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

Your Current 2012 Cubs Opening Day Roster

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:25 pm

Read it and weep...

  • RF DeJesus (93/106)
  • SS Castro (111/106)
  • LF Soriano (104/112)
  • 1B LaHair (140/97)
  • C Soto (96/109)
  • 3B Stewart (21/89)
  • CF Byrd (96/100)
  • 2B Barney (83/79)

OPS+ numbers for last season followed by career in parenthesis.

SP: Dempster, Garza, Zambrano, Wells, T. Wood

RP: Marmol, Cashner, Russell, Samardzija, Corpas, L. Castillo, Coleman

Bench: Campana, R. Johnson, W. Castillo, Baker, DeWitt

Obviously your bullpen and bench results may vary.

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Cubs Roster

Comments

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:55 pm

committed $5M - Pena $19M - Soriano $19M - Zambrano $14M - Dempster $7M - Marmol $6.5M - Byrd $4.25M - DeJesus 74.75M estimate on split deals, etc Reed Johnson Sonnastine Corpas $3M Arb Eligible Baker - $1.2M Garza - $8.7M DeWitt - $1.4M Stewart - $2M Soto - $4M Wells - $2.2M $19.5M http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/11/projected-arbitration-salaries.ht… Auto-Renewals (480K minimum) Barney, Castro, Wood, Gaub, Coleman, Russell, Samardzija, Wood, Carpenter, Campana, Bianchi, LaHair, W. Castillo etc (full list on right sidebar) not sure how low they can go on Samardzija? but with about 9-10 being on the active roster most likely and then the split contracts and so forth, it's in the $5-$7M range I think. Plus they still haven't signed Kerry Wood, which seems to be just a matter of time. $102.25M in committed payroll or so. Cot's had $18M for Soriano and Z and then $19M on another page which may be to calculate luxury tax and the signing bonus, so could be as low as $95M if you discount that and the money Pena's owed. See what they do, but I presume at least one more starting pitcher and Kerry would be another $8-$10M. There's also Fielder and Cespedes out there.

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Submitted by George Altman on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:18 pm

It would be amazing to add Fielder to this lineup and have LaHair replace Campana or DeWitt on the bench. Assuming Garza isn't traded, I believe that team would instantly be a NL Central contender. Still not sure what that accomplishes in the end, but it would stave off a summer of suck.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:02 pm

Two sources tell me that price on Garza is tremendously high and interested parties are seeing how high someone is willing to go. as it should be...hopefully an extension that averages out in the $14-$15M range happens next if they don't get what they're looking for.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:05 pm

in a world where edwin jackson can look 15m a year.... talk about a guy who should be better than he is...one of the few SP around who can consistantly hit 95+mph on his fastball with decent control...yet he gets hit a lot. part of his big price is his upside, even at his age...he has much more potential to "get it together" with his stuff even though he should have a few years ago.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:12 pm

I'm alone, I bet, in thinking that Lovie is a good coach. But he is. Given what he has had to work with? Give him a good team, and he'd be a great coach. Thank god they got rid of Angelo.

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Submitted by johann on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:32 pm

Nah I think he's been fine, except he hasn't done enough to reign in Martz. He's a defense coach for sure and probably decided to give Martz free reign (which is commendable in a head coach knowing your short comings) but it's been clear for years our line couldn't block anything and Lovie said himself publicly the team needed to be more balanced. Every year though it seemed to take too long for Martz to become less pass happy when Lovie should have clamped down immediately. In the end though our line has been bad since Rex brought us to the Superbowl (seriously go back and look at the games and watch how many times people got free to terrorize Rex plus how little success we had running inside) and it's been way too long very little was done about it. All that I agree Lovie didn't have direct control over. I got so sick of Martz calling for five man blocking schemes and it never working. The reason Cutler started having success was both max protection and Cutler doing a really amazing job learning how to scramble for his life and make ridiculously acrobatic throws for good gain/scores. Quarterback is an amazingly overrated position, but Cutler was a huge exception in that he did a lot with nothing. He was also a case in point where stats should be thrown out as a judge of many players because I would judge his season just as successful as a Rodgers pre-injury based on the relative talent surrounding them.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:54 pm

Not that I think that Cutler is the next Drew Brees or anything, but I completely agree with everything you are saying. Not much fun, I know. Cutler should be a top tier QB. Not Brees or Tom Brady territory, but top ten for sure. It's funny how the in game network analysts have finally decided his funky skills are ok. Throw from your left foot? Sure! Why not! He's a great pocket QB and Martz didn't handle him well at all. Drop back 9 steps or whatever? Really? Shit, give him one step in the pocket, and he'll burn the fucking pass into the receiver's chest armor. That is another issue of course. Angelo? I had no confidence he can find guys who can catch passes from a flame thrower. I do give Angelo props for making the trade to get Cutler, however. That was nice.

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Submitted by George Altman on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:55 pm

I looked this up last night (before the Angelo news this morning). As the regular season ended the Packers had 35 players on their 53 man roster drafted by the Packers (most were starters). The Bears had 21 (about half were Special Teams players). I'm not a Bears fan, but I think that tells anyone all they need to know about Angelo and his 'staff'. I give George McCaskey props for figuring out who really needed to go after this season. For those in this town who really love the team, I hope they get the GM hire right this time.

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Submitted by tbone on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:27 am

And oh yeah, the roster does suck. But it is January 4th, not April 4th so I'm not in a panic over it. Jimbo left one hell of a hole to fill. Hoping someone will blink and overpay for Garza. Would have been nice if Hendry had dangled Marmol like this last offseason. Wouldn't expect a Garza type haul and I know he had to act like the roster he built could contend and a closer was needed but it sure would have been more interesting than what did happen. Oh well. Onward and, at some point, upward.

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Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:53 pm

Lovie isn't bad, but as has been noted elsewhere, a lot of the personnel mistakes are on Lovie as well, particularly as it related to all the picks spent on safeties through the years (along with a signing like Meriweather). I mean, now that Lovie has somehow he really trusts, we get a more aggressive defense, and not a Babich, sit back two deep too many dang times defense. This isn't to defend Angelo - it was time for him to leave. He didn't do enough to build the offense up while the defense was in it's prime, and right now, we're teetering on both sides of the ball. I think the first personnel decision that has to be made is J'Marcus Webb. If he's not a LT, and I don't think he is, then you have to find a LT somehow. I can't think of any realistic trade candidate, and it's one of those years where the chances of finding a decent LT at our current spot seems slim. Kalil will be long gone, and I think Martin and Reiff might be gone mid-first. With an extra third, I hope they try to push up for a LT. The thing is, if we solidify LT, the rest of the OL could look ... solid. Louis should be good at G. Heck, it's somewhat remarkable how the OL has been able to do with Frank Omiyale and J'Marcus Webb at LT the last two years. I think they need to go out in FA and find a bigger WR, but they have to replenish the defense as well. A nickel rusher to groom would be nice. With several needs, an upgrade at 3-tech can probably wait a year, and Melton looked promising enough. Youth at LB and CB are badly needed, and I'd like to see them add a shiftier back to the depth chart after Forte, as Bell/Barber don't really offer that. If Tice still deems Webb as a good LT option (ugh), then things open a bit for the draft. I'd love to see a Floyd or Jeffery added to the group, giving some size and downfield ability, to go along with the smaller guys and Earl Bennett in the slot. I'd like to see them address CB relatively early in that type of scenario.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:52 pm

First I'll start by saying I always love your posts, and next I will disagree with you. Nitpicking about safeties, I'm sort of on board with, because I agree that he has a weakness there, for whatever reason. But overall, his defense is pretty nice. The emphasis is on a good line, because the cover has no shame when it comes to that failing. cover3 or 4, doesn't matter, if the line doesn't dominate, the whole thing falls apart. But you have to do something, right? You have to make a commitment to a defensive strategy. Love it or hate it, Lovie is a Cover guy. I honestly don't like it much, but it has worked pretty well. He accentuates it with an emphasis on poking the ball out. And tackling. And swarming. I love that about this team, always have. When a brown football seems to be making progress, there are 10 Bears approaching it. So in my opinion, we can nitpick on Lovie, but overall he has done a decent job on defense, and the players seem to love him, which is also a big deal. There are things that make me shake my head, but overall, I think he's a good coach. Not sure that the team should handcuff themselves by saying "he's our guy, deal with it" to the next GM, but that's done, so not much we can comment on about that.

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Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:12 pm

If the Bears are a "cover" team, then why do they have trouble finding cornerbacks who don't stink? Tillman is solid....but he's geting up there. Jennings I'd like if he could catch interceptions occasionally. Bowman stinks, DJ Moore is a decen nickel, but that's it... We also have ZERO depth at linebacker and defensive end. The issus with the safety position to me is this:Every year they draft safeties. These are picks that could be used to get depth/talent at other positions.

