Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

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

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

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

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

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

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Reds Battle Back to Edge Cubs at HoHoKam

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Bobby Scales had two singles, a double, two RBI, and two runs scored, helping the Cubs rally from a 4-1 deficit to take a 6-4 5th inning lead, but the Reds scored two runs in the 6th to tie the game and an unearned run in the 7th to take the lead, and then held-on to edge the Cubs 7-6 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny and warm Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

Both the Reds and the Cubs were playing with split squads, with each team's other half playing each other in Las Vegas.

box score

Carlos Silva got the start for the Cubs today, and had a much better outing than his last one, which really isn't saying much. He retired the first six men he faced today L-7, 6-3, P-6, F-8, P-6, and K on just 20 pitches (15 strikes), but then the Reds started to tag him for extra base hits beginning in the top of the 3rd. Chris Heisey absolutely crushed a HR off the scoreboard beyond the LF fence to lead off the inning, and then with one out, Ramon Hernandez ripped a double and Edgar Renteria laced an RBI single to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. Silva retired the 3-4-5 hitters (Bruce-Rolen-Gomes) 1-2-3 in the 4th F-8, F-8, F-9, but then struggled to get through the 5th, surrendering a Jeremy Hermida lead-off HR over the RF fence, a Yonder Alonso one-out triple, and a sacrifice fly.

For the day, Silva allowed four runs (all earned) on five hits (a single, a double, a triple, and two home runs), no walks, and two strikeouts (Jeremy Hermida and Edgar Renteria). He threw 59 pitches (42 strikes) in his five innings of work, with a 5/8 GO/FO.  

One thing about Silva is that he works fast and throws a high percentage of strikes (71% today), probably the highest perecentage of strikes of any Cub pitcher. He does not nibble. But unlike most guys who "pitch to contact," Silva throws a lot of high fastballs that get transformed into extra-base hits when the batter hits it square (which happens fairly often). But Silva doesn't seem to mind, he just keeps throwing strikes at the belt. He reminds me of a utility player who is brought into a 15-2 blow-out in the top of the 9th to pitch an inning and save the bullpen. Or maybe a coach throwing BP before a game.

Meanwhile, the Cubs had several scoring opportunities against Reds starter Homer Bailey (six hits and two walks in four innings), getting two runners on base in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings, but scoring just once, and that was in the bottom of the 4th when Bobby Scales led-off with a single, James Adduci walked, Carlos Silva laid-down a nice SH, and Fernando Perez rapped an RBI ground out to score Scales from 3rd.

The Cubs then put up a five-spot in the bottom of the 5th against Dontrelle Willis, who could not find home plate. Marlon Byrd walked on four pitches, and Aramis Ramirez looped a single into right-center. Carlos Pena popped out, but then Geovany Soto walked to load the bases, before Bobby Scales smashed a two-run RBI single to score Byrd and Ramirez. Willis suffered what appeared to be a knee injury backing-up home plate and had to leave the game. He was replaced by RHP Jordan Smith, who struck out PH Kyler Burke (looking) for the second out of the inning after Jim Adduci reached on an E-4 to load the bases. But Fernando Perez and Darwin Barney each stroked two-out RBI singles to knock-in Soto, Scales, and Adduci, and give the Cubs a 6-4 lead.

Todd Wellemeyer entered the game for the Cubs in the top of the 6th, and he really struggled through his first inning of work, needing 40 pitches (only 24 strikes) and a spectacular catch by RF Jim Adduci (a leaping grab of what should have been a Brandon Phillips HR, taking the ball back from beyond the fence) to get out of the inning with only two runs scoring. Unlike Silva, Wellemeyer had difficulty throwing strikes, and when he did he could not put hitters away, as Reds hitters continually popped foul balls into the stands.

After Adduci made his HR saving catch to open the inning, Jay Bruce and Scott Rolen singled, Jonny Gomes knocked-in Bruce with a ringing double (sendiing Rolen to 3rd). Jeremy Hermida walked to load the bases, and then Chris Heisey walked to force-in Rolen and tie the game. At this point there was only one out, the bases were loaded, Wellemeyer had already thrown 32 pitches, and there was action in the Cubs bullpen. But Wellemeyer buckled down, striking out Yonder Alonso, and retiring Ramon Hernandez to leave the bases loaded.

The Reds scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the 7th. Paul Janish worked Wellemeyer for a lead-off walk, was advanced to 2nd on a SH, and scored on a two-out throwing error by Aramis Ramirez (a lazy toss to 1st base on what should have been an easy 5-3 GO) that resulted in an unearned run scoring (and it turned out to be the eventual winning run). 

It appeared that the Cubs intention today was to "piggyback" Silva and Wellemeyer, with each pitcher throwing four or five innings. But because Wellemeyer needed 58 pitches to get through two innings, Cubs top pitching prospect RHP Trey McNutt (who couldn't get through one inning without being relieved in his Cactus League debut last Sunday) was pressed into service and looked good, pitching a shutout 8th (19 pitches - 12 strikes, 2/0 GO/FO), getting two ground outs and a strikeout, while allowing just a harmless infield single. The 21-year old McNutt probably will be sent to Minor League Camp in a day or two, but at least he ended his Big League Camp Experience on a positive note. With only one full year of pro experience under his belt, McNutt will likely begin the 2011 season as the #1 starter at AA Tennessee (and the Smokies could be one of the best teams in minor league baseball in 2011, at least until some of the better prospects get moved up later in the season).  

Justin Berg pitched the 9th, and although he did not allow a run, he could not find home plate either, walking one and then tossng a WP, while throwing 17 pitches (but only eight strikes). Like McNutt, Berg's time at big league camp could be numbered, but unlike with McNutt, it's not ending on a positive note.

Josh Vitters entered the game at 3B in the 8th, but left after playing only one half-inning. I don't know what happened to him. He did not bat and he made no plays in the field while he was in the game.

The Cubs called up a number of position players from Fitch Park (Minor League Camp) for today's Cactus League game, and all eight of the players summoned (Kyler Burke, Matt Cerda, Evan Crawford, Marwin Gonzalez, Jae-Hoon Ha, D. J. Lemahieu, Rebel Ridling, and Logan Watkins) were among the 16 position players who reported early to Minor League Camp last week. Which only goes to prove the old axiom, "The early bird catches the shuttle van to HoHoKam."

Tags
Cubs Spring Training Recap

Comments

[ ]

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:23 am

The always-fun-to-watch Yankee search for that elusive 5th starter. Last year, with Sabathia, Burnett, Hughes, Vazquez, and Pettitte, was an exception. In 2009, their 5th starter spot was split by Mitre and Wang with 9 starts each. In 2008, Wang, Ponson, and Chamberlain filled the 4 and 5 spots with 15-15-12 starts each. In 2007, Hughes and Igawa had 13 and 12 starts for the 5th slot. Chacon and Lidle (11 and 9) split the 5th spot in 2006. In 2005, they only had TWO starters with more than 20 games started. This year they have two spots open, and right now a 4-player competition for them: Bartolo Colon, who hasn't pitched since 2009 Freddy Garcia, who is coming off a 12-6 season for the White Sox last year Sergio Mitre, who had a 3.33 ERA in 54 IP, mostly out of the pen last year for the Yankees Ivan Nova: who had a 4.50 ERA in 42 IP, including 7 starts for the Yankees last year All 4 are pitching well so far in Spring Training, and unless Garcia implodes he should get the 4th spot. But I think they'd prefer to keep Mitre in the pen, especially since he is virtually guaranteed to get injured at least once a season. They worry about trusting a spot with a rookie like Nova, and he would likely be on a innings limit. And Colon is a completely unknown commodity at this point. So if Colon stinks it up and they release him, they would look to grab a veteran like Silva, if he pitches well enough in Spring Training. This would allow them to pair him with Garcia, keep Mitre in the pen, and let Nova gain experience in the pen like Hughes and Chamberlain did, with either able to step up and fill in for any of the starting 5 if they get injured.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:26 am

Having had a chance to watch Carlos Pena for awhile, it looks like he has the classic "slider-speed" bat. He hits breaking balls and off-speed stuff very well, but can't catch-up to quality fastballs. He has kind of a long swing that takes too long to get through the hitting zone to be able to hit fastballs consistently. Sometimes it almost looks like he's swinging under-water. He is a choosy hitter and he will take pitches he doesn't like, and while he has plus-power, he's just not a good hitter. Another thing that came up yesterday regarding Pena. He was up in the bottom of the 2nd with one out and runners at 2nd & 3rd. The Reds were playing the infield back conceding a run, so all Pena had to do was put his bat on the ball and get either a ground out or a fly ball, but he did not, striking out and leaving the runners on base (they did not score). He did a similar thing the other day when he was batting 7th in the order, working a walk with runners at 2nd & 3rd and two outs, leaving it up to the #8 hitter to come through (which he did not). In BP a hitting coach will sometimes stand behind the cage and shout out situations to the hitter ("runner on 2nd no outs" or "hit & run" or "runner on 3rd one out", etc), and the batter has to react and alter his approach based upon the situation. Pena can't do it. Byrd is REALLY good at it, and Ramirez, Soto, Colvin, Castro, DeWitt, and Baker can do it, too. But Pena is unable (or unwilling?) to play situational baseball. Same thing with Soriano. And having two guys like that in the lineup (especially when they usually hit back-to-back) is going to mean a lot of runners are going to be left on base.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:18 pm

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 12:02pm. I am not sure 24 spring training at-bats is enough to say that a player is "unable" to play situational baseball. ============================= WISCGRAD: Actually I'm basing it more on what I saw at Fitch Park last month than on what I have seen in Spring Training games, although the ST ABs confirm what I saw at Fitch. When players take BP with coaches throwing (traditional "pre-game" BP), it's fairly common for the hitting coach to stand behind the cage and call out situations. Not on every pitch, just intermittently. Most guys hear the call and adjust (alter) their approach accordingly. Soriano has never done that, and Pena doesn't do it either. I don't know how much of it is a matter of being unable to do it, and how much is a matter of being unwilling to do it. That I don't know.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:53 pm

Here's something else. If the Cubs really want to improve their defense in 2011, adding Carlos Pena isn't enough. Pena is an above-average defensive 1st baseman, and he will save some throwing errors, but if the Cubs really want defensive improvement, they should move Starlin Castro to 2B and play Darwin Barney at SS. I saw a lot of Starlin Castro at Fitch Park when he first arrived in the U. S. in 2008, starting with Minor League Camp, then Extended Spring Training, then AZL Cubs, and then the AZ Instructional League. I saw him play 2B-SS-3B (as did Junior Lake and Marwin Gonzalez), playing somewhere different every day, and I would say, without a doubt, that Castro's best defensive position is 2B, his second-best position is 3B, and then comes SS. I'm not saying that Castro can't play SS, just that he's better at 2B or 3B. Castro is a very good hitter, and I predict he will win a batting championship somewhere down the line, and will develop into a 15-18 per year HR hitter. But he's never going to win a Gold Glove at SS. That doesn't mean he can't play SS, just that he is below-average there. It's not like there would be that much of a drop-off offensively from DeWitt/Baker to Barney (especially given the fact that Barney would probably hit 8th), and the defense would definitely be better with Barney at SS and Castro at 2B than it is now with Castro at SS and DeWitt/Baker at 2B. It would be different if the Cubs had a plus-offensive player at 2B, but they don't. That said, I feel very confident that the Cubs won't move Castro to 2B and play Barney at SS. It's just not going to happen. The Cubs do not want to get it into Castro's head that they don't think he can play SS. They want him to continue to work to improve his play at SS, and will just live with his misplays, and the below-average range provided by DeWitt/Baker at 2B.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:56 am

When they traded DeWitt, the Dodgers were trading a guy who had one home run in half a season. Not exactly Prince Fielder. (I know, Barney is not Branyan, either, but at least Barney can play middle infield.) It's inexplicable why someone would draft DeWitt in the first round. Not fast, not a middle infielder, not a big enough frame to hit for power. Maybe they thought he would grow. Hendry collects these first rounders on the rebound: Fontenot, Heilman, Robnett, Scott Moore (twice), DeWitt, Montanez. Who else?

[ ]

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:51 am

"It's inexplicable why someone would draft DeWitt in the first round." You are kidding right? He is probably hands down the best high school baseball player in Missouri State history. He still holds the state records for career hits, doubles, total bases, extra-base hits, RBI, and runs, and he is third in triples, fourth in home runs. Not to mention he went 27-1 pitching. And those 27 wins were CONSECUTIVE. He was named to the BA All-American HS 1st Team, and considered the best pure HS hitter entering the draft. He was on his way to Georgia Tech until he got drafted. Now, his minor and major league track record so far are not that impressive, so you can question why Hendry traded for him, but there is no mystery why he was drafted at the time.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:10 am

Pro scouts don't get paid to read resumes. He has no major-league tools, Wisc. A scout has to be able to see through that Saturday's-hero stuff. Fontenot is another example, maybe better since he was drafted out of college and a scout couldn't pretend that he was still growing. Pretty swing, surprising power in a tiny package. But there are no tiny sluggers in the majors. I'm trying to think of a DeWitt equivalent in the Cubs' organization, someone that Wilken drafted. Logan Watkins? But Watkins can play SS, and he went in the 21st round.

[ ]

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:53 am

Yep, I'm sure you are right. The entire scouting community and BA, etc. were blinded by the headlines. The Dodgers were so amazed by those numbers that they drafted him in the first round and gave him $1.2 million. Now they are kicking themselves and saying "damn, I wish VirginiaPhil was around back in 2004, he would have reminded us to look at that thing called 'tools' and we would have never drafted him." Really? You would never have drafted Mark Grace either because of his lack of tools, but he turned out pretty well. So far, DeWitt hasn't put it together, but that was his upside: sweet swing with .315 BA, 15-20 HR, 30-40 doubles.

[ ]

Submitted by navigator on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:05 pm

A couple years ago, this is what Baseball Prospectus had to say about him (they ranked him #10 prospect in the Dodgers system 3stars) The Good: On looks alone, DeWitt has one of the prettiest swings in the minors, notable mostly for its speed and fluidity. He has excellent barrel control, no weakness by location, and at least average power. He’s a decent third baseman who makes the plays he gets to. (sounds a lot like Josh Vitters -- only better!) The Bad: As much as scouts love DeWitt’s batting tools, the results have hardly been eye-popping, and he’s yet to show enough in the way of secondary skills to project as a classic third baseman. (Wow...just like Vitters!) A move to second base last year was a failure, as DeWitt lacks the athleticism to play up the middle. I guess it's inexplicable why the Cubs drafted Josh Vitters in the first round.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:00 pm

DeWitt was too small to project as a power hitter, pretty swing or not. Vitters is listed today in BR as 6'2, and that was his published height when he was drafted. The average height of the top 25 home-run hitters in the NL last season is 6'2 and change (74.4 inches). Vitters is about average. DeWitt is listed at 5'11. Pardon me for wondering whether, if he really was 5'11, he wouldn't advertise himself as 6 feet, as athletes tend to do. Be that as it may, only 3 of the top 25 HR hitters are listed in BR as under 6 feet. They are Fielder (5'11), Uggla (5'11) and Weeks (5'10). Decide for yourself which of these three DeWitt would have resembled most if you had been scouting him. Baseball is not basketball, but size matters, especially if you don't compensate for it with speed or defense. I'm interested to hear that DeWitt was such a baseball prodigy. I wasn't really aware of that. I doubt we'll see that brilliance again--it seems that the game has chewed him up pretty well, including this spring--but if we do, I'll be a happy fan. Here is the top 25 that I've been referring to: Pujols 42 6-3 Dunn 38 6-6 Votto 37 6-3 C. Gonzalez 34 6-1 Uggla 33 5-11 Fielder 32 5-11 Reynolds 32 6-2 A. Gonzalez 31 6-2 Hart 31 6-6 Howard 31 6-4 Weeks 29 5-10 Wright 29 6-0 Holliday 28 6-4 Kemp 28 6-3 Tulowitzki 27 6-3 Werth 27 6-5 C. Young 27 6-2 Huff 26 6-4 K. Johnson 26 6-1 Braun 25 6-1 Bruce 25 6-3 Laroche 25 6-3 Pence 25 6-4 A. Ramirez 25 6-1 Zimmerman 25 6-3

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:24 pm

What's the point of this discussion again? Are we illustrating that DeWitt isn't an All-Star? Everyone already knows that. Are we saying he's never going to amount to anything with the bat? That may be true, but based on the evidence we have, his nothing is still better than Darwin Barney, who must be considered a nothing minus one. Barney also has the benefit of batting right handed, so we wouldn't even get the one reasonably good platoon hitter (Baker) into the lineup if Barney wins the 2nd base job, unless the plan is to platoon Baker in at both 2nd base, and yoyo Castro back and forth between 2nd and SS, which is a disastrously bad one. Not to mention I'm not sold on Barney's defense being that much better at short than Castro's.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:02 pm

Pena's career numbers with runners on and RISP is about the same as his career numbers fwiw. I can't get to his ROB%, I assume their around average. Considering his general lack of contact, no one should be surprised if he's not the most prolific RBI guy. Guessing the net effect of his power will still outweigh byrd's slap and Judy routine.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:17 pm

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 1:02pm. Pena's career numbers with runners on and RISP is about the same as his career numbers fwiw. I can't get to his ROB%, I assume their around average. Considering his general lack of contact, no one should be surprised if he's not the most prolific RBI guy. Guessing the net effect of his power will still outweigh byrd's slap and Judy routine. ======================================== ROB: I would expect Carlos Pena's numbers with RISP and runners on base to match his overall career offensive numbers, because he doesn't do anything different whether the bases are empty, there is a runner at 2nd with no outs, or the bases are loaded. What I was talking about is that Pena does not alter his approach depending on the situation. Players who are able to alter their approach are successful situational hitters. Another thing about Pena is that because he takes a lot of walks, he is probably not well-suited to hit 7th (as he has occasionally this Spring vs LHP). It's not particularly useful for the #7 hitter to walk to get to the #8 hitter and the pitcher, especially if there are men in scoring position. That's why I like Soriano in the #7 slot. He's the ideal #7 hitter IMO. That problem there (of course) is that a club shouldn't be paying a #7 hitter $18M per year.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:51 pm

I know what you're saying, but you're also implying that his approach makes him somehow a worse guy to have up than Byrd with runners on. But that' not the reality of the situation. There are times when Pena will K or walk when you need contact that will frustrate fans, but there are times when he'll hit a HR or double that Byrd won't. Ultimately Pena comes out slightly ahead... OBI% (Others Batted In i.e. RBI's not including home runs in context of how many actual baserunners you have an opportunity to bat in) Byrd - 14.4% (2010), 17.8%, 12.5%, 18.4% Pena - 13.6%, 15.5%, 15.8%, 18.3% It's not to say Pena's an ideal RBI guy, nor is an Adam Dunn or Soriano, etc. It's gonna be more hit and miss with Pena and if Pena hits below the Mendoza line again, his approach won't matter at all. Aramis, Pujols, Manny Ramirez are your ideal RBI guys, power hitters who don't strike out a lot.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:03 pm

wasn't expected, but i was hoping to see paul goldschmidt get a start for ARZ. wonder if he's back in minors camp. no chance of making the bigs out of spring, but he's fun to watch swing a bat...huge dude, major power.

Submitted by Paul Noce on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:43 pm

Did we ever find out what was going on with Miles when he was here? Hendry made some reference at one point that he had some person problems affecting him. Divorce? Addiction? Sick/Dying family member? I would think it would have to be one of the first two, otherwise, why didn't someone say at the time, 'hey, backoff on this guy, he's going through something with his (blank).' I could see a divorce or addiction being something nobody wants to publicly address.

Submitted by The E-Man on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 03:28 pm

I know you all are exceedingly interested, but Jason Marquis sporting a nifty 0.00 ERA as a ST starter for Tom Gorzo's Nats (who is on the opposite ERA side w/a 7.71)

[ ]

Submitted by George Altman on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:07 pm

Honest to God, how bad does Welington Castillo have to be in catching Cubs' pitchers compared to Koyie F'in Hill in order to make the 25-man roster. I mean my HS Junior son believes he could hit .100 in the Majors (of course, he doesn't lack for confidence). It is tough to remain a Cubs' fan knowing that that piece of crap is on the five-man bench this season. Two automatic outs when he's in the starting lineup (unless Z is pitching).

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:20 pm

W. Castillo singles in his 2nd AB, Garza with another sacrifice bunt Ichiro/Figgins did pull off a double steal earlier Castillo batting .600 in 10 ab's, Koyie batting .048 in 21 AB's

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:56 pm

Castillo singles again in the 6th... Garza only goes 4 (thought SP's were going 5 at this point, I assume he hit a pitch count). Marshall gave up a run and it was tied. Cubs loaded it up but Adduci grounds into a double play nailing Castillo at home.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:54 pm

doh... "Andrew Bailey came out of Monday's game against the Indians after grabbing at his surgically-repaired right elbow following a pitch." damn...video replay of it didn't look too good. immediately bent arm back into chest and doubled over a bit...didn't extend it once afterward, even when walking back into the dugout.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 03:36 pm

garza on today's outing... "Today was more mixing," Garza said of his game plan. "I knew I had a live fastball. I was able to locate it better and I didn't want to keep using it. I wanted to mix stuff today. "I threw curveballs when I didn't need to, I threw changeups when I didn't need to," he said. "I threw pitches in counts where they're 'called for' counts. Everybody in the world knows an offspeed [pitch] is coming on 2-0 [count], and that's not my style. But I used what I had to use, and got the pitches I had to get. I kept a lot of balls on the ground today and that's a good sign." http://m.mlb.com/chc/news/article/2011031416946470/

Submitted by Seamhead on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 03:26 am

Levine will be on WMVP at 10:40 a.m. with a rumor regarding potential Cubs trade for 2B...

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Mastrobuoni can't come back, yet

    Wisdom does have an option left. He can hide in Iowa if Jed DFA's someone else

    Does Brennan Davis get shown the door? I know it's too early for that, but these injuries are crunching the roster of a 12-7 team playoff demands and BDavis isn't going to help anytime soon.

    Someone has to go to add Peralta. And Canario isn't going to get to play everyday regardless of RHers or LHers. Neither is Tauchman. Also don't see PCA getting a chance over Peralta.

    If Jed does those moves:

    4 OF: Belli, Peralta, Canny, Tauch

    2 C: Gomes and Amaya

    2 DH: Cooper and Mervis

    5 INF: Busch, Nico, Dansby, Morel, Madrigal

    Little short on OF depth but two injuries will do that  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I have had the pleasure of watching some of the young A's pitchers lately (first Joe Boyle the last day of Minor League Spring Training in March, and more recently Luis Morales last week and Steven Echavarria yesterday at Extended Spring Training), and it reminds me of the Miami Marlins a couple of years ago. A really nice collection of young pitchers. It will be interesting to see what the A's will get for two years of ex-Cub Paul Blackburn at the Trade Deadline (there should be a robust market for Blackburn). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Good deal

    MB needs some talent infusion!

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Very possible. Suriel, too. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: if a pitcher is recalled to be the 27th man for a doubleheader and then is optioned back to the minors the next day, the 15-day "clock" does NOT reset. The one day call-up for the doubleheader is treated like it never happened with respect to a pitcher having to spend at least 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Probably the only reason David Peralta is still in the organization (he is at AAA Iowa) is to be available in case anything bad were to happen to Ian Happ (which it just did). So if Happ needs to go on the IL, the Cubs can select Peralta to play LF, DFA Wisdom (and hope he and what remains of his $2.725M salary gets claimed off waivers), and recall Mervis to platoon at DH with Cooper (with Canario / Tauchman sharing RF), at least until Suzuki and Happ are back...

     

  • crunch (view)

    i'd just like to take a moment to express to the world i'm still pissed willson contreras is not a cub when the pricetag was 5/87m (17.5m/yr).

    it would be nice to have a legacy-type player to stick around, especially one with his leadership and the respect he gets from his peers.  cubs fans deserved more than 1 season of contreras + morel...that was gold.

  • crunch (view)

    happ, right hamstring tightness, day-to-day (hopefully 0 days).

    he will be reevaluated tomorrow.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I guess I'm not looking for that type of AB 

    Just a difference of opinion

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.

    I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.

Click HERE for the last 50 comments