Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Vogel-Jack Bomb Not Quite Enough to Overcome Giant Attack

Cubs 2011 2nd round draft pick Dan Vogelbach crushed a tape-measure three-run HR over the RF fence to cap a five-run 4th, doubled and scored to key a five-run 8th, and reached base four times to lead the Cubs back from 8-2 and 14-7 deficits, only to see the AZL Giants score twice in the top of the 12th on two consecutive two-out balks and go on to defeat the Cubs 17-15 at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning, as the AZL Cubs were officially eliminated from contention in the AZL Wild Card standings.

box score

Vogelbach (called "Fat Boy" by the Giants when they first saw him) showed his hitting skill throughout the game, as the opposing pitchers mostly tried to work him away. While he pulled (tomahawked) a high, hanging breaking ball out for the monster HR onto the roof of the batting cages in the 4th, he also hit opposite-field ropes in four other ABs when the Giants tried to stay away from his pull-power (line-drive single to LF in the 1st, L-7 line-drive out in the 3rd, hard-hit 6-3 ground out in the 6th, and a ground rule line-drive double that sliced into the LF corner before going out of play in the 8th). Vogelbach also displayed plenty of patience in his six plate appearances, showing that he is not afraid to go deep into counts and hit with two strikes (the lead-off walk in the bottom of the 9th with the score tied 15-15 was vintage Rickey Henderson).

It's hard to explain Vogelbach's baserunning, because he is certainly is not fast, but while Rock Shoulders (for instance) is bottom-heavy and runs like a 350-pound nose tackle, Vogelbach runs more like a pulling-guard. Again, he is not fast, but he runs hard, is light on his feet, and gets down the line OK. He is most-definitely faster than Shoulders.

In addition to Vogelbach's big day, Cubs 2011 9th round pick LF Garrett Schlecht (Waterloo HS - Waterloo, IL) reached base five time (four walks and a single) and scored three runs. The 18-year old lefty-swinging Schlecht has (at best) average speed, and is a below-average defender with an average arm, but he is a solid spray hitter with power potential, and (as evidenced by the four walks) is EXTREMELY patient and choosy at the plate. Three of his four walks today happened after he was initially down 0-2. Schlecht had signed an NLI with Middle Tennessee State before opting to turn pro and sign with the Cubs for a reported $235K (about equivalent to "4th round money").

Two pitchers recently drafted and signed by the Cubs made their pro debut today, with somewhat opposite results.

20-year old 26th round draft pick RHP Michael Jensen (Hartnell JC) had a rocking-chair easy nine-pitch 1-2-3 top of the 1st (F-7, K-swinging, and an F-9), while 19-year old 5th round pick RHP Tayler Scott (Notre Dame Prep - Scottsdale, AZ) allowed three runs on three hits (a single, a double, and a triple) and a walk, with one strikeout and a 1/3 GO/FO, in 1.2 IP (25 pitches - 14 strikes). Both pitchers threw nothing but fastballs, but Jensen's sat at 94, while Scott's was topping out at 91.

Jensen gave up a chance to pitch at USC when he signed with the Cubs for $225K ("4th round money") and appears like he could maybe be another one of those McNutt-Struck-Kurcz JUCO finds, while Scott is the South African baseball & soccer prodigy whose parents moved to the U. S. just so Tayler could work with pitching guru Tom House. Scott gave up a chance to both pitch AND play soccer at the University of Arizona when he signed with the Cubs ($279,950 bonus).

Kudos should go out to AZL Cubs closer Yilver "San-Cheese" Sanchez, who threw five innings and 70 pitches in relief after Tayler Scott, Hunter Ackerman and Felix Pena got pounded for 14 runs in innings 3-4-5-6. The Cubs have a rule where AZL Cubs pitchers are not permitted to throw more than five innings or 75 pitches (whichever comes first), so Sanchez milked the "five innings or 75 pitches rule" for all it was worth. The Cubs scored three in the 7th and five more in the 8th while Sanchez was in the game, but they just could not manage to push across the winning run before Sanchez had to depart. (The Cubs had runners on 2nd & 3rd with two outs in bottom of the 9th, and runners at 1st & 2nd with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, but the runners were left-stranded).

Two Cubs players had on-field tantrums that got them unceremoniously yanked out of the game.

