Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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


28 players are on the MLB ACTIVE LIST, plus seven are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two are on the 10-DAY IL, and three are on the 15-DAY IL


Last updated 9-22-20239
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 14
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 6
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom
* Jared Young

OUTFIELDERS: 6
* Cody Bellinger
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

OPTIONED: 7
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Ben Brown, P  
Brennen Davis, OF 
Jeremiah Estrada, P
Caleb Kilian, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Michael Rucker, P

10-DAY IL: 2
Jeimer Candelario, 1B
Nick Madrigal, INF

15-DAY IL: 3
Adbert Alzolay, P
Brad Boxberger, P 
Michael Fulmer, P 

60-DAY IL: 4
Nick Burdi, P
Codi Heuer, P
* Brandon Hughes, P
Ethan Roberts, P
 

Minor League Rosters

Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Rally for Two in 8th to Claim Victory

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 10:22 pm

Danny Lockhart drilled an RBI single to right to drive-in Dustin Geiger from 3rd base with the tying run, and Shawon Dunston, Jr scored the go-ahead run (the eventually winning run) on an errant pickoff attempt at 3rd base, as the Cubs rallied for two in the 8th to edge the Angels 4-3 in AZ Instructional League action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.

The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd inning when catcher Carlos Ramirez took Cubs starting pitcher Jose Arias deep for a two-run HR over the LF fence.

The Cubs tied it up in the bottom of the 6th, as Dan Vogelbach tripled off the top of the right-centerfield fence just to the right of the “Green Monster” (Batter’s Eye) with one out, Reggie Golden followed with an RBI double off the LF fence, and Dustin Geiger knocked-in Golden with an RBI single to CF.

Watching Vogelbach hustle around the bases for his triple brought to mind a man running for a bus that was pulling away from the stop. The only thing that would have added to the picture would have been if Vogelbach had been carrying a briefcase and an umbrella. But for a big man, Vogelbach runs pretty well.

The Angels took back the lead in the top of the 7th on a two-out RBI double by Abel Baker, before the Cubs plated the game-tying and game-winning runs in bottom of the 8th.

Two more Cubs pitchers headed for the Arizona Fall League got a tune-up in today’s game, as Marcus Hatley and Chris Carpenter each threw an inning. Both pitchers will be working out of the Mesa Solar Sox bullpen. (The AFL begins play next Tuesday).

Long & lanky 6’3 LHP Christopher Pieters made his pro debut in today’s game, throwing a 1-2-3 11-pitch 5th inning (4-3, F-8, F-8). Pieters is all arms & legs, and has a similar pitching style as that of Cubs Dominican LHP Willengton Cruz.

A native of Curacao, Pieters signed with the Cubs this past summer as a 16-year old during the International Signing Period for a reported $350K bonus. He turned 17 last week.

As has been the case for much of Instructs, the three umpires working the game were “wired” and in communication with an umpire instructor sitting in the Observation Tower behind home plate. The instructor can provide the young arbiters with real-time teaching moments as may be necessary during the course of the game, although the umpires and the instructor also occasionally meet face-to-face between innings to discuss matters of importance.

In Cubs Instructs roster news, 17-year old catcher Alberto Mineo has returned home to Italy. This was planned in advance and had nothing to do with anything that transpired at Instructs (and in fact Mineo has been very impressive). He will return to Fitch Park next Spring and will attend Extended Spring Training April-June before likely being assigned to the AZL Cubs.

Here is the abridged box score (Cubs players only):

LINEUP:
1. Rubi Silva, RF: 0-3 (K, 4-6 FC, F-8)
2. Javier Baez, SS: 1-3 (K, 1B, K, PO)
3. Rafael Lopez, DH #1: 0-3 (3-1, 4-3, K)
4. Dan Vogelbach, 1B: 2-3 (1B, 3B, K, R)
5. Reggie Golden, DH #2: 1-3 (6-4-3 DP, 2B, K, R, RBI)
6. Dustin Geiger, 3B: 1-2 (K, 1B, HBP, R, RBI, SB)
7. Shawon Dunston, Jr, CF: 1-3 (6-3, P-3, 1B, R)
8. Danny Lockhart, 2B: 1-3 (1-3, K, 1B, RBI)
9a. Yaniel Cabezas, C: 1-2 (6-3, 1B)
9b. Justin Marra, C: 0-1 (F-8)
10. Garrett Schlecht, LF: 0-2 (K, BB, K)