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Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:33 pm

Well, it's part of the "system" where the value on CB's isn't as high because their main responsibility, in the past, within the system, was often to cover the short zone and be solid tacklers. I've been hoping for CB improvement for awhile. Thus, they tend to not draft CB's as high (Peanut as a 2nd rounder, I think, off the top, was the highest in the Angelo era). I actually think Moore might be a solid starter, but his size and lack of top end speed hurts his chances to get looks there. With Rod going man a bit more than I recalled in the past, I wonder if that places a higher emphasis on finding another CB. I was hoping they'd make a run at a short term deal for Carlos Rogers last year. Depth at DE is okay. I think Wootton is a fine 3rd end. Problem is, they have 3 big ends. Sure, Peppers is an elite rusher, but I think there needs to be a better nickel rusher. They tried Addison, Reed this year, before signing Chauncey Davis. I'm really not sure how much Idonije has in the tank, to be honest, and really think a top DE is needed opposite Julius, but with clear offensive needs at LT (assuming Webb isn't their future) and WR, DE may have to wait, so I hope they find a nickel rusher (not sure Gibson is that guy).

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Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:25 pm

my take on Lovie is they may be able to do better, or they make get Dave Wannstedt. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. I will say, particularly defensively, they've been very disciplined for the most part, rarely guys aren't where there suppose to be and it seems they enjoy playing for him. It would be nice if the Bears for once would get ahead of the game on offense and try a system that isn't 10 years behind the times, especially with a QB that can handle it.

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Submitted by JD on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:39 pm

"It would be nice if the Bears for once would get ahead of the game on offense and try a system that isn't 10 years behind the times, especially with a QB that can handle it." I love Cutler. Can I say that? I do. I love his attitude and I'm not even joking. I like how he cocks his helmet back up on his head. I like how he does that with a Bears cape thing draped around, lookin' like Darth Vader. He's the man. I wish I had one of those caricature tshirts of him standing on the sideline with his "whatever" face, helmet on the top of his head, and the long jacket over his shoulders. That would be the greatest tshirt ever with Jay Cutler on it.

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Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:37 pm

I'm a gigantic Cutler fan. One of the most pro-ready QB's out of college in recent memory, as he had great field vision, saw the planes of the field. His "gunslinger" mentality will always hurt a bit, but I'm a big fan. What I'm hoping is that the next OC is either a power O type of guy, a pound the run and set up the play action type, or a west coast offense type that will move the QB around and take advantage of Cutler's athleticism. I would also note that I'm not sure Martz's system is 10 years behind the times, but more that the Bears, with iffy tackles, were always a poor fit for the same system. I mean, Terry Shea ran a similar system before. Add in that the goal of said system doesn't match with the HC's goals for the offense, and it was always a bad fit.

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Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:29 pm

ah, so you butter me up to tell me how wrong i am! anyhow, my issue with Lovie, prior to Rod Marinelli moving in, was his insistence on going with his base D. That was part of the reason, that I recall, for why Babich was promoted to replace Rivera. I haven't taken a look at a numbers breakdown, but I'd be surprised if Rod went "base" Tampa 2 more than Babich did. Sure didn't feel like it. but as I noted above, my issue isn't necessarily with Lovie the coach (I think he's fine, but is he really all that much better than Jauron was back in the day ... okay, leaving the Shoop time aside ...). There's been numerous whispers that Lovie was forceful on personnel choices. Leaving aside safeties, they've cycled in a lot of guys on the line, and right now, the line is a big question mark. Lovie as a coach, as I noted, isn't bad. I don't know if I'd classify him as good or great, but he isn't bad and he gets his guys to rally around him. But it should be noted, as HC, he has a hand in the offense, and the offense's problems under Shea, Turner, Martz all have to go on him a bit.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:11 am

fair enough, but I should have clarified that better.... In the Yanks case, those are 4 and 5-star prospects, with Montero probably in the top 10 in all of baseball and the other 2 in the top 100 at the least(Banuelos I think will be top 50). At the time of the deal Archer was a 4-star and Lee a 3-star(although he's probably moved to a 4-star, while I'd expect Archer will move down a notch to 3-star status). Archer was in the top 50, Lee made the top 100. They very well may flip-flop this year.