18-year old Venezuelan hitting sensation Gioskar Amaya was pulled from the game by Manager Juan "Pee-Pee" Cabreja after smashing his bat to smithereens when he struck out (swinging) in the bottom of the 5th, and LHP (and losing pitcher) Luis Villalba was kicked out of the game by the home plate umpire after vehemently protesting the second consecutive balk called against him in the top of the 12th (which directly resulted in the Giants scoring what would be the eventual winning run and an "insurance" run). Fact is the Giants baserunners just absolutely screwed with Villalba's head with two outs and runners at 2nd & 3rd in the top of the 12th, causing him to make unnecessary movements while standing on the pitching rubber in response to two different baserunners faking a steal of home... TWICE IN A ROW...

A sad end to a very long (and very hot) day.

Comments

I-Cubs also came back late from a big deficit (6-1) on the road tonight before losing 7-6 in the tenth. Brett Jackson doubled home the tying run in the ninth, after walking with the bases loaded the inning before. Snyder and LeMahieu homered in the game.

Because the font became too narrow to respond, I'm posting this for those touting Samardzija for the rotation. He was a mediocre starter in the minors, and doesn't have a 3rd pitch to help get through the order 2 second or third time. 2006- Boise-Peoria: 1-2, 2.70 ERA...in 7 starts. small sample? 2007- Daytona-Tenn: 6-11, 4.57 ERA in 26 starts, 1.54 WHIP, 65K-48BB. Fared better in AA 2008-Tenn-Iowa 7-6, 4.29 ERA, 1.421 WHIP, 84K-58BB in 21 starts 2009-Iowa 6-6, 4.35 ERA in 17 starts, 1.404 WHIP, 71K-27BB 2010- Iowa 11-3, 4.37 ERA, 15 starts, 20 games in relief, 102K-67BB, 1.374 WHIP. In MLB (sample size alert) starter: 2-3, 7.77 ERA, 14K-15BB, 1.808 WHIP..in only 5 starts reliever:8-6, 4.11 ERA, 113K-78BB, 1.477 WHIP in 109 games. He's finally having some consistent success as reliever. Why mess with that? He can air it out, hitting 97+ out of the pen, and not having to use his other pitches as much.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

The 2008 BB and K rates you quoted there are worse than his numbers this year, and he did them as a starter which is impossible because he only throws 88 MPH as a starter, right? You were refuting my point from the previous post which said "at times he pitched well as a starter every year". His numbers last year were pretty solid as well, if you adjust for the PCL, which explians the 11-3 record. But yes, if you mix up the times when he pitched poorly, with the times he pitched well under a different set of conditions, it makes his overall numbers not look as impressive. My point, is that when he was going right, he has shown that he has the talent to pitch well, deep into games. We haven't seen that in the majors yet. They've fucked around with him so much it's impossible to even know what his best pitches are.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

"Why is that so hard for you to accept?" People want to take 2010 numbers and carry them over into 2011 and 2012. Often it works, but sometimes players break out, especially a BSL (Baseball as Second Language) player like Samardzija. Now that he seems to have learned how to pitch, I would encourage the Cubs to go back to their original plan of making him a starter, a job for which he seems suited by arm and delivery and body type and demeanor. Big Lowitzki asked me if there were any starters with Samardzija's 5.3 BB/9. Any pitcher with that many walks has control problems, but a small number are able to get away with it, at least for a while. The best comparison to Samardzija might be Jonathan Sanchez, whose BB/9 this year is 5.9. But Sanchez gives up only 7.1 hits per 9 innings, and last year led the league (among starters) with 6.6. Samardzija's H/9 this season is 6.3. In 2006, Zambrano was fifth in Cy Young voting with a BB/9 ratio of 4.8--he led the league in walks with 115--but his H/9 was 6.8, which held his WHIP at a respectable 1.29, the same as Samardzija's this year. Samardzija's BB/9 in the minors was 3.9.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 08/26/2011 - 11:32am. if I read AZ Phil's explanation correctly, he has a pseudo-option year left next season. Let him compete for a spot... can't have much trade value anyway, while some numbnuts GM might believe in Samardzija's season. I have nothing to prove this, but doesn't seem Wells was fully healthy when he returned. Having a much better 2nd half at least. ============================================ ROB G: Randy Wells will be arbitration-eligible for the first time post-2011, so he is a trade or non-tender candidate. Otherwise the Cubs have him under club control through 2014. If he is not non-tendered, Wells will likely get about $2M in 2012. My guess is the Cubs will retain Wells for 2012. Once the Cubs decline Jeff Samardzija's 2012 $3M club option (which is VERY likely now that Hendry is gone) he loses his "no trade" rights and will revert to being an "auto-renewal" (pre-arbitration) player. However the Cubs will not be able to cut his salary more than 20%, so if he is not non-tendered, the least Samardzija can make in 2012 is $2.4M. He will be eligible for salary-arbitration for the first time post-2012. I suspect the Cubs will retain Samardzija for 2012 even though he is over-paid for the role he serves.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

