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Minor MLB Transactions: 3/2/18

By Jeff Todd | March 2, 2018 at 3:36pm CDT

We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:

  • The Cubs have added righty Allen Webster on a minors pact, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter). Now 28, Webster was once a highly regarded prospect. But he struggled to a 6.13 ERA in 120 1/3 MLB innings between 2013 and 2015. And he has been knocked around over the past two seasons in stints with Korea’s Samsung Lions and the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate. In his first crack at the game’s highest level, with the Red Sox, Webster showed a 95 mph four-seamer and 94 mph sinker. But he lost two miles per hour on both offerings over the next two seasons. And though he has shown some ability to get swings and misses, control has been a big problem for Webster, who was in the zone on just 40.3% of his pitches in the majors. Here at MLBTR, Webster is perhaps best known for being included in both the August 2012 Dodgers-Red Sox blockbuster and the rather less memorable 2014 Wade Miley swap that sent Webster from Boston to the Diamondbacks.
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Chicago Cubs Transactions Allen Webster

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Reds Claim Jairo Labourt From Tigers

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2018 at 1:06pm CDT

1:06pm: The teams have announced the claim. Cincinnati transferred right-hander Rookie Davis to the 60-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list to clear space on the roster and has already optioned Labourt to minor league camp. Davis underwent hip surgery back in October.

12:54pm: The Reds have claimed left-hander Jairo Labourt off waivers from the Tigers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter). The Tigers designated Labourt for assignment earlier this week to clear a roster spot for Francisco Liriano.

Labourt, 24 next week, made his big league debut with Detroit last season, appearing in six games and allowing three runs with four strikeouts against seven walks in six innings. Initially acquired from the Blue Jays in the trade that sent David Price to Toronto, Labourt posted excellent numbers in Class-A Advanced and in Double-A last season before stumbling when he reached Triple-A. He tossed 22 innings with the Tigers’ Toledo affiliate, and while his 2.45 ERA was strong he also issued 23 walks in those 22 frames.

Control has long been an issue for Labourt, who has averaged 5.1 walks per nine innings pitched over the course of seven minor league seasons. But, he’s a fairly hard-throwing southpaw with a fastball sitting around 93 mph who averaged a career-best 10.7 K/9 in the minors this past season. The Tigers organization used Labourt exclusively as a reliever last year, though he’s made 87 starts in the minors as well. He’ll add another interesting young arm to a collection of unproven but promising pitchers in Cincinnati as he looks to hone his control and carve out a spot in the Majors. Labourt does have an option remaining as well, so he needn’t be exposed to waivers if he doesn’t break camp in the Reds’ bullpen.

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Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers Transactions Jairo Labourt

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Latest On The Top Remaining Free Agent Starters

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2018 at 12:44pm CDT

The Nationals reportedly remain open to adding to their roster before the season begins, and while they’ve been oft-linked to top remaining free agent Jake Arrieta, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports that the Nats “haven’t engaged with Arrieta’s camp recently.” The Nationals, it seems (much like the rest of baseball), would be likelier to jump into the fray if Arrieta’s price drops.

Castillo does note that at least three other clubs have made recent inquiries with Arrieta’s agent, Scott Boras. One of those is likely the Phillies, who are reported to have an ongoing dialogue with Boras regarding Arrieta. However, most reports out of Philadelphia suggest that the Phils are loath to go beyond three years for the former NL Cy Yong winner, who will pitch this season at age 32 and has displayed some signs of decline in recent years — most notably a loss of velocity and worsened K/BB rates.

Alternatives for the Nats, Phillies and other clubs searching for rotation upgrades are still on the market in the form of Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn, who both remain unsigned. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com writes, however, that the Phils are even less likely to sign Cobb or Lynn to a long-term deal than they are Arrieta (and again reports that the Phils don’t want to go past three years for Arrieta). Even a contract in the vicinity of Tyler Chatwood’s three-year, $38MM pact with the Cubs could be too rich for the Phillies’ tastes when it comes to Lynn and Cobb, Zolecki writes.

