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 
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Game 5: Marshall Plan Should Not Aid St. Louis

Fun with game notes: * A win tonight would give the Cubs their first home sweep against the Cardinals since June, 2001. * Sean Marshall is the 1,800th Chicago Cub in the franchise's 131-year history. GAME 5 IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (3-2) AT CHICAGO CUBS (3-1) WRIGLEY FIELD 7:05 CDT, TV: ESPN WEATHER: 40 degrees, clear, wind blowing in from right at 12 MPH CARDINALS: David Eckstein, SS Juan Encarnacion, RF Albert Pujols, 1B Scott Rolen, 3B *Jim Edmonds, CF Yadier Molina, C So Taguchi, LF Hector Luna, 2B Sidney Ponson, P CUBS: *Juan Pierre, CF *Todd Walker, 2B Derrek Lee, 1B Aramis Ramirez, 3B Michael Barrett, C *Jacque Jones, RF Matt Murton. LF Ronny Cedeno, SS * Sean Marshall, P Jacque Jones: 4-24, 167/250/167, 3 BB, 5 K vs. Ponson Todd Walker: 4-15, 267/313/333 vs. Ponson

Comments

Wow, there are the 3 giants of the Stl lineup and the rest is very unimpressive. Encarnacion batting second? Yikes.

I think it is interesting that Barrett is Batting 5th. I think dusty has realized that Jaque is swinging at every inside pitch... I hope Marshall can throw some strikes!

STL fans, after assuming they'd get a payroll increase this year cuz of moving into a new stadium, were let down by this year's payroll and what it brought them. they really do spend a lot for their actual area, though. they're not exactly cheap compared to their market-share peers. reguardless this season in a new stadium should just absolutely pump money into the whole thing...unless they're on the "SF plan" to pay their share of construction costs off before they start spending huge.

I'm very encouraged by the Jacque Jones line - after all he's got 4 hits!!! (smell that - that's sarcasm)

KarlH: "I think it is interesting that Barrett is Batting 5th." Yeah, I think that is a good idea. Take a little pressure off Jones. Good move...

So batting order only matters when you can praise Dusty for it? Yes, moving Jones down in the order behind Barrett is a good move. Moving him behind Murton would be an even better one.

I've said this so many times before, Barrett belong s batting fifth. He does well there. Jones belongs batting sixth, he's a terrible hitter in the five hole if history is a clue. So now that I've said it again, I think for the last time, both of them better come through.

Well, in case you didn't notice, we're back into the 3 Prayers part of the Cub rotation. Two quick outs then two quick runs off Marshall. Rolen can do that to anyone, though. Hang in there young man.

Gammons on ESPN just said Lee is close to finishing his contract with the Cubs. - 4 years with an option - somewhere around $12-13 million per

JACQUE!!!!!!!oH, YA

Jacques, WOO! Jones, WOO! And Marshall is impressive...

Good move by Dusty dropping Jones down to #6. Nice HR...Welcome to the Cubs JJ!!!

buddy of mine watching the game emailed me saying the home ump was really squeezing marshall. got robbed in the 1st inning. no respect for the rookie despite being in our own house?

Marshall looked good....cant keep Albert down for the whole series...ugh.

Anyone notice that Wuertz's fastball was being clocked at 85. I assume the ESPN gun is accurate because his slider was at his usual 83mph and it certainly looked 85 on TV. At any rate, I think Wuertz just set the record for most hanging sliders in the history of the game. I was at the game on Sat and J.Jones was getting the Sosa of '04 treatment from a lot of the fans. Hopefully he can relax a little now.

I'm watching the game, and yeah Marshall was definetly getting squeezed. And as a hitter you know that if you've got a smaller strike zone you can wait more for your pitch. Despite that Marshall still did a darn good job for his first time.

Why even have third base umpires if you don't use them. Horrible call. Two more innings to get that run.

Androsen: Why even have third base umpires if you don't use them. Horrible call. I don't disagree, but my big hope is that Dusty does not make any mention of umpiring after the game. We've had enough of the whining, blaming, and distractions. Let's just play ball.

Why hasn't Dusty come out and argued the check swing? This is the second game where this has happened and nothing from our fearless leader. That's his job as a manager to lobby the umpiring crew to make sure it doesn't happen again. Could cost the Cubs the only chance they had tonight.

Barrett!! Remember this game when you want to say he can't hit in the clutch!

Could anyone hear me screaming for joy?!