I asked this on the previous thread, and no one answered it. But how many effective starters are there with BB/9 over 5? --- The answer is 0. Of the 102 SP's listed on Fangraphs this season (129 ip or more), the highest bb/9 is Liriano of Minnesota with 4.98. The next guy is Tyler Chatwood, at 4.35, and it drops from there. There are only 5 sp's in the majors with 4.0 or higher bb/9. Liriano has had an unusual season and is 9-9 with a 4.84 era, but this is a guy who has electric stuff when he's on and is awful when he's not. He's also coming back once again from elbow surgery. This is only the 2nd season Liriano has been over 4.0 bb/9. The other season he had 4.28 bb/9 and was 5-13 with a 5.80 era, which shows how strange a season he is having this year to experience much success being that wild.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Another Strawman. Who said that Samardijsa can be effective as a starter walking 5 guys per nine innings? Let's lower the inning threshold and see if there are any starters who walk that many: Kyle Drabek Sanchez Edison Volquez Coleman Dough Davis Andrew Miller Pretty much that lists consists of two guys on the Cubs and four guys I wish the Cubs had (to varying degrees). Dempster used to struggle a lot with walks. Greg Maddux walked 4.28/9 his first full season. Not that I think he's going to be either of those guys, I don't even think he would succeed as a starter, but there are guys who improve, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he's one of those guys. He hit the majors with about 280 minor league innings under his belt. That's about 200 less than Maddux and 40 less than Coleman.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Who said "I think Samardijza can do exactly what he is doing now as a reliever and be an effective starter"? Sigh... I never said anyone said that. It seems that's the guy you're arguing with when you bring up his current walk rate. Well, I would argue that VA Phil, in the previous thread, did pretty much say that there is no reason that Samardzija can't continue to pitch the way the he has, as a starter, and be effective. But what I am saying that Samardziha hasn't shown any ability to throw strikes consistently. Could he magically start throwing strikes consistently and not walking 5 guys per 9? Sure. But it isn't likely. What I did originally is as VA Phil a question - what has Samardzija done to show that he can be an effective starter? And what successful and/or effective starters walk 5 guys per 9? If you don't think that those are valid questions when talking about Samardzija as a starter, I don't know what to tell you.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Could he magically start throwing strikes consistently and not walking 5 guys per 9? Sure. But it isn't likely. Isn't baseball filled with guys who have done exactly that? In the second half of the season it's down to 4.5 (I understand that may just be sample size). If he can strike out 9 and walk only 4, while maintaining decent results on his batted balls, he's going to be at least a league average starter. His SIERA is on this season 3.82, that would rank 30th in the NL as a starter. And yes, I also understand that it's difficult to go deep into games if you are walking a lot of guys (and his pace this year he'd reach 100 pitches roughly half way through the 6th on average). I am not advocating giving the guy the third starter spot and running him out there 33 times next year. I am just saying there's no really good reason not to give him a crack at a starting job. The upside would outweigh the downside.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

who cares about SIERA, BABIP, IFADSF, ASKHDFH, AIHWEI, and IEWHKSDF when it takes you 20+ pitches to get through an inning? if you want to dismiss your iron man reliever who can play 3-5 games a week without issue and make him a starter that needs 3-4 relievers to finish a game...he's ideal to start. there's no need to involve advanced tools to analyze the situation. the guy can barely go 5-6ip without needing 100-120 pitches to do it. it's a double "screw you" taking ninja out the pen and his role as iron man reliever to put him in the rotation. you gain a starter that needs more relief support and you lose your reliever you can march out more than others to cover for those kind of starters. that said...it wouldn't surprise me to see him in another false competition this spring with carpenter/wells...won't hurt at all to stretch him out any way you roll it.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Except Lopez has shown zero ability to really be stretched out and go even 5 innings successfully. I understand that they are in a bind for SP, and they have decided that Lopez is their best option, but is the goal to just get the season over or to try and win games? The way Quade acts by ripping the kids to the press repeatedly, talking up the veteran 'hustle' on this team, and playing Reed Johnson over Colvin, he is clearly trying to keep his job and thinks he can win with his crazy moves. All the more reason to recognize that Quade is a moron. Lopez hits the wall hard in the 5th inning in every start, if the team is actually trying to win then they need to have Ortiz or someone else on standby at the start of the 5th inning. There's no reason why Lopez can't throw 4 + ip and once he starts to lose it, like every OTHER manager in MLB, you take him out. Quade likes to leave Lopez in until he gives up another 3, 4, or 5 runs and the game is already over.

