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

Did Cubs Make the Right (Field) Choice?

I did the bulk of the research for this article with the idea this would be a preview on whom the Cubs should prefer as their new right fielder. Then the signing became imminent and eventually a reality, so I decided to turn this into an analysis of the newest Cub outfielder, Milton Bradley. You've probably already seen a lot of these numbers in one way or another, but why let the work go to waste?

Let's start with a look at their offensive numbers...in beautiful table form. Their ages are their 2009 baseball ages, in other words using the July 1st cutoff for their birthday. The 3-year WARP averages are a simple average, just taking the last three seasons and dividing by three, rather than weighting it by games played or anything like that. Considering it's a cumulative stat, I actually believe that's kosher.  I went with 2009 Bill James projections, but you can find MARCEL or CHONE on their fangraphs pages. Bold indicates the leader in that category.

Player
Age
2008 WARP1
3-Year WARP1
2008 OPS 3-Year OPS 2009 Bill James OPS Projection
A. Dunn
29
6.3
4.77
.899
.897
.913
M. Bradley
31
7.0
4.57
.999
.9231
.879
B. Abreu
35
5.2
6.1
.842
.847
.844
R. Ibanez
37
7.4
5.93
.846
 .846 .791
N. Swisher
28
3.5
6.03
.742
.8172
.810
J. Hermida
25
3.0
2.67
.729
.771
.822
G. Anderson
37
3.5
3.27
.758
.776 .753

There's also the 39-year old Ken Griffey Jr. still out there and the right-handed Pat Burrell was out there, but there didn't seem to be the remotest of rumors on either of them with the Cubs. 

Bobby Abreu looks promising when you see the best 3-year WARP1 average, but then you see that starting from 2006 it was 7.3, 5.8 and then 5.2 last year and you have what the experts like to call a downward trend. You sell that stock, you don't buy, especially at age 353. Dunn looks to be the safest with the bat going forward, but then you look at his WARP1 scores and you can see how much his defense kills his overall value.

Defense

UZR, or Ultimate Zone Rating is now on Fangraphs and was created by Mitchell Lichtman5. RAA is Clay Davenport's system that can be found on Baseball Prospectus, which I hear will come out with a major revision this spring in the new Baseball Prospectus book. Plus/Minus system from ACTA Sports was taken from this BP article, if anyone has the Bill James Handbook, I can fill in the gaps.

Player
Age
UZR
UZR/150 3-Year UZR average
RAA
3-Year RAA Average
 +/-
A. Dunn (LF) 29
-10.1
 -16.3 -14
-1
-12
 -23
M. Bradley
31
1.2
7.0
 3.83 3
-0.3
1.2
B. Abreu
35
-25.2
-25.9
-15
-14
-8
-24
R. Ibanez
37
-12.6
-11.0
-13
1
 -7.33 -18
N. Swisher
28
-1.3
-2.4
1.63
-3
2.33
Missing
J. Hermida
25
-2.6
-3
-3.77
-3
-4.67 Missing

Bradley has only played 172 games in the outfield over the last three years, but he's the only one that is a positive with the glove.   You can see just how poor Abreu's become defensively and rumors swirled that Abreu was scared of the wall at Yankee Stadium, which would only be exasperated with Wrigley's brick facade.  I think Swisher's defensive numbers get roughed up by being misplaced as a center fielder and  Adam Dunn needs to accept his life as a DH. It worked just fine for Frank Thomas and David Ortiz (not that Dunn is quite that good a hitter).

Temperament

Much has been made of Bradley's volatile past, and for good reason, it's part of the package the Cubs are getting for the next 2-3 years. From the ESPN highlights and blurbs we're all exposed to, I'm sure a lot of fans think Bradley is ready to go berserk on them if you just look at him the wrong way. But this isn't a guy picking fights with everyone he crosses paths with, rather a guy with serious anger management issues.  And for all the people ready to condemn him for his past, there always seems to be someone there to let us know there's more to Bradley than the "Angry Black Man". And as that ESPN.com article states, "He just thinks it's time people understand the three-dimensional person living behind the one-dimensional image."

