Early Offseason Rumors and Notes

The offseason is just underway and the rumor mill has wasted no time in getting started. It will be an interesting offseason with many questions surrounding the Chicago Cubs. Here's the latest!

• Carrie Muskat reports that Ozzie Guillen wants to bring Carlos Zambrano to the Marlins. Mike Quade said that it would be tough for him if Z returns.



• The possibility of Theo Epstein leaving the Boston Red Sox to come to the Cubs has been discussed.



• According to the Sun Times, the window is open for Ryne Sandberg to return to the organization.



• Paul Sullivan reports that the Cubs are in a state of limbo waiting for the GM hire.



• Brad Snyder of the Cubs has elected to enter Triple-A free agency.



• Mike Quade is confident that he will return next season.



• Just after the end of the season, the Cubs removed Justin Berg and Brian Schlitter from the 40-man roster and reinstated Carlos Zambrano.



• Yesterday I released my annual Cubs report cards... Bruce Levine has also graded the team.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Catching Up Quick Hits: Call-ups, Injuries, Benchings, & More

• The Cubs activated Carlos Silva from the disabled list and he returned to the rotation on Tuesday. Silva was decent in his first game back but the Cubs fell to the Astros.
• Tuesday was a special day for Hall of Fame slugger Billy Williams. A statue was unveiled outside of Wrigley in his honor. He became the second Cubs player to be honored with a statue.
• The Cubs are 9-6 under Mike Quade so far.
• The Triple-A Iowa Cubs lost back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday to Memphis to miss the playoffs. They finished with the same record as the Redbirds but Memphis took the tie-breaker (record within division).
• Reports earlier this week said that Iowa manager Ryne Sandberg would receive an interview from Jim Hendry for the open big league job within the next ten days, but Carrie Muskat reports that team officials denied these reports.
• Tyler Colvin was presented with the "Heart and Hustle" award for the Cubs this week. The final MLB winner will be announced on November 5.
• Starlin Castro was bench for a couple of days to think about some of the mental errors he has made at shortstop. Castro returned to the lineup on Wednesday, his swing as sharp as ever.
• The Cubs made a slew of September call-ups as soon as the Triple-A team's season ended. Veteran infielder Bobby Scales, Notre Dame grad Jeff Samardzija, right handed pitcher Justin Berg, slugging outfielder Brad Snyder, and spark-plug Sam Fuld have all been added to the 25-man roster.
• John Grabow and Esmalin Caridad were moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Snyder and Scales on the 40-man roster.
• Tom Gorzelanny, out with a thumb injury, threw on the side but is not ready to return to the rotation.
• Aramis Ramirez is still listed as day-to-day with a sore right quad.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Down on the Farm: Who's Hot, Who's Not?

With the struggles of the Chicago Cubs, looking to the future is always fun. Today, let us see how the Cubs' prospects are fairing so far this season.

AAA-Iowa (18-18)

Who's Hot?

• Chad Tracy: Since being sent down, Tracy is hitting .586 in 7 games. The I-Cubs are 6-0 in games that Chad starts. He has 8 RBIs.
• Matt Camp: This utility man leads the team among guys with 100 or more ABs with a .322 average. He is a good contact hitter (33 of 39 hits are singles, the rest doubles).
• Brad Snyder: Brad's an outfielder with 5 homers and 26 RBIs. In addition to his power, Snyder has an OBP of .299 in 33 games.
• Blake Parker: 1-1 with an ERA of just 1.10 in 12 games out of the Iowa bullpen. He could see time in the Cubs' pen before the end of the year.
• Andrew Cashner: Went 6 innings and allowed just 1 run in his first AAA start after being called up from Tennessee.
• Mitch Atkins: 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 10 games (2 starts). He has joined the rotation and is pitching very well.

Who's Not?

• Micah Hoffpauir: Hitting just .195 in 34 games. Hoffpauir has been scuffling at AAA and has really gone steadily downhill in the past 12 months. He may never see the Wrigley Field diamond again.
• Welington Castillo: With an average of just .239, Castillo is starting to show some signs of improvement. His defense has remained consistent even with his struggles at the plate.
• J.R. Mathes: 3-4 with a 5.52 ERA in 8 starts. The lefty posted 12 wins for Iowa last season.

AA-Tennessee (22-14)

Who's Hot?

• Steve Clevenger: The catcher had a great week at the plate. He is now hitting .360 in 21 games, which ranks first among Smokies on the active roster. Clevenger is fighting to earn some playing time in an organization that is filled with young catchers.
• Josh Vitters: .333 average since being bumped up to AA. Three of his 7 hits are extra base knocks.
• Austin Bibens-Dirkx: Has been the ace of the Tennessee rotation so far this season. After a great season at Peoria last year, the adjustment period has gone swiftly. Bibens-Dirkx is 1-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 7 starts.
• Matt Spencer: Since coming off the DL, Spencer has hit .340 in 16 games. Matt, a product of the Jake Fox/Aaron Miles trade, already has 3 homers and 12 runs batted in.

Who's Not?

• Ryan Flaherty: Hit just .183 in 23 games before finally being sent down to Daytona.
• Marwin Gonzalez: Has gotten off to a slow start at the dish since being called up to take Castro's place a short. Gonzalez has a .167 average in 8 games.
• Jeff Muyco: Muyco, who made a few appearances as a call-up at HoHoKam Park this spring, has an ERA over seven. He has notched 5 saves in 15 games out of the Smokies bullpen, but he will be given less and less save chances because of his beefy ERA.
• Alex Maestri: The ex-World Baseball Classic player has a 6.20 ERA in 14 relief appearances. The Tennessee bullpen has not been that effective this season.

We'll have a "Who's Hot, Who's Not" for the Class A clubs (Daytona and Peoria) later in the week.

Sunday Evening Quick Hits: Castro Cut, The Roster, and More

• Yesterday the Cubs made two more cuts from big league Spring Training. Top Prospect Starlin Castro and outfielder Brad Snyder were sent to minor league camp. I'm a little surprised that Castro didn't stay with the team a little longer, but in the end it's probably the right decision to send him down for a little more seasoning.
• The Cubs now have 40 guys left in camp, which means there's 15 more cuts to make. The first few will be to move some guys to the DL and to send down guys like Chris Robinson and Robinson Chirinos, but then there will be about eight or nine hard decisions on guys.
• Mike Fontenot got the start at short stop today in the spring game against the Reds. Kevin Millar was given a chance to play left field. Both these guys will be much more valuable if they can play multiple positions.
• Andres Blanco played short in minor league camp today.
• Most of the Cubs' regulars stayed back at HoHoKam Park to work with Rudy Jaramillo instead of going to today's away spring game. Fontenot was the only regular in the lineup.
• There is still no timetable set on Aramis Ramirez.
• Carlos Silva left after two innings today with a tight quad, but he appears to be OK.

Now let's take a look at where the Cubs' 25-man roster stands!

Pitchers:

1. Carlos Zambrano

2. Ryan Dempster

3. Randy Wells

4. Tom Gorzelanny

5. Jeff Samardzija

6. Carlos Silva

7. Sean Marshall

8. Carlos Marmol

9. John Grabow

10. Justin Berg

11. Esmalin Caridad

12. Open (Mike Parisi, Marcos Mateo, John Gaub, and James Russell in the mix)

Position Players (Numbering cont.)

13. Derrek Lee

14. Mike Fontenot

15. Ryan Theriot

16. Aramis Ramirez

17. Geovany Soto

18. Marlon Byrd

19. Alfonso Soriano

20. Kosuke Fukudome

21. Xavier Nady

22. Koyie Hill (Robinson Chirinos and Chris Robinson are still in camp, but Hill has the backup catcher's job won)

23. Jeff Baker

24. Open (Tyler Colvin, Jim Adduci, and Sam Fuld still in camp for last outfield spot)

25. Open (Bobby Scales, Darwin Barney, Andres Blanco, Micah Hoffpauir, Kevin Millar, and Chad Tracy still in camp for last infielders spot)

Thoughts?

Make it 2-0: Cubs 8, Arizona 7

Game Recap
Besides Carlos Zambrano, who was the starting pitcher, the Cubs that took the field at HoHoKam Park today were essentially the "B" team. Big Z retired all six batters he faced in his two innings of work.

Starlin Castro was batting leadoff and starting at short stop. He went 2-4 with a double and a single. Early on, the game was low scoring. After Casey Coleman worked the 3rd and the 4th for the Cubs, the Cactus League battle was scoreless. Then in the bottom of the 5th, the Cubs bats came to life against former Cub Aaron Heilman. Jim Hendry sent Heilman to the D'backs in November, and so far the move looks like a good one. Aaron allowed 4 ER on 5 hits in his inning of work. A Brett Jackson triple was the highlight of the frame.

In the 6th, Arizona got the runs right back, scoring 5 against Jeff Stevens. The Cubs acquired Stevens in the Mark DeRosa trade with Cleveland. He pitched a good fifth, but after one inning of work he fell apart, and was unable to make it through the 6th. Stevens was replaced by another hurler that came over in the DeRo deal, lefty John Gaub. In 1.1 innings, Gaub allowed just two hits but one was a solo homer to make it 6-4.

The Cubs then put a rally together to tie in up, but in the top of inning number 9 the D'backs untied it with a run against Justin Berg to take the 7-6 lead. Brad Snyder came through for the Cubs, cracking a double in the bottom of the 9th to bring Scales and Fuld home to win the game 8-7.

The Cubs have started off the Cactus League with a 2-0 record and have played fairly well in both games. Marcos Mateo, an underrated pitching prospect, also looked good in his one inning on the hill. Josh Vitters was the starting third baseman. The former first round pick had 2 hits and scored twice.

Tyler Colvin has really impressed Cubs brass early on in camp. He has three things going for him:
1. Last year he played great defense when he was called up in September, and the Cubs are hoping to improve their outfield defensively.
2. He put on 20+ pounds of muscle this offseason, and Piniella took notice.
3. He's played great in the Cactus League's first two games, going 2-3 with 2 RBIs today.

Koyie Hill was the starting catcher today. He drove home a run with an RBI single. The Cubs top pick from the 2009 draft, Brett Jackson, reached base all three times. Jeff Baker got the start at second base and went 0-2.

Bullpen Health Update
Carlos Marmol has the closers' duty locked up, but beyond that everything is up for grabs in the Cubs' bullpen. Now, Angel Guzman will most likely not be ready to go on Opening Day. He still has discomfort in his shoulder, and he was going to undergo an MRI today. Jeff Gray is also still sidelined, and he may not be ready to go for the start of the season either. Hendry is working the phone lines, but if he does not bring in any help this bullpen could be in trouble. However, that would give guys like Jeff Stevens, David Patton, Mike Parisi, Mitch Atkins, Andrew Cashner, Thomas Diamond, and John Gaub a chance to make the 25 man roster. Hopefully somebody can step up and become a dependable relief option for Piniella.

Looking Ahead
Tomorrow the Cubs take on the White Sox at 2:05 CT on WGN TV and Radio. Carlos Silva, who reported to camp out of shape, will take the mound for the Cubs. Carlos is trying to prove that he's worthy of a spot in the rotation after coming over for Milton Bradley this winter.

Alfonso Soriano will get into game action tomorrow for the first time since being shut down because of a knee injury late last year. Sori is expected to start in left field, with Xavier Nady serving as the Cubs' DH. Both the Cubs and Sox have agreed to use the DH despite the fact that the game will be played at HoHoKam Park.

Bruce Miles has posted the list of all the pitchers that will go this weekend. Tomorrow afternoon Silva will be followed by Carlos Marmol, James Russell, Andrew Cashner, Jeff Kennard, and John Grabow.

On Sunday the Cubs will play a split squad, with Jeff Samardzija pitching against the White Sox on WGN-TV and Tom Gorzelanny going against the Dodgers. Both games get underway at 2:05.

Other Notes:

• Lou Piniella will not go to Vegas when the Cubs travel there for two games against the White Sox March 12-13. Instead, Piniella will stay with the half of the split squad team that will play in Arizona both of those day. Alan Trammell will manage the team that is Las Vegas.
• Mike Fontenot has a minor shoulder injury suffered while running the bases on Thursday. He will not play again until Sunday.
• Sam Fuld's homer on Thursday landed near his wife Sarah and his young son Charlie. A women picked up the ball, and the Fulds tried to bargain with her for it, offering photos and autographs. However, the lady wanted no part of that and kept the ball.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on everything Cubs as always!

Spring Training Preview: Non Roster Outfielders

We took a look at the infielders on Tuesday, so today we handle what's going on with the Cubs outfield non roster invites to Spring Training. This will round out our preview of non roster guys, but our Spring Training Preview will continue when we move in to looking at the 40 man roster.

Matt Camp

• Plays mostly CF, also has played 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and RF all during the 2009 season
• B/T: Left/Right
• Drafted by the Cubs in the 13th round of the 2006 June Draft
• Was up for grabs in the Rule V Draft in December, but was not selected
• Hit .284 in 113 games last season mostly with AAA Iowa
• Hit .329 in 59 Mexican Pacific League games this winter
• My prediction: Will start the year at AAA

Brett Jackson

• Drafted by the Cubs in the first round of the 2009 June Draft
• Centerfielder
• B/T: Left/Right
• Played 1 game with the Mesa Cubs Rookie Ball team going 2-2, which was good enough to get him the call up to Boise where he hit .330 in 24 games, which got him moved up to Class A Peoria where he hit .295 in 26 games
• Rated #2 prospect in the organization by Jim Callis of Baseball America
• Rated "Best Power Hitter" and "Best Athlete" in the system by Baseball America
• Rated "Best Footwork" (tie) and "Best Competitiveness" (tie) in the organization by Vineline
• My prediction: Will start the year with Class A Daytona

Bryan LaHair

• Signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on Jan. 9
• B/T: Left/Right
• Plays LF, RF, and 1B
• Played with Tacoma (the Mariners AAA club) in 2009
• More info on Bryan in my January 9 post
• My Prediction: Will be DFA or start the year at AA

Bobby Scales

• Utility guy, plays LF, RF, 2B, 3B, SS, 1B, and CF
• B/T: Switch/Right
• Only non roster invitee who played with the Cubs big league team in 2009
• Hit .242 with 3 HR and 15 RBI in 51 big league games last season
• Drafted by the Padres in the 14th round of the 1999 draft
• Hit .278 in 91 games for AAA Iowa last season
• 32 years old
• My Prediction: Will start the year at AAA

Brad Snyder

• Plays CF and RF
• B/T: Left
• Last season was first year in the organization
• Drafted by the Indians in the first round of the 2003 June Draft
• Hit .269 in 69 games at AAA Iowa last season despite dealing with a wrist injury
• Was Camp's teammate in Mexico this winter; hit .379 with 9 homers and 48 RBIs over 55 games
• My Prediction: Will star the year at AAA

For all position players...

Guy to Watch for in the Future: Starlin Castro

Best Chance to make the Cubs: Kevin Millar

Most underrated: Brad Snyder

I'm looking forward to seeing these guys in Spring Training games starting on March 4!

Cubs Sign Brian LaHair

The Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with first baseman Brian LaHair. He has spent his entire pro career with Seattle, mostly in the minors. Last year, he didn't appear in the majors, but hit .289 at AAA. In 2008, LaHair played in 45 big league games with the Marines hitting .250 with 3 homers and 10 RBIs.

Brian, who's 27, is a left handed hitter. He is very similar to Micah Hoffpauir, and the two are expected to compete for a roster spot in Spring Training. LaHair's contract includes a non-roster invite to Spring Training.

Paul Sullivan reports that Brad Snyder, who has been resigned by the Cubs, will also be in the mix for a bench role.

A few more tidbits:

• The decision on what hat Andre Dawson will wear when he goes into the Hall of Fame has been delayed until next week according to Cubs.com.
• Phil Rogers says that the Cubs still like Heath Bell, who would help the bullpen.
• A full list of non-roster invites is expected in the next few weeks.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted.