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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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
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PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




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Cubs Trade Ronny Cedeno; Get Living, Breathing Pitcher in Return

Submitted by Rob G. on

The Cubs moved yet another once-upon-a-time prospect in Ronny Cedeno today, along with left-handed pitcher Garrett Olson to the Seattle Mariners for Aaron Heilman. You'll remember Olson as the pitcher the Cubs received along with Hank Williamson for Felix Pie about a week and a half ago. That makes the net trade:

Cubs get: Hank Williamson, Aaron Heilman

Cubs lose: Ronny Cedeno, Felix Pie

Cedeno's fate was likely sealed when the Cubs acquired Aaron Miles and I'll shed no tears on this loss. Cedeno might be more talented than Ryan Theriot, but he's shown all the baseball intelligence of a junior high dropout. I also find it a bit amusing that the one rookie that Dusty Baker ever gave much of a legitimate shot of playing time to - besides maybe Matt Murton - was Cedeno in 2006. Dusty Baker's eye for talent strikes yet again.

Heilman has been on the Cubs radar for awhile, always known to be a Hendry favorite. The Notre Dame alum had a brutal 2008 season, with a 5.21 ERA for the Mets and was part of the three-team deal for J.J. Putz earlier this offseason. His K/9 rate went up to a nice 9.47 last year, but it went along with a skyrocketing BB/9 rate of 5.45. Fangraphs (using Pitch F/x data) says he throws mostly a fastball and change-up with the occassional slider, while Sportsnet says it's a splitter and fastball with the occasional fastball and change. He has also made it clear on many occasions that he would prefer to be a starter, which is probably why he got shipped out of New York.

Heilman signed a one year, $1.625M deal to avoid arbitration with the Mariners and  is set to be a free agent after the 2010 season and the deal cleared a spot on the 40-man roster.

I assume many are worried that moving Garrett Olson means the end of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes for the Cubs, as the Padres made it clear he was a pitcher they desired. I, of course, have no idea if that is true or not. To play devil's advocate, it could mean the Cubs are now willing to move Sean Marshall and covet Aaron Heilman more for that swing-man role. I think that's less likely of a scenario, but it is possible.

In the end, the Cubs moved a useless part (Cedeno) and a promising player with no roster flexibility (Pie) for a pitcher I think is a pretty good bet to bounce back next season. From 2005-2007, Heilman put up ERA's of 3.17, 3.62, and 3.03 with anywhere from 76 to 108 IP. Considering the volatility of relief pitchers, there's certainly a good chance that he can rebound to those levels.

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Comments

Submitted by CA-Phil on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:27 pm

He seems like Jason Marquis with a lower salary and acquired for relatively useless parts. Gives more depth to the starting rotation which is always needed, esp with Harden. I choose not to look at it versus a possible Peavy trade because we don't know, but suspect that it was going to be an arm and a leg to get him.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:28 pm

It's been my dream for awhile to be the first commenter on one of these posts. It seems, somehow, unfulfilling now. Kinda like the Cubs' offseason moves so far.

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:29 pm

As was mentioned in the previous thread, Heilman was putting up with some tendonitis problems in his knee last season which may have been why he struggled. If I can dig up some more info later today I'll add to this. To get traded (twice) somebody must have been reviewing these medical records and signing off on them.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:34 pm

Ok..who Juan Uribe? And add that to the pile of $$ the Cubs are spending. What would that cost? Rich Aurillia?? Yikes...

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:40 pm

dug this up from the NY Daily News, circa 9-11-08 http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/09/10/2008-09-10_j… ------------------------ Jerry Manuel: Knee problem has hampered Aaron Heilman all year BY Adam Rubin DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Thursday, September 11th 2008, 4:00 AM Jerry Manuel offered an alibi for Aaron Heilman's miserable string of outings. The interim manager revealed, and Heilman confirmed, the righty has been dealing with left knee tendinitis since spring training. Manuel said the problem affects Heilman's landing during his delivery and therefore his location. Heilman surrendered a game-tying two-run homer to Cristian Guzman in the sixth Wednesday night in a 13-10 win over the Nationals. For his part, Heilman tried to minimize how much it has accounted for his 5.38 ERA. "There were probably a handful of games where I felt it affected me," said Heilman, who has appeared in just two games this month.

