Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Sign Two Minor League Free-Agents

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Baseball America reports that the Cubs have signed Rule 55 second-contract minor league free-agent RHSP Drew Rucinski(ex-LAA) and Rule 55 minor league 6YFA LHP Jeffry Antigua to 2016 minor league contracts. 

Both will be eligible for selection in next month's Rule 5 Draft, although it's not likely that Rucinski would get picked because he was not claimed off waivers when he was outrighted in September, and the only way Antigua gets claimed is if the Cubs placed him on the AA Tennessee reserve list, which would make him eligible for selection in the AAA Phase of the draft ($12,000 draft price with no roster restrictions and no chance to be re-claimed).  

The 6'2 190 27-year old Rucinski started two games for the Angels/Cubs co-op team in the AZ Advanced Instructional League last month, so Cubs Assistant Minor League Pitching Coordinator Mike Mason (who was Pitching Coach for the Angels/Cubs AZAIL co-op team) had a chance to see Rucinski up close & personal. I saw Rucinski pitch in both of the AZAIL games, and I would describe him as a polished pitcher who throws a 91-93 MPH fastball, a slider, and a change-up. Nothing special. 

Rucinski pitched collegiately at Ohio State, and after finishing his college career and going undrafted, he signed with the independent Rockford Riverhawks (Frontier League) in 2011. His contract was purchased by the Cleveland Indians in mid-June of that year, and he pitched for three different Tribe affiliates (AZL, NYP, and MWL) in 2011, but was releaeed at the end of minor league camp in 2012. 

After being released by the Indians, Rucinski returned to indy ball (Rockford) where he emerged as one of the top starting pitchers in the Frontier League (he led the FL in strikeouts). before having his contract purchased by the Los Angeles Angels in August 2013. 

Rucinski started five games at Hi-A Inland Empire (Califormia League) after being acquired by the Angels, and then was moved up to AA Arkansas in 2014, where he was the ace of the Travelers staff. In fact he was so impressive at AA that he was called up to MLB by the Angels in July 2014. (Baseball America ranked Rucinski as the Angels #18 prospect post-2014). Rucinski was optioned to AAA Salt Lake City in 2015, riding the "SLC-LA shuttle" (he was the Angels version of Dallas Beeler).

Over the course of 1-1/2 seasons, Rucinski saw action in seven MLB games, and he was not effective (6.28 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, .322 OppBA, and 8/12 BB/K in 14.1 IP). He also struggled with walks and the gopher ball in the PCL (allowing 44 walks and 21 HR in just 112.1 IP), and was outrighted to AAA after the 2015 season. He was eligible to be a Rule 55 second-contract minor league free-agent post-2015 because he had been released previously in his career, making him available to sign with the Cubs even though he has not spent seven seasons in the minors.  

Rucinski will likely get an NRI to Spring Training with the Cubs next Spring, and then be a SP at AAA Iowa. 

The 25-year old 6'1 205 Antigua was originally signed by the Cubs as a 16-year old out of the Dominican Republic in 2006, and he has spent nine seasons in the Cubs organization. He was a Rule 55 minor league 6YFA after the 2013 season and after last season, too, and opted to re-sign with the Cubs post-2013, post-2014 and now again post-2015.  

Antigua was a decent prospect at one time (he was rated the Cubs #19 prospect by BA six years ago), but he has subsequently morphed into sort of a minor league version of Travis Wood, in that he is a "swingman" who can start or relieve, pitch just about every day, and can be moved (without any hassle) to any level in the system where he might be needed. He also is a positive mentor for the younger Cubs pitchers, especially the young Latin pitchers.

So although he's kind of a player-coach, Antigua's  stuff is good enough to get outs in the minors, and he is not negatively impacted by getting moved back & forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen or between affiliates. And since left-handers never really die (they just fade away). Antigua could be pitching in the minors for the next ten or 15 years, and maybe somewhere along the line he'll get a taste of The Show. You just never know. 

Tags
Cubs Minor League free-agents
Jeffry Antigua
Drew Rucinski

Comments

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Tue, 11/24/2015 - 11:11 am

"they just fade away" (Except in the cases of no-fade lefties like Moyer, Orosco and Rich Hill.)

Submitted by billybucks on Tue, 11/24/2015 - 11:43 pm

Maybe Theo will sign Shark just so he can call Billy Beane and say: "Let's see...Russell? Check. McKinney? Check. Hammel? Check. Ninja? Check. Any other deals?"

