Cubs Considering Offers for Pitchers Chad Gaudin and Angel Guzman
There are no fewer than five remaining pitchers in camp who are battling for just two bullpen spots – Jeff Samardzija, David Patton, Chad Fox, Chad Gaudin, and Angel Guzman (assuming Luis Vizcaino’s spot is assured). The matter of how to fit five into two is the last remaining item on the Chicago Cubs’ agenda – and ousting Gaudin and Guzman may be the first step.
[T]he Cubs appear to be getting some trade feelers on reliever Chad Gaudin and maybe even Angel Guzman. DailyHerald.com.
Guzman is presumably given the “maybe even” tag because he is out of options, and unlike Gaudin, has not yet established himself as a Major League calibre pitcher.
Ironic, of course, given the fact that Gaudin’s inability to look like a Major League calibre pitcher this Spring is what led to his inclusion in this very discussion.
How things will likely play out, after the jump
Spring Training Battlewatch: the Bench is Complete
Well, it appears that the Chicago Cubs bench is set: Koyie Hill, Joey Gathright, Reed Johnson, Aaron Miles, and Micah Hoffpauir.
No one has shook Micah Hoffpauir’s hand yet to tell him he’s made the Opening Day roster, but Piniella did say the position players are set. That means Hoffpauir is in. “I thought I was doing what I had to do,” said Hoffpauir, who was tied for the ML lead this spring with 22 RBIs. “As far as sweating it out, no. I have no control over that. They’ll make their decision on performance. That’s the end of it.” Muskat Ramblings.
If Lou hadn’t explicitly said the bench was complete, I wouldn’t have believed it, despite the fact that only five “extra” positional players remain in the big league camp.
Why the bench is likely to change, after the jump
Spring Training Battlewatch: Bako Shuffled Loose the Cubbie Coil, Koyie Hill it is
The Cubs have released Paul Bako, which means the backup catcher job goes to 30-year-old career minor leaguer – and chainsaw wielding badass – Koyie Hill.
The decision saves the Cubs about $150k after the difference in Hill’s and Bako’s salaries is coupled with the termination pay Bako gets.
It’s funny how $150k is such chump change in the world of professional baseball. I would probably eat a year’s worth of cat droppings for $150k.
Another Cubs First Round Pick is Looking for Work
Filed under: Chicago Cubs Transactions, Cubs Minor Leagues and Prospects
A really great string of first round picks the Cubs have had in the 2000s, eh?
Some news from the Cubs’ Minor League camp: left-handed pitcher Mark Pawelek, the No. 1 Draft pick in 2005, was released. Muskat Ramblings.
Including the release of Ryan Harvey last week, the Cubs have now parted company with every single first rounder they had from 2000 to 2005 (Luis Montanez in 2000, Mark “the Employee” Prior in 2001, Bobby Brownlie in 2002, Harvey in 2003, Pawalek in 2005 (Cubs ain’t have no first rounder in 2004)).
Pawalek once broke his elbow tripping over his Playstation. Yup. That was the highlight of his Cubs career.
Obsessive Peavywatch: Moorad’s in Control, and Willing to Move Peavy
Now that Jeff Moorad has taken over the Padres, and has some indeterminate amount of control over player personnel decisions, he was bound to start getting peppered with Jake Peavy questions. And here are his first thoughts. The good news: he’s clearly willing to move Peavy.
“[Jake] Peavy has been a terrific performer for the club at the same time I don’t think any player is untouchable. I think at some point I am sure Kevin Towers and I will visit about the issue and Kevin will have a point of view and frankly I’ll defer to it. I certainly want to be kept informed but I think Kevin will have a perspective on the Peavy situation and I really looking forward hearing it.”
The rub: it’s fine and dandy to defer to the General Manager (Kevin Towers) on player personnel moves, but ultimately, the owner signs the chceks. So if you ask a GM, unfettered, would you like to keep Jake Peavy, the answer will, of course, be yes. So defering to Towers on this one will only work for so long.
So Taguchi In, Joey Gathright Out?
This one comes from way out of left field. I have been fairly vocal in my position that Joey Gathright is completely superfluous, and should not be guaranteed a spot on the 25-man roster.
Until recently, my calls went largely unnoticed. Now Bruce Miles has joined the party, and says Gathright may not make the team. But the replacement is So Unlikeable.
Speaking of the outfield, could So Taguchi make the team as a nonroster guy ahead of Joey Gathright? We’ll see. Lou talked up Taguchi yesterday, saying he “gives you a professional at-bat.” Gathright today rainbowed a throw home from left field.
Well that’s half right, and I fear that Tagachi’s recent “cut” from the team may not be enough to prevent it from being fully right.
The problem with that plan, after the jump
The Seventh Cut is the Predictablest
Not to proclaim myself Nostradamus or anything, but when I predicted yesterday that pitchers Randy Wells and Kevin Hart had just seen their last days in big league camp, I was right on the money. I’m Nostradamus.
The Cubs got their roster down to 30 today. They optioned pitchers Randy Wells and Kevin Hart to Iowa. Sent to minor-league camp were catcher Mark Johnson, infielders Andres Blanco and Esteban German and outfielders Brad Snyder and So Taguchi. DailyHerald.com.
German is a bit of a surprise given that the Cubs still do not have a viable second option off the bench for the infield behind Aaron Miles. Snyder had already been given the boot a few days ago when he was de-rostered. So this was a nice little extra kick in the crotch.
Closerwatch: It’s Kevin Gregg
I can’t say I’m surprised: Lou Piniella today announced that Kevin Gregg – and not Carlos Marmol – will begin the season as the Chicago Cubs closer.
Rue if you must, but this is the correct decision, and not simply because of the Cubs’ strong financial incentive to make Gregg the closer. Gregg is an experienced closer, Marmol is an experienced set-up man. This choice allows Piniella to use Marmol in the highest leverage situations – whether they occur in the 6th, 7th, or 8th innings. I suspect, even, that we may see Carlos Marmol pitch into the 9th inning from time to time when Lou likes the matchup.
