Cubs Assign Seven to Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) preliminary rosters have been announced, and the Cubs have assigned seven players to the Mesa Solar Sox (MSS). Present minor league assignment is in parenthesis:
Zach Cates, RHRP (AA Tennessee)
Gerardo Concepcion, LHRP (A+ Daytona)
C. J. Edwards, RHSP (AA Tennessee)
Jake Hannemann, OF (A+ Daytona) - see NOTE
Ivan Pineyro, RHSP (AA Tennessee)
Addison Russell, SS (AA Tennessee)
Dan Vogelbach, 1B (A+ Daytona)
NOTE: Hannemann is assigned to the MSS "Taxi Squad," so he is eligible to play in AFL games on Wednesday and Saturday only.
In addition, Daytona pitching coach Ron Villone has been assigned to Mesa as the Solar Sox pitching coach. (The Cubs were required to supply the MSS pitching coach this year).
Cates, Concepcion, Edwards, and Pineyro are Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2014, and so the Cubs may be using the AFL to get a better look at Cates, Concepcion, and Pineyro (especially Pineyro) before deciding whether to add any of them to their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) post-2014. (C. J. Edwards is considered the Cubs #1 pitching prospect, so he is a "lock" to make the Cubs 40-man roster in November no matter how he performs in the AFL).
Russell played for the Mesa Solar Sox while a member of the Oakland A's last year, so this will be his second trip to the AFL, but in a different uniform. He will be sharing shortstop with A's SS prospect Daniel Robertson, who was Russell's rival in the Oakland system prior to Russell being traded to the Cubs in the Samardzija/Hammel trade. Russell missed considerable time this season as the result of a hamstring injury suffered prior to being acquired by the Cubs, so playing in the AFL will give the young shortstop some additional reps before he (presumably) gets moved up to AAA in 2015.
Both Edwards (shoulder) and Pineyro (forearm strain) were on the Tennessee Smokies Disabled List for lengthy periods of time this season, so pitching in the AFL will help them to make up for some of their "lost innings."
Remember, the AFL rosters announced this week are preliminary rosters only and are incomplete.
In the case of the Mesa Solar Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays have not named any of their four pitchers yet, and because Dwight Smith Jr has been assigned to the MSS "Taxi Squad," the Blue Jays still need to assign another position player as well. The Oakland A's have yet to name their fourth pitcher, and because Jake Hannemann was assigned to the MSS "Taxi Squad," the Cubs need to assign one more position player to the Solar Sox roster.
At present there are four outfielders, seven infielders, and two catchers on the MSS Active Roster (not including Jays OF Dwight Smith Jr, Cubs OF Jake Hannemann, and Angels SS Eric Stamets, who are assigned to the MSS "Taxi Squad"), so Toronto or the Cubs have to supply either the third catcher (there are always three catchers assigned to AFL teams) or a second third-baseman (Kaleb Cowart is the only 3B on the MSS preliminary roster).
If the Cubs need to supply a third-baseman, it would probably be either Kris Bryant (2013 AFL MVP) or Christian Villanueva (if he doesn't play winter ball in the Mexican Pacific League), or a utility infielder who can play 3B (like Wes Darvill, who has played in the AFL before). Mike Olt has too much MLB Service Time to be eligible to play in the AFL, even if his hamstring injury has healed by the time the AFL begins play in October.
If the Cubs are supposed to supply the third catcher, they may be in the process of deciding whether to assign 2014 1st round draft pick Kyle Schwarber to the AFL or send him to Instructs instead. If he goes to the AFL it's all about getting AB and playing in games, but at Instructs it's much more about instruction.
Rafael Lopez (presently assigned to AAA Iowa) would probably be the other most-likely catcher-option to go to the AFL if Schwarber goes to Instructs, since Lopez is Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2014 and the Cubs might want to use the AFL to help them decide whether to add Lopez to their 40-man roster. However, if Lopez is called up to Chicago as the "3rd catcher" in September, the Cubs will have already added Lopez to the 40 and would not need to use the AFL to evaluate Lopez further. In that case. Victor Caratini (the catcher the Cubs acquired from Atlanta in the Bonifacio/Russell trade) could get assigned to the AFL (but again, that's only if Schwarber goes to Instructs instead of to the AFL).
