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

Enthusiasm Curbed

Just in time to temper our excitement over Neifi getting traded, the Cubs activated Freddie Bynum and Glendon Rusch today, while putting Carlos Marmol on the DL. The Pfightin' Phils come into town on the back of 2 ex-Cubs pitchers, Jon Lieber and Jamie Moyer. Okay, more on the back of Ryan Howard and a guy who could have been a Cub, Chase Utley. How could he have been a Cub? Well he was drafted 15th in the 2000 draft, 12 picks ahead of the extremely useless Luis Montanez. Of course, fourteen other teams had a crack at him too. The Phils themselves have shot back into the playoff race since jettisoning David Bell who had a strangle-hold on the organization. Once they showed that trouble-maker the door, a whole new spirit infected the team. There was also that little trade with the Yanks involving some All-Star guy whose name evades me at the moment. Go Cubs! GAME ONE HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (61-62 (Div) 2nd- 14 GB; (Wild Card) 4th - 2.5 GB) AT CHICAGO CUBS (53-70 (Div) 5th - 13.0 GB; (Wild Card) 12th - 10.5 GB) Wrigley Field, 7:05 pm CDT Weather: Clear, 77 degrees, Wind from R to L @ 8 mph TV: CSN, DirecTV 740 Radio: WGN, XM 187
Rich Hill, LHP 3-5, 6.90 ERA, 44.1 IP 32 K, 26 BB, 9 HR 285/379/533 againstJon Lieber, RHP 5-9, 5.10 ERA, 120 IP 72 K, 22 BB, 18 HR 281/317/459 against

#Jimmy Rollins, SS #Shane Victorino, RF *Chase Utley, 2B *Ryan Howard, 1B Pat Burrell, LF Aaron Rowand, CF Chris Coste, C #Abraham Nunez, 3B Jon Lieber, P *Juan Pierre, CF #Cesar Izturis, SS Aramis Ramirez, 3B *Jacque Jones, RF #Angel Pagan, LF *John Mabry, 1B* Henry Blanco, C Ronny Cedeno, 2B *Rich Hill, P

Phillies vs. Hill: No Phillies with more than 10 Ab's Cubs vs. Lieber: Phil Nevin: 5-24, 208/222/292, 7 K, 1 BB, 2 2B Aramis Ramirez: 5-23, 217/217/217, 6 K, 0 BB Juan Pierre: 6-18, 333/333/389, 2 K, 0 BB, 1 2B Michael Barrett: 4-15, 267/313/267, 0 K, 1 BB John Mabry: 2-14, 143/200/214, 5 K, 1 BB, 1 2B Jacque Jones: 3-13, 231/231/462, 5 K, 0 BB, 1 HR Henry Blanco: 4-11, 364/417/455 3 K, 1 BB, 1 2B

Comments

Neifi batting 8th First at bat- 1 pitch 1 fly out. You will be missed.

I didn't know Bell was a trouble maker? Lousy contract, parlayed by his quality WS in 02, but never heard he was a trouble maker.

it was a joke....

David Bell had the no-win task of replacing Scott Rolen at 3rd base for the Phillies. He had one foot in the grave before he even played his first game in mega-hostile Philadelphia. It didn't help his cause that former GM Ed Wade gave Bell a ridiculous four year contract either.

I heard on the radio that Moyer was pitching tonight for Philly. Anyone else hear that?

A practical question. Why on earth is Ronny Cedeno penciled in the lineup? Hasn't he proven himself worthless to the point where it is time to give Ryan Theriot a big league trial? Granted, Theriot probably isn't very good either, but still. No more Cedeno, please!

If Jim Hendry can find a new home for Neifi Perez, then surely he can find a new home for Donuts Rusch and his contract. I'm pretty sure the NY Mets are down to El Duque and Jerry Koosman in their starting rotation. Hendry should call up Omar Minaya to donate Rusch to the Mets cause. Heck, I'd even offer up to pay 85% of his 2007 salary.

As Bynum gets called up, Koronka got sent down by the Rangers.

In comparing Neifi and Rollins, Brenly just referred to Neifi batting right-handed as the "power side." GMAFB.

