Pirates Rumors

NL Central Notes: Dunnington, Brewers, Contreras, Nicasio

By Steve Adams | March 16, 2016 at 10:49pm CDT

Former Cardinals minor leaguer Tyler Dunnington, who retired from the game during Spring Training 2015, tells Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com that he chose to leave the game due to homophobic comments and clubhouse culture that made him “miserable in a sport that used to give him life.” Dunnington, who kept his sexual orientation private throughout his baseball career but has come out since retiring, explained that a college coach made a detestable joke about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, and such talk didn’t dissipate upon his arrival in pro ball. A minor league teammate mentioned having a gay brother, and a pair of teammates questioned, in earnest, how anyone could have a homosexual friend, let alone brother. Some went so far as to discuss killing homosexuals, Zeigler writes. The inexcusable behavior isn’t lost on GM John Mozeliak, who told the Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold and Ben Frederickson: “This is very disappointing and our hope is that every player, staff member, and employee feels they are treated equally and fairly. Given the nature of these allegations I will certainly look into this further as well as speak with [MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean] for further assistance on this matter…we will take this very seriously.”

Dunnington hopes to return to the game in a front office role, where he could help to take measures to prevent this type of culture and behavior. “After gaining acceptance from my friends and family I realized I didn’t have to quit baseball to find happiness,” Dunnington said. “I not only wanted to share my story but also apologize for not using the stage I had to help change the game.” Indeed, disturbing as Dunnington’s stories are, the sad reality is that the appalling comments he encountered are almost certainly not unique to the clubhouse he was in nor to the Cardinals organization.

Looking elsewhere in the division…

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers won’t name a closer before Opening Day. Manager Craig Counsell asserted that there’s “no such position as Opening Day closer” and said that left-hander Will Smith and right-hander Jeremy Jeffress will both get cracks at closing games early in the season. Counsell feels that it will behoove the Brewers to take advantage of having two quality late-inning relievers — one right-handed (Jeffress) and one left-handed (Smith) — to create the most advantageous matchups possible in attempting to lock down close victories. Counsell said the ninth inning could “eventually” belong to one pitcher, but he sees no reason to place any sort of restriction on either reliever right now.
Cubs prospect Willson Contreras looks more and more like the team’s long-term answer behind the plate with every passing day, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Wittenmyer spoke to catching coach Mike Borzello, manager Joe Maddon and infielder Javier Baez, each of whom raved about some combination of Contreras’ throwing, handling of the pitching staff and above-average bat. Borzello noted that Contreras would probably break camp with a club that had less catching depth than Chicago currently has with Miguel Montero, David Ross and Kyle Schwarber. Contreras’ emergence further calls into question Schwarber’s future behind the plate, as if Contreras is the two-way backstop that many in the organization believe him to be, there’s less of a reason to continue to try to develop Schwarber as a catcher, where many scouts believe he is inadequate from a defensive standpoint.
While Spring Training stats are always taken with a grain of salt, a dominant outing from Pirates right-hander Juan Nicasio turned some heads today, writes ESPN’s Jayson Stark. “Dominant,” in fact, is selling the appearance short; Nicasio faced 14 hitters and allowed just one hit and recorded an incredible 10 strikeouts on Wednesday. Despite facing a strikeout-prone Orioles lineup, Nicasio caught the eye of manager Clint Hurdle, who says that his own experience managing at Coors Field made it easy to look past Nicasio’s lackluster career numbers when the Pirates added him on a one-year, $3MM deal this winter. Nicasio was originally signed to be a multi-inning reliever, but in light of his spring dominance, Hurdle wouldn’t rule out a rotation spot. Nicasio tells Stark that’s his ultimate goal: “I’m working hard for the rotation, but I can’t control all that.” As Stark writes, a well-known Pirates success story, Francisco Liriano, called Nicasio this offseason to sell him on the benefit of pitching coach Ray Searage. “Everybody talks about, ’You go here, you get better,'” Nicasio says to Stark. “I know why now.”