Submitted by Tony S. on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:03 pm

I LOL'd at the 'read it and weep' part... Until I read it... And wept.... But seriously, I don't think all is lost for 2012. So, prediction time. How's the rest of the spring going to go? Trade Garza? No. Offers won't be good enough (although personally I'd see just how much DET will give). Sign Fielder? Definitely maybe. Young enough to 'build around', saves face for 2012, will hit a ton. They're trying to wait out Boras, and since the Nats haven't signed him yet, it must be working. Dump Zambrano? No. All theocorp has done is bitch about no pitching, which is a legit point, and these are the people who coined "Manny being Manny." It'll be Z being Z, unless or until Swaim knocks him out in the dugout on FOX Sports Saturday. Release Soriano? Nope, he gets traded when somebody's DH goes down in ST, with the Cubs eating $46 mil OR getting a possible salary dump in return, a la Bradley/Silva. I also think Soriano/Dunn has legs, but the Cubs would be losing that, or at best push, and it would negate Fielder, so no dice. As others have basically already said, that lineup, +Fielder, -Soriano, and keeping Garza, at least has a chance at respectable, no? Oh, PS. Unsure how Sonnanstine works in the rotation, we sign Les Walrond to a sizeable extension... Or just grab Maholm or whoever to help flesh out the rotation (I may be a little drunk, it's taking me forever to type this...)

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Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 01:25 pm

I'd take that version. I'm less hopeful though. Garza will get dealt. Not for as much as we hope. My guess is Toronto for Drabek and 2 C-ish prospects in the others of note section of John Sickels Blue Jays top 20 list. No Fielder No more signings. Out of the race by May, half ass fire sale up through the deadline. Soto, Dempster, Z, Marmol and Byrd are all dealt during the 2012 season. None of them bring back top shelf prospects. Soriano remains. Payroll in 2013 is less than 80 million on opening day.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:42 am

Tue, 01/03/2012 - 10:03pm — Tony S. Trade Garza? No. Offers won't be good enough (although personally I'd see just how much DET will give). Dump Zambrano? No. All theocorp has done is bitch about no pitching, which is a legit point, and these are the people who coined "Manny being Manny." It'll be Z being Z, unless or until Swaim knocks him out in the dugout on FOX Sports Saturday. =============================== TONY: With the change in compensation rules in the new CBA, it is much more dificuilt for a team to receive a compenation draft pick for losing an Article XX-B MLB free-agent. To be eligible to receive a supplemental 1st round compensation draft pick (between the 1st & 2nd round), the club will have to offer the free-agent player a one-year guaranteed contract with a salary equal to the average salary of the 125 highest-paid MLB players the previous season (which was about $12M in 2011). That is a good reason to trade Sean Marshall (even the best LHRP isn't worth a $12M salary), but one guy who probably would be worth it is a RHSP like Matt Garza. So even if the Cubs can't sign him to a contract extension before he becomes a FA post-2013, there really is no reason to trade Garza between now and then, because the Cubs can just offer him the one-year guaranteed "max" contract post-2013, and if he accepts, that's great and you get him for another year (2014), and if he doesn't and signs with another club, you at least get a Top 25 draft pick back as compensation (who potentially could be as good or even better than whatever the Cubs might end up getting back for Garza in a trade). Also, the Cubs have to be careful not to release Carlos Zambrano. As has been mentioned here before, Zambrano has a $19.25M player-option for 2013 that vests if he finishes in the top four in Cy Young voting in 2012, so if the Cubs were to release him and he somehow manages to have a great 2012 season with a new team and finishes in the top four in Cy Young Award voting (and I wouldn't put it past him to do just that), the Cubs would not only be on the hook for the $18M they owe him this year (minus the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary paid by his new club), but they would also be on the hook for his $19.25M 2013 salary (minus the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary if he signs with another club) if he he were to somehow manage to finish in the Top 4 in Cy Young voting in 2012 and exercise his player option for 2013. To make sure that can't happen, the Cubs could trade him and stick his new club with the potential 2013 vesting player-option (although Zambrano would have to waive his NTC for that to happen, and some club would actually have to bite), or else keep him on the 25-man roster and either he has such a great season as a starting pitcher in 2012 that he finishes in the Top 4 in Cy Young voting and so then maybe you don't mind paying him $19.25M to return in 2013, or else use him as a spot-starter/long-reliever/bullpen garbage-man/PH so that his $19.25M 2013 player option can't possibly vest. So as much as some fans might like to see it happen, releasing Zambrano just can't be an option for the Cubs, because of the potential that they could be burdened with $36M+ in Big Z salary obligations over the next two seasons.