It seems that virtually every club in need of rotation help is awaiting the asking price on the top three starters to drop. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden tweets that both Cobb and Lynn are still seeking guarantees worth more than $50MM. (It’s worth pointing out that the manner in which that report frames draft compensation is inaccurate; the draft/international penalty for signing any of Arrieta, Cobb or Lynn is not tied to that $50MM figure, but a deal of $50MM or more would improve the compensation for the teams losing those players.)

The Orioles, Brewers, Phillies and Twins all hold varying levels of interest in Cobb and/or Lynn, Bowden notes, but not at the current asking price. The Twins’ level of interest in Lynn doesn’t appear to be especially high at this point, though. While Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN walks back a recent report a bit by tweeting that Minnesota’s offer to Lynn was for more than the $12MM he initially reported, he adds that it was nonetheless well shy of anything his camp considered and that there are no current talks between the two sides.

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Baltimore Orioles Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals Alex Cobb Jake Arrieta Lance Lynn

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The Inner Monologue of @DimTillard W.W.N.R.D.

By Tim Dillard | March 2, 2018 at 11:47am CDT

It’s 4:13pm in Pheonix, Arizona.  Thursday March 1st, 2018.  My name is Tim Dillard.  I’m a Minor League baseball player in spring training hoping to win a job for my 16th professional season.  Currently though, I’m seated in a hotel hallway waiting patiently for the maintenance man to fix whatever’s wrong with Room 124.  About this time last year MLB Trade Rumors asked if I’d be interested in writing for them.  I told them I was VERY interested… but couldn’t promise the same enthusiasm from the reader.  So I’m taking this hotel hallway hiatus to explain how I got here today.

4:18pm:  After the Triple-A season was over last year, the Milwaukee Brewers signed me back, and extended me a BIG invitation… to Minor League spring training camp.  They offered free coffee at all of their Minor League affiliates, so it was a no brainer.

4:20pm: Two weeks ago I loaded my spikes, gloves, cup, and other equipment into my 2005 Mercury Mariner (Mercury was a car company that used to exist) and drove 1,600 miles from Nashville to Phoenix.  Leaving behind my wife, my three kids, my friends, my dog, my house, my bed… actually it wasn’t that hard leaving the dog behind.  That’s not mean to say.  She’s like 84 in dog years, and probably doesn’t even know I left.  And just like everybody else… there’s a good chance she’ll never read this anyway.

4:23pm: During last year’s drive to spring training, I visited the vast and awe inspiring Grand Canyon for the first time!  Truly amazing!  So to try and top that marvelous experience, I stopped this year and visited the one and only Meteor Crater just outside of Winslow, Arizona!!  It was ok I guess… seemed a bit small.

4:27pm: The maintenance man is still working hard.  And I really need to get in the room to charge my computer, but honestly if my computer dies and I can’t finish this… it’s probably best for everyone.

4:28pm: Anyway, when the 27-hour cross-country meteor adventure ended, I once again found myself in the spring training atmosphere.  You know, spring training is hard for a baseball player.  It’s long hours, very difficult, very tiring, and very demanding… but good thing for me I’m a pitcher!  And today, pitchers were done before lunch, so after a few awkward minutes on the treadmill, I skedaddled over to Taco Bell!  (If the $1 Beefy Fritos Burrito doesn’t sum up the Minor League lifestyle…. nothing does.)

4:33pm: Pitchers however, do have in-depth conversations about the pitching craft — like the other day during stretch when we were talking about pick-off moves to first base.  I, without being asked, decided to just start dropping all sorts of knowledge on the subject.  But after several minutes of talking, one of the young guys asked me just how many pick-offs I had in my career.  I pretended to think for a moment (like I don’t know ALL my stats off hand), then answered: “Well, in my career I’ve thrown over 1,200 innings… and um… yeah I’ve never actually picked anyone off before.”  They all looked a bit surprised.  Then shaking his head, the young buck said: “Are you for real?  You’ve thrown over 1,200 innings?  Wow, how old are you?”