Dusty moves Jones down...he hits 3 run HR. Dusty moves Barrett up...he hits grand Slam. Hmm??????? Go Cubs!!!!!

Runs by Home Runs....WHO CARES!....GO FOR THE SWEEP!

That Barrett guy is so overrated, we should get rid of him, his defense costs us too many runs..... yeah, we've gotten our runs via the HR, but there have been runners on, which is a departure from last year

Dusty moves Jones down...he hits 3 run HR. Dusty moves Barrett up...he hits grand Slam. Hmm??????? Hmm, is right! Perhaps Lineup construction actually does matter. Just think if Dusty had done this from the very beginning?

Well, we've only lost one game thus far, and this one isn't in hand yet. So let's not jump over Baker, granted he's an easy target, but still.

CUBS WIN!! IN DUSTY WE TRUSTY!!! Cubs 4-1 start.... Sweep Cardinals.... Need to sign Lee tonight... Sign Dusty tomorrow... And this would be a GREAT week. GO CUBS!!!

SWEEP!

manny - weren't you saying that we need to wait until the end of the year to resign Dusty...*if* we make the playoffs, or at least have a really good year.

Retrofade: "weren't you saying that we need to wait until the end of the year to resign Dusty...*if* we make the playoffs, or at least have a really good year." Yes, but that was BEFORE Hendry was reupped for 2 years the other day. I have said for awhile now that they should be tied at the hip and neither should be reupped. But if hendry was reupped, there is no reason Baker shouldn't be too. And I think it is going to happen pretty soon. But I do think it is a mistake by the Cubs to reup them both before they end of the season and a playoff season at that. But this is the Cubs we are talking about.

I think that was only before Hendry was resigned. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe MT thinks there's no reason not to resign Dusty now. I would like to hear a little more elucidation of this perspective since it doesn't seem to me that there's any logical connection between the two. I can uderstand the argument that both GM and skipper should have their fate tied to this season's success, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around the notion that Dusty should have his fate tied to Hendry's.

In Izzy we Trusty!!!

ANDROSEN: I have been noticing this term, "snide..." for the last year or so. As in "get off the snide..." So, does anyone know how this got started? What is "the snide", anyway? GO CUBS! May Jacque Jones stay in the 6 slot throughout the year. That's where he belongs!

Cards lost this one more than the Cubs won it, but it's all the same to me!!! Marshall, all things considered, pitched pretty good. Looked much like he did in spring training, hitting all his locations (except he caught a little too much plate in the 1st). He looks strong, has lots of movement, and can throw strikes. Was also good to see Jones bust that slump he was in.

pierre sure kept their infield busy today. at least he only fanned once. and murton managed to hit one to the outfield today! hes gonna turn it around now. good thing dereks 2 double-play grounders didnt hurt THAT bad in the long run (thank the gods for that WP opening up 1st!) how about walker with 2 double plays!

So far the stat of the year for the Cubs has to be Cedeno going 10-18 and has 1 rbi.

I think the Cards hired Mark Wohlers to be their bullpen coach. But in all seriousness this team is starting to remind of that 03 team in the ways they capitalize on the opprunties it is given and coming up with clutch homers. Alot of people critized Hendry for not making splashy moves but I like the grinder's menality this team has.

this cards team has a LOT of holes....i don't see how they're any better than this cubs team. once the cubs get wood/prior back....this could be fun the cards have to go open their new stadium in about 13 hours after this quagmire of a weekend. nice.

What was the deal in the stands behind homeplate around the 7th inning? It looked like a fight of some sort. Then did anyone catch the guy giving the piece sign to Larussa as he put in ISSY? The cameras caught it for just a second. One thing I was very impressed with is the ability of the bullpen to shut down the Cardinals from the 5th on. The cardinals aren't the same team they used to be, but still impressive outings by Williams, Williamson, and Dempster. I don't think I would have thrown Dempster with a 4 run lead, but sometimes warming up and not throwing on a cold night is worse than throwing 9 pitches in the game. Last year the cubs lost so many games in the first few weeks because of the bullpen. This year, these guys are rock solid. Novoa is coming around strong now that he has gotten over Valley fever. There is some good trade material available with this stockpile of arms the Cubs have. I was very unimpressed with Bynum. His swing at strike 2 was very weak.

I hope the Cards enjoyed their cold showers on the way out of town. I agree this team has 3 great guys in the middle of their lineup, decent starting pitching but the bullpen is ugly. Go Cubbies!

Googled and came up with this: "Off the snide" is a variant of schneid, and schneider, both terms from gin rummy (and later, other card games) where one side has failed to score for an extended period. Stakes at gin rummy escalate if you schneider your opponent, that is, reach a winning score to their 0.

Was anyone having flashbacks to some of Farnsy's appearances when Izzy walked the bases loaded in the eighth and taking great pleasure in knowing Cardinal fans were going through what Farnsie put us through so many times?

Bogey, Or the stat of the year could be that Jones is 2-16 with 4 RBI...

Off the snide is not actually a phrase. Its not a variation, its a bastardization of a phrase. I like the term irregardless. Irregardless is not a word, but people say it.

Oh also I was really annoyed that Morgan couldn't stop talking about our runs only coming on homers. He didn't mention that four of those runs had gotten on base via the BASE ON BALLS.

DAMMIT! It should read "ITS like the term.." Not "I like the term..." I don't like that fake word.

Bynum was just trying to stay alive with two strikes on him. Rather have a guy like that will put the ball in play (especially with his speed) than one who takes a healthy swing and misses by two feet.

CWTP#7...I've said this so many times before, Barrett belong s batting fifth. He does well there. Jones belongs batting sixth, he's a terrible hitter in the five hole if history is a clue. So now that I've said it again, I think for the last time, both of them better come through. - CWTP elevates himself to Guru status. Seven RBI's in two swings from them. Nuff said.

I really think Dusty's rehiring needs to wait for season to end. If the Cubs are successful, then go for it I guess. His only moves that bother me to no end all circulates around Perez in the #2 spot of the batting order. Other than that, I don't care. If we have a good year though with the starting pitching being what it is, then he will have done something interesting. Also, Manny, I've never once criticized you. Nor will I ever. But please retire the In Dusty We Trusty until the fall. (or for good. It was great in 2003 but now...not so much) Just something to consider.

Pagan is VERY fast. Man can he scoot down that line. I just love our bench this year, a lot of weapons for once. Message to Dusty--STICK TO THE 6-MAN BENCH!!! When the 5th starter is needed this coming weekend, either let Williams do it, or demote him to Iowa to get some work in and replace him with Gooz. But I want that 6-man bench, it makes us much more dangerous in the late innings. Of course, no Jose Macias doesn't hurt matters.....

next cubs night game is friday. what a bunch of *!@#.

I'm all for a Cubs win and I'm very excited for this season. However, I'm not sure that flip-flopping Barrett and Jones makes that much of a difference. Fifth and sixth in the order are almost identical aren't they? Further, Jones did not hit a homer because he was hitting sixth instead of fifth. I understand that the swings happened when they did today, but in yesterday's game had they been switched Barrett maybe doesn't tie the game. I just saying switching the fifth and sixth spot doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

Felix Pie is starting the season with his hair on fire...Sunday in a 7-1 win over the Alb Isotopes he went 3-4 with 2 triples and 4 RBI. Michael Restovich also had a solo HR. Angel Guzman pitched 5 shutout innings with 6K's and 1 BB. Bobby Brownlie gave up the one run but Andy Shipman and David Aardsma pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings. http://tinyurl.com/z3nnp