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Submitted by Mister Whipple on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:50 pm

Isn't tendinitis a recurring problem that never really goes away? And did we really just pick up another injured pitcher? This would be a fine strategy if MLB made an exception and allowed the Cubs to carry another 10 pitchers without it counting towards the 25 man roster limit.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:44 pm

http://mets.scout.com/2/47903.html Repertoire. 4-seam fastball (FB), slider (SL) and split-fingered fastball (spl FB). Heilman also throws a circle change (CU) and curveball (CB). The Mets will allow Heilman to work on whatever he likes at the instructional league and hopefully Bobby Ojeda will have an opportunity to work with him. Scouting Report: Pitcher, Aaron HeilmanFastball. Heilman's fastball sat at 92-93 mph which was better than the expected 90-92 mph. He showed an ability to occasionally reach 94-95 mph. He is not expected to add much if any velocity to his fastball. Heilman's fastball has excellent movement that he can make move left, right and sink. His fastball is in general very difficult to elevate. Other pitches: Heilman threw what was regarded as one of the top 5 sliders in college baseball in 2001. Heilman taught himself his spl. FB in January 2001 and it was a very effective pitch for him that he was able to throw for strikes. Pitching: Heilman is extremely durable and understands how to pitch. The only concern regarding Heilman is his ability to get left-handed hitters. He really only needs to better utilize the lateral movement of his fastball and add a quality change up to get lefties out. Projection: Heilman projects to a #1 or #2 starter. He has the make up of an ace. ETA: 2003. If he adds a quality 4th pitch, Heilman could be ready before the end of 2002. didn't quite work out that way...

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:48 pm

also saw this history on Heilman from 2006: Mets | Heilman has elbow operation Mon, 23 Oct 2006 23:56:21 -0700 The Associated Press reports New York Mets SP Aaron Heilman (elbow) had surgery Oct. 23 for tennis elbow on his throwing arm. The KFFL link has a boatload of stuff on Heilman with years of him being involved in trade rumors, one dates back to him being possibly acquired to compete vs Wade Miller for the Cubs 5th starter spot. Also, it looks like he was getting the LaTroy Hawkins treatment from Met fans last year http://www.kffl.com/player/6812/MLB

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:01 pm

Heilman was getting racist letters too? --- No, anti-Dome hate mail. Most were booing LaTroy just because he sucked as a Cub. The racist stuff was coming from the beyond, probably Commish Kenesaw Mountain Landis' grave.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:21 pm

in case that was missed 1yr deal with a mutual option...$6-$8M range

Submitted by Tony S. on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:11 pm

There was lots of angry in the last thread about this, but thanks to Rob for summing it up. Those of us who want Peavy want to be upset because of Olson's name being linked to that trade. Understandable. But I highly doubt Garrett Olson will or won't be the deciding factor in whether or not we get Peavy. Having said that, did we pay a semi-high price for Heilman? Probably. But again, Jim's running out of time and (literally) options. I wanted badly to see Cedeno succeed, and it never happened, and wasn't going to. Good riddance.

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Submitted by ultrapeanut on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:17 pm

I don't even know that the price is that high, when you aren't taking Peavy into account. Assuming he gets over the tendonitis, Heilman's a decent pitcher, and Cedeno probably wasn't ever going to get much in return. Olson, well... NOOOO! COME BACK, JAKE! Another thing that's important is to avoid thinking of this as Pie and Cedeno for Heilman, because then the wrists start bleeding and that's just too messy.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:17 pm

I just keep envisioning Hendry on the deck of the Starship Enterprise being suffocated by some devious Klingon weapon..crawling to the command console...just reaching up to press the life saving button..."Must spend money on middle relievers..." I would have preferred a prospect and Olson. Seattle got a starting spot for Ronny?

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:25 pm

I've said this several times - but in the fall of 2006, I was THRILLED that Dusty played this speedy, strong-armed, SS with some pop. "We FINALLY have a shortstop!" Then 2007 came - he was given the gig - and blew it. Like Rob, and the Dr. Aaron said, we got a living, breathing body for him. I'm fine with it. Who knows what will happen with Garrett Olson. There are quite a few "If's" on the Cubs 2009 version - add Heilman to the mix. Just wish he was a lefty. Lou kept the wrong one.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:41 pm

I do worry that Jim has really thinned this roster out quite a bit. I know its a stretch, but imagine if something along the lines of -Bradley injury -Harden injury -Soriano injury -Aramis injury -Theriot/Miles/Fontenot either Don't repeat career year/Continue to suck/Doesn't turn into Micky Morandini 2.0? I don't know that we have the depth to recover like we've had before. Backloaded deals almost always come home to roost. And Jim's aversion to confrontation may end up being his undoing.

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Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:15 pm

I'd say more than 50% of that list is a foregone conclusion, E-Man It harkens back to the good old days of peciling in Wood and Prior at the front of the rotation. I can't wait until the "When Milton Bradley comes off the DL. It will be like making a deadline trade" routine. As of today, without Peavy. This club could be anywhere from a 92-75 win Club.

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Submitted by Pat Kane on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:20 pm

I am starting to agree with this point of view. For the money, and cost in talent, I don't think Peavy improves us enough to justify the 5 useful bodies it would take, particularly Vitters and Castillo. Two way catchers are too hard to come by, and while you can debate the Cubs dubious record on developing front end talent, we really have not had a prospect like Vitters since I don't know when. And we won't be drafting #3 again any time soon. Marshall is a good #5, and cheap, and left handed, so has a lot of value. But there are no teams in competition with us to land him, due to his no trade clause. They are stuck with him unless we agree to a trade. Hendry should apply the full leverage of this negotiating position if a deal is to be struck.

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:11 pm

found this ironic tidbit in a Will Carroll (Baseball Prospectus) column from 7/30/06: The Mets haven't made the most of Aaron Heilman. Once expected to be a rotation fixture, the pitcher has instead found a home in the bullpen. He could find a home closer to his midwest roots if the information I got from a Mets official pans out. I'm told that the Mets are discussing shipping Heilman to the Cardinals in return for free-agent-to-be Jason Marquis.

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:01 pm

Unfortunately I can't find anything more specific on Heilman's tendonitis other than it was his left knee. http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2008/09/new_york_mets_limiting_heilman… Tendonitis means inflammation of a tendon and there are several around the knee. The largest two are the quadriceps tendon (which inserts into the patella/kneecap) and the patellar tendon (which goes from the patella to the tibia below the knee) both are common. There are also hamstrings (medial or lateral) and even the gastrocnemius which is more of a calf muscle but the tendons go behind and above the knee attaching to the femur. My guess is it was a patellar tendonitis as it's probably the most common of these conditions. In a pitcher, this would a significant problem for both push off and landing from a mound. Heilman played through it most of the season meaning it was nagging but not incapacitating . It wasn't disclosed to the press until the 2nd week in September where there are multiple articles (see the link above for one of these) explaining why they hadn't used him as much in early September. Of course blowing 5 of 8 save opportunities might just be a better excuse to skip calling him from the pen. I'm sure they had MRI imaging on him as that would be useful to rule additional conditions inside the knee that might make the tendonitis a secondary problem (like a torn meniscus). The treatment is the usual rest and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, better shock absorption in shoes. Therapy includes stretching and controlled exercises also various heat modalities to the inflammed area. In a pitcher it's unlikely to resolve until enough rest can occur, which means the off-season. He didn't have this in 2007 so I'd expect him to be OK in 2009. I saw that he did have right (his pitching elbow) tennis elbow surgery immediately after the season on 10-23-06 by Dr. David Altchek (he's quite famous in Sports Ortho, who did similar surgery on Carlos Delgado that same week) and although it's obviously unrelated to his knee issues it is an example of a chronic tendonitis that rarely needs surgery but ultimately he needed it (and presumably got better from the surgery). His stats in 2006 (74 games, 3.62 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) were better than 2008 (78G, 5.21 ERA, 1.59 WHIP) so I guess it was the same nagging thing but he put up with it pretty well. He probably had a bunch of therapy, ultrasound/deep heat rxs and a few cortisone shots for it before the elbow surgery. Patellar tendonitis can be chronic (which isn't all that common) and then the tendon can be surgically explored or consideration to ultrasonic shockwave rx, which is more often used to treat resistant plantar fascitis (arch inflammation). A variant on such an example of surgical treatment of a chronic tendonitis was the chronic achilles tendonitis in Cliff Floyd who had surgery (also at the same hospital/same week that Heilman had surgery, but a different surgeon) on it the offseason before he signed with the Cubs. Of course if you have HMO insurance like Neal, they just tell you to change shoes. http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/blog/2006/10/under_the_…

