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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
 
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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 

 



 

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Quade Named Cubs Manager; Sandberg's Fate Undetermined

I had a decent write-up on this, but Firefox ate it. Eff it.

Anyway, Quade has been named Cubs manager with a two year deal and a third year club option. No word on what will happen with Ryne Sandberg other than he'll pursue other managerial openings. Of course, the only other team mentioned has been the Toronto Blue Jays and they're interviewing everyone and seemed to be favoring Sandy Alomar Jr. at the moment if the reports that they've brought him in for a third interview are true. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Will Carroll's tweet rumor comes to fruition by the end of it all that Sandberg does indeed become the bench coach.

What can we infer from this move? Well unfortunately, the Ricketts seem serious about this whole let Hendry run the organization corporate philosophy they've been spouting since they took over. Quade is obviously a Hendry favorite joining the organization at about the same time Hendry took over the GM job. Then he was named to Lou's coaching staff despite any known past relationship between the two and finally picked as the interim manager last year when Ryne Sandberg or Alan Trammell could have just as easily been named.

I'm not going to put much stock in the team's magical turnaround last year under Quade. I believe the term, "dead cat bounce" is appropriate. He might be do good, he might do poorly and it'll most likely be determined by the moves the Cubs make this offseason and if some of the minor league talent continues to progress. Ultimately I would have preferred Sandberg get the job of course, he's the guy many of us grew up rooting for and those things just kind of stick with you, but I understand the hesitation as well on Hendry's part.

Godspeed Quade. Enjoy the honeymoon, it won't last.

Comments

Melky Cabrera released by Braves, decent 4th/5th OF type if some trades happen.

at 3pm CST, Quade's deal (not including club option) as long as Hendry's remaining deal. So by 2013, we can all be fans again. :)

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/2583/quade-impressed-wit…
Quade's record of 24-13 in a lost season is only significant if you go down a few layers in the clubhouse, training room and manager's office. That's where changes took place. And that's where Quade impressed the Cubs front office by the direct and powerful way he took control of a team that had gone 5-20 before Lou Piniella went home for good on Aug. 22.
The changes were not subtle. On Aug. 23 the team began to take early batting practice before regular batting practice, and it became routine. Quade made sure that players showed up for medicals on time, and if they didn't they were benched. Veterans began to have better communication with the coaching staff knowing two to three days in advance when they would have a day off. Lineups were posted six hours before game time, something the players had requested while Piniella was still on the job. All of these little things added up to a regiment that defined him to the Cubs front office as the right man for the job.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Sandberg's tryout was the Pacific Coast League playoffs (or lack thereof). They "lost a tiebreaker," sure, but they just had to win one of the final two home games to clinch. It's generally a bad idea to revive memories of the 2003 Cubs. Worse, they lost to the Cardinals. They might have done something in the playoffs. The PCL champ ended up being Tacoma, whom the I-Cubs only saw for one four-game series during the regular season, in which the Cubs won all four games, lopsidedly. When the season came down to those two home games, Sandberg spent thirteen innings of the first game in the clubhouse after getting tossed early. Awkward!

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

"how many players were taken from AAA for September auditions with the Cubs?" If you're asking how many players Sandberg lost to September auditions, the answer is none, really (or maybe one, Castillo). Coleman and Diamond were called up on 8/2, Mateo on 8/9. Barney was called up to replace Fontenot on 8/12. Hoffpauir went up on 8/23, a couple of days after Lee was traded. Castillo went up on 8/10 when Soto went on the DL. Castillo went up again on 9/2, and missed the Memphis series, but at that point the Cubs just wanted a third catcher. (And Chirinos was hitting.) Otherwise, the Cubs kept everyone on the farm until the races/playoffs were over. Tennessee was coasting in August, and so they lent Chirinos plus two starting pitchers, Bibens-Dirkx and Carpenter, to Iowa. As someone who takes minor-league wins seriously, I'm glad that the Cubs' front office does, too. You can't lose to Cardinal players and teams at three levels and then expect to beat them in the majors.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

