Dietrich signed a minor league deal with Chicago just prior to the July opener, and only three days after the Reds released him from another minors contract. Dietrich didn’t receive a call-up to the Cubs’ active roster, and it’s fair to assume that he wasn’t in the team’s plans in the near future, which led to their granting his request for a release. With Dietrich’s track record of multi-positional versatility and a career 107 OPS+, any number of teams could have their eye on him for regular big league duty.
Dietrich spent his first six seasons with the Marlins before playing with the Reds in a somewhat unusual 2019 season. He hit a career-best 19 homers and posted a career-best .462 slugging percentage over 306 plate appearances, though he batted only .187. Much of Dietrich’s 2019 production was built around an incredible 68-PA stretch in May, as Dietrich exploded to hit .293/.397/.931 and 12 home runs.
]]>5:04pm: MLB will postpone this weekend’s Cards-Cubs series, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
12:25pm: Major League Baseball has officially announced that tonight’s game is postponed due to one additional positive test. However, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that there’s “concern” of a second positive test beyond the one the league has confirmed. That could point to some yet-inconclusive results and also explain the discrepancy between the earlier reporting on the number of positive tests. Clarity on the matter should come later today.
12:10pm: MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that there was only one new positive test. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) and a few others have heard the same, though SportsGrid’s Craig Mish tweets that there were two new positives. Whatever the exact number is determined to be, there figures to be additional testing and contact tracing performed before the league decides on the remainder of the Cubs/Cards series. The Cardinals had already been aiming to play 55 games in a span of 52 days, so the postponement of tonight’s game further adds to a notable scheduling challenge.
12:02pm: Tonight’s Cardinals game against the Cubs has been postponed due to new positive Covid-19 test(s) within the Cardinals organization, The Athletic’s Mark Saxon reports (via Twitter). The new positives dash the Cardinals’ hopes of getting back to the field for the first time since July 29. The St. Louis organization had seven players and several staff members test positive over the course of several days beginning last Friday.
This will be the first schedule interruption for the first-place Cubs, and as has continually been the case, there are potential broad-reaching implications beyond the current series. Future opponents could be impacted — the Cards are set to begin a series against the Pirates on Monday — and depending on the outcome of the remainder of this series, the Cubs could now find themselves with multiple doubleheaders added to the schedule.
The Cardinals announced this week that catcher Yadier Molina, pitchers Junior Fernandez and Kodi Whitley, and infielders Paul DeJong, Edmundo Sosa and Rangel Ravelo had all tested positive for Covid-19. All but Ravelo were placed on the injured list the following day, as was right-hander Carlos Martinez.
]]>Herrera was once a high-end setup man and eventually a closer for the Royals. The hard-throwing righty was part of a juggernaut Kansas City bullpen that fueled the team’s 2014 and 2015 World Series appearances, pitching to a 2.75 ERA with 8.9 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 441 1/3 frames in parts of eight seasons with the Royals. He was eventually traded from K.C. to D.C. in a swap that sent minor leaguers Kelvin Gutierrez, Blake Perkins and Yohanse Morel from the Nats to the Royals.
Herrera’s time with the Nats didn’t go well, however. He missed time early with a shoulder impingement, and upon returning he suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot that ended his season. That was hardly an ideal run-up to his first foray into free agency, but Herrera’s standout track record still netted him a two-year, $18MM deal with the White Sox. The pact went even more poorly, though, as Herrera was shelled for 6.54 ERA in 53 2/3 frames with the South Siders before being released last week.
Dermody, meanwhile, has just 25 1/3 innings of big league experience under his belt — all coming with the 2016-17 Blue Jays. He’s spent his entire pro career in the Toronto organization prior to this season, during which time he’s posted a 4.12 ERA in parts of four Triple-A campaigns. His lack of track record may seem questionable, but Dermody has been lights out on the indie circuit this season, allowing just one earned run on 13 hits and six walks with 23 strikeouts in 17 1/3 frames. That showing clearly made an impression on the Cubs, who’ll now have Dermody on hand as a depth option should the need arise.
The Cubs have gotten out to a hot start, but their bullpen remains an obvious weakness. High-priced closer Craig Kimbrel has looked lost since signing in Chicago, and the team hasn’t spent on any other bullpen help in the past several years. They’re currently relying on a patchwork group that has seen Rowan Wick and the talented-but-inconsistent Jeremy Jeffress shoulder the bulk of the high-leverage situations as Kimbrel continues to struggle. Herrera is the second former AL Central All-Star on whom the Cubs are rolling the dice. They signed former Indians closer Cody Allen to a minor league deal and assigned him to their alternate training site last week.
Cubs starters rank first in the Majors in ERA (1.95), second in FIP (2.52) and sixth in xFIP (3.51). Their relievers, as a whole, rank 29th in ERA (7.20), dead last in FIP (6.90) and 23rd in xFIP (4.81).
]]>9:22AM: The Cubs will promote left-hander Justin Steele to their 30-man roster prior to today’s game, The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney reports (Twitter link). Steele is already on the 40-man, though a corresponding move will need to be made to create room on the big league roster.
The 25-year-old Steele was a fifth-round pick for the Cubs in the 2014 draft, and he’ll now get his first taste of MLB action following six seasons and 320 2/3 innings pitched in the minors. Steele has worked almost exclusively as a starter, though he will be used as a reliever in Chicago to try and help the struggling Cubs bullpen. Some extra southpaw depth is particularly necessary since Kyle Ryan and Rex Brothers, the two lefties in the relief corps, have both gotten off to a tough start.
Steele’s career was stalled by a Tommy John surgery in 2017, though he has a 3.62 ERA, 2.41 K/BB rate, and 8.9 K/9 over his minor league career. MLB Pipeline ranks him as Chicago’s 21st-best prospect in Chicago’s farm system, noting Steeler’s plus four-seamer and “one of the best curveballs in the system.”
]]>It wasn’t that long ago that Allen, 31, was considered one of the game’s best closers. He’s struggled considerably over the past two seasons, but from 2013-17, Allen was a ninth-inning buzzsaw in Cleveland, pitching to a 2.59 ERA and 2.86 FIP with 122 saves, 11.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and 0.86 HR/9.
In the two years since that dominant stretch, though, Allen’s average fastball has dipped by a bit more than three miles per hour. He stumbled to a 4.70 ERA in his final year prior to free agency but was still able to land a sizable one-year deal with the Halos. Unfortunately, he was clobbered for an ERA north of 6.00 and cut loose before the season had even reached the halfway mark. Allen carries a 5.10 ERA with 109 strikeouts against an unpalatable 53 walks in his past 90 MLB frames.
Two years ago, a bullpen featuring both Allen and Craig Kimbrel would’ve been the envy of 29 other teams in the league. Both pitchers have seen rapid downturns in performance now, however. The Cubs badly need one or both former stars to figure things out, as their patchwork bullpen has already proven to be a major weakness early in 2020. Chicago relievers have already yielded 20 runs on 18 hits and a ghastly 20 walks in just 18 2/3 innings. Seven of those hits have left the yard.
]]>The 27-year-old made a name for himself with his hot hitting in the upper levels of the Cubs’ minor-league system. In 98 games between Double- and Triple-A last year, García hit .284/.369/.586 and slugged 27 home runs. He forced his way into the Cubs’ Major League plans, appearing in 31 games and making 80 plate appearances.
His hitting slowed down some at the MLB level, and he struck out in a whopping 43.75% of plate appearances. Nonetheless, he managed a respectable .775 OPS, thanks to his 5 home runs and a passable 8.75% walk rate. Primarily a second baseman, García also played both corner outfield positions during his rookie season.
With an already crowded outfield mix in Cincinnati, he figures to see most of his playing time at second base, which is currently something of a toss-up with Mike Moustakas hitting the injured list; Josh VanMeter occupied that spot this afternoon. VanMeter, a left-handed hitter, could form a platoon with the switch-hitting García, though the latter fared considerably better as a lefty in his first taste of big-league action (to be fair, he got just 20 plate appearances against southpaws).
]]>Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs an early lead in the division yesterday with a 2 1/2 hour complete game shutout of the Brewers. The Reds were right there with them in blowing away the Tigers. Many believe the Reds won the offseason, and their beefed-up lineup looks to bullrush the rest of the division. Matt Davidson took the Reds’ DH at-bats in game one, but newcomers Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos will cycle through as well. The pitching is underrated, and they’re going to be a force. The Brewers roll out two of the most impactful rostered players in the sport in Josh Hader and Christian Yelich, a dangerous pair of superstars in a short season. The Pirates are an organization in transition, and if they manage a string together a competitive 60-game season, it’ll be a surprise. Until a new champ is crowned, however, the Cardinals remain the toast of the NL Central. With Carlos Martinez back in the rotation and Matt Carpenter set to take a healthy slate of DH at-bats, the 2020 Cardinals are a slightly different shape, but no less formidable.
Which team do you think is the best of the bunch? (Poll link for app users.)
]]>LaMarre, 31, has spent time in the Majors in each of the past five seasons, most recently with the Twins in 2018-19. The 2010 second-rounder, who is a career .236/.286/.338 hitter in 246 trips to the plate, had recently opted out of a minor league deal with the Rays. He’s capable of playing all three outfield positions and carries a solid .281/.349/.415 batting line in parts of seven seasons at the Triple-A level.
Carraway, selected in the second round out of Dallas Baptist University, is seen as a pure bullpen prospect with a powerful fastball/curve combination. He misses bats with ease but also has struggled with his control. He was widely regarded as a top-100 prospect in this year’s draft and could rise to the Majors quickly — although a 2020 debut would nevertheless register as a surprise.
]]>The 31-year-old Dietrich will bring a track record of respectable offense and defensive versatility to the Chicago organization. The former Marlin and Red has been an above-average hitter throughout his career, having slashed .246/.334/.427 (108 wRC+) with 79 home runs in 2,438 plate appearances. He also has 100-plus games of experience at second, third and in left field, though he has never been a high-grade defender in the majors.
The Cubs will enter the season with former NL MVP Kris Bryant at third and likely 2019 success story Ian Happ in left, but second base may not be as certain. Offseason minor league signing Jason Kipnis, whose offensive production has dropped off in the past few years, is seemingly in line to start there. David Bote and Nico Hoerner also look to be in the mix, while Daniel Descalso will begin the year on the 45-day injured list.
]]>To clear room, the Cubs announced several 40-man departures. Utilitymen Robel Garcia and Daniel Descalso are both off of the list; the former was designated for assignment and the latter was placed on the 45-day injured list. Also moving off of the MLB roster was outfielder Mark Zagunis, who opted out of the 2020 season.
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