Now the Cubs are pretty dumb at times6, but I think it's safe to assume they did their due diligence checking in with past managers, players and other acquaintences of Bradley and know exactly what they're getting themselves into. Don't forget that Dusty made a special trip back in 2005 to visit Bradley and see if the Cubs might be interested, so he's been on the Cubs radar for quite awhile. By all accounts, he gets along just fine with his teammates7 and no one seems to have ever questioned his effort between the lines. It's that effort and talent that has given him a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and now seventh chance...this time with the Cubs. That is not to condone his past actions, for he has crossed lines that shouldn't have been passed, but it is to forgive and move forward. Yes, when you're talking tens of millions of dollars and your favorite ballclub, it's understandable to be wary, but people do grow up and they can change and well, there are players that have probably done far worse things on the Cubs or in the league that just aren't as public.

"Judge not, that ye be not judged" 

Projections

As for the ballplayer the Cubs are getting, I think it's obvious that they went out and got the best talent available for the perceived need they had, that of a left-handed hitting right fielder. The talent that culminated in an AL leading .999 OPS last year. And before we write that off as just a passing fad on a career year, take a look at the history of players to lead the league in OPS over the year.

Go ahead and give it a scan...I'll wait a minute.

Pretty impressive list isn't it? There's not a player on there that a team wouldn't want to have in their lineup, not a fluke to be seen. It's not to say he'll ever repeat it, but it is to say that he's a pretty damn good hitter in pretty good historical company.

Of course, he's not quite that good. His projections on his fangraphs page all point to him having an OPS south of .900. There's a few good reasons for that. First, last year's .999 OPS was by far a career high and much of it was aided by a league-leading and completely unstainable .396 BABIP. How unsustainable you ask? Well, if you look at three-year averages the top three are Jeter(.367), Holliday(.365) and Chipper Jones (.361), so at the very least you're talking a 30 point drop in his average stats and it's far more likely to drop even further. Also, when he hit a flyball, 21.2% of the time it went out of the park last year. That's another career high and well above his career mark of 15.4%. It was also good for 8th in the league, mixed in with names like Ryan Howard, Alex Rodriguez, Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome and I don't think anyone is going to confuse Bradley for that type of power hitter. 

There's also of course the Ballpark effect, often cited as the Coors of the American League. It is quite kind to left-handed hitters over the years, but so has Wrigley Field. The chart below using Baseball Reference Multi-Year Park Factors seems to indicate Bradley will actually get a boost this year.

 Year Wrigley
The Ballpark
2008
106 100
2007
104
100
2006
103
101
2005
104
106
2004
103
108
2003
101
111
2002
98
106
2001
95
104
2000
97
102

 

Of course, park factors aren't all that reliable and it's best to break them up for left-handed and right-handed hitters. I believe the Bill James Handbook does that, of which I do not own a copy, but my understanding is that The Ballpark or whatever they call it these days has always been quite friendly to left-handed hitters, particularly in aiding home runs and might be a reason for that career 21.2% HR/FB rate. But Wrigley isn't too bad itself and the switch of where he plays the majority of his games won't make as much a difference as sheer rebalancing of the luck he enjoyed last season.

So yes, his numbers will most likely drop from 2008, it's actually pretty much a guarantee. But an OPS around the .900 mark would still be good for the best on the Cubs last year - Ramirez led with .898 -  and did I mention we're adding this to the best scoring offense in the NL last year?

Injury History

Moreso than his past anger issues and altercations, his past injuries should be of greatest concern. This is a player with only 500 plus plate appearances twice in his career (2004 and 2008). Leg, knee, back and I believe even a ribcage injury have all sidelined Bradley over his career. Now the Cubs of course checked his medical records and did all the appropriate tests, even so far as stating his injured right knee is stronger than his left knee.That doesn't mean it will hold up playing the field on a regular basis or another body part will fail him. But what is interesting is that even if Bradley misses half the season, he'll be worth his contract this year that pays him $7M. 

Oh, how you ask?

Well it's a bit of a leap, but the fine folks at Fangraphs have been putting together something called Value Wins and assigning a dollar value to a players performance. Here is what Milton Bradley's page looks like:

Year
GP
Dollar Value in Millions
2003 101
 $12.5
2004
141
$11.0
2005
75
$6.8
2006
96
 $10.3
2007
61
$10.0
2008
126
$19.4

 

The dude is so good that even when hurt he's worth more than most of the major league hitters. Let's add an extra column with a mystery players value.

