Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-21-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 14
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Hey, Did You Hear?

Submitted by Rob G. on
Word on the street is we've climbed into first place, percentage points ahead of the flailing Brew Crew. I shall temper my enthusiasm a bit though, much like Lou:
"You people make too much out of first place. It's the first of August."
Word! And Jacque "Can-Do-No-Wrong" Jones illustrates the difference between being in the race before and going to your first dance.
"I don't pay attention to what [the Brewers are] doing," Cubs outfielder Jacque Jones said. "Does Carl Lewis ever look behind him when he's running the 100?" Jones said. "No, because it slows him down. The more we concentrate on ourselves, the more we can take care of our business."
Compared to this rumored Corey Hart quote:
"If they can play .800 ball the rest of the season, more power to them.”
More power to you Corey for surviving the endless "Sunglasses at Night" teasing I'm sure you endured as a child but best you worry about being five games under .500 since May 12th. A pennant race is coming to Chicago, warn the family, break out the lucky cap and let's enjoy the ride. They don't come around these parts too often and when they do the year becomes a marker in our lives. 1984, 1989, 1998, 2003 - I imagine a good amount of us hear those years and our first thoughts are about the Cubs respective playoff runs. Let's hope we remember 2007 in many of the same ways. And I didn't mean to rain on today's parade, better to be in first place on August 1st than May 1st, better yet on October 1st though.

Comments

Submitted by Ted Lilly Fan Club on Wed, 08/01/2007 - 08:41 pm

We've warned our parents, put on our lucky beaver skin hat, and bought some flammable home furniture... It's pennant chase time and we're right with you. Nice work on the article. We offically can't sleep now.

Submitted by Johann on Wed, 08/01/2007 - 08:44 pm

Oh, I agree the Cubs shouldn't be worrying about anything else but winning, but for us fans, this is a very nice symbol, since we haven't been in 1st place for so long. When you combine that with Wood coming back, it's something we can believe in. But yes, the Cubs need to not worry about the Brewers. Us fans will do that just fine for them:-)

Submitted by Swanny on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:05 am

Whiskey bent and Hell bound!! DON'T MESS WITH THE U.S.!! RED WHITE AND BRUTAL!! Lou and JJ are both right.

Submitted by nohit on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:28 am

Yeah, nice job, Rob. I liked that. It's definitely too early to count our chickens, but it's not too early to dream a little. I'm going to be up all night now, thinking about how to score some World Series tickets this year. :-)

Submitted by orange guy on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:54 am

Way to get a hit and get it started, Murton! Nice to win a game that way, considering how many of those have gone the other way earlier in the year. Doesn't that feel like forever-ago?

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:02 am

And yea Rob... for me, the first thing I think of when I hear 1989 is Jerome Walton and the Cubs, 1998 is obviously Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood, and 2003? Well unfortunately I think of Bartman before Wood and Prior, but it is still Cubs. Ironically, even 1984 I think Cubs, even though I was a wee little lad. Of course, after the Cubs I think George Orwell. Does that make me a geek?

Submitted by Igby on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:18 am

Can you just imagine Ron Santo and Pat Hughes calling the winning of the world series by the Cubs? I think that if the Cubs to it all this year we'll be burying Ron Santo the next day! Poor guy will have "the big one" right there in the booth, on the air! Boogeta, boogeta, boogeta boys; lets go racing - racing for the pennant that is!

Submitted by CT_Steve on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:24 am

The Brewers are 21-32 on the road. No one wins a division playing like that. Suck it, cheeseheads!

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:42 am

It's funny that the phrase has been meaningless for over 30 years but we still use 'pennant chase'. The Cubs were in the chase in 2001, 2004 and 1995 as I recall as well. Whichever year Sammy was leading ML in HR's and broke his hand- '96? I get guess it was '96 not '95. In '89 I think of Sandberg's two streaks - then the rookie outfielders. I won like $5 betting that the Cubs would finish #1 and #2 in the RotY balloting. And of course I've always thought that God had intended the Cubs to make the series in '89, but took a nap, and when he woke up his anger at Will Clark (aka The Devil) caused the earthquake.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:03 am

Post-Season Odds Report 63.1% (Brewers 57.2%) Eletric Light Orchestra adjusted 61.6% (Brewers 42.9%) Pecota adjusted 63.9% (Brewers 57.3%) In my own mind. Would give us about a 65% chance . Mets about 70% and the Braves, Brewers, and 3 headed beast in the West about 45%, 30% for the Phillies and 10% for the dregs.

