by salary escalators tied to winning the Gold Glove and a Top 3 MVP finish), a $65m extension through 2010 means D-Lee is essentially getting a $55.583m contract extension 2007-2010 ($13,895,750 average per season), although (as has been reported) the $65m is actually spread out over five years ($13m average), what with the 2006 contract being voided. So D-Lee made out $5m better over the five years 2006-10 than Paul Konerko did as a FA last off-season. Konerko got $60m 2006-2010 with a limited "NO TRADE" (with six teams designated as a "no go").

R. Hill on cruise control now 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 71 pitches

still cruising, something like 12 in a row now for R. Hill 79 pitches through 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR

433- I think your fun fact is slightly erroneous... I recall reading somewhere in the recent past that DLee was offered a chance to *walk on* to the UNC hoops team, and not a scholarship. I think I saw that in an interview with DLee a while back in the Trib? Sorry I can't remember more specifically...

Wikipedia says he's turned down a scholarship to UNC although they're hardly 100% accurate

Rob G.: "isn't everything I write here an opinion? unless I'm citing a source...." Maybe so, but when I write something similar to what you wrote, some people think I am stating it as fact. And that goes for many others, like Chad in the other thread. I have learned the safest way is to say, "I think..." or "in my opinion the Cubs should...". But hey there are doubles standards all over the place on here.

Signing over that much money should make anybody nervous but I can't think of many guys I'd rather have on the Cubs for the next five years. Even if he ends up settling in the second tier of first basemen by the end of the contract, his glove makes him a no-doubter at first base and his eye and power give him the skills to at least hit in the No. 6 spot. And of course, as far as I see DLee, that's worst-case scenario. The man is everything Sammy is not. Considering both skills and personality, he's the greatest Cub since Ernie.

I got the DLee UNC stuff from an interview with him in the Trib: _____ "I ended up signing at North Carolina. I was going to try to play both sports. I don't know how it would've worked out. I wasn't a blue-chip prospect. They told me I would be red-shirting my first year. That was '93. I think Stackhouse went in that year. Rasheed Wallace went in that year. They had a really good team." http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/chi-0604030218apr03,1,572…

Wow, Texas RF Kevin Mench* just misplayed an (LAA) Chone Figgins high lazy flyball near the wall into a triple. He's lucky it didn't hit him in the head. *rumored for a while to be coveted by the Cubs.

Ummmm news flash. Derrek Lee isn't even close to as good as Sosa was. Lets not start revising history. Derrek Lee could very well be out of baseball by time his contract is up just like many players before him. And if that happens most fans will rip him apart and tell us how much of a prick he was, and a cancer in the clubhouse. How his contract prevented us from getting other players and blah blah blah blah blah. You are looking at Sammy Sosa circa 1998 in Derrek Lee. An offensive force with no downside in sight. But he still can't hold a candle to anything Sosa did for this team with the bat. Derrek has a ton of money and a ton of expectations to live up to now. When Derrek repeats what he did last year for 5 straight years then we can talk of him being the greatest Cub since Banks. But the fact is Sosa is probably the greatest Cub hitter ever. Nothing is going to change that anytime soon, no matter how much you hate him or think you know what he did in the past. Just enjoy Derrek's playing years with the Cubs and when his time is done thank him for his service and remember what he has done for the organization. Even if 4 years from now he isn't worth the money he is signed for. No one knows when a player will decline, I certainly hope we never see it with Lee. I just don't want him to see him get ripped to shreds if he doesn't live up to everyones expectations.

Cubswinthepennant and Manny, Continued from another post. Here's a link for you about the Cub's Pythogorean record in 2005: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/standings.php You'll notice, that they did under-perform in W1, W2 and W3. In every possible measure they won fewer games than they should have (the Cardinals won 6,7, or 9 more than they should have). CWTP, that thing about the +/- 4 wins makes no sense. It's the expected record based on run differential, there's no +/- 'expected' wins, it's a constant. And the Cubs were -6 in 2004... isn't 6 greater than 4? So even if your +/- 4 was correct (which it can't be because it makes no sense) Dusty still breaks the curve.

