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37 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (three slots are open)

Last updated 11-17-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 20
Adbert Alzolay 
Michael Arias
Javier Assad
Ben Brown
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
Porter Hodge
* Bailey Horn
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
Michael Rucker
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 8
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Matt Mervis
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Luis Vazquez
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 7
Kevin Alcantara
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
Brennen Davis
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

 


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Four Cubs Pitchers Make Pro Game Debut at Instructs

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Geuri Lubo belted a game-tying solo HR with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, as the Cubs and Rockies played to a 3-3 tie in Arizona Instructional League game action Friday morning at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ. 

SP Luis Devers and five relievers combined to hurl a two-hitter (both hits were singles), but four errors, five walks, and three WP helped the Rockies score three runs that erased an early 2-0 Cub lead. 

Four Cub pitchers made their professional game debuts in the game, including RHP Will Sanders (2023 4th round draft pick - U. of South Carolina), LHP Daniel Brown (2023 16th round draft pick - Campbell U.), RHP Nick Dean (2023 19th round draft pick - U. of Maryland), and RHP Kenten Egbert (2023 NDFA - Miami U. of Ohio).  

W. Sanders was outstanding, Egbert was OK, Dean was a bit wild, and D. Brown was REALLY wild (walked three of the four batters he faced, uncorked three wild pitches, and threw only one strike -- turned into the 4-3 GO -- among his 14 pitches, most of which ended up sailing over the catcher's head or behind the batter, or were spiked five feet in front of home plate).

Here is the abridged box score from the game (Cubs players only): 

AZIL CUBS LINEUP:
1. Leonel Espinoza, RF: 1-4 (1B, 5-3, 4-3, K, R) 
2. Ed Howard, SS: 2-4 (1B, 1B, 5-3, K, R)
3a. Alexis Hernandez, 2B: 1-2 (1B, K, RBI, SB)
3b. Geuri Lubo, 2B: 1-2 (F-7, HR, R, RBI)
4. Brian Kalmer, 1B-3B: 0-4 (F-9, 5-3, F-9, P-4) 
5. Adan Sanchez, DH: 0-3 (4-3, 5-3, P-3, RBI)
6. Carter Trice, C: 0-3 (F-9, P-4, 5-3) 
7. Alfonsin Rosario, LF: 0-2 (K, F-7, HBP)
8. Jose Escobar, CF: 0-3 (3-U, 4-3, 5-4-3 DP) 
9a. Yahil Melendez, 3B: 0-2 (K, P-4) 
9b. Drew Bowser, 1B: 0-1 (K) 

AZIL CUBS PITCHERS: 
1. Luis Devers; 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP, 1/4 GO/AO, 55 pitches (35 strikes)
2. Nick Dean: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, 0/1 GO/AO, 22 pitches (11 strikes) 
3. Will Sanders: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/1 GO/AO, 17 pitches (10 strikes) 
4. Daniel Brown: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 0 K, 3 WP, 1/0 GO/AO, 14 pitches (one strike) 
5. Landon Ginn: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/1 GO/AO, 16 pitches (13 strikes) 
6. Kenten Egbert: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GO/AO, 13 pitches (7 strikes)

AZIL CUBS ERRORS: 4 
1. C Carter Trice: E-2 (errant throw to 2nd base on SB attempt allowed runner to advance to 3rd) 
2. LF Alfonsin Rosario: E-7 (missed catch on fly ball at warning track allowed batter to reach 2nd base safely and unearned run to score) 
3. 2B Geuri Lubo: E-4 (fielding miscue allowed batter to reach base safely) 
4. P Landon Ginn: E-1 (errant throw to 1st base attempting 1-3 putout allowed batter to reach base safely)

AZIL CUBS CATCHERS DEFENSE: 
Carter Trice: 1-3 CS, 1 E (see above) 

AZIL CUBS OUTFIELD ASSIST: 
CF Jose Escobar - runner doubled off 1st base 8-3 after L-8

WEATHER: Sunny with temperatures in the 90's 

ATTENDANCE: 14 

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 09/22/2023 - 09:51 pm

Here are the pitch type / velo from the game: 