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Tue, 11/24/2015 - 11:19 pm

AZ PHIL- Is Clayton Richard a free agent or not? One site I see he is, on another no. MLB has him listed as a free agent, Cot's contracts says he is a FA, baseball-reference says he's not, but Cubs have him on active roster. I know that he is just short of MLB 6 years service by just like 15 days, but that doesn't always matter.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:08 am

Not AZ PHIL but after being DFA'd by the Cubs (after they got him from the Pirates in the "I get a chance in the Majors clause"), the Cubs re-signed him for the remainder of the season. I do not believe service time is an issue for him, so he is eligible to opt for Major League Free Agency - which he is doing and the Cubs or someone else will sign him to an MLB deal. AZ PHIL please correct this if you see fit - but that is the most current info that I'm aware of.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:33 am

Clayton Richard is absolutely, positively NOT a free-agent. He is under club control through the 2016 season. 

Richard came into the 2015 season with 5+070 days of MLB Service Time, so he only needed to accrue 102 days of MLB Service Time during the 2015 MLB regular season to qualify as an Article XX-B MLB free-agent post-2015.  However,  he spent the first three months of the season at AAA Indianapolis (the Pirates AAA affiliate) and so he did not accrue any MLB Service Time during that period of time. 

The Cubs acquired Richard from the Pirates on July 4th, and he accrued 93 days of MLB Service Time from 7/4 through the conclusion of the MLB regular season on 10/4, bringing him to 5+163 days of MLB Service Time, which is nine days short of what he needed to be a FA post-2015.

But Richard is eligible for salary arbitration post-2015, and the Cubs will need to decide by next Wednesday (12/2) whether to tender him a 2016 contract. If the Cubs do tender Richard a contract and Richard is not agreeable to the salary he is offered, he has the right to file for salary arbitration in January. 

Remember, clubs do NOT offer salary arbitration to players, they only tender or don't tender a contract. It's the player who decides whether or not to file for salary arbitration. 

But fact is, clubs HATE salary arbitration, because it's too unpredrictable, and clubs like certainty. So many clubs like to sign arbitration-eligible players as soon as possible (before the player can file for salary arbiteration), often when contracts are tendered on 12/2.   

Clubs will sometimes non-tender a player on 12./2 in order to get the player off their MLB 40-man roster without having to place the player on waivers, and then re-sign the player to a pre-arranged minor league contract (usually for "big league money" and an NRI to Spring Training), or in order to cut a player more than the allowable 20%, or in order to offer the player a contract with a low base salary plus performance bonuses (which are not part of a standard contract tender), or in order to avoid the possibility of an arbitration-eligible player filing for salary arbitraion.   

So Richard could be tendered on 12/2, but even if he's non-tendered, the Cubs still might try and re-sign him to a minor league contract (for "big league money") plus an NRI to Spring Training, or to a major league contract with a low base salary plus performance bonuses (thus avoiding the possibility of arbitration), and Richard might very well be agreeable to that latter option (a major league contract with a low base salary, plus performance bonuses tied to GAMES, GS, and/or IP), 

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:04 am

Geo Soto leaves the WSux and signs with the Angels who lost Chris Ianetta to the Mariners. Freed... The Angels also promoted Bobby Scales from director of player development to special assistant

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:30 am

MLB.com says he is, cubs.com site says he's a Cub, great cooperation between the 2 sites, weird

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:38 am

Did they ever say or who the PTBNL or cash decision on Rodney was or who was the PTBNL in the Austin Jackson deal was yet? Neither was worth whatever they gave up. Cahill and Richard were the only two good "deadline" deals they made. Hunter (given Lake was the odd man out by far and taking up a roster spot) and Haren weren't worth it.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:06 am

CUBBIES-4-EVER: It's not unusual for a PTBNL to be chosen after the Rule 5 Draft from the list of Rule 5 eligible players who were not selected. That way, a club gets a player they like (perhaps somebody like OF Jeffrey Baez) without the cumbersome Rule 5 roster restrictions that go with a Rule 5 Draft pick.

The Boston Red Sox did that last year, acquiring Rule 5 Draft eligible SS Marco Hernandez from the Cubs after the conclusion of thd Rule 5 Draft as the PTBNL in the Felix Doubront trade. BTW, Hernandez had a fine year in 2015 (hitting 305/330/454 with 30 2B, 5 3B, and 9 HR combined between AA and AAA) and was added to the Red Sox MLB 40-man roster on 11/20. 

So the Mariners may be waiting until after the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft to choose their PTBNL. Otherwise, the typical cash subsititute in a PTBNL deal involving a player on an MLB 40-man roster is $50,000, and sometimes $50,000 (which can be used to make a couple of waiver claims or a Rule 5 Draft pick) might actually be more attractive than any of the players available to be selected as the PTBNL.  

