The Cubs will promote highly-touted outfield prospect Albert Almora for today’s game unless fellow outfielder Jorge Soler is able to fend off a trip to the disabled list, according to a report from Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register (Twitter links). Almora will be on hand and ready, and expectations are that Soler’s hamstring will force him to the DL, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).
As I explained in a recent look at twenty top prospects whose possible call-ups could come with trade deadline implications, Almora represents the latest young wild card for Chicago. He’s barely 22, and just made it to Triple-A for the first time, but those types of considerations haven’t deterred the Cubs in the past.
There was never any wondering as to Almora’s pedigree; he was the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft and has been a consensus top-100 prospect for four years running. The only questions, really, were of opportunity and the team’s developmental assessment. Soler’s injury created an opening, and it appears that the Cubs believe Almora is advanced enough for a first attempt at the majors.
Indeed, Almora has made strides despite a fairly aggressive promotion to the highest level of the minors. He held his own at Double-A last year, but has boosted his production across the board thus far in 2016. Over 226 plate appearances, Almora owns a .318/.335/.444 slash with three home runs. He also has ten stolen bases in a dozen attempts, representing a notable step forward in that department.
The offensive improvement is certainly promising for Chicago, as Almora’s glove has never been in doubt. He’s regarded as a polished fielder with a good arm who is capable of playing a quality center field despite the lack of blazing speed.
Almora will certainly give the Cubs a different type of weapon than they had in Soler. Whether or not he can carve out a roster spot for the rest of the season remains to be seen, and will obviously be dependent both upon his performance and the status of the club’s other options. Regardless, he’ll only be able to accumulate 118 days of service, meaning he likely wouldn’t profile as a Super Two even if he never returns to the minors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I dont like it.
they can play matt szczur in LF
or KB in LF with Baez & LaStella sharing 3B.
those options make more sense
This is as good of a time as any to let him see some mlb pitching
I would expect to see a bunch if mix and matching by Maddon. Almora is a 4th OF, they’re not going to run him out there every day.
He’s plus to plus-plus in cf. So he could easily be used as a defensive replacement in late innings to push dex to lf or play in lf himself.
Then calling him up is dumber than we all thought. If he isn’t getting everyday at bats then why start the clock on him? If they call him up he will be in the lineup every day
“Starting the clock on him” is the same now as it is in September or even Opening Day next year. Unless they’re keeping him down until May of 2017, calling him up today makes no difference.
The Cubs are done babying players, it’s time to win. Almora is seen as the best piece to help them do that now and he will be used to help the team win. If that’s as a 4th OF, that’s how he’ll be used.
He’s not really the type of player you worry about starting the clock on. He was going to be up at the end of the year anyway, not sure 15 days of service time are gonna make much of a difference
This is the precursor to the trade deadline moves they are going to make.. Soler and others, Vogelbach etc is likely bait for a standout reliever. They need to know what they have in Almora. Add to this that Fowler is on a one year deal and with the year he’s having, back to back excellent seasons, he’s going to have a lot of suitors, for big money. Cubs probably don’t have the luxury of resigning him.
all those guys you mentioned are already on the roster
if Soler is going to the DL, you want the Cubs to play with 24 men?
Almora makes the most sense because Szczur likely takes over as the every day guy, with Almora taking over Szczur’s usual role of defensively sub/pinch runner/bench bat
it’s just for a few weeks, if it happens at all… and the Cubs at this point don’t need to game the service clock issues as much as they have in the past
They would only have three true ofs on the roster. Need another of bat.
Yep and call up Murton
Almora is ready from a defensive stand point. The bat is the question. Not a whole lot of power, does not work counts or see a lot of pitches. Rarely walks. Like never. Went over a month without one recently.
That I said, I look forward to seeing him!!
