Today the Rangers claimed lefty reliever Jeff Beliveau off of waivers from the Cubs. Which is a bummer. Beliveau was designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Ian Stewart, and the Cubs apparently hoped they could sneak him through waivers (which they almost did, given that the Rangers would have had one of the lowest claiming priorities).
As the Cubs work to clear roster space to accommodate new signings, we’re probably going to have more of these “bummer” moments. Beliveau had a lot of talent, and the Cubs may wind up regretting this one.
Here’s what I wrote about Beliveau last week when he was DFA’d:
Will he be claimed if waived? Hard to say. Two years ago, Beliveau broke out in the minors, and was the Cubs’ minor league pitcher of the year. He had a shot to make the club out of Spring Training last year, but didn’t quite get it done. Eventually he did make it up to the big club in July, and was thought to be in the mix to be one of the lefties in the pen in 2013. I’m sure the Cubs hope they can keep him, again, barring a trade. He certainly has good stuff.
Beliveau threw 17.2 innings for the Cubs last year, and struck out 17, which is swell. Unfortunately he walked 12, which is not. His control issues were the very thing that held him back in the minors, and the very thing he corralled in his breakout 2011 season.
UPDATE: Apparently the Cubs also waived and lost reliever Sandy Rosario to the Giants (he was on the roster only briefly). So that puts the roster at 39, pending the expected additions of Nate Schierholtz, Edwin Jackson, and Carlos Villanueva.
UPDATE 2: More when I’m not on the road, but Schierholtz signing is official, and Gerardo Concepcion was removed from 40-man, cleared waivers, and was sent to Kane County. Given his contract, not a huge surprise. 40-man stands at 39.
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Poop!
Possibly a pre-cursor to signing Howell?
Funny how he was not good enough to stay on a roster of a team coming off a 100 loss season but is good enough to be on the roster of a playoff team.
This is the problem when you have a record amount of 4-5 pitchers. Rangers have more quality than quantity on their roster.
Wait when did we DFA Rosario?
I don’t remember that either. Maybe it was never reported, or maybe I’m just forgetting.
Who’s talking about Rosario?
Mlbtrade Rumors says he has been claimed
Can you tell I’m in a car?
Called Rosario. Except, I thought it was going to be the A’s who claimed him.
Bummer. I really like this kid as a potential closer candidate someday and I predict a nice MLB career for this hard throwing lefty. I got a chance to see him several times in the minors and like many fans who have seen hundreds of games, you JUST KNOW when you see a player who is a difference maker. I saw that in Jeff Beliveau, I saw it in Ryan Flaherty. I see it in Mike Burgess too. We shall see how this all plays out…..but I do believe that each of these players are going to be productive big leaguers.
I also understand that this is how the game is played these days. You can’t keep everyone. No one stays with the same organization for their entire careeer (with a few exceptions). The beaty of the minor leagues is that you can establish relationships with players, and whether they remain Cubs or not….you always root for them no matter where their career takes them.
I wish Jeff Beliveau the best of luck with the Rangers. They got a good one.
I saw Beliveau several times at Iowa and what I saw was a lefty, who got hit and had an attitude as though throwing AAA was below him. I’m not sad to see his 40 man spot open up.
I imagine the next 3 players to come off the roster will get claimed as well. You wouldn’t think it, but the Cubs do seem to have a lot of talent.
Brett, where in Las Vegas do the Cubs play the Rangers? As I am going to go see both games! However don’t have information on the park where they’re playing…can you help out a faithful follower…thanks
Ramy16
Cashman field. Link below for info.
http://www.lvol.com/lvlc/cashman.html
Sandy Rosario has also been claimed off waivers. I didn’t know he was DFAd
Brett,
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/12/giants-claim-sandy-rosario.html
That is funny! I wonder what the record is for the amount of times a player switches teams in the off season.
Wow that was fast… Giants scooped him up fast!
What’s the record for most times claimed and waived and claimed in an off season? Is rosario close yet?
Concepcion cleared and outrighted to Kane County
lol
source?
Brett Taylor @BleacherNation
RT @CSNMooney: #Cubs make Schierholtz deal official, announce Concepcion has cleared waivers,been assigned outright to Kane County.
good deal
I saw it first from the Cubs twitter
Who was it that kept arguing with me that Concepcion’s contract would let him sail through waivers untouched?
Well the better question is why would the Cubs care if someone picked up Concepcion off waivers? He sucks..
Didnt he miss half the season due to a sickness, as well as being new to the states and only 19-20 years old?
This.
None of that changes the fact that while he was pitching, a scout said he wouldn’t have been worth the time to drive to a junior college game to watch. He’s a huge bust.