4:39pm: So yeah, so far it’s been a typical spring training for me.

4:39pm: Earlier today, a group of pitchers were in the clubhouse talking about the upcoming season.  They were picking brains, listing philosophies, and asking each other all sorts of questions.  I kind of walked into the discussion right after I completed a heavy total body lift.  (And by heavy total body lift I mean… filming a dumb video for my social media.  In my defense, I did film it in the weight room!)  But not really knowing the topic, and not really hearing the question, I was asked something by one of the guys.  I could’ve said nothing or asked them to repeat the question.  But instead I just made up an answer.  With four sets of eyes on me, and ears waiting to listen, I dug deep.  Looked straight at them and said: “W.W.N.R.D.”

4:44pm: “Huh?”

4:44pm: “W.W.N.R.D.?  What’s that mean?”  Making sure I had all my letters correct I said with utmost confidence: “W.W.N.R.D…. What. Would. Nolan. Ryan. Do.”

4:45pm: Not entirely sure if what had just came out of my mouth made sense or not… I just went ahead and treated it as a mic drop moment, and sauntered out the door back toward the weight room.  (I had forgotten my camera stand in there.)

4:48pm: When I walked back into the weight room, I noticed a Yankees game was on TV and CC Sabathia was pitching.  With name-dropping in mind, I quickly jumped on a treadmill and started talking to the guy jogging next to me.  “Yeah.  I was teammates with CC Sabathia with the Brewers way back in 2008 you know.  In fact, about a month ago I actually FaceTimed with CC on Bill Hall’s iPhone for like 7 minutes!”

4:52pm: It was only then I noticed the rookie Dominican pitcher take out his tiny headphones, look at me and say: “Hola Dealer!”

…

9:02pm: Alright I’m back.  Here’s the update.  My computer gave up and ran out of juice earlier.  I was finally able to get into the hotel room.  Apparently my room or the room above had a plumbing problem.  The maintenance man was very nice, but I could’ve done without that empty Taco Bell bags comment.

9:04pm: It’s getting late… time for Advil.  W.W.N.R.D.

To Be Concluded…

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MLBTR Originals Player's Perspective Tim Dillard

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Yankees Sign Adam Lind To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2018 at 10:15am CDT

The Yankees announced on Friday that they’ve signed free-agent first baseman/outfielder Adam Lind to a minor league deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training. Lind, who is represented by ISE Baseball, would earn $2MM in the majors with $650K in possible incentives, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).

The contract also includes a pair of opt-out opportunities — on March 22nd and June 1st — which will allow Lind to test the open market if he is not added to the MLB roster. The Yankees view the contract as an “insurance policy,” Cashman adds, so it sounds as if the opt-out clauses could well come into play.

Lind, 34, is coming off a strong season with the Nationals in which he slashed a hearty .303/.362/.512 with 14 homers in 301 plate appearances. That marked a nice rebound effort from a down season with the Mariners in 2016 and served as evidence that Lind is still plenty capable of contributing at the big league level. That he had to settle for a minor league pact this offseason speaks to the manner in which corner bats have been devalued throughout the league as a whole; Lind has posted an OPS+ of 123 or better in four of the past five seasons, batting a combined .282/.348/.473 through 2142 plate appearances in that time.

Of course, Lind is not without his limitations. He’s logged a disastrous .217/.263/.329 slash against left-handed pitchers over the course of 12-year MLB career and is largely limited to first base on the defensive spectrum. The Nats did trot him out to left field for 197 innings last season, though that marked his first work on the outfield grass since 2010, and he unsurprisingly did not rate well there.