NL Central Notes: Figueroa, Ngoepe, Tejada, Brewers

By Jeff Todd | March 16, 2016 at 10:45am CDT

There are many analytically-savvy players out there these days, but few are probably as dedicated and capable as Pirates utilityman Cole Figueroa. As Travis Sawchick of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes in an interesting profile, the son of an old-school former big leaguer incorporates math and coding into his personal regimen — and isn’t afraid to share his knowledge with his teammates. It’s a great piece and well worth a read.

Here’s more from the game’s central divisions:

Pirates shortstop Gift Ngoepe is impressing in camp thus far and has a realistic hope of becoming the first black South African to crack the majors after being added to the 40-man over the winter, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. The defensive specialist has moved from switch-hitting to focusing on hitting from his natural right side, with improved results. He’s in competition, along with Figueroa and others, to win a utility job.
ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon looks at the Cardinals’ decision on shortstop Ruben Tejada, whom the Mets just placed on waivers. It appears that St. Louis is more likely to make a play for Tejada if he clears waivers than it is to claim him, though, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
The Brewers’ offseason of change was a product of “trying to aggregate as much young talent as we possibly can,” GM David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt in a piece for Baseball America. “A lot of them were minor moves that didn’t make headlines, but the end result was that half of our 40-man roster will look different from the last day of the season,” said Stearns. “It’s a byproduct of the cycle we’re going through.” The newly-minted head Milwaukee baseball man suggested that such turnover may or may not continue moving forward, explaining that, “sometimes it takes a jump-start like this to get younger and more flexible on your roster.”

NL Notes: Cueto, Jennings, Pirates

By charliewilmoth | March 14, 2016 at 10:40pm CDT

Giants starter Johnny Cueto was hit in the head on a Billy Burns liner on the first pitch of his outing Monday night, according to various reporters, including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman. Cueto stayed in the game and pitched three innings, but was checked by team doctors after pitching and will head to the hospital in accordance with team protocol (Twitter links). One would think the Giants would have removed Cueto from the game after the incident if they had considered the issue serious (acknowledging, of course, that pro sports teams have at times underestimated the impact of potential concussions). There would have been no reason for the Giants to keep Cueto in a Spring Training game if they had any indication he was hurt. Still, the situation bears monitoring. Here’s more from around the NL.

The grievance filed by the Marlins against the Nationals regarding former Marlins GM and manager Dan Jennings was settled in favor of the Nationals, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes. The Nationals are paying Jennings $115K to be a special assistant to GM Mike Rizzo. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported yesterday that the Marlins took issue with that salary because they owed Jennings $1.5MM based on his previous contract with them, minus his salary in his new position. The Marlins thought the Nats’ $115K salary was too low given Jennings’ responsibilities, and that they were therefore on the hook for too much of his remaining salary. Via Janes, though, the disagreement has been resolved. “It’s an old grievance, and it has been settled,” says Rizzo.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington is excited about his organization’s Triple-A rotation, Stephen A. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The Bucs today optioned top prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon to Triple-A Indianapolis and reassigned fellow starters Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault and Trevor Williams. (They also optioned outfielder Harold Ramirez and reassigned catcher Reese McGuire and lefty Kelvin Marte.) Of those starting pitchers, Glasnow and Taillon are the headliners, but Kuhl, Brault and Williams are all prospects in their own right. All could wind up pitching at Indianapolis this year (although perhaps not right away, as Nesbitt notes, since the Bucs might need to preserve a spot there for a depth starter like Kyle Lobstein or Wilfredo Boscan.) “The future is bright,” says Huntington. “You run Taillon, Glasnow, Kuhl, Brault and Williams out in one setting — that’s a very exciting group. … Each one of them brings something that’s very, very intriguing. Now you put that group of five together, it bodes well for our future.” Kuhl is a sinkerballer who pitched well for Double-A Altoona last season. Brault, a lefty, excelled at Class A+ and Double-A after arriving last winter in the trade that sent Travis Snider to Baltimore. And Williams is a recent arrival who the Bucs acquired from the Marlins when pitching guru Jim Benedict headed to Miami.