I think I thought he’d have trouble getting through waivers before the mono, but once that hit, I kinda wondered if they’d go this route. Indeed, I wondered whether they might just be fine with the salary relief if he was claimed.
http://www.bleachernation.com/2012/11/12/those-looming-40-man-roster-decisions-and-an-ugly-picture-whom-can-the-cubs-afford-to-lose/
I think there’s no doubt the Cubs would have been deilghted to have him claimed.
Too early to call him a bust. He may end up being a bust but not at his age. Not yet.
It’s not too early. He was that bad. He wasn’t “Man, he needs to figure out his problem but there’s something there” bad. He was “this guy has no business being a professional pitcher” bad.
It is still too early. Now I hope this kid turns into Steve Carlton. If he was 25 yes, he’s 20. I guarantee with 6 mil in this kid, the Cubs aren’t going to give up on him yet and we shouldn’t either. I don’t care how bad he was last year. Maybe he was mis managed. If he turns out to be a bust, I will come back here and post in huge letters “KYLE WAS RIGHT, CONCEPCION WAS A BUST” but it won’t be this year.
It wont be for a few years. Let’s give him time.
Thank you Rod.
Remember the timing of his signing. Concepcion is a friend of Soler. Factor that into the equation, and he was worth the money spent if Soler turns out to be as good as he looked in his limited action in 2012. All he cost was money, and now he’s not even costing them a 40 man roster spot. Beliveau is the real loss here. He was one of the few bright spots that came out of that horrible bullpen last year. I don’t understand why Rusin was a better guy to keep than Beliveau, but I guess it’s a moot point now.
Plus, there’s the fact his numbers in cuba sucked.
At the highest level as a 19-year-old? Also: no they didn’t.
The ERA was decent, but the peripherals were pretty bad.
Very true.
MLB @MLB
OFFICIAL: @Cubs, OF Nate Schierholtz agree to 1-year contract.
LOL how many more players is Ian Stewart gonna cost the Cubs ?
So we need to clear two more spots what is everyone’s guess (baring a trade)? Mine Campana and Clevenger.
Campana for sure, but I got a feeling Clevenger stays for at least one more year
I bet a ham sammich it wont be Campana.
I think we only need to clear one spot. Roster at 39 with Jackson and Carlos V. needed to be added
My guess is a trade. Not necessarily a significant one.
We just need 1 and I bet it’ll be a pitcher (we will be at 22 pitchers here shortly)
Hey Goat – aren’t we at 39 even with all the announced signings? I don’t think any more cuts are coming unless we add more than one player. We have room for Howell or a similar reliever at this time, if I am not mistaken.
Never mind…
btw…Goat…we are only at 39 players, we just need to cut 1, yup, we will only be at 41 players after Jackson and Villy
Can’t get to 41. They will await further roster shuffling.
If we are at 39 and need to add three more HV, E. Jackson, and the new Spellcheck (Nate S) don’t we need to cut 2?
I thought Concepcion’s spot went to Schierholtz? Plus Rosario’s slot puts them at 39 with only Jackson and Villanueva to add.
I hate to see the Cubs lose Beliveau and Rosario. Both are young. F’ing Rangers and Giants. I hope we claim some of their guys. We could get them back though.
BTW who keeps bitching the FO isn’t spending any money? They’ve spent 90 million dollars on 9 FA’s this year. I still contend this FO wants to win and win this year. They want improvement so they can sell this team to FA’s in the future. I think the Cubs are going to be competitive in a weak division this year and they are going to be buyers at the break. And they are going to have plenty of resources to trade and buy with. Remember, you heard it hear first.
Sorry, you heard it here first. When do we get the edit button? Santa I want a BN edit button for Christmas this year and I’ve been a good boy, I swear.
Week division my ass. The cardinals and reds are way above average and the pirates are average with a chance of being above average also.Even the cubs can be a .500 team this year if they don’t trade everybody at the deadline. From top to bottom the central is probably the best division in the NL
Are you saying the Central is better than the East and West? No way. Pirates and Brewers suck. Cardinals will be average this year and the Reds are a solid team with still some holes and they’re managed by Dusty Baker who’ll find some way to f#$k up that team like he did with the Cubs. East has Washington, Atlanta and Philadelphia. West has Giants, Dodgers and Arizona. No way the Central is the best division in NL. No way.
You said the Central was weak, I didn’t say they were better, but arguably as good or better from top to bottom. The Brewers had a better record than the Phillies and don’t suck nor do the Pirates. If the Cubs are a .500 team this year, which is very possible then the central has a chance to have every team .500 or better. So my point was from top to bottom a very good division and arguably the best in the NL, not weak as you put them. The East is very good but the West with SD and the Rockies please
That is my point, from top to bottom there isn’t as much difference as in the East or West where there is huge disparity. The Reds are the best team in that divison and they had career pitching last year. The Cardinals are solid but have done nothing to improve and are getting older. The Brewers had a better record than the Phillies yes but c’mon, do you really think the Brewers are better than the Phillies? Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Howard, Utley and Rollins? Don’t be surprised if the Phillies win it all this year. The Pirates are improving but they’re young.The Cubs with the additions this year will be much improved but if they were in the East with Washington, Atlanta and Philadelphia, they would have no shot. It they were in the West with the Giants, Dodgers and D’Backs, they would have no shot.