No, that can't be! What's Jon Daniels doing? Doesn't he know that Koronka is a talented, poised left-hander that the Cubs should regret getting rid of because he'll thrive if he just gets a shot?

Neifi sees one pitch to lead off the 5th and grounds out attempting to bunt for a hit.

Sorry Rob, I thought you had access to a story (about bell) that I hadn't heard... I, too, I'm sick of seeing Cedeno... Moyer is supposed to pitch tommorrow against O'Malley. I agree with Mike63. Send the bag of Donuts to the Mets and throw in some free coffee. Just tell Omar that "all our pitchers look bad with us but as soon as they leave they pitch good-just look at Maddux!" For what its worth, I'd take Koronka back. At least he throws strikes.

You gotta love Lieber. He gets Pagan 0-2 and strikes him out on a pitch right down the middle (swinging). That guy doesn't waste pitches. I loved him when he pitched for us.

CarmenFanZone, He may throw strikes, but he sure gets hammered when he does.

Wow, Abraham Nunez was intentionally walked. That's just hilarious. Probably made his whole year.

Is it just me or does Rich Hill not have anything that resembles an out pitch?

I'm with you Andrew. I thought to myself-just go after him, he's pathetic!

Koronka still would have been better than what we have sent out there this year.

Don't know -- perhaps he hurt his hamstring again?

Just think if Nefi would have started instead of Cedeno, we'd still be in this game. Ironic?

Cubs offense tonight: 8 hits, 0 walks, 10 lob, 0 runs.

on the other side of the non-RBI tonight (and this year): DLee apparently took real batting practice, hit a few out of the park and reported no soreness in his wrist saying this time around is "the difference between night and day"...so we got that going for us, which is nice. glad to see they aren't making DLee do towel swings

John Gibbons, the manager for the Blue Jays, and Pitcher Ted Lilly apparently got into a fight following today's game and Gibbons ended up with a bloody nose. I guess Gibbons isn't the players manager that Dusty is. At least his players don't hit him.

Neifi Perez batting 8th for DET in tonights boxscore (Det 7, CWS 1): AB R H RBI BB SO LOB 4-0-0-0-0-0-4 Oh yeah, his first at bat was a swing at the first pitch he saw (for a flyout) and later of course he had a goundball to the left side Giddup (GIDP). Call him Mr. Consistent. as AZ Phil and so many have said, it wasn't Neifi's fault that he was in the starting lineup to a fault by Baker or given a two yr contract for $2.5M per year by Hendry. The ones responsible for those problems are still members of the Cub orgainization...although Hendry by virtue of this waiver wire deal, just made a minimalist statement on that issue. Unfortunately, there still isn't a starting second baseman on this team.

Another bone-headed error by Cedeno - his 20th. I still struggle to find what it is he supposedly does well -- nothing so far this year. I can't believe they are really counting on him to be the starting 2B next year. And, on cue, he leaves another runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs. However, with Neifi now gone, Novoa now becomes the biggest "why does he get used so much?" Cub.

Leadoff triple, Phils are conceding the run, and they don't score. Thank goodness Murton's getting his rest -- those 25-year olds get tired playing 9 innings every day. Take a hike, Dusty. Enough is enough.

You got that right Billybucks. Both statements.

We're out-hitting the Phillies 14 to 9 tonight, but have half their runs. Good ol' Cubbies.

I certainly am as glad as anyone to see Neifi somewhere else, but please tell me the At-Bat by At-Bat Neifi updates are just a one time thing. He's gone, good riddance, but I really don't care what he does anymore.

Hey! A Matt Murton sighting! And he's batting second. I think maybe Dusty's finally coming around...

Slandog: "Looks to me like Toronto is nothing but pretenders and the loud mouth GM should be fired, he's a joke" Just like the Cubs, TOR made the same mistake this offseason, they gave the GM (J.P. Ricciardi) an extenstion. They gave him 3 years even, so the chances of him getting fired is very small.

Wow, Jacque has a 4-hit night including a two-run blast to make this a one-run ballgame. Come on, Phil Nevin.

wow, and jones just homered. how big was that stranded runner on third with nobody out?