Luis Devers: FB 90-91, CV 73-77, CH 80-81 with ten swing & miss (why wasn't he assigned to the AFL???)
Nick Dean: FB 89-91, CV 77-80, CH 83 (FB command comes & goes, CH is his best pitch)
Will Sanders: FB 92-95, CH 85-86, SL 82-85, CV 80 (swing & miss breaking balls, a plus CH, and a firm FB, betcha he starts 2024 in South Bend starting rotation)
Daniel Brown: FB 92-95 and CH 80-82 (zero command - EXTREMELY remedial)
Landon Ginn: FB 92-93 and SL 85-87 (throws strikes, misses bats, and really works hitters with just the two-pitch mix, but needs PFP work) 
Kenten Egbert: FB 91-92 and CV 79-82 

Submitted by jdrnym on Fri, 09/22/2023 - 09:52 pm

Phil,

Jordan Luplow was DFA'd by the Twins on Monday and was ultimately optioned and then recalled today. I didn't think that was possible since optional waivers were eliminated years ago. How did that work for the Twins?

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 09/23/2023 - 09:58 pm

jdrnym: 

As you know, the abbreviation "DFA" stands for "Designated for Assignment." 

There are three types of assignments: 

1. Trade Assignment (when a player is traded from one MLB club to another)
2. Outright Assignment (when a player is sent to the club's minor league Domestic Reserve List after Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured).
3. Optional Assignment (when a player is optioned to the minors, subject to being recalled at a later time). 

So when a player is Designated for Assignment, the player can either be traded, outrighted to the minors, or optioned to the minors. 

Normally a player is not Designated for Assignment and then optioned to the minors, because the club could just option the player to the minors immediately without a DFA.

Back in the day It was not that unusual for a player to be Designated for Assignment so that Optional Assignment Waivers could be secured (Optional Assignment Waivers were required before certain players could be optioned to the minors, and just like the old Trade Assignment Waivers, Optional Assignment Waivers were revocable if a player was claimed).

https://www.thecubreporter.com/why-player-designated-assignment-and-the…

Optional Assignment Waivers were eliminated in 2016 and Trade Assignment Waivers were eliminated in 2021, so all revocable waivers have been eliminated. What's left are Outright Assignment Waivers and Outright Release Waivers, and both are irrevocable (cannot be withdrawn) once requested.  

With the new five option limit whereby a player can be optioned to the minors no more than five times in a given season before Outright Assignment Waivers must be secured (and it - IS - Outright Assignment Waivers that must be secured, even though it is for the purpose of an Optional Assignment), it now might be necessary for a club to DFA a player to clear a spot on the MLB 26-man roster (MLB 28-man roster in September) for another player and to allow for the two days (actually 47 hours) required to run a player through waivers. After the two day "Waiver Claiming Period" concludes (and presuming the player isn't claimed), the player can be returned to the MLB 40-man roster and optioned to the minors (even after being Designated for Assignment). But for that to happen, the player can - NOT - be replaced on the MLB 40-man roster by another player after being Designated for Assignment.  

However, in the case of Jordan Luplow, he had - NOT - been optioned to the minors five times in the 2023 season prior to be optioned to AAA St. Paul on 9/18, so the Twins did not need to DFA Luplow in order to secure Outright Assignment Waivers so that he could be optioned to the minors a sixth time. But because he was Designated for Assignment and not replaced on the 40 by another player after the DFA, the Twins could return him to the 40 and option him to the minors even after he was Designated for Assignment, because an Optional Assignment is one of the three types of assignments.

So Luplow was Designated for Assignment even though he didn't need to be, and then the Twins returned him to their MLB 40-man roster and optioned him to the minors a couple of days later (which they can do, since Luplow wasn't replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment). What the Twins did (DFA Luplow and then return him to the 40 and option him to the minors a couple of days later) was within the rules. It's just very odd and doesn't make a lot of sense. 

So I will offer what I believe is the most logical reason the Twins did this:  

The Twins DFA'd Luplow because they intended to reinstate Chris Paddack from the 60-day IL, but then Carlos Correa suddenly needed to go on the 10-day IL and they recalled Trevor Larnach to replace Correa, but then they probably decided they should keep Luplow on the 40-man roster, too (and on Optional Assignment to AAA), and didn't want to risk losing him off waivers or by him electing free-agency after being outrighted. Luplow has Article XX-D rights (he has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career, so he would had the right to elect free-agency after he was outrighted). Clearly the Twins felt they might need Luplow's RH bat after losing Correa and with Royce Lewis having left a game with a hamstring injury that led to an IL assignment. And that meant that Paddack would remain on his minor league rehab assignment a few extra days, but the Twins will need him in the post-season, not now. 