My theory is that teams don't bring up players for September "auditions" when there are AAA playoffs at stake. They do bring up players that they need and expect to use. Jay, Salas, Pagnozzi and Stavinoha were all Memphis Redbirds at some point in 2010. Jay was called up on 7/3, and stuck. Salas (19 saves) was called up on 8/24. Pagnozzi and Stavinoha came up when rosters expanded, just before the Redbirds played the I-Cubs in that big series. On the Cub side, only Castillo was called up in early Sept., because a team likes to have a third catcher. The question I responded to was: how many players were taken from AAA for September auditions with the Cubs? The answer is one at the most. Camp took over at short. Dubois took over for Hoff at first and killed the ball. Chirinos is a better hitter than Castillo. As I said, the I-Cubs called up Carpenter and Bibens-Dirkx to sub for Coleman and Diamond. I guess you're referring to Brad Snyder in right, but he wasn't called up until Iowa was finished. Sandberg still had horses.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chicago/chat/_/id/35045 - 3 other teams asked to interview Quade - Levine says it was Colvin that balked at playing first base, feeling he wasn't ready yet - says Trammell has been dragging his feet about joining DBacks coaching staff and good chance he will be back as bench coach and this absurd stupidity
[Soriano] could be converted to a first base coach... but he's yours until he retires. There's about $72M that guaranteed that. Soriano is a great guy who is loved by the players and coaching staff alike. If he's not what you expected, at least he's not a team disturber.

I'm in the camp of the "Clean Slate". Two years. No big. I wish we were so lucky on Hendry signings. I think I mentioned in Sept. that I met Quade in Milwaukee where the players were staying on a Saturday night (we were having pops in the same place). He said he was "having a blast" and was lit up as he talked about the opportunity he was afforded at that time. So - at least he'll have a pulse, has worked with the youngsters on the team and those coming up. Which has its advantages. And, as Dave P says, might as well save money until more bad contracts go bye-bye. Of course the sentimental favorite was Sandberg. If they were gonna do two years anyway, why not him though? Did he not work with the same youngsters? That one has me scratching my head a bit. Would like to get AZ PHIL's opinion on the matter. What say ye PHIL?

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 1:06pm. I'm in the camp of the "Clean Slate". Two years. No big. I wish we were so lucky on Hendry signings. I think I mentioned in Sept. that I met Quade in Milwaukee where the players were staying on a Saturday night (we were having pops in the same place). He said he was "having a blast" and was lit up as he talked about the opportunity he was afforded at that time. So - at least he'll have a pulse, has worked with the youngsters on the team and those coming up. Which has its advantages. And, as Dave P says, might as well save money until more bad contracts go bye-bye. Of course the sentimental favorite was Sandberg. If they were gonna do two years anyway, why not him though? Did he not work with the same youngsters? That one has me scratching my head a bit. Would like to get AZ PHIL's opinion on the matter. What say ye PHIL? ========================================== E-MAN: Nobody knows the Cubs younger players better than Ryne Sandberg, but I wasn't particularly excited about the idea of either Sandberg or Joe Girardi managing the Cubs, mainly because I kind of like the idea of bringing outsiders with no previous connection to the Cubs into the organization to run the team (like Leo Durocher & Dallas Green). That said, I guess Mike Quade didn't do anything in his term as interim manager to run up any red flags, so I'm willing to give him a chance. What all this does mean is that organization favorite Casey Kopitzke will probably be ultra fast-tracked through the system. He managed the EXST Cubs, Boise, and the Cubs AZ Instructional League team in 2009, Peoria in 2010, and is currently managing the Mesa Solar Sox in the AFL. He could be the Iowa manager in 2011, although AA Tennessee seems more-likely, with 2009 Tennessee Smokies manager Bill Dancy moving up to Iowa. Kopitzke could well be the next Cubs manager if Quade doesn't work-out.

To me, the question of Quade vs. Sandberg starts and ends with the huge disparity in experience. No other factor in Sandberg's favor can overcome the decades of coaching and managing experience Quade has on him. I'm also suspicious of HoFers being successful managers, but that's a less thoughtful and therefore less serious critique.

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

I hardly revised history, Tony. I said it didn't end well. A great deal of what you need from a Manager includes skills with people. And a good manager, in a any business, will manage well both up and down the reporting structure. I have no doubt more managerial experience would have helped Girardi better deal with Loria. His same rigid tendencies followed in New York, and he had to make adjustments to his approach to better manage his club. All's well that ends well, of course, but Girardi needed that experience to get to where he is now. Fundamentally my point is that mangers with more experience are better than managers with less. I think Girardi's story supports that point.

[ ]

In reply to by Stevens

Stevens-- Piniella is one example against your point, no more no less. And it was a fine counterpoint, in fact, that "more experience" is not necessarily who I hire, man-crush or no. I have no idea, and am too lazy to research, what the Florida Marlins saw in interview with Joe Girardi (or during his playing career or that of bench coach) to decide to make him a Major League manager. But the fact is, he was voted Manager of the Year in his league in his FIRST YEAR on the job. Yep, sounds like the guy needs more experience. But no wait, the (nutso) owner fired him, so obviously he needed more experience.... Seriously?

