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

Next Stop, Primanti Brothers

GAME NINE IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CHICAGO CUBS (5-3) AT PITTSBURGH PIRATES (3-8) PNC PARK, 6:05 CDT Weather: Overcast, 68 degrees, wind right to left @ 12mph TV: CSN+ Radio: WGN, XM 186
Victor Santos, RHP 1-1, 4.66 ERA, 9 2/3 IP 9 K, 4 BB, 0 HRSean Marshall, LHP 0-0, 8.31 ERA, 4 1/3 IP 2 K, 1 BB, 1 HR
*Juan Pierre, CF *Todd Walker, 2B Derrek Lee, 1B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Michael Barrett, C *John Mabry, RF Matt Murton, LF Ronny Cedeno, SS *Sean Marshall, P*Nate McLouth, CF Jack Wilson, SS *Sean Casey, 1B Jason Bay, LF Joe Randa, 3B *Jeromy Burnitz, RF Jose Castillo, 2B Humberto Cota, C Victor Santos, P

Cubs vs. Santos Michael Barrett: 2-19, 105/150/158, 1 BB, 2K Derrek Lee: 3-18, 167/286/500, 2 HR, 3 BB, 3 K Aramis Ramirez: 7-16, 438/438/938, 1 HR, 1 K

Aramis is back in the lineup, as is Todd Walker. Jacque Jones will apparently miss the entire series, allowing Dusty to use Mabry tonight and probably Angel Pagan tomorrow. Who knows, maybe Freddie Bynum will get a start on getaway day. I'd like to see Marshall last a little longer than he did in his first start. In his (short) outing, he wasn't too bad, and now he has a chance to build on his spring success and force Dusty's hand when Wood/Miller/Prior are ready to return. GO CUBS!!!

Comments

Walker adds a whole lotta offense. Like I said a few weeks ago, I say we keep him!

Casey strained his ribcage, Craig Wilson has a job again for a while. Marshall only needed 30 pitches for the first three innings.

So what is the over.under on when Cedeno will get his first walk on the year??

WHERE THE FUCK IS THE GAME, I LOOKED ON CHANNEL 26,640,9 AND THE MLB EXTRA INNINGS STATION.

how long before these people are legitimate concerns: -Pierre: settled in right around that .222 mark, just like in spring training -ramirez: not an rbi yet this season -not to mention jj. all of these guys are on contract, so it doesn't affect anything either way- but are you concerned?

ramirez has 2 rbi. but you're right, he needs to pick it up.

744 on DirecTV

Murton has crushed the ball twice into the same spot - just missing homers. I love Orange.

Man Todd Walker sucks. I wish someone who could play better D was in there......

Nice start by marshall.... Hopefully bullpen can hold onto the 8-3 lead for his 1st W.

*sigh*

So what the f.

Like Iowa, Michael? - M. Wuertz relieved S. Marshall - A. Pagan in right field - C. Wilson homered to deep left, J. Wilson scored - J. Bay homered to deep center - J. Randa singled to third - S. Williamson relieved M. Wuertz sports.yahoo.com/mlb

oye....thank God Williamson got 'em shut back down. Now lets get a more comfortable lead.

gag, whatta Wuertzless performance. So here's a little comic relief, Top of the ninth, 2 out, 3-2 count on the batter, Orioles at home leading Angels 5-4-- and LaTroy Hawkins serves up a gopher ball to left to tie the game.

That's funny. Too bad he sucks, I always liked him as a person.

Is Gameday always this far behind? It just put up the Murton AB that I listened to on the radio at least ten minutes ago. Not that it matters, but it doesn't seem like it should have that big of a lag.

Baker should have stuck with Marshall a little longer. He was up 5 and his pitch count was in an acceptable range. Let the kid try to pitch out of it or he'll never feel comfortable in a pressure sitution. He could not have done worse than Wuertz. BTW Guzman through 4 innings tonight has 5 K's and no walks but an unearned run did score.

great play at 3rd, should have been closer at 1st

CUBS WIN!!! Gameday says they're still in the bottom of the 8th inning... lol. Cool... 8-6?

11-6 Final...

#19: no, usually it's about 10-15 seconds behind the radio.

there was an error on teh 3rd baseman that scored BArrett and then Cedeno had a 2 run single.

damn, the gameday its way wrong, the cubs win !!! yea baby

That Todd Walker guy is kind of good. Maybe we should keep him around.

Manny, They almost lost tonight cause of Baker tonight. Pulling Marshall there was a typical bonehead move for him. Other than the 4th he was crusing and the Mclouth HR was because they were up 5 and he was pitching to contact as you should when your up that much. Idiot brings in Wuertz and he gives up two bombs that just landed on the Campus of Ohio State. Maybe you shouldnt express your Baker love everytime they win.

That's right. Leave Marshall in so that people can complain about ruining his arm.

I think Marshall was starting to lose it a little bit and Wuertz just had nothing. I think Wuertz may just about be up for now with Aardsma and Novoa pitching fairly well in Iowa.

"They almost lost tonight cause of Baker tonight. Pulling Marshall there was a typical bonehead move for him. Other than the 4th he was crusing and the Mclouth HR was because they were up 5 and he was pitching to contact as you should when your up that much. Idiot brings in Wuertz and he gives up two bombs..." That's just crap Monday morning quarterbacking/Dusty bashing. Man - its fine to be biased against Dusty but its clouding your judgment. Marshall did a nice job for a AA rookie and got his first W - all great, but let's be realistic, his line wasn't fantastic. Let's change the scenario and assume Rusch was pitching and had that line through 5. He then gives up a homer to McClouth (of all people) and a hard liner single to Jack WIlson and the meat of the order is coming up.....no outs....are you going to call Dusty an idiot if he pulls Rusch there? Had Wuertz not given up two bombs would you be complaining? And since Wuetrz didn't even record an out, lets just pretend he didn't come in....did the bullpen from there on out take care of the Pirates? They mowed them down and preserved Marshall's first win. Did Dusty almost cost them the game by bringing in WIlliamson...Howry...Dempster? Man oh man

Chifan: "They almost lost tonight cause of Baker tonight. Pulling Marshall there was a typical bonehead move for him." That is your OPINION, and you are entitled to it, but it is not any kind of fact. As you can read the two guys after you just posted don't really agree with your take and there were like 10-15 guys on parachat and not one of them mentioned it was a bad move. Please remember, just because it is a move you don't agree with, does not make it a "bonehead" or "idiotic" move. It is just a move you would not of done. "Maybe you shouldnt express your Baker love everytime they win." Maybe you shouldn't grasp at straws EVERY game at trying to find things to hang on Baker and express your Baker hate.

I am glad Marshall got the win tonight but was unaware of his stamina/pitch count issue. He really shouldn't be in the majors if he can't go 100 pitches in a game. This 65-75 count crap is un-acceptable. And do you realize the deepest any of our starting pitchers have gone in a game is 6 innings so far this season? None have gotten into the 7th. Our bullpen will not stay fresh pitching 3-4 innings a night.

No, it was a pretty stupid move by Baker for the following reasons. 1. Our bullpen has already been heavily taxed. Sure they are good right now, but if we want them to remain solid down the stretch, its not a great idea to have them work so much early in the season. Note last year how the White Sox starters continuously went late into games, and their pen was fresh in October. Also note that the Astros bullpen looked incredibly taxed at that time last year. As a result, Williamson was forced to pitch 2 innings. Sure, he looked great, but he has a history of surgery, and I don't want to see his arm go all "chad fox" on us right when he is looking so good. 2. Bringing in Wuertz was the worst idea. Sure, his ERA was 0.00 so far for the season, but he gave up some runs for Marshall on Marshall's first start. And stats aren't everything: you have to go on how a pitcher has looked lately. Wuertz, for example, needs a map to find home plate, and has hung about 9 out of every 10 sliders he's thrown (including during the spring). He needs to go down to AAA to retool before he gives me an ulcer. 3. Marshall needs to pitch through these situations, and get stretched out. Plus he was well within an acceptable pitch limit. Maybe Dusty is overcompensating for riding certain other pitchers arms over the years *cough* Mark Prior *cough cough* Carlos Zambrano. 4. In Dusty We Trusty is one of the lamest things I've ever read. No...its the lamest.

its april...until may+ (or late april depending on the spring they had) you're gonna be hard pressed to see anyone hitting 100-120 pitches, whatever their normal groove is, for a while. personally...i got this thing about april. i never trust the first month of anyone's bat or arm. there's young kids without proper scouting reports, pitchers trying out that pitch they were working on spring/winter camps, stregnth and field comfort, and the whole travel routine to get readjusted to. all the games count, i just find it hard to judge a player's worth in april from both the slow and fast start end of the spectrum.

you gotta be kidding me...people are finding a reason to bitch about dusty on wins already? wuertz is a groundball pitcher, the mere fact he gave up back to back homers should bug any fan WAY more than the fact dusty used a ground ball pitcher.

If Dusty had left Marshall in we would all be hearing about how THAT was a terrible decision and he should have brought in Wuertz. Like Manny says its ok to have that opinion but the Cubs never lost the lead and ended up winning the game. Its up to Wuertz to execute in that situation and he just didn't do it.

No, I'm pretty sure I would have never bitched about Dusty not bringing Wuertz in if he had left Marshall instead. If you don't understand why, then you simply know nothing about baseball. See: Marshall was driving his sinkers down well in the zone for the most part. Wuertz on the other hand has looked terrible since the start of the year, hasn't had any snap to his breaking balls, and has hung most of them. When a guy is throwing that badly. Obviously, you can't completely predict results, but just basing opinions on how each guy was throwing, Wuertz was a terrible choice. If Marshall was left in and he got hit hard, I would have said that Dusty got unlucky making the right choice. If Wuertz came in lights out, I would have said: Dusty got lucky on the wrong choice. Instead, he got exactly what was expected by making the wrong choice. Dusty isn't the worst manager, but he is far from being one of the best. And I reiterate that riding pitchers like Scott Williamson this hard early in the year can only spell trouble down the road. I mean, its not like the Cubs have perpetual injury problems or anything...

Oh, and by the way, I am just watching Marshall's last inning on Comcast Sportsnet's game replay, and he was still hitting his spots for the most part, with the same velocity and hadn't dropped his arm. He didn't really look tired at all. In fact, that last pitch (the single to jack wilson) was located right into Barrett's glove. So clearly, bringing him out was probably premature.

Rothschild better watch out for his job, Dirkdigler knows what he's talking about.

Dirk, I see your point. However, I think Dusty's decision to pull Marshall is not a bad one. Consider that Marshall has never pitched above the AA level, he was getting into trouble, and the heart of the Pittsburgh order was coming up. If he blows his lead and then gets pulled, his confidence could take a blow. As it stands, the bullpen preserved the win - and isn't it nice to have a good bullpen! - and the kid's confidence gets built up. Hopefully, come May and June, Marshall will be left in to pitch his way out of jams in the sixth and seventh; but you won't get him to that point unless his confidence in his own ability is built up now. And a strong, confident Sean Marshall will buy Miller, Prior, and Wood the time they need to rehab thoroughly. Anyway, that's how I see it.

"Dusty isn't the worst manager, but he is far from being one of the best" I think everyone would agree with that statement but the constant beating of the Dusty drum on this board almost makes it unreadable sometimes. Everyone seems to be pretty well set in thier opinion of Dusty... spending every night pointing out game situations about what Dusty did right or wrong has not changed an opinion yet, at least as far as I have seen. It would be nice to see as much discussion about the actual players who play the game, especially after a win. Heres a non-Dusty question for someone, anyone, to talk about: If we see bad starts from Williams and Rusch this weekend, what are the chances we see a AAA starter called up for next week? Not the most original question I know, but anything is better than waking up to read basically the same arguments, on both sides of the Dusty fence, every single morning.

Any news on Angel Guzman outing last night? Sean Marshall hasn't pitched very much since college. It doesn't make sense to drag him out there and run his pitch count up because the cubs have a 4 or 5 run lead. He was getting a little roughed up by the bucs at the point that he was removed. Lets not just shock the kid to death.

If we see bad starts from Williams and Rusch this weekend, what are the chances we see a AAA starter called up for next week? actually, 2 separate questions. 1st start for williams; even if he is bombed out in the 3rd he needs at least 1 more start. rusch's first 2 starts were against the redlegs, which is very un-enviable; if he gets rocked by the pie-rats he goes to the pen, wuertz heads for iowa, and guzman/hill/ryu choose one is promoted. anything is better than waking up to read basically the same arguments, on both sides of the Dusty fence, every single morning. praise the lord for the scroll wheel !

I think Marshall could have lasted through the 6th. His pitch count was only about 80 pitches. If he cant throw in the neighborhood of 95 pitches he needs to be spending time in Des Moines. You were up 4 at that point try to conserve your pen as much as possible. I was a little too harsh on Baker but this was a start of a 9 game in 10 days road trip that includes a cross country flight and that calls for trying to save your pen. About Guzman he started out strong with 5 K's and no BB's in 4 innings. While in his last 1.1 Innings he struck out 3 he gave up 5 unearned runs while giving up a longball. But on the bright side he did not walk anybody.

Kewlazguy, Last night Guzman started for the Iowa Cubs and got the loss after pitching 5.1 innings, giving up 6 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits, one of which was a 3-run home run. The good part of the line is the 8 strikeouts posted against 0 walks. Oh, and the 3-run HR was of the inside the park variety. link Tiny

JJ: Man Todd Walker sucks. I wish someone who could play better D was in there... LOL #4 in NL for OBP. How's that for getting on base before D Lee? Now if D Lee & Aram could start whacking some home runs.

DirkDigler: "If you don't understand why, then you simply know nothing about baseball." No, this is the lamest thing I have ever read. I love when people throw this reason out there as to why they think they are correct...

Last week Will Carroll wrote:
Wade Miller is at about the same stage as Prior now, as he comes back from his shoulder surgery, but isnít progressing as fast.
But where did that come from? As I've noted a couple of times here, absolutely every report on the progress of Wood, Prior and Miller has Miller ahead of Prior at this stage. Today is no exception, as Mike Kiley (Suntimes) writes,
Mark Prior threw off the mound Friday in a bullpen session in Arizona. His pitch count totaled 40. On Monday, the plan is for Prior to throw three sets of 15 pitches (45). Wade Miller also threw off the mound Friday in Arizona and his workload was bigger than Prior's. He threw three sets of 20 pitches (60).
Best Bet: Prior will come back before Miller only if the plan is to keep Miller on minor league rehab assignment longer.

HIGHLIGHTS/LOWLIGHTS FROM FRIDAY NIGHT DOWN ON THE FARM: It's still early, but there are a few players who were expected (hoped) to play well but who are struggling with the bat. Here are the Terrible Ten: 1. Brandon Sing, 1B (AAA): 5-27 (.185), no extra base hits, 2 BB, 9 K 2. Carlos Rojas, SS (AA): 3-25 (.120) 3. Adam Greenberg, RF (AA): 6-31 (.194), 1 BB, 9 K 4. Scott Moore, 3B (AA): 8-35 (.229), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 13 K 5. Jeff Culpepper, LF (A+): 4-31 (.129), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K 6. Matt Craig, 1B (A+): 4-30 (.133) 7. Jemel Spearman, 3B (A+): 7-38 (.184), 1 BB, 14 K 8. Johnny Defendis, LF (A): 2-21 (.095) 9. Matt Ciaramella, RF (A): 3-27 (.111) 10. Jesus Valdez, LF (A): 3-24 (.125) FRIDAY NIGHT: BATTING (ALL LEVELS) IOWA: Felix Pie, CF: 1-4, BB, K Ryan Theriot, SS: 0-4, BB, 2 K Mike Fontenot, 2B: 0-4, R, BB, K Michael Restovich, LF: 2-4, R, BB Jeff Deardorff, 1B: 3-5, 2 RUN HR, 2B, GIDP Casey McGehee, 3B: 2-5, K Buck Coats, RF: 2-4, RBI, 2B, BB Geovany Soto, C: 2-4, RBI, BB, 2K (FIELDING: 2 E, 1-2 OCS) Augie Ojeda: 0-1 WEST TENN: Adam Greenberg, CF: 1-5, R, SH, K Eric Patterson, 2B: 4-5, 3 R, RBI, 2B, 3B, BB, CS Scott Moore, 3B: 1-5, R, RBI, 2B, 3 K Micah Hoffpauir, 1B: 1-5, R, 3 RBI, 2B, SF Luis Montanez, RF: 3-5, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 K Richard Lewis, LF: 0-3, BB, GIDP, SB Gary Cates: 0-1 Tony Richie, C: 2-5, K Carlos Rojas, SS: 1-5, 2 GIDP Chris Walker: 1-2, R DAYTONA: Sam Fuld, CF: 1-4, BB, K Jemel Spearman, 3B: 0-4, 3 K, E Ryan Harvey, RF: 1-4, R, K Nic Jackson, DH: 1-3, 2B, BB, K Matt Craig, 1B: 0-3, RBI, BB Jeff Culpepper, LF: 1-4, R, RBI Alan Rick, C: 2-4, RBI (FIELDING: 0-5 OCS) Joe Simokaitis, SS: 1-4, K, E Nate Spears, 2B: 1-4, RBI, K PEORIA: Davy Gregg, CF: 1-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SB Matt Ciaramella, RF: 1-5, K, GIDP Jesus Valdez, LF: 0-2, R, RBI, SF, K Ryan Norwood, DH: 4-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B Brandon Taylor, 3B: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, 3B, GIDP Alberto Garcia, 1B: 3-4, RBI, E Robinson Chirinos, 2B: 1-3, 2B, BB, K Jake Muyco, C: 0-4, K Luis Rivera, SS: 1-4, R PITCHING (ALL LEVELS) IOWA: Angel Guzman: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R (5 ER), 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR (INSIDE-THE-PARK), 103 pitches, (L 1-1) Bobby Brownlie: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, HBP Ryan O'Malley: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Andy Shipman: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K TO Angel Guzman: (1-1 4.65 ERA) 10.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 14 K, 1 HR WEST TENN: Federico Baez: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, HR Carmen Pignatiello: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, WP Paul Schappert: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 0 K Rocky Cherry: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, HBP (BS 1) Clay Rapada: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (W 1-0) TO Clay Rapada: (1-0 0.00 ERA 4-4 SV) 8.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 9 K DAYTONA: Mark Holliman: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 5 BB, 2 K, WP Matt Weber: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, HR, WP (L 0-1) Angelo Burrows: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, HR, 2 WP TO Mark Holliman: (0-0 3.00 ERA) 9 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 5 BB, 9 K PEORIA: Jesus Yepez: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, WP, PICK-OFF Tim Layden: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K Michael Phelps: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 1 K TO Jesus Yepez: (1-0 1.64 ERA) 11 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 7 K

Jesus guys, you really gotta hate Dusty if you are now blaming him for a loss when we actually won the game. I happen to agree that pulling Marshall was the right move, and bringing in Wuertz was fine. We were up by 6 runs, which means all you have to worry about was a worst-case scenario (i.e. a blow-up inning). To me, the odds of a AA pitcher getting rocked the third time through the lineup were higher than Wuertz getting rocked (although that obviously happened). I can understand how some would disagree, though. Reasonable minds can differ on that. But to say that it was inexcusable to pull Marshall and that Dusty is a moron for doing it is just plain wrong. It was a legit baseball strategy that (almost) didn't work out. It's OK to hate Dusty, but you lose credibility when you pile on him for a move like that. At least wait until he does something ligitimately wrong (it's a 162 game season, it will happen) and then jump on him.

AZ Phil: Angel Guzman: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R (5 ER), 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR (INSIDE-THE-PARK), 103 pitches, (L 1-1) Inside the park home run? That's rough.

Totally unrelated.... Any reason we would go out and try to acquire Dontrelle via trade or sign Clemens? I see this team being a starting rotation away from competition, and while I like our rotation with Prior, Wood, and Miller in there, they are far from good-bets on finishing the season without a return trip to the DL. I see Clemens as an addition to any contender that makes them so much stronger. I'd be willing to pay him a lot for two years if it meant we were serious contenders. In my mind, its that kind of move that would show the fans that the Cubs are looking to win it and not just trying to get lucky.

Jordan, do you really think that Roger Clemens wants to play in Chicago? Here's a clue: He has ZERO interest in playing for the Cubs. The only teams he would consider are the Astros, with whom he cannont sign until May 1 and the Rangers. You think he's still out there not playing cause the Cubs or any other team didn't call? And as far as Dontrelle goes, you make it sound like we could just send the Marlins a Gino's Pizza and a mid level prospect. It's not that easy. Let's go get Miguel Cabrera, Jason Bay and Albert Puljos while were at it.

Chad: "The only teams he would consider are the Astros, with whom he cannont sign until May 1 and the Rangers." He also would play for BOST and NYY. I think HOU would be his #1 choice, bu ti fthey are out of it around June 1, then he won't go there. I think TEX would be his 2nd choice, but again, they would need to be really in it. I think his fallbacks are NYY and BOST and I think he will end up going to one of them as a hired gun to the highest bidder. But at teh same time, I think Hendry would not be doing his job if he didn't at least call Clemens agent. As for Willis, if there is a good deal to be made, I would have no problem going getting him. Especially if Hill is the main chip as I think he is vastly overrated. I don't want Hendry to give up all our pitchers for him, but if something fair for us can happen...do it. Same goes for Cabrerra.

Chad, if you have ESPN insider, you can answer all those questions for me. All I know is over the last 3 days I've heard its not a guaranteed texas team, and that he wants a contender and money. Astros and Rangers don't currently look like contenders, but come July, whoever does has a shot. That's all I know: http://tinyurl.com/kw3fm But go let me know, will ya? Maybe less sarcastically. I was just trying to change the subject to something less lame, argumentative, and more relevant. Not sure why you are so sarcastic in response, but the Marlins have hinted that Dontrelle and Cabrera are on the block, and I'm sure they want cheap, promising, farm talent of which we seem to provide them often. Doesn't seem unreasonable that we could package a couple cheap prospects and maybe a cheap Todd Walker for Dontrelle...

Exactly Manny, I don't see exactly how we'd fit cabrera in, but maybe I'm not willing to part with Murton in the OF. Hendry should get some cash together a make a call to Clemens. Chicago is almost as hot as Texas from the July - September, give it a shot...

I just have one thing to say. Only one team in baseball has less losses than the Cubs. To me that is a good start.

Post #55 Jordan Said: "Any reason we would go out and try to acquire Dontrelle via trade or sign Clemens?" Post #56 Chad responded: "And as far as Dontrelle goes, you make it sound like we could just send the Marlins a Gino's Pizza and a mid level prospect. It's not that easy. Let's go get Miguel Cabrera, Jason Bay and Albert Puljos while were at it." - What's up your ass Chad? I see nothing from Jordan's post other than trying to illicit some views on Willis, a pitcher who some say is/will be on the trading block. No need for smart-ass replies. The TCR writings are top-notch but the maturity level of this board sometimes reminds me of walking into my daughter's pre-school room.

jim hendry going out and getting a pitcher has a very low chance of happening unless wood/prior are gonna miss significant time. if you look around MLB you'll be hard pressed to find another team with the cubs pitching depth. if you wanna dismiss what the cubs have and you wanna apply that same scrutiny to 25+ other MLB clubs, you're gonna find pure despiration compared to where the cubs are at. Z/maddux/wood/prior/williams/rusch/w.miller marshall/guzman/ryu/r.hill even if you dont like 1 or 2 or 3 of those guys...there's still more than a rotation full to cherry pick from.

btw...i dont get the clemens love. i am a fan...big fan. i love clemens...etc etc. but the dude signed a contract last year where he literally only showed up once every 4-5 days...didnt travel with the team all the time, and at times didnt even go on road trips. he was a hired gun who was not a teammate. he showed up, played hard, and went home. do i think clemens is an ass for wanting that? no...it takes 2 sides to sign a contract and if a club is willing to put with it, more power to them. that said, chicago's not an easy sell to a guy who cares so much about staying at home or already going to an organization that has a history of handling him (nyy/bos).

1st Point: If Roger Clemens wanted to be a Cub, he would be a Cub. The guy had a sub 2.00 ERA last year and proved that hes still one of the best. I am HUGE fan of Clemens and I think that he's probably the best of all time however, ask yourself something, why is he still not pitching? I think he's just bidding his time until he can sign with the Astros. Crunch I disagree with you point about pitching. I think that if Roger Clemens wanted to pitch for us, the Cubs would do backflips. Even if Wood and Prior come back 100% (God please let that happen!!!) We could have Wood Prior Z Maddux and Clemens. That would be kinda good. 2nd Point: I"m not saying that we shouldn't get Dontrelle, I'm just saying that Florida is in a very strange place. So what would they ask for? They will want the whole farm system to get him. That's why I'm saying it wont' be easy. But Cabrera is worth getting at any price. He's a once in a lifetime player on par with Albert Puljos. I would trade the entire farm system for him. And if that means shipping Matt Murton FINE.

Jordan, Clemens has not really pitched in a under real MLB game conditions since his Game 4 or 5 of the NLCS. Lets say he signed a contract with us today. He would need a month to get ready and by then Wood will be ready and Miller and Prior would be a week or two behind. As for Willis he wont be availble until the ASB and then it might be a moot point if all 3 are healthy or 2 of them arent and there struggling. If they need a guy and there competive then we can talk about it. It will cost 3 prospects (most likely 2 SP and an OF or 2b) So would say goodbye to 3 of Hill, Guzman, Marshall, Ryu, Pie, Epat.

Chad: "I am HUGE fan of Clemens and I think that he's probably the best of all time however, ask yourself something, why is he still not pitching? I think he's just bidding his time until he can sign with the Astros." He is not pitching because he has said his body was very tired down the stretch the last 2 years and that he needed to play only 2/3 of a season this year to make sure he was fresh in October. That is why he is waiting to sign and play. He wants to be fresh down the stretch. If he wanted to sign with the Astros he could of anytime this winter.

I'm watching the TEX/OAK game and I just saw something that I have never seen before in all the baseball games I have ever watched. And it might of never happened before. To lead off the bottom of the 6th inning, the A's hit back-to-back-to-back HR's (Chavez-Thomas-Bradley). But that is not the crazy thing. They did so with the first 3 pitches of the inning. Yes, all 1st pitch HR's. I almost felt bad for Vincent Padilla who gave them all up. Pretty cool...

The Astros didn't want to pay Roger 20 mil or something crazy like that. They didn't even offer arbitration thats why he didn't already sign.

1) Baker did just fine last night with Marshall. He threw 65 pitches in his first start, and 80 (well 79) last night. If he's in the same spot in his next start and Dusty pulls him before 90 pitches, then (in my opinion) there will be cause to bitch. And if you have to be able to throw 90 or 95 pitches right now or have no business being in the majors, then I guess the Cubs will have to send Maddux down to Iowa, too, only I doubt he'll clear waivers. Speaking of Marshall and Maddux, I love seeing Marshall in the TV picture when they show Maddux in the dugout. Any pitcher who doesn't pick Maddux's brain at every opportunity is a fool. Marshall gave up 4 singles and a solo home run last night, sounds like he's learning well. 2) In 9 games I've already "watched" (TV or Gameday) more good at bats from Walker, Murton, Cedeno, Pierre and Mabry than I saw in a full season of Patterson, Neifi, Hollandsworth, Dubois, Burnitz, etc last year. After 5 innings last night having the opposing pitcher at 100+ pitches and a Cubs starter not named Maddux at less than 80, I thought I was in backwards land. 3) DC I think you're wrong about what might happen re: the starting pitching. No way the Cubs promote a second rookie to the starting lineup unless Rusch and/or Williams get injured. Not saying what they should do, just what they will do. Rusch will get at least two more starts, and after last night Guzman will need to have two more excellent starts in a row before they'll promote him. We saw a lot of starts from Shawn F. Estes early in '03 when there may have been better options, I just think the Cubs can't concieve of have two rookies in the rotation when there's uninjured vets. 4) When's the last time the Cubs had young talent like Marshall, Murton, and Cedeno all in one game at the same time? 5) Last night's lineup was a real right fielder away from being pretty imposing.

3) DC I think you're wrong about what might happen re: the starting pitching. jackstraw- wouldn't be the first time i was not on the same page as the cubs. :D my feeling is that in 2003 we all saw estes because there was nothing at aaa woth promoting. (i think). we can all have a 20 man tag team match later about dusty and rookie position players, but i have never seen him shy away from rookie pitchers. i think judging rusch on 2 (pitiful) starts vs the redlegs is slightly pre-mature, but if he lays an egg on easter vs the bucs, he deserves banishment to the pen. especially if there are healthy and viable options a phone call away in iowa. see you friday.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • 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...