I wouldn’t gamble putting Bryant in the outfield we don’t want another schwarber incident
Have you watched games this year? KB has been in the outfield in 36 games for a total of 218 innings
He already plays the outfield 2-3 times a week
Hmmmmm. I don’t think I like this. I don’t think he is ready and I am floored the front office does. I thought for sure they’d call up Murton who is doing very good at triple A and has had success at the ML level and am actually confused as to why his ML career was so brief before he went to Japan. He last played at the ML level in 2009. In his career with the Cubs, A’s, and Rockies he owns a .286 BA, .352 OBP, and a respectable .788 OPS……. and that is as a major leaguer. This year in triple A he has a .311/.350/.750 slash line. I would rather see the 34 year old Murton get called up and see Almora stay down. Why start the clock on him? I also believe a cll up means he has to be placed on the 40 man roster….. so someone has to come off. My guess is it will be Alcantara….. so no big deal. But this means Almora’s window will officially be open….. once it’s open you can’t close it without being in danger of losing him either via a rule 5 draft or by hindering his progression by calling him up too early. He has no patience at the plate. Yes, he has hit for a good average in the minors, but he rarely walks. While his K numbers are low, his lack of walks worries me. Just like minor leaguers who K a ton is a red flag, a player who rarely walks is just as much a red flag. It should tell you that he swings at everything and is swinging at pitches out of the zone but is getting lucky by making contact and likely getting slap singles out of them. That likely won’t be the case at the ML level. What were slap and bloop singles in the minors on pitches hit out of the zone generally become swings and misses at the ML level. I hold out hope and I really want to be optimistic about Almora at the plate. I just can’t though. The .318 BA and only a .335 OBP is very worrisome. Best case scenario, he hits like Starlin Castro….. worst case is he hits like Javier Baez minus power potential…… well, worst case is actually more like Baez in 2014….. minus power potential. I’d rather see Almora continue to get consistent, everyday ABs in Iowa than possibly see his confidence get shattered at the ML level if/when he struggles. Here’s what I’d do if I was calling the shots instead of Maddon (who I think is overrated in his actual in-game managerial decisions….. great manager of players and their personalities…… mediocre at in-game, personnel, and strategic decisions IMO):
Send Federowicz down to triple A….. carrying 3 catchers who suck at offense makes no d*** sense, I don’t care who you are, Maddon. Call up, Kawasaki.
DFA Richard already. I don’t care if he is a left handed pitcher. That alone is not enough to warrant a spot on a ML roster. If you suck you suck and don’t belong in the majors…… Richard sucks. Call up Carl Edwards……. again I don’t care if that means Wood is the only left hander in the pen.
Soler likely placed on the 15 day DL……. if not 60 day DL….. we shall see. Call up Matt Murton to be the 4thish…. 5thish OFer. Why that is uncertain is because I would now make Bryant the full time LFer in Soler’s absence and have Baez and La Stella take turns at 3B. That would mean Szczur is still the 4th OFer and Murton would be the 5th OFer. However, if I have Bryant as an everyday LFer and Baez and Stella taking turns at 3B…. they really don’t need a 5th OFer. I think it is long overdue but he has been blocked by Rizzo, for Vogelbach to make his debut. The problem is I don’t know where you play him. My initial thought is try him out in LF. Schwarber had never played LF until 2014 when he played only 36 games in LF. If Schwarber was worthy to try out in LF so is Vogelbach. The kid is ready and has been, but has had Rizzo blocking him. He is currently hitting .308 with a .422 OBP and a .949 OPS. He has seen his power potential return this year with his 9 HRs so far in 53 games. He has 40 RBIs as well to boot. He has 34 BBs and 49 Ks. That K total and rate is actually a bit higher than what he has posted in years past. My guess it is up because he is hitting more HRs now…. again. He is built almost exactly like Schwarber….. to the point when they drafted Schwarber I thought Schwarber was Vogelbach’s brother….. they look exactly the same d*** near. At the very least, let him play in LF for this year, then – if he plays