Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

An Official TCR Apology…

...to Tony LaRussa and the team formerly known as the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, for all the untoward things the writers and readers of this site have ever written, implied, or even thought about you. (All those Red Schoendienst jokes were WAY out of line.) We couldn’t have reduced our magic number to 3 tonight without you. In fact, if we drop a few more turds like this one, we might not be able to reduce it any more without additional third-party help. Anyway, thanks for the helping hand. (And getting Yost tossed? Nice touch.)

Comments

The Brewers are so stupid. They threw a retaliation ball at Puljos in the 8th. Leads to 4 runs and a loss. Talk about foolish pride. Yost in his post game presser said it just got away from his pitcher, yet Turnbow was warming up. What an stupid stupid stupid team. Thanks for that gift!

go cards go! go cards go! hey st louis what do you say? cards are gonna win today!

We are really lucky Milwaukee is stupid because right now, we stink!. Go magic number Go!

"Let the magic number reduction begin. Please." Amen, Cubnut... Please let's not get swept by the Marlins this season.

"We are really lucky Milwaukee is stupid because right now, we stink!." We've still won 10 of 14 games...I'm not going to start worrying about the team spiraling down until/unless we get swept tomorrow. We lose tomorrow, then I'm on board with the idea of hoping we stink less than the Brewers the final few games.

"We lose tomorrow, then I’m on board with the idea of hoping we stink less than the Brewers the final few games." I hope we stink less than the brewer no matter the outcome of tonights game. FWIW, i think tonights loss by milwaukee will take some pressure off our boys.

Well said, Cubnut. And if we win the division I say we chip in and buy LaRussa a new pair of glasses.

#5 cwtp- We are really lucky Milwaukee is stupid because right now, we stink!. in the dictionary, stink finished ahead of stupid. let us see if the cubs can duplicate that. (typed slowly, with many crossed fingers.)

kjk….I think that might border on blasphemy =P ======= that song was written by little known evil twin brother of Steve Goodman (Scott Ire Goodman)...never did get much listening though.

"And if we win the division I say we chip in and buy LaRussa a new pair of glasses." Go transitional lenses!

LaRussa, master of the IHBP... Much more effective than a IBB cause the other guy loses a player later, a PTBEL.

Trib: "Piniella said he would go with Jason Kendall behind the plate in at least four of the last five games, opting for experience over youth in bypassing rookie Geovany Soto." Kendall's experience has helped him be right down there with Theriot as the weakest hitters in September. It probably won't cost the Cubs a playoff spot, but still.

Let's never thank the Birds. For anything. Especially not for Marquis. He was horrible last night.

Agreed, Ron Galt. And it sure hasn't helped him throw out more runners than Soto, either. And not only has Theriot been one of the worst hitters in Sept., but he has the lowest average and OPS of anyone else in the starting lineup, and his OBP ranks second to last, ahead of only JJ. If that doesn't say "bat me eighth!", I don't know what does.

was lou yelling and swearing at matt sinatro last nite,i guess the umpire had to enjoy that, no way was soriano out. lou was very animated ,i tv they said that he usauallly does not stand till 6th inning, but he was up for the whole game.

I am not hitting the panic button yet. One fateful day in October 2003, DC Tom put a bottle of champagne (Perrier Jouet) in his refrigerator during the seventh inning. There the bottle remained for an hour, from which a melancholy DC Tom quietly took it out and placed in a cabinet. Two household moves later, the bottle remains in my possession. I have kept it in front, so it mocks me each time I open the cabinet. I am now convinced that bottle is the reason we cannot beat the Marlins. I have until 3 pm CDT today to figure out how to dispose of it. Suggestions?

Um, I'd probably drink it. But I'd never let a good (or shitty) bottle of liquor die an unconsumed death. Unrelated, I'd like to say something to Steve Trachsel: Your team is only as good as your next day's starting pitcher. Since you're pitching today, you guys suck something fierce."