"Just like the Cubs, TOR made the same mistake this offseason, they gave the GM (J.P. Ricciardi) an extenstion. They gave him 3 years even, so the chances of him getting fired is very small." Buy wait Manny, Ricciardi is a sabreguy? I'm confused. Doesn't that mean you automatically win if you're a stat head? I don't get it. To quote Fred Willard from "A Mighty Wind": "Wha (sic) happen?"

Seriously -- what in the world are the Cubs going to do for starting pitching next year? After Zamabrano, there isn't a single pitcher that can be counted on to even be decent (4.50 ERA) over the course of a season. Not one. Maybe Prior, maybe Hill, maybe Marshall/Mateo/Guzman/Marmol. Maybe not.

Is it me or will Dusty play Pagan and Bynum daily just to give Hendry the big kiss off? (I watch my lang. here)... Dusty's revenge...I'll drive him outta town myself, and I don't even drive. Wait...did I hear Pagan got hurt? Does that mean Bynum will now platoon with Murton, who has done nothing wrong, except he is not, in Scott Williamson's immortal words: ONe of Dusty;s boys. Thats right, if Murton could hit second and hit .201 with a .156 OBP, he'd be starting daily. Dusty used all his position players? Doesn't he realize that any team that will hire him (and someone will) won't say, gee dusty...you won 3 extra games because you played everyone... It's eough. I think a drunk Chris Speier would be better. Steve Stone said today that the team isn't too far away from contending in a terrible NL. I take him as the word of God, but Hendry has much to do. And, he said, no way in hell Zito is coming here. So let's let that one go. Soriano or Lee? Stoney said possibily. Maybe STone to manage? Whoever suggested Rusch back to the MEts, you are a genius. Seriously. I wish Omar Minaya, except his 94 year old pitching staff was really dumb. YOu think he'd give up Lastings Milldege? Naw...only Ed Lynch woulda done that. Matt Karchner any one? One final thought...back in '04, not long before Dusty's final week collapse (Stoney's fa

forgot to finish... Back before DUsty's genius in handling LaTroy Hawkins and the meltdown in '04, not long before, I saw a guy, swear to God, who was wearing a Matt Karchner jersey. It was not long after the Cubs collapsed (and that Reds series Stone called Jason LaRue a great catcher--oh well, Mercker probably felt that comment was too mean).

Nice headline for this thread, Rob! At the game tonight from my perspective, it appeared that Izzy's throw to the plate had beaten the runner in plenty of time. Did Hank White look as bad on TV as he did live? Did the runner jar the ball, or did Hank drop it? What's with our catchers who suck defensively? That play lost the game for us, and Hill unraveled - all with two outs.

I GET IT! Izzy hit Rowan in the back with the ball! Just saw the replay. My BAD! Sorry, Hank! You can't catch it if it hits the player before it gets to you!

E-Man: If it's the play I think, Cedeno made the throw (Izzy went out with a hammy, I think), which hit the runner before it ever got to Blanco and gave Blanco absolutely no chance to make a play.

Chad: "Buy wait Manny, Ricciardi is a sabreguy? I'm confused. Doesn't that mean you automatically win if you're a stat head? I don't get it." Even more amazing is this, guess what place the team with the best record in baseball in OBP? Come on, take a guess... Try 23rd in MLB, with an OBP of .330 (3rd worst in AL). Barely ahead of the Cubs at .319 OBP. And remember the Cubs have a pitcher in the 9 slot.

billybucks: Ohhhhhh...THANKS! NOW it makes even more sense! So Theirot replaced Cedeno at 2nd, and Ronny moved to SS?! Another one of his "Rookie Mistakes" that could have been avoided. The run scores - we're not out of it. But, of course, TWO scored instead. This is what I get for taking a client to a game! You have to talk to them!

BillyBucks: "Seriously -- what in the world are the Cubs going to do for starting pitching next year? After Zamabrano, there isn't a single pitcher that can be counted on to even be decent (4.50 ERA) over the course of a season." GREAT question... As Detroit shows, you win by PITCHING PITCHING PITCHING, and we have pitching, just none that we can count on outside Z. That is why Hendry HAS to AT LEAST go out and get one top-tier starter and other 3/4 starter, if the Cubs want to compete next year. I am afraid though that Hendry will continue to fall in love with his prospects and we will end up with Z, Prior, 2 of these youngters and a #4 arm reclamation project (Wade Miller maybe). And of course this doesn't even adress our putrid offense. Man, what a long offseason we are looking at....

everything the cubs need is available and they got money to spend. if the cubs needed relief help they'd be screwed. they're looking SP, a corner OF'r, and maybe a 2nd (and hopefully not a 3rd). other crap in there, too like backup catcher and other "meh" crap.

