Cubs Claim Rays Pitcher off Waivers
The Cubs have claimed 26-year old RHP Dylan Floro off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay's 2012 13th round draft pick out of Cal State - Fullerton, Floro spent most of his pro career in the minors as a starting pitcher before moving to the bullpen at AAA Durham in 2016. He made his MLB debut last July and spent 40 days with the Rays (4.20 ERA and 1.87 WHIP in 15.0 IP and 12 games), before being optioned back to Durham in August. He was Designated for Assignment by the Rays last Wednesday.
Floro is an extreme ground-ball pitcher and strike-throwing machine (allowing just 9 BB in 50 IP at AAA in 2016) who features a 92-93 MPH sinker and 86-88 MPH cutter/slider combo, and he will likely provide depth as a SP/RP "swing-man" at AAA Iowa in 2017.
The Cubs MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) now stands at 39 (one slot is open), although it is possible that the Cubs will try and outright Floro to the minors right away (once waivers can be secured) since the Cubs have the #30 (last) waiver claim priority and no other MLB club was interested enough in Floro to make a claim. (Floro cannot refuse an Outright Assignment to the minors, and if outrighted he would not be eligible to be a minor league 6YFA until after the 2018 season).
Recent comments
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Arizona Phil 1 hour 59 min ago (view)
The fact that the Cubs have not run him through waivers by now tells me they know Duane Underwood Jr is a lock to get claimed and so they are hoping to find a club that would be willing to give the Cubs something more than the $50,000 waiver price in return for Dunderwood (either more $$$ and/or a player).
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Arizona Phil 2 hours 7 min ago (view)
Today's pitchers, most of them the same guys who threw last Tuesday:
Alec Mills:
FB: 89-91
SL: 81
CH: 81-82
CV: 67-70
COMMENT: This just in: Mills heater now sitting at 91!!!!... had two easy innings and looked very good... threw only a handful of his "Bugs Bunny curves" but they are fun to watch because hitters don't know how to deal with it... ...
Craig Kimbrel:
FB: 93-96
CT: 87-88
SL: 82-84 -
Arizona Phil 6 hours 52 sec ago (view)
DJL: Jason Adam sustained a right elbow fracture a few years ago and missed two full seasons, and when he returned to action he started using a "short-arm" delivery.
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crunch 6 hours 1 min ago (view)
baez "soft tissue injury"...no biggie...it's spring. he'll be back in a day or 2.
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crunch 8 hours 10 min ago (view)
kimbrel...K, single, HBP, 3 more hits...inning called due to pitch count. 4 earned.
also, baez removed after being HBP on the hand.
neat.
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First.Pitch.120 14 hours 22 min ago (view)
Cotton McKnight: In 23 years of broadcasting I thought I'd seen it all, folks. But it looks like Peter La Fleur has actually blindfolded himself.
Pepper Brooks: He will not be able to see very well, Cotton.
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First.Pitch.120 14 hours 24 min ago (view)
Yes! Exactly... I'd love to be able to watch coverages in football or just key-in on a great WR to watch them work.
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First.Pitch.120 14 hours 27 min ago (view)
Wow... this is the most engagement I have ever received on any topic on social media platform. Please stay tuned for my opinions on the Oxford Comma, the APA Style Manual for Academic Writing, and the auto-correct on my iPhone.
I am an awesome guy at parties....
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bradsbeard 1 day 51 min ago (view)
I watched some of the Puerto Rican Winter League games that Miguel Amaya played in this winter. At least one broadcast had a super wide shot for balls in play that let you see the OF and the baserunners at the same time. It was awesome.
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Wrigley Rat 1 day 3 hours ago (view)
3 dots on this evening's Cubs-Dodgers game - makes sense & they do color in the 3rd dot as they're going to commericals (Spectrum Sportsnet).
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crunch 1 day 6 hours ago (view)
3 dot crew represent. i didn't have an opinion, but now i'm 100% on board.
