Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

Last updated 10-2-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 22
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Brad Boxberger
Ben Brown
Jose Cuas
Tyler Duffey 
Jeremiah Estrada
Shane Greene
Kyle Hendricks
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
Michael Rucker
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 8
# Jeimer Candelario
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Matt Mervis
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom
* Jared Young

OUTFIELDERS: 8
Kevin Alcantara
* Cody Bellinger
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
Brennen Davis
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

60-DAY IL: 6
Nick Burdi, P
Michael Fulmer, P 
Codi Heuer, P
* Brandon Hughes, P
Nick Madrigal, INF
Ethan Roberts, P
 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Hey Yankees: Carlos Zambrano is the new Cliff Lee

Submitted by CubbyBlue on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 12:13 am

So anyway uh... yeah. 
Carlos Zambrano will definitely win 27 games in 2011. 
I'm pretty sure he's... I mean I am positive that the whole anger thing? 
Totally fixed.
Carlos Zambrano - you saw his last starts last year - the good ones, correct?
Well, there you go.
That's the REAL Carlos.
All that bad stuff that happened in his past is... well just forget about that and only remember the good stuff.

Sound good, Yankee GM Brian Cashman?

Because we know how much you must be squirming when the NY DAILY NEWS had a photo of Cliff Lee throwing a pitch and the headline reads: SCREW BALL. LEE GIVES YANKS THE SHAFT, HEADS TO PHILLIES FOR $50 MIL LESS.

 

Dude.
You got hosed.
That son of a BITCH Cliff Lee went behind your back and took a job with the Phillies?
OUCH. E. WAWA.
Somebody in your organization even said something like, "He left 50 mil on the table? He must REALLY not want to be a Yankee. Glad we found out now." 

And now... Boston is SO gonna take the AL East.

Unless...

Yes that's right: unless you decide to get the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano.

I would suggest you just take on his contract and write the Cubs a check for the 50 mil you just SAVED by not signing that son of a bitch Cliff Lee. And maybe a couple prospects or something.

You can always depend on Sergio MItre, I guess, but...

You know Carlos is gonna win 27 games next year.

A winking goat told me.

 

Comments

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Submitted by Charlie on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 12:39 pm

Let's ignore for the moment that Theriot raised his batting average significantly in 2005, after returning to hitting exclusively from the right side. Barney's overall minor league numbers take the edge over Theriot's in terms of slugging percentage, most of which seems to come from having 10 homeruns in 1546 ABs to Theriot's 5 in 2048. Barney's doubles rate seems also to be a bit higher, 82 to Theriot's 88 (in about 500 more ABs). So, clearly, Barney has shown a bit more power than Theriot did in the minors. But neither one of them showed much power in the minors (and Theriot continued to show very little power, mostly aiming to slap that ball through the hole on the right side or over the second baseman). Theriot has a clear edge in patience and plate discipline however. Theriot walked almost as much as he struck in the minors. His totals are 260 BB to 264 Ks. That's a trend he continued in the majors until 2009, (when he also set a career high in homeruns in a season with 7) when he walked 51 times and struck out 93 (!!!) times. The year before that, however, his best offensive year, he walked 73 times and struck out only 58, walking 15 more times than he K'd (and, more importantly, walking a lot while also hitting for a .307 average, which resulted in a valuable .387 OBP). Barney, on the other hand, has walked significantly less often than Theriot did in the minors (before or after the switch hitting mistake), and K's at about the same rate. His minor league totals are 112 BBs to 197 Ks, which is not so great for a guy who has only 10 homeruns (and only 33 total stolen bases, to 10 CS). Barney is now 24. Theriot posted his best minor league numbers in his age 25 and 26 seasons, including batting averages of .304 and .304 at West Tennessee and Iowa, OBPs of .365 and .367, and SLG of .391 and .379. If Barney can improve in his age 25 and 26 seasons the way Theriot did, he could become an equally or perhaps even more valuable role player than Theriot--Barney seems to be the better fielder. But there's no guarantee that Barney will improve the same way Theriot did. The BB/K ratio of Barney may also indicate a more difficult transition from minor league to major league pitching for Barney than for Theriot. Barney has defense to fall back on, which could make him an acceptable backup/bench player even if he can't do better than, say, a .260 or .270 average.