PITCHERS:
1. Jose Arias: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 38 pitches (22 strikes), 1/1 GO/FO
2. Marcus Hatley: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 15 pitches (9 strikes), 0/2 GO/FO
3. Chris Carpenter: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 GIDP, 21 pitches (16 strikes), 2/0 GO/FO
4. Christopher Pieters: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 11 pitches (6 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO
5. Tarlandus Mitchell: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 7 pitches (6 strikes), 1/1 GO/FO
6. Amaury Paulino: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 6 pitches (4 strikes), 0/2 GO/FO
7. Luis Liria: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 8 pitches (5 strikes), 2/0 GO/FO
8. Andrew McKirahan: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 11 pitches (7 strikes), 0/3 GO/FO

ERRORS: NONE

OUTFIELD ASSIST
CF Shawon Dunston, Jr - runner thrown out 8-6-5 trying to stretch double into triple

ATTENDANCE: 34 (including cubs.com beat writer Carrie Muskat)

WEATHER: Partly cloudy & breezy with temperatures in the 90’s

Tags
Marcus Hatley
Chris Carpenter
Cubs Minor Leaguers
Dustin Geiger
Dan Vogelbach
Danny Lockhart
Christopher Pieters
AZ Instructional League

Comments

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 10:09 pm

Watching Vogelbach hustle around the bases for his triple brought to mind a man running for a bus that was pulling away from the stop. The only thing that would have added to the picture would have been if Vogelbach had been carrying a briefcase and an umbrella. But for a big man, Vogelbach runs pretty well. --- Az Phil: The imagery is awesome! Great work as usual. What are your thoughts on Andrew McKirahan? Pretty interesting that the last 5 pitchers had such low pitch count innings (11, 7, 6, 8, 11). Seems unusual the Cub pitchers.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 10:33 pm

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 4:09pm. What are your thoughts on Andrew McKirahan? Pretty interesting that the last 5 pitchers had such low pitch count innings (11, 7, 6, 8, 11). Seems unusual the Cub pitchers ============================= CUBSTER: I would say Andrew McKirahan is the Cubs #1 lefty reliever below AA. He should start the 2012 season at Daytona. McKirahan isn't on a par with Gaub, Maine, or Beliveau, and might not ever be, but he has some definite upside. One thing the Cubs do at Instructs is teach pitchers the importance of throwing strikes, especially strike one. For Wild Things like Luis Liria and Tarlandus Mitchell, this concept is hard to grasp, because they think they have to nibble to get good results. A couple of years ago the Cubs brought Chris Archer to Instructs specifically to work on throwing strikes, and while he got hit fairly hard while learning to do that, he also learned what he needed to learn to become the Cubs #1 pitching prospect and the Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year the very next season.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 10:08 pm

scouts tell the GM what the hell he's looking at. you think a .480 average with 10 hr means anything on a piece of paper when you're handicapping AAAA highschool baseball in central Alabama? you think the GM even travels to see 1/2 of these guys? ...or a 1/4...or 1/10...or 1/25? most of the time it's even less that that. some GMs don't even see the 1st rounder they're going to pick. what use is a guy who hits .400 in college if 1/2 his hits come off the thin (inside/hands) of the bat being helped by the fact it's aluminum, not wood? (answer, not much when you put a real bat in his hand and see it getting sawed off). that's a gem you just busted out, there. beane needs his scouts, likes his scouts, and uses his scouts to make decisions...unlike what some pieces of fiction would have others believe. that stupid book has melted the minds of otherwise normal-minded baseball fans who think they have to pick a side in a war that a non-baseball fan writer invented.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:24 pm

quit arguing with a retard. you stupid? if you think i'm getting into something already explained and makes sense to everyone but you...again...AGAIN...well... at what point does it sink in that this happens with many people, many times a month? it's not just me, ya know. people are just calling it out more lately after a while off. when you had MikeC to argue with it kept you distracted. some nights you jump on and it's a slew of comments to different people, all combative, and most of them looking for some kind of pissing match. if you didn't insist on always being right it might not irk some. people are allowed to have opinions and be wrong and be corrected and correct others who are wrong and be right and etc etc...but you, sometimes...damn. if you think there was nothing said discounting scouts in "that book"...and if you think it wasn't dramatically fictionalized in order to make beane look revolutionary for dramatic effect (setting up an old guard vs. new guard conflict...aka, one of the central themes of the book's drama) then who was reading what? nevermind the fact you think scouting skills are akin to being a weekend-course graduate bounty hunter...i dunno how to break you of that without sitting you down in a crew of them watching them trade notes and talk.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 10:25 pm

hipster douches behind home plate in freshly bought PHI gear blocking people behind them holding up a "pujols are stinky" sign. yes, we see you and your shiny new "we got tickets to the game" hats and shirts...now put down your little signs and quit blocking the baseball fans behind you. thank god they only know 1 baseball "joke."

