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

Cub Juggernaut Alive & Well at Fitch Park

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 07:41 pm

Marco Hernandez singled, doubled, tripled, and drove-in four runs, and Gioskar Amaya had two singles and a triple and drove-in three runs, leading the AZL Cubs to a 15-7 thrashing of the AZL Diamondbacks in Arizona League action at Fitch Park Field #3 this afternon in Mesa, AZ.

box score

All of the Cubs players in the starting lineup had at least one hit except clean-up hitter Ryan Durrence, who went 0-5, including two DP grounders and a strikeout looking.

But otherwise it was Full Speed Ahead for the AZL Cubs offense.

Los Tres Amigos (Oliver Zapata, Marco Hernandez, and Gioskar Amaya) hit 1-2-3 and had another big day today, reaching base a combined nine times and driving-in eight runs, while scoring four more

Zapata reached base three times (1B, HBP, IBB), stole a base, scored two runs, and knocked-in another with an RBI GO, Hernandez amassed his four RBI on an F-9 SF and a bases-loaded triple, and Amaya collected two of his RBI on a two-out two-run triple in 6th, and then another on an RBI single in the 7th.

18-year old Neftali Rosario (Cubs 2011 6th round draft pick - Puerto Rico Baseball Academy) was the DH today, and ripped a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 1st inning, tripled and scored in the 3rd, and walked and scored to lead-off a six-run 7th.

LF Dong-Yub Kim had two hits (a double and a single) and scored two runs, 2B Brian Inoa walked and scored in the 7th and doubled in the 8th, catcher Taylor Davis (2011 NDFA - Morehead State) reached base three times (two walks and a triple) and scored three runs, and supersub Gregori Gonzalez (who played RF today) smashed an RBI triple and then scored in the 2nd, reached base on an HBP and scored in the 6th, and blooped a bases-loaded RBI single into CF in the 7th. 

And speaking of Gregori Gonzalez, there is one very obvious mistake in the "official" box score from milb.com (see above link).

And that is that Gregori Gonzalez (not Eduardo Gonzalez) played RF and batted 9th today. 

Other than last their names both being "Gonzalez," there really isn't much similarity between them. Gregori bats & throws RH, and Eduardo bats & throws LH. And they actually wear different uniform numbers, too. 

But apparently as far as milb.com (and now posterity) is concerned, Eduardo Gonzalez went 2-3 with a triple, a single, an HBP, and a K, three runs scored, two RBI, an outfield assist, and a fielding error today, when actually it was Gregori Gonzalez doing all that.

Of course, it's not like this is the first time milb.com has screwed up a box score.

 

Tags
AZL Cubs
Gioskar Amaya
Marco Hernandez

Comments

Submitted by springs on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 07:51 pm

Thank you for the updates Phil -- your summaries and information truly give a better perspective on the Cubs team than any other source. Dong-Yub Kim appears to really have turned it around and gotten red hot. Has his approach changed from his earlier struggles? Also, he is stealing bases...does he actually have pretty good speed (hard to believe at 6'4 200 listed on MILB) or is it just bad catchers? Also, I hoped to get your thoughts on Brian Smith, today's starter for AZL Cubs. He has pretty good stats and is only 18, so I was wondering what type of pitcher he is and what pitches he relies on. Thank you for this and thank you again for the summaries and insight.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 07:58 pm