NL Central Notes: Freese, Votto, Murton, Brewers

By Steve Adams | March 12, 2016 at 10:45am CDT

Newly signed Pirates infielder David Freese was “hungry” to join the organization, GM Neal Huntington told Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Freese spoke with Nesbitt as well, explaining that the organization’s recent surge and track record of making the postseason appealed to him when the Bucs approached. Freese added that it’s been interesting to watch the club’s rise to prominence, having seen the early stages as a member of the Cardinals. “We came to Pittsburgh early on in [2011], and then we showed up two or three months later and it was sold out,” said Freese. “I think that’s kinda when things started to change a little bit. That was an atmosphere I wanted to be a part of. To see where this organization has come the last four or five years, that’s special.” Nesbitt notes that the plan for Freese is for him to play third base while Jung Ho Kang is out for the first month of the season, and he’ll then shift across the diamond and platoon with John Jaso.

Pirates Sign David Freese, Designate Jesse Biddle

By Jeff Todd | March 11, 2016 at 5:24pm CDT

The Pirates have signed third baseman David Freese to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. The CAA client will earn $3MM on a straight guarantee without any available incentives, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on Twitter. Pittsburgh also announced that it has designated southpaw Jesse Biddle for assignment to create roster space.

Freese, who’ll turn 33 at the end of April, has settled in as a steady but unspectacular performer at the hot corner. After some strong offensive years earlier in his career with the Cardinals, he’s generally posted slightly above-average results. All told, Freese slashed a sturdy .258/.322/.401 with 24 home runs in 981 plate appearances over his two years with the Angels, who reportedly considered a qualifying offer this winter but ultimately allowed Freese to leave uninhibited. Though his line-drive and hard-contact rates both fell last year, with his walk rate continuing to trickle downward, Freese did still manage to significantly increase his ISO in 2015 as against his prior year’s work.

Much the same holds on the defensive side of the equation, as Freese has generally graded out as roughly average with the glove before and since a one-year downturn (2013, his final year in St. Louis). He is a poor overall baserunner and has had his share of injury troubles, though it’s hard to blame him for missing time recently after being struck by pitches.

It took some time for his market to thaw, but Freese will presumably step right into Pittsburgh’s Opening Day lineup. Though the team has Jung Ho Kang and Josh Harrison under contract as options at second and third, Kang has only just reached the point of straight-line running after suffering a serious leg injury last year. Indications were that Kang may be available within a month or so of the season’s start, but Pittsburgh obviously decided there was enough uncertainty to make another addition.

Even when Kang does make it back, it’s not hard to see the value of bringing in the respected veteran. It’s expected that Freese will eventually form the right-handed side of a first base platoon with John Jaso, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. He’ll also deepen the overall infield unit. Harrison took a step back in 2015, as did shortstop Jordy Mercer, and the other options on hand (glove-first shortstop Pedro Florimon, prospect Alen Hanson, utilityman Sean Rodriguez) all come with their share of questions and uncertainties.

Nevertheless, the move comes as a bit of a surprise, though MLBTR’s Steve Adams did name the Bucs as one of only six teams that made much sense as a destination for Freese as of mid-February. It is a bit unclear what Pittsburgh will do with Rodriguez and, especially, Michael Morse with Freese now under contract. The former is owed $2.5MM this year after re-signing, while the latter is largely a free-roll after he was swapped for another bad contract (Jose Tabata) last summer. Those two could still conceivably see time in the outfield, but there probably won’t be many plate appearances available there. Adding Freese also seemingly tamps down the likelihood of an early promotion for first base prospect Josh Bell.

Freese isn’t the most exciting player, but his ultimate contract still comes as a shock. Indeed, he’ll earn less than other recent players to sign, including fellow third baseman Juan Uribe, former Pirates first bagger Pedro Alvarez, and center fielder Austin Jackson.