Year
GP
Dollar Value in Millions
Mystery Player Value
2003 101
$12.5 $17.0
2004
141
$11.0
$17.8
2005
75
$6.8
$14.1
2006
96
$10.3 $12.5
2007
61
$10.0
$11.5
2008
126
$19.4
$5.7

Well that mystery player is the guy that I think a lot of Cubs fans felt was the safe bet, one Bobby Abreu. Once again, we clearly see the decline is skills and when you're 35 - compared to Bradley's 31 years of age - there's little hope it will improve.

So I'll give the Cubs credit on this one, for once they went with a baseball decision instead of a public relations one. They added a potential impact bat to a lineup that was already the best at scoring runs rather than a fading star or one-dimensional slugger. And while there will be a million people coiled to spring an "I told you so" the moment he hits the disabled list or a reporter, I think the Cubs are in the precarious 100-year-drought position of having to take some chances. 

Footnotes

1 -.880 OPS from the left side, 1.023 from the right side,
2 - .799 from the left side, .864 from the right side 
3 - If you play in the stock market, heed the words of one of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffet. "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful" 4
4 - Myself, nor TCR are responsible for losing your life savings.
5 - I believe you can find the beginnings of UZR from these BBTF links.
6 - Neifi Perez, Jose Macias, Tony Womack, Freddie Bynum, Glendon Rusch, Jeromy Burnitz, Juan Pierre, Jacque Jones, Wade Miller, César Izturis, Tom Goodwin, Lenny Harris, Shawn Estes, Todd Hundley, Julian Tavarez, Willie Greene, Ismael Valdez, Ty Griffin, Earl Cunningham, etc, etc, etc.
7 - Except that racist Jeff Kent (let's see how Kent's HOF chances fare after that phrase gets a few Google hits).
8 -  Reading between the lines, it just means his left knee is in bad shape. The line for over/under on a left knee injury is officialy set at 04/12/09.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

I've gotta take Bradley for 90 On top of being the more talented player as of right now, he's also the better investment for the team. If we sign Abreu and he has a poor year, he will be written off as washed up and have no value. If the same happens with Bradley, teams will still be willing to take a chance on him. Also, I sort of like the idea of Bradley not playing 100 games. Planned off days will give Fukudome more at bats, and as awful as he was post June last year, I think he will turn it around this year. Maybe he won't be as influential as we thought he could be, but if he throws up a .275 next year, he'll no longer be looked at as a bust.

[ ]

In reply to by kmokeefe

Totally agree. I just assume that Bradley only plays 90 games. Then we know he will be fresh come October when the Cubs are sitting at home watching the playoffs. Plus we need to free up the at bats to get "grinders" in there like Aaron Miles and Doug Deeds. Maybe even find some Rf at bats for Paul Bako. He is lefthanded and all. Abreu is older. So his perennial 300 average and 400 Obp really don't count. He could start to suck at any moment. We need a fiery part time player who is younger.

Very nice analysis! I am a fan personally of the Bradley signing; it's a gamble, but what you really do is articulate that the "safe" choice, Abreu, is probably the riskiest. Maybe GM's know this too, which is why he is still out there 2 weeks before ST.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

While it is possible DB, I just can't imagine Abreu getting anything near the 3/30 we gave to Bradley. I think Bradley over Abreu is a huge mistake. Especially when considering A) our apparent finances will prevent us from procuring a suitable replacement if Bradley goes down with injury ( a VERY real possiblility) B) We have exacly ZERO legitimate MLB ready prospects to plug into RF in the event that Bradley goes down with injury ( a VERY real possibility) Conversely I think the Abreu/Bradley age debate is a bunk issue. Bradley has the mileage on his body of a 38 year old. Abreu is still 20 SB fast and athletic enough that he was the smarter/safer play. IMHO

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

slipping is slipping. i'm not alone in knocking abreu's D/arm the past couple years and it was already questioned in PHI. as far as his bat slipping...if you're into numbers i dunno how you got him hitting 20-30HR unless it's the same place you got his D scouting...years ago. there's nothing abreu can do with a bat that bradley can't match and top in a full season's worth of play...and bradley's 4-5 years younger...not to mention a better defender than abreu even at abreu's peak years ago.