The rosie glow of a sweep over the Cards! Nevertheless, it is a long season and and its the grind that eventually separates the contenders from the pretenders. Right now the Cubs starting rotation consists of 3 guys who have hard time getting to the fifth inning along with two fine pitchers. But even those two have a hard time pitching beyond the 6th. The bullpen looks great right now, but if this work load keeps up their arms will fall off in June. I will believe that Prior and Wood will make 50 starts, with at least 2/3rds of their starts meeting the standard "quality starts," when I see it. Barrett should be batting fith. He, Ramirez, and Lee are the offensive core of the team. Jones is better than Encarcion, but I am not sure why Burnitz was not kept for one more year as he is better than Jones Morgan is a prime example of "old fartitis." His memories of the Big Red Machine are pretty fragmented since he has forgotten that they scored the majority of their runs the Earl Weaver way: Rose singles, Morgan walks, and then Foster or Bench or Pena would hit a 3 run home run. I noticed this as they regularly bopped Cubs teams from 1972 to 1977. He is obsessed with crushing the heresy of "Moneyball" and the fact that non-players like Theo Epstein have crashed the gates, and like any ideologue, would prefer not to have facts get in the way of his arguments. I noticed during my move to the States that Boston picked up Coco Crisp to fill their Johnny Damon hole. Six years younger than Damon and almost as good a player right now as Damon and a lot cheaper than Jaques Jones. I wonder if Hendry had Shapiro's number? Mixed feelings about the Hendry extension. Certainly being in Washington and seeing how the Nationals and Baltimore are mismanaged, and remembering the atrocious Cubs' management of seventies and the Post Dallas pre-Andy eighties and nineties, I know the Cubs could do much worse (Jim Bowden, Bavaisi in Seattle, and O'Brien in Cincinnati for examples of worse.) But whether they are understaffed, undermotivated, inflexible about what they like and don't like or whatever in players, etc.. Hendry, Hughes, and McPhail have not produced the consistent contender that they promised. Kenny Williams and the White Sox have had two post season appearances in this decade and have been in contention most seasons when beaten out by the Indians or Twins. Same with Jocketty in St. Louis, Beane in Oakland, Stoneman in California, and the Boston management crew. I don't count the Yankees because with a 200 million dollar payroll you can overcome lots of stupidity. Of course the greatest example of consistency in winning is Atlanta (14 division championships in a row??? A 100 years from now people will be scratching their heads wondering "how did they do it?" Just put Cox and Schuerholz in the hall of fame now.) Pre-season picks, a week late, but nothing I have read or seen in the first week seems to call for a change. NL East: Atlanta, Mets 2d & WC NL Central: St. Louis (they will make the adjustments to fix their weaknesses, the Cubs won't (or still have not accepted that their starting pitching is a weakness)and Milwaukee can't) NL West: LA (out of a bad lot) AL East: Boston (Intelligence and some money beats stupidity and lots of money.) AL Central: Indians - They improve, the White Sox regress, and Minnesota stands still. AL West: Oakland (Leaving Joe Morgan disgusted once again). WC: I have no idea as a bunch of teams look so competitive for this slot: the Yankees, California, the White Sox and Minnesota.

kewlazguy: One thing I was very impressed with is the ability of the bullpen to shut down the Cardinals from the 5th on. The cardinals aren't the same team they used to be, but still impressive outings by Williams, Williamson, and Dempster. The bullpen is great. Last year it made me nervous every time Dusty had to dip into the BP. BTW- I don't think putting Dempster in is a terrible idea. If Dempster gets too much work I can think of 3 others in the BP that can convert a save if Demp is not available. Cubster: Felix Pie is starting the season with his hair on fire...Sunday in a 7-1 win over the Alb Isotopes he went 3-4 with 2 triples and 4 RBI. Michael Restovich also had a solo HR. Despite his mediocre ST, I just have this feeling that if they brought him up and played him every day in the outfield he'd amaze everyone.

I told everyone that Jones would do great today! Of course I wasn't serious. Does anybody know why everybody started looking backwards in the seventh? Was Gammons leaving and making a scene or something? BTW an article from Retrosheet analyzing batting order: http://www.retrosheet.org/Research/RuaneT/lineup_art.htm "If anything, my approach shows that batting orders matter even less than people have believed. " However it doesn't include a psychological boost that may exist - say moving Jones to the sixth hole, but frankly I doubt that he hit his homer today just because he moved in the batting order.

"pierre sure kept their infield busy today. at least he only fanned once." ---- Actually, he didn't fan. He was screwed on a bum call by the home plate ump.

To reprise a question from a few days ago: what should Matt Murton's nickname be? Going with the all-French-named outfield and Maddux's name for him, I think "Guy L'Orange" is a natural, no? Awesome sweep.

I believe many posters here were calling for Barrett to hit 5th and Jones to hit 6th prior to the season. Based on Barrett's sample size while in the 5 hole, I don't think it was a brilliant switch-up by Dusty, it's making the best use of Barrett's more consistent hitting.