[ ]

In reply to by Stevens

Stevens-- "I have no doubt more managerial experience..." I absolutely doubt it, your point was somehow that experience would have made Girardi, what, a better Manager of the Year? My point was, Loria acts an ass, regardless of Girardi's experience level. That's been well documented, I didn't make it up. I don't think there's anyone on earth (including last year's champion Yankees) who think Girardi's dismissal from Florida after being mgr of the freakin year had anything to do with his 'lack of experience'. Except maybe now you. Unless you were somewhat revising history to prove your (weak) point. My mistake.

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

More experience is greater than less? When you're making a hire? That's a weak point? Frankly, Joe Girardi has little to do with that point. Rob brought up his name, and I disagreed with how successful he was out of the gate. You want to disagree with me, fine. But consider, Girardi did a passable job managing the game. He went 78-84 in his Manager of the Year season. Not a great record, but his payroll was low. Still, his people skills were poor. And that improves with experience. That's part of why he couldn't work with his dipshit boss. Yes, Loria is an ass regardless--but Girardi is better equipped to deal with that with greater experience. And again, his rigid attitude was part of his early troubles with the Yanks. I'm simply saying that people's skills improve with experience, in every facet of life. That's important when choosing between candidates for a job. If you think that's a weak point of view, so be it.

for some reason wasn't on cubs.com...Twitter posts says they want staff in place by end of organizational meetings. I imagine Rudy, Larry, Dernier as 1st base coach and then just a bench coach and third base coach. Levine indicated earlier that Trammell could be back as bench coach. Dejesus would be in the mix for a job as well. Once Sandberg gets over the ego knockdown and if another job doesn't present itself, hope he's seriously considered for the bench or 3b job.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

sandberg had 4 years to learn spanish...just saying i'm sure he speaks "baseball spanish" by now, though. speaking spanish didn't help lou much with the lockerroom divisions, but that can happen when you're rarely in the lockerroom and let the place run itself. not that sandberg didn't deserve it...as far as i know...he could use that spanish skill, though.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

who hires the bench coach---quade makes his own choice? hendry? ricketts pulls rank and says sandberg must stay? and does it need to be someone who thinks like quade, or someone to play devil's advocate? no knowledge of how process works. by extension, does quade get to insist on some of the current crowd (i.e. rothschild) saying goodbye?

Wow. What to say. Well, at least for me, I wanted an answer sooner rather than later, so I'm glad for that. First, I didn't think in a kajillion years this was how it would happen. I'm pretty sure my vegas bets would have been 1. Girardi (obviously IF he was interested and Hendry offered enough cash) 2. Sandberg 3. Wedge 4. Quade But with that said, I figured Girardi was a longshot to begin with, so my money was on Sandberg. Like, I would have bet a lot that it would have been Sandberg before Quade, for a million reasons posted here and elsewhere. A couple points of fun speculation: This makes me wonder if Carrie Muskat isn't really running the team. She's the only pundit who was saying even before the season was f'n over that Quade was the favorite. If Quade was the choice, why was the wait so long for Hendry to finish his exhaustive search? Speculative answer--they finally got word from Girardi, one way or the other (Cashman?), that he wasn't leaving NY, which made the decision for them and left just Q and Ryno. That, or Cashman just sent Hendry a copy of his bank statement with a polite note that said "Don't bother". I REALLY F'N hope that they convince Sandberg to become part of the coaching staff. The question is, will they offer and will he accept? I think the offer will come, because I think his pride has been damaged enough that he'll manage AAA somewhere else (or even take the proverbial "time off" to evaluate or analyst job) before he goes back to Iowa just to spite the organization, and I think Hendry will know it. The quotes are looking like he really wanted this (I mean on a personal level, as a Cub, not just the MLB-level job) and I don't think "Well, just stick it out back at Iowa" is going to be the right answer. The only way to even attempt to remedy this move with Sandberg is put him on the MLB staff. Conveniently, that's in everybody's favor; the team saves face, Ryno's in the bigs, and he's right there for if/when Quade tanks. He's obviously not dumb, he'd be a great counterpart to Quade (the "baseball lifer" along with the HOF player--Hell, I'm just wondering who'll play them both when the Broadway play opens after the two of them lead the team all the way...). And if he really wants the job, that isn't an illogical next step towards it. It'd be a high-profile, forgone conclusion that he's next, a la Mattingly in LA (once he followed Torre out there). The one wrench in this entire works, of course, is when somebody (Toronto?) offers him the job this year, and he takes that instead. And although I don't think this is a royal F U from the Cubs to another hero (see Grace, Mark), it surely won't sit well if that's how it goes down. If I'm Quade, I'm not 1000% sure I'd have accepted the job. It's like with women and young men. You wanna know why we whore around when we're young? Because no matter how great your last lay was, the next one, or one that could potentially get away, could be even better. If Q doesn't at least get this team TO the WS in the next two years, he'll just be the _________ that Hendry hired INSTEAD OF RYNE-FUCKING-SANDBERG. All this said? Should be fun to watch, anyhow. Let Cub hope start anew once again, my friends, as we look toward next year.