Submitted by springs on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 3:51pm. Thank you for the updates Phil -- your summaries and information truly give a better perspective on the Cubs team than any other source. Dong-Yub Kim appears to really have turned it around and gotten red hot. Has his approach changed from his earlier struggles? Also, he is stealing bases...does he actually have pretty good speed (hard to believe at 6'4 200 listed on MILB) or is it just bad catchers? Also, I hoped to get your thoughts on Brian Smith, today's starter for AZL Cubs. He has pretty good stats and is only 18, so I was wondering what type of pitcher he is and what pitches he relies on. Thank you for this and thank you again for the summaries and insight. ==================================== SPRINGS: Dong-Yub Kim runs OK for a big guy, and he is VERY aggressive on the bases. He is a good hitter with plus-power (hasn't shown up in games yet, though). His defense in LF needs a LOT of work. LHP Brian Smith (Cubs 2010 40th round draft pick - Canadian Junior National Team) labored today (3.0 IP - 57 pitches, including a 20-pitch 1st inning and a 21-pitch 2nd). He allowed two runs on five hits (although four of the five hits came with two outs), with two walks and a strikeout. He wasn't able to induce any ground balls, either. But Smith has some promise. He looks a LOT better now than he did at AZ Instructs last October, that's for sure. He throws a fastball in the upper 80's with a good breaking ball and a decent off-speed pitch. He's only 18, so he has plenty of time to grow and develop.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 07:10 pm

The Cubs have signed yet another Cuban defector, RHP Yoannis Negrin (listed erroneously as Yoanner Negrin in Baseball America). Negrin pitched for Matanzas in the Serie Nacional de Beisbol (the Cuban major leagues), and was a rotation starter prior to defecting with fellow Cub minor leaguer (and current Boise catcher) Yaniel Cabezas last year. The Cubs have now signed eight Cuban defectors (RHP Juan Yasser Serrano, OF Rubi Silva, C Yaniel Cabezas, INF Rafael Valdes, OF Mayke Reyes, OF Eliecer Bonne, LHP Frank del Valle, and now RHP Yoannis Negrin) since the start of the 2010 season.

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 07:33 pm

and the aram trade rumor turns again...for the 100th time... --- Third baseman Aramis Ramirez appeared to show a newfound willingness to leave the Cubs on Thursday, telling Chicago reporters, “If they come to me with a trade, we’ll see.” Ramirez’s comments, however, did not come out the way he intended, according to his agent, Paul Kinzer – and the player’s reluctance to waive his no-trade protection before Sunday’s non-waiver deadline remains unchanged. “He doesn’t want to go anywhere,” Kinzer told FOXSports.com after speaking with Ramirez on Thursday night. “It didn’t come out the way he meant it to.”

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 07:37 pm

Since being moved to the bullpen last month, RHP Hung Wen Chen has gone: 0.98 ERA 0.92 WHIP 18.1 IP, 16 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 28 K, 8/8 SV for Campeche (Mexican League) BTW, Chen is still property of the Cubs (he was loaned to Campeche), and cannot be a minor league FA until post-2013, so an NRI to Spring Training 2012 might not be out of the question.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 07:24 pm

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 07/28/2011 - 9:44pm. Would it be out of the question for the Cubs to "trade" one of their AAA pitchers for Chen now, and give him a shot (or maybe September), or is that a no-no? ================================= TRN: Last time the Cubs loaned a guy to a Mexican League club (RHP Oswaldo Martinez to Reynosa in 2009), he returned to the Cubs and was assigned to Daytona in August after the close of the Mexican League regular season. The Mexican League regular season ended today, but Los Piratas de Campeche did qualify for the MEX playoffs, so Chen will stay there until Campeche's season is over. Then he will be returned to the Cubs, and the Cubs can assign him wherever they want. Chen was a middle-reliever at AA Tennessee at the end of May, and was promised a starting job or closer role if he agreed to go to Campeche (which he did, and then that's what happened). So Chen might return to Tennessee once he returns to the U. S., or maybe after throwing like he did in the Mexican League, he could be assigned to Iowa, since Iowa really doesn't have a closer right now.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 07:50 pm

Submitted by The Real Neal on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 4:31pm. Thanks Phil. I see the Mexican league listed as AAA on milb.com, in your opinion is it closer to AA in difficulty? =============================================== REAL NEAL: Like Serie Nacional de Beisbol (Cuba), the Mexican League is actually an "Open Classification" league, meaning it has players from all different levels of the minor leagues playing together in the same league. So although it is rated a AAA league by Minor League Baseball, it really should not have a classification. But I guess if you average it out the Mexican League is probably at the AA level, except with a lot more older "dead end" AA & AAA players than you would find in the U. S. minor leagues, and with virtually zero MLB prospects.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 07:07 pm