Like the analysis, thanks, Rob G. I like the MB signing, even if it is for only 90 games, etc. The only problem I can forsee, is if Lou and him get into a disagreement or two over playing time or anything along those lines. Obviously he is going to leave it all on the field, but I just worry if they get into a time or two it starts to eat away at the team chemistry. Love the signing, love MB's talent, the aforementioned temperment is my only fear.

I'm not normally the grammar/spelling police, but I've seen the following misuse in a bunch of different places, and the dude will no longer abide: weary = fatigued wary or leery = cautious, skeptical, or distrustful Please don't ban me.

The "Coors Field of the American League" is 90 percent sitting at 98F degrees average temperature at game time, and it's not a dry heat. That may explain why Ken Washington kept him out of right field a lot here in Texas. The ballpark at Arlington is pretty much protected from the wind, too. MB hit a lot into the crooked wall gap in right center. He is not a free swinger - waits for his pitch. Cubs have been getting better at that since Lou took over (K-Fu's turn this year). Home games should be well suited for Bradley, let's hope he bats third. And winning ball games (as opposed to losing at scores like 13-11 as a Ranger) can go a long way in anger manager-ment. Lou's plan is taking 3 years to take shape but I predict Dempster will not make a prediction this year.

Nice analysis but has anyone ever really doubted his ability? Nope, me thinks not. The question is, will he give us 120 games a year for three? He's like Ken Griffey Jr. Plays hard, gets hurt.

It's hard to read through the 2-3 people declaring Bradley already dead to the world, a waste of money, and abreu/dunn could have been had for 1yr/5m or something similar. the team signed the best hitter and best defender (by far) in the lot for 10m a year. yeesh. yeah, he's an injury concern but there is nothing anyone can point to right now to say "wow, he's gonna have to not run/sprint/lean/throw/etc. that or he's doomed!" is he rondell white? ...a guy who could injure a new body part yearly in new and exciting ways until his body/age caught up to him? is he "over" his injury bug? we'll find out...until then the club picked up the best defender and hitter (except power) in the lot.

ya know...i dont think bradley is a great fit for a NL team, but you don't get guys that hit AND field like him (CF/RF is a part of his game no matter how ignored) for 10m a year with an "out" on the 3rd year. guys like him signing contracts like this generally tiered bonuses that could drive their price up considerably paying him over 2 years what he'd make in 3 if healthy. imo...not only is this contract cubs-favored, but it could turn out to be one hell of a deal for a CF/RF who hits like he does.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

well yes, if I was playing a baseball classic simulator and could plug in Abreu's 2004 season, we'd call it a day. What are they going to do going forward?

Abreu is declining...badly. If anything Bradley is getting better and is still within an age range that you should expect him to maintain that. He's not gonna be a 1.000 OPS guy, but he'll easily be a .900 OPS guy and not give it all back with his glove.

Are the Cubs rolling the dice a bit? Sure, but they were already the best offense in the league last year, they can afford the risk even when Bradley goes down for awhile.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"Bradley will easily be a .900 OPS guy." Rob, I am encouraged by your enthusiasm. Exactly what suggests Bradley can repeat last year's performance, which was much better than his career numbers would project him to be? I understand that he may be better than his .280/.370/.457 career line..which projects to .824 OPS btw...but why should he be expected to hit that way again? He hasn't done it before over a full season, so why expect it now. Abreu is declining badly. His "declining badly" season of 2008 is better than any season MB had prior to 2008. His OBP is down...to averaging .370 over the last 2 seasons...and slugging about .465. Yep...terrible. I wouldn't have paid Abreu $16 million again, but I'd have sure looked into what he'd have taken. Trust me, I hope that I am dead wrong, that MB plays 150 games in RF, puts up .290/.370/.490, with 25 HR's and 90 RBI's. But I will not just expect that of him since he had a career year DH'ing in 126 games last season.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Yes, and a .900 OPS is a long way from his career OPS of .827 isn't it? Why doesn't MB's 2008 strike anyone else as a career season? If the economy wasn't in the toilet, Abreu would have a job. He will not get anywhere near $16 million again, and would be foolish to expect it. He can barely play the OF anymore....ok. His range has deteriorated, at age 35. Shocker there...but he only made 2 errors, and still somehow managed to get 10 assists. If he put up the #'s from last year, and managed to not embarrass himself in RF, I'd take Abreu 7 days of the week over Bradley. I am obviously not going to be swayed, and neither are you Rob. I will admit I'm wrong when Bradley plays 140 games or so in RF, and is putting up a reasonable .290/.370/.450, which is more in line with his career numbers. But to expect another .320/.436/.563? Without the benefit of DH'ing full time?