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 10:47 pm

guess the religion site...Theo Epstein (scores a 12) Hank Greenberg (13), Sam Fuld (9), Ryan Braun (10), Bruce Springsteen (6), Rex Grossman (6), Stephen Strasburg (5), Sandy Koufax (14), Kevin Youkilis (11), JJ Putz (4) and some fun others by categories you can search for. Albert Einstein and Mel Blanc (15, high score tie with several others). Pretty obvious who scored a zero...Mel Gibson too. http://www.jewornotjew.com/search.jsp?SEARCH=theo+epstein

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Submitted by navigator on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 10:20 pm

Just looking over the Marlins SP staff, with Josh Johnson on the DL they had real problems filling the #5 spot in the rotation. Used seven or eight pitchers there. So, if Johnson comes back successfully and they resign Vazquez the only spot for Z is the #4 or #5. The Marlins #4 this year was Chris Volsted and he put up numbers (1.42 WHIP, 4.89 ERA) remarkably similar to Z's in 2011 but he only cost them $445,000. So, yeah, maybe it would take "all of it" to move Z to Florida.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 10/02/2011 - 10:13 pm

Why should Zambrano waive his "no trade" knowing that the Cubs will almost certainly release him (eating the $18M and thereby allowing Z to make his own deal) if they can't trade him? If he does get released, Zambrano will still get his $18M for 2012, and the Cubs would have to pay all of it minus the MLB minimum which Z's new team would have to pay (presuming Zambrano opts to even play next season). And if the Cubs release him and he does choose to play in 2012, by being a free-agent, Zambrano would be able to shop for the best deal for him (not the best deal for the Cubs), like maybe his new team gets him for the MLB minimum in 2012 (with the Cubs paying the balance of the $18M) PLUS an extention beyond 2012, maybe with a player option. When he was asked about Zambrano's future a few weeks ago, Ricketts should have said that the Cubs were looking forward to Zambrano returning in 2012 with a new attitude (not that he would have actually meant that), and that the Cubs were expecting Zambrano to be a really good middle-reliever and that they aren't going to let him hit anymore (which is what Zambrano REALLY likes to do) because it is just too dangerous to take a chance of injury with such a valuable middle reliever, just so Zambrano would not be so sure that he would get his release if he refuses a trade. And then he would also know that if he refuses a trade and does play in 2012, it will only be with the Cubs, and he will be absolutely miserable. And so then he would be more inclined to accept a trade, or he might even just retire (maybe with a "golden parachute" cash settlement that would at least save the Cubs a few million). This isn't like the Milton Bradley or Todd Hundley situations in years past, because Bradley and Hundley did not have NTCs. Again, knowing what Ricketts said, why should Zambrano OK a trade (even one highly-favorable to the Cubs) when he will almost certainly get released if he doesn't?

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:19 pm

what they need to do is find someone really fucking good to go with Garza. Dempster, Wells, Cashner as your 3,4 and 5 look a lot better than your 2-4. They'll also have to find some depth unless everyone likes Jay Jackson, Rusin, Struck and Coleman. And since I believe all those guys have options, make them earn it. Actually make Cashner and Wells earn it too. Also fix the defense, they'll all look a lot better if they can fix the defense. unfortunately the only guy that fits that bill is Shields that might be available. Might as well give the rest of the farm system to the Rays. I don't mind CJ wilson, they could use a lefty, but don't put him under "really fucking great" category and seems he'll be too expensive and I believe he put up his best numbers vs. Mariners, A's and Angels this year. Maybe King Felix will be available in a trade, but I can't think of any other ace types that might become available.