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Submitted by crunch on Thu, 11/26/2015 - 11:18 pm

there's nothing like crapping out of the playoffs with a strong/young cheap team after pinching pennies for years then having theo talk about having to be creative with money to make things work for 2016...but hey, baseball isn't baseball without a farmer's market and beer garden plaza with ice rinks. they can do both...then again, if you want to look at it from a business point of view, they don't have to do both because the team is expected to be competitive and the merch+tickets+eyes-on-team are going to be at a peak unless they fail badly. yeah, i think they know what they're doing, too. that said, i doubt they'll cheap out...also just saying we had a theo tempering fan's expectations while the neighborhood takeover keeps happening around the product on the field.

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 11/30/2015 - 11:46 am

let's not get caught up on phrasing for a setup and lose the gist of the post. i don't care what one wants to call the playoff exit. -crapping out +they lost their playoff attempt there. now we can focus on something other than not liking the tone of a line that's setting up a point. we got fed "we'll spend when we got the youth ready" and now we got a front office telling us one week that they don't have the loot to invest heavily in the field product while the following week rolling out the multi-10s-millions plan to build a place to hold music outdoor concerts, ice skate, and sell beer (100 million+ if you count the hotel they're also trying to build at the same time). that said, i think everyone expects them to splash big somewhere and it probably will happen even if this isn't gonna be the dodgers...i don't think anyone expects the dodgers, though...just some support for these kids after saving 10s of millions for many seasons and finally getting a hold of playoff-caliber, cost controlled youth built on a foundation of being cheap and tanking for years. this is the opportunity we were told to wait for.

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 11/30/2015 - 11:51 am

of course not. maybe go ice skating and think about it a while. make advanced reservations at the hotel they're starting construction on. check new releases for possible entertainment from the movie screens they want installed. think about renting an office in the new office spaces. write a letter to the cubs requesting your favorite beer be added to the beer garden. lobby your favorite band to play the outdoor venue. ...and in between that maybe they can find $40-50m to invest in the product that all of this revolves around.

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 11/30/2015 - 11:00 pm

well, that's the past. we're left with the present. even though that past you're seeing is some weird black/white either/or where hybridization of ideas isn't allowed...nonetheless... the present is ice skating, movies, concerts, beer gardens, hotels, office space and other wonderful baseball activities based around a young, successful baseball team. the present is a team that tanked both payroll and competitiveness for many years to get to a point where there's young and CHEAP talent around so that it becomes both sane and opportunistic to invest in the product on the field for a better shot at push to the playoffs the cubs can aggressively market office space and off-season community for-pay activities. i guess all that really matters is the cubs get that ice skating rink up by next winter. priorities. it's a shame they can't build $100s million projects and spend a few 10s of millions on the centerpiece of it's actual meaning for existence. ...at this point it's worth mentioning again that this whole rant is based off a half-hearted joke based on a poverty check one week followed the next week by a gazillion dollar investment project centered around the team that just got a poverty check.

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Submitted by Tito on Tue, 12/01/2015 - 12:30 am

Yeah, it's the past but you keep complaining based on the past. First they tanked and shouldn't have. Now they make some comments about needing to have a budget and you say they're crying poverty -- all before any trades/signings have been made. (They signed a $155 million pitcher last year, I recall.) FYI, the Cubs have had a skating rink the last couple of years. It's not a permanent structure (obviously) and probably doesn't cost all that much. But who knows, maybe it'll be the reason they don't win a World Series.

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Submitted by johann on Wed, 12/02/2015 - 12:42 pm

I was reminded today about the crappy deal Rickets had to sign with the Tribune that involved taking on a lot of debt and because of that they only have a certain amount they can spend on payroll above their revenue streams. Now I don't know actual #s but ultimately the more things they do to create revenue the more they can spend on payroll. Maybe they can spend lots right now but It's note quite so cut and dry as "they are spending money on building projects they could be spending on payroll."

Submitted by John Beasley on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:07 pm

Cubs acquired Rex Brothers. Awesome fit for this team. Wander Cabrera going to COL.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:13 pm

When I first saw the Tweet, I thought there were two guys. Happy Thanksgiving gang! And TheoJed!

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Wed, 11/25/2015 - 11:58 pm

With the Cubs adding Pierce Johnson to their roster and not exposing/losing him to the Rule 5 Draft keeps the trade ancestry tree alive that started in 1999 with Tom Gordon and undrafted Adam Morrissey and includes 17 players, the trade tree progressed to involve the Hee Sop Choi for Derrek Lee deal and the famous Aramis Ramirez/Kenny Lofton deal..Pierce Johnson is the compensation pick for Aramis Ramirez in 2012 Which trumps the Garza trade tree which started in 2006 with Mark DeRosa ending with Zac Rosscup, Neil Ramirez, Justin Grimm, and C.J. Edwards remaining on the team and involves only 15 players

Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 11/27/2015 - 11:45 am

A special after day after Thanksgiving thanks to AZ for his insanely detailed posts on all things roster. I don't know how you keep track of all that stuff - I suspect a chip implant, but whatever it is, it's cool. On the poppa Cubs front, I'm becoming a Cutler believer again. Yesterday he was a game manager, something that has come with seasoning I guess. The grizzled old veteran now, he managed yesterday's game nicely, to the point where even that stall in the red zone really wasn't all that painful because he kept his pal Rodgers off the field for so long. Nice. Meanwhile, I wish the Bears would quietly guarantee the head coaching job to Gase for when Fox retires, and tear up his current contract and pay him a boatload of money to wait for his HC opportunity with the Bears. It's nice to see an OC actually adapt to, in this case, game conditions. That pass to Miller was nice, and overall Gase was obviously focusing on the team not turning over the football.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Sat, 11/28/2015 - 11:27 am

Wait...you're flip-flopping again?! Is this legal? What is the rule here on opining definitively and then changing your mind? I am not only surprised at your declaration, but Cutler's better 2015 showing. I don't get it - he went through Martz, Turner, Trestman, Kromer, and now Gase...and he is still here! And. he'll be here mext year too.

Submitted by Cubster on Sun, 11/29/2015 - 11:00 am

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe in the financial impact to the Red Sox for not signing Jon Lester early in the free agent process:
It will be interesting to ultimately add up the cost of letting Jon Lester go. The Red Sox botched up their negotiations with Lester in during spring training of 2014, making an initial offer of $70 million that was roughly $40 million short of what it should have been. Talks broke down and Lester was traded in July. The Sox went downhill, Lester was traded for Yoenis Cespedes and that ultimately became Rick Porcello. Ben Cherington was ousted as GM and Dombrowski was hired. Think about it. If the Sox had simply signed Lester for, say, $125 million, they would have saved Porcello’s contract ($82.5 million), whatever they’re paying Dombrowski (which, at a minimum, is probably $20 million) and whatever they pay for an ace in free agency, which could be $200 million. In the end, not signing Lester could cost three times what signing him would have.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/11/27/david-price-would-right-mo…

Submitted by CTSteve on Sun, 11/29/2015 - 11:21 am

The Tigers are going after Zimmermann and the Red Sox will be throwing money at Price. Bringing Cueto back to the NL with the Cubs is looking like a serious possibility. Thoughts?

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Submitted by John Beasley on Sun, 11/29/2015 - 11:52 am

The media has linked Cueto and the Cubs approximately zero times this winter. I'm thinking there's just not a lot of interest there on the Cubs' part. It seems unlikely. If the Cubs miss on Price, Grienke, and Zimmerman, they will aim for a mid-rotation starter via free agency or trade. However, I think this scenario also significantly boosts the odds that they extend Arrieta.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 11/29/2015 - 11:24 am

Cubs 3B Christian Villanueva (who is out of minor league options) is hitting 358/464/500 for Obregon in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), and is leading the LMP in OBP, is second in BAvg and walks, is seventh in SLG, and is tied for 8th in HR. He also has struck out only 16 times in 175 PA. 

Villanueva was acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Ryan Dempster deal at the trade deadline in 2012, and was rated a Top 100 Prospect by Baseball America going into the 2012 season. But he has been mostly blocked at 3B by Mike Olt (first in TEX and then with the Cubs) and then later by Kris Bryant, so he has dropped-off most prospect radar screens over the past couple of years. But Villanueva is a legitimate MLB 3B prospect.  

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Submitted by crunch on Sun, 11/29/2015 - 11:16 pm

in this market that seems like a decent deal relative to the market. given that d.price will probably get 30m-ish a year, 22m for 29yo zimm doesn't seem bad. i wouldn't complain about him suiting up for the cubs. one less option gone...

Submitted by CTSteve on Sun, 11/29/2015 - 11:28 pm

Yeah, this market. Remember when Ted Lilly signed a 4/$40m with the Cubs? It was like "Well, I guess if you can throw a ball, that's what the 3 and 4 starters are all getting." I'm glad I'm not a GM. Of course, they're spending our money...

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.

    The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.

    I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day. 

     

    That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled). 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.

    When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.

    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

    On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?

    But I digress…

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.  

     

    At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

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