We should see Jay Jackson in Sept for a few starts (hopefully replacing the Lopez-Ortiz gang-bang games). He pitched 7 innings and one run ball for the I-Cubs last night before Gaub got toasted in the bottom of the 8th leading to a nine spot for OKC. Jackson has been inconsistent but does seem to be a bit better lately and he certainly goes deeper into games. Frankly without Z, I miss having a pitcher who can really hit. Btw, when does Z come off the disqualified list (I think he went on it Monday, 8-15)? Has there been any word on the mlbpa appeal? The 30 days, if let run to completion would end after Tues, 9-13. What is the most likely scenerio after that? It won't impact another player since the roster will have expanded in September.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 8:14am. We should see Jay Jackson in Sept for a few starts (hopefully replacing the Lopez-Ortiz gang-bang games). He pitched 7 innings and one run ball for the I-Cubs last night before Gaub got toasted in the bottom of the 8th leading to a nine spot for OKC. Jackson has been inconsistent but does seem to be a bit better lately and he certainly goes deeper into games. Frankly without Z, I miss having a pitcher who can really hit. Btw, when does Z come off the disqualified list (I think he went on it Monday, 8-15)? Has there been any word on the mlbpa appeal? The 30 days, if let run to completion would end after Tues, 9-13. What is the most likely scenerio after that? It won't impact another player since the roster will have expanded in September. ==================================== CUBSTER: I would bet that the arbitrator rules in favor of Zambrano in the grievance hearing, meaning the Cubs will have to reinstate him from the Disqualified List with back pay minus a token fine for cleaning out his locker and leaving the clubhouse early without permission (Z makes about $100K per day, so a $100K fine might be acceptable to everyone involved), and then the Cubs will probably send him home for the rest of the season (as they did with Milton Bradley in 2009) and table any decision about Zambrano's future with the team until the off-season. Of course the big problem from the Cubs POV is that (unlike Bradley) Zambrano has a full "no trade," so the Cubs might not be able to trade him during the off-season even if they find a club interested in acquiring him. If that turns out to be the case, the Cubs would then have to decide whether to bring him back in 2012, or just release him and eat the $18M 2012 salary. I have a feeling he will be back with the Cubs in 2012.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Couldn't agree more about the chemistry issue, particularly because I believe chemistry (with some exceptions) arises from having winning teams; there are a few players who are overall terrible clubhouse people (Bradley) and a few players who are considered exceptional for the clubhouse no matter what (not sure of a good example, maybe Kruk?), but otherwise the team gels well and chemistry is created IMO when the team is winning (or some other action occurs that closely unites the team, such as an unfair negative fan/press reaction, a tragedy or other event). Whether to absorb Z's salary and trade him truly comes down to the market for him. If a prospect more than a filler is available, perhaps someone projectable as a decent middle reliever or something else even better, then I want to trade him; we certainly will not offer arbitration, so that is the only way to get value. I would be fine with Jay Jackson/Eric Jokisch/Chris Rusin (or someone else) struggling at the MLB level after that trade. But I wouldn't give him away and receive nothing of value in return.

From the comments section in Bruce Miles Blog: ... There was no trade market for Byrd. He has cleared waivers, but I still don't expect any teams to come after him. ... Posted by Bruce on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 08:16 http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/6195#comments

almost hate that the game is starting in 40 minutes...i've spent most of today in my sun room with the door open enjoying the breeze/rain and cool temperatures from being on the edge of this storm (200 miles inland in NC). it's moving veeeeeeeeeeery slow. when we usually get these inland hits of tropical storms or hurricanes (every 5-10 years or so) they've usually run their course much quicker than this one. as slow as it's moving it's pretty lucky to those on the shore this was "only" a Cat1. even a little hurricane is still a very major storm, though.