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Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:29 am

Zambrano is not a spot-starter/long-reliever/bullpen garbage-man. He's a middle of the rotation pitcher. We sure do complain about Zambrano a lot, but last year the problems that resulted in all these trade rumors were more about his personality than his performance. I agree that the Cubs should absolutely not trade Zambrano. They should pencil him in as their #2 or #3 starter until his health precludes him from pitching or they get a decent trade offer for him (which could be significant salary relief mid-season or something like that).

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Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:47 am

He's kept his ERA under 4 in all but two seasons of his career, 2001 and 2011. His career ERA is 3.60, he's struck out 7.6 per 9 innings, though he does walk too many at 4.05 per 9, his w/l is 125/81. He also fields his position well and is a monstrous hitter for a pitcher. He's a middle of the rotation guy since he's lost some stuff. I'm not saying he's a top pitcher. He's the Cubs 2nd or 3rd best starter, probably--just as likely to be the #2 behind Garza as Dempster is. And if the Cubs are out of it mid-season and Carlos has had a good year, they might find a taker for him without having to pay his whole contract. No sense in trading your second or third best starter when you're pitching starved and nobody is offering any kind of value for him. They ought to be very public about supporting Z, getting him back to the pitcher he was when he posted a 3.33 ERA in 2010 and when he pitched that no-hitter against the Astros, etc. etc. rose-colored glasses stuff.

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Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:00 pm

I really can't see a Marlins deal unless they include Logan Morrison in it, which they don't seem willing to (for understandable reasons). Yelich is really a 1st baseman playing OF. I think that he ends up at first base at some point in his career, if he makes it up. Realmuto is a nice piece if the Cubs want a C, but the lack of quality upper level arms along with a general lack of impact makes this a hard trade to work out without Morrison, IMO, unless they simply gave us a blank check and said take any 4-6 guys you want. Even then, quantity of decent quality isn't that enticing with this system.

Submitted by TJ on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:44 am

I don't fully understand why the Cubs don't try to include Soto in a Graza deal to the Yankess. I can only come up with two reasons: (i) Soto is the kind of player the new Cubs managmenmt wants, i.e., takes pitches and (ii) Montero doesn't project as a catcher. I'm still intrigued by the idea because I fel Montero will be a type flight middle of the order hitter. Can he be taught to play firstbase? What are others thoughts on this?

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Submitted by Sweet Lou on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:10 pm

I don't think anyone is suggesting that Theo can just wave a wand and the Cubs will be a championship caliber organization, but that doesn't mean you don't start making moves now. An oceanliner may not be able to turn on a dime, but if you hope to ever turn it around, the sooner you start turning the wheel, the better. Adding Prince Fielder to the fold may not in and of itself make the 2012 Cubs a surefire contender, but it would be a way to start to turn things around and he would be a piece you could build around for 2013 and beyond. If no significant moves are made at the MLB level this off-season, the Cubs will not be in any better shape this time next year than they are now. Sure, they'll have an additional $50 million coming off the books, but the free agent market looks weak. If there's no one worthwhile to sign, it doesn't matter how much money you have to spend. Start building the team of the future now. That doesn't mean neglect the farm system, but don't put all of your eggs in the minor league basket. Great baseball organizations make smart moves at both the minor and major league levels.

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Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:39 pm

The Royals are ready to compete in the AL Central right NOW, IF they just had some starting pitching. The bullpen is arguably the best in the AL, it's certainly the deepest anyway. The lineup is really filling out nicely with contributors everywhere but the DP combo--and they at least bring speed and defense. What they lack of course is a frontline starter, Jonathan Sanchez, Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar ain't gonna cut it. So, Montgomery is a high-ceiling SP prospect, but still, a prospect. Garza is here now. Myers was an all-hit, lousy-field catcher who they moved to LF, where Gordon has finally found a home and isn't going anywhere. Myers has yet to post monster minor league hitting numbers, and he will not displace Billy Butler as DH. So from the Royals POV, I think Myers/Montgomery would make a lot of sense for Garza, if the Royals front office is serious about accelerating their timetable for reaching a playoff-competitive level of play. I think Garza gets them there, my opinion.