Submitted by QuietMan on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 12:49 pm

Would new Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild be in favor of bringing in Zambrano? I don't know anything about their relationship. But Brian Cashman would definately ask Rothschild. What would he say? (Ignoring the fact Zambrano has his NTC.)

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 12:03 pm

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 3:34pm. not sure that's the right question... getting a player and agent to take deferred money isn't easy and the cost is the same to both teams this year. Yeah, the Cubs paid more overall, but Pena had some suitors that I don't think Overbay did, including a multi-year deal from O's. Also sounded like he wanted to test market next year so took a little less overall money for a higher one year deal with deferred money. 2/14 was bandied about and O's were tossing cash around and still are (see Gregg, Kevin). ========================================= ROB G: That's true. And no GM in baseball gets along with Scott Boras better than Jim Hendry. They are buddies.

Submitted by John Beasley on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:12 am

Looking forward to hearing about all the TCR rabble-rousers inform ESPN that their report, "Rich Harden could find a new lease on life as a reliever," is inaccurate, because Harden is completely incapable to pitching out of the bullpen. Go ahead, you know you want to.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:00 pm

I think it's the usual incestuous rumor-mongering. The Trib's "Breaking Sports" column puts words in the mouth of the New York News without actually quoting them: "[Cashman will] still be exploring the trade market with the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, who experienced a turnaround both in temperament and results under new Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild the last six weeks of last season, a likely target." Here's what actually appeared in the New York News:
They could opt to go after Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals or Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs, though the Yankees' history of bringing National League pitchers to the AL hasn't been good.
Bruce Levine has an idea; an item in the NY News repeats the idea; the Trib turns that into "Z a likely target."

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:32 pm

- Werth offered 4/64 from Phils with possibly a 5th year, Nats practically doubled it (tough negotiating there by Nats). - Rich Harden to A's for $1.5M/incentives and as a reliever - F. Carmona a desired commodity according to Morosi (Yanks, Rangers and the usual suspects). - seems like this was already announced, but 7 NRI's for Cubs so far: infielders Bryan LaHair, Bobby Scales and Scott Moore, outfielders Brad Snyder and Jim Adduci, right-handed pitcher Angel Guzman and left-handed pitcher Scott Rice.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:36 pm

He plays three positions (or at least volunteers for them), so there are a lot of slots the "development department" would have to fill to force Scales off the Iowa roster. Scales is a pretty good AAA hitter. (He should be at 32.) He hit a little better than Barney and much better than Camp last year. Gonzalez, LeMahieu, Thomas and Vitters ended the season on Tennessee's roster and could move up to Iowa at some point this season, which might finally "free Bobby Scales." edit: I should have said two positions, 2nd and 3rd, last season. He did play a little outfield the year before. But I was thinking SS when I said three. He really never had the glove for SS.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:47 pm