S. Castro ss N. Perez Lite 2b - 1/3rd the power, 1/3rd the pay, 1/3000000 the internet complaints A. Ramirez 3b C. Pena 1b T. Colvin rf - he lives...and gets a decent lineup spot to show something M. Byrd cf A. Soriano lf G. Soto c R. Dempster p

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

you have a way with math and cherry picking years/money regardless of whether it's starting, relieving, bench, or whatever...i could point out multiple posts, but hell, you've already broken out both skills in this thread on another subject. i suggest sticking to an insult or just walking away as a response. =p homeboy started 1 full season...got paid 1m bucks...and who got his place the next year...a kid who's even f'n worse...a "might as well play the kid"...a thank you very much ronnie cedeno. i know what you did there, and i know what you think you know, but you're talking about a guy who in 2003 only started a touch over 1/4 the games in april and didn't even see much action as a starter until injuries rolled in. the guy only had a starting role in 2002 and he was replaced by an even worse player in 2003.

Hey AZ Phil, I know he's not in your area, but I wonder if you have any thoughts on Micah Gibbs? The 3rd round draft pick hasn't shown much offensively so far other than a willingness to walk. Does he look like he has the tools to succeed? Does he look like a guy whose skills have not transferred to pro ball? Thanks, as always.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Submitted by Charlie on Sat, 08/27/2011 - 9:44pm. Hey AZ Phil, I know he's not in your area, but I wonder if you have any thoughts on Micah Gibbs? The 3rd round draft pick hasn't shown much offensively so far other than a willingness to walk. Does he look like he has the tools to succeed? Does he look like a guy whose skills have not transferred to pro ball? Thanks, as always ========================================= CHARLIE: From what I saw of Micah Gibbs at AZ Instructs post-2010 and at Minor League Camp this past March, I would describe him as a good defensive catcher with above-average receiving skills and an average arm, and at the plate he is a patient hitter but with a slow bat (especially RH) and only occasional power (mostly LH). Because he is smart & solid defensively he would probably project as a protypical MLB back-up catcher, but his bat is defintely a question mark and might keep him at AA & AAA for a while. Gibbs should be the #1 catcher at Daytona next season, even though defensively he is probably ready for AA. And with Luis Flores serving a 50-game PED suspension that won't be over until May, Gibbs could actually start the 2012 season at Tennessee. I like Rafael Lopez and Neftali Rosario better than Gibbs, though. Although he was drafted a year after Gibbs, the left-handed hitting Lopez is a year older, but while Gibbs is a better receiver (Lopez was converted from 3B at Florida State), Lopez has a stronger arm and he can hit (and hit with power). Rosario is a Welington Castillo clone (below-average receiving skills, slow runner, and too many strikeouts, but with a plus-arm & a dangerous hitter with plus-power). I think Lopez will likely be the #1 catcher at Peoria in 2012 with an outside possibility that he could jump Peoria and go straight to Daytona (especially if Gibbs starts the 2012 season at Tennessee), and Rosario will probably be the #1 catcher at EXST, with a chance to get to Boise if he can smooth out some of the rough edges by next June.

Being in NY and working too much (along with some general disgust toward the team), I haven't seen as many games on TV as I normally would. Looking at the stats, it seems Colvin is starting to become more similar to what he was last year, a player who strikes out a ton but a decent power hitter when he does make contact. For people who have seen him more consistently than me, is this true? Or is he still struggling (and looking terrible) as before but perhaps getting a little luckiler (or less unlucky) than in the first half of 2011.

[ ]

In reply to by springs

He looks significantly better than the beginning of the season to me, but not quite back to the Colvin we saw last year. I think part of that may be the pressure of trying to lift that average out of the .140s every day though. If he went 16 for his next 32, his average would only be up to .205. His peripherals for the year are comparable to what he did last year and in the minors, although they are mostly down a little bit. What's down the most though is his BABIP, which I don't think is only luck in this case. I think he's made really poor contact through most of the year. His HR/FB% is down from last year's awesome 19.4% (not sure anybody thought he would sustain that) to this year's 8.8%, while his IFFB% is up from last year's 8.7% to this year's 14.0%. His line drive rate is also down from 17.0% to 14.1%. Basically what I get from that information is that he has had some timing issues that are not resulting in more Ks (he's actually K'd a smaller percentage of the time) or significantly fewer walks, but that are resulting in more popups and fewer hard-hit balls in the air. That is what he seems to have turned around a bit of late. I don't see him pounding the ball into the ground or popping it straight up quite as much. That said, his batting average for August is only .212, and his BABIP remains a low .229. His 3 HRs on the month are the only things keeping his OPS somewhat respectable at .712.

Recent comments

  • 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.

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  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

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  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.