Submitted by HendryIsClueLess on Wed, 01/28/2009 - 01:40 pm

Does anyone feel that Orlando Hudson would significantly improve our middle inf? Miles/Theriot/Fontenot just doesnt do it for me. Theriot played well everyday last year, but we could use more D and Offense out of that spot. And Miles and Fonty have never played everyday. At this point Hudson is getting screwed with the #1 Pick compensation which I cringe at giving up, but it is pick 29. Its possible Hudson could be had for 6m/yr? Switch hitter, gold glove D? Our farm system is so thin, I just don't see any other options.

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Thu, 01/29/2009 - 01:55 am

I'm satisfied with Pie + Cedeno for Heilman, because I don't think anything of Ron Ce. Heilman has a track record of ML success, he had a bad year, looks like the Cubs buy low on someone for once. A 4th OF (Pie) with no plate discipline for a better version of Jason Marquis? I'll take that. Now if Hendry can just eat a million bucks and dump Vizcaino off on someone, he'll be doing much better here. We have more pitching depth than just about any team in baseball. I like the talk about Orlando Hudson BTW, push Fonty into a reserve role with Miles, that would make the bench look a lot better. And Hudson could leadoff, no? A slightly inferior version of Brian Roberts at the cost of a single draft choice and 8 million bucks? Do it.

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: I think there was an issue with Luke Little coming into a game with men on base. He seems to need a "clean" inning to be dominant. So he is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AAA. Same goes for Michael Arias. He needs to come into a "clean" inning, and is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AA. Porter Hodge is a more versatile pitcher, a better version of Keegan Thompson (multi-inning RP). But Little, Arias, and Hodge (probably in that order) are the Cubs top three RP prospects (all three are Cubs Top 15 prospects).

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    So, let’s do a little war gaming. Taillon is back for tonight’s game. He pitched two rehab games, just a few innings each, and not especially sharp. Let’s face it, he hasn’t been lights out since the Cubs gave him the big contract. In other words, as flat out bad as Hendricks has been, the chances of Taillon being the savior don’t look exactly promising.

    If Taillon is equally ineffective or perhaps even worse, what’s the next move? Winning teams can often find a way to work around a dud fifth starter - kinda. Two dud starters make things much more difficult.

    I believe the biggest reason for the recent bullpen moves was dissatisfaction with the recent blowing of big leads and the recognition that the bullpen wasn’t all it was thought to be. In other words, they are exploring alternate options and configurations. If similar juggling becomes necessary (even more so than it already is), what kind of reasonable maneuvering do we think could be explored?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Cubdom needs to prepare themselves for Wicks to be sent to Iowa for Taillon to come up.
    Ben Brown has 4 appearances. Wicks has 4 appearances.
    Ben has 16.1 IP.  Wicks has 17 IP
    Ben was a 1.1 WHIP.  Wicks has a 1.7 WHIP. Wicks does have significantly more SOs. 
    Ben has been better, though.
    I love Wicks. I think he's a fighter and his stuff has improved.
    But, Jed isn't ditching Hendricks just yet. He should. But he won't.
    Hendricks should go to the IL and Taillon-Imanaga-Assad-Wicks-Brown should be the rotation.
    Wont' happen though.

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