Submitted by Seamhead on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:55 pm

Tigers are now refuting any Jacob Turner trade rumors. Which I interpret to mean that with the Yanks and Blue Jays backing off the Cubs' high asking price and the Marlins lacking the pitching prospects to get Garza, the Tigers see no viable competitors and thus no point in dealing their top prospect. It looks more and more like Garza will be signed to a Danks-esque extension, simply because no one was willing to overpay to the point where trading him made more sense than building around him.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:34 pm

"Diamondbacks signed 1B Mike Jacobs to a minor league contract." the first player to get a HGH suspension gets a job...as par. don't do performance cheating drugs kids, you might...well, you might get embarrassed in the papers for a few weeks/months...then get a new contract...or better yet a job coaching the next generation of baseball players.

Submitted by jacos on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:43 pm

EPstein on WGN today- MattAbbatacola tweet “The Carlos Zambrano of 2011 and years previous can’t fit into the culture that we have here ...change needs to happen and change will happen. Either he’ll change and buy in and fit into this culture ..and I understand there are a lot of skeptics around about that, and I understand that, and frankly, I’m skeptical as well.”

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:11 pm

he's 1st year arb eligable. i'd honestly rather have Z around...like, in a vacuum type world situation...but 3 years of club control of volstad intrigues me a lot more than 1 of Z...and the 2012 money in the situation should be around even. volstad is far from awesome, but he's got a good mix of tools. he has to keep the ball in the park and that might be his downfall...his slider has to work because he can't fall back on the curve as much and his changeup is this constant work in motion that's never gotten sharp.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:25 pm

Actually, my two interactions personally with Big Z have been pleasant. Both professionally, however. He was my favorite player. The guy just wanted to win, and bled Cubbie Blue. With NL rules, it sure was nice having him in the lineup, too. In fact, he was a better hitter than quite a few Cubs every season - Koyie Hill should have batted 9th, in fact. But when a guy gets that distracting over, and over, its probably time to move on. And he has "family" with Ozzie - so they should get along alright. His stats at Wrigley, however, are pretty shitty though: .272 .318 .481 .800 Milwaukee: .240 .240 .340 .580 Cards: .333 .391 .476 .867

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Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 01/04/2012 - 01:50 pm

...he did a lot more with charities than people give him credit for. i'm talking about showing up and doing something, not just throwing loot at a cause... Oh - for sure! I had a Latino student last summer who said he showed up at his small charity, and did indeed get his hands dirty - while donating plenty of $. I suppose if the team had been a perennial winner maybe he would not have exploded. It was hard stomaching some of the team's play the last couple years to be sure. But anyone who works for a company needs to be held to the same standards.

Recent comments

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:02 pm (view)

    happ finally gets HR #20.  he joins bellinger, morel, suzuki, swanson, and wisdom with 20+ HR.

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:29 pm (view)

    took tailon 5 pitches to give up a HR to the 2nd batter of the game.  phew...

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:59 pm (view)

    candel's back and playing 1st.  tauchman DH'ing...  j.young optioned to AAA...forgot he was here.

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:49 pm (view)

    he's wearing this one for life whether he likes it or not.  you can't pull a brant brown in the last week of the season when it's 4 teams going for 2 playoff spots...especially with your last games going forward vs teams that are 1st place in their division.

    he might as well do whatever it takes to move on because it's part of the drama of this chase for the post-season no matter how the cubs do here on out.

  • Arizona Phil 09/27/2023 - 09:33 pm (view)

    FWIW, the year Brant Brown dropped the fly ball in Milwaukee the Cubs made the playoffs anyway, although they did have to play a tie-breaker play-in game with the Giants at Wrigley Field to get in as the N. L. Wild Card team (there was only one Wild Card team in each league back then)...  

  • Charlie 09/27/2023 - 09:16 pm (view)

    Ron Santo's voice came out of me while watching.

    I am really hoping for a bounce back by Suzuki tonight. That error in that moment could really get in your head -- and unfairly shift the public perception of the player for a long time.

  • Arizona Phil 09/27/2023 - 09:28 pm (view)

    F NOLDARAN: 

    The Cubs have no control with respect to Marcus Stroman or Drew Smyly exercising their player options for 2024. 

    Stroman will get $21M in 2024 if he exercises his player option and Smyly gets $10.5M in 2024 (includes a $2M salary escalator based on IP in 2023) if he exercises his player option (both likely, especially Smyly). 