Submitted by Uplander on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:05 am

Long time reader, incredibly infrequent poster. But I just want to say one thing: MannyTrillo, where have you gone? What a p***y.

Submitted by jacos on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:12 am

Dave- 1984 I think Sandberg. I would consider 2004 a pennant chase year.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:28 am

I think it's actually important to be in first place on August 1. It's sort of a cool milestone. August 1 = first place. Also, if the Cubs kept just barely missing for a few weeks, that could have taken its toll. Now they've gotten there and even if they fall back out a couple games it's still something they know they've done. Better yet: they stay there and let the Brewers chase them for awhile. This would be a really good time to reel off about 10 straight. That would mean sweeping the Mets -- not likely. Just sayin'

Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:30 am

I believe Manny un-officially retired.

Submitted by Bigz99 on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:34 am

We are so funny....we win and it is all cheers, but we lose that one and it is endless comments about JJ losing the ball in the bright sun on a night game, leaving bases loaded, wild rich hill, and more. I guess the old adage is right, winning cures all. I will be at the game today, and I will no doubt take a picture of those flags...it aint often you fly at top mast.

Submitted by mark on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:39 am

Bigz99, we'd be bored if there was nothing to bitch about. Am getting more and more glad that the JJ trade was nixed. I actually think Lou had something to do with it - based on nothing, just my gut feeling.

Submitted by Mister Whipple on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:41 am

Manny only really enjoys being at odds with everyone and its hard for him to do that when the Cubs are playing well. Where does Corey Haim get off talking trash? I can't wait until the Brewers are looking up at .500. Great parachat last night. Metafriends are the best. Too bad you missed it Trans.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:41 am

Manny has just been busy with work/life. I could see Camp, or Atkins, but Samardzija? Yea... it is is a bit odd. He started to pitch a lot better in June, but has had a pretty poor July (see his game log here). He did pitch well yesterday though, giving 2 r, 3 h, 1 bb in 6 ip. I guess the Cubs see something that they like in him, even with his struggles.

Submitted by grendel on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:44 am

Just for laughs I googled "mannytrillo" and found a great picture of our missing person in his yahoo profile. Could manny be posting as "dave" since manny's real name is david.

Submitted by John Boccabella on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:46 am

You young pups. Where is 1969 in that list of years? Oh, the year that must not be named...

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:47 am

Could manny be posting as “dave” since manny’s real name is david. You haven't been around for very long, have you?

Submitted by grendel on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:51 am

yeah, like there are a ton of "mannytrillo's" out there just waiting to post at yahoo

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:53 am

Manny's real name is not David. And Manny catches a lot of crap around here, much of it his own doing, but pretty weak to just call him out when he's not around. He's stopped in Parachat a few times, he's been pretty busy with life and work he assures us. Manny, to the best of my knowledge and checking IP addresses, has never posted under anything other than Mannytrillo. So get over your bitterness and just the enjoy the Cubs run.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:58 am

Seriously... people really think that I am Manny? Wow. People really should spend some more time around here before making such silly assertions.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:00 am

Manny put up a link to his staff or team photo earlier this year. I didn't look at it, but based on the slant of a lot of comments Manny makes, I would say this particular David doesn't meet one of the qualifications for beign Manny. Manny is also married. And that's all I want to waste on Manny Trillo. I am starting to think that Hendry may have to give Pinheadiella the Dusty treatment though and take away some of his favorite toys when he shows he doesn't understand their appropriate use. The Cubs bullpen is still in the middle of the pack ERA wise, but has moved up considerably in the save percentage area. It's almost like when the offense scores runs after the 6th, it makes the bullpen's numbers look better.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:04 am

I am starting to think that Hendry may have to give Pinheadiella the Dusty treatment though and take away some of his favorite toys when he shows he doesn’t understand their appropriate use. Who are you referring to? Who would you say are LouPa's "toys?"

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:08 am

I'll give you a hint. He takes a walker out to Sammy's old patch of grass. I'd also like to see Cedeno play a bit more - like 40 to 50% of the time.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:16 am

Ok... I don't necessarily disagree with you, especially on Old-Many Cornelius. Cedeno? I am not so sure about - I am still not convinces that Ronny can out-produce a fairly productive Theriot. Theriot will never be a star, but if he can keep his OBP around .350, steal bases efficiently, and play steady defense, I think he will be a better option than Cedeno this year. I do still like Cedeno, and think that he will be a decent/good SS in the major leagues, but I can't really complain about what we are getting from SS right now.

Submitted by Jace on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:17 am

Eyre and Murton both came through last night... Never would have expected to see that on the same night again... Looks like Eyre might be coming around to being useful again...

Submitted by Wes on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:18 am

Wait a minute, Real Neal. Now you're confusing me. Are you trying to tell me that Cliff Floyd's stats aren't the only thing that determine whether or not he should be in the lineup?

Submitted by aaronb on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:26 am

Wow!!! What a game last night. I've got 2 observations and am curious if anyone was thinking the same thing last night as the events unfolded. 1. I felt less then secure when Kendall came to bat in the 9th. I figured if there was anyone on the roster that couldnt get a Brett Myers pitch out of the infield. It was Kendall. I was yelling at the TV for Lou to PH Floyd for him. I actually was relieved when all he did was K. 2. I couldnt help but feel really nervous after Murton scored on the WP and Kerry Wood came out of the dugout to mob him. I was having flashes of Woody going back on the shelf. Due to an injury occured in a celebratory encounter. All that being said. Go cubs go. I am so looking forward to attending all 3 Mets games this weekend.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:28 am

It depends. Are we talking about Cliff Floyd's stats from 2006-2007 or from 1998 to 2001? I think Pinheadiella thinks he is starting the 2001 Floyd. That person no longer exists. Then when you add in defense, base running etc..

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:32 am

Remember when we were all ragging on Burrell the other day and his .400 OBP? But when we face the Phillies our pitchers can't make it through the 7th. Anyone have any idea what could possibly contribute to that problem?

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:33 am

Being a card-carrying member of the Matt Murton Fan Club, I would love to see Murton playing over Floyd. With that said, Floyd has been far from terrible this year. And Floyd's numbers with runners in scoring position have been excellent. Of course, those numbers would probably revert to the mean eventually, but there isn't much we can complain about there. I do think that Murton could at least match Floyd's production if playing full-time, but I am not convinces that he would out-produce Floyd's production significantly. I do think that Murton, playing everyday, would hit for more power than Floyd has this year.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:34 am

aaronb - yea, many of us in the chat wanted to ph for Kendall. I don't think anyone is overly confident with Kendall at the plate. But it worked out.

Submitted by Wes on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:36 am

Was just joshin ya a bit, big guy. If Floyd was hitting for just a little more power, I'd have no problem with him. If he was hitting homers behind Lee & Ramirez, I'd take the slowocity and unglovliness. He's hit close to .300 all season. He's got on base at .360. But that's not what we're paying him for. We're paying him to make ball go long time. But, as I said yesterday, it seems that disease is contagious among this group.

Submitted by Wes on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:39 am

Remember when we were all ragging on Burrell the other day and his .400 OBP? But when we face the Phillies our pitchers can’t make it through the 7th. Anyone have any idea what could possibly contribute to that problem? Sure I do. He works the count. But did you also see that the guy behind Burrell came up last night with 8 guys on base (including Burrell twice after he walked with RISP) and drove in exactly 0?

Submitted by aaronb on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:39 am

I agree on that Neal. Aside from the fact that Murton is here for the next 4 years ( unless traded) Cliff is gone after the season. If you are looking at equal production. Doesn't it make more sense to play the guy with an actual future within the organization? Plus with the Wardosaurus down for the count. It sure is nice to have Floyd's LH bat on the bench. Like the proverbial ace up LouPa's sleeve.

Submitted by DC Tom on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:40 am

Woot! Cubs in first place! Braves released Julio Franco last night. Does he have enough experience to qualify as a "veteran" right-handed bat off the bench? I don't think going to 13 pitchers is a bad thing right now. The Cubs have only two off days between now and when the rosters expand. In those 28 games, 14 are against teams with records above .500 (1 against Phils, 3 against Mets, 4 in Colorado, 3 in Arizona, 3 against Brewers). Next week after the Mets, we have a 7-game road trip to two hitters parks (Houston and Colorado). Combine that with the fact that Lou will need to be careful with the return of KW and not overwork him, he almost needs to have 12 "non-KW" pitchers to cover that stretch.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:57 am

Braves released Julio Franco last night. Does he have enough experience to qualify as a “veteran” right-handed bat off the bench? Well... he has plenty of experience. Unfortunately he can't hit anymore. He has been released by two teams this year for a reason.

Submitted by Baby Maddux on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:04 am

Going to 13 pitchers off and on for the next 30 days won't be that big of a deal, methinks. If there's an injury or someone gets way tired, then the Des Moines shuttle can start up again. After 9/1, they can have 20 pitchers if they want, so it won't matter after that.

Submitted by cubster on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:46 am

Az Phil...can we have an update as to how close Cliff Floyd is to having his contract extention incentives kick in. I seem to remember it has to do with games played or at bats.

Submitted by aaronb on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:47 am

Re 13 pitchers: Perhaps AZ Phil can shed some light on this. Is it possible for the cubs to use a DFA assignment to shuffle an extra bullpen arm into the equation. I know that a DFA means that you have 10 days to make a decision on a player. Usually it is trade,release, option out. Is it possible to DFA a guy and then resend the DFA and allow the player back onto the roster? Or is that against the CBA?

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:48 am

Oh yeah, Aaronb, you're a bastard. I decided to forgoe my trip to NLRTM to see team USA play because a hotty from Poland is going to be in town that weekend, but the best sports being offered in DKCPH this weekend is: http://www.homelessworldcup.org/

Submitted by Ash Bat on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:49 am

Remind me again - is playing bad and winning the sign of a good team? In the NL Central, yes.

Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:56 am

DAVE: don't worry - you can bet that Uncle Cliffy will get injured again, and if your guy can sustain a decent level of play for 10 days or so - it will earn him more playing time. This is how Lou operates.

Submitted by aaronb on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:57 am

Have a good trip Neal. I do recommend renting the movie "Hostel" before any trip abroad. Just to put you in the correct frame of mind.

Submitted by Virginia Phil on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:58 am

Murton can have right field any time he starts hitting. Same with Pie in center. The positions are there waiting for these guys. But you have to come up ready to start hitting immediately, like Theriot and Fontenot did. Piniella isn't going to give you a week-long audition. Jake Fox had two at-bats. Last time Pie was up, he settled into a role where he was a late-inning defensive replacement and got one or two at-bats a week. If he had driven the ball in one of those at-bats, he might have gotten a start the next day. When that didn't happen, Hendry sent him down to get some swings. Murton had two hits yesterday--he was lucky that both of them fell out of someone's glove--and will get another start soon. Cedeno got an RBI hit and probably earned another start. It's a little different with catchers, who, like pitchers, play a defensive position, but it might be a good idea for Koyie Hill to start collecting some hits soon. Murton and Pie will learn to treat every at bat like it might be their last. With Piniella, it might be.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:00 am

It doesn't have anything to do with the way they treat the at-bat, it has to do with comfort and practice. Well, maybe it does with Cedeno.

Submitted by K on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:13 am

I'm having conflicting feelings about Wood coming back, especially with the talk of a 13-man pitching staff. I love Kerry, but one of the excellent strategies the Cubs have had is shuttling minor league pitchers in/out (e.g. Cherry, Petrick, Gallagher, etc.) as necessary. This gave us fresh arms when they were needed the most. But, if Kerry is activated, the only relievers that can be sent down will be Marmol and Wuertz. I would not want to be without them for 10 days. Is this the best time to activate Kerry? It will eliminate the fresh arm strategy. I'm thinking it would be better to wait a week or two to activate Kerry.

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:16 am

there's only a month to play roster shuffle...in another 29 days they can call up everyone and their mother. i'll take wood over cherry/petrick at this point...and if he doesnt work out....well, there's cherry/petrick.

Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:17 am

VA PHIL: Completely agree on Murton/Cedeno et. al. It is purely, "What have you done for me lately" w/Lou. He's just not gonna f around. I do not have a problem w/that in a pennant race.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:18 am

But, if Kerry is activated, the only relievers that can be sent down will be Marmol and Wuertz. I would not want to be without them for 10 days. Not if there is a 13-man pitching staff. Then again, I would be shocked to see a 13 man staff for any extended period of time before September 1st.

Submitted by K on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:24 am

I don't think a 13-man pitching staff is realistic. would severely limit the bench. You would only have 3 people, excluding the backup catcher. A guys goes down to injury in the early innings (i'm looking at you Cliff Floyd), and now you're down to 2. Then you got guys who need days off (Ramirez). This would eliminate any flexibility that Lou has, and I thought he loved flexibility. So, I don't think they will go to the 13-man pitching staff. That's why I'm worried about activating Wood now. 29 days in August is a long time. The Cubs made up alot of ground in just about that time.

Submitted by Chad on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:29 am

Lookie what I found at ChiSports.com: "good point. I am sure that the Red Sox are dying to get rid of Ortiz to make room for Sammy. Cleveland with Hafner, Detroit with Sheffield they all need to be fighting over Sosa. Too bad Hendry can't get over himself and trade a bucket of baeballs for Sosa. He would make a nice RH bench bat and platoon partner for Floyd. Posted by: The_Real_Neal | Aug 2, 2007 7:49:10 AM"

Submitted by 433 on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:33 am

Hard to believe, but after this weekend the Cubs will have only 14 games left against competition over the .500 mark -- and only 4 of those in all of September (vs. the Dodgers) -- and none after 9/6. Crazy as it sounds, the tough part of our schedule is behind us.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:34 am

soriano, cf theriot, ss lee, 1b ramirez, 3b floyd, rf fontenot, 2b jones, cf k hill, c marshall, p

Submitted by aaronb on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:35 am

Rock Cherry hardly pitches as it is. At least Lou will trust Woody in some high leverage situations. It just means that Eyre goes back to being the long man. Marmol,Howry and Wuertz just have a new guy to divide up the late innings with. That and of itself should get them more rest.

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:36 am

sosa would be perfect for the cubs...and a few other teams...if he wasnt sosa. you already got a winning club...teams that would want sosa, that is...you got the clubhouse and chemistry (unless youre in SD where a wholesale of loose parts replaced a buncha other loose parts for no real reason)... do you bring sosa into that? and if youre the cubs do you bring him back to his "uncomfortable comfort zone"? a lockerroom where he's not only no longer "the man" but he'd only see maybe a 1/3rd of his playing time with no DH available and seeing most time in RF vs. lefties? i dunno if sosa, himself, could handle that with class. if you believe what you read, esp. the soon-to-be outted CJ Wilson in TEX and his way-too-candid internet blogging (not his "mlb" paid blog)...sosa still fancies himself as "the man" and he appreciated the "kids" who let him live a bit of that dream in texas for a little while longer. sosa would probably be anywhere but TEX if not for the fact that he's sosa and acts just like we remember sosa acting. he's cheap, he's got power, he's got veteran presence...he also could barely find a trade-season rumor to attach himself to.

Submitted by dave on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:48 am

Crunch... have a link to that "way-too-candid" blog? And what’s this talk about a 13 man pen? Chad, LouPa mentioned the possibility. See the above linked story (comment #39).

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:58 am

aaronb — August 2, 2007 @ 9:47 am Re 13 pitchers: Perhaps AZ Phil can shed some light on this. Is it possible for the cubs to use a DFA assignment to shuffle an extra bullpen arm into the equation. I know that a DFA means that you have 10 days to make a decision on a player. Usually it is trade,release, option out. Is it possible to DFA a guy and then resend the DFA and allow the player back onto the roster? Or is that against the CBA? ====================== AARON B: A DFA cannot be rescinded. When a player is Designated for Assignment, it means the club has ten days to either trade him, place him on Outright Waivers, or place him on Release Waivers. Because a player who is Designated for Assignment is removed from the 40-man roster the day he is DFA'd, he cannot be optioned to the minors. He has to be either traded, outrighted, or released. If the player is not traded by the 8th day of the DFA, the club must place the player either on Outright Waivers or Release Waivers, because it takes two days (47 hours) for a player to clear waivers. A player can only be placed on Outright Waivers if he has less than three years of MLB service time, or if he has more than three years of MLB ST and gives his permission to be placed on Outright Waivers. If a player with at least three years of MLB ST does not give permission to be placed on Outright Waivers and isn't traded by the 8th day of the DFA, he MUST be placed on Release Waivers (and that's what happened with Bobby Kielty on Tuesday). The A's just ran out of time. BTW, Kielty will clear Release Waivers today at noon CDT, and whoever signs him will only be responsible for the prorated portion of the MLB minimum (about $125K). The A's have to pay the rest of the $700K that remains on Kielty's contract (which would be about $575K).

Submitted by Chad on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:03 am

"Hard to believe, but after this weekend the Cubs will have only 14 games left against competition over the .500 mark " 4 against the Doyers 1 vs Philly 3 vs Mets 3 vs Brewers So we knock out 4 of those games right now and 3 against the Brewers (good as we can cotrol our own destiny there) So really that leaves 7 games after this weekend.

Submitted by Virginia Phil on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:06 am

Cedeno might be used as a late-inning defensive replacement for Fontenot, in which case he'll get an occasional at-bat that way. He has some pop; time to show it. Murton, if he doesn't hit, has no role. He needs to hit a home run or two pretty quickly. It's not hard to out-homer Floyd. But I think Murton and Pie and even Cedeno will respond to the pressure once they learn what the deal is. (I'll know Pie is "ready" when he runs through one of Quade's stop signs.)

Submitted by Johann on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:12 am

Murton is a better defender then Floyd (which isn't saying much, but still), won't get hurt and is far cheaper. He just needs to hit around as well as Floyd to be a far better choice. Plus, he has red hair. Who doesn't want a red head on their team?

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:20 am

in other baseball news, word is uber-prospect Justin Upton might get a call-up real soon with the Dbacks.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:24 am

Royce Clayton DFA'ed by the Blue Jays, someone hide Hendry's phone for the next 10 days or so....

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:26 am

Anyone else mildly concerned that the Cards might make a late push? They're only 6 games out. As much as their lineup/pitching is kinda brutal this year, I just feel like no one's talking about them at all and they're going to quietly sneak up on us.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:29 am

So what is Sammy supposed to do, go around saying 'man, I suck. I'm having a lot of trouble getting around on fastballs, particulary from righthanders, I hope I get to spend a lot of time on the bench.' ? Vs LHP .321 .423 .593 Dye, .253 .324 .505

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:33 am

sammy's problem isnt bragging about his performance...its the 24 other guys who have to listen to him, travel with him, and hear him talk about sosa-things. we know what sosa's about...evidently the same man who was a 10+ year primadona in cubbie blue is pretty much similar to the guy that's there now. i can think of plenty of teams who would love a sosa-like player who would be happy to face righties and pinch hit...unfortunately, sosa's own persona kept every team from tapping that resource. its not like texas hopes to keep him around for years or he was being paid huge. if not for himself, he would have been at least as interesting as kenny lofton to a lotta clubs in need.