AFTER THE LAST TWO YEARS... Does Hendry REALLY have the green light to the true top-tier talent as MANNY states? I KNOW he is embarrassed publicly due to the on-the-field-crap we have been paying for (and he's been paying, too for that matter). But will the Minnesota guy allow him to spend the big bucks?

The E-Man: "But will the Minnesota guy allow him to spend the big bucks?" Depending on what you mean by big bucks. If you mean give him a $100 million Opening Day payroll, I think it is fair to think the answer is yes. If you mean $125-$150 million, then I think the answer is no. Hendry will have roughly $27 million to spend for Opening Day (based on $100 million). So he does have some wiggle room to sign 1, possibly 2 top-tier players, but is that going to be enough? Time will tell, but I don't think I will be betting the Cubs to win the WS next year.

crunch: they're looking SP, a corner OF'r, and maybe a 2nd (and hopefully not a 3rd). I've had a crazy thought of the Cubs snagging Dustan Mohr for a cheap price (Bosox cut him loose earlier this year) to see what he can do. I don't know what his arm is like, but his offense sounds like something the Cubs might find useful: Strong, uppercut swing, above average patience at the plate, lot of pop in his bat. Strike out rate is very high (both this year and last), but that projects to drop with experience. Also, I *think* Mike Cameron is up for free agency this year. I imagine the Padres will extend him, but if not, he'd be worth some money.

Looks like the Tigers have Mohr playing in Toledo. Should have threw him in the Neifi deal.

Ryno: "Also, I *think* Mike Cameron is up for free agency this year. I imagine the Padres will extend him, but if not, he'd be worth some money." The Padres have a $7 million team option on Cameron for 2007.

The Cubs may lose Izturis to the disabled list. Izturis was listed as day to day with the hamstring that has troubled him at times this season. I guess that means Cedeno back to SS and Bynum starting for 2 weeks at 2nd base. Woo?

Chad: Buy wait Manny, Ricciardi is a sabreguy? I'm confused. Doesn't that mean you automatically win if you're a stat head? Toronto is 66-59, which is a winning record. It would also put them one game behind the Cards in the NL Central (and in the lead for the NL wild card).

Manny: Even more amazing is this, guess what place the team with the best record in baseball in OBP? Come on, take a guess... Try 23rd in MLB, with an OBP of .330 (3rd worst in AL). Barely ahead of the Cubs at .319 OBP. And remember the Cubs have a pitcher in the 9 slot. Please find me a "sabreguy" who's ever said OBP = wins. Detroit is 11th in OPS and 10th in runs. They have the best record in baseball because they've allowed fewer runs to score than anyone else.

MANNY: "Depending on what you mean by big bucks. If you mean give him a $100 million Opening Day payroll, I think it is fair to think the answer is yes." So, what does $100MM buy these days? With the money needed to resign both Pierre and Aramis (who only can play for 90 days each year), what's left? Enough for a Zito-type? Tony Armas, Jr.? From what I have seen on the 2007 FA List, the pickings overall look to be pretty slim in the two areas the Cubs covet most - power hitting OF and starting pitcher. Although many of us bitched about us not going after Soriano last year, I'd be happy now. I have read on several occasions that Hendry had wanted to bring in Soriano since Tejas days - maybe this will be the year? Or, maybe, there's some Japanese superstar that I have never heard of who is a stud? ....NAH..nevermind... The team will have to outbid many more teams than usual due to the skinny pickings - there's more than half a dozen teams with more money to spend. Even Theo Epstien was COMPLAINING that he doesn't have enough! ANY FELLOW SEASON TICKET HOLDERS - don't forget to write McFail and request that ticket prices not get raised! It takes a couple minutes to sound your voice at TCR - at least make an effort on paper.

