
Cubs Blow Lead Then Rally to Edge A's at Sloan Park
Moises Ballesteros smacked an RBI double into the right-centerfield alley and scored and David Bote hammered an RBI triple into the LF corner and scored to highlight a three-run Cub 1st inning, Reivaj Garcia belted a two-run HR into the RF bullpen to plate two runs for the Cubs in the 2nd, and then after Hansen Lopez (RBI single), Jose Escorche (two-run single), and Darlyn Montero (two-run double) contributed run scoring hits in a five-run A's 5th that tied the game, Cristian More drilled an RBI single in the 6th and Bryan Serra laced an RBI single in the 7th, as the Cubs blew an early 5-0 lead and then came-back to edge the Athletics 7-6 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action Saturday morning at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ.
In addition, Jose Bonilla singled twice and scored twice and Angel Arevalo walked twice, lined an RBI single, and scored a run for the A's.
Moises Ballesteros ended up collecting two doubles for the Cubs in the game as well as throwing out a runner trying to steal, while Frank Hernandez singled, doubled and scored, and drove-in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Signed by the Cubs for a $1.5M bonus as a 16-year old out of Venezuela in 2021 the same day the Cubs signed Christian Hernandez, Moises Ballesteros has thrown out 67% (6 of 9) of baserunners atempting steal against him in Cactus League EXST games, as well as picking a runner off 2nd base. In 46 Cactus League EXST plate appearances, he is hitting 216/348/297, with a 17% BB-rate and a 17% K-rate.
A native of Cuba who migrated with his twin brother Omar to Spain where they played together on the Team Spain 18U squad, Frank Hernandez is a high-contact hitter, with a 14% K-rate but only a 3% walk-rate. He is hitting 303/333/394, and leads the team in RBI and AVG (minimum 30 PA). He was a two-way player (RHP / OF) in Spain prior to signing with the Cubs in December 2019, and you can see he has a pitcher's arm when he uncorks throws from the outfield. Twin brother Omar is a catcher, and he was signed by the Kansas City Royals in 2018. Omar is presently playing in Lo-A.
Cubs RHRP Angel Gonzalez continues to impress, mixing his high-octane 96-98 MPH FB with an 87-89 MPH SL. His command isn't necessarily quite where it needs to be yet, but it's a lot better than it was.
Although the game was played in Sloan Park, the A's played as the home team because the Cubs did not have enough pitchers available to cover more than seven innings. As a resuilt, the game was called after 7-1/2 innings of play.
In EXST Cubs roster news, 1B Felix Stevens has completed his rehab and he has rejoined Myrtle Beach.
Here is the abridged box score for the game (Cubs players only):
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Recent comments
crunch 1 day 22 hours ago (view)
cubs sign ex-MIN bullpen arm tyler duffey (RHP) to a minor league deal. he lost velocity and became a bit too hitable last year.
crunch 2 days 19 hours ago (view)
these cubs off-season moves have been neat and all, but why hasn't 3rd base coach willie harris been signed to a 10 year contract extension yet? get the real work done, cubs...
Arizona Phil 2 days 21 hours ago (view)
DJL: Definitely true for Seiya Suzuki, but I was not aware that Nelson Velazquez was technology averse during games. I hadn't heard that before.
Dolorous Jon Lester 3 days ago (view)
I thought that story was about Seiya? Or I guess both could operate that way?
Childersb3 3 days 12 hours ago (view)
Well he better hit!!
Because he's got a lot of young and talented OFs coming right behind him!!
Wrigley Rat 3 days 13 hours ago (view)
Childersb3 - I'm stuck on something that was said about Nelson Velazquez during the season last year (I think by Cubs' broadcasters, but can't remember). Nelson doesn't use any of the technology (iPads) during games to analyze his swing, the way he's pitched, etc. He believes more in basing things on feel and instinct. I WOULD be fine with that if he was having success, but as a rookie who was batting near the Mendoza line all season, he should have taken any and all advice offered to him (in my opinion).
Not sure if this is all true, if there's more or less to it, or if he's willing to change this year, but something about that really bothers me and makes me think the Cubs don't value him as much as the players right behind him who want to do everything in their power to improve. Since he still has trade value, he is a player I assume will be on the move to a team who values him more than the Cubs do.
First.Pitch.120 3 days 17 hours ago (view)
Thanks, Phil. Wasn’t sure if MM leaned more “not good” or “just bad”. Helpful context.
George Altman 3 days 19 hours ago (view)
Or maybe, Mervis is a very excellent DH and can be an emergency 1B. And the Cubs sign a Machado, Chapman or trade for a better 3rd Baseman. They've got like $70-80M coming off the 2024 AAV, so it's not there's no money and they have other big spending needs.
Arizona Phil 3 days 20 hours ago (view)
As I have said here before several times, right now Matt Mervis is a DH. He is a true lug if there ever was one. Hopefully he will improve his agility sufficiently to be able to play defense at the MLB level, but I will believe that when I see it. Fortunately, the National League now has the DH, so an N. L. club can actually develop a player to be a DH.
All that said, it is very possible that Mervis will eventually be able to play at least a passable 1B at some point. He certainly has the size you would like in a first-baseman. He provides a really good target. Third-base is probably A Bridge Too Far, however.
The Cubs have an excellent off-season strength & conditioning program for its minor leaguers, and hopefully Mervis will benefit from that. Agility is the issue with Mervis.
Arizona Phil 3 days 20 hours ago (view)
Because they signed Article XX-B FA Dansby Swanson, the Cubs will have $500K subtracted from their International Signing Period (ISP) International Signing Bonus Pool (ISBP) in 2024, so the Swanson signing doesn't affect the Cubs signing international free agents this year, but it will next year.
On a positive note, after a two-year moratorium on trading ISBP Signing Bonus Values (SBV), SBV can once again be traded beginning with the start of the 2023 ISP that began ten days ago, so a penalized club can recover some of its lost ISBP via trade.
ISBP SBV can be traded only in increments of $250K (including multiples of $250K), unless a club is trading the balance of its ISBP in one transaction. A club can trade 100% of its assigned ISBP during the course of the ISP if it so desires. However, a club can only add 60% of its assigned ISBP via trade or trades.
ISBP SBV acquired via a trade or trades can be flipped to a third club, but SBV cannot be sold for cash and cannot be substituted for a PTBNL.
ISBP SBV can only be traded during the ISP (January 15th through December 15th), and SBV acquired via a trade or trades cannot be used in the next ISP. With one exception, any potion of a club's ISBP not spent goes away at the end of the ISP.
The one exception is that a club can carry-over ISBP space from one ISP to the next ISP if a player's contract is voided as the result of the player failing his physical or being unable to obtain a visa to the U. S., or if an investigation by the MLB Commissioner determines the player falsified his age and/or identity prior to signing the contract. It does not apply to contracts voided by the MLB Commissioner as a result of a rules violation by the club.
Bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count against a club's ISBP.