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

If the Cubs had any interest in keeping Sandberg, they probably would have already done so and announced it at the same time. I can understand why they didn't--putting him on Quade's staff would probably undermine Quade. Only a two-year contract with a possible (and popular) successor as your bench coach doesn't sound like a comfortable way to start your first big-league managing job. That being said, I think it's a mistake by Hendry to hire Quade. Forgoing the "Do managers matter?" debate, Hendry seems to have placed too much stock in what happened in that meaningless final month. Maybe he discovered something in Quade that numerous others missed, but it's more likely that Quade tracks like Wedge, Melvin, and other baseball "lifers" that Hendry loves. Sandberg seemed to be learning the job well and did everything Hendry asked of him. To essentially cut him loose from the organization after four years and some success seems disloyal and wasteful. Hopefully time will prove me wrong, but that only seems to happen when I predict good things for this team...

[ ]

In reply to by matt23

Disloyal? The Cubs fast-tracked Sandberg through the managerial ranks, and now he's got a much better resume than he would likely have if he were working for any other team. I'm not super excited about Quade or anything, but his hiring sends a good message - paying your dues and making the most of your opportunities is more important than a recognizable name. Imagine if you were in Quade's shoes - you're riding buses and staying in Motel 6's for the past 25 years, you finally get a shot at your dream job and do it well, and then you get passed over because some other guy is a household name? That would have been some serious bullshit. It's not like being a HoF player has anything to do with an ability to manage.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

Doug D-- "just because a guy was an awesome second baseman has no bearing on his ability to manage a team." Does his managerial record in the minors for 4 years at 3 levels make any difference? Just curious. Look, I think I agree with the Quade hiring, and I don't know if him OR Ryno will be good or terrible. The reason Ryno (and some fans and writers) are pissed is that some teams will just hand a HOF'er the keys outright. Hendry didn't, bravo. What he did do was say, go to the minors. Ryno did, and still didn't get the job. That's a legitimate reason to be pissed. If it'd be bullshit for a guy to get passed over by a household name, it's also bullshit for the household name to do what he's told like a good soldier and then still get told "Sorry, this guy has been around a really long time and is cheaper, we're going with him." Hendry should have just told him try his luck elsewhere, it's not like Quade wasn't in the system then.

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

quade put in a lifetime's worth of work getting to this level and has a swiss-army knive's worth of experience. sandberg got fasttracked over 4 years, but he did it quietly, dutifully, and no one bitched about how he did it. it's a no-win to argue either side, imo...they both make a good case in their own way even when breaking down their merits more specifically. myself, i don't care. i just hope quade doesn't cost more than 1-ish million...and hopefully less. the players seem to like him. meh... not to say he's done anything to "wow" me...blake dewitt in the leadoff spot got a little old...lou pinella-like lineups were boring to me. he did seem to get a lot more out of his pen use though that might just be flukey chance...didn't pay that close of attention.

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

For the last time, I have nothing against Sandberg and I believe he would do just as fine as manager. His managerial record in the minors is great, and I'm sure he'll get his opportunity soon. It probably won't be this year, but isn't that ok? Is it really that horrible that he might have to get a major league coaching job somewhere else for a couple years? Or just have a couple more seasons in AAA under his belt? The Cubs ran him through the minors way faster than anyone else, and he now has a good resume. Thousands of other minor league coaches/managers/former players/whatever don't get the same leg up that Sandberg did, so I don't think he has any reason to be upset. If he's smart, he'll either go back to managing AAA or get a MLB coaching gig somewhere, put a smile on his face and pay his dues for another couple years, and then if he's lucky he'll get to sit in the big chair. If he's pissed off because he didn't get the very first major league managing job he ever interviewed for, that's really a shame.

I am wondering if any of you have done research on "success of interim managers when they then get hired in their subsequent years(s)" over the last 10 years? All I can think of recently is Cecil Cooper, and Riggs. I know how it turned out for Cooper. Riggs at least got the gig and the Nats record was better than the Cubs this past year. Both Cooper and Riggs were experienced. What others can you guys think of?

Alan Trammell said today that on the last day of the regular season in Houston Ricketts (who was believed to favor Sandberg as the next Cubs manager) had a meeting with Cubs players about the future direction of the team, and Alfonso Soriano yelled out from the back of the room "We want Quade back," followed by loud applause, and Trammell thinks that's when Quade got his ticket punched for 2011.

Recent comments

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