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

Elias Rankings for Cubs Free Agents

The official Elias Rankings are out and MLB.com does their usual job of half-assery by not giving out the full list, but at least we know Joe Mauer is the top AL catcher. Gee thanks!

The ESPN free agent tracker gives the listings for those that have filed so far and it looks like SI.com has finally come through with the full list of potential free agents. For those unaware of the system or need a refresher, Elias has come up with some rather archaic ranking system that takes the last two years worth of stats and ranks every player in baseball...mostly relying on counting stats (decent explanation of the point system can be found near the end of this mlb.com article or read through this Tigers fans blog who is trying to reverse engineer their rankings). The importance of it is that MLB uses it to figure out free agent compensation. A type "A" player that is offered arbitration by his former team and is signed by a new team will net his old club a first round draft pick and a supplemental draft pick between the first and second round. A type "B" free agent nets his old team just a supplemental pick. Also, the first 15 picks in the draft are protected, so a team drafting in one of those slots that signs a type "A" free agent would give up their second round pick and so on.

For the Cubs...

Ryan Dempster - A
Bob Howry - A
Kerry Wood - A

Jim Edmonds, Chad Fox, Henry Blanco, Daryle Ward and Jon Lieber weren't in the top 40% of their positions. It's important to note that for the Elias Rankings there are essentially five positions - starting pitcher, relief pitcher, catcher, outfielders/first basmen(and DH for the AL), and infielders (2B, SS, 3B).

Bobby Abreu - A
Raul Ibanez - A
Mark Teixeira - A
Orlando Hudson - A
Derek Lowe - A
A.J. Burnett - A
Brian Fuentes - A
C.C. Sabathia - A
Derek Lowe - A
Milton Bradley - B
Randy Wolf - B
Garrett Anderson - B
Milton Bradley - B
Joe Beimel - B
Rafael Furcal - no compensation

If you're wondering how Bob Howry is a Type A free agent, remember it's two years worth of rankings and there are a lot of relief pitchers in baseball....apparently 80% of them worst than Howry. If you're wondering how Furcal isn't rated at all, he's only played 172 games over two seasons and is being compared to every second basemen, shortstop and third basemen in the league which sure doesn't seem fair. Of course, it's not fair to group center fielders with first basemen and corner outfielders either. The non-ranking Furcal will certainly boost his stock a bit in the free agent market as will Bradley's "B" status.

The rankings for Dempster and Wood are good things for the Cubs. Since they want to keep both pitchers, it's a no-brainer to offer them arbitration even at the risk of paying a potentially higher one year salary if they do accept it. Since both players will certainly be signing multi-year deals, there's really no risk of them getting inflated arbitration prices. And if they end up losing them, the Cubs will be compensated handsomely. The Type "A" for Howry though is unfortunate. If he was a Type "B" free agent, a team probably wouldn't hesitate to sign Howry, even if he was offered arbitration by the Cubs, since they wouldn't lose any draft picks. The Cubs though could gain one in the supplemental round. Think Jason Kendall last year, a Type "B" free agent that the Cubs weren't planning to bring back, but since it didn't cost the Brewers a draft pick they signed him before the arbitration deadline and the Cubs received an extra supplemental round pick. The same happened with Juan Pierre and the Dodgers the year before which turned into a key trading chip (Josh Donaldson) in getting Rich Harden. WIth Howry a Type "A" free agent and assuming he's not coming back to the Cubs, there's a good chance he won't be signed until after the deadline to offer arbitration (December 1st) as teams will not want to risk having to give up a potential first or second round pick (or possibly third if they go on a Type A spending spree). That leaves the ball in the Cubs court and risk offering Bob Howry arbitration and the chance that he'll accept it, which would likely mean a one-year salary a lot higher than the Cubs would want to pay for Home Run Howry's services.  As Arizona Phil in the comments explained, the Cubs could get away with offering arbitration to Howry in hopes of still getting draft picks and if he does end up accepting it, the Cubs could just release him in spring training at a severe discount, something the Padres did recently with Todd Walker and a loophole I'm sure the MLBPA will be sure to get removed in the next CBA negotiations.