ABOUT THE AFL:
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is a developmental league operated by MLB.
The AFL operates for six weeks after the conclusion of the MLB regular season, and it features a 32-game "regular season" schedule plus an All-Star Game (formerly called the "Rising Stars Game," but now known as the "Fall Stars Game") at the end of the 4th week and the AFL Championship Game (pitting the winner of the East Division versus the winner of the West Division) at the end of the 6th and final week.
There are three games scheduled every day Monday through Saturday during the AFL regular season (there are no games on Sunday), beginning with Opening Day on the second Tuesday following the conclusion of the MLB regular season (which is October 7th in 2014) and extending up through the Thursday of the 6th week. (No regular season games are scheduled the day of the Fall Stars Game).
Here are the current AFL eligibility rules & restrictions (NOTE: Some of the eligibiility rules & restrictions have been changed over the past couple of years):
1. There are six AFL teams, and each AFL team is affilated with five MLB clubs. KC (Peoria Javelinas), TEX (Surprise Saguaros), LAD/CHW (Glendale Desert Dogs), AZ/COL (Salt River Rafters), CUBS (Mesa Solar Sox), and SF (Scottsdale Scorpions) are the "host organizations" for the six AFL teams, but the affiliations of the other 22 MLB clubs can vary from year-to-year. Besides the Cubs, the other four MLB organizations affiliated with the Mesa Solar Sox in 2014 will be LAA, OAK, TOR, and WAS. NOTE: The home stadium for the Peoria Javelinas in 2014 will be Surprise Stadium.
2. Each MLB organization must assign a minimum of seven players to its AFL affiliate, including a minimum of four pitchers (preferably one pitcher capable of starting plus three relievers) and a minimum of three position players (specific positions needed to be filled by each organization TBD by a conference call "position draft" between the Player Development Directors of the five MLB organizations affiliated with that particular AFL team).
3. An MLB organization can assign additional pitchers and/or players to its AFL team's "Taxi Squad" (players assigned to an AFL team's "Taxi Squad" can be activated on Wednesdays and Saturdays only, but a player can be transferred from the Taxi Squad to the 35-man Active Roster to replace an injured player).
4. A player can be selected to play in the AFL more than once, as long as the player continues to meet eligibility for selection.
5. MLB players (including Rule 5 players) with less than one year (1+000) MLB Service Time accrued (not including time spent on a Disabled list) as of September 1st are eligible.
6. Any player on a AA or AAA Active Roster (or Disabled List) on August 15th is eligible.
7. Two players on an organization's Advanced Class-A (A+) affiliate's Active Roster (or Disabled List) on August 15th can be assigned to the AFL.
8. Two additional players who were on the Active Roster (or Disabled List) of a minor league affiliate below AA (A+, A, SS-A, R) on August 15th can be assigned to the AFL.
9. Internatiional players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and/or Australia are eligible only if the player is not on the reserve list of a Winter League club from the player's home country. Otherwise, there is no maximum limit on the number of international players an MLB organization can assign to its AFL team.
10. A player on the Restricted List, Military List, Disqualified List, Ineligible List, or Voluntary Retired List is not eligible to participate in the AFL.
11. A player who was on a minor league or MLB DL at the close of the regular season is eligible to play in the AFL as long as the player has been reinstated, but there can be no special limits or restrictions placed on the player's playing time (other than the automatic restrictions imposed on a player sssigned to an AFL team's "Taxi Squad").
12. A player cannot be assigned to the AFL on a Minor League Injury Rehabilitation Assignment by a club participating in an MLB post-season series (LDS, LCS, and World Series).
13. Players assigned to the AFL do not accrue MLB or minor league service time, each player receives the same salary, and the salaries are paid out of a special fund managed by MLB.
Each MLB organization provides either the manager, pitching coach, hitting coach, or athletic trainer to its affiliated AFL club (assignments rotate every year).
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