as well as I think he can at the plate – trade him to a team in desperate need of a 1Bman…… Mets? I don’t get why Vogelbach hasn’t gotten the hype and press other Cubs prospects have received. He’s been just as good if not way better offensively. My guess is because he plays a position blocked by Rizzo. If they feel uncomfortable with Vogelbach in LF…… why not try Rizzo out in LF. Maddon has shown he wants guys playing multiple positions. Rizzo moving to the OF isn’t that crazy an idea IMO. Then play V-bach at 1B….. his natural position. Now, word has it his defense at 1B isn’t that great either. But last I checked Rizzo isn’t exactly a gold glove contender either. In the minors Vogelbach has a .991 FLDG% at 1B. Rizzo at the ML level has a .995 FLDG%. Are we really going to split hairs over a .004 difference fielding-wise? Vogelbach has played 1B as well as the Pirates’ John Jaso this year. Rizzo, when in the minors had a .989 fielding percentage at 1B…… so Vogelbach isn’t that much worse, if worse, than Rizzo. Vogelbach is by far more ready than Almora IMO. I say just try him out in LF for a week and see if he can handle it. If not, then try Rizzo in LF and see if he can handle it. If not then just send Vogelbach back down……. unless of course he is crushing it at the plate like he has his entire minors career. I seriously think they have another Schwarber in Vogelbach. V-bach’s swing is even near identical to Schwarber’s……. youtube him. I seriously think there might be the possibility they’re clones. haha
That got insanely longer than I anticipated.
Cut Richard. Acquire Chapman or Miller. Get rid of Federowicz(don’t get that). Contreras will be ok if he must play. I wanna see Murton in Wrigley again. He’s playing well
I think your kind of misinformed with some of your thoughts. First yeah you can start his clock but it’s not like it just keeps running. He’ll probably get sent down before any consideration of super two. Second he’s added to the 40 man so you don’t worry about rule 5. He has three options years yes. So this will probably be one. Second Schwarber was introduced to the OF in the minors. Third you don’t take an established super star off a position just to move in a rookie that isn’t in the immediate plans. Especially if it’s Rizzo. You can’t keep every prospect. It’s not like he is going to be up the whole year but you have to get his feet wet at some point. They are by far playing like the best team in the nl. It’s not like he needs to pop in and be a middle of the order bat. So it’s a win win to call him up. He won’t incur significant time so the Cubs will control him for 6 years after this season and his development won’t really be stunted. And as a Dodgers fan I’ve seen it go wrong trying to turn 1bs in Of. Which by the Schwarber actually took the right route to that ball it was just a freak accident.
TLDR
How long did that take to write? 4 hours? 6??? You are spending too much time in a comments section, time to start your own blog buddy.
Cliffs?
The Cubs have a few open 40 man spots. No one needs to be taken off to accommodate him. We would have been added at the end of the year regardless to keep him away from the Rule 5 draft. I’m excited to see him play.
If he is added to the 40 man they get 3 option years. So if they dont feel he is ready next year They just option him to the minors. There is no danger of losing him.
Is the bible this long?
Cubs have only 37 on 40 so adding Almora not a big deal. The rest of your rant us nuts
Ok, I’ll bite.
Vogelbach is a DH and Rizzo isn’t mobile enough to play LF. Almora was going to need to be on the 40 after this season anyway and was going to be up in September. This way, he’ll probably get more at-bats now.
I got tired of dissecting the rest.
Praise Jesus! The baseball gods have finally had enough of Jorge. He can’t hit, can’t field, and probably can’t make a proper sandwich. See ya Jorge. You won’t be missed.
You’re new to this baseball thing, aren’t you?
He was warming up. He’s still young. You are wrong.
That is one of the most inane statements I’ve ever read on this site. Rizzo (one of the best defensive 1B) moved to the OF? So you can play an untested MILB player, in his place? Who’s known for poor defense? I am definitely glad you’re not in charge of the Chicago Cubs. And Murton over Almora? Please seek help.
Yeah,while I think Vogelbach could be a passable DH, he’s definitely not the kind of player you’re moving Rizzo off 1st for(really no one is).
There’s a reason the Cubs have the best pitching staff in baseball and it has A LOT to do with having a great defense.
I really don’t understand how a guy could have that many complaints about a team playing this well. And they’re playing like this without a couple guys even clicking yet.
Of course Jed, Theo, and Joe know more than any of us speculators but I will speculate anyway.
Leave Almora in Iowa until September. He will get regular AB’s and could work on his BB/K ratio. Bring up Murton if Soler goes to the DL. Youth development is not interrupted this way. I’m all for open competition but sometimes it can create more animosity (Soler v. Almora).
Depending on Soler’s DL stint — if it’s only 15 days bringing up Almora is silly. If it extends to 60 days that’s a whole different ball game.
Should’ve kept Victorino
Almora’s bat screams 5th OF at best. You can’t get excited about a .335 OBP at AAA – he hasnt proven he knows anything about plate discipline yet.
But as a late innings D-only guy, he will be ok. I wouldn’t expect more than a .600 OPS from him though, I see him more like a Sam Fuld type, with a better defensive ceiling.
I guess Kevin pillar is a 5th OF too then? Elite d, plus baserunning and 10% below average hitter is like a 4 win player in centerfield.
Totally agree. He has a great glove, but went over 30 days without a walk. That’s not a theo type player offensively.
Theo will trade high on Almora, this year.
I’m somewhat surprised that the Cubs are willing to promote Albert Almora this soon. If Soler hits the D.L., manager Joe Maddon has various options to utilize in LF who are already on his 25-man active roster, including Matt Sczur, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and/or Ben Zobrist.
The Cubs would still need to replace Soler on the active roster and could promote an infielder like Munenori Kawasaki or INF/OF Arismendy Alcantara who are already on their 40-man reserve roster. LF Ryan Kalish might have been the most obvious call-up but he is on AAA Iowa’s disabled list.
A player from outside the organization might also be an option, perhaps even Carl Crawford who was just DFA’d by the Dodgers and is likely to become a FA following his official release some time next week. Would it surprise anybody in baseball to see Crawford reunited with his former Rays manager Maddon and teammate Zobrist?
If Soler has a more extensive injury that requires more than 15 days on the D.L., then it might make more sense to promote Almora. Otherwise, he would figure to benefit from playing regularly in AAA to advance his offensive game which still needs some improvement, especially in regards to OBP, something the Cubs organization prioritizes at the MLB level.
With Dexter Fowler already entrenched as the starting CF and Jason Heyward as perhaps MLB best defensive RF, it would seem that Almora’s immediate role in Chicago would be that of a backup CF and late game defensive replacement. How much experience does Almora actually have playing LF or RF in the minor leagues? The same might be asked of Fowler if Almora were actually employed as the regular CF at this time, especially as a LF.
The Orioles were signing Fowler to play a corner, I dont think he would mind should it come to that. To the last point, Maybe they want to expose almost to big league pitching and let him go back down to work on it when soler returns.
The Cubs signing Crawford would surprise me. Why? Because the Cubs good, and Crawford is terrible. Can’t hit, can’t run.
Almora has to go on the 40 to avoid the rule 5 draft, so it was gonna happen regardless.
Sure, they could have easily done that in September when the active rosters expand anyway and the Cubs will probably be up by 20 games in the standings heading into the postseason.
I’d have called up Vogelbach for three or four days to give him a few swings in a Cubs uniform.
Look for Jake Hannemann and maybe Bijan Rademacher get the call to Iowa. Rashad Crawford might follow to Tennessee, and Dewees to Myrtle Beach, as well.
Has anyone considered Almora being called up because potential trade suitors would like a preview?
no
because if he flops his trade value craters
never expose a guy doing well in the minors to major league pitching if you’re trying to trade him
That is a possibility. And why I’d have preferred Vogelbach.
Dang, there about to be sooooooo goooooooood…. Only really bad player on the team gets replaced by a stud. Just wait to Contreras comes up also. Kinda wish I was a Cubs fan…