Random comments for today . . . 1) I am pleased for Jones. That got the monkey off his back for now. I wonder why he did not want to come out of the dugout for a curtain call? Yeah, I know, he came out briefly. But it took a long while and it looked like his heart was not in it. I am not sure if he just considers it showing up the other team and felt it was too early in the game for that. Or was he remembering the boos and thinking he was not going to play the puppet for fair weather fans. 2) I disagree with Retrograde. Barrett is not overrated. I say that because I don't see much talk of him as an all star or the among the best in the game and so on. I think his reputation is as a decent catcher - - not an all star but not a bum either - - who can hit a bit, with at least average defensive skills and an arm that varies between slightly above to slightly below average. In any event, I am glad he is on our team. He plays with a bit of fire and this team needs that. 3) I agree with Green Latern that the Cards have lots of holes this year. Their bench is very weak, hard to believe how weak it is. And their bullpen is weaker, too. Their outfield is weaker at the corners. They are weaker at second base. Their starting pitchers are at about the same level as last year. All in all, I could easily see this team losing 15 games more than it did last year. 4) I agree with the comments about our team speed, ie, Ronnie, Pierre, Pagan, Bynum, Hairston and even guys like Murton. I think this really is going to serve us well as the year goes on. The only thing that would have made me happier yesterday is if Dusty had gone for the suicide squeeze when Pierre was up and Ronnie was at third with two out but I realize they had just tried that earlier this week so we probably needed to give it a rest. I would have just loved though to have done that to LaRussa. 5) By the way, did anyone else notice that when the Cubs scored the 8th run on the apparent passed ball when Pierre was at bat that it looked as though the ball actually hit Juan's foot? I did not notice it when it occurred but I noticed it in the replay and so then after the game I rewound and played it in slow motion and I belive that the ball definitely hit Juan in the foot, which should have resulted in the bases loaded rather than a run, not that it would have made any difference. I say that the ball definitely hit Juan because, first, you can see it on the tape, and second, the ball definitely changed directions after it hit Juan. 6) Beyond that, also very happy for Ronnie. He is playing very well. I am glad he has started off very hot. It should be his ticket to staying in the line-up now for the long term. As others have said, if he had stumbled badly out of the gate, Perez would have been inserted into the line-up and we never would have gotten him out. The only real negative yesterday was DLEE, who I thought looked completely mystified at the plate.

re: 5th and 6th spots in the lineup, I believe that statistically the 5 spot leads off an inning more than any other position in the lineup except the leadoff spot.

Right now the Cubs starting rotation consists of 3 guys who have hard time getting to the fifth inning along with two fine pitchers. But even those two have a hard time pitching beyond the 6th. While this is true, it is also the first week of the season and most pitchers are still getting stretched out. Its really not very uncommon for pitchers to work shorter outings than usual for the first couple of weeks. However, I'm not sure that flip-flopping Barrett and Jones makes that much of a difference. Fifth and sixth in the order are almost identical aren't they? I agree that simply switching them for one game didn't cause them both to hit home runs, but the fact remains that Barrett is simply the better hitter and should be higher in the order than Jones, to get him more ABs and to provide better protection for ARam. Of course, if I was putting the lineup together, I'd think about moving Murton to 2nd, Walker down to 5th, and Jones to 7th. But since that won't happen, I'd at least like to see Barrett to continue to bat in front of Jones.

It was nice to see some wheels on base last night and even guys with speed simply stepping in the batters box. How long has it been since the Cubs had more than one guy with some speed? I think Bynum, Pagan, Cedeno, and JHJ all got props from the announcers last night for being fast. Made me wonder if I was watching a Cubs game. As for 7 of 8 runs coming from off two home runs, at least it only required two. Last year it would have taken 5 or 6. My two bits on the 5/6 hole discussion: Leave Barrett there until Jones heats up. Better have 3 righties in a row with decent protection behind A-Ram than through in a lefty just for the sake of having a lefty.

Wonder if the Cardinals are regretting the loss of King and Tavares out of their BP? If Isringhausen does not snap out of it soon, LaRussa will have to keep his starters out there well past 7 innings. I hope the Cubs do not give the Cards any of their young arms in a trade (even indirectly), as I can see St. Louis getting desperate for BP help. Watch them pick up some old arms off of the scrap heap and try to squeeze some life out of them.