Remember when Fukudome was sweet for like 5 games? "After only five games, Fukudome's status among Cubs fans sits somewhere between Ernie Banks and sunshine. His reputation in Chicago is Obama-esque. If he has a good road trip, fans might commission a statue of him, apostrophes and all, by the time he gets back. A good month and Nippon Life Insurance (his personal press conference sponsor) might want to think about naming rights to Wrigley. But let's not get carried away or anything. One thing's for sure -- he's been a great addition. If it seems like Fukudome (8-for-16 with five RBIs this season) has been a part of every positive Cubs play so far, it's true, and Saturday was no different. " (One of the two games I've been to at Wrigley in my life, reading the recap dreaming about better days that involved Cubs wins) This discussion wouldn't be happening if he didn't blow donkey dick. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080405&content_id=24…

To say Kent is a racist and Bradley isn't is laughable. Kent had problems with two of the biggest ass-holes in baseball. Barry Bonds and Milton Bradley....wow shocking. Meanwhile Milton Bradley has spent his career using race to justify his actions calling Kent, Paul LoDuca, Billy Beane and numerous other people in baseball as racists. I love in the article you put up about Kent where Bradley says this.... "I was told in spring training I was the team leader by Paul DePodesta. By Jim Tracy. By Frank McCourt," Bradley said of the Dodgers' general manager, manager and owner. "Growing up in LA, I know how to deal with all types of people, and I do it on an everyday basis. But some people don't deal with all different types of people every day, and therefore don't know how to handle situations when they arise." Bradley accused the media of coming to his locker first Tuesday because he is black. Kent had not yet arrived at his locker. "At no time am I going to let somebody question my hustle, my injury or question my motivation for playing," Bradley said. "I watch him on the field, and I follow in his footsteps and the things he does on the field. As far as off the field, he has no clue about leadership. "If you're going to be the leader of the team, then the need to mingle with the team and associate with the team. I mean, you can't have your locker in the corner, put your headphones in and sit in the corner reading a motocross magazine. He's in his own world. Everybody else is in this world." Well except for the white man who is keeping Milton Bradley down. Or that "Uncle Tom" reporter he lashed out to. Its laughable to think the Dodgers wanted Bradley who has been kicked off teams before he arrived in LA would be handed team leader status. That is Bradleys delusional thinking. But i like what a Dodgers fan had to say... Oh yes, Milton. You’ve proven yourself to be quite the people person. I particularly like the way that you "dealt with" that speeding ticket you received back in 2003. Driving away from the cops proved a shrewd tactic, as you only had to serve a 3-day jail sentence for that. Throwing your helmet at umpire Bruce Froemming illustrated your ability to "handle situations" quite admirably. Complaining when JD Drew’s signing threatened to take your center field position from you was brilliant. Oh, and getting suspended during the Dodgers’ playoff run last year for assaulting fans with beer bottles was a class act through and through. What a leader! And Bradleys idea of mingling with his teammates goes something like this.. (after an argument with Paul Lo Duca, Bradley stated, “If you don’t know me and I don’t know you, don’t approach me, and I won’t approach you”) angering many within the game. But hey lets look into what he said about the A's after he was gone. Just look at it, you tell me," he said. "It's a mighty coincidence that every black guy who's been there the last three years - you can go back to Jermaine Dye, Terrence Long, Mike Singleton - is gone. When I was with Cleveland, I'd ask guys, 'How do you like it here?' and they'd say, 'We can't get in a game over here, we can't stand it over here.' Then I got there, and I said, 'Man, I don't see any of that.' Then 2007 rolled around, and I started seeing it. "I don't know how Stew (Shannon Stewart) still does it. When I was there, asking why am I not playing, I was also saying, 'Why is Stew not playing?' He was hitting .300 then, he's the only guy they got hitting .300 now. But he still can't get in there to play every day. "He's the kind of guy who's not going to say anything, though - he'd whisper it to me - but he's not going to say it out loud. I'm the type of guy who would say it out loud: Are you trying to win around here or are you trying to save a dollar? But I don't have to worry about that now." Entire A's organization is racist, Milton Bradley a fucking saint. And 2nd Shannon Stewart played 146 games getting 576 AB's. Maybe someone would like to explain to Bradley what playing every day looks like. Bradley loves to flip the race card to make excuses for his actions like it is some sort of free pass. Yet he is the one constantly looking for a new team. You keep hearing he is a fiery team-mate that just wants to win, but you hear plenty of reports of him not hustling and players getting pissed at him for doing it. Basically Milton plays as hard as he wants to, kinda like Manny Ramirez, and fuck anyone who questions his hustle. Wait he did question Eric Byrnes... Milton Bradley says of Eric Byrnes (in Sports Illustrated), "He's an example of what I call false hustle." I have to agree. What's more childish and phony than a major-league ballplayer who runs hard all the time, shows enthusiasm and pretends to actually enjoy playing baseball for millions of dollars? Milton you really are a complete idiot. Thank god Beane shipped your ass out of town! What a douche. Kent only question Bradley's hustle and in return got called a racist by probably the biggest racist baseball, and his name is Milton Bradley.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