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Charlie 1 day 6 hours ago (view)
I agree on most of this, but I especially support three fillable dots for the outs--and fill in the third before cutting to a commercial!
Not doing homework on the players in a Spring Training broadcast is pretty forgiveable, but ESPN is really bad about it pretty much all year. It would be nice if they made a habit of picking up a local color commentator and sort of interviewing them throughout games.
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George Altman 1 day 10 hours ago (view)
The single thing I want in a sports broadcast is to become smarter about the sport, to learn something from the broadcast crew.
Stone does that, Romo does that, Eddie O on hockey, and that's about it. I watch sporting events with the sound down very low or off. I forgot more about baseball than most broadcasters will ever know, and I'm always shocked when I see something in a football game that the crew doesn't, and I know about NOTHING about football.
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First.Pitch.120 1 day 12 hours ago (view)
Also... what is with only having 2 dots as the outs counter? I know that you don't really need the 3rd dot, but I find it counter-intuitive. If the dots fill in, then only having 2 throws me off b/c it's natural to subitize "3" associated with outs. You quickly see 0/3, 1/3, 2/3. If the graphic does not have fill-in dots, then just put the #. eg - OUTS: 1 It's minimalism for the sake of minimalism, not graphic design for effective communication.
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crunch 1 day 13 hours ago (view)
tight shots + insane amount of screen real estate being taken up with graphics is a bit of a plague...especially the ones with a non-stop bottom news ticker.
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First.Pitch.120 1 day 13 hours ago (view)
General comment on baseball broadcasting... I think that the color comentator (CC) needs to talk about 30% more & the PBP about 30% less. I would love a more stream of consciousness from the CC outlining what they would be looking for in a given situation. To that end, why not have 2 CC for national broadcasts - one a pitcher & one a position player. Would love for them to banter back & forth on micro strategy from their perspectives. I think this would turn the game's pauses between action into more of an asset.
Comments
Olney says Cubs looking at
Olney says Cubs looking at other SP's now that they missed out on Ross...Brett Anderson was mentioned (I presume as a joke).
Some others still out there...
T. Wood, E. Jackson, V. Worley, S. Feldman, B. Norris, J. Hammel, M. Latos, T. Lincecum, C. Lewis, W. Perez, H. Alveraz, J. De La Rosa, D. Fister, J. Weaver, M. Harrison. R. Detwiler, L. Harrell, J. Parker, N. Eovaldi, CJ Wilson, J. Peavy, K. Medlen, A. Simon, J. Niese
Also Justin Masterson, Joe
on that note...
on that note...
@StokkeTommy As #Cubs search for pitching depth, they're among teams to show interest in former #RedSox 1st rounder Casey Kelly.
It is possible that Casey
E-MAN: It hasn't translated
E-MAN: It hasn't translated to success at the big league level, but Casey Kelly has quite a lengthy pedigree:
Son of 2B Pat Kelly (played in MLB 1991-99, mostly with the Yankees)
Louisville Slugger 1st team All-American in 2008
Florida 6-A Player of the Year in 2008
Florida "Mr. Baseball" in 2008 - was a "two-way player" in HS (SS/RHP)
Two-time All-Regional HS QB at Sarasota HS - signed NLI with U. of Tennessee to play football & baseball
Drafted in 1st round (#30 overall) of 2008 draft as a shortstop by Boston Red Sox ($3M signing bonus) - gave up football
Ranked Gulf Coast League #6 prospect (as a shortstop) by Baseball America in 2008
Played SS in his first year in pro ball - converted to RHP at Instructs post-2008
Ranked Boston Red Sox #6 prospect (as a RHP) by Baseball America after the 2008 season
Rated Best Curveball in the Boston Red Sox system by Baseball America after the 2008 season
Futures Game All-Star 2009
Ranked South Atlantic League #2 prospect by Baseball America in 2009