As for Biddle, who was acquired in a DFA limbo swap earlier in the winter, Pittsburgh may be hoping tha the can clear waivers at this stage of the offseason. The one-time top prospect will be returning from Tommy John surgery and has had serious control problems, but remains an interesting project for whatever organization ends up with his rights.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Cabrera, Herrera, Cardinals, Joyce

By Steve Adams | March 11, 2016 at 9:53am CDT

Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera suffered a knee injury while tagging up from first to second base in yesterday’s Grapefruit League game, and while he initially told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) that the injury was not serious, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that Cabrera is traveling to New York City to undergo a second MRI. While the extent of his injury is unknown (the Mets have yet to disclose the results of yesterday’s MRI), it seems that there was at least some cause for concern on his initial test. Cabrera did note yesterday that he was walking without pain, so it seems unlikely that there’s any sort of ligament tear. The Mets are well covered in the event that Cabrera would need to miss some time, as both Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada represent viable backups. Cabrera is gearing up for the first season of a two-year, $18.5MM deal with the Mets.

A few more notes from the division…

Puma also spoke with prospect Dilson Herrera and assistant GM John Ricco about the Mets’ decision to acquire Neil Walker this offseason despite the fact that some view Herrera as MLB-ready after hitting .327/.382/.511 in 81 Triple-A games last season. Herrera didn’t express any frustration, stating that he’s simply waiting for an opportunity. Ricco noted that Herrera might not be quite as big-league ready as his numbers indicate. “He’s not a guy we said, ’He’s finished with Triple-A. He’s wasting his time down there,'” said Ricco of Herrera. “I don’t think you see that yet. With each of our top prospects the last few years, whether it be [Zack] Wheeler or [Matt] Harvey or [Noah] Syndergaard or [Steven] Matz, the deal was we want them to come up here and succeed, not just come up and here and have trial by fire.” Infield coach Tim Teufel explained to Puma that Herrera still doesn’t excel at turning double plays and “tends to throw without using his legs.”
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’s not necessarily in a rush to add a shortstop in the wake of Jhonny Peralta’s injury. “Everybody is sort of pounding on this — what are we going to do?” says Mozeliak. “I think I’d like to see what we have first and then determine what’s next. Our goal is to be competitive this year and if we feel we need to go outside the organization to improve on those odds then we will.” The top internal candidates to fill in for Peralta are Jedd Gyorko, Aledmys Diaz and Greg Garcia, though each comes with some questions. Should the Cardinals ultimately decide to look for outside help, the Cabrera injury mentioned above could potentially impact the trade market, as any notable absence for the Mets’ starter would likely make the club less willing to part with a shortstop (e.g. Ruben Tejada).
Matt Joyce is in camp with the Pirates trying to win a bench spot on the club, but he told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times yesterday that he believed at one point this offseason that he was going to sign with the Padres (Twitter link). That match never came to fruition, for whatever reason, so Joyce will now look to reestablish himself in Pittsburgh instead. After batting a solid .251/.344/.434 from 2011-14 with the Rays, Joyce slumped to a dismal .174/.272/.291 batting line with the Angels last season.

NL Notes: Cubs, Heyward, Pirates, Morton, Span

By Steve Adams,Jeff Todd,Zachary Links and charliewilmoth | March 7, 2016 at 10:17am CDT

The Cubs have several players, including Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler and Trevor Cahill that turned down more money elsewhere to sign in Chicago, tweets Jon Heyman. The Cardinals’ best offer is to Heyward is “thought to [have been]” $200MM over 10 years, while the Nationals, as previously reported, offered the outfielder $200MM+ over 10 years, albeit with significant deferrals, Heyman tweets. The three bids between the two teams were pretty much comparable (link), but Heyward simply preferred the Cubs over the other clubs. The outfielder, he adds, liked the team’s nucleus and, personally, he has a good history of playing at Wrigley. Heyman also notes that the other teams would have been willing to give him an opt-out as well.