Also, if Luplow was outrighted instead of being optioned, he would no longer be automatically eligible to play in the post-season (except as a possible injury replacement).

Not only did Carlos Correa go on the IL, Royce Lewis went on the IL, too, two days after Correa went on the IL and two days after Luplow was optioned to AAA, so the Twins did in fact end up needing Luplow after all, and recalled him just a couple of days after he was optioned to replace Lewis on the MLB 28-man roster. (So both Larnach and Luplow were recalled within a couple of days of each other, replacing Correa and Lewis on the Twins MLB 28-man roster).  

So that's all I've got. That is the only thing that makes sense. The Twins DFA'd Luplow because they had intended to replace him on the 40 with another player (probably Paddack) and hoped that they would be able to run him through waivers and that he wouldn't get claimed and that he would accept an Outright Assignment, but then they suddenly changed their minds because of the injury to Correa and the possibility that Lewis might also have to go on the IL (which did, in fact, happen the next day). Also, with the injuries to Correa and Lewis, the Twins wanted Luplow to remain automatically post-season eligible, which would not be the case if he was outrighted.  

Again, the Twins were able to return Luplow to the 40 and option him to AAA because he hadn't been replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment. 

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    If the Cubs do move Matt Shaw to 1st base and don't sign or acquire in a trade any position players or pitchers in the meantime (or at least nobody for more than one year), this could be the Cubs Opening Day lineup in 2025: 

    1. PCA, CF 
    2. Hoerner, 2B 
    3, Happ, LF 
    4. Suzuki, RF 
    5. Shaw, 1B 
    6. Morel/Caissie, DH 
    7. Swanson, SS  
    8. Amaya/Ballesteros, C 
    9. Murray, 3B 

    BENCH: 
    Canario, OF 
    Mastrobuoni or Vazquez, INF  

    STARTING PITCHERS:
    Steele 
    Taillon
    Horton 
    Wicks 
    Assad, Brown, Wesneski, Kilian, Powell, Birdsell, or ?  

    BULLPEN: 
    Alzolay 
    Palencia 
    L. Little
    Cuas  
    Horn  
    Roberts 
    Martin 
    Hodge 

    Also, Julian Merryweather and Mark Leiter Jr would be under club control (via arb) through 2026 but they are both out of minor league options, and Michael Rucker and Keegan Thompson will be out of minor league options after next season, so their value as shuttle guys would be greatly diminished due to loss of fungibility.  

    James Triantos, Jefferson Rojas, or Pedro Ramirez (2B), Kevin Alcantara (RF), Morel, Caissie, Canario, Brennen Davis, Christian Franklin, or Zyhir Hope (LF), Matt Mervis, Haydn McGeary, or Brian Kalmer (DH), and Assad, Brown, Wesneski, Powell, Birdsell, Jackson Ferris, Drew Gray, Michael Arias, Brody McCullough, Will Sanders, or ? (SP) can replace Hoerner, Happ, Suzuki, and Taillon when their contracts expire after the 2026 season. 

    At least that would be my master plan going forward (very much subject to change, of course), again presuming the Cubs don't sign or acquire any position players or SP or closer who would be signed beyond the 2024 season. 

    The only thing is, if the Cubs did it this way (going in-house rather than signing free agents to lengthy contracts or trading for established players or pitchers), the Cubs would (at least temporarily) probably project as a 70-75 win team in 2024 and would probably be "sellers" at the Trade Deadline, looking to move Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly, Yan Gomes, Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal, Mike Tauchman (and probably Merryweather, and Leiter, too), that is unless they can sign free agents or acquire guys who would not be signed beyond 2024 (or at the very least not beyond 2026, when the Happ-Hoerner-Suzuki-Taillon window closes) who might be able to help keep them in playoff contention in 2024. 

    The Cubs farm system is absolutely loaded. There are probably at least a half-dozen small market MLB clubs (KC, OAK, MIA, STL, COL, and MIN) plus the White Sox and the Angels that would kill to have the Cubs minor league system as it presently exists. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    If I was the Cubs, I would be working Matt Shaw at 1st base before I'd move Christopher Morel there. A Shaw comp is Steve Garvey (a plus hitter with loud contact and a solid glove but a rag arm). 