THAT was a move the Cubs definitely needed to make to show fans ownership is committed to winning. We had to have D-Lee back and we got him. He is a class act. Also, continued fine work from the bullpen Sunday night and Jones with a big bomb to quiet the critics for a night. I like Barrett hitting 5th and Jacques 6th. Great win, great series for the Cubbies. I next look forward to seeing Pierre creating some mayhem on the basepaths.

Novoa blows the (multi-inning) save in the 9th for the Iowa Cubs. Aardsma pitches a great 10th inning. Time for the Iowa Cubs to pick up the win for him.

Felix Pie just hit a game winning 11th inning bases loaded single...high off the CF wall. It would have been a double or triple but all they needed was one run for the win 7-6. That was 5 RBI's on the night with his earlier Grand Slam.

Aardsma did get the win...he had 4 K's in his two innings of work

It is an excellent signing. In 2010, $13M will not be an albatross. At that time, the Cub total team payroll should be apx $130-150 million, the sum owed Lee will not be more than 10 percent. That is nothing like the Sosa contract--and Hendry turned that dump into Matt Murton. Lee does not have an injury history, so the contract should be insurable by the team. Moreover, the contract keeps him here until he is 34, which is not particularly old. There is absolutely no downside to this deal, not even the no-trade. Lee made a commitment to the Cubs to sign without testing the free agent waters, it was fair for him to basically ask the team to make the same commitment to him.

getting insurance on a 5-year deal is kinda hard since the whole belle thing went down. a lotta companies wont even touch insuring any deal over 3 years. some teams, like the reds, dont even believe in insurance...well, the old ownership era anyway.

DC Tom: How exactly did Hendry turn Sosa's contract into Murton?

#58 of 64: By MikeC (April 10, 2006 10:53 PM) "Derrek Lee could very well be out of baseball by time his contract is up just like many players before him. And if that happens most fans will rip him apart and tell us how much of a prick he was, and a cancer in the clubhouse. How his contract prevented us from getting other players and blah blah blah blah blah." _______________________________ Seriously? We're talking about the same player? I mean, I know we all thought Sammy was uber-tits back then, but those guys are two totally different guys. Even with a big check, D-Lee won't ever be a clubhouse cancer or a prick. That's just not his style. He's got one of the better attitudes than a whole helluva lot of guys in this game. Even if we get some diminished numbers, the guy will still be a gold glover and still hit for power. At this point in his career, he deserves the money he got. We might regret that in 2010, but even if his numbers slump a bit, I think I'll still take that over Sing or Dopriak.

cant really forget to look at smaller things about lee...beyond his "minimum expected level" of 30+ homers, 40 doubles, .370-ish ob% hitting. he's got above average speed which at this point seems to project to average at worst by the time he's in his last year (34 years old). he's got gold glove quality D with great range. he's got a great health history and attitude. he's got a seemingly tame off-field life. aside from what he does at the plate, all the rest of that smaller stuff is the kinda crap that adds a million or 2 to almost any high-end contract when a team is looking for a guy to build around.

Joe C, I was wrong, I should have said Hendry turned Sosa's final contract year ($17M) into Hairston. A player who of course is not worth $17M but does have some value. Thanks for correcting my midnight-induced mistake.

DC Tom, sorry if I sounded accusatory. anyway, i agree with you that this signing is excellent. It would have cost much more if they waited until the end of the season and honestly Lee is a much better player than both Sing and Dopirak will ever be.