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Submitted by George Altman on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:11 pm

If we're going to go for a real good TOR partner for Garza, then let the wish list begin: 1. A GM who can do what Epstein, Friedman, and Gillick have done. 2. An ace SP to go with Garza 3. Fielder at 1B for the next 5-6 years. 4. A second-baseman or third baseman who could produce a .825-.850 OPS 5. A LF or RF who can produce a .850 OPS (RH or LH, don't care) 6. A roster without Koyie Hill, Blake DeWitt, and Jeff Baker and/or a manager who views them as injury replacement starters over minor league prospects. 7. A manager who creates a real culture of accountability, professionalism, and performance-based lineups. 8. A player development staff that takes draft picks and minor league free agents and makes them BETTER. Pitchers who have at least 3/1 K/BB ratios, throw 65% first pitch strikes, throw 65% strikes, and WHIP's under 1.30; Position players who can play at least one position major-league average, produce an .800 OPS unless you're a middle infielder, utility player. I could probably go on, but that's my short list.

Submitted by JoePepitone on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:38 am

AZPhil -- I'll be in the Phoenix area next Friday and Saturday (10/7+8). I found a schedule for the Arizona Fall league which shows the Mesa Solar Sox playing at home on Saturday at 9:35pm Eastern time (I presume at Fitch Park?) but I can't find any schedule for the Cubs Instructional league game on Friday and Saturday. Do you know when and where they are playing on those two days? Thanks!

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:58 am

Submitted by JoePepitone on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 12:38am. AZPhil -- I'll be in the Phoenix area next Friday and Saturday (10/7+8). I found a schedule for the Arizona Fall league which shows the Mesa Solar Sox playing at home on Saturday at 9:35pm Eastern time (I presume at Fitch Park?) but I can't find any schedule for the Cubs Instructional league game on Friday and Saturday. Do you know when and where they are playing on those two days? Thanks! ============================ JOE P: FRIDAY 10/7: ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE 12:30 PM (local) Mesa Solar Sox (CHC, CHW, BAL, MIN, PIT) at Salt River Rafters (AZ, COL, DET, HOU, LAD) Played at the Main Stadium at SALT RIVER FIELDS AT TALKING STICK Pima Road between Indian Bend Road & Via de Ventura Adjacent to Loop 101 Pima Freeway FRIDAY 10/7: AZ INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE 12:30 PM (local) Cubs at Mariners Played at PEORIA SPORTS COMPLEX (83rd Avenue & Bell) Mariners side (minor league field) ==================================== SATURDAY 10/8: AZ INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE 10:00 AM (local) Angels at Cubs Played at FITCH PARK (6th Place & Center Street in Meaa) CUBS MINOR LEAGUE COMPLEX SATURDAY 10/8 ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE: 6:30 PM (local) Salt River Rafters at Mesa Solar Sox Played at HoHoKAM PARK (Center Street north of Brown Road in Mesa) CUBS SPRING TRAINING STADIUM Be advised that AZ INTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE game times & locations are subject to change without advance notice.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:26 am

JOE P: You will need this... Here is the updated (as of 10/1) numerical roster for the AZIL CUBS (players): 2 Yaniel Cabezas, C 3 Javier Baez, SS 4 Rafael Lopez, C 5 Danny Lockhart, INF 7 Micah Gibbs, C 8 Trey Martin, OF 9 Neftali Rosario, C 11 Carlos Penalver, INF 12 Luis Acosta, INF 13 Eliecer Bonne, OF 15 Rubi Silva, 2B-OF 16 Mark Malave, C 20 Shawon Dunston, Jr, OF 21 Taiwan Easterling, OF 22 Dan Vogelbach, 1B 25 Dustin Geiger, 3B-1B 27 Garrett Schlecht, OF 28 Reggie Golden, OF 29 Rock Shoulders, 1B 30 Dillon Maples, RHP 32 Zeke DeVoss, 2B-OF 33 Zac Rosscup, LHP 34 Ian Dickson, RHP 35 Michael Jensen, RHP 36 Tarlandus Mitchell, RHP 37 Kyler Burke, LHP 39 Tony Zych, RHP 40 Dustin Fitzgerald, RHP 41 Justin Marra, C 47 Andrew McKirahan, LHP 48 Charles Thomas, RHP 49 Scott Weismann, RHP 50 Luis Liria, RHP 51 Christopher Pieters, LHP 52 Jose Rosario, RHP 54 Austin Reed, RHP 55 Starling Peralta, RHP 56 Amaury Paulino, RHP 57 Tayler Scott, RHP 58 Larry Suarez, RHP 59 David Henrie, RHP 60 Felix Pena, RHP 61 Jeimer Candelario, 3B-1B 62 Jeffrey Baez, OF 63 Frank Del Valle, LHP 64 Jose Arias, RHP 65 Matt Spencer, LHP 67 Alexander Santana, RHP The instructors wear numbers that duplicate the players numbers in most cases (like game manager Mark Johnson is #8), but the instructors have names on the backs of their jerseys, while the players do not.