It’s possible that Lind will simply spend camp with the Yankees before finding a better opportunity late in Spring Training. New York, after all, doesn’t have much of an opening for him with Greg Bird healthy and expected to man first base on a daily basis in 2018. Tyler Austin is on hand as a backup option for Bird and figures to make the team in a bench capacity as well, though he does have a minor league option remaining. Still, given Lind’s success in 2017 it would hardly come as a surprise if he landed with a club looking to deepen its bench later this month or perhaps finds a greater role in the wake of an injury elsewhere.

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New York Yankees Transactions Adam Lind

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Nationals Agree To Minor League Deal With Alejandro De Aza

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2018 at 9:46am CDT

The Nationals have re-signed veteran outfielder Alejandro De Aza to a minor league pact, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post tweets. De Aza did not receive an invite to Major League camp, though he’ll be with the club for today’s game at least, Castillo adds. De Aza is a client of Magnus Sports.

The 33-year-old De Aza spent the entire 2017 season in the Nationals organization and finished out the year with the big league club. He made just 70 plate appearances and batted .194/.224/.323 in his brief big league stint with the Nats, but he posted a much stronger .280/.368/.403 slash in 212 Triple-A plate appearances.

Last year’s 28 Major League games were the fewest De Aza had logged in a season since appearing in just 19 contests with the White Sox back in 2010. De Aza averaged 134 games and 484 PAs per season from 2012-16 between the ChiSox, Orioles, Red Sox, Giants and Mets, hitting a combined .258/.326/.395 along the way. He has experience at all three outfield positions and seems likely to head to Triple-A as a depth option to open the season.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Alejandro De Aza

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Travis Wood Diagnosed With Torn ACL

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2018 at 8:16am CDT

The Tigers announced this morning that veteran left-hander Travis Wood, who is in camp on a minor league deal and competing for a roster spot, has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and medial meniscus in his left knee. Wood suffered the injury yesterday when executing a rundown in his Tigers debut. He’s weighing surgical options at present, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter link).

The 31-year-old Wood inked a two-year, $12MM contract with the Royals last winter but struggled enormously both in Kansas City and in San Diego in 2017, working to an overall 6.80 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 1.8 HR/9 mark in 94 innings. He’s still owed $6.5MM in 2018, but the Royals agreed to pay the entirety of that sum when he was traded to San Diego, so the Tigers aren’t on the hook for any of that salary. Considerable as his ’17 struggles were, Wood totaled 161 2/3 innings with a 3.51 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9 between nine starts and 122 relief appearances for the Cubs from 2015-16.

The injury takes him out of the equation for a roster spot in Detroit, though, and could very well end his 2018 season entirely before it truly begins. The Tigers currently have Michael Fulmer, Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Fiers in their rotation, with Alex Wilson, Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Francisco Liriano vying for the two remaining spots. The bullpen is even murkier, with Shane Greene locked in as the club’s closer but little certainty beyond that point. Wilson would return to the ’pen if he doesn’t win a rotation spot, and he’s likely to be joined by Daniel Stumpf and Joe Jimenez, though there’s a fairly wide-open competition for multiple relief jobs in Detroit.

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Detroit Tigers Travis Wood

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Market Notes: Upton, Archer, Realmuto, Holland, Lynn

By Jeff Todd | March 2, 2018 at 12:09am CDT

Over at The Athletic, Pedro Moura held a fascinating conversation with Angels slugger Justin Upton. (Subscription link.) There’s plenty of interest in the chat, though Upton’s comments on free agency are of particular interest and relevance. The thrust of his sentiment is that teams seem to be looking to score free-agent value rather than identifying and “courting” players they actively wish to employ. “Teams don’t value players as people anymore,” says Upton. “They value them as a number on a sheet of paper.”