If the Cubs do dip into the free agents waters, their first round pick at #32 is certainly not protected but low enough that it's not something they need to really worry about it. If you're wondering why they're picking #32 when there are only 30 teams, three ballclubs (Nats, Mariners, Yankees) get an extra first round pick for not signing their first round picks last year. And if Dempster, Wood or Howry were to sign somewhere else the Cubs would likely get some extra supplemental draft picks and improve their spot in the first round.The Cubs have so far expressed a desire for left-handed hitting and bullpen arms although indications have been they prefer the trade market over the free agent market but that is all subject to change. We'll see what they do about a left-handed middle of the order bat but guys like Alan Embree, Brian Shouse and Joe Beimel might be interesting relief options as Type "B" free agents.

Comments

My vote is Wood, Bradley, Fuentes and one from Dempster, Lowe, Sabathia. Oliver Perez is tempting, but I think he may suffer from Ronny Cedeno disease. I'm a big Kerry Wood fan, but there's something inherently flawed in a system that makes him a Type A free agent and the guy who led the AL in OPS a type B. Is I-Rod looking for a starters position (and salary?), he wouldn't be a bad backup plan for Blanco (or vice-versa).

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

"Wood, Bradley, Fuentes, and one from Dempster, Lowe, Sabathia" If they're going to spend that kind of FA cash, I skip Bradley and Fuentes and take Abreu instead. I figure Sabathia is just wishful thinking. Dempster is most likely and Lowe is maybe within the price range. I for one think Wood and Dempster will both be back. I also think the Cubs get another "bat" via trade, though I'm not sure it will be the sort of player any of us are hoping for--I'd love for it to be Hermida, but I don't see that one happening.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Abreu doesn't make the team any better, and that's a whole lot of money to pay to just add balance to the lineup. Bradley plays good defense, and hits better than DeRosa. He may not stay healthy, OK, he won't stay healthy, but with DeRosa, Johsnon, Fukudome and Pie in house we have alternatives like we did with Edmonds last year. I should have said that you sign Fuentes with an eye towards moving Wood back into the rotation in 2010.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

1. Wood ever being an effective starter again for more than a few games at a time is a real long shot, so I certainly wouldn't make any free agent signings with the hopes of putting Wood in the rotation. 2. Bradley has been a very similar player to Abreu in his career, but with more injury risks and personality issues. Bradley's never hit more than 22 homeruns in a season, has never stolen more than 17 bases, and has never hit more than 34 doubles. The only thing Bradley really has on Abreu is he's coming off a good in year in which he played a lot of games in Alrington and he's younger. I'm not opposed to a Bradley signing, but I don't see that Bradley does much for the Cubs that Abreu, who is consistently an OBP source and a respectable base stealer as well as all-around good hitter, couldn't. I would agree with you on Bradley being the better fielder, but only if we're assuming both are relatively healthy. I'm not sure what either of them hitting better than DeRosa has to do with anything. DeRosa would be playing 2B almost full-time. Fontenot and Pie probably stand to lose the most playing time if a big-name RF is brought in.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

1. Yeah, he's not on the John Smoltz plan - my bad. Good to know we have someone so in tune with Kerry Wood's situation posting here. Too bad you weren't advising for Hendry after 2003. 2. Over the last two years Bradley has out hit Abreu: At Home, On the Road, versus LHP, versus RHP. Essentially DeRosa hit as well as Abreu last year, and plays right field as well. If Fukudome is a total bust, or is taken out of the equation because he's in CF, then we effectively would replace Abreu with a Fontenaught/Cedeno platoon, which also will hit as well as Abreu, and probably give us about the same defense as DeRosa at 2nd. So, you give Abreu, a guy clearly in the decline stage of his career a big contract to steal a few more bases than Fontenot.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

depending on m.bradley to play CF is a crapshoot when you're talking about the loot he'd bring vs. his health. i'm not even talking about freak injuries...i'm talking about persistent lingering injuries effecting his play. heck, counting on him to play RF in wrigley is another thing, too...he's not known for being a superman when it comes to playing the wall in any park, though he's not without his highlights in his early career.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

