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

The DeWitt Options

IF-OF Blake DeWitt was Designated for Assignment on Sunday to make room on the Cubs 25-man roster for LHP Travis Wood, and in the process DeWitt (at least temporarily -- see below) has been removed from the Cubs MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), although he will continue to get paid and accrue MLB Service Time while he is on the Designated List.

The Cubs now have ten days to decide his fate.

While many Cub fans couldn't care less and probably just wish he would go away, here are the Cubs options (and DeWitt's options):

TRADE:

DeWitt had a hot Spring Training at the plate and might have drawn some interest from other MLB clubs at that time, but he has played so poorly since the start of the regular season that it is very unlikely that there would be much trade interest in him now.

So a trade is not likely.

OUTRIGHT RELEASE:

If the Cubs decide to release DeWitt, he would be placed on Outright Release Waivers where any other MLB club could claim him for $1 and assume 100% of his remaining salary.

If DeWitt were to be claimed off Release Waivers, he would have the right to refuse the assignment and be a free-agent, but if he does that, he receives no termination pay.

However, clubs almost never claim players off Release Waivers because it's better to just wait for the player to clear waivers and then sign him for the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary, sticking the player's previous club with paying the balance of the player's salary.

So the Cubs will almost certainly not release DeWitt.

OUTRIGHT ASSIGNMENT:

If the Cubs decide to try and outright DeWitt to the minors and he is claimed off Outright Waivers, the claiming club would pay the Cubs $20,000 and assume 100% of DeWitt's contract and all of what remains of his 2012 $1.1M salary (about $900K). The Cubs would be absolutely ecstatic if this happens.

If DeWitt were to be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers and not be claimed, the Cubs could outright him to the minors (just as they did prior to the start of Spring Training).

However, per Article XX-D of the CBA, any player on an MLB 40-man roster who has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time and/or has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career (and DeWitt fits both criteria) has the right to decline an Outright Assignment and be a free-agent immediately (and receive no termination pay), or accept the Outright Assignment (and continue to be paid his salary) and defer the right to be a free-agent until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season.

So if Outright Waivers are secured and the Cubs outright DeWitt to the minors (as they did prior to the start of Spring Training), DeWitt would have the right (per Article XX-D of the CBA) to either decline the Outright Assignment and be a free-agent immediately (and receive no termination pay), or accept the Outright Assignment and continue to be paid per the terms of his 2012 guaranteed contract, deferring free-agency until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. (NOTE: DeWitt would lose the right to be an Article XX-D minor league free-agent post-2012 if he defers the right to be a free-agent and then is added back to an MLB 40-man roster prior to the conclusion of the 2012 MLB regular season).

This was the same choice DeWitt had when he was outrighted prior to Spring Training, and at that time he opted to accept the Outright Assignment to AAA Iowa and continue to be paid his $1.1M salary, with an NRI to Spring Training giving him a chance to make the Cubs MLB Opening Day 25-man roster (which he did).

While the Cubs would probably hope that he would elect free-agency immediately if outrighted (and save the Cubs about $900K in 2012 payroll in the process), DeWitt likely would make the same choice this time should he be outrighted again. He would accept the Outright Assignment and defer free-agency until the conclusion of the MLB regular season. (His agent would insist!).

OPTIONAL ASIGNMENT:

And finally, the Cubs could elect to option DeWitt to AAA Iowa.

But why would the Cubs DFA DeWitt if they just want to option him to the minors?

Some players on an MLB 40-man roster who do not have enough MLB Service Time to refuse an Optional Assignment to the minors but who have minor league options remaining still cannot be optioned to the minors until Optional Assignment Waivers are secured, and Blake DeWitt is one of them. (Ian Stewart, Chris Volstad, and Randy Wells are the other Cubs in this category). That's because DeWitt, Stewart, Volstad, and Wells made their debut on an MLB 25-man roster more than three years ago.

If a player is claimed off Optional Assignment Waivers, the waivers are (like Trade Waivers in August-September) revocable (meaning the waivers can be recalled if a claim is made). so players placed on Optional Assignment Waivers are almost never claimed. (The claiming club also assumes 100% of the player's remaining salary, another reason not to make a claim).

Once secured, Optional Assignment Waivers are good for the balance of that waiver period, so the player can be recalled and then optioned back to the minors again and again (as many times as the club desires) during that waiver period without waivers needing to be secured each time.

A new waiver period commenced last Friday (the 31st day of the 2012 MLB regular season), and so the Cubs probably had not gotten around to securing Optional Assignment Waivers yet, Thus the Cubs had no choice but to DFA DeWitt in order to open up a slot on the 25-man roster for Travis Wood, while they wait a couple of days to secure Optional Assignment Waivers on DeWitt. (It takes two business days to get a player through waivers).

So because Outright Assignment Waivers need to be secured before DeWitt can be optioned to the minors, and since the Cubs presently have one slot open on their 40-man roster so that DeWitt's roster slot is not needed for another player (and probably won't be needed until September), don't be surprised if the Cubs ultimately just option DeWitt to the minors sometime later this week, once Optional Assignment Waivers have been secured.

Comments

Without Dewitt it won't be much of a Somers, should not have got Ritter of him. ~stretch~

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Just remember Tyler Colvin, i think that was your last flash in the pan. You never ate your crow on that one. I guess that's why your so bitter to project through LaHair towards me. As always i can wait to find out the truth.

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In reply to by MikeC

LaHair at least has an idea of the strike zone. Tyler Colvin hasn't had that at any level of his career. I used to think that the Cubs purposely got guys who swung at everything, so they could clear the park out as quickly as possible.

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In reply to by MikeC

Gaetti was 39. Neifi had 23 games after mediocrity for 7 seasons. Were people really that fired up about Gaetti and Perez? Or..let's see...Todd Hollandsworth? I don't think LaHair is going to hit .390...or even .330. But it sure looks like he can hit..take an occasional walk, and has some power.

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In reply to by Dusty Baylor

I was actually ambivilent about Colvin getting signed and stated so here, when there were better options on the board. Much better. But, I thought he was a bright light to be sure. He was actually coming along pretty well until he got a bat stuck in his chest. This year in Colo in 47 PA's he is at: .295/319/545/865 I don't know what crow I am supposed to eat yet, but if he reverts to 2011 Cubs I will have no problem doing so.

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In reply to by The E-Man

Ahhhh yes using Colo based stats to support an opinion. Lets just forget he is only batting .211 with a .200 OBP away from Coors. Thats the real Tyler Colvin.....ohh wait didn't he also do that as a Cub? Well he did better in some areas worse in others.......150 BA, .204 OBP sooooooo he kinda improved right E-man?

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In reply to by MikeC

Admittedly, that indeed is pretty shitty. I did not look into the splits like that. Again, I wasn't a cheerleader for Colvin to the same degree that you spewed venom for every Cubs minor leaguer and the system completely bereft of talent according to you, ever since I have been reading your posts. And it took one guy for you to admit that perhaps you were mistaken. Which was my entire point.

LoL Cole Hamels facing a possible suspension for saying he intentionally hit Bryce Harper......Harper had the last laugh by stealing home. Way to show that kid!

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In reply to by MikeC

Yes, that's classic. I wanted to hate that kid until now. Now, I think he is just a cocky, arrogant guy who knows he is good, and is a competitor. What's not to like in this? I was in my own world about the guy, buying into the press about his douchiness but you know, fuck it. It's sports. May the best man win.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

there was a nice article about harper somewhere that sort of turned me around. Maybe the author of it got a bj from harper''s mom, but in general it made him sound like a cocky kid who loves the game. His stealing home kind of proved it. I'm going to watch this kid whenever I can, and enjoy him. He's going to be like Pete Rose. Impossible to like, but impossible to not love.

Thanks, Phil again. I don't rely on any other source. Interesting article on Jeter, I thought: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-yankees--derek-jeter-doesn-t-want-his-… Normally I don't show much interest in non cubs, but I what caught my eye was the guy who said Jeter is acting like Vlad Guerrero, which in turn made me think of our beloved Randall Simon, who had one year of hitting terrible pitches and made me a Randall Simon fan forever.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16830 The Cubs rocked the scouting world when they signed Concepcion to a $6 million big league deal that included a $3 million bonus, and the 20-year-old Cuban has not exactly gotten off to a rollicking start. After allowing seven runs in one inning on Saturday, he now has an 18.90 ERA in three starts and the Midwest League is batting .514 (19-for-37) against him. That said, it's not time to panic, as the money involved was the creation of end-of-market inflation, and not Concepcion's talent. He throws strikes with an upper-80s fastball and has the potential for good secondaries, but as a command-and-control pitcher and not a stuff guy, it's going to take time to figure out how to pitch, as well as to adjust to his new life in the United States. Patience, for now.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I don't get it. I love watching this ML Cubs team . . . they are better and more entertaining than people thought no? Not five #5 starters as posited... pretty great starting pitching actually Playing the youth to great effect (LaHair, Campy) DUmping the shit as he can (Zambrano, Byrd, demoting Marmol) etc etc. Gotta take chances on Kids, Cubans etc with your money before the new collective bargaining agreement flattens it out. Concepcion sucks like noone I've ever seen, but credit them with spending dough when they could. He may straighten out. I'll never rip on people for trying things and especially for just spending money vs players. I know it's trendy here to rip on Theo etc. Am I the only one who likes whats been happening? I know crunch thinks I am insane/groupie, but I was certainly not a company man with Dusty BAker and the boys. I just like these moves. I know Concepcion's 40 man / ML contract is part of the issue. But what the hell . . .

[ ]

In reply to by superjimmer

There seems to be issues: 1) Despite being told repeatedly this is a rebuilding year, people are still judging moves through the lens of the Cubs competing this year. 2) I guess because Theo got lauded so much, people seem to think if Theo makes any mistakes he's a failure.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Uh...I'm pretty sure this was sarcasm? Let's all stop rattling swords. The Cubs are expected to stink. Any success is a pleasant surprise. Once Theo has a draft or 2 under his belt, and a full season of evaluation, we'll see where the Cubs are heading. On another note...how long will the Cubs keep rolling Chris "It's just one bad inning" Volstad out there? 4 more starts? June1? I like Volstad, but yikes.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

imagine how good they'd be with Wells, T. Wood or Coleman pitching? :) (remember Wood got the Matt Kemp-less Dodgers lineup and wasn't doing all that great in Iowa). I'd probably give him through May at the very least.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Wells was solid in the second half last year Rob: 6-3, 4.04 ERA, 1,213 WHIP. He had 2 starts this year: 1- 5IP, 2 ER..shaky, but fought through it 2- 3.2 IP, 4ER. Bad. Ugh I just am hoping that Volstad figures out how to avoid the 1 bad inning soon. Rolling out a loss every 5th start is getting old, and the Cubs aren't a team built to come back from 4-0. Wells, Coleman, and Wood may not be the answer. But it doesn't mean Volstad is either. We'll see yeah?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

just because it's no need to panic doesn't mean it's cool. this was their 1st "pure scouting" sign and it got a bad grade from the scouting community. the guy is all tools and his tools aren't even good. i'm sure they expect more, but there's many more expecting nothing.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I think it is fair to factor this in (in a few months) for or against theo/Jed as judges of talent. But I wouldn't factor it the same as a draft pick. There was no choice of players, other than to bid or not to bid on this player. Honestly they may not have researched it that much, but rather decided to trust some Cuban scouts and throw some money there and take a chance. But again lets see in a few months.

[ ]

In reply to by superjimmer

i think it's fair to take a look at the guy that was signed, his skills, what he's done in the past, and what he's doing now...along with carrying this guy on the 40-man roster and giving him $7m to do it. you see a lot of press release selective stats pimping of things like... 3.36era and 10-3 record. awesome! cool! if you dig deeper... 101.2ip - 103h - 43bb - 53k. oh... he played over his head age-wise, but there were few scouts expecting this kind of payday, much less a MLB contract.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Free THEO! We was robbed! Dude, I hear you. Okay they suck. They are skating on their reputations, drinking piña coladas, sleepwalking through our baseball worlds, and we are fucked. Worst team, world, universe etc. ever. How was I so stupid as to root for my favorite team to succeed with these morons. Must. Maintain. Healthy. Skepticism. At. All. Times. Spock. Free Jed. free Theo. long live crunch! ;)

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Okay. Fuck you. Yu get what you want crunch. Not sure what the fuck all this real Neal crap is but I've had it. Outta here. Enjoy your incessant pessimism and be sure to chase out anyone who enjoys the cubs direction. Fuck you and Tito and the rest of you cliquish ducks. Seriously don't need this pessimistic bullshit. Troll til you die. Have fun.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

superjimmer: Don't take it personally, bro. I mean crunch thinks theo fucked up on concepcion and you think we can't make that determination yet. It's a pretty basic difference of opinion- Not really worth getting worked up over. You'll get an aneurysm or something. FWIW- I think it's too early to call, but obviously it doesn't look good so far. On the other hand, I like what the theo regime (can we start calling it a 'regime' or is it still the honeymoon period?) has done with the big league club in terms of rebuilding. I'm not sold on Castro and if Theo values defense, I wouldn't be surprised to see him traded at some point. Imagine the uproar.

C. Coleman with 8 K's through 4 IP in Iowa vs. New Orleans (Miami). M. Dominguez, C. Coghlan, B. Peterson in the lineup.

J. Werth takes the lead back with wrist surgery and at least 3 months out...plus broken wrists are always good for power hitters.

Peoria also playing, Hoilman grand slam, has a 20-game hit streak apparently. Francescon started, 6 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, 3 H, 2.48 ERA on the season.

I found it interesting how many times Dale said yesterday it's a shame a guy (DeWitt) lost a job because of the flu. Yet the way Barney is hitting they are almost interchangeable. So reality is, he lost his job due to his higher salary. The only other consideration might be lefty/righty options, but that doesn't seem to concern the current regime at all. This time, I think Blake will look for new surroundings and a new challenge, like back in LA. The weather has been awful so far off the lake...

in other news...how about Campana in the 9th yesterday? he actually hit that into the outfield...nifty trick for him :)

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In reply to by Rob G.

Brett Jackson was 0-2 today but he drew a walk in the eighth inning of a scoreless game and went to third on a single by Vitters. I didn't see it, but between the two of them they induced a balk that brought in the winning run. Sounds like the way the parent team has been scoring late-inning runs. Maybe there is a Cub way.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Yea - I don't get the outrage of Hamels. I think he was stupid. But some (see Baseball Musings) think that he should get suspended for the season!! Suspend the guy for a start or two? Maybe. But then you should also suspend Zimmerman, who also threw at a guy intentionally. Frankly, the motive for throwing at a guy shouldn't matter.

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In reply to by big_lowitzki

That's insane. Like, I REALLY wanted Artest suspended for a year or maybe forever, so I am one of those guys. Yet, while I think it is probably not wise of Hamels to be brash about it, I think I could care less. It was a ball in the back, nowhere near the head. He didn't freak when they retaliated. Who cares. 5 games is about right. Pushes him back a day. Who is calling for his head? And you and rob, or whoever said it is right, he certainly shouldn't be punished for being honest, or for his motives.

DeJesus rf, Campy cf, Castro ss, LaHair 1b, Stewart 3b, Johnson lf, Barney 2b, Soto c, Samardzija p Hanson pitching...

Anyone notice Kevin Goldstein's Tweet replies like the one above? "Magic Goldstein 8-Ball, what Do you think of _______" "Neither will be especially noteworthy."

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In reply to by johann

Goldstein? use to work for Baseball America, then moved on to Baseball Prospectus. One of the big 3-5 prospect writers out there. Very accessible. Very popular podcast. Comes off a little douchey at times, but has great contacts in the business. And to be fair, people ask him really stupid questions and get very uptight when he doesn't gush over marginal players from their favorite team...like Matt Szczur. I favorite his tweets a lot because he writes a lot of tweets mostly. BA and Sickels don't tweet nearly as much and Law saves the good info for his Insider articles.

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In reply to by Old and Blue

I think most people think he is a totally acceptable C+/B- 4th Outfield prospect. It's just that some people are still in the buying the hype mode of every player in the system. People act like he is a HOFer in waiting when he has never shown any semblance of even MLB starter pedigree. Basically a better Hayden Simpson but a lesser Josh Vitters.

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In reply to by Cubster

so if Mike Rizzo was trying to win the award for most oblivious GM in the game, he's won the honor... I'm presuming he's just trying to defend his player or rile up the fans or whatever, but I pray he's aware of such things as pitchers throwing at hitters on purpose. I'm not even defending the action...you know, regardless of the intent, throwing a 90 mph fastball at someone can have serious consequences. But let's not pretend that it's anything new or shocking or anything less than commonplace.

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In reply to by Rob G.

I realize I grew up watching Gibson, Drysdale, Jenkins, et al pitch but they weren't the only one's pitching on the inner 1/3rd of the plate. What is it about the 21st Century vs. the late 60s/early 70s that it is now taboo to throw inside to hitters? And the 'stare-downs' back to the pitcher's mound are really rich. Hey, today's hitters: If you're afraid of getting hit by a baseball, try taking up chess. Like a coach once told me, "If you play this game long enough, you will get hit by a baseball. It will hurt. You will probably live." To Harper's credit, he didn't start an international incident. He took his base, and then got the ultimate revenge - he scored stealing home. The only offense Hamels committed was admitting what he did. Home plate is 17 inches wide, and if you're not using every bit of that plus an inch on either side, then you're wasting your time as a pitcher.

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In reply to by George Altman

hell, the players solved it that night...tensions/competitiveness to come, aside. they plunked hamels in return and he simply took his base because he knew exactly what he did to earn it. it doesn't make what hamels did right...and he's gonna lose a little pay over it...but it was settled on the field without a GM playing "dad."

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In reply to by crunch

Absolutely, correct. That's the way these things should always be handled (sans, the confession by Hamels). And that's the point of the Gibson/Drysdale reference. Except for Marichal taking a baseball bat to Roseboro, I don't remember the benches clearing every week like it is in today's baseball world.

Roster move official (per Cubs pre game with Keith Morland and Jud Sirott) Adrian Cardenas called up. Travis Wood back to Iowa.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022.