Submitted by Eric S on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 4:21pm. I'm happy for AZ Phil that this year's squad of AZ Cubs have been playing pretty strong ball from the get-go. My recollection is that the AZ Cubs have not been competitive, and/or have had poor starts out of the gate, for a number of seasons. ====================================== ERIC S: The Cubs have had a team in the AZL for only 15 years, but this is probably the best AZL Cubs team since the 2002 squad (the best AZL Cubs team ever) that featured AZL MVP CF Felix Pie, C Geovany Soto, 1B Matt Creighton, LHP Justin Jones, and RHP Billy Petrick (with Carlos Marmol playing LF and Randy Wells a back-up catcher!). The 2008 team was the best offensive AZL Cubs team I've ever seen, with a lineup that typically went something like: 1. Tony Campana, CF (277/337/277 with 22/2 SB/CS) 2. Junior Lake, SS (285/335/417 with 6 3B and 12/2 SB/CS) 3. Starlin Castro, 2B (311/364/464 with 11 2B) 4. John Contreras, 3B (283/363/579 with 12 2B and 9 HR) 5. Nelson Perez, RF (305/341/656 with 10 3B and 9 HR) 5. Sean Hoorelbeke, 1B (388/479/713 with 9 2B) 7. Jericho Jones, LF (340/390/553) 8. Logan Watkins, DH (325/462/363) 9. Matt Cerda, C (263/341/338) Man, that team could sure score some runs! (LHP Jeffry Antigua was the best pitcher).

Submitted by rokfish on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 07:35 am

So what are the odds that Cashner still has soreness and ends up needing surgery because rest did not work. I would not be surprised this would be perfect Cubs. If all he needs is rest why the hell bring him back this year?

Submitted by The Real Neal on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 07:14 am

Jackson and Vitters homered last night, and Ruskin pitched well for Iowa. One guy I sort of liked coming out of the draft a couple years ago was Greg Rohan. He's old, and hasn't moved up nearly as quickly as you'd like a college senior to, never having displayed the HR power he did in college that he'll need to advance... but his OPS has gone up in each of his years in the organization, and, since his latest promotion, counting last night's HR he has 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 3 walks against 1 strikeout for Daytona. They're also playing him at third (drafted as first basemen, played some LF as well).

Submitted by The Real Neal on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 07:18 am

Peter Gammons says that the Pirates offered to pick up all of Ramirez's salary, the Braves were hot and heavy for Marlon Byrd and that the Indians and Red Sox both liked Baker, but Hendry wasn't interested in letting any of those building blocks go. I wouldn't have minded if he got an arm from Atlanta for Byrd then flipped him to the Astros for Bourne.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 07:22 am

"Li'l Abner" Abreu played left field and went one for four last night with Daytona, including an outfield assist at second base. In other games, Jackson and Vitters homered and had three hits each.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 07:22 pm

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 07/30/2011 - 8:16pm. there goes one of only a few teams who could use a 1st baseman...too bad ARZ isn't an AL team that can carry a DH...they'll probably try to slide through with what they have at 1st. ============================================ CRUNCH: I think the D'backs would probably have an interest in Carlos Pena, if the Cubs would take somebody like Brandon Allen back and pay some of Pena's remaining salary. Except the Cubs apparently don't want to trade him. Reed Johnson would be a good fit for the Diamondbacks, too. Perhaps it's just a matter of the Cubs trying to pump-up demand for Pena, and then they'll trade him in August, like they did with Derrek Lee last year.