And they spent only half about 40 million for THIS YEAR which is okay for the nine free agents, we will be a top ten spending team like we usually are and inching our way to a top five in a year or two.
What about Cory Wade did he clear ? He wil be picked up
Didn’t they sign Wade to a minor league deal? He doesn’t have to be on 40 man.
I don’t think Wade was on the 40 since it was a minor league deal with ST invite
So when would Concepcion be eligable for the Rule 5 draft?
3 years I think? How old is he? Maybe 2 years.
If my math is correct, he wouldn’t be eligible for Rule 5 until December 2016 (signed in early 2012)
I realize games are played on the margin, trying to hide that 41st player, this is going to happen more ane more and its a good thing because the top 25 are getting better
I still think the Cubs should sign Bourn. I think he fits well in the ST plan and the LT plan and he helps that team tremendously next year. True leadoff man is what the Cubs have needed since 2003. Table setter.
I just… it hurts when I think about paying 50M for .700 OPS. All he has is his speed. One leg injury and he’s useless. At least Soriano had his power to fall back on when his legs failed him.
100% agree with you.
Bourn is over rated. Plus we would have to give up 2nd round draft pick. Pass
Not to nitpick, but a true leadoff man should have a better OBP than .339. And, a true leadoff man should not be striking out 155 times like he did last year. Personally, I pass unless it is 3 years or less.
And that’s the important point: what makes a guy a table setter is getting on base. DeJesus is a better table setter than Bourn is.
Bourn’s obp last year was 348. His lifetime is 339. He also averages 50 steals per year. DeJesus can’t do that. Part of the table setter is pulling the infield in for bunts, disrupting the pitcher by being a base stealing threat and stealing bases. Bourn does all that, DeJesus does not. Bourn MUCH better defensively in CF and covering the alleys. The strikeouts (120 per season lifetime are a concern) but overall a huge asset to have on a team trying to get better offensively and defensively.
exactly. Bourn may be the best CF in the NL, hands down.
That’s the myth. However, it’s simply not true: high OBP guys that don’t do those things score more runs than the low OBP guys who do. What it comes down to is that in the same lineup, DeJesus very probably would score more runs as a leadoff batter than would Bourn.
DeJesus lifetime obp is 355. Bourn’s is 339. DeJesus averages 8 sb per year in his career. Bourn sb is 50. DeJesus lifetime runs scored is 85. Bourn’s is 85. However last 3 years Bourn’s rs is 94. DeJesus is 70. Granted they aren’t in the same lineup. Bourn was in Houston and Atlanta. DeJesus was in Oakland and Chicago. I just don’t see how you can make the argument that in the Cubs lineup next year if DeJesus is leading off, he will score more runs than Bourn leading off in the same lineup with a .16 differential in OBP. Btw Bourn’s OBP last year was 348, DeJesus was 350. Bourn’s 29, DeJesus is 32. I like DeJesus but Bourn is the better leadoff hitter and CF.
Saber metrics has found out that a SB will only score .25 runs. A HBP, walk or a single will score nearly 3 times that amount.
Speed is overrated.
It is even more complex than that: the SB = 0.25 runs is an average, with the actual expectation depending on the batters coming up. In short, for a leadoff batter, SB 0.25 runs. That is, a stolen base does more to increase the probability of scoring when it’s in front of bad hitters.
“bad hitters”
da Cubs should have a few of those next year?
Earlier you used the Pirates as an example of a team losing even though they had success on the paths.
But in truth, they won until their pitching went south in the 2nd half. They had a terrible offense but they were winning. It was not that the offense got worse, how could it, rather they lacked depth in the run prevention side.
Would it be better that for The Cubs to have a few more mashers? Big time! But they don’t.
Pitching, defense and scrappy! Yeah, no WS ring but hey, they have enough of the first two so as to suck a lot less this year.
As Larry Wall would say: “There is more than one way to do it”.
Actually, I used the PIrates as an example of a team that had a bad offense despite being near the top of MLB in scoring created by base-running.
What kept Pittsburgh winning was good starting and great relief pitching plus a bit of luck. You won’t see that in the final season stats: the starting pitching fell off and the bullpen imploded in August, likely and most probably due to over-use.
The other key point is that out-slugging is not about having mashers: the Rays outslug their opposition by considerable amounts largely because of their pitching. However, if you cannot outslug and outwalk the opposition, then Larry Wall was wrong: you don’t get to win.
Campana would be traded before put on waviers he would fit on a contender who needs speed
If we’re lucky, Campana might be worth a C/C- prospect from the right team but otherwise I think he’s a throw-in on another deal.
He has absolutely no trade value
He would definitely be traded before he was cut.
If you do not hit homeruns, this town sees no value in you.super Joe Mather will get fan love never he has potential pop, but a campana type is more valued in a st. Louis or Atlanta market.
Campy has plenty of fan love- he is the model scrappy player and if he ever moved or cut many will scream out loud.
So true. I mean, could we hate Kerry Wood, Greg Maddux, or Fergie Jenkins any more?
Wood could knock them out. Remember Game 7?
Fergie actually had six one season, IIRC.
I think he led the Cubs in pitcher homeruns until Z broke his record.
Players typically get love when they are good at baseball. Occasionally, a player gets love because, although he’s bad at baseball, he sure does try really hard.
People love seeing a guy succeed without a ton of God-given ability. It affirms that feeling of, “anything is possible if you put your mind to it”.
The Rudy Effect
Thanks your right
Cubs sign Nate Schierholtz
Why would the FO keep Lendy Castillo & let Beliveau go ? Makes no sense from where I sit. Castillo would never have been claimed by Texas while a young , healthy , hard throwing lefty draws interest from a team who has been in the playoffs the last 3 years. This one is on Theo & Jed. Noe we only have Russell as a viable bullpen guy from the left side. Raley’s minor league splits indicate he has very good success against lefties – not Rusin though.
doesn’t Castillo still have to be on the roster for a bit longer? or did he just make the cut?
He managed his 90 days on the 25 man in 2012. He is now Cubs property, free and clear, complete with 3 available options.
He will be an SP in Tennessee next season, probably.
I’m not sure about how that Rule 5 draft stuff works but you can release a player at any time Rule 5 or not. Castillo sucks.
I believe they have to be offered back to the previous team first and then if they don’t want him then you can do whatever
[...] lefty reliever Jeff Beliveau, who was DFA’d last week, was claimed off waivers by the Rangers. Righty reliever Sandy Rosario, whom the Cubs grabbed off of waivers from the Red [...]
I liked Beliveau, and was intrigued by Rosario, as I was Putnam and Guttierez. I’m not sure why we’re still not willing to let Rusin and/or Raley go now that we have 7 viable starting pitchers in addition to Bowden and Cabrera being stretched out and Vizcaino in AAA as well. And Struck. All of them have higher ceilings than Rusin and Raley.
Dr. Wimsey used the Pirates as an example of a team with good baserunning but poor overall offense. But even with the poor overall offense they were winning as long as there was adequate run prevention. That lasted one half of one season.
The 2012 Balt. O’s, however, had a 93 win season even though they were lg avg in run prevention and 15th in overall run production. For those into such things, the rusulting Pythagorean was 82-80. How it this possible? Hmmmm, perhaps distribution had a bit to do with it. In baseball, the result of one game has nothing to do with the next except the wear and tear on the players.
That is to say….”There is more than one way to do it.” Mr Wall is always right. If he doesn’t find a solution, he knows somebody else will.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any proof that teams that have a lot of “good distribution” continue to do so in the immediate future. That means it is mostly luck and not something the team is inherently good at.
Pre-steriod/pre-TV-money era’s had a lot of teams with contined good distribution. The ’50′s had the White Sox. There was The Dodgers during the ’60′s and The O’s in the 70′s. I’m not going to look up The Royals but I’d guess they belong in that group somewhere.
If a team has the resources to build a balanced team they will do so. If a team does not have the resources to keep its very very good players it will not be able to win through “distribution” for very long.
The O’s were in the middle of the pack as to offense. They had something with which to work. The Cubs have the money. They don’t have access to offensive players. The FA’s suck and they lack trading chips. So, you are probably right in that they don’t have enough to copy Balt’ success. But they can try to maximize the efficiency of that which they can control.
The Giants were 6 games above Pythagorean for both 2011 and 2012.
2011 they won 11 one run games more than they lost. In blowouts they were out scored 164/196 while winning 15 and losing 20 of them during that year.
Sometimes the coin flips heads twice in a row. Doesn’t mean the coin isn’t balanced.
That is a 324 game range.
It is pretty hard to argue that the Giants success is not a function of a few great front line pitchers. I’m not looking it up but I’m pretty sure their offense improved in 2012 as did their win total. But they were able to win 86 games in 2011 with Schierholtz as their principle RF’er and Eli Whiteside as the guy who got the most starts catching.
Sanchez and Zito combined for 154 IP and 83 ER’s over 28 starts in 2011. Not much help there. Cain, Lincecum, Vogelsong and Bumgarner tossed more than 800 IP with a combined ERA of less than 3.00.
That is not luck!
None of those things have to be luck for it to have virtually nothing to do with their pyth differential.