Following a disappointing season in Philadelphia, the Phillies fired three coaches after their last game of the season. Among those coaches was Pete Mackanin, who interviewed for the Cubs' managerial opening back in November of 2011.Mackanin, who turned 61 in August, would likely be looking at the third base coach's job, which was vacated when the Cubs let Pat Listach go following the team's final game.The Chicago-born Mackanin brings with him a ton of experience from every level of the game. As a player, he spent parts of nine seasons in the major leagues, seeing time with Texas, Montreal, Philadelphia ...
Theo and Jed got their man.As was first reported by Joel Sherman, and later confirmed by Ken Rosenthal, the Chicago Cubs won the bidding on prized Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, presumably handing out the last massive international free agent contract.Jon Heyman added the details of the 20-year-old's contract: nine years, $30 million.Soler joins left-handed pitcher Gerardo Concepcion, signed back in March, as the Cubs got two of the top three Cuban free agents from this off-season, only losing out on Yoenis Cespedes due to an inability to see eye-to-eye on contract length.With the impending CBA changes set to drop the ...
The first year of the Epstein/Hoyer/Sveum era has been... well, odd. In spring training, guys such as Joe Mather and Steve Clevenger, who were considered to be ticketed for AAA Iowa, forced their way onto the ball club. During the regular season, Matt Garza threw away a shutout—literally. Darwin Barney was the first Cub of the year to hit a home run. For those of you who love statistical anomalies and oddities in baseball such as myself, then this is the list for you.Begin Slideshow
After a brilliant 2010 campaign that saw 2009 32nd-round draft pick Trey McNutt climb all the way to AA Tennessee with a sparkling 2.48 ERA for the year, many wanted to believe that McNutt was a future ace.This belief permeated through the Cubs' organization so much that the team held on to McNutt over Chris Archer in the Matt Garza trade.The next season, neither McNutt nor Archer did particularly well while Garza shined. This season, McNutt is off to a brilliant start, having given up only one earned run through his first four starts, to the tune of a 0.61 ...
Right now, the best two position players for the Cubs are easily star shortstop Starlin Castro and longtime minor leaguer Bryan LaHair.While many called for top prospect Anthony Rizzo to start the season at first, LaHair was given the job. Some questioned this, especially with LaHair missing Opening Day with a back issue, but all he's done to prove his critics wrong is post a .361 batting average, 1.106 OPS, and is the only Cub with multiple home runs.LaHair's power is even more coveted in this lineup than in years past, as this year's Cubs have more triples than home ...
In exchange for five months of Marlon Byrd's services, the Cubs received local pitcher Michael Bowden and a player to be named later. Bowden, 25, was recently designated for assignment by the Red Sox along with minor league catcher Luis Exposito.Having selected Bowden in the supplemental portion of the first round of the 2005 draft, Cubs President Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer took the chance to turn a short-term asset in Byrd into a long-term asset in Bowden.Right now, the Cubs have a short- and long-term need both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen. While Bowden ...
After a breakout 2009 season, Angel Guzman seemingly fell off the face of the baseball world.The former Cubs top prospect—he appeared on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list three times—put it all together in '09. In his first—and possibly lone—full season as a major league reliever, Guzman threw 61 innings over 55 games, posting a 2.95 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.Those games would be Guzman's last taste of the big leagues. In the early stages of 2010's Spring Training, Guzman suffered multiple ligament tears in his throwing shoulder. After consulting with the great Dr. James Andrews, Guzman went under the knife ...
On March 15, the Red Sox designated a pair 25-year-olds for assignment. Former supplemental first-rounder Michael Bowden and catcher Luis Exposito were cleared from Boston's 40-man roster in order to make room for utility players Jason Repko and Nate Spears.Boston's divisional rival Orioles were quick to grab Luis Exposito. Baltimore was lacking in catching depth in the high ends of the organization, so the move was simply procedural to provide insurance for Buck Showalter's club.This leaves pitcher Michael Bowden. Bowden, a native of Winfield, Ill., is only 25 years old at this point and still holds some upside. An ugly ...
Coming off a 2-1 loss to the Nationals on Opening Day, the Cubs didn't exactly have a perfect opener. However, Dempster was strong in his debut, striking out ten, and only allowing two hits over 7.2 innings, even if he did get a few assists from the strong winds coming off of Lake Michigan.With the new season, came new management—both on the field and in the front office—and with them, a whole slew of new players.Without further ado, here's your guide to the 2012 Cubs opening day roster.Begin Slideshow
In a very interesting piece by Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, former Cuban league stud Yoenis Cespedes said that the Cubs offered him a six-year, $36 million deal and that he would have signed with the Cubs had they offered him the same contract that the Oakland A's did.The thought of Cespedes having joined the Cubs is surely interesting. With Gerardo Concepcion in tow, and the Cubs highly considered the front-runners for Jorge Soler, Team Theo would have hit the Cuban trifecta this offseason.Had Cespedes picked the Cubs over Oakland, the effects of the signing would have been huge.First ...
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