Of course, Upton forewent a chance at returning to the open market by agreeing to a deal with an organization he was comfortable with. Here’s the latest on the unusually high number of quality free agents still not in camp and other market notes:

  • The likelihood remains that the Rays will enter the season with Chris Archer on the staff, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports among other notes. That’s due in no small part to the team’s lofty asking price; one rival executive suggests that the Tampa Bay front office “wanted our whole farm system” to move Archer. The club has given that impression publicly, too. Senior VP of baseball ops Chaim Bloom reiterated that the expectation is to hang onto Archer and others in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). He added that the internal expectation is that it will begin to reap the rewards of an effort over recent years to bolster the farm depth while still trying to compete at the MLB level.
  • It has remained interesting to consider whether the Nationals might pry catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Marlins. But there isn’t much recent indication of serious talks, and Heyman indicates that’s due to what seems to be a big gulf in the sides’ valuations. Washington won’t give top prospects Victor Robles and Juan Soto, per the report; while the club might part with young infielder Carter Kieboom or outfielder Michael Taylor, it seems Miami was asking for too much additional talent to be included in a package.
  • The outfield market has certainly delivered some surprises thus far. Heyman says Jarrod Dyson spurned an early two-year, $14MM offer, though a source tells MLBTR that is not accurate. Dyson ultimately signed for $7.5MM with the Diamondbacks. It remains to be seen what’ll happen with players such as Carlos Gonzalez and Jon Jay, each of whom were rated among the fifty best free agents this winter by MLBTR. Heyman says the Indians are still looking at right-handed outfield bats, though it would surely be a surprise for the team to plunk down any meaningful money to make an addition. Perhaps the trade route could still hold some surprises, though that’s pure speculation on my part.
  • Veteran reliever Greg Holland might have overplayed his hand in spurning the Rockies earlier in the winter. Colorado was willing to give him something approaching the three-year, $51MM deal the team ultimately inked with Wade Davis, Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests in an appearance on the podcast of Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. It’s premature, perhaps, to declare that Holland won’t be able to top that number, though it’s frankly difficult to see where that level of interest might come from — as MLBTR’s Steve Adams has recently explained.
  • Holland’s list of suitors is in question at the moment. One thing that seems clear, per Heyman, is that the Cubs aren’t planning on making a surprise run at the closer. Rather, Chicago seems largely committed to utilizing Brandon Morrow in the ninth inning and is likely to hold back its remaining payroll reserves for potential mid-season additions.
  • So, how low could the remaining pitchers go? Presumably there’s a point at which some bidding would occur. But it’s notable that, per ESPN 1500’s Darren Wolfson (podcast link), the Twins expressed interest in Lance Lynn in the range of just $10MM to $12MM over two seasons. Just how that level of interest came about and was expressed isn’t clear. The team has also made some fairly notable recent commitments and may just not have much more payroll flexibility. And it certainly shouldn’t be taken as evidence of Lynn’s current market value. Still, it’s interesting to learn that’s the current extent of Minnesota’s interest.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Chicago Cubs Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Angels Miami Marlins Minnesota Twins Tampa Bay Rays Washington Nationals Chris Archer Greg Holland J.T. Realmuto Jarrod Dyson Jon Jay Juan Soto Justin Upton Lance Lynn Michael Taylor Victor Robles

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Slow Market Likely Means Record March Spending

By Steve Adams | March 1, 2018 at 9:48pm CDT

In an offseason that’s been unlike any in big league history, it should come as no surprise that the month of March is on track for an unprecedented level of spending. While the remaining free agents at the top of the market almost certainly won’t find contracts matching the expectations they carried into the offseason, they still figure to draw some significant offers. The ongoing open-market presence of Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, Mike Moustakas, Neil Walker, Carlos Gonzalez and Jonathan Lucroy, among others, should lead to a record-setting amount of money spent in the month of March.

Going back over the past decade, the largest contract given to any player in the month of March was Manny Ramirez’s two-year, $45MM contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2009 season. That contract represents one of just two multi-year deals worth more than $10MM per season over that span. The second belongs to Kyle Lohse, who signed a three-year, $33MM deal with the Brewers back in 2012.