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 1:24pm. He plays three positions (or at least volunteers for them), so there are a lot of slots the "development department" would have to fill to force Scales off the Iowa roster. Scales is a pretty good AAA hitter. (He should be at 32.) He hit a little better than Barney and much better than Camp last year. Gonzalez, LeMahieu, Thomas and Vitters ended the season on Tennessee's roster and could move up to Iowa at some point this season, which might finally "free Bobby Scales." ====================================================== VA PHIL: I think that Bobby Scales is a likely candidate to replace Mark Johnson as the "player-coach" at Iowa in 2011 (gets placed on the DL with some vague injury, and then gets activated whenever another player goes on the 7-day DL). If that happens, he'll be at Iowa for the entire 2011 season no matter who comes & goes. That said, I would say (as of right now, very much subject to change, with Justin Berg & James Russell the most likely 6-7 guys in the pen until the Cubs sign a FA RHRP and SP), the Cubs Opening Day minor league rosters will be: IOWA PITCHERS: David Cales Esmailin Caridad Chris Carpenter Hung-Wen Chen Casey Coleman Thomas Diamond John Gaub Jay Jackson Scott Maine Marcos Mateo Brian Schlitter Jeff Stevens CATCHERS: Welington Castillo Robinson Chirinos INFIELDERS: Matt Camp Bryan Lahair Scott Moore Nate Samson Bobby Scales (player-coach) Marquez Smith Tony Thomas OUTFIELDERS: James Adduci Brandon Guyer Brad Snyder Ty Wright TENNESSEE PITCHERS: Chris Archer Jeffrey Beliveau Ryan Buchter Alberto Cabrera Rafael Dolis Ty'Relle Harris Trey McNutt Brooks Raley Chris Rusin Aaron Shafer Kyle Smit Luke Sommer CATCHERS: Steve Clevenger Chris Robinson INFIELDERS: Marwin Gonzalez Junior Lake D. J. Lemahieu Blake Lalli Rebel Ridling Josh Vitters OUTFIELDERS: Tony Campana Ryan Flaherty Brett Jackson Matt Spencer DAYTONA PITCHERS: Jeffry Antigua Yohan Gonzalez Su-Min Jung Aaron Kurcz James Leverton Robinson Lopez Jeff Lorick Oswaldo Martinez Dae-Eun Rhee Ryan Searle Nick Struck Brett Wallach Robert Whitenack CATCHERS: Michael Brenly Luis Flores INFIELDERS: Justin Bour Matt Cerda Hak-Ju Lee David Macias Jonathan Mota Logan Watkins OUTFIELDERS: Kyler Burke Evan Crawford Jae-Hoon Ha Nelson Perez PEORIA PITCHERS: Frank Batista Dallas Beeler Brent Ebinger Cam Greathouse Jin-Yeong Kim Austin Kirk Matt Loosen Marcos Perez Austin Reed Kevin Rhoderick Juan Yasser Serrano Larry Suarez Ben Wells CATCHERS: Micah Gibbs Chad Noble INFIELDERS: Arismendy Alcantara Ryan Cuneo Richard Jones Pierre LePage Brandon May Elliot Soto OUTIELDERS: Reggie Golden D. J. Fitzgerald Jesus Morelli Matt Szczur EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING PITCHERS: Hunter Ackerman Justin Bristow Dustin Fitzgerald Angel Guzman Cody Hams Casey Harman Ryan Hartman Alvido Jumenez Eric Jokisch Luis Liria Hector Mayora John Mincone Jon Nagel Amaury Paulino Starling Peralta Eric Rice Colin Richardson Jhon Rodriguez Melvin Rosa Jose Rosario Bryce Shafer Hayden Simpson Brian Smith Alvaro Sosa Charles Thomas Tzu-An Wang Yao-Lin Wang CATCHERS: Sergio Burruel Max Kwan Engel Santana Carlos Romero Jeff Vigurs INFIELDERS: Gioskar Amaya Vismeldy Bieneme Willson Contreras Pin-Chieh Chen Dustin Geiger Wes Darvill Albert Hernandez Marco Hernandez Jake McAloose OUTFIELDERS: Delbis Arcila Xavier Batista Anthony Giansanti Dong-Yub Kim Kyung-Min Na Cody Shields Oliver Zapata NO ROOM AT THE INN AT THIS TIME PITCHERS: Austin-Bibens-Dirkx Rogelio Carmona Marco Carrillo Manolin DeLeon Eduardo Figueroa Steve Grife Gian Guzman Marcus Hatley Dylan Johnston Danny Keefe Alessandro Maestri Corey Martin J. R. Mathes Tarlandus Mitchell Craig Muschko Jake Muyco Jeremy Papelbon Blake Parker Mike Parisi David Patton Mike Perconte Andres Quezada Scott Rice Carlos Rojas Chris Siegfried Joe Zeller CATCHERS: Jose Guevara INFIELDERS: Melvin Camarena Jake Opitz Greg Rohan OUTFIELDERS: Smaily Borges Chris Huseby Alvaro Ramirez Blair Springfield Jose Valdez