Ranked Carolina League #6 prospect by Baseball America in 2009
Ranked Boston Red Sox #2 prospect by Baseball America after the 2009 season
Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2009
Rated Best Fastball in the Boston Red Sox system by Baseball America after the 2009 season
Rated Best Curveball in the Boston Red Sox system by Baseball America after the 2009 season
Rated Best Changeup in the Boston Red Sox system by Baseball America after the 2009 season
Rated Best Control in the Boston Red Sox system by Baseball America after the 2009 season
Ranked Eastern League #10 prospect by Baseball America in 2010
Ranked Arizona Fall League #8 prospect by Baseball America in 2010
Traded to San Diego Padres with 1B Anthony Rizzo, OF Raymond Fuentes, and IF-OF Eric Patterson for 1B Adrian Gonzalez in December 2010
Ranked San Diego Padres #1 prospect by Baseball America after the 2010 season
Ranked Texas League #7 prospect by Baseball America in 2011
Ranked San Diego Padres #3 prospect by Baseball America after the 2011 season
Contract selected & added to SD MLB 40-man roster August 2012
Ranked San Diego Padres #1 prospect by Baseball America after the 2012 season
Had TJS April 2013 - missed all of 2013 season and most of 2014 season
Ranked San Diego Padres #5 prospect by Baseball America after the 2013 season
Ranked San Diego Padres #17 prospect by Baseball America after the 2014 season
Traded to Atlanta Braves for C Christian Bethancourt in December 2015
Declared minor league 6YFA after being outrighted to AAA Gwinnett in November 2016
Yikes PHIL! And as others may
To be fair, he did have TJS
So - ok, yes he had TJS 5
I'm saying that might be why
he was never a fireballer
Raines, Bagwell and Ivan
Raines, Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez make the Hall
Trevor Hoffmann misses by 1%, Vlad at 71.7% so those two should make it soon.
Sosa stays alive at 8.6%
Detwiler(A's) and K. Kendrick
Detwiler(A's) and K. Kendrick(Red Sox) are off the list
RHP Zach Neal was Designated
RHP Zach Neal was Designated for Assignment by the Oakland A's yesterday, and Neal is the type of pitcher (SP/RP "swing-man") the Cubs would probably claim off waivers if another club doesn't put in a claim.
The Cubs have last (#30) waiver claim priority through the 30th day of the MLB regular season, at which point the 2017 standings on the day the player clears waivers will be used to determine waiver claim priority. So if they are interested in him, the Cubs could try and make a trade with Oakland before Neal is placed on waivers.
Last year the Cubs went into Spring Training with Clayton Richard, Trevor Cahill, and Travis Wood as the potential #6 (injury insurance and doubleheader) starter, but after being stretched-out as starting pitchers in Spring Training all three were moved to the bullpen once the regular season started, leaving Drew Rucinski and later Rob Zastryzny and Jake Buchanan at AAA Iowa as the only potential #6 starter (should one be needed).
But the Cubs were able to get through the 2016 season without actually needing a #6 starter (Mike Montgomery was inserted into the rotation as the 6th starter in August, but that was a move made to help reduce the innings workload on the Big 5 once the Cubs took a commanding lead in the N. L. Central). And because they were able to avoid losing any of their five SP (Arrieta, Lester, Hendricks, Lackey, and Hammel) to injury, not actually needing a 6th starter (other than the choice to add Montgomery to the rotation for five starts as a 6th starter) was perhaps the single-most significant break the Cubs got in 2016.
So with Jason Hammel leaving via free-agency, right now the Cubs would project Arrieta-Lester-Hendricks-Lackey-Montgomery as the five rotation starters in Chicago, with Zastryzny, Buchanan, Brooks, and Beeler as the only projected starting pitchers at Iowa in 2017 with MLB experience, and (other than Rule 5 pick Caleb Smith, who has yet to pitch above AA) no pitchers projected to be in the Opening Day Cubs bullpen who fit the profile of a Cahill-Richard-Wood type swingman (a reliever who can make spot starts).