HIGHLIGHTS/LOWLIGHTS FROM SUNDAY DOWN ON THE FARM: Another big day for CF Felix Pie (Iowa), as the Pie Man went 3-4 with two triples, a sac fly and four RBI, and another SB. Through Iowa's first four games, the 21-year old CF is 8-16 with six RBI, five runs scored, one 2B, two 3B, one BB, two K, and 3 for 3 in SB, plus one outfield assist. 2B Eric Patterson (West Tenn) was 1-2 with a 3B, two walks, and three SB. Ryan Harvey (sore knee) made his 2006 debut as Daytona's DH, and struck out four times in six PA (it was a 12 inning game). Jake Fox went 4-5. On the mound, it was a fine AAA debut for RHP Angel Guzman, as he pitched five shutout innings (85 pitches), allowing two hits and one walk, while striking out six. RHP David Cash has returned to action after missing nearly two years (shoulder surgery), and pitched one-hit shutout ball over five innings for AA West Tenn. LHP closer Clay Rapada picked up his third save (he is 3 for 3). RHP Mark Holliman (Cubs 2005 3rd round Rule 4 Draft pick out of Ole Miss) made his long-awaited professional debut at Daytona (he didn't sign until mid-August 2005), and pitched five innings of two-hit ball (one run), with NO walks and SEVEN K. (Guess he wasn't too nervous!). Holliman is likely to be on the Cubs "fast track express." ---- BATTING (ALL LEVELS): IOWA (AAA): Felix Pie, CF: 3-4, R, 4 RBI, 3 3B, SF, SB Ryan Theriot, 2B: 1-5, RBI, K Jamal Strong, LF: 1-4, R SB, GIDP Michael Restovich, RF: 1-3, R, RBI, HR, BB, SB Jeff Deardorff, 1B: 1-4 Casey McGehee, 3B: 1-4, R, K Augie Ojeda, SS: 1-2, R, BB, HBP, K, SB Casey Kopitzke, C 0-3, R, BB, GIDP WEST TENN (AA): Chris Walker, CF 0-4, R, 2 K Eric Patterson, 2B: 1-2, RBI, 3B, 2 BB, 3 SB Luis Montanez, RF 0-3, BB, K, SB Scott Moore, 3B: 0-3, BB, 2 K Richard Lewis, LF: 2-4, R, K Micah Hoffpauir, 1B: 2-4, R, RBI, 3B Tony Richie, C: 0-4, K Gary Cates, DH: 0-4, GIDP Carlos Rojas, SS: 0-3, BB, K DAYTONA (Hi-A): Sam Fuld, CF 0-4, BB, HBP Jemel Spearman, 3B: 0-5, BB Ryan Harvey, DH: 1-6, RBI, 4 K Nic Jackson, LF: 1-5, 3B, HBP, K, CS Jake Fox, C: 4-5, BB, SB Jeff Culpepper, RF: 0-6, R, 2 K, GIDP Matt Craig, 1B: 0-3, R, BB Issmael Salas, 1B: 1-2, 2B Joe Simokaitis, SS: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, SB, GIDP, E Nate Spears, 2B: 2-5, RBI, BB, SB, K PEORIA (Lo-A): Davy Gregg, CF: 1-4, K Robinson Chirinos, 2B: 0-3, BB Brandon Taylor, 3B: 0-4, K Ryan Norwood, 1B: 0-4, 2 K Alberto Garcia, DH: 1-3 Jesus Valdez, LF: 0-4, K Johnny Defendis, RF: 0-3 Mark Reed, C: 1-3, K Dylan Johnston, SS: 2-3, 2 R, 2B, K ---- PITCHING (ALL LEVELS): IOWA (AAA): Angeol Guzman: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 85 pitches (W 1-0) Bobby Brownlie: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K Andy Shipman: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K David Aardsma: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP WEST TENN (AA): David Cash 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, (W 1-0) Thomas Atlee 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Clay Rapada 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (SAVE 3) DAYTONA (Hi-A): Mark Holliman 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 7 K Carlos Perez: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR Jonathan Hunton: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K Adelberto Mendez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K Matt Weber: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BB (1 IBB), 2 K (L 0-1) PEORIA (Lo-A): Jesus Yepez: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K Michael Phelps: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (W 1-0) Edward Campusano: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (SAVE 2)

I am pleased for Jones. That got the monkey off his back for now. I wonder why he did not want to come out of the dugout for a curtain call? I don't think it was either of the reasons you suggest, but simply Jones was a little embarassed about his 0-15 streak and didn't think he deserved accolades just because he hit a home run.

Josh B: "Also, Manny, I've never once criticized you. Nor will I ever. But please retire the In Dusty We Trusty until the fall. (or for good. It was great in 2003 but now...not so much) Just something to consider." And I repect you for not personally attacking me....THANKS!!! I wish others would take note. And I hardly use the "INDUSTY WE TRUSTY" saying anymore UNLESS the Cubs win. For you, I won't use it until teh Cubs make teh playoffs again with him as maanger, except the one time I use it after a Cubs win. Sound fair, man??

Peytonrules: "BTW an article from Retrosheet analyzing batting order: http://www.retrosheet.org/Research/RuaneT/lineup_art.htm "If anything, my approach shows that batting orders matter even less than people have believed." I have been saying that for awhile and been blasted on here for it. Hope those people aren't hypocrits and don't blast you for mentioning it too.

Recent comments

  • 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. 

  • 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!!!