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:34 pm

Brian Dopirak signs with Astros Hank White to sign with D'Backs

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:35 pm

pretending you have the power to make federal law has sunk the state's economy while "persuading" 100K+ people in the tax base to leave the state. their real estate values held relatively "sane" until 2009 when there was a sudden mega-surplus of housing because of exodus. they ruined their tax base in order to scare people and get elected while they spend money defending laws which don't hold water. good for them. i wish i could find work in Tucson because you can find a house in any part of the city for a deal over the past year. Pheonix's housing market is a huge disaster and has lost literally half it's value in 2 years. ...all this for fear. i guess money, home values, and incoming tax base loot isn't all it's cracked up to be vs. getting elected to an office to serve people.

[ ]

Submitted by MikeC on Thu, 12/16/2010 - 12:48 am

Fear? Its simply the law of the land. Look it up. And while your worrying about a housing market that was built on giving houses to people who couldn't afford it (illegals) hospitals were closing, services were deteriorating for the legal residents of the state. Lets not forget i grew up in a border town in Az....the legal Mexican residents who followed the law can't fucking stand all the illegals. It's called coming back to reality. A housing market built on the backs of people who never were gonna repay the loans was never a market to begin with. It was a freebie giveway where the people who sacrificed to make their bills were screwed over by all the free loaders.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:39 pm

as a total aside... i'm kinda pissed AZ is in the economic state it's in. i love the state. it's beautiful. the work availability and the pay are both dropping like a rock even while people are moving out, though...it's just not stabilizing. i'm currently looking work in other western states as a result. there's just not much there in my field except in the yuma, az area...and that's just a bit too brutal weather-wise for me.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:02 pm

Does anyone else find it odd that we've seen so many 20+ Million per year deals this offseason? Arod,Manny,Sabathia and Tex were the only guys I can think of who had them previously. Are guys like Lee,Werth and Crawford really in that same league?

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:36 pm

The guy does things other than hit homeruns to help his team win. For his career he has a WAR of 34.5. For the last two season 12.6 (and he's 29). Statisically the top two comparisons to him are in something called "The Hall of Fame", have you ever heard of it? Werth has career WAR of 22.2, 9.9 over the last two season and oh yeah, he's two years older than Crawford. Sorry, but by any reasonably balanced evaluation Crawford is a better player now, and will be a better player six years from now. Unless you think it's better to be an older lesser player? You've got a fascination with players in their 30's with old man skills. Those are the very worst players to offer long-term deals to.

[ ]

Submitted by Tony S. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:25 pm

Not sure where all the Crawford basing has come from...? Yes, he's getting older. Yes, he's not quite the same guy he was 2-3 years ago, and got paid probably more on reputation than possible future production (who doesn't anymore, at least on the North Side). Yes, speed doesn't tend to age well unless your initials rhyme with "Rickey Henderson". But he's still a pretty fucking good baseball player, and would be serviceable/better in CF (not stuck in LF, per se) and was arguably the best FA OF on the market this year. Did Boston overpay? Yes. They did it to fuck with the Yankees as much as anything else, which is usually half the reason Boston does shit. Standard. But it's not that ridiculous. Personally, I think Washington overpaid much more, because they had to because they're fucking Washington, but hell, I could be way wrong in that just because Werth doesn't have as long a track record, maybe he's going to last longer. But it's been talked about since last year (just like they're already starting on Pujols and Prince this year) that Crawford was going to get paid this year. It is what it is.

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Submitted by Tony S. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:32 pm

The flip side to Berkman's arguments is that without that management, there'd be no $100m paydays. He should remember that the next time he looks at his bank statement. Further-fucking-more, the game is bigger than Lance Berkman. Sorry to fucking inform him. If the fans weren't leaving or bitching, then shut up and perform, monkey. If you don't like it, retire; the minors, independent leagues and colleges are chock full of people waiting to take your place. I don't begrudge athletes making millions; the fans and tv subscribers pay it, they definitely deserve their cut. What I can't stand is them whining about how the process is administered. Fuck 'em.

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:51 pm

I had high hopes for Grossman when I first saw him. But he couldn't play out of the pocket at all, or seem to find secondary receivers, or hold on to snaps. LOL. I enjoyed McMahon, but he wasn't an elite QB by any means. Cutler has his faults, but they're exaggerated by a line that can't block a good freshman high school football team. I don't think he's really very good at play action, either, and that seems like something that could be taught. That said, give him a supporting cast, including some guys who can actually run routes, and he'd be pretty good. He's sure as hell a lot tougher than I thought he'd be. If he can just survive the year without getting killed, maybe that idiot DeAngelo will actually fix the offensive line. I guess it's possible their playing together the rest of the year will make them better, but I'm not holding my breath.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:21 pm

- Donald Veal resigns with Pirates on minor league deal. believe he was an "untouchable" at one point. - Buck Coats signs a minor league deal with Nationals. Why not?

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:28 pm

so out of all the prospects we've argued about over the years, who had Casey McGehee as the only one that the Cubs would regret losing? /honorable mention to Ricky Nolasco

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:12 pm

what the hell is going on today? Neal Cotts to yankees on minor league deal

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:18 pm

There are presently 20 players originally signed by the Cubs who are on the 40-man rosters of the other 29 MLB clubs... Alberto Alburquerque, RHRP (DET) Jerry Blevins, LHRP (OAK) Jose Ceda, RHRP (FLA) Ronny Cedeno, SS (PIT) Josh Donaldson, C (OAK) Scott Downs, LHRP (LAA) Jake Fox, C-IF-OF (BAL) Jon Garland, RHSP (LAD) Brendan Harris, INF (BAL) Eric Hinske, 1B-OF (ATL) Casey McGehee, 3B (MIL) Adalberto Mendez, RHSP (FLA) Sergio Mitre, RHSP (NYY) Jose Molina, C (TOR) Ricky Nolasco, RHSP (FLA) Eric Patterson, IF-OF (BOS) Felix Pie, OF (BAL) Clay Rapada, LHRP (TEX) Ryan Theriot, SS (STL) Michael Wuertz, RHRP (OAK) plus.. MLB FREE-AGENTS: Corey Patterson, OF (ex-BAL) Todd Wellemeyer, RHSP (ex-SF) Kerry Wood, RHRP (ex-NYY) and... JAPAN: Micah Hoffpauir, 1B (Nippon Ham Fighters) also some who have signed AAA contracts elsewhere... Mitch Atkins, RHSP (BAL) Bear Bay, RHRP (LAA) Russ Canzler, 1B (TB) Buck Coats, OF (WAS) Brian Dopirak, 1B (HOU) Darin Downs, LHRP (FLA) Mark Prior, RHSP (NYY) Andy Sisco, LHRP (NYY) Donald Veal, LHSP (PIT) Dontrelle Willis, LHSP (CIN)

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Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:31 pm

Cubs made good decisions on most of these guys, so you got to give people like Fleita their props, they know how to evaluate their own minor league talent for the most part. I was pissed about trading Blevins, he seemed like the kind of bullpen guy the Cubs could use. I feel the same way about Casey Lambert being let go this winter. McGehee was the only true miss out of this bunch on the part of the Cubs brass. I'll give them a pass on Nolasco, since you had to offer SOMEONE of perceived value to trade for Pierre. Speaking of that trade, whatever happened to Renyel Pinto?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:55 pm