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Submitted by springs on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:14 am

Hendry is good as a buyer, terrible as a seller. In fact, he is bad at letting players leave the team...either he keeps players who shouldn't be retained or loses them without compensation. Not trading Pena is a good example. Unless we offer him arbitration for next year, we will lose him for nothing. And if we are going to try for Pujols/Fielder, we likely will not offer him arbitration (particularly because it is uncertain how many teams will be bidding for him if they have to give up a draft pick in the acquisition, so the offer of arbitration may be accepted). So we rent Pena for a year, still end up a terrible team (though not in anyway because of Pena), and lose him for nothing. When Hendry is buying, he will gladly overpay, if necessary, to strengthen the team. But when he is selling, he is often unable to either pull the deal when he should or receive players that will have value to the major league team in return.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:30 am

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 12:15pm. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/elias-rankings/ the latest update shows Pena not being worth any compensation at the moment somehow Marlon Byrd is a Type A and Fukudome would be a Type B. ==================================== ROB G: Marlon Byrd is signed through the 2012 season, so being rated a Type "A" right now by Elias is interesting, but irrelevant. And Kosuke Fukudome will have accrued only four years (4+000) of MLB Service Time through the 2011 season, so he is NOT eligible to be an Article XX-B MLB free-agent post-2011, either. A club can receive compensation for losing a player only if the player is a free-agent by virtue of CBA Article XX-B (player has at least six years of MLB Service Time, player does not have a contract for the following season, and player's former club offers the player salary arbitration on 11/23). However... Even though he does not have the right to be an MLB Artcle XX-B FA post-2011, Kosuke does have the right (in his contract) to receive his Outright Release if he has not signed a contract extension by 11-15-2011, so that's how he can (and surely will) be a free-agent. Otherwise he would be eligible for salary arbitration, and since the very least he would get in 2012 through arbitration would be $10.8M (that's the max 20% cut from his $13.5M 2011 salary), he would almost certainly be non-tendered on 12/2 even if he did not receive his Outright Release in November.

Submitted by Tony S. on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:09 am

The only Cubbish-Hendryist thought I can get my head around about Pena is what he adds "to the clubhouse". Which, then, is the same thing to say about RJohnson, with his scrappiness and all. What I can't for the life of me figure out is who, if anybody, should come back next year. This team (money aside, although that just makes it worse) has the SECOND-F***ING-WORST record in ALL THE MAJOR LEAGUES. The time to end your association with the people responsible is long past overdue. I'm honestly sick and tired of hearing about players not playing 'the way they should'. What they, the reporters, JH, whoever mean, is that they don't play 'the way they ARE PAID'. So stop f***ing paying them. I think it was Lou (God help us) who said it but it's still true, something to the effect of "every team wins 60 and loses 60, and it's what you do with the other 40 games blah blah drool". So if that's roughly the case, and that's what the dear Cubs are going to do anyway, save the money and call up Iowa. No, no, I mean the whole team. Some AL team 'on the cusp' (I'm looking at you, MacPhailure) will trade 1 (one) bag of balls for Soriano, if the Cubs pay 1/2 (one-half) his remaining salary. Does that suck? Yes. But you wouldn't have to look at him every f***ing day making a mockery of the fact that he makes more than the GNP of some small countries for playing half assed baseball to the level which I REFUSE to believe a hungry 18-22 y/o couldn't match. And that is but one example. The fact that the only thing the Cubs have managed this close to the trade deadline is paying Fukudome to piss off Cleveland fans for the rest of the year is atrocious. I have been a pretty staunch Hendry apologist (except the whole Milton Bradley thing) for quite awhile, but we've moved to f***ing ludicrous speed. Fire the whole damn lot of 'em and start over, and start with Hendry if you have to. Find a housewife who's run at least one yard sale in her life and make her the interim GM until spring. FIRE. SALE. NOW.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:31 am

so there was a deal for Rich Harden to Red Sox for Lars Anderson and then deal fell through after medicals. best tweet I've seen on it... Trying to figure out what could be in Harden's medicals that could scare a team off at the last minute. Best guess: Rich Harden is dead. @cwyers

Submitted by Paul Noce on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:16 pm

Verlander with a no-no going in the 8th, Angels doing some shady crap. Weaver went berserk when Maggs hr'd in the 7th, then yelled at him running the bases, then threw at the head of the next batter and got ejected. Angels came out and bunted to start the 8th and Verlander threw it away for an error. Announcers criticizing the Angels. Game is on MLB Network if anyone is around.

Submitted by rokfish on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:37 pm

Cant wait to see how bad Cubs look tonite on espn at least they will be able to put out the same lineup that has 42 wins so far. Also interested to see if someone throws at a Cardinal tonite maybe Dumpster watched Jarred Weaver today.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:52 pm

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0801-cubs-bit… Pena happy he wasn't traded because winning is for idiots...
"I'd rather have someone really working toward our common goal, instead of (trading players) just for show," he said. "Our GM is not like that. He's not trying to 'look' like he's working. He's working. It's totally different than (thinking) 'I can fool the world by switching a couple pieces here,' and it really looks like he's making moves, making changes. When in reality it's just all for show.
"He's not like that. He's doing something that's going to mean something at the end of it all, something substantial, and we're going to reap the benefits. I'd rather have that. We put all our heads together, all our energy together, and personally, I'm excited about the possibility of me being part of that team. Even with our record at this point, with our difficulties, I can say the same thing. I'm excited about what's coming."

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:55 pm

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0801-cubs-bit… "The days are gone when (a deal) has to be done by the deadline," Hendry said. "Everybody gets all (upset), 'If you didn't do something by 3 o'clock today, this is a disaster.' I don't put much stock into that. The guys we kept, for the most part, are guys that still have a chance to be involved next year. And if we do make a trade or two in August, that's no more or less significant than if we made them today." ~snip~ Whether fans accept the explanation is inconsequential. The only one Hendry has to answer to is his boss, Chairman Tom Ricketts. Carlos Pena and Marlon Byrd drew some interest, but Pena may be in their plans for 2012, and Byrd is signed through next year at $6 million. Sources said there was no interest in struggling reliever John Grabow, while the player who would've commanded the most attention, third baseman Aramis Ramirez, decided to exercise his rights to not be traded. A rumor that the Cubs spoke to Texas about Carlos Marmol proved to be false, as were rumors that anyone was interested in Carlos Zambrano. There was no pressure on Hendry to shed payroll, or to make changes simply to pacify the angry mob of Cubs fans. of course Pena could still be in their plans for 2012 even if they did trade him, but don't let that get in the way.

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Submitted by Jumbo on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:41 am

I do understand keeping a player because we don't have his in house replacement. You could easily Argue that Brett Jackson needs to start next year in the minors, and that is a good enough reason to keep Byrd. While this is no defense for keeping Pena and Reed Johnson, I wondered about needing spots on the 40 man roster. AZPhil's handy page shows that we'll open up spots from Grabow, Rodrigo Lopez, Ramon Ortiz and, if they don't return, Pena, Reed Johnson, Ramirez and Wood. I'm assuming that Dempster will be back. There are a number of players up for the 40 man that we will need to protect: Vitters Szczur Dae_Eun Rhee Nelson Perez Junior Lake Jay Jackson Marwin Gonzalez Ryan Flaherty Steve Clevenger Hung-Wen Chen Jeffrey Beliveau Jeffry Antigua There are a few others that are borderline to add or not to add, but the list above is 12. We could stand to release a number of players currently on the 40 man: Berg Caridad Schlitter Smit? Koyie Hill Montanez That's 6 spots, in addition to: Grabow R Lopez R Ortiz For 9 total new spots. Cashner is on the 60 day DL, so that leaves 8 spots assuming the return of: Dempster Ramirez Pena/FA Wood Reed Johnson Maybe Wood won't come back, and maybe Reed is let go, but I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them back next year. It would be pretty easy to pick at least a few names off the 40 man from the list of prospects.