MikeC, I think the comparison to Sosa is legitimate. I mean, I do agree its too early to call a spade a spade, but Lee is coming up on the same age Sosa was when he exploded, and many argue there may have been extra-sauce in Sosa's pot. Lee is coming into his 10th year of MLB service, and Sosa all of the sudden put up numbers like Lee's last season in 1998, and then surpassed those. That was his 11th season. I think the comparison to Lee's upside being comparable to Sosa's overall value is fair. Lee has the edge in class, salary, defense, clubhouse persona, overall good-guy-ness, and could put up numbers approaching Sosa's. Even if he doesn't the argument could be made Lee is equally "Mr. Cub" worthy even if his offensive numbers are slightly less impressive than Sosa's. Sosa 1998: .308 .377 .647 1.024, 66HR 171K 73 BB 158 RBI 134R Lee 2005: .335 .418 .662 1.080 46 HR 107 RBI 109K 85BB 120R Imagine Lee's RBI total if he had runners on in front of him. Looking at Sosa's peripheral number, he has one season that truly blows Lee away, but the rest don't blow Lee away in anything other than the HRs and associated RBIs. Great signing. Manny, sorry, but I have to disagree on the signing Dusty thing. Let's wait till the season is written and pass that judgement.

Anyone see what Mitre did to Houston last week? I kinda wish we still had him. I mean, Pierre has played alright thus far, but I feel like the Marlins got the better end of the deal.

Jordan- wait 'till the Marlins starting rotation at some point this season consists of Willis, Mitre, Wellemeyer and Nolasco... not very realistic but possible

Jordan, I believe at the end...it would be a deal that consists of the Marlins trading away a starting CFer, for one middle of the rotation starter, and two middle reliever. Yes, I said...I don't see Nolasco/Pinto every being anything more the MR guys. So me, it was a good deal. Although the Cubs could had gotten Gathright (similar player) prolly for JUST two of those pitchers, but oh well.

Perfect example of a run producer vs. a non run producer. Sosa had fifty more RBIs yet only a .013 difference in team OBP. Lee also scored 14 less runs with better talent on his team.

I don't mind the comparision but I am not going to do it by completly blocking out all memorey of Sosa. Sosa was loved as much if not more than Lee. He was considered a great clubhouse guy at the time, and a fun team mate. Things change. If Lee hits .270 with 30 HR and 90 RBI this season the fans are going to rip him a new one. That is not what $13 million should buy. And that is really where the Sosa problems started, when he couldn't put up his 60 HR seasons anymore and the fans started getting all over his case. That can change any player because then they look at the fans as ungrateful bastards. It can happen to Lee just the same way it happened to Sosa. Hell it is happening to Wood right now. All that money and we get shit from him. In a few years if Mark Prior can't get his act together Cubs fans will be running his ass out of town also. All those happy warm memories of Prior will be gone. With more money comes greater expectations. Failure to live up to it and you become public enemy #1. No matter how nice of a player you think he is.

CWTP, that thing about the +/- 4 wins makes no sense. Then you don't understand pythagoreans REAL NEAL. Pythagoreans or pythagenports(that's what the link you provided is using) are best fit curves of THIS DATA HERE. As you can see the data isn't a line, it's a bunch of points on either side of the pythagorean curve and that's why there's a margin of error when you use pythagoreans to predict win totals. Because there's a margin of error, you can't attribute doing better than the pythagoreans to better managing unless the manager's win total is larger than the margin of error.

MikeC, I'm not disagreeing about the added fans' pressures on DLee or that in his day Sammy had a ferocious bat. But I was adding persona into the equation as well. Seven years ago I had high opinions on Sosa the player but never in my life have I had much to say about Sammy the person. There was almost constant rumblings that people couldn't stand him, and those rumors often are based in truth. (Granted sometimes, like Pierzynski, it's just a poor player/team relation.) Furthermore, in late 98 it seemed he was more concerned with catching McGuire than winning the Wild Card. How many times did he strike out swinging for the fences with a man on second and two out? Hall of Fame: Sammy, yes (if never proved to have juiced) DLee, not yet Next-door neighbor: DLee, any day Sammy, where's my gun?

well, i think the deal of lee its well spent money, here in honduras me and 3 more friends follow the cubs since 1996, and we are excited about this team, lets go cubs !!

433- That was exactly the article I was recalling when I commented earlier that I thought DLee had only gotten an invitation to walk on... guess I was just recalling it incorrectly! Ah well...