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 9:27pm. I CANNOT BELIEVE WE LET ANDY SISCO GO IN THE RULE V DRAFT!!!! ANYONE COULD SEE HE WAS BOUND FOR THE HALL OF FAME!!! =========================================== REAL NEAL: I could not believe that the Cubs did not add Andy Sisco to their 40-man roster after the 2004 season, because they had roster slots available, and 21-year old 6'9 lefties who throw in the mid-90's don't grow on trees (even ones with nasty personalities). But the Cubs had issues with his work ethic and coachability, so they decided they'd just let him go for $50,000. That was just plain stupid roster management. (Then they did the exact same thing with Donald Veal post-2008). And in fact Sisco was selected by KC in the December 2004 Rule 5 Draft (2nd overall pick), and had a decent year in 2005 working out of the Royals bullpen (making the jump from Hi-A to MLB). He had his career sidetracked by TJS, however, missing two full seasons (2008-09). He made a comeback last year at AA with SF, but wasn't particularly impressive.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:09 pm

For those of you who might have missed it, Cubs 2003 #1 draft pick Ryan Harvey finally decided to give up trying to make it as a RF (he never got out of AA) and made the move to the mound at Colorado Rockies Instructs post-2010. Harvey was a RHP-OF in HS, and while he was mainly projected as a power hitting RF with plus-power and a plus-arm, some scouts thought he was a better pitching prospect than a hitting prospect. Kyler Burke might be in a similar position next season if he doesn't have a good Minor League Camp.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:40 pm

I have seen the following Bears QB's in my life - many in person: Virgil Carter, Mike Phipps, Jimmy Mc, Moses Moreno, Shane Matthews, PT Willis, Bob Avalini, Cade McNown, Rick Mirer, Jack Conncanon, Bobby Douglas, Dave Krieg, Steve Walsh, Eric Kramer, Will Furrer, Hank Burris, Stevie Stenstrom, Tomczak, Fuller, Lisch, Greg Landry, Vince Evans, Flutie, Jim Harbaugh, and, of course the modern guys... Jay Cutler - FWIW - is in the top two. The offensive line going into the season was bad. It still is. It was a gamble the team took and they lost. Seeing the Pats reinforced how much talent they have and the prowess of their fantastic organization, that competes and wins year after year - regardless of the players they seem to place in the holes. Regarding Jay Cutler - he has by far, the strongest arm I have witnessed in a Bears QB since Bobby Douglass, who could kill you with one of his throws. But Jay is infinitely more accurate.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:17 pm

Well, since you seem to think you know football, most ex-players and analysts place offensive line cohesion at 1 and a half years, minimum. Couple that with a rookie starting, one who has a fucked-up disk, and a center who is in his declining years, and its a recipie for "sack disaster". If you had been watching the games, the O-line has been nothing but a turnstile for half the games. He's made mistakes, sure, but put him on a team with a solid line and he would have much better numbers. Some of his "leading the league" fumbles come from hard sacks where the above O-line failed him, including one where he was given a concussion. Stick to your Houston Texans or look at more than just the "stats" when it comes to the Bears. And, if you don't feel like being "woken up", then you got a couple Texas teams to watch to keep you busy to spare you from your Cutler pain.

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Submitted by Tony S. on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:59 pm

I tried for two years, no shit, to get a Wood 34 Tshirt off MLB. Due to business trips, etc., I was never able to order until right around the end of the season. I'd put the order in, they'd cancel it. No explanation, no "we don't have any more and we're not going to make more because it's august/september/october", nothing. I called the fuckers, and "I don't know why it's cancelled, let me put it back in" Cancelled again. I am the proud owner of a fucking Cleveland Indians Tshirt, with Wood and the number 34 on it, that I've worn exactly 2 times, just to say I did. I have a ridiculous man-crush on Kerry Wood. I think he's everything that's right and wrong about baseball, and the Cubs. I'm actually getting a half a chubby at the thought of him coming back. Okay, that was a bit much, nevermind.....

Recent comments

  • Sonicwind75 10/04/2023 - 10:38 am (view)

    Outside the box idea for 3b, Anthony Rendon.  Angels eat some of the contract but even then the prospect cost would be light.  Getting healthy and getting the hell out of the Angels organization could be a good change of scenery, bounce back candidate. 

  • Charlie 10/04/2023 - 10:51 am (view)

    A Bryan Reynolds CF and Christopher Morel LF outfield defense would be laughable in that Pittsburgh ballpark, though.

  • Childersb3 10/03/2023 - 10:46 pm (view)

    I understand this is a cost saving and control idea. But I wouldn't be happy giving up ONKC or Alcantara for Hayes and/or Bednar.

    I'm not saying they aren't good players. They are. They've never been "tested" with playing for a good team, but that isn't their fault. They produce good results. But not Jaguar and Big Red.

    Canario won't get to play for the Cubs, just like Velazquez, so he should probably go. Same for Mervis and Vazquez. Wesneski can get better but Bednar would certainly help us.

    But not to big power hitting OFs that are 21 yrs old and younger at AA already. I'm still holding out hope for the ONKC-PCA-Jag left to right OF. I'm just not giving up on that.

    Hayes for Morel kind of stings. I'd love for Morel to get a full year at 3B. Even if he failed there miserably, I'd like to give him a shot.

    Phil always comes up with common sense angles. This trade idea fills needs for sure and fills them with cost saving effective players.

    I'm thinking Morel goes to NYM for Alonso.

    We'll see what Jed cooks up.

  • Arizona Phil 10/03/2023 - 10:18 pm (view)

    It used to be that teams did not want to trade within their own division for PR reasons, but I don't see that with Ben Cherington in Pittsburgh or with Hoyer / Hawkins in Chicago, so the Cubs might target Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes and closer David Bednar.

    Hayes is a Gold Glove defender, a decent enough hitter (105 OPS+ in 2023), and he's under control at a VERY reasonable price ($8.75M AAV) through 2029 (with a club option for 2030). 

    Bednar is first-time salary arbitration-eligible post-2023 and under control through 2026. 

    One thing about the Cubs is that they can afford to overpay (which is what they would have to do to get both Hayes and Bednar) with a package consisting of a decent young MLB position player to replace Hayes in the lineup (like Christopher Morel, who could play LF in Pittsburgh) and prospects like outfielders Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, or Kevin Alcantara (Pirates pick one, leaving the other two for the Cubs), a power-hitting 1B-DH like Matt Mervis or Haydn McGeary (Pirates pick one, leaving the other one for the Cubs), SS Luis Vazquez (who is MLB-ready but will never play SS in Chicago), 3B B. J. Murray (who could replace Hayes at the hot corner in Pittsburgh by 2025 if not sometime in 2024, and he obviously would be blocked in Chicago if the Cubs get Hayes), and an MLB-ready SP like Hayden Wesneski. 

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:02 pm (view)

    boog and glanville calling the PHI@MIL game on ESPN2.

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:59 pm (view)

    bellinger is my #1 want, but i fear he's the #1 want of many teams and will get crazy money + years, with the years being the big sting.  they need to replace bellinger's production if they don't get him no matter what position(s) played.

  • George Altman 10/03/2023 - 10:40 pm (view)

    I hope their top priorities are Bellinger, 2 RPs better than Fulmer/Boxberger (ideally 1 LH), and a 3B (Chapman my 1st Choice). That will put them right up to $237-257M AAV limit, but I don't see a playoff berth doing anything less.

    If they really want Alonso, Morel would be a good opening piece of that offer. 

    Unfortunately, Stroman will opt in ($23.7M) and Smyly ($11.5M) will be back. Steele, Taillon, Assad, Wicks will be rotation pieces. Would love a SP2 FA but don't see how they keep an effective offense and improve their bullpen while adding that.

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:03 pm (view)

    i cannot imagine getting a legit 3rd, whether signing or via trade, isn't the highest priority for the team.  it's almost obvious they don't see morel there.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:19 pm (view)

    I’m just hoping they have an actual 3B next year so we don’t need to worry about the M boys, Bote, and P Whiffy eating all the 3B at bats next year.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:13 pm (view)

    Willson was a OF/3B when we signed him too.

    On a less successful but still got to the show note, PJ Higgins was another college IF converted to C

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