A pitcher like Zach Neal could go to the head of the list if the Cubs are able to get him, because he is essentially a younger version of Trevor Cahill, but unlike Cahill, Neal has options left and cannot refuse an optional assignment to the minors. So he could either be optioned to Iowa and stay stretched-out as a starter, or he could work out of the Cubs MLB bullpen in the Cahill role and make occasional spot-starts when needed.
Probably the most "boring"
TIM: There is nothing special
TIM: Other than being a SP/RP "swing-man" there is otherwise nothing special or certainly nothing elite about Neal, but over the last couple of seasons he has become an extreme ground ball pitcher, and while he doesn't strike out too many hitters (only 6.0 K/9 in his minor league career), he allowed only 20 walks in 131.1 IP between AA and AAA in 2015, and then only 14 walks in 131.2 IP between AAA and MLB (Oakland) in 2016. That is almost ridiculous. There aren't too many MLB-ready guys like that out there.
I believe Neal would be an upgrade over Buchanan, Brooks, or Beeler at Iowa (only Zastryzny is better), and he could even be more-useful at the big league level than Grimm. (Again, unlike last season, the Cubs have no SP/RP "swing-man" on their projected MLB pitching staff this year, what with Montgomery likely replacing Hammel as the #5 starter).
I say boring with respect.
TIM: I agree with you
TIM: I agree with you regarding Juan Graterol. He is a veteran minor league catcher with two minor league options left, he is a good defensive catcher, he doesn't have any HR power but he did hit 300/340/370 at AAA in 2016 (and he has struck out only 213 times in 1,898 caerer minor league PA), and (most-importantly) the Cubs have a slot open on the 40, and I expect there to be two slots open in the near future, because I strongly suspect the Cubs will put Dylan Floro back on waivers again very soon (if they haven't already).
As I mentioned in the post, the fact that Floro got through waivers all the way to the Cubs (#30 waiver claim priority) means he probably won't get claimed if the Cubs put him back on waivers again right now.
TIM: I think Zach Neal would
Just as a reminder, MLB clubs
yes, i'd like a side of curt
Woooooo
Cub-reject Dan Strailly goes
Cub-reject Dan Strailly goes from Reds to Marlins for 3 prospects, 2 allegedly aren't too bad. He's also an A's, Astros and Padres reject, but nice flip by the Reds.
Cubs got him in Addison Russell trade and sent him to Houston in Dexter Fowler trade with Bat Flip Valbuena.
Baseball America ranked one
Baseball America ranked one of the three players the Reds got for Straily (RHP Luis Castillo) the Marlins #2 prospect in their Top 10 prospects lists last month.
Fangraphs Top 23 Cubs
Fangraphs Top 23 Cubs Prospects with a write-up on all of them
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-23-prospec...
Thanks "G".
"Cubs signed RHP Jim
Kansas City Royals 25-year
Kansas City Royals 25-year old RHSP Yordano Ventura dies in car crash in Dominican Republic
link
wtf...
So sad. Such a waste.
you can't go through spring
Five current MLB, minor
Per statistics from the the World Health Organization compiled in 2010, the Dominican Republic had the highest rate of traffic-related fatalities per 100,000 population of any country in the Americas. (Belize was a distant second). There were only eleven countries with higher rates than the Dominincan Republic (nine of the countries are in Africa, and the other two are Thailand and Iran).
Five MLB, minor league, or KBO players have been killed in vehicle crashes in the Dominican Republic within the last year:
1. Jose Rosario, RHP (GCL Astros) - 1/24/2016
2. Ramon Ramirez, 3B (GCL Orioles) - 1/30/2016
3. Sandy Acevedo, 3B (DSL Yankees) - 4/23/2016
4. Andy Marte, 3B (KBO KT Wiz - ex-MLB) - 1/21/2017
5. Yordano Ventura, RHP (Kansas City Royals) - 1/22/2017
Also, OF Oscar Taveras (St. Louis Cardinals) and his girlfriend were killed in a crash in the Dominican Republic in October 2014.