A few more notes from around the NL…

Charlie Morton is hopeful that his groundball-inducing ways will translate to hitter-friendly Citzens Bank Park, PhillyVoice’s Ryan Lawrence writes. Morton produced a 4.81 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 pitching with the Pirates, although with an excellent 57.3% ground ball rate. “I had a theory about smaller parks, and the ground that outfielders have to cover, it’s minimized when you have a smaller park,” Morton says. “So if you can pitch to contact and pitch to weak contact, especially ground balls, I think you’ll do really well. Knock on wood, but I’ve had some success at Great American Ball Park, Great American Small Park. I think some of the reason why that is is because if I’m inducing weak contact or ground balls.” Morton has, indeed, posted a career 3.83 ERA in 54 innings at “Great American Small Park,” better than his career 4.54 ERA. That could merely be a sample-size issue, however. In any case, if Morton succeeds in the tight confines of Citizens Bank Park, he could perhaps, as Lawrence points out, fetch a prospect or two for the Phillies this summer.
Highly touted minor league right-handers Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow represent options this season should any pitcher in the Pirates’ rotation fall to injury or struggle significantly, GM Neal Huntington told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, while the Pirates recognized that Taillon and Glasnow could factor into the club’s rotation in 2016, they didn’t bank on that fact. Pittsburgh added veterans Jon Niese (via trade with the Mets) and Ryan Vogelsong (via free agency) to round out the rotation. Huntington noted that Glasnow still needs to refine his changeup before making it to the Major Leagues, saying Glasnow is “still doing minor league hitters a favor” when he turns to his changeup over his electric fastball. Taillon is now two years removed from Tommy John surgery and will have his innings monitored this year.
Giants outfielder Denard Span talked with MLB Network Radio’s Cliff Floyd and Casey Stern about his free agency this winter and his goals for his first season with the Giants (audio link). “This team, they took a chance on me,” said Span. “A lot of other teams were shying away, but the Giants just showed how much they really wanted me, and so it made it an easy decision for me. … The fact that they pursued me and pursued a couple other guys — [Jeff] Samardzija and [Johnny] Cueto — it makes me feel good that they feel like, they didn’t go to the postseason last year, and I’m one of the missing pieces to help them get back there.” Among the other topics covered by Span are his first impressions of future Hall of Fame skipper Bruce Bochy and how he plans to work on outfield communication with the man he displaced in center field — Angel Pagan (who will now slide over to left field).

NL Notes: Cole, Braves, Altherr, Klentak

By | March 5, 2016 at 10:35pm CDT

Last weekend, it was discovered that Pirates ace Gerrit Cole was displeased to have his contract renewed for the same pay as he earned last season. While Cole may be peeved by the lack of raise, it doesn’t mean he and the club don’t have common ground for an extension, writes Travis Sawchik of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Former Phillies ace Cole Hamels made similar public comments back in 2008 before inking a three-year, $20MM deal for his arbitration seasons. Sawchik also relates a number of details about Cole’s specific situation as well as the players’ share of revenue league wide – it’s well worth a read.

The Braves rotation is a shadow of the unit that dominated the National League for over a decade, writes the associated press for the New York Times. The entire unit has issues. “Ace” Julio Teheran is coming off his worst major league season, and he’s the only lock for a job. As manager Fredi Gonzalez joked, there’s a wave of high profile arms, but they’re “out by the Marshall Islands.” Pitching prospects are notoriously fickle. Before the high ceiling talents get a chance to work in the majors, Atlanta fans will have to hope players like Matt Wisler, Mike Foltynewicz, and Bud Norris can show some sign of life.
Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr suffered a left-wrist injury on a diving play yesterday, writes Matt Breen of Philly.com. Altherr had the wrist in a splint today and has not received X-Rays yet. The former prospect is familiar with wrist injuries which sapped his development in late 2013 and early 2014. He doesn’t believe this round is anywhere as serious as his previous injury which required surgery. Altherr is widely expected to start for the Phillies after a breakout 2015 season. In my view, the club could option him if they preferred for him to ease into action in the minors.
For those curious about Phillies GM Matt Klentak’s playing background, Mike Sielski of Philly.com has the details. Klentak, 35, attended Dartmouth College where he played shortstop for head coach Bob Whalen – himself a friend of now-Mets GM Sandy Alderson. From there, it’s not a far jump to Moneyball. Klentak also offered a couple interesting quotes, including “Players will reach their ceilings when they’re playing confidently, when they’re in an environment that’s loose and that allows them to be the player that they want to be.“

Quick Hits: Cubs, Cahill, Davis, Judge

By | March 5, 2016 at 7:30pm CDT

Yesterday, we heard about several Cubs free agent signees who took less money to play in Chicago. Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter) illuminates a few of the teams that missed out. We know the Orioles were in on Dexter Fowler as well as the Nationals and Cardinals interest in Jason Heyward. Ben Zobrist turned down better offers from the Nationals and Mets while Trevor Cahill declined to join the Pirates on a stronger offer. Of course, the details of those hypothetical deals are unknown. For example, the Nationals probably made heavy use of deferred money in their offers, reducing the present day value of their proposals. Heyman also has some contract details for reserve clause signees (on Twitter).