1. That bit of sarcasm was unnecessary; it's not like thinking Wood won't be starting is a minority position here. There are a lot of skeptics as far as Wood's health, I'm one of them, though I really like the guy and I would love to see him back. 2. Although Bradley clearly outhit Abrue in 2008, Milton Bradley's stats in 2007 came from a total of 61 games and only 244 plate appearances. Yes, his rate stats were better in 2007, but you're comparing 244 Bradley plate appearances to 699 Abreu plate appearances. I'm not even making a health argument here, I'm just pointing out the difference of 455 plate appearances. I like Fontenot and Cedeno and would be fine seeing the Cubs get more playing time and stashing away that money or spending it elsewhere (I just haven't seen much evidence yet that Lou is willing to give either one significant playing time). But if it came down to Bradley or Abreu for the same $ over the same years, I take Abreu. I have no idea who will get more money or more years on the market. As we've noted, Bradley has the health issues, Abreu has the age issues.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Maybe Santo's not the only one who can't remember Ruben Quevedo. Pat: Ron, tell us about Ruben Quevedo (of the Milwakee Brewers). Ron: Well Pat, this kid reminds me a lot of a kid we used to have. Couple years ago... Pat: Ron, Ruben Qu... Ron: I swear, this guy looks *just* like him. Pat: I believe you're thinking of Ruben Quevedo, Ronny.

i'm a bradley fan, btw...even his "attitude" doesn't bother me as much as some other guys out there who get less press than he does about attitude. i think he's a great hitter and he sure as hell is NOT lazy or unmotivated, but he wants a multi-year deal and $$. i don't really see how a NL team can bet on a guy like that unless he finds himself in a situation where he has to start listening to 1-2 year deal offers.

You can't produce if you can't stay on the field. I keep hearing Bradley outproduced Abreu last year. Really? Abreu knocked in 100 RBI and scored 100 runs. Bradley scored 78 and knocked in 77. Those are career highs for Bradley, in fact its the first time he ever got to 70 RBI's in his career. That isn't a typo, first career 70 RBI year. His injury history his attitude and his nothing great defense don't command the salary he will want. Abreu is a proven RBI threat with outstanding plate vision. For his career, not one season but for his career, he has hit .316 with RISP, with a .439 OBP. And for his career has hit with RISP/2outs, .303 BA, .463 OBP. Sure Abreu is getting older but the 34 year old body of Abreu is younger wear and tear wise than the 30 year old body of Bradley. I would rather pay for a product that stays on the field and produces than one that doesn't. Plus Abreu's attitude is 10 times better than Bradley. Lets not forget Bradley has been nearly kicked off every MLB team has been a part of. And even in his so called good year last year he tried to attack the KC announcer. He is still bat shit crazy.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Bat a 35 year old Abreu behind a pitcher and Alfonso Soriano and see if he gets a 100 RBI's. Seriously, man, think. The Cubs have adequate backup guys at center and right, so if Bradley gets hurt, or misses a day or three, it's not the end of the world. We played Reed Johnson, Felix Pie, Jim Edmonds and Fukudome in center last year and hit .290 .374 .484 with 101 RBI's. Swapping out Edmonds with Bradley is not going to make those numbers worse. Abreu is well known for having a shitty 'me first' attitude, which attributes to his atrocious defense... did you notice who won the WS this year and who didn't make the playoffs? The Phillies didn't trade Abreu because they were trying to dump salaray. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/47294-bobby-abreu-the-real-reason-fo… So besides, knowledge and logic, this post was right on.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Right now reports have the Cubs not intending to make a competitive offer to Edmonds, though it's obviously still early. Take him out of that CF mix and last year's numbers go way down. I don't think the major concern is that Bradley has minor injuries and only plays 125 games, but rather that he only plays 60-80 games as he did in 2001, 2005, and 2007. "So besides, knowledge and logic, this post was right on." Ease up, Neal. Did somebody kick your puppy today or what? EDIT: Also, the poster in the link doesn't seem much more informed than Mike. He doesn't link to any box scores, videos, state dates or game scores, and makes approximate quantitative statements like "he must have done this 25 times." I don't really have a problem with you linking to a fan's opinions, just when you use them as if they were empirical evidence that disproves someone else's subjective judgments (MikeC's).

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

You want empirical evidence that he was a selfish player a clubhouse disruptance? The 2006 Phillies trade him, replace him with Shane Victorino then go 36-22 the rest of the year to get into playoff contention. The next two years they win their division - something they never did with Abreu. "Some critics say he takes too many pitches, particularly in clutch situations with runners on base. And, Abreu's preference to bat third when he might have been a perfect fit as a leadoff hitter in Philadelphia's lineup made him appear selfish." The offensive stats actually don't support the ascertation that he only was good when the game wasn't on the line (actually it's the opposite, which I think is bad but a different argument). But I don't really care about that stuff. What I care about is that he is old, that his power, patience, defense and speed are all declining. Let some other team think they're getting the guy that did so well in the HR derby. That player never existed. For his career defensively he's 25 runs below average as a right fielder, according to BP, and trending down (Bradley -2 about the same rate, Fukudome +2, Derosa +5). His WARP 1 over the last five years: 9.5 6.6 7.3 5.8 5.2 Bradley's over the last three: 3.1 3.6 7.0 It doesn't take a statistician to spot the trends... Over the last 700 PA's the guy has essentially been Albert Pujols.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Correlation does not equal causation. A lot of other things had to happen for the Phillies to improve since that trade, including better pitching, better all-around defense, and better hitting throughout the lineup. It helps that Victorino is a pretty good player. I'd gladly take him in RF or CF over Abreu or Bradley. And yes. I did want some actual numbers and dates since the guy was claiming that Abreu did things in-game that were selfish--he could say exactly how many times he stole 2nd when his team was down by 5 runs and their number 4 hitter was at the plate, etc. I see your point that Abreu could have attitude problems just as Bradley could, but I think it says a bit more that Bradley's problems have been more than just the focus of a few annoyed fans. I'm less concerned about Bradley's personality than the fact he's only played in the 100s of games 3 times his career, and only once has he played 140 or more games. He'd help the offense when he was healthy, but if he's only healthy for 75 games, you're only getting about half a player. It's probably not an issue, as the Cubs are rumored to not have much money to spend and thus won't have either RF after signing a couple of pitchers.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

What's the difference between the 90 games that the Cubs would benefit from Bradley and the 70 that they wouldn't miss him? I'm lost. I don't know why a GM would want to sign a guy to an expensive contract, even for one or two years, if he thinks he wouldn't miss not having him. I have clearly missed something. If he were cheap, then I think I'd understand, because then it's low risk low reward. But here isn't it high risk low reward? As in millions of dollars committed for what, apparently, would be only a marginal improvement in performance?

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Which part of 'Bradley lead the AL in OPS' last year is hard to understand? He's one of the top 5 offensive players in baseball, and can be had for a discount because of his injury and attitude concerns. The Cubs can play him 5 days a week, to keep him fresh, because they have adequate replacements. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to make things any more simple. Let's try math. His Marginal Lineup Value Rate was .395 last year. So if he plays in 100 games, that's 39.5 extra runs the team scores over an average MLB hitter. Say Fukudome plays the other 62 games, he had a rate of -.008 so that's a half a run he costs us. 39 extra batting runs. Abreu had a .098 MLVr. So 162 games of Abreu - hitting as well as he did last year, which doesn't seem likely gives you 16 runs. The he gives back 6 more runs because of his defense. So signing Bradley, if he plays 100 games throws 29 more runs onto the team's run differential, than Signing Abreu. And it will cost less. Understand? Now, say you're the Yankees and you think that Bradley will be a good replacement for Abreu - and you have Melky Cabrera to back him up. Cabrera playing in 62 games would cause your team to score about 11 runs less. So for the Yankees, 100 games of Bradley only adds 18 runs. So, in this example the Cubs get about 150% more 'bang for their buck' out of signing Bradley than the Yankees would.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

quite a leap of faith that Bradley will keep up his numbers from last year moving away from the Ballpark or whatever it's called. I know BP takes into account park factors, but Bradley's .396 BABIP is pretty much a sure sign he'll go back closer to his career levels, which is nowhere near the top 5 offensive players in baseball.

His HR/FB rate was also up to 21% last year (15% for his career and 11% is league average) and hit at a 25%  line drive rate.

He's a good hitter and was top 5 last year, but I don't see how you can bet that he would repeat it. He easily had a career year last year.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Did you just count the 244 PA's in 2007, as two years in a row?

and yeah, a .396 is pretty high as in the highest in baseball, as in expect him to drop at minimun 30 pts off all his average stats and I would expect more in the 50-60 range.

21.2% HR/FB is all pretty high, much higher than he'll hit next year.  If you look at the averages for the last 3 yrs..

Howard - 34%, Thome - 26.5, Dunn - 23.4, Arod 23.4, then Berkman and Ortiz around 20%

I don't think Bradley really fits the slugger mode that those guys have and is going to drop into 15-18% range.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Just say you don't like the guy instead of making up stupid shit. He's going to move to Wrigley field, a good hitters park, where you can hit line drives for home runs, pretty easily, and his BA is not only going to go down, but it's going to go down 10 to 20 points below is career average? That makes sense. Look at where's he's played before 2008. The look at the guys you say are the best HR/FB hitters. Only Arod plays in a park that doesn't give cheapy HR's (to right handed hitters). The guy hit 17.3% of his FB's for HR's in 2005 with the Dodgers. In 2007 he played for the A's and Padres and had an 18.3% ratio, then he moves to a hitters park and has 21.2%, but that's a freak? You're grasping at straws.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

you thinking little 6'0, 180 Milton Bradley keeping up a 21% HR/FB rate or anywhere close to it outside of Texas is grasping at straws

this is on the edge of getting pointless, so here are my predictions if he leaves Texas, happy to revist them at the end of the year for Bradley

15-18% range on HR/FB%

290/390/500(+/- 10% on those)

100-110 games played

7.5 RC/G

I think they'll drop even if he stays in Texas, but not as much.

and I think he's a very good hitter, just not anywhere near the top 5 in baseball. I wouldn't care if the Cubs sign him, but I'd be surprised if they did. They seem to believe in the clubhouse chemistry and wouldn't introduce the powder keg that is Bradley.

Z's got enough crazy for the team.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

bradley is cheaper? guy is looking top money and years. he is sick of the 1-year contracts he's been taking (without bitching, btw) for years. baseball "the game" has taken good care of milton, but baseball "the administration" (going back to his youth, yes, little league and highschool) has rarely taken good care of him. it's only been the past couple years he's finally got it through his skull that he's arrived and doesn't need to fight as hard with himself and others for acceptance.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

"I was making the argument that they're both 'problem' players, so if you're going to take on one, take on the one who's cheaper and better" i was going off that and your pro-bradley stance being part of it. i'm not assuming bradley's gonna be cheap. with health he's a 15+m player in this market. health isn't gonna be one of his strong bargaining chips, though. i still don't see the guy getting less than 12-15m if healthy at signing time. my main issue with handicapping his worth has very little to do with his "attitude" which is less about his teammates and more about criticism acceptance from superiors. the guy is more prone to being frustrated and crying about it these days than lashing out and yelling. hell, i don't think he's had a public incidence since his cookie-throwing days.

wow, there's lots of angry here. fwiw, give some credit for Bradley to rudy jaramillo, he works magic with his hitters. I don't see either as a long term answer for us in right. How old is dunn??... =)

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.