I am not losing any sleep at all over trading either Wellemeyer or Mitre. They both had plenty of opportunities to show their stuff in Chicago and neither one was close to impressive. Beyond that, we needed a center fielder, plain and simple. Everybody knew we needed a center fielder, or at least a lead-off guy. So we were bound to have to give up some players to get Pierre. Further, we have plenty, plenty of pitchers standing in line to try to get to Chicago (Prior, Wood, Hill, Ryu, Guzman, etc etc etc.) We could not keep all those guys and the ones that ended up being traded. Decisions have to be made on which ones were gonna go.

Rob G., Not sure if someone mentioned this or not already, but the no-trade is effectively for the first two years only, as DLee would have been qualified for the 10 and 5 rule in a few years. In that light, I'm fine with it.

Lee is worth every penny and now Hendry needs to get Baker done. Then has Z and ARAm to work on this offseason. So, Manny, what happened to making the playoffs and the wait-and-see approach with Baker's contract? Did that go out the window just because Hendry got extended? Are your true colors shining forth once more?

I just said in my above post (#30), that I give Hendry congrats for getting it done. I said he HAD to get it done, he did, so it was a very good job by him. NO COMPLAINTS by me on this move. You did compliment Hendry in post #30, but that was after 433 asked you to in post #27.

Chad, Sosa had fifty more RBIs yet only a .013 difference in team OBP. Lee also scored 14 less runs with better talent on his team. The fifty more RBIs for Sosa and the 14 fewer runs for Lee might, just might, have had something to do with 20 more dingers for Sammy. 20. So Lee actually scored more runs in ways other than home runs than did Sosa in his monster year of '98. I wonder, though, why did Sosa have a monster year in '98 and hit 66 home runs? Enlighten me again, Chad.

"He was considered a great clubhouse guy at the time, and a fun team mate." Stunning ignorance. Sosa was never considered a "great clubhouse guy" by anyone. No one could stand him, and Baylor got taken to task for trying to stand up to him. Sammy was in charge because idiot fans worshipped him. Once Baker, Karros, and Lofton were added Sosa's influence really started to wane. The Cubs also became a competitive team for the first time in decades. Coincidence? I think not.

No coincidence. The Cubs were not going to win as long as they catered to the Sammy Sosa show and watching him leave in a shit-storm was worth it. Chris is right, far too many people at Cubs games were bigger fans of Sam-Me than fans of the Cubs. This quote by WPZ is brilliant: Next-door neighbor: DLee, any day Sammy, where's my gun?

With Lee, we should (!?!) get amazing production without having to sign onto the All-Sosa-All-The-Time bandwagon. The difference in those two years I posted (R and RBI) was Sosa's 20 more dingers. Lee carried the Cubs for most of last season, so the comparison of "better" teams isn't a fair one. I think the jury hasn't even begun to deliberate, but I stand by my feeling that the comparison may very well need to be made two years from now, and Lee has so much more going for him than Sosa...especially since we can be reasonably sure Lee never did, and isn't now, juicing. I just can't believe Sammy never touched the stuff, and that hurts. I used to, and still do, love the memories Sammy brings to my mind, but he tarnished them some. Grace in defeat and decline are hallmarks of hall-of-famers....

With a few people mentioning the possibility that DLee's new deal could be an albatross by 2010, I thought it was only fair to mention another contract that is already an albatross (though admittedly, smaller). Before we start talking about Dusty's possible extension, let's all step back and absorb the fact that he's the second highest-paid manager in baseball behind Torre. Now, I realize $4million per year isn't going to cripple the Cubs, but that extra $2 mil/year they're spending on his bloated, toothpick-chewing a$$ could have gone towards any number of actual players. Even if you really like Dusty, as some who post here do, should he really be the second highest paid manager in the game? And he wants a RAISE?!?!?! There's only so much green to go around, and every wasted million or two is preventing Hendry from taking big name free agents past their tipping point.

"not fond in any way of the no-trade clause". And I'm not fond of people posturing as experts who don't bother to mention the 10-and-5 aspect of this.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • 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).