    In fact I wish the Cubs had worked Shaw at 1st base at Instructs or assigned him to the AFL to play 1st base, but for some reason he did not attend Instructs and was not assigned to the AFL. 

    If he can learn to play 1st base, Shaw could be in Wrigley by mid-2024, maybe even sooner. 

    Shaw is a first-baseman waiting to happen. 

    And I still believe Christopher Morel will be traded as part of a package to acquire a SP, so that he can play LF (the position scouts say he should play).   

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds signing Jeimer Candelario should allow them to package two or three of their infielders in a deal for Tyler Glasnow. 

  • Finwe Noldaran (view)

    crunch:

    If he's half as good as how much he made me irritated when the camera would pan to him in the dugout during games while he was playing, we'll be alright............

  • Finwe Noldaran (view)

    Arizona P:

    Totally agree. I was really wanting the Cubs to be sellers, and while hindsight is 20/20, that looks as though it may have been the best option; although, part of the reason they decided not to be sellers may have been what some of the returns we're going to be, so my thoughts are merely speculation based on lack of insight into the specifics of conversations leading up to the deadline. I find myself wanting us to allow the prospects to develop and play meaningful roles on the big league team, as I feel that we have quite a few that will become good if not prayerfully great players, but if we trade them away or sign players to fill their positions in a desperate attempt to contend now, I'm left wondering if approaching this year as a transition year, while giving some prospects time in the minors and then bringing them up to see what we have in them, and maybe looking at next year (2025) as more of a contention point may be the way to go, and may even be a catalyst in the long-term development of the consistency in contending that the franchise needs and letting things happen organically, rather than pressing or trying to control things and making a flurry of moves?

    Irrespective, I think Counsel was a great choice for manager, now we just need to add some charging stations at Wrigley, maybe where the garage was?

  • Finwe Noldaran (view)

    Arizona P:

    Just saw crunch saying Candelario went to the Reds, I also was wanting to avoid the retread market or losing a draft pick.......

  • Finwe Noldaran (view)

    Arizona P:

    Totally agree, I was inferring the latter portion of my comment, and agree with your assessment that it's similar to last year; just headscratching............

  • crunch (view)

    it is taking more than a minute for me to get used to craig counsell being the cubs manager.

    he's going to take the field on opening day at wrigley and get massively cheered.

    that is weird.  that's a thing that's happening, though.

    history aside, while i am horrified at the amount of money they're paying him, i welcome his style of management over what d.ross has given the team.  love d.ross and how chill + ready to deliver he kept the team, but he had a serious pitching short-hook problem that exhausted the pen and some very questionable bench/pinch-hitting use.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    FINWE N: If you go by what Counsell did with the Brewers, he is much more likely to go with younger players than Ross was. I think part of it was that Ross was a "veteran players manager," meaning he was well liked and respected by veteran players because he was inclined to play them over younger unproven guys. 

    And that actually might have been OK if the Cubs had been "sellers"at the trade deadline (as they clearly had planned to be before suddenly deciding to go fr it), because Ross would have played the veterans a lot the first four months of the season (which would have maximized their trade value), and then Ross would have had no choice but to play the younger guys the last two months after the veterans were traded. 

    But of course it didn't work out that way. 

    One thing about Craig Counsell that might have attracted Hoyer to him is that Counsel is very "collaborative" as a manager and welcomes and even demands lots of input from the analytics department. In fact I have heard tell that Counsell knows at least as much as the geeks know and that he routinely goes to them for information rather than waiting for it to be offered. So think of Ross as a Chevy pick-up truck, while Counsell is a Tesla. 

  • crunch (view)

    with candelario off the board to the reds, it looks like it's chapman or trade...or another year of gambling cheap on someone like gio urshela or a meh-D donovan solano.

    of course there's also this guy with a rocket arm named morel that could have played a bit more 3rd in 2023 seeing if that could be his thing, but whatever i guess.  i know accuracy isn't a strength with those throws from 3rd, but still, for his cost and a supporting middle-IF that's one of the best in MLB (if not #1) it's not the worst use of a very cheap talent.

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