Submitted by DC Tom on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:34 am

Doug Dascenzo, Compared to the schedule the Cubs and Brewers have for the rest of the season, the Cardinals schedule is much more difficult, with 31 games against teams with winning records. (Of course, 8 of those games are against the Cubs and 6 against the Brewers.) So while they could conceivably make a late push, it would be very difficult to make up six games on both the Cubs and the Brewers with a more difficult schedule. Not to mention with Kip Wells in their rotation.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:35 am

Anyone else mildly concerned that the Cards might make a late push? They’re only 6 games out. The Cardinals built their run on Carpenter, Suppan, Pujols, Rolen and Edmonds. They have one of those guys now. No, I am not concerned. Even if they try, the Cubs will take care of them themselves.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:36 am

so if we talk about the Cardinals that'll make them just disappear? that would be cool... for the life of me I can't figure out how the Cardinals aren't 20 games under to be honest. -89 run differential and a 9-11 record in one-run games. By expect win/loss record, the Central should look like.. Cubs 60-46 Brewers 58-50 Reds 47-61 Astros 45-62 Cards 43-61 Pirates 43-62 The Cubs +63 is best in the NL at the moment.

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:58 am

All I'm saying is that 100% of the focus has been on the Brewers as the only other team in this race. The Cardinals should be much worse than they are, but somehow they've managed to stay within shouting distance of the Cubs/Brewers. Think about it this possible scenario - we lose today and then lose 2 of 3 to the Mets, while the Cards win 3 of their next 4 (at PIT and WSH, and they're already winning today). They'd only be 3 behind us. That would make me very uncomfortable.

Submitted by NO on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:01 am

Doug, Do you think people talking more about the Cardinals as contenders here in this forum would make any difference? It doesn't matter who we think are contenders nor does it matter who we talk about.

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:14 am

"Doug, Do you think people talking more about the Cardinals as contenders here in this forum would make any difference?" No, it won't make a difference to the actual outcomes of games. I just don't think we should take for granted that this is a 2-team race. The Cards are still very much in it, and as long as they have a chance, they're a scary team. Just pointing that out as a lot of people seem to have forgotten about our rivals to the south. But no, my pointing it out will have no influence over the outcome of any games played today or in the future.

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Thu, 08/02/2007 - 08:19 am

Not really relevant to anything, but kind of funny... Just went to the Cards' website to look at their upcoming schedule and found out that www.cardinals.com is not a link to the baseball team, but rather a link about the actual birds and bird enthusiasts. How did a few-hundred million dollar entity get beaten to the punch by a group of bird watchers in registering that domain name?

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Maybe Brewer

    He'd be able to leave the Cubs. He's out of options. That would open up a 40man spot.

    I don't think Jed would do that.

  • crunch (view)

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  • Childersb3 (view)

    Yeah it is.....sorry......closers don't throw 89mph

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  • Childersb3 (view)

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  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Hmmm. Maybe my idea of transitioning Hendricks into a closer role isn’t so crazy.

  • Childersb3 (view)

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  • crunch (view)

    “I respect his track record of what he’s accomplished,” Counsell said on Sunday morning. “And you go through these. He’s gone through -- maybe not this particular stretch -- but stretches where you’re not pitching the way you want to and struggling. And you figure it out.” -- Counsell on Hendricks

    fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...

    i respect his track record of no longer being in the rotation.  in 2016 he threw 2 innings out of the pen, his only work out of the pen.  the cubs won the world series that year.  let's repeat that magic.  the formula is obvious.  stats don't lie.  etc etc whatever...

    small sample size and all, but how about this craziness...

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  • Finwe Noldaran (view)

    Phil: Great to see what Rosario is doing!

    Do you think having Rosario may have influenced/impacted the front office's decision on including Hope in the trade for Busch at all?

  • crunch (view)

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  • Arizona Phil (view)

    No question right now Alfonsin Rosario is one of the Cubs Top 20 prospects (probably Top 15). Rosario is to the Cubs what Zyhir Hope is to the Dodgers.

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