I like the asterisk idea, but now I'm thinking of sauteing a game fish in it for an early dinner around 3 pm central.

Random, but interesting, from The Hardball Times:
As noted on the STATS blog, the Cubs have led the major leagues in strikeouts each of the last six years, tying the major league record (the 1903-08 Athletics and 1958-63 Dodgers accomplished the same feat). As of Wednesday, the Cubs are third in the majors in strikeouts, with 1,174 K's, only slightly behind the Mets (1,082) and Padres (1,081). The race for this record could go down to the last day, and I'll bet there isn't a single Cubs fan who cares.

From the Trib: Trachsel already was feeling a little tight under the collar after Wednesday's loss, shouting expletives at the media from the other side of the clubhouse. http://preview.tinyurl.com/37yj3x Am I late to this? What's the story behind the Traxphemy?

His hitting aside, I wish someone would explain to me why Kendall thinks that a hanging slider, ordinarily a perfectly good pitch on 0 and 0 (since non-hackers don't like to swing at first-pitch breaking balls) is a good thing to try again on 0 and 1. To me, it's like telling Cabrera, study this one and then pound the next one. You don't have to be a former minor league pitcher to know that the next slider Cabrera saw should have been out of the strike zone on strike two.

I wish someone would explain to me why Kendall thinks that a hanging slider, ordinarily a perfectly good pitch on 0 and 0 (since non-hackers don’t like to swing at first-pitch breaking balls) is a good thing to try again on 0 and 1. Um... catchers don't call "hanging sliders."

Marquis . . . was horrible last night. I only watched the bottom of the second, when the Marlins did most of the damage. I watched it after the game was over, and I expected to see Marquis pitch poorly and DeRosa make a big error. Actually, Marquis served up what looked like a double-play grounder that would have ended the inning with no runs. And DeRosa's "errant" throw to second was not really off the mark. What happened was that the baserunner, Alejandro de Aza, got to second so quickly that Theriot had to hurry past the bag in order to get off a relay throw. Theriot had left second behind him by the time DeRosa's flip got there. It was more Theriot's error than DeRosa's, but more than anything it was de Aza doing with his legs what he hasn't been able to do with his bat lately, keeping an inning alive. Ah, youth! Our rapidly aging leadoff man doesn't run the bases so well. Or, as Rob said recently, "The Marlins are young. Let's be like them."

Ah, youth! Our rapidly aging leadoff man doesn’t run the bases so well. Aging? Or maybe he is just not 100% healthy. Or, as Rob said recently, “The Marlins are young. Let’s be like them.” Then go be a Marlins fan with their worst record in the National League. Their youth is really getting them far.

#20 DC Tom- I have until 3 pm CDT today to figure out how to dispose of it. Suggestions? please hop on the next commuter special flight to miami, bottle in tow, and hit trachsel in the hand with it. repeatedly. or, pour the champagne out, and head for a nearby thunderstorm. catch some lightning in the empty bottle, and fed-ex it to cincy; the cubs will need all possible sources of assistance the next few days.

or, pour the champagne out, and head for a nearby thunderstorm. catch some lightning in the empty bottle, and fed-ex it to cincy lol. well played.

"please hop on the next commuter special flight to miami, bottle in tow, and hit trachsel in the hand with it. repeatedly." I wouldn't board a flight with that bottle in my hands.

As of Wednesday, the Cubs are third in the majors in strikeouts, with 1,174 K’s, only slightly behind the Mets (1,082) and Padres (1,081). I am no math genius, but I think that 1174 is greater than both 1082 and 1081. I posted about this last week (and got it right).

Thanks, dc60124. Doubt I could get to Dolphin Stadium in time to wallop Traschel. But I might could get to Cincy in time to nail Arroyo and Harang in succession. And there are thunderstorms over Ohio right now... (I blame Wes's catcher for calling too many "hanging sliders" and Wes being the impressionable youth throwing them, and that's the only reason he's not in the big leagues right now.)

and Wes being the impressionable youth throwing them Stupid Crash Davis. grumble grumble told him it was coming grumble grumble hit bull win steak etc

No way should Trachsel be pitching today. It should be Rich Hill today and Carlos Zambrano tomorow (both would be pitching on four-days rest), and then see where things stand after that. And Geovany Soto should be catching. The Cubs need his slugging and his arm.

I am no math genius, but I think that 1174 is greater than both 1082 and 1081. I posted about this last week (and got it right). and Yeah, Neal, I noticed that, too… forget it, he’s on a roll… I didn't create the information. I just copied and pasted from THT. Here are the actual numbers for the top ten teams in MLB in K's: 1- Chicago Cubs - 1181 2- Tampa Bay - 1159 3- LA Dodgers - 1158 4- Milwaukee - 1142 5- LA Angels - 1141 6- Florida - 1118 7- Boston - 1110 8- NY Mets - 1087 9- San Diego - 1081 10- Atlanta - 1077

Oh I really meant to post: Screw the Cardinals. They should apologize to us for dropping the first two with their 'best' pitchers on the mound.

so is it ok to cheer for michael barrett the next four days? I think so, but no matter what happens, it will be his fault.

I think so, but no matter what happens, it will be his fault. And the season comes full circle...

I was watching last nights beat down in Miami with my 9 year old son. In the 8th inning he calmly said with a bit of frustration, “There should be no such thing as the Chicago Cubs”. I was thinking, “No kidding”. Instead I just shrugged and finished watching the inevitable conclusion to the story.

"No way should Trachsel be pitching today. It should be Rich Hill today and Carlos Zambrano tomorow (both would be pitching on four-days rest), and then see where things stand after that." Is it written in stone that Trachsel will trot out there today? I remember reading yesterday morning some quotes that sounded like Lou was hedging a little bit. He said after last night's game that they would go out and win today. Maybe he had something in mind...or maybe he just thinks Trachsel will get it done. Scary. Funny that Trachsel was cussing at the media in the club house last night. Even more funny that the media feels the need to report it.

...and the Cubs are going to be facing a lefty that they have not seen much of... Seems like a recipe for eight innings of one-hit ball to me...

Theriot might be hitting abysmally in September, but I recall Len Kasper saying he hit something like .390 during the homestand. Albeit that was what, 6 games? But still it could be a sign he was coming out of his slump.

Theriot is hurtin - I seem to recall him haveing back spasms recently and wornder if that has something to do with his poor performance at the plate.

I don't get the Kendall decsion at all. Soto's bat is just too valuable to give up, and Kendall's 2-52 CS (or whatever it is now) is just pathetic. Soto seemed to be doing just fine behind th plate, why bench a bat like that in such important games, against two teams that score a lot of runs.

Just heard Scott Eyre on the radio. Cubs rookies getting hazed after the game today - some costumes include Raggedy Ann and Andy (probably , Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Robin and a female mountie. Trying to get home by 3 ....

Hopefully the hazing will loosen this team up a bit. Some of the guys definitely look a bit tight and maybe even a bit scared. Please let's win the next two and maybe clinch before Saturday.

Maybe our hopes have come to this: Scott Olsen, from Crystal Lake, pitched at Crystal Lake South where I was a scrub centerfielder a few years before. Olsen is a die-hard Cubs fan (and a bit of an a'hole) and was in the throng of people outside Wrigley on Waveland ready to explode when the Cubs clinched the NLCS. This was the Gonzalez game, or the Prior game, or the You Don't Put a Pitcher in the Game Who Struggles With Control To Intentionally Walk the First Batter He Faces game and the celebration never happened. He was torn on who to root for, his boyhood favorite or the team that drafted him. Maybe today nostalgia will render his left arm useless, throwing BP fastballs and hanging sliders. Maybe...please...

Hate to do this, but there is an interesting article on Baseball Prospectus today on the "worst collapses" of teams not making the playoffs, based on the playoff probability runs they have done for current year and historically. 1969 Cubs comes in as 5th worst collapse in history, with 97.9% chance of making playoffs on August 19. 1951 Dodgers collapse to Giants was second worst, 99.74% chance on August 12. 1995 California Angels had 99.988% chance of winning on August 20 and lost, they have that as the worst collapse. We should be happy to know that the Unmentionable would not break the top 10. But if the Mets miss--and that is more likely now than the Unmentionable--it would rank as the No. 2 collapse of all time, as they had a 99.8% chance of making playoffs on September 12. And you could certainly argue that since that collapse would have occurred in two weeks, it is worse than the 1995 Angels, whose collapse took six weeks. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6764 Feel good numbers of the day, latest BP Playoff Odds: Cubs chances of winning division: 89.84%, up 3.96% from yesterday Brewers: 10.16%, down essentially the same 3.96% Interestingly, the last few days of the Playoff Odds Report has shown a big increase in likelihood of a tie for the NL Wild Card, right now the projections show a 2-in-3 chance of there being some kind of tie for the NL Wild Card. And even a nontrivial 23.6% chance of there being a three-way, four-way or even five-way tie (the five-way tie consisting of ties for division titles as well, e.g., Mets, Phils, D-backs, Padres and Rockies all having the very same record). I know that if there is a tie for division championship, the do not have a playoff game if both teams would make the playoffs. But if there is a four- or five-way that involves at least one tied division championships, you're talking possibility of multiple playoff games...holy cow.

Does anyone else have this awful feeling that the guy on the Brewers website was right about the impending Cubs collapse?

Here's a reason to hope the Cubs clinch on Friday: Saturday's game is going to be blacked out in Chicago! According to the FOX contract, a team can only be shown on Fox 9 times in a regular season, and this will be the Cubs 10th appearance. That means the game will be Blacked Out in the Cubs Home Market. I'd give you a link, but I don't think it has been reported anywhere else yet...

DC TOM: "Hate to do this..." Then WHY did you? do we really nee to be reminded? Come on.

E-Man, Well, I posted it because I thought it was interesting and figured that others would too. And I found it moderately reassuring. Especially because it made me feel glad that I wasn't a Met fan today.

Let's just tell Trachsel his starting lineup tonight is: Johnson CF Morandini 2b Sosa RF Rodriguez lf Gaetti 3b Houston c Hernandez C and it is 1998...we should be fine...

Bleeding Blue, I believe WGN will also carry the game on Saturday. Can they black out WGN in Chicago if they choose to broadcast it as well?

I'm with the people who think it's still going to happen, and when it does, it will happen quickly. Cubs clinch Friday, that sort of thing. This team has a lot of talent. Talent is good even on the bench, because it makes the starters play better. And you never know what Lou's thinking, or what he's going to do. Soto could go in the first time Trachsel is up with men on base, and stay in the game. We could see the bullpen early, the defensive outfield early. Just get an early lead for a change.

"Does anyone else have this awful feeling that the guy on the Brewers website was right about the impending Cubs collapse?" No. I think the Cubs will win 2 of the next 4 and and the Brewers will drop one to the Pads. Pretty reasonable. Tell you this much, I'd much be in the position the Cubs are in rather than the one the Brewers are in.

Just get an early lead for a change. Didn't the Cubs have an early lead last night? The Cubs have had early leads in 3 of the last 4 games.

An offense often goes as its leadoff man goes. My boy Sori is streaky. I hit further down in the order where I get those sweet RBI's.

Muskat saying that Trachsel getting the start because he was 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA against Florida last year. Says that Kendall could start, not would.

I know it's dumb to be thinking about next year, but I can't help it... bad habit from being a Cubs fan for 20 years! Anyway, after watching the Marlins the past few games, I can't help but wonder what it would take to get Cabrera, who will be in a FA in 09 if I'm not mistaken, from the Marlins this offseason. FL ownership being the tight-asses they are, I can't imagine them wanting to fork out the $10+ mil that he'll be getting via arbitration next year. He'd be a wet dream in one of the corner outfield spots.

For my money it just doesn't get any funnier than when some posts on behalf of Craig Monroe. Hits lower in the order...ha, ha!!!

I think Saturday is the most likely day for us to clinch. We would need 3 of 4 games to go our way to clinch on Friday. Certainly possible, but fully dependent on our game today. As long as the Magic # is 2 by the end of tonight, I'm happy and comfortable.

That sort of makes sense, I've just been dealing with Fox people who said it would be blacked out. I thought Fox had exculsive rights to all MLB games on Saturday afternoon, so I'm not sure how WGN is allowed to show this one. I guess this will be win/win, because most FOX stations affected by the blackout will be showing the Brewers/Padres.

Bleeding, I don't remember for sure, but I believe the same exact thing may have happened in 2003, where Fox picked up one of the DH games, but had to black it out locally, so it was carried on WGN. I'm sure there is a provision where the game can be carried on a different station in the home market if it exceeds the game limit for FOX. Just as long as it is carried on WGN nationally, I'll be happy, because I'm sure the Padres/Brewers game will be carried on FOX here in LA (If Angels and Dodgers aren't being carried)

If we lose today and the Brewers win, all bets are off. The collective collars will tighten up appreciably if that happens.

gordon "heavyfoot" wittenmeyer at ye olde sun-times reporting that soto/hart **COULD BE** on the postseason roster...no idea how that plays out logisitically, but it may have a lot to do with prior/pagan.

I think there is a 100% chance Soto will be on the playoff roster. They need two catchers, and considering Blanco hasn't played since 1867, I'm sure it will be Soto. Hart probably depends on how many pitchers we carry...but he certainly has earned himself a spot.

no idea how that plays out logisitically, but it may have a lot to do with prior/pagan. Crunch... as AZ Phil has stated a few times, a player who is on the DL can be replaced on the playoff roster by any player who was in the Cubs organization on August 31. I still don't really see Hart getting on the roster, but it is possible. Here are the pitchers that I see making the roster for sure: Z Lilly Hill Marquis Dempster Howry Marmol Eyre Then I would think that Wood and Wuertz bring the total up to ten. If you take 11 pitchers, you have to choose between: Hart Marshall Trachsel Ohman Hart is definitely a possibility of those four, but it will depend on how badly Lou wants another lefty.

Soto seems like a lock at this point. Hart probably throwing as well as anyone in the pen. Seems to be a 3-horse race between Wood, Wuertz and Hart for 2 spots unless Trachsel throws a gem today.

Gawwwd...I can't even sleep at my job with all this stress. One thingsI've noticed? You regulars on TCR aren't pouring out the negativity about lineups, players, etc...like you were for awhile. There was a theme...a reverse hex...come on guys!!!!

if you hit the timelapse link, it appears to update only once an hour. Certainly a less stressful way to watch the game.

Ah, there's the lineup... I was fine until I saw Trachsel at the bottom there. Craptastic!! Is all I have to say.

What happened was that the baserunner, Alejandro de Aza, got to second so quickly that Theriot had to hurry past the bag in order to get off a relay throw. Theriot had left second behind him by the time DeRosa’s flip got there. It was more Theriot’s error than DeRosa’s, but more than anything it was de Aza doing with his legs what he hasn’t been able to do with his bat lately, keeping an inning alive. actually Theriot just slipped on the wet dirt, but you seem to see games in a whole different way than the rest of the world. Or, as Rob said recently, “The Marlins are young. Let’s be like them.” Yeah, 90 losses and playing for pride. But they're YOUNG!!!!

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.