In addition, four Cubs minor leaguers (INF Frandy de la Rosa, OF Kevin Encarnacion, RHP Jeferson Mejia, and RHP Jose Zapata) were injured in a crash in the Dominican Republic three years ago while en route to the Cubs Dominican Academy.
Encarnacion suffered a career-limiting shoulder injury and third-degree burns on his upper torso and was released last February, and Zapata sustained a broken neck and has yet to return to the mound (he has been serving as an assistant pitching coach for the AZL Cubs the last couple of seasons).
Mejia and de la Rosa recovered from their injuries and were eventually traded (Mejia to Arizona in the Miguel Montero deal in December 2014 and de la Rosa to Texas for RHRP Spencer Patton in November 2015).
Thank you Falcons.
Another NFL game with a
I don't know about the "more
Who replaced Bledsoe when he
I forgot. Some hack probably.
Interestingly, Bledsoe's 2nd
Who replaced David Carr? Or
And seems to have no problem
vague tweet from Brett
vague tweet from Brett Anderson
@BrettAnderson35 Wheels up to Chicago...I bet it's cold there.
Dodgers traded Jose DeLeon for 2B Logan Forsythe...nice deal on both sides.
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
$3.5m base, up to $10m in
$3.5m base, up to $10m in incentives...Extreme ground ball pitcher.
"pending physical"
I hope Brett Anderson >
Richard found luck in San
Richard found luck in San Diego though, sometimes it's just a matter of right time, right place.
That being said, not a big fan, but with Cubs defense he's a good match.
Is this a one year deal?
Ben Badler at Baseball
Ben Badler at Baseball America reports Cuban RHP Hector Mendoza has been cleared by MLB and will sign sometime after he turns 23 on March 3rd.
link
Because he has accrued at least five professional seasons combined between Serie Nacional (Cuba) and NPB (Japan), Mendoza will not be subject to International Signing Bonus restrictions, which means the Cubs can sign him with no restrictions. (Because they exceeded their ISBP by more than 15% in the 2015-16 ISP, the Cubs cannot give a signing bonus in excess of $300,000 to any international free-agent who is subject to International signing bonus restrictions until July 2, 2018).
Although he has been used as a two-inning closer with la Isla de la Juventud in Serie Nacional, the 6'3 195 Mendoza projects as a MOR starter in MLB because of his polish and repertoire (90-94 MPH fastball, curve, and change-up), and with the dearth of starting pitching in MLB right now, there should be a strong market for Mendoza during Spring Training.
So I would not be surprised if the Cubs make a strong push to sign Mendoza and (if they can) stash him in AA or AAA to get used to the U. S. and get work as a starter until he's needed in 2018.
Mendez or Mendoza?
Hope you are right Phil.
b.anderson passed his
Good news!
Javy Baez to get a street
Cubs two picks first round
#27 and #30...nice.
Ignore the first 22 on any
i hope it's ricardo de la
I'd have to agree. Any
Trump warned Chicago that if
FANTASY BASEBALL
FANTASY BASEBALL OPPORTUNITIES!
I've got 2 spots opening up in our Ottoneu league. The trade/keeper deadline is end of the month so a chance to get in and make some changes before that. This is NOT for casual players. But if you want to manage a long-term full 40-man roster it's damn fun.
@JonHeyman Brett Anderson: 3
@JonHeyman Brett Anderson: 3.5M plus 500K for 11 games, 750K for 14 and 17, 1M for 20, 23 and 26, 1.5M for 29 games. 10M max #cubs
I presume that is for games
JOE P: Yes.
i guess m.montgomery is the
Teddy Ball Games first game
Thanks for the great picture,
Cubs end up signing C. Kelly
Cubs end up signing C. Kelly to minor league deal