Submitted by Cliffy on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:31 am

Arizona Phil can you help please. Can you please define MLB rules regarding tampering? Does the way the Florida Marlins went about getting Ozzie violate those rules. Follow up question; If the story about Ozzie speaking with Zambrano is true how does that not constitute tampering. Also I follow Rock Shoulders twitter account he is on a plane now to Chicago, surgery on his knee is Tuesday. Give him a shout out on twitter he's very approachable.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:40 am

CLIFFY: An MLB club cannot speak to a player, manager, coach, GM, etc (or anyone representing them or a third party who is in contact with them) about present or future employment while that individual is under contract with another MLB club, unless the club receives permission from the individual's present club. Clubs are also not permitted to talk publically about signing a player or hiring a manager, GM, etc if the individual is under contract with another MLB club. Sometimes news leaks out through the media and tampering charges are thrown around, but they are hard to prove.

Submitted by Paul Noce on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:19 am

SI's Peter King takes a break from football to point out that Theo Epstein has spent a ton of money on free agents since 2005 with little to no success: "...Theo Epstein, whose major free-agent signings since 2005 are Edgar Renteria, Julio Lugo, J.D. Drew, Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Lackey, Marco Scutaro, Mike Cameron, Carl Crawford and Bobby Jenks. You can look it up: Since 2005, Epstein has signed those nine players to contracts totaling $462 million, with an additional $51.1 million paid to a Japanese team to acquire Matsuzaka. Of that $513 million spent, and those nine players, only Scutaro has been worth every dime of his contract -- and his deal was only for two years and $12.5 million." Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/10/02/week.4/i…

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Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:28 pm

I bet they wish someone would absorb Jenks' back end. What Theo hasn't done, yet, is crippled the team's financial flexibility with long term deals that went busto, though he has some potential to do that with Crawford, Gonzalez and Lackey. If you're going miss on FA contracts, at least have the good sense to devlop multiple MVP and Cy Young candidates like the Red Sox have done. Maybe that has just been luck, and it's all a sham like it was in Oakland. I don't know if it is the case, but I suspect that Epstein and gang have some sort of long term plan. That's what really bugged me about the previous Cubs regime. It's like they didn't realize next year was going to happen, ya know, like next year. If things don't work out to plan, recognize the sunk costs (Soriano and Zambrano etc) and react accordingly. Don't blow all your resources in 4 for 1 trades and Carlos Pena signings trying to save money that is already down the drain.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:09 pm

and this #Cubs Ricketts enamored with #RedSox, MLB exec tells me. If not Theo for GM, don't underestimate Sox aassis GM Ben Cherington for Cubs. so I presume what happened is Red Sox didn't make playoffs, Ricketts called up to start asking permission to do interviews, then people started making up shit since then.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:06 pm

not sure my wife knows about it yet, she checked out after they were eliminated. As the article says, they usually promote from within, I doubt they'd be going for the same types as the Cubs, if for no reason other than Scioscia isn't going anywhere and no one is complaining about their drafts. They seem to have a organizational philosophy that I doubt they're going to venture far from. I read a few bits after Reagin quit that people say he was overmatched...not sure of the specifics behind that criticism, but that Wells deal looked as bad as Hendry signing Bradley at the time. In terms of how vocal everyone was from the beginning that this is a bad idea.

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 10/03/2011 - 10:16 pm

that alone should tell you scouts have different tools/abilities and aren't the same. you're too busy playing pick-a-side, though. it's not a war, no matter what michael lewis made you believe. he's a book author. there is/was no war. leave the battlefield. come home. also, some of that texas praise in an above post belongs to "moneyball-maligned" ron hopkins (a very nice and smart/respected guy in the game, not an old/confused guy who's got strong opinions on fat catchers). the O's are currently rebuilding their scouting department with him as a part of it (crosschecking again)... they brought in some new scouts in the effort including larry chase (former mets scout) who could probably be a scouting director, himself, if he wanted to work full time. they have some serious talent (along with j.stockstill on player dev) assisting the scouting director. it's a kinda super-crew...be interesting to see what they develop over the next many years. it isn't the GM vs. the world...it's not the GM calling all the shots. if beane had a group of scouts he didn't trust or listen to he'd be the damn idiot...but that was just book drama (lol, fat catchers and ugly girlfriends).

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 09/26/2023 - 09:27 am (view)

    Padres want to restructure while still competing, yet decrease payroll.
    Snell and Hader are FAs.
    Soto has one year left on deal.
    Our bullpen is in dire need of someone like Hader.
    Snell would cost a ton and maybe Steele's presence makes Snell unnecessary, yet you cannot have enough pitching (I'd like Yamamoto)
    But, we can put a deal together for Soto. We'd have to pony up the cash to keep him to make the trade worth it long term, but we can make a value deal for the Padres.

    Morel, Canario, Mervis, Vazquez, one MiLB SP (Sanders-Arias-Gray-maybe Ferris), and Stroman (or Hendricks)
    So, it's a six for one deal.
    The issue here is that five of these guys have to be on the Padres 40man roster. That might be too much for them. So maybe BJ Murray instead of Vazquez.
    Morel is blocked from a defensive position. So he's our DH. He'd be replaced by Soto.

    We'd still keep Alcantara and ONKC to replace Happ and Suzuki eventually.
    We'd still need to figure out 3B. Maybe bring back Candelario.
    I'd resign Belli for 1B or CF if PCA isn't "ready" in Spring Training.
    Wisdom can stay to help Soto with DH spots vs LH arms.

    You'd have LH bats at DH, 1B, 3B (switch), LF (switch), CF (PCA or Tauch) with 20 HR pop at DH, 1B, LF and 15 HR pop at 3B and CF.  That's pretty solid.
    It'll cost too much for the Ricketts to keep Bellinger and Soto but that would be fun to watch.

  • crunch 09/26/2023 - 09:48 am (view)

    missing the playoffs because of an on-paper tiebreaker loss would be peak cubbery.

  • Hagsag1946 09/26/2023 - 09:10 am (view)

    Thanks Phil. I look forward to these reports.

  • Mike Wellman 09/25/2023 - 09:24 pm (view)

    Playoffs essentially start tomorrow for Cubs. Better pack for a week in Milwaukee.

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:34 pm (view)

    azbobbop: If Stroman does not opt out, the Cubs can trade him without any restrictions.

    Stroman will make $21M in 2024 if he does not opt out, and Hendricks will make $16M if the Cubs exercise the club option. 

    Also, it would cost the Cubs a $1.5M buy-out if they decline the Hendricks club option, so they would only be saving $14.5M by declining the option, not the full $16M.

  • azbobbop 09/25/2023 - 09:08 pm (view)

    Phil, if Stroman opts in, does have any trade protection?

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    CRUNCH: Unfortunately all of the tie-breakers work against the Cubs in the case of a tie with AZ, MIA, and/or CIN. 

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:48 pm (view)

    CUBSTER: The Cubs are expected to be "in" on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but so will about a dozen other clubs. 

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:54 pm (view)

    Childersb3: I suspect the Cubs will pick-up the Hendricks $16M 2024 option rather than pay the $1.5M buy-out, and then depending on what else might happen during off-season (Stroman opt-out now not likely, Smyly to the pen permanently, might or might not sign Yamamoto), Hendricks will either be in the Cubs starting rotation on Opening Day, or else he will be traded. 

    So while I don't think the Cubs will decline the club option, I do think he could be traded if it becomes clear during the course of the off-season and Spring Training that there is no place for him in the 2024 rotation.

    With the need for SP being what it is throughout MLB, Hendricks still has value (especially on a one-year contract for reasonable money), whether it be with the Cubs or with another club (presuming he stays healthy, of course). 

  • Arizona Phil 09/26/2023 - 09:24 am (view)

    Here are pitch types / velo from the game: 

    Alfredo Romero: FB 88-91 and CV 77-79 
    Shane Marshall: FB 92, SL/CT: 87-88, CV: 79-81 
    Mason McGwire: FB 93-95, SL/CT 85-88, SPLIT 76-78    
    Kevin Valdez: FB 92-93, SL 80-83, CV 74 
    Koen Moreno: FB 89-92, SL/CT 84-85, CH 79-81, CV 73-74 

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