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Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 08:07 am

I'm not saying the kid isn't a prospect. I'm saying he isn't anywhere good enough at this point for someone to roster him for a year to keep him. He isn't that highly thought of a prospect for someone to try that. He didn't hit well enough in Low A Ball for someone to stash him. I suspect a real organization wouldn't be trying to push him so hard. If the Cubs didn't give him that ridiculous contract and want the PR push. I doubt they would even consider it? Felix Pie ran out of options before he was ever useful to the Cubs. You want Szczur to be out of options before he even gets to AAA?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 08:50 pm

Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 08/03/2011 - 9:53am. I'm sure AZ Phil could clarify this, but I think Szczur gets an extra option year or something since this would be his first full year. I don't really know how that works. How long would Szczur have to be left in the minors to burn through all his options anyway? He'd be kinda old by that point. ============================================== CHARLIE: If the Cubs add Matt Szczur to their 40-man roster post-2011, he will get four minor leaue option years, as long as the 4th option is used prior to completing five "full seasons" (which means he would have to use the 4th option year prior to the 2016 season). A player accrues a "full season" when he spends at least 90 days on an MLB or full-season minor league team's Active List (time spent with Boise, AZL Cubs, and DSL Cubs doesn't count), or at least 60 days on an MLB or full-season minor league team's Active List prior to getting placed on the Disabled List, followed by time spent on the Disabled List where the total number of days accrued is at least 90. Because 2011 is the first season where Szczur will accrue a "full season," he cannot accrue five "full seasons" until the end of the 2015 season at the earliest (or it could be even later than that if he misses most or all of a future season due to injury). BTW, D. J. LeMahieu and Rafael Dolis also will get four minor league options during the course of their careers (LeMahieu used one this year but will have three left as of next season, and Dolis has used two but will still have two left as of next season), because each had completed only one "full season" (as defined by MLB) prior to being placed on an MLB 40-man roster. Jeff Samardzija also used four minor league options (2007-10) prior to running out of options this season, because he was placed on the Cubs 40-man roster before he even completed one "full season." Actually, ALL players get four minor league options, but a player can't use the 4th one if he has completed five "full seasons" prior to getting a chance to use it.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 07:57 pm

and finally Wrongway http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-110731-rogers-cu… It was unrealistic to think the Cubs could unload Carlos Zambrano or Alfonso Soriano, but they said thanks but no thanks when contenders inquired about Carlos Pena, Marlon Byrd and even Jeff Baker, and it appears Hendry never considered moving the players with the most value, like Matt Garza, Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol. Rival executives are puzzled why Hendry did nothing other than open up a spot for Tyler Colvin. He takes responsibility for the stand-pat plan, but you wonder if this is a case of him being a good soldier for his bosses, Tom Ricketts and Crane Kenney. Their priority seems to be on attendance, not the won-loss record.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:26 am

The real problem is that Hendry just doesn't seem to think the whole team needs to be blown apart. I guess that would be tantamount to saying that he himself has been utterly worthless over the last couple years. Both Marmol and Marshall are due for major injuries -- they're pitchers, after all, so trading them when their value is still high is an obvious temptation, you would think. Who knows, maybe what was offered was crap, though. I'm so tuned out of this team right now -- I see no hope on the horizon unless Ricketts does what any owner would do when watching bad management ruin the business.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:02 am

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/6072 if anyone thought LaHair or Matt Spencer were being considered for anything The way Hendry put it, the rate of return the Cubs would get on a player like Carlos Pena wasn’t enough to make a trade attractive and that Pena is a possibility for next year. “There’s not somebody waiting to take his place for next year in-house like Tyler is hopeful to do that in the outfield in moving Fuke,” Hendry said. You have to look at it that way, too. “The other factor, if you get a second-tier or two prospect back and you already have people better than that in your own system, then you really haven’t done anything to help the organization, and then you’re also put in the spot where if you add minor-league players today, that means somebody’s going to be sent backwards in our system or eliminated. That’s just the way I looked at it.”

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:18 am

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/5748/cubs-show-pena-stil… The Pittsburgh Pirates were the main player in trade talks for Pena. But it appeared Hendry and his staff made a decision that they will hold on to Pena for a couple of reasons. If Albert Pujols stays in St. Louis and Prince Fielder signs elsewhere, Pena would be coveted as the next-best first baseman on the free-agent market. The Cubs would be hard-pressed to bring in someone with Pena's ability and intangibles. I so confused as to why anyone with the Cubs thinks that not trading Pena (whose agent is Boras) makes it any easier to retain Pena for next year.

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Submitted by MikeC on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:33 am

I really have zero interest in Pena or Ramirez next year on this team. I want talent back in the minors. But that is the catch 22, i firmly believe the scouts, the evaluation process, the development people are some of the worst in all of baseball. I wouldn't trust them to select or get any good talent in a trade. And if anyone was remotely worth a damn in the minors we would move quickly to purge Marlon Byrd, Pena, and Ramirez, but no one is even remotely close. So whats a GM to do? With no help from the minors Hendry's only logical step is to stand pat. It is further reinforced by the fact that the one player who the Cubs might want to play more was Tyler Colvin and the only player we moved was Fukudome to get him more playing time. That was the best the Cubs could do to improve their hopes for next year to give playing time to guy with a hole in his swing larger than the hole in the titanic. So yeah i get why Hendry did what he did. Pena is better, Byrd is better, Colvin is better than anything we got in the minors. Been a fan since 1989 and the Cubs have never officially done a rebuilding phase where they purge the roster and restock the minors. Still waiting for that day, and I thought that is what Ricketts wanted. Apparently we are still business first, baseball 2nd on the priority list.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:10 am

"Apparently we are still business first, baseball 2nd on the priority list" Ricketts may be in for a little surprise from the business side next year when he starts trying to sell season tickets. Traditionally, you haven't needed a good Cubs team to fill the seats, but the days of WGN Superstation saturating the nation with Cubs games with little competition are over. I wouldn't be surprised if 8 and 9 year old kids, the kind of age I was when I became a Cubs fan, are becoming White Sox fans in Chicago right now, and the days of creating Cubs fans in other parts of the country are over. Ricketts bought this team in a heavily leveraged way, much in the way Zell bought the Tribune. I realize all teams get debt financing, but this team, if I remember right, was about half financed by three big banks and another big chunk by institutional investors, presumably to help shore up Wrigley. Rickett's margin for error is pretty small. If he doesn't field a winning team, soon, he's going to be looking at some serious financial issues because even Cubs fans, I think, are reaching their limit. If the same core team shows up next year, you would hope that fans will tune out, much like I have this year. If 2 million fans trot through the gates next year again with the same bunch of buffoons, then I guess we Cubs fans get what we deserve.

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Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:26 am

Mike C: Rebuild. O & B: Field a winning team soon. Well- Which is it? :) I'm okay with Pena returning, I think he's a fine 1B and gives good LH power (though I agree with MikeC on Ramirez... if they want an overpaid, free-swinging RH power hitter with no plate discipline, they already have Soriano locked up a few more years). Here's the Ryno plan: To replace Ramirez, I would be more interested in a boring defensive-3b. I would also find a real big-league SS and move Castro to 2B or maybe Castro to 3B... the point is, the team needs to improve DRASTICALLY and MASSIVELY on the defense side. This should be the number one priority. Once they do all that, they can find about three starting pitchers worth a damn to create some semblance of a big league pitching rotation and move Cashner, Wells, and Coleman to the minors to pitch and only call them up if someone gets hurt. This is how you create pitching depth and eliminate mid-year injury excuse-making.

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Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:58 am

If there was ever a team that could withstand the pain of a rebuilding process while still keeping attendance relatively high, it's the Cubs. If Ricketts/Hendry took the team down to a $75 million payroll (with the promise that it's only temporary), attendance would certainly drop, but the Cubs are in the unique position of drawing tourists to Wrigley, in addition to actual fans. Folks who come from all over the Midwest to Chicago for vacation in the summer will keep Wrigley on their itinerary, regardless of their record. Here's how the numbers break down (please excuse the fact that this doesn't take into consideration revenue from TV/Radio, but those probably wouldn't be lower than this year's anyway). If you look at the Cubs' average ticket price ($46.90) + avg concessions (~$20?) x attendance (roughly 3mil) - payroll ($126m) you get gross profit of $74mil. To keep the same gross profit on a $65mil payroll, attendance could drop all the way to 2.1mil fans. Since that's unrealistic, maybe give them an $85mil payroll, and attendance could drop to 2.4mil and still keep the same gross profit. The last time attendance at Wrigley was that low was 1997. Alternatively, they could drop avg ticket prices down to $37/ticket, draw 2.8mil fans, and still keep the same profit on an $85mil payroll. As long as we're going to suffer through 70-win seasons, we might as well at least think mgmt is planning for the future.

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Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:08 pm

You're missing a whole bunch of costs in your numbers, break down, fwiw. I am not sure if those extra costs are balanced by the missing broadcast revenues. As long as we're going to suffer through 70-win seasons, we might as well at least think mgmt is planning for the future. That's the rub, though isn't it? The only possible explanation I can come up with is that he hopes the team goes on a pretty good hot streak from here on out to trick Ricketteses into thinking they had the potential to win, if not for some bad breaks... unfortunately the really bad break the Cubs had this year, was their GM. I'll have to sit down and think about it, but I wonder if there really is a way to have this team a legitimate playoff contender for 2012, other than with a $150 million payroll.

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Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:18 pm

Well yeah, there are tons of costs that aren't included, but I have a feeling broadcast revenues are going to be low next year whether it's Aramis Ramirez Carlos Pena leading the charge to 70 wins or some AAA scrubs. Jim Hendry is a good example of moral hazard in action. His job is to have the club's best interests in mind, but he's running the system with his own short-term interests in mind. I think the only person who doesn't realize this is Tom Ricketts. There's no silver bullet to make us a contender in 2012, so anything short of completely restocking the farm system just puts us further away from contention.

Submitted by MikeC on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:37 am

Some mind numbing qoutes there rob. Getting some 2nd tier prospects back would be great because it might shed some dead wood of talent we currently have. Our AAA roster has about 10 people that can easily be replaced. The budget is bloated the farm system is junk the team isnt going to get better its time to sell and restock. But apparently with the 2nd worst record in baseball we still are not shitty enough to be sellers.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:53 am

if this makes anyone feel better... sorting by wRC+ (similar to OPS+ where 100 is average), White Sox have 4 guys in the majors among the worst 21... Rios (44), Dunn(66), Pierre(77), Beckham(81) yet somehow they're only the 4th worse offense in the AL. Barney is the worst Cub at 85

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Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:21 pm

It's not really 0 cents on the dollar, though, since there is going to be some marginal revenue associated with a slightly better team. Maybe in Pena's case it helps take fielding pressure off of Castro and Barney and they develop into better players because of his presence. Maybe he helps Colvin learn to be a high walk, low contact slugger...maybe they feel like keeping him around gives them a better chance to sign him for less money next year, or maybe he really is headed towards being a type B free agent (assuming they're not properly weighing 2011 season stats in those Alias projections). As I argued after the Fukudome trade, there's little to no reason to suspect Hendry could have gotten something useful back for Pena, so that part doesn't bother me so much. What bothers me is that the GM and apparently the owner think that the team is a tweak or two away from contention in 2012. It's detachment from reality that not trading him exhibits, moreso than a sketchy grasp of sunk costs.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:53 pm

does anyone think c.pena (who even quade won't let face lefties most of the time, and is owed 6-7m) is going to bring anything more worthy than a courtesy golf clap? even if the cubs suck up all the loot you're still dealing with a guy who's "2011 rebound" didn't come with a return to power surge. yeah, it's better than doing nothing, but even mid-level curiosity talent coming in has to bump someone else out of a chance. the biggest punch to the gut this trading deadline seems to be the 2 guys who refused to go...aram and wood. that said, i wouldn't be surprised to see him traded later, but i still wouldn't expect much.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 08/01/2011 - 08:19 pm

"Japanese righty Hisashi Iwakuma has hired a new agent and plans to sign with a MLB team this offseason." snap. take that oakland. so now the 2011/2012 FA starter market is c.wilson, h.iwakuma, m.buehrle, and a 38 year old h.kurdoa followed by a slew of meh and ew. ...technically cc sab can opt out of his contract, but it's already huge and bloated...plus he has a damn big house in NY.

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