bradley called out kent for being a selfish guy who cashes a check and shows up...even bonds didn't call his ass out on it because dustbag always handled that crap (until it boiled over). jeff kent is one of the most insignificant teammates in the history of the game...if he was an asshole he'd be more notorious, but as it is he just "did his thing" and no one cared (especially the media) to call out this thing everyone knew about. he wasn't a teammate, he was a guy who took the field with you because he was paid to. bradley wants to lead, but he's not a leader...it don't stop him from calling people out and no matter what we think of him...he's right about a lot of people/things he's calling out about teammates...we just don't like the guy bringing the message. btw, i think you're taking liberties with the "milton being racist" stuff, esp. in relation to calling players out even if he's hypersensitive, himself.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

If my memory serves me, wasn't it Jeff Kent who called out MILTON for not hustling? That in itself would lead you to believe that Jeff Kent actually cared about the team, and wasn't some selfish "Me" player. If Jeff Kent didn't care about the team then why the hell would he call Milton out. Milton's reaction was that he didn't like to be called out. The race thing was just Milton being Milton. Oh, and Jeff Kent is a sure fire HOFer. Milton Bradley never will be.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

jeff kent's clubhouse story is a long non-reported one of selfishness. it's amazing...you can go to almost every team kent has played for and very few of his former teammates can tell you much about him. he don't have many baseball friends and the concesus is he doesn't want any. jeff kent calling out anyone usually results in people telling jeff kent to mind his own business rather than pretending to care about baseball at random moments. barry bonds didnt jump all over kent because of 1 single incident and 1 single thing said.

I think maybe Mike C may have been saying, " Hey Milton, look in a freaking mirror, shut your piehole, and play the effing game please." ...or something like that...

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

you don't get that with milton...just like you don't get a lockerroom teammate with kent or a non-media-whore with Arod. if milton sees something that bugs him chances are we'll hear about it. fwiw...for all the lockerroom shaking he's done he's generally come out on top and supported by his teammates. that said, the cubs lockerroom doesn't seem to be a problem clubhouse, but it has lost 2 vocal semi-leaders in dero and wood. the rearranging of the clubhouse power structure is definitely worth watching in 09.

Very nice blogical, Rob G. I don't see any problem with averaging WARP - it's a season based stat. No mention of him stirring up the clubhouse, which Lou is allegedly looking for, is my only small quibble. I still think that his HR/FB ratio wasn't that far out of line, considering it's his first chance playing in a 'hitters ballpark.' He hits the ball really hard.

Yep..it's more than Bradley will get paid this year...because Abreu has shown that he will be there for 150 games a season, and does not have a reputation for being a confrontational hothead.

Yep...I'll take a "self-centered non team player" who shows up every game, posts good numbers, and while his range is diminished in RF, at least he will be there for more than 90 games. Oh...and Abreu also shows that he can still steal bases and take plenty of walks.

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.