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

Lilly Declining? Wallach Decent? Looking at the Deal

Now that the trade deadline is behind us, what are Cub fans supposed to pay attention to? The games?! I tried that earlier tonight, and I'm sorry I did.

— I heard a recorded interview with Derrek Lee on WGN Radio early this evening in the run-up to the Cubs/Rockies game. David Kaplan asked Lee about Ryan Theriot, and Lee described him as "a grinder." In that moment, I came up with my own definition of a grinder. It's a guy who plays hard enough to occasionally make you forget that he's not very good.

— Here's what Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts had to say about the Cubs/Dodgers deal:

The Dodgers traded Blake DeWitt and decent prospects Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit today for Ted Lilly, an inconsistent, 34-year-old pitcher in decline, and Ryan Theriot, a 30-year-old infielder who is more expensive and worse than DeWitt. Undoubtedly, Lilly will provide some short-term gain in the rotation, but the Dodgers have actually made themselves worse in the lineup, and are paying for the privilege.

MLB Network's Harold Reynolds said he didn't understand this trade from the Dodgers' perspective because he didn't believe Ted Lilly was good enough to make a difference in the Dodgers' pursuit of a playoff spot. Then former Cleveland GM John Hart talked about Lilly's ability to eat up innings in pitchers' parks in San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles, and Harold was onboard. Reynolds also said he was surprised that the Cubs didn't get more seasoned pitching talent in return for Lilly, mentioning John Ely and Carlos Monasterios.

— Here's what Baseball Prospectus had to say about Brett Wallach:

He has struck out 92 batters in just 84 2/3 innings at Low-A Great Lakes this year, but that's mitigated by the fact that he turns 22 in December. Still, he was a two-sport star in college and is pitching full-time for the first time in his career, and he's a physical righty with power stuff. Sitting at 91-92 mph with his fastball and touching 94 with it, Wallach complements that heater with a fine changeup, although his slurvy breaking ball needs considerable work, and he has a disturbing tendency to elevate his pitches. Because of his size, stamina, and good mechanics, he'll continue to develop as a starter for now, but his long-term future might be as a power reliever.

BP describes Kyle Smit as a "far more fringy prospect" than Wallach; one who has "barely reached Double-A in his fifth professional season." They conclude that the 22-year-old Smit is a potential middle reliever but that's about it.

— Finally, if Blake DeWitt turns out to be a dog, it won't just be Jim Hendry we can blame. According to Paul Sullivan, we'll also be entitled to rip Greg Maddux.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry gave Maddux some credit for the decision to acquire the Dodgers infielder in the Ted Lilly/Ryan Theriot deal. "We've certainly liked [DeWitt] for years," Hendry said. "He's a tough kid. He's 24 years old, so his better days are way ahead of him. … He has a chance to be a complete player. He has to be better offensively. Greg spoke highly of him, when Greg pitched for the Dodgers, and in my discussions with Greg about him a few weeks back."

Comments

Minor-league teams are hot right now. Daytona has won 13 in a row, Peoria six in a row. Iowa scored 15 more runs last night, with LaHair contributing three bombs. Hoffpauir, Snyder and LaHair are turning into a lefthanded murderer's row. Tennessee has clinched a playoff berth based on first-half standings. Iowa and Daytona will have to hang onto first place to advance. Peoria is not out of the running but they're five out, with three teams ahead of them.