In fact, over the past decade, there have only been three multi-year deals hammered out in the month of March at all, and the third was a modest two-year, $4.25MM contract for Oliver Perez with the Diamondbacks. And outside of the deals for Ramirez and Lohse, the only other player to top a $10MM salary in the month of March was Ervin Santana, who signed a one-year, $14.1MM deal with the Braves in 2013 after languishing on the market for much of the offseason after initially seeking a reported six-year deal which teams universally deemed to be too rich.

The Santana situation, perhaps, could be instructive for the likes of Lynn and Cobb. Santana’s $14.1MM salary that season was a dead match for the qualifying offer he rejected from the Royals some four months prior to signing in Atlanta. While it still seems plausible that either Lynn or Cobb could land a multi-year deal in free agency — something in the Lohse neighborhood, seemingly, would hold appeal to multiple clubs — there’s perhaps also a case to be made that thsoe players would be well-served to take a salary comparable to the one they rejected on a short-term deal and look instead to cash in next winter. Santana landed his current four-year, $55MM deal with the Twins a after a solid season with the Braves despite receiving a second qualifying offer that winter. Unlike Santana, Lynn, Cobb and Arrieta will not receive a second qualifying offer, as the CBA now stipulates that a player may receive only one in his career.

Turning to position players, the Ramirez deal stands out as a notable exception. Pedro Alvarez’s $5.75MM contract with the Orioles in 2015 constitutes the next-largest contract in recent memory, followed by Austin Jackson’s $5MM deal with the 2016 White Sox and David Freese’s $3MM deal with the Pirates that same season.

Generally speaking, those types of signings — veterans with notable flaws in their game or significant injuries in their recent past who’ve taken one-year deals at modest salaries — have typified signings in the month of March. I’ve not found a March in recent memory where the total spending topped the Ramirez year, but there are presently at least three free agents who could conceivably approach or exceed that total. Arrieta, Cobb and Lynn could all still draw that kind of money, and we certainly expected a big contract for Mike Moustakas at the outset of the offseason. Even if expectations are trending down, for Moustakas in particular, injuries could still shake things up. And it’s only fair to point out that the agent shared by Arrieta and Moustakas, the inimitable Scott Boras, is also the person who negotiated the only three prior multi-year March deals.

Barring some truly dramatic hold-outs into the 2018 season, we’re likely to see an unprecedented amount of free-agent spending over the next thirty days.

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MLBTR Originals

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Cubs Sign Danny Hultzen

By Jeff Todd | March 1, 2018 at 8:16pm CDT

The Cubs have agreed to a minors pact with one-time top prospect Danny Hultzen, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune recently reported. His contract provides for a $600K salary in the majors with up to $150K in available incentives, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).

Of course, any thought of cracking a major-league roster is secondary to regaining health for Hultzen, who originally inked a $8.5MM guaranteed deal with the Mariners in August of 2011. Seattle removed him from its MLB roster after the 2015 season and he has not appeared in a professional contest since 2016.

Drafted as a polished left-handed starter out of the University of Virginia, Hultzen — who’s now 28 years of age — mostly dominated the opposition inthe upper minors. Over 169 2/3 innings of professional ball, he carries a 2.86 ERA.

Unfortunately, major shoulder injuries — including procedures in 2013 and 2016 — have totally derailed Hultzen’s career. He decided to finish off his college degree and prepare for one more attempt at a return, as he discussed his ordeal last fall in an interesting chat with Dillon Mullan of the Washington Post.

Needless to say, the Cubs won’t be counting on anything from the hard-luck southpaw. Indeed, a Mariners doctor is said to have advised Hultzen not to attempt pitching anymore as he went in for his 2016 surgery. But the talent is obviously there and it’s easy to root for a player who once seemed a sure thing to reach and a good bet to thrive in the majors.

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Danny Hultzen

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