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| Recent Blog Post: Winter Meetings Notes, Day 2 |
A quick wrap-up of manager sessions from Tuesday.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that Kemp is on track to be ready for Opening Day following shoulder surgery. The plan for Kemp calls for him to begin hitting again in late December or early January, and he's expected to be ready for the start of spring training in some capacity. Once he begins hitting again, it should become easier to monitor his progress as the procedure was on his left (non-throwing) shoulder.
Mattingly confirmed that Brandon League will open the season as the Dodgers' closer, citing his dominance in the second half and acknowledging that Kenley Jansen was dominant for most of the year as well.
"We know Kenley is a beast back there, but we still kinda think he's better set up for that seventh and eighth innings, knowing that he's going to grow into that other part of it, and there's going to be a day where he's the guy."
If there was any confusion about League's role amidst recent reports that he could be a $7.5 million setup guy, this should effectively end that. Given the circumstances of the Dodgers being a team that is clearly all-in to win a championship in 2013, it's not difficult to envision a scenario where Jansen manages to overtake League if he struggles.
On the left side of the infield, the plan remains to use Luis Cruz at third base and Hanley Ramirez at short. Just your regular reminder that plenty can change between December 4th and Opening Day.
Chad Billingsley is progressing well in his rehab and according to Mattingly, the team appears to have "dodged a bullet." After the season ended, there were fears that he would require Tommy John surgery due to a partially torn UCL, but that no longer appears to be the case.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke attributed returning from injury to Rickie Weeks' disappointing season in 2012, and suggested that Weeks could potentially slide back into the leadoff spot with Norichika Aoki then moving to the two-hole.
For the Brewers, the questions are mostly centered around the pitching staff. The bullpen is still an ongoing rebuilding project, and it appears to be a four-man battle for the final three spots in rotation with Mike Fiers, Wily Peralta, Chris Narveson and Mark Rogers all in the picture.
Of that group, Fiers seems like the safest bet to open the year in the rotation. Peralta seems to have an inside track over Rogers, and can secure his place during spring training if he pitches well.
If Narveson is not healthy when the season begins, it's a moot point at least initially. Roenicke said that Narveson recently threw a pair of simulated innings in Arizona, and that command is going to be his biggest obstacle coming back from rotator cuff surgery.
Roenicke did not mention Tyler Thornburg when discussing the six pitchers in the mix for the rotation, and there was no indication of him being ticketed for the bullpen.
In order to create more opportunities for at-bats, Mat Gamel will spend some time working at other positions - including the outfield during spring training. With Carlos Gomez's leap forward last season, it appears that Corey Hart is staying at first base and Norichika Aoki is the everyday right fielder.
From our Twins beat writer Peter Schoenke:
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire mostly deflected talk about which pitchers the Twins were trying to acquire this offseason and said that he was content with Minnesota's decision not to talk about a contract extension until after the season.
Gardenhire said he was comfortable with the decisions of both Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau to play in the World Baseball Classic. "These guys are both healthy enough to do these things."
With the trade of Denard Span, Ben Revere will move to center field and Gardenhire appeared excited that Chris Parmelee could become the right fielder saying "we need to find him at bats."
Gardenhire also said Brian Dozier will be given a shot to win the second base job this spring.
And for his bullpen, he also added that Perkins will be his closer and jokingly added "and hope to get 50 to 60 saves."
Follow me on Twitter @DerekVanRiper.
Posted by Derek VanRiper at 12/5/2012 10:36:00 AM |
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Recent Chicago Cubs Player News
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| RotoWire Update |
Recommendation |
| Eric Jokisch (P) CHI-N |
6/19/2013 |
| Jokisch, 23, has a 3.50 ERA and 66:24 KBB ratio through 79.2 innings for Double-A Tennessee. |
When Jokisch is wild, he can get in trouble. He has an above-average change-up, though, and excels when keeping the ball down. |
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| Alberto Cabrera (P) CHI-N |
6/19/2013 |
| Cabrera, 24, has a 3.94 ERA and 75:29 K:BB ratio through 77.2 innings for Double-A Tennessee. |
Cabrera has shown improved control over the last two seasons, along with the ability to get strikeouts as well as ground balls. He has a 1.67 GO:AO ratio in 2013. |
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| Kyle Hendricks (P) CHI-N |
6/19/2013 |
| Hendricks, 23, has a 2.07 ERA and 64:16 K:BB ratio through 78.1 innings for Double-A Tennessee. |
Hendricks has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts. |
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| David DeJesus (OF) CHI-N |
6/19/2013 |
| Manager Dale Sveum said DeJesus (shoulder) would be out for at least a month, the Chicago Tribune reports. |
With his sprained shoulder preventing him from participating in baseball activities until his swelling diminishes, DeJesus likely won't be able to start hitting or fielding until around the All-Star break. In the meantime, the Cubs will get by with Ryan Sweeney and Julio Borbon as their primary center fielders. |
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| Rob Zastryzny (P) CHI-N |
6/19/2013 |
| The Cubs signed Zastryzny, their 2013 second-round pick, Tuesday, the Cubs' official site reports. |
The 21-year-old left-hander from the University of Missouri had a 3.38 ERA in 90.2 for the Tigers this year. There's no immediate word regarding Zastrysny's first assignment from the Cubs. |
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| Jeff Samardzija (P) CHI-N |
6/18/2013 |
| Samardzija earned the win Tuesday, scattering seven hits and two runs over 8.1 innings. |
Though his 4-7 record may not show it, Samardzija has pitched well this season. He's lasted at least 6.0 innings in each of his last seven starts and boasts a 3.35 ERA on the season. |
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| Anthony Rizzo (1B) CHI-N |
6/18/2013 |
| Rizzo is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. |
Rizzo has started every game for the Cubs up to this point, but with him hitting just .157 this month, and the Cubs facing Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright on Tuesday, manager Dale Sveum decided to give Rizzo his first day off of the season. Cody Ransom will get the start at first base Tuesday night. |
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| Chris Rusin (P) CHI-N |
6/18/2013 |
| Rusin tossed a complete-game, five-hit shutout with one walk and eight strikeouts against Triple-A Omaha on Monday. |
The last time Rusin gave up a run was in the second inning of a June 7 win over Triple-A Round Rock, a span of 22 consecutive innings. He has now thrown six quality starts in his last seven outings and has a 1.92 ERA and a 37:8 K:BB over 51.1 innings in that span. While he may not have the most impressive strikeout rate (15.3 percent), he's been a very effective groundball pitcher and is likely on the Cubs' shortlist for hurlers if they ever need to bring someone up. |
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| Armando Rivero (P) CHI-N |
6/18/2013 |
| Rivero will make his pro debut this week at Low-A Kane County, MLB.com reports. |
Rivero, a Cuban import, has spent the first two months of the season at extended spring training. Due to his delay in pitching in the minors, he may find it difficult to join the Cubs' bullpen by the end of 2013. However, his best bet to do so seems to be September, when rosters expand. |
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| Darwin Barney (2B) CHI-N |
6/17/2013 |
| Barney went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Monday against the Cardinals. |
Barney is currently on a six-game hitting streak and has seen his batting average increase from .201 to .214 over that span. Although he is an excellent defender, he doesn't provide enough offensively to be considered a reliable fantasy option. |
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Recent Chicago Cubs Team News
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| RotoWire Update |
| CHI-N |
9/15/2004 |
| The Single-A Peoria Chiefs announced Wednesday they were switching affiliations from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Cubs, the Associated Press reports. ``The St. Louis Cardinals are a first-class organization, and we thank them for their past support,'' Chiefs chairman David Bielfeldt said. ``However, like most organizations, change is always occurring and when our community was recently presented with this opportunity, we made a business decision to change back to the Cubs.'' The Cubs' current Single-A club in Lansing will become part of the Toronto farm system. |
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2/26/2004 |
| Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild is going to be more careful than ever in how much he works his starters in spring training this season, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "I'm probably not going to push them as hard innings-wise as I would in a lot of situations, but they will be ready," Rothschild said Wednesday. "There may be extra days in between [starts] sometimes after a certain amount of pitches. You build that into the schedule for rain anyway, but it's to keep them strong going into the season." Rothschild said his antennae are up more than ever in the spring, seeking to detect minor physical problems that a pitcher might not reveal. "Things happen early in the spring that show up later in the summer injury-wise," he said. "Something that they may not feel they need to say anything about. But it keeps going and going, and before you know it, it does become a problem." This is good news for the Cubs' whose starters put up a lot of high pitch counts last season and pitched deep into October. |
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Roster
Majors
Baker, Scott P(60D DL)
Barney, Darwin 2B
Borbon, Julio OF
Camp, Shawn P
Castillo, Welington C
Castro, Starlin SS
Clevenger, Steve C(60D DL)
DeJesus, David OF(15D DL)
Dolis, Rafael P(15D DL)
Feldman, Scott P
Fujikawa, Kyuji P(60D DL)
Garza, Matt P
Gregg, Kevin P
Hairston, Scott OF
Jackson, Edwin P
Marmol, Carlos P
Navarro, Dioner C
Parker, Blake P
Putnam, Zach P(15D DL)
Ransom, Cody SS
Rizzo, Anthony 1B
Rodriguez, Henry P
Rondon, Hector P
Russell, James P
Samardzija, Jeff P
Schierholtz, Nate OF
Soriano, Alfonso OF
Sweeney, Ryan OF
Valbuena, Luis 3B
Villanueva, Carlos P
Vizcaino, Arodys P(60D DL)
Wood, Travis P
AAA
Bogusevic, Brian OF
Boscan, Jean C
Bowden, Michael P
Burnett, Alex P
Caridad, Esmailin P
Carpenter, Drew P
Chapman, Jaye P
Coleman, Casey P
Jackson, Brett OF
Lake, Junior SS
Lillibridge, Brent OF
Loux, Barret P
Maysonet, Edwin SS
McDonald, Darnell OF
Moscoso, Guillermo P
Murphy, Donnie 3B
Nelson, Brad 1B
Raley, Brooks P
Rusin, Chris P
Sanchez, Eduardo P
Sappelt, Dave OF
Stewart, Ian 3B(Out)
Struck, Nicholas P
Takahashi, Hisanori P
Vitters, Josh 3B(7-Day DL)
Watkins, Logan 2B
AA
Alcantara, Arismendy SS
Bour, Justin 1B
Cabrera, Alberto P
Chavez, Johermyn OF
Gutierrez, Carlos P(Out)
Ha, Jae-Hoon OF
Hendricks, Kyle P
Jokisch, Eric P
Kirk, Austin P
Loosen, Matt P
Mateo, Marcos P(Out)
McNutt, Trey P
Morris, A.J. P
Mota, Jonathan 3B
Rhee, Dae-Eun P
Schlitter, Brian P
Silva, Rubi OF
Szczur, Matt OF
Torreyes, Ronald 2B
Villanueva, Christian 3B
A+
Andreoli, John OF
Baez, Javier SS
Burke, Kyler P
Cates, Zach P
Darvill, Wesley 2B
Del Valle, Frank P
DeVoss, Zeke OF
Peralta, Starling P
Reed, Austin P
Searle, Ryan P(7-Day DL)
Soler, Jorge OF(7-Day DL)
Wells, Ben P
A
Almora, Albert OF
Amaya, Gioskar 2B
Cabezas, Yaniel C
Candelario, Jeimer 3B
Castillo, Lendy P
Golden, Reggie OF
Johnson, Pierce P
Rivero, Armando P
Shoulders, Roderick 1B
Suarez, Larry P
Vogelbach, Dan 1B
Rookie
Acosta, Enrique SS
Balaguer, Yasiel OF
Blackburn, Paul P
Bryant, Kris 3B
Carreno, Marcelo (Josue) P
Concepcion, Gerardo P
de la Rosa, Frandy SS
Dore, Jose OF
Jensen, Michael P
Jung, Su-Min P
Maples, Dillon P
Masek, Trey P
McNeil, Ryan P
Paniagua, Juan Carlos P
Underwood, Duane P
Wallach, Brett P
Zastryzny, Rob P
Hannemann, Jacob OF
Lim, Chang-Yong P(Out)
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