I posted this in the older thread, reposting here This site is the counterpart to the Cubs yahoo blog (which will remain nameless) so maybe the readers are jackasses, but here goes: http://www.truebluela.com/2010/7/31/1597626/t... You know the saying “Even if you put lipstick on a pig, it still a pig”? Well, in that scenario, I always imagined putting lipstick around the mouth of the pig. Trading a cost controlled league average 2B for 10 starts of Lilly and shitty ass Theriot is like putting lipstick around the pigs behind area. We didnt even put the damn lipstick in the right place! Reacting to the inclusion of the minor league pitchers: What more could the Cubs want? They got a cost controlled MLB’er (an upgrade at 2nd base) for TED Freakin Lilly. Fuck Ned Colletti. Just fuck him. I won’t let the excuse he has no funds to make trades. He shouldn’t make them then. It took not being able to afford a real starting 2B to get him a shot. You may not have been the best player, Blake, but you tried your damndest. Fuck, his defense got to be really good too. Screw you Ned. This makes me sad. Let me just go on record saying I like Ted Lilly and am perfectly fine that he's on my team. But (no offense to Theriot) the rest of the deal can bite me. He gave up on Brett Wallach? Fuck this. We gave up Wallach? Fuck that shit what the fuck NO NO NO THERE IS NO EXCUSE. This is a piss poor stupid trade. No matter how much money they are getting back. This doesn’t even help the team. Our pitching has been a strength, our offense is killing us. So we trade starters. We traded a cheap 2nd basemen that can get on base…for 10 starts of Ted Lilly that wont get the team to the playoffs. Amazingly, the offense just got worse. in 3 years blake dewitt will be hitting 300 for the cubs, lilly will be pitching for the yankees, theriot hitting on high school girls at a mall in encino trying to lure them into his camaro, and the starting 2b for the don mattingly-managed la dodgers – juan uribe Here's a post from a cub fan and some replies: Hate to be Debbie Downer on you guys, but Theriot absolutely sucks. However, you guys WILL fall in love with Lilly. He’s a beast. He’s probably been my favorite Cub for the whole last decade. Anyone care to give me a scouting report on DeWitt? DeWitt is better than Theriot in every way. We know he sucks We know Theriot is awful.. DeWitt is a gamer… Lilly will be here for 10 starts and thats it. When you’re already way behind in the race, it doesnt matter. i’m happy with lilly because now we may have one of the best starting rotations in baseball… on the other hand… WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE POINT IN EXCHANGING DEWITT AND RYAN FUCKING THERIOT! his ops is below ,700 too, FUCK OUTTA HERE! Have to say —→ I once saw Ryan Theriot buy beer in Chicago a couple years ago at a Jewell. It was bud light. Yes, he’s very gritty. This fucks us so badly for next year. No second baseman and Theriot’s arb-eligibility on the payroll is crippling.

freefall... elevator down, broken cables... to quote Jack Brickhouse: "whoa Nellie..." Racing to the 1st draft pick? We're only 7 1/2 games out of getting the third pick in the draft and still have 3 games left with the Pirates! Hope the next draft has a few franchise prospects. Anyone have some insight into next year's draft? Baltimore 32-72 Pittsburgh 36-67 Seattle 39-67 Arizona 39-66 KC 44-60 Cleveland 44-61 Houston 45-59 Cubs 46-59 (counting today as a loss) Washington 46-59

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In reply to by Cubster

3B Anthony Rendon of Rice is the clear top player in the draft but he fractured and dislocated his ankle in the Cape Cod League and it's supposed to be a really horrible injury. The comps they were making were Evan Longoria - great patience and power at the plate, good enough defense to stick at third. But this is his second ankle injury since he got to college (he tore two ligaments in the same ankle last year). Jim Callis of BA said he would have drafted Rendon ahead of Bryce Harper this year. Then, the draft is really deep in college pitchers (we're talking about a possible 10 college pitchers in the top 15). LHP Matt Purke (TCU), RHP Gerrit Cole (UCLA) and RHP Sonny Gray (Vandy) are the top 3 pitchers and all are potential aces. I'm a big Bruin fan but I have to say Purke is better than Cole (with Gray behind them both). And yes, that's the Sonny Gray the Cubs drafted in 2008. The only real big HS name I've seen is LHP Daniel Norris from Tennessee but HS kids are always tough to predict 10 months before the draft. The 2011 draft is way deeper than 2010. I'd give a lot to get a healthy Anthony Rendon in the Cubs system. By the by, that blog post was hilarious. The Theriot in an Encino mall comment made my day.

btw...can we quit letting Z pinch hit for no f'n reason? ...especially with men on base? hitting well "for a pitcher" doesn't necessarily mean "hitting well." ...hell, if he wasn't a pitcher we wouldn't stand for it.

Submitted by Cubster on Sun, 08/01/2010 - 3:52pm. Brad Snyder 2 HR's in 2 innings (1 GS). 5 RBI, 17 HR's on the season. he may be 4A but I'd rather watch him bat 3rd/4th for 2 months than what DLee/ARam/Soriano bring to the table at this point. ======================================= CUBSTEER: I think it may be premature to label Brad Snyder "4-A." He could just as easily be a late bloomer (like Garrett Jones, Ryan Ludwick, Jim Hickman, et al). It's easy to write guys like Snyder off because he did not develop as quickly as the Indians had hoped (especially considering he was a 1st round draft pick), but if the raw talent is there and if the player has the capacity to make the changes needed to improve his game, he can still become a quality MLB player. Unlike the typical 4-A guy who has power but can't run or throw or play defense, or the type who can play defense or has speed but can't hit, or the corner IF-OF guy who can hit singles and doubles but has no HR power, or the ones who can hit RH pitching but not LH pitching (or vice-versa), Snyder is actually a very toolsy player. He has one of the top three OF arms in the Cubs organization, he has plus-speed and is a good base stealer, he is a decent defensive OF, and he has plus-power. His main deficiency in the past has been too many strikeouts and not enough walks. But over the last couple of AAA seasons and in the Mexican Pacific League last off-season, Snyder has made great strides with becoming a better hitter, being more patient at the plate, and especially with hitting LHP. He actually looks like he could be an everyday MLB RF. He will strikeout a lot, but all of the other aspects of his game look pretty good. I have Snyder rated as one of the Cubs Top 15 Prospects right now.

DeRosa had a cardio-ablation procedure during spring training 2008. I'm not a cardiologist but Silva's preliminary info sounds somewhat like that although when DeRo discussed it after the procedure he said he had similar episodes for several years and they usually went away quickly without treatment until the spring episode. The procedure is basically a mapping of the heart's electrical circuitry then burning the area that has the short circuit. of course, it could be just related to a bad venison enchalada he had for breakfast in Denver

I'm okay with it but this deal has a weird feel around the edges. First, the obvious. Hendry makes his one millionth deal for a power-challenged second baseman. Cubs fans seem lukewarm to tepid about the trade but Dodgers fans go into convulsions. In making the trade Hendry removes the last two team leaders left on the Cubs. Lilly, a natural leader and mentor to the young pitchers on the staff. Theriot a fan favorite, self-appointed spokesman and mentor to Starlin Castro. (Being id'ed as a Cubs "team leader" is a good way to be gone like Wood, Blanco and DeRosa. Z tried and it got him anger management classes and a month off.) Not done ridding the team of second basemen he trades away Fontenot except that he doesn't get the deal done and still has Fontenot. What kind of GM tells that to the media? What kind of media doesn't ask who was trading for? It's reported that Lilly and Theriot find out about the trade, not from Hendry, but while watching tv. Hendry says nice things about Lilly but nothing, as far as I can tell, about Theriot. As we all remember, Theriot became a starter only after Hendry's trades failed and Lou put his trust in Riot at SS. He was Lou's boy. So it's a bit creepy that Hendry traded him while Lou was away at a funeral. I'm wondering if Lou knows yet. Blake DeWitt grew up a diehard Cardinals fan. Just days prior to the trade the Cubs threw at DeWitt and the league fined Cashner for doing it. (only Hendry's Cubs would try to hit a guy they want to make a deal for) At any rate, if yesterday is any indication maybe we finally have a second baseman who will stick around awhile.

Casey Coleman has been called up from Iowa.

can we trade paul "WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" sulivan? # When Big Z points to the sky now when walking off the mound, I believe he's pointing to the ESPN satellite. about 23 hours ago via web # Operation Shutdown: Injured Silva leaves after 4 batters in Coors, just like Big Z pulled self 15 minutes before start here last Aug. 7. 12:35 PM Aug 1st via web Z is sulivan's "new bradley" maybe if Z dies in a car accident he can pop some champagne corks and celebrate his death. paul sulivan is too f'n comfortable covering this team...put his ass on the NBA beat.

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In reply to by carlosrubi

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At this point, I think they might be playing to get the number 1 draft pick, but then I realize that A) they are not smart enough to come up with that strategy, and B) if they somehow did get wind of the idea, say from the Cub Reporter, they wouldn't be competent enough to actually purposefully lose. In fact, this is my idea. Hendry should announce that the team will purposefully try to lose all of the remaining games this year to gain the #1 draft pick. He will of course be punished by MLB for saying this, but the effect on the team will be astounding. When trying to lose, they will inevitably fail, and likely win all of their remaining games! But this will only hold true until the last weekend of the season. They will be tied for first, and then some idiot will say "we realized that we are in this and that we can pull it off" at which point they will lose the final three games and finish in 2nd, 1 game out of 1st and miss the playoffs.

Tweeted by Phil Rogers: If Sox drive @ozzieguillen out of a job, he probably becomes top candidate to replace Lou, based on relationship w/ Hendry. Don't laugh. I wouldn't laugh. I'd stop being a Cubs fan. For that matter, not hiring Ryno, short of getting someone like LaRussa, would drive me away. And I don't think I'm alone in that. Especially given the empty seats at Wrigley, I think Ricketts knows he has to hire #23.

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In reply to by garsky

Well, I disagree with this. Ryno has no MLB managerial experience. While they might suck extreme donkey balls this season, I would say that running the Cubs would draw top-flight, experienced managers from all over the league. Limiting us to just picking Ryno, because he's convenient would be foolhardy. Do you mean to tell me that you would rather have Ryno managing the team over Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, who knows who else??? I am not saying that those guys WILL be available, but they certainly may be. At least with them, we would have a better idea of what we're getting...

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In reply to by Jace

When I saw Iowa play in Round Rock the team's desire to win was palpable. You could practically feel their energy on the field. Guys throwing their glove down when a run comes home during a big lead. That kind of stuff. And the way they ran the bases made me think of the All Star Game when Brandon Phillips said, "That's what we do in Cincy baby, we go first to third!" or whatever it was he said. This team is in dire straights and I liked the way the Iowa team played baseball a LOT more than the way the Cubs play the game. Enough of the retreads. I don't want Ryno in there because he's Ryno, I want him in there because he is running a damn good show in Iowa and this team is in DIRE straits.

EVERY manager gets fired eventually. Except Bobby Cox lol. The "pros" argument for Ryno as the next Cub manager as many have stated are obvious. I guess, with the team now nearly equalling the 2006 team in patheticness, wouldn't Sandberg - with his HOF pedigree and work ethic - give us more than, "What do you want me to say?". And, really,we have to agree that Hendry hired the "best available" (or coveted personnel) for the last two managers, and still no one wears a WS ring. So - IF Ryno were to get hired, the guy kinda fits into Ricketts long-term plan of development from within and adding FA's where appropriate. The "he has no MLB managing experience" take just doesn't make that much difference to me in today's game. Ozzie was a 3B coach. Others have succeeded and failed with little experience as MLB employees. I would not mind Brenly with Sandberg as bench coach for a couple of years. But that scenario is unlikely.

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In reply to by crunch

His minor league walk numbers are not that great, but they are not terrible either. Over his career in the minors, he has basically been consistent in walking about a batter every 3 innings. This is basically the same rate as most closers in MLB today. He also gives up a hit an inning, on average, and strikes out a batter an inning, on average. Basically, he is a consistent 8-9 K/9 IP guy, with a WHIP of 1.3 or so. He is not going to be a closer in the bigs, we know that, but nothing in those numbers scares me away from seeing if he can become a serviceable middle reliever. Now this time around he did not, but he is still 24, and he did still get 7 Ks in 8 IP, so at least he missed some bats (emphasis on some).

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In reply to by The Real Neal

Walker was 31, so what? He hit 15, 12, and 6hr's for Cubs basically platooning and never getting 450 ab's. That final year he was traded and only had 362 ab's. Walker's first full season in the majors, at 25, he hit .316/.372/.473 with 85 runs, 41 2b's, 12 hr's, and 62 rbi. If DeWitt ever does something near that, this was a steal of a trade, but his power has regressed since he first came to the majors. DeWitt has a pretty swing, but he's done nothing to show he's a big league starting 2b (or 3b, or any position). Let him play the rest of the season and make a decision, fine, but he looks more like a bench player, or a Royal. Don't get me wrong, I hated Theriot and wanted anyone but him or Fontenot playing 2b, so getting DeWitt is better than standing pat.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

There is not really much of a point to this exercise. You can pick any player and cherry pick a stat or two when they are 23 or 24 and show that Babe Ruth performed the same on that statistic at that age. So what? Players are evaluated on a wide-range of skills and performance. Sandberg was a highly touted athlete when drafted and brought up as a shortstop. He progressed through the minors rapidly, hitting well (.290 ish) at each level, and stealing over 30 bases a year at a great percentage. He stole over 30 bases his rookie year and won a gold glove already in his second. Would many have predicted his dramatic increase in slugging? Probably not. But he already was proving himself a productive major league player with his skill set, and his athletic ability suggested he could develop some power. The fact that Blake DeWitt is 24 and has a slugging percentage about the same or slightly better than Sandberg did at that age means nothing; and doesn't change the fact that little about DeWitt so far suggests he will develop like Sandberg did. Stranger things have happened in baseball, and DeWitt certainly could blossom. But holding onto 24 year-olds because a Hall of Famer happened to have blossomed at that age is a not a great strategy.

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In reply to by WISCGRAD

I am just using an example of a guy that we're all familiar with developing a skill set later in his career development. Did Derrek Lee have his best year at age 24? Aramis Ramirez? Wade Boggs? Jim Thome? The original comparison, that this guy is like Walker, is stupid. Write 1000 words about it, and it will continue to be stupid. Is it possible that this is the best he's ever going to get? Yes. Is it guaranteed or even a safe or intelligent conclusion? No. Can you guys think of any GM in baseball who has had a pretty good track record of plucking underappreciated hitters from other teams? Hint, think of the Cubs CF'r and a guy we traded to Cleveland for three prospects, if the Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez examples weren't enough of a clue.

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In reply to by Paul Noce

Shedding salary this year does not necessarily mean not spending next year. Maybe they like Blake DeWitt as a prospect, or like him enough to not think Johnson is worth that much more money, which maybe they want to spend on other needs. Of course, it's possible that Ricketts doesn't want to spend gobs of money. I could hardly blame the Cubs for trying to get the payroll back near the $100 million range, which should still be good enough to contend pretty much every year if managed intelligently. It's also possible that Ricketts is smarter than any of us give him credit for and can look at next year and figure it's probably not the year to dump boatloads of money into a payroll anyway--maybe saving some dollars for 2012 and on, after Fukudome and Ramirez are off the books, Castro, Colvin, and Cashner have some experience, and a few of the decent pitching and infield prospects the Cubs have are closer to the bigs.

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In reply to by Jackstraw

I posted something similar a few threads back, but I'll do it again now (Data from Cot's): 2011: $103.5MM committed, not including arbitration to: Marmol Fontenot (possible non tender) Baker (possible non tender) Marshall Guzman (likely non tender) Gorzellany Hill (hopefully non tender) Soto 2012: $63.5MM committed, not including arbitration to the above, plus: Wells DeWitt Possible 2011 Lineups 6 Castro 9 Colvin 8 Byrd 5 Ramirez 7 Soriano 3 Soto 4 DeWitt 2 Castillo or 6 Castro 3 Colvin 9 Byrd 5 Ramirez 7 Soriano 2 Soto 4 DeWitt 8 Jackson So not much more productive in all likelihood. This is why I don't expect a lot of spending until 2012. By then, the only albatross contracts left will be Zambrano, Soriano, and Dempster. Byrd may be traded by this time, depending on the farm production (Brett Jackson takes over CF and Colvin goes back to RF, Castillo takes over at C and Soto goes to 1st, Vitters takes over 3rd and ARam goes FA). Are you excited yet?

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In reply to by Dr. aaron b

If everybody does what you hope for, then yeah, that would be a tough offense to face. Just remove Fukudome from the picture altogether, though. He's a 5th outfielder at this point. Although lineup construction doesn't matter, I would do this: Castro Byrd Dunn Ramirez Soriano Colvin Soto Dewitt Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think there's going to be much free agent activity from the Cubs this offseason. If I guess at some numbers for the arb-eligible and league minimum players the payroll could easily get up to $115M without signing any free agents. If the team is willing to spend $25M to improve the team this offseason I think Dunn would be a good start target. What would it take to sign him? 3/40? 2/30?

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In reply to by Dr. aaron b

"Especially since there are zero big bats on the horizon." Maybe you just don't like left-handed hitters, but there are three pretty big bats at Iowa, Snyder, LaHair and Hoffpauir, none of whom was drafted by Wilken, by the way. LaHair and Hoffpauir are first basemen. Putting Hoffpauir aside, since he had a shot already (although not much of one), LaHair's line at Iowa is .316/.384/.569/.953. Since June 1st he's .337/.410/.663/1.072. First base is not a hard position to fill, since there are few defensive requirements. Every team has AAA players more or less like Hoffpauir and LaHair, but few teams have an opening at first, like the Cubs do. When there's an opening, a player like Garrett Jones (who had underwhelming minor-league numbers) steps in, and what do you know, he can still swing the bat, just like last year and the year before.

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In reply to by Dr. aaron b

FYI, basically half of everyone's home runs are solo shots. Look up anybody, Bonds (762-450), Pujols (393-210), Aramis Ramirez (280-142), Ted Willaims (521-271), etc. That's just the way it is. Dunn is 344-195, so he is right there with everyone else. So that point specifically is not a great criticism. But the problem is that he doesn't drive in any other runs. He has 344 HR and 848 RBI, which is a complete joke. To give you an idea, he is 82nd on the all-time HR list, to get to someone with fewer RBI than that, you have to go to - wait for it - Alfonso Soriano, who at 115th has 309 HR and 817 RBI. But this is not shocking since he was a leadoff hitter for a good part of his career. The next guy on the list with less than 848 is Gormon Thomas in 168th place with 268 HR and 782 RBI. The next guys are Bob Allison, Tony Armas, Tony Clark, Jose Valentin, and Mickey Tettleton, moving down to player with 100 fewer homeruns than Dunn. I think Dunn is a fine piece to a team, but he shouldn't be considered the focal slugger. And he shouldn't be paid $15 million a year. His comparables are guys like: Jay Buhner, Pat Burrell, Richie Sexson, Dean Palmer, Cecil Fielder, and Danny Tartabull. If you are expecting that and paying for that time of player, I think Dunn would be fine.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

I think he is an absolute must at this point. Here is my thinking in why. 1. The Ricketts aren't and absolutely shouldn't go into a rebuild mode 2. There is already well over 100 Million committed to next years team. It would look like a HUGE failure to allow another 100+ payroll win 70-ish games in 2011 3. First base will be a huge hole that needs to be filled with the most capable bat possible. The lineup is underpowered without a major slugger added somewhere. 4. There is nobody anywhere on the horizon in the minors that would be blocked at first. 5. As bad as this season has been. Adding a first tier slugger at first could still make this roster a mid 80 win team.

Why are people so excited about Cashner? He throws in the upper 90s, but he only has 18 Ks in 28 innings. His fastball is Farnsworthian in its straightness, and his control is not very good. If Cashner had played wide receiver at Notre Dame, I believe the perception of him would be a lot different.

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In reply to by Mitterwald

There are 6 rookies on the pitching staff. It is gonna suck. I suffered through Marmol as a starter. 2006 eventually ended, mercifully. Even though Castro fucked up going for an extra base, he tried to make something happen and tripped. But at the plate he is getting it. Diamond looked pretty good, but that flat fastball is gonna get punked. Berg looks terrible. Russel, ok. They all need experience and they are getting it "by fire" now. It doesn't make any difference in the 2010 scheme of things. The offensive offense is still anemic. Colvin needs to learn the strike zone and stop trying to pull everything. If all these guys are making the same mistakes next year, then we got some problems.

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In reply to by The E-Man

I think it was one year early to raid the farm system for bullpen pitchers. Schlitter, Atkins and Berg are not on a par with some of the pitchers who are scheduled for Iowa next year, like Archer, Shafer and Carpenter. Scott Maine is another one who has performed better than the call-ups; but Piniella tends to think of lefties as loogies, not guys who can give you a couple of innings. Then there's Samardzija, who has given up 40 hits in 64 innings. His 5.7 H/9 is the lowest in the organization after Marmol's 4.6. Samardzija has used up a lot of options, though, and they need him to stick the next time they call him up.

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In reply to by Mitterwald

People are excited about Cashner because: He was dominant as a starter in the minors this year He was dominant as a reliever in college He was drafted just a few years back, is young and already in the majors Other than 2 or so bad outings (which I think can be forgiven as a rookie), he has been one of our best relievers. Comparing Cashner's performance to Smardizija's performance is actually a benefit to Cashner IMO. You appear to believe that if a player doesn't dominate in every single game from the time they are called up (whether because they have a 95 mph fastball or otherwise)they are terrible. This of course would have led you to trade Greg Maddux before he was 25, Ryne Sandberg after about 30 ABS and any other player who wasn't performing at their peak immediately after being called up from the minors.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    LHP Blake Weiman appears to have been the last cut from the AAA Iowa roster. He is with the Tennessee group at Minor League Camp.

     

  • crunch (view)

    bruce bochy is hobbling rather badly for a guy who's had 2 hip replacements.  his gait is extremely wonky taking the lineup card to the ump.

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.