    Kyle Hendricks has a $16M club option for 2024 or else a $1.5M buy-out, and it remains to be seen if the Cubs will exercise the option (which is really just a $14.5M savings because of the buy-out). I would think the Cubs will exercise the club option, because they can always trade him.  

    Also, the Cubs will be paying performance bonuses post-2023 to Yan Gomes (either $250K or $500K based on games started at catcher) and Smyly ($2M based on IP). Also, Cody Bellinger gets as $1M bonus if he wins N. L. Comeback Player of the Year Award (which is very likely).

    So with the $3M+ in performance bonuses still to be paid, the Cubs 2023 payroll AAV will likely end up just slightly under the 2023 MLB $232M CBT threshold, possibly within $1M (TBD).  

    BTW, as things stand right now it appears that the Cubs will have somewhere in the vicinity of $30M in 2024 salary to spend on additions to the roster (I am presuming that Bellinger will opt-out, that Stroman and Smyly will not opt out, that the Cubs will pick up the club options on Hendricks and Gomes but will not pick-up the club option on Brad Boxberger, and that the Cubs will tender 2024 contracts to only three or four of the arbitration eligible guys -- Steele and Alzolay for sure, probably Merryweather, plus MAYBE Tauchman and/or Leiter), with Nick Burdi, Codi Heuer, Nick Madrigal, and Patrick Wisdom likely to be non-tendered (or traded prior to being non-tendered if another club is interested). 

    However, I suspect that the Cubs will attempt to re-sign Heuer and Burdi -- and Tauchman and/or Leiter if they are non-tendered -- to 2024 minor league contracts with an NRI to Spring Training. Brandon Hughes and Ethan Roberts are not arbitration-eligible but they also are likely to be non-tendered and then the Cubs will attempt to sign them to 2024 minor league contracts with an NRI to Spring Training.

    MLB Contract Tender Day this year is November 17th (the Friday immediately prior to Thanksgiving), so I expect to see a lot of transaction-related activity at that time throughout MLB. 

    However, the deadline to add Rule 5 eligible players to the MLB 40-man roster is PRIOR TO MLB Contract Tender Day, so the Cubs will need to drop as many players from the 40 as roster slots are needed PRIOR TO MLB Contract Tender Day.

    The players presently on the 40 who are most likely to be Designated for Assignment (and outrighted if not claimed) to clear slots on the 40 prior to MLB Contract Tender Day for Rule 5 Draft eligibles would probably be Michael Rucker, Jared Young, Jeremiah Estrada, and Caleb Kilian (in that order), although the Cubs could also just DFA one or more of the players they have  already decided to non-tender and not re-sign (like Madrigal and/or Wisdom, and maybe Leiter and/or Tauchman). 

    At 9 AM (Eastern) on the day after the final game of the World Series (two or three weeks prior to MLB Contract Tender Day) is when unsigned MLB Article XX-B players are automatically declared free-agents (they do NOT have to file, it's automatic), so that's when Bellinger, Boxberger, Candelario, and Fulmer will be removed from the Cubs MLB 40-man roster, and then at 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series is when all players still on a club's MLB 60-day IL (Burdi,  Heuer, Hughes, and Roberts) are automatically reinstated to the 40-man roster.

    So by 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series, the Cubs 40-man roster will likely be full (subtracting free-agents Bellinger, Boxberger, Candelario, and Fulmer, and adding Burdi, Heuer, Hughes, and Roberts back from the 60-day IL). 

    5 PM Eastern on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series is also the point in time when unsigned minor league players eligible to be a post-2023 MLB Rule 9 6YFA are automatically declared free-agents, unless the player is added to the MLB 40-man roster or has signed a 2024 minor league successor contract. This will impact the Cubs with respect to OF Yonathan Perlaza and SS Luis Vazquez (two legit prospects who are eligible to be minor league free-agents post-2023).  

  • Sonicwind75 09/27/2023 - 09:07 pm (view)

    Ron Santo's "ohhhh nooooo" is what immediately came to my mind. 

  • crunch 09/26/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    in 1 week of play, masterboney has gone from a line of .206/.289/.265 to .262/.333/.328

    11 hits and 1 walk in 21 PA.  9 singles, 2 doubles.

  • crunch 09/26/2023 - 09:36 pm (view)

    that was a true kick in the teeth loss.  6 run lead blown.  ARZ won.  CIN won.  MIA postponed (vs NYM)

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