Please! Please! Please! From the Tribune today: The Cubs also activated Glendon Rusch, who'd been on the DL since Aug. 3 with tendinitis in his elbow. They hope Rusch can pitch well enough in the next week that they can ship him to a contender looking for left-handed pitching. His former team, the New York Mets, may be interested. http://tinyurl.com/fsmf3

Unfortunately a $100 million payroll doesn't buy what it used to. Even if it did, the Cubs have consistently had a low $90's payroll for the past 3 years, so there's really no guarantee it will even be as high as 100. The Trib needs to go to at least $110 next year if they want to acquire what they need to contend. I'm sure they won't, but they need to.

So my interest was piqued by Manny's mention of OBP. I went on ESPN.com's team stats and found that Detroit is indeed 23rd in team OBP. However, if you rank teams in "runs scored" (where the cubs, by the way, finish last, sixteen runs behind Tampa Bay) you'll notice that OBP is quite well correlated with scoring runs. Check it out: The average OBP for the teams in the top 10 in runs scored: .346 (rounding up, of course) The average OBP for the teams in the middle 10 in runs scored: .339 The average OBP for the teams in the bottom 10 in runs scored: .327 So, at least using this year's sample, it would seem that OBP--while not necessarily guaranteeing more runs scored--certainly is strongly correlated with scoring more runs. And one's baseball intution can support this idea tremendously well. A bloop single with three men on base scores two runs. A bloop single with no one on base does nothing. The fact is that if you can get on base, your margin for error becomes much smaller.

Not to be a Dusty defender, but I remember so many people complaining that Baker wouldn't play young players, including Cedeno. Now that he's playing Cedeno, according to many posters, Cedeno isn't good enough, and Theriot should be playing. And because Murton isn't playing every day, he should be playing (which is based on the fact that he had become a punch-and-judy hitter when he was playing every day, although I realize he has been better lately). It seems to me that whatever young player is not playing is the one Dusty should be playing - kind of a no win situation, don't you think? In any event, over the last two months, the hitting has been fine. It's obviously the pitching that is the problem - the only games the cubs have lost in the last week or two are ones where they started in a big hole because of poor pitching.

Marshall, Give three stats: BA, OBP, or Slugging, OBP has the highest correlation to run scoring, Slugging 2nd and BA third. OPS has a better correlation. The Cubs problem is not so much that they don't understand OBP is good, it's that they think of it as a function of BA and Slugging. More specifically, they think walks are earned by being a feared hitter, and not something that is a scoutable/coachable/developable(?) talent. It's better to develop a Sammy Sosa than a Frank Thomas. Not that I have ever seen anyone publically say that, but based on the players they bring in and the occasional quote regarding walks, they seems to be their MO.

"Not to be a Dusty defender, but I remember so many people complaining that Baker wouldn't play young players, including Cedeno. Now that he's playing Cedeno, according to many posters, Cedeno isn't good enough, and Theriot should be playing. And because Murton isn't playing every day, he should be playing (which is based on the fact that he had become a punch-and-judy hitter when he was playing every day, although I realize he has been better lately). It seems to me that whatever young player is not playing is the one Dusty should be playing - kind of a no win situation, don't you think?" Couldn't agree more. Oh, and don't forget that Baker made Murton into a bad hitter during that stretch and was directly responsible for five total RBI in May/June. Anyway, not too many people probably care about your statement, they blacked out after "not to be a Dusty defender".

Tito backing Dusty? Wow...what a shock....oh..Murton's measly 19 AB"s with runners on base is a huuuuge sample size... He's been hitting since the All-Star break. Get him in the lineup!!

I don't like to compare the NL versus the AL, so: Tigers 11th in OBP Tigers 7th in SLG Tigers 7th in Runs Scored yeah pitching... For Fun... Yanks 2nd in OBP 4th in slugging 4th in BA 5th in BA w/ RISP 2nd in SB 1st in Runs WSox 6th in OBP 2nd in slugging 3rd in BA 1st in BA w/ RISP 6th in SB 2nd in Runs Boston 1st in OBP 5th in slugging 7th in BA 11th in BA w/RISP 11th in SB 3rd in Runs Cleveland 4th in OBP 3rd in Slugging 5th in BA 4th in BA w/RISP 14th in SB 4th in Runs Texas 7th in OBP 6th in slugging 6th in BA 3rd in BA w/ RISP 13th in SB 5th in Runs

Yep, I'm a Dusty Backer, merely for bringing up that Murton was terrible in May/June. I love the gang mentality here. If anyone had bothered to ask me, I'd tell them that I'm from the Crunch School of Manager Worth, in that they get way too much credit/blame. I'll state it for the record: I think Dusty has gotten too much blame, but I would not care one bit if he were fired. I'm all for bringing in new blood. I also wouldn't slit my wrists if he got another year. The team's talent level is the bigger issue. p.s. Murton hit something like .218 with RISP in his first 73 games. So really, the small sample size is the hot streak. But whatever... And also for the record, I do like Murton, even drafted him in the last round of my fantasy draft. I also think he should be playing more right now. But please, let's not forget that when the team went in the tank in May/June, he was a huge part of it PLAYING EVERY DAY.

Oh, Dusty Baylor, in 134 ABs with runners on this season, Murton is hitting .261. Larger sample size, poor results. I like Murton, but I'd rather have C-Lee in LF next season.

Murton had a bad May/June, and it got him sent to the bench, where he's been a platoon player at best ever since. But Christ, 2/3rds of the offense had a bad 2 months, Dusty didn't for once second think about cutting the playing time of any of his trusty veterans. All of them were given a chance to work through their slumps, a chance that Murton was never given. More importantly, while Murton was struggling, he wasn't dragging down the rest of the team. He was still making contact and he was still getting on base via the walk. (unlike say Pierre whose OBP was frightening low during his slump) But that sort of patience shows he's not aggressive enough to be an everyday player for the Cubs. Maybe if he could boost his strikeout totals and reduce the number of pitches he sees, then he'd be showing Dusty was a Cubs hitter really should be doing.

Murton's PT is only relevant to the rest of the OFs, so discussing whom else to take away ABs from is pointless. Maybe try him at 1B? I'd have been fine with that. Actually, Murton wasn't as bad as I thought in May, despite only 4 RBI. It was in June when he stunk. His OBP was .257, OPS .484. One RBI. Not real helpful.

Tito- Sorry...I was looking at MLB.com. They show Murton at .314/.396/.477 with RISP this year. Murton's June sure did suck, but why screw around with him now, since he's been on fire since the All-Star break..you know? Of course I'd rather have Carlos Lee in LF...I'm with you on that one...I think most of us would be..lol.

Those RISP numbers are correct, but you said "runners on" - different category. His hot streak has raised his RISP numbers, no question.

Murton's june numbers were worse than I thought, but the point remains the same. Dusty gives his vets all the time in the world to break out of a slump, but if its a young player who has shown some patience who is having one bad month, he's placed on the "4th outfielder" track under Dusty's regime.

christ... we've seen *3* murton's this year. not 1. he's a work in progress. he's learning. he's adjusting. and he's changed his batting approach a LOT in the last 2 seasons. right now he's choking up about 1-2" off the bottom of the bat insted of wrapping his bottom hand around the end of the bat. its keeping him from reaching for weak contact and helping him drive the ball with more authority. its making him a better player with the bat. murton is working and progressing. sorry if he's 50-100ab's away from pleasing some people, but its a WHOLE lot more important he get himself in order before he actually goes out there and showcases it. so far ive not seen anything that's pissed me off since he's gotten over his weak-contact era from earlier this season. i see nothing but good coming outta this.

I agree about Murton. Now that he has adjusted, lets see what he'll do the rest of the way. Get him off the bench. Jaques Jones appears to be standing further away from the plate lately, & it seems to be helping against lefties. Cedeno, on the other hand does not seem to be making any progress in plate discipline or in-game thinking.

agreed...it seems he's ready to go (murton). i dunno what they're working on further with murt at this point. his swing/approach seems to be the same for the past 4+ weeks. they're probally still trying to close a hole or two, but he's as polished as ive seen him all year lately. cedeno...meh...he's up there swinging, running, and otherwise just being a contact hitter. i wish he'd slow down in the field and not try to make EVERY play at 100mph. some stuff you just gotta chalk up as a finished play and put that ball in your pocket rather than trying to be superman.

Recent comments

  • 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!!!

  • 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.