Here’s more from around the league:

The Pirates offer to Cahill was to pitch as a starter, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. However, rumors of a two-year offer may have been exaggerated. Cahill himself claims to be unaware of any two-year proposals. In my opinion, Cahill was smart to remain in Chicago as a reliever. His skill set plays particularly well out of the bullpen and could set up a strong multi-year offer in free agency next winter.
New Athletics outfielder Khris Davis is happy with his new ball club, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The former Brewer saw the writing on the wall when Milwaukee dealt away several veterans in the last calendar year. Davis, originally picked in the 2009 draft, was the second-to-last player from that draft class with the club. The Brewers still have Scooter Gennett penciled in to play second base.
When Yankees prospects Aaron Judge and Jorge Mateo homered earlier today, they offered a glimpse of the future, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPN. The pair rank first and second in the Yankees farm system. Judge, 23, has a shot to contribute to the club in 2016 while Mateo, 20, is a little way off. Judge is a power hitting outfielder who hit 20 home runs in 540 plate appearances last season. Mateo is a speedy shortstop with 82 stolen bases in 2015 (500 plate appearances).

Central Notes: Cole, Perez, Brewers, Villanueva

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | March 1, 2016 at 8:37am CDT

Pirates GM Neal Huntington tells Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the club “made a mistake” in determining ace Gerrit Cole’s 2016 salary upon their initial take. “Gerrit’s base salary a year ago plus his bonus took him above our scale,” Huntington explained. “We initially did not incorporate the bonus that he earned last year for making the All-Star team. We made that adjustment, took him above our scale. Gerrit agreed. Unhappy with that. We understand that, we can empathize with him. At the same time there is a system in place that is negotiated by the union and by Major League Baseball.” Over the weekend, Cole voiced some displeasure with his modest salary, although the scale and the system to which Huntington alluded aren’t uncommon. Many clubs use algorithms based on service time and performance to determine the salary of pre-arbitration players, and the Pirates are simply acting as they would with any of their pre-arbitration players by adhering to that scale. (ESPN’s Buster Olney opines that the team would be wise to make a small concession on Cole’s behalf, suggesting a fairly marginal increase to $750K as a means of good will to acknowledge Cole’s importance to the club.) For those interested in reading more on the topic, MLBTR’s Zach Links examined the means by which pre-arb salaries are determined a couple of years ago.

Here’s more from the game’s Central divisions…

There’s positive movement on the negotiation front between the Royals and catcher Salvador Perez, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The sides have long been working toward a new deal for the backstop, who made good on his low-priced, early-career extension. It certainly will be interesting to see what kind of contractual arrangement is arrived at if something gets across the finish line.
The Brewers’ center field situation is as wide open as spring battles get, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel takes a look at where things stand. There are as many as nine plausible candidates to claim the Opening Day gig, with possible bench spots and minor league opportunities also at stake, so there’s plenty of intrigue to go around. Skipper Craig Counsell calls it a “roster puzzle” that needs to be solved, and Haudricourt provides plenty of preliminary clues in the interesting piece.
Cubs third base prospect Christian Villanueva suffered a broken right fibula during a Sunday workout and will miss several months recovering from the injury, reports MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. Villanueva, who was expected to have surgery today, according to Muskat, was injured upon landing after leaping for a ball in play, said manager Joe Maddon. “It’s just crazy,” said Maddon. “It’s really unfortunate. This kid came in, ready to go. … It’s a tough break, literally, for him — he’s such a good kid.” Villanueva ranked 26th on MLB.com’s list of Top 30 Cubs prospects, though he’s fallen off Baseball America’s version of that same list after multiple prior appearances.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Pirates Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect