Darvish rebounds, Cubs beat Pirates

Yu Darvish followed his rough first start with a dominant second outing leading the Cubs to a 6-3 victory and improving to 5-2.

Darvish threw six shutout innings giving up two hits with a walk while striking out seven. His stuff looked as crisp as ever, and his command was sharp too throwing 56 of his 86 pitches for strikes.

The Cubs got the scoring started in the third when Javier Baez bunted with runners on first and second but Pirates starter Trevor Williams threw the ball away allowing Kris Bryant to score. They would add another in the fourth when Jason Kipnis hit a solo home run.

In the fifth inning the Cubs would add two more when Jason Heyward drove in two runners with a two out 0-2 two run single off Nik Turley that would stretch the lead to 4-0.

The Pirates would get on the board in the 8th inning when Gregor Polanco doubled and was eventually driven in by Jarrod Dyson.

However the Cubs would stretch their lead to 6-1 in the 8th when Anthony Rizzo hit a bases-loaded two run single that drove in pinch-runner Nico Hoerner and Kris Bryant.

Craig Kimbrel would come in for the ninth in a non-save opportunity and it was not pretty. He started out by giving up back to back home runs to Josh Bell and Colin Moran and then he would get three outs to finish the game, but all three outs were hard hit and he still wasn't fooling anyone.

Cubs fall to Reds 12-7

The Cubs lost to the Reds today in a game where none of their pitchers seemed to bring their best stuff.

Kyle Hendricks got roughed up through four and a third innings, he gave up six earned runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. The home run he gave up was a two-run shot He departed trailing 4-0, but Rex Brothers walked a guy and then gave up a grand slam to familiar face Nicholas Castellanos. He would give up another home run to Nick Senzel to make the game 9-0.

Hendricks didn't seem to have his best command in the zone, he kept leaving his change-up up in the zone and it was getting pounded as a result.

Meanwhile, Sonny Gray was dominant for the Reds, giving up two unearned runs on one hit striking out 11 while walking just one

The Cubs would finally break through in the seventh. Victor Caratini drew a bases loaded walk, Nico Hoerner hit a two-run single, and then Kris Bryant followed with a two-run double.

In the bottom of the inning the Cubs would bring in control challenged Dillon Maples and he would proceed to walk four batters along with giving up a hit making it an 11-5 game. Duane Underwood Jr would come in with the bases loaded and nobody out, but he was able to get Shogo Akiyama to hit a line drive (that definitely bounced) that was "caught" by Kris Bryant, but he was able to step on the bag at third and fire to first to complete the Cubs first triple play since 1997.

The Cubs would add two more runs in the ninth on a David Bote home run, but that was it for their offense and the fell to 4-2.

They play the Reds tomorrow in the finale of the four game set. Yu Darvish will face off against Luis Castillo in a game that starts at 5:10.

Should the Cubs take a look at Mike Foltynewicz?

On Monday the Braves designated former All-Star starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz for assignment after the Tampa Bay Rays lit him up for six runs in three and a third innings with three home runs and four walks allowed.

He's trying to follow up a rough 2019 campaign where he posted a 4.54 ERA in 21 starts. He struggled significantly with the long ball allowing 23 long balls in 117 innings pitched while striking out 105 and walking 37. He also made 10 starts for their AAA team with a 3.86 ERA in 51.1 innings allowing just two home runs while striking out 45 and walking 17.

He made two starts for the Braves in the postseason with his first start being seven shutout innings allowing just three hits and striking out seven St. Louis Cardinals hitters. His second start, however, was a complete nightmare as he got just one out while giving up six earned runs on three hits and three walks. The Braves would lose that game and the series ending their season.

Foltynewicz, just 28, was an All-Star as recently as 2018 when he posted a 2.85 ERA (3.37 FIP) in 31 starts and 183 innings pitched. He was the ace of a Braves team that won 90 games and appeared in the postseason for the first time since 2013. 

A pitcher who was this good just a few seasons ago doesn't suddenly become available just like that. but does that mean the Cubs should take a look at him?

The first thing to talk about is his velocity. In 2018 his four-seam fastball averaged a blazing 96.3 MPH, but in 2019 it had dropped to 94.8 MPH, and in his only start this year it averaged a very concerning 90.9 MPH.

You can see a similar trend in all his pitches. His sinker went from 96.5 MPH to 89.9 MPH, his slider went from 86.7 to 79.5 MPH, and his curveball went from 80 to 74.6 MPH. A velocity loss like that is extremely concerning because the slower your pitches are the opposing batters chance to put the ball in play increase significantly.

It's hard to put too much weight on the 2020 data because the sample size is too small, but the numbers speak for themselves when you look at his plate discipline and batted ball data. His swing and miss percentage (Whiff%) went from 25.4 percent in 2018 to 23.5 percent in 2019 to just 14.3 percent this year. You can see it in his strikeout rate as well as he went from striking out 27.2 percent of hitters in 2018 to striking out just 21.4 percent in 2019.

He gave up a lot more hard contact as his solid contact percentage went from 5.3 percent in 2018 to 6.9 percent in 2019. That's shows in the batted ball data where is line drive percentage jumped from 22.9 to 23.9 percent while his fly ball rate jumped from 24 to 28.8 percent and his ground ball rate went from 43.7 to 39.2 percent.

He doesn't have a significant injury history, he missed a week in 2018 with right triceps tendinitis, and he missed around a month in 2019 with a bone spur in his right elbow. It's unknown if these can be directly traced to his velocity loss.

It would be hard to find a spot for him on this Cubs team right now. They just had an excellent first turn through the rotation and with Jose Quintana set to return fairly soon from injury it would be even harder to fit him in the 2020 picture.

With the shortened season it becomes much more risky to take a chance on a bounce back candidate like this, but if he becomes available and the Cubs have an opportunity to sign him to a deal that focuses on 2021 that would be ideal to give him time to gain his velocity back.

Javier Baez helps carry Cubs past Reds

The Cubs beat the Reds 8-5 today in a game that featured significantly less drama than the night before.

The Cubs struck first in the third inning when Nico Hoerner singled in Jason Kipnis who had just tripled. Kipnis would drive in a run of his own in the fourth when he drove in Jason Heyward who had singled and advanced to third on another single by David Bote.

Former Cubs RF Nicholas Castellanos would tie the game off Alec Mills in the bottom of the fourth, but the Cubs would retake the lead on an RBI single by Kyle Schwarber that featured a nifty piece of sliding by Javier Baez. The Cubs would add another run on a Hoerner sacrifice fly.

Like last night the Cubs got the power game going late as Baez hit a solo home run in the seventh, Bote hit a solo home run in the eighth, and then Baez would add some more on a two-run home run in the ninth.

Alec Mills was very good in his first start of the year. He allowed two runs in six innings walking two and striking out three. The only hits he gave up were a double and a home run to Castellanos.

Casey Sadler was the first guy used out of the pen and he struck out the side in his first inning of work, but gave a home run to Curt Casali to his first batter in the eighth and was pulled in favor of Kyle Ryan.

Ryan allowed a single, but got Joey Votto to ground into a double play and would strike out Christian Colon after Eugenio Suarez hit a two out double.

Ryan Tepera came in for the ninth, but after he struck out his first two batters he gave up a walk to Aristides Aquino and allowed a two-run home run off the bat of Freddy Galvis. He would ease any Cubs fans fears of a potential bullpen meltdown to strike out Curt Casali to close out the game and send the Cubs to 4-1.

The Cubs and Reds square off again tomorrow at 5:40. Kyle Hendricks will attempt to follow up on his Opening Day shutout, he will face off against Sonny Gray who will look to follow up his own excellent Opening Day start.

Cubs hang on to beat Reds

Wow.

The Cubs barely hang on to beat the Reds 8-7 after what should've been a blowout win for the Cubs turned into a nail-biting finish.

The Cubs got off to a great start after Wade Miley hit Kris Bryant to start the game and then walked Anthony Rizzo. Willson Contreras and Steven Souza Jr. hit back to back two out doubles to drive in runs and then David Bote followed up with a single to give the Cubs a 4-0 lead in the first.

They chased Miley after he allowed two more runs on an RBI double by Javier Baez and then a passed ball that would allow another run to score. The Cubs would add two more runs on a solo home run by Anthony Rizzo and an RBI double by David Bote.

Jon Lester was excellent in his season debut going five no hit innings walking one while striking out one as well. He induced a lot of weak contact and did a good job of keeping the ball in the zone throwing 50 of his 76 pitches for strikes.

The bullpen, however, was a different story.

Dan Winkler made his Cubs debut walking two batters and getting a strikeout. Rowan Wick came in to fix his mess, and although he did give up an RBI single he was able to limit the damage.

 

Duane Underwood Jr. came in for the seventh and gave up a home run to Tyler Stephenson (in his first MLB plate appearance) and then gave up a single and a walk before being pulled. Ryan Tepera came in and would get out of the jam after allowing a run by striking out Josh VanMeter.

Tepera would start the eight but after striking out the first two batters he was pulled after allowing a single. James Norwood would come in and like the others before him allowed a run before getting out of the jam.

And then Craig Kimbrel, the man with a 2.08 ERA and 346 games would come in for the ninth to protect an 8-5 lead.

He quickly got ahead of Nicholas Castellanos 0-2 before falling behind and walking him. He would get Jesse Winkler to ground out and then he completely lost it. He walked Josh VanMeter, Shogo Akiyama, hit Freddy Galvis to drive in a run, and then walked Tyler Stephenson to drive in yet another run. Next thing you know Kimbrel has thrown 13 of his 34 pitches for strikes and David Ross is on his way to the mound with the winning run in scoring position.

Jeremy Jeffress would come in and would strike out Philip Ervin on what would've been ball four and then got Joey Votto to line out to center to secure an unnecessarily nail-biting 8-7 victory.

Obviously Kimbrel is going to be the big discussion, but the entire bullpen is extremely concerning for the Cubs. They don't have the luxury of a 162 game season to allow guys to get comfortable in their role so any reliever will be on a much shorter leash than they would normally be.

The Cubs play the Reds again tomorrow at 5:40. Alec Mills will take the mound against Tyler Mahle.

The Marlins have an outbreak

It took three days and Major League Baseball already has to face a COVID-19 crisis. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN 14 total players/coaches for the Miami Marlins have tested positive for the virus.

Obviously this already puts the season in a bit of a crisis. Todays Orioles-Marlins game has been cancelled as well as Yankees-Phillies due to the fact that the Marlins just played the Phillies and also occupied the visiting clubhouse.

As of now the Phillies are still awaiting their test results.

This raises the question of why they were able to play yesterday. The Marlins already had to replace their starting pitcher and three players in their starting lineup after they tested positive. Does that not define an outbreak? Why were they allowed to play and put another team at risk?

Rob Manfred should have to answer to this, he had to have known what was going on with the Marlins and it makes no sense why they would've been allowed to step foot on that field if they were in the beginning stages of a serious outbreak.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network says that cancelling/pausing the season hasn't been seriously considered, but it's fair to question how sustainable the season is if a team is going to be allowed to play when they're having an outbreak.

The Cubs game today is still expected to go on, but it comes against a Reds team that is without Mike Moustakas and Nick Senzel who missed yesterdays game because they weren't feeling well.

Cubs lose Robel Garcia to Reds

Just a few days after being designated assignment the Cubs have lost IF Robel Garcia on waivers to the Cincinnati Reds.

Garcia was a nice comeback story after being signed from the Italian leagues after not playing in affiliated ball since 2013. He raked in the minor leagues hitting 21 home runs in 72 games between AA Tennessee and AAA Iowa earning himself a big league chance.

He showed plenty of power belting five home runs and nine extra base hits in 80 plate appearances while striking out 35 times and walking just seven. If you want to drive the ball you have to make contact with it, and Garcia proved that he will not make enough contact for his power to be as valuable as it could be.

For the Reds it's definitely a nice reclamation project for them. He has shown that he can hit the ball hard. If he can improve his contact rate he can prove to be a valuable bench piece, but as of now there is too much swing and miss in his game for him to be counted on.

Cubs take series from Brewers

The Cubs finished the opening weekend by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 9-1 and taking two of three in the series.

The Cubs struck first in the second inning when Jason Heyward hit an RBI groundout that drove in Kyle Schwarber who had doubled and advanced on a wild pitch.

They blew the game open in the fourth when they had the first six batter reach base including three straight RBI singles by Nico Hoerner, Victor Caratini, and Ian Happ.

The got the power game going late as Willson Contreras hit a monster 451-foot blast in the seventh. Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo would both hit opposite field home runs in the eighth off of former Cub (and 2016 World Series champ) Justin Grimm.

On the pitching side Tyler Chatwood was phenomenal today. He went six innings giving just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out eight. He had excellent movement on his pitches and kept the Brewers on their toes all day.

Casey Sadler got off to a rocky start today walking two of the three batters faced while throwing five of his 15 pitches for strikes, but Kyle Ryan would pick him up and then pitch a clean inning on his own. Former Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress would come in and shut the door on the Brewers.

There were some really impressive defensive plays today. Ian Happ made a nice leaping grab at the wall in the sixth inning and Kris Bryant turned a timely double play after stumbling initially on a groundball induced by Kyle Ryan.

The Cubs head to Cincinnati to take on the Reds who are coming off a series loss to the Detroit Tigers. Jon Lester will make his season debut against Wade Miley at 5:40 PM tomorrow.

Cubs place Brad Wieck on IL, recall Ryan Tepera

After struggling yesterday the Cubs have placed lefty Brad Wieck on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain and have recalled RHP Ryan Tepera from the South Bend taxi squad.

Wieck struggled in relief yesterday giving up two runs on a Christian Yelich home run along with a walk while striking out two. His velocity was noticeably down yesterday, so it's possible this was something he had been dealing with that he thought he could pitch through. As of now there is no timetable for his return.

It's already been a tough year for Wieck. He missed all of the Cactus League Spring Training due to an emergency heart surgery for a heart flutter, and now a hamstring injury will cause him to miss some time.

Tepera, 32, signed a one-year $900k deal in the offseason coming over from the Blue Jays. He struggled in the tough AL East last year posting a 4.98 ERA (6.03 FIP) in 23 appearances (1 start). He allowed five home runs in 21.2 innings pitched striking out only 14 hitters while walking eight.

He is primarily a fastball guy as he will throw a four-seam fastball, a cutter, or a sinker combined 89.1 percent of the time. His four-seam and sinker average about 93.5 MPH while his cutter averages 881 MPH. His cutter has been his most successful pitch the last two years as hitters are 24-107 (.224) off the pitch.

Throughout his career Tepera has posted a 3.64 ERA in 2016 appearances all for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 215.1 innings he has struck out 203 while walking 77 and allowing 30 home runs.

Cubs fall to Brewers in a testy one

The Milwaukee Brewers bested the Cubs 8-3 today sending each team to an even 1-1 record.

Yu Darvish got roughed up a bit allowing six hits and three earned runs over four innings while striking out five and walking none. One of the runs was caused after the Cubs got Lorenzo Cain in a rundown, but yet managed to not get him out and he would end up coming around to score.

The Cubs struck first when Willson Contreras drove in Anthony Rizzo, who had walked, with an RBI single off of Corbin Burnes. They would be shut down until Kyle Schwarber blasted a two-run home run but that would be their offense for the day.

The Brewers did most of their damaged off the Cubs bullpen. Duane Underwood Jr, Brad Wieck (two), and James Norwood (two) all allowed runs including home runs to Christian Yelich and Justin Smoak.

The game got a little testy early on as Javier Baez did not take too kindly to being hit with a pitch in the first inning and stared down the Brewers starter. After the 3rd inning there would be a slight disruption as both dugouts could be seen yelling at each other, and even had both sides having players leave the dugout. This is a result of both teams being able to hear the other dugout much clearer.

The Cubs and Brewers finish up the series tomorrow at 1:20, Tyler Chatwood will take the mound against Freddy Peralta.

Kyle Hendricks takes the Brewers to class

If there was a perfect way to start the season this was it. Kyle Hendricks threw a masterful 103-pitch three hit complete game shutout and the Cubs picked up a 3-0 win against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Hendricks threw 74 of his 103 pitches for strikes while striking out nine. The only hits he allowed were three singles to Brewers #9 hitter SS Orlando Arcia. He made things easier for David Ross who picked up his first win as manager of the Cubs.

Hendricks had all of his pitches working for him tonight, his curve could prove to be an extremely effective weapon if it continues to have as much movement as it did. His changeup was as nasty as ever and he even got some Brewers struggling to catch up at his 88-MPH fastball at the top of the zone.

There wasn't much to talk about for the Cubs on offense. Brewers hard-throwing RHP Brandon Woodruff mostly shut them down allowing just five hits over five innings with the big blow being a two-run shot by Ian Happ. The only other offense was courtesy of Anthony Rizzo who hit a solo shot in the 8th off of J.P. Feyereisen to give the Cubs insurance.

The Cubs play the Brewers tomorrow again at noon as Yu Darvish will take the mound against Corbin Burnes on Fox Sports.

Cubs add Derek Dietrich

According to his own Instagram the Cubs have signed IF/OF Derek Dietrich who was released by the Cincinatti Reds yesterday at his own request.

Dietrich had a really odd 2019. He hit just .187/.328/462 over 306 plate appearances for the Reds. He struck out 74 times compared to just 28 walks, his on-base percentage was heavily boosted by the 25 times he was hit by a pitch, though that has been a trend for him throughout his career. Despite the poor average he did manage to put up a wRC+ of 102 showing the power and plate discipline/pitch magnet made him roughly a league average hitter.

He did post an obscenely bad .176 BABIP which he is almost guaranteed to see some sort of positive regression. His line drive rate was the lowest of his career, and not only that his .533 batting average on line drives was well below the league average of .687. It's a similar story with ground balls, his .115 average was well below the league average of .236.

His value comes in his ability to drive the ball. He 17 home runs in his first 153 plate appearances good for an ISO of .431 that would've been good for 6th all time if he had accrued a seasons worth of plate appearances.

Finding consistent playing time will be hard for Dietrich. He will probably end up spending most of his time in the field at second where he posted a +3 DRS through 355.1 innings last season.

This is a really shrewd move by the Cubs. If Dietrich can continue to show his power along with a positive regression in his batting average he could prove to be a very valuable hitter for a Cubs team that is looking for more firepower off the bench.

Willson Contreras is primed for a monster 2020

Last night Willson Contreras continued his huge summer camp hitting two home runs, including a monster 444-foot blast, against the Minnesota Twins in an exhibition game. He had already hit four home runs during the Cubs intrasquad games so he could be on the verge of a huge breakout in 2020.

Contreras is coming off a very good 2019 where he hit .272/.355/.533 with a career high 24 home runs in 409 plate appearances and was named an All-Star for the second time in his career. He started 92 games behind the dish catching 811.2 innings pitched, and while he has gotten a lot of criticism for his framing, he has seemed to make changes to his approach that will be extremely beneficial to the Cubs if those changes prove to be effective. His arm continues to be extremely impressive as his 1.93 pop time ranked second in all of baseball and he threw out 29 percent of base runners

The 28-year old got off to an impressive start hitting an excellent .286/.381/.556 along with 18 home runs and would've been a strong MVP candidate if it weren't for Cody Bellinger or Christian Yelich. However, he  injured his hamstring against the Brewers in early August and struggled to a .238/.280/.475 second half that saw the Cubs fade down the stretch and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014. 

He will be a huge beneficiary of the 60-game season. Catching is a physically grueling position and having to only worry about 60-games instead of the usual 162 could help him stay healthy throughout a full season. Being able to rotate Victor Caratini and Josh Phegley behind the dish along with having the designated hitter position at the Cubs disposal will allow them to keep his legs fresh.

This isn't the first time he has hurt his hamstring, he missed about a month in 2017 with a similar injury. Like 2019, he struggled in his return posting just one extra base hit in 50 plate appearances although he did collect 11 hits while drawing 12 walks. 

A healthy Contreras has proven to be an elite hitter along with playing a premier position, and if the changes to his framing pays dividend he very well could be a dark horse MVP candidate for the National League.

Cubs set their 30-man roster

Today the Chicago Cubs announced their 30-man roster for Opening Day and made some corresponding roster moves.

The Cubs are rolling with three catchers as Josh Phegley made the roster along with Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini. He will likely play sparingly, but he made a strong impression during the Cubs Summer Camp.

The team will be rolling with 16 pitchers as Rex Brothers and Casey Sadler have both made the roster. The bullpen is arguable the most questionable part of the team, so they likely want as many options as possible early on so they can mix things up.

Jose Quintana will start the season on the 10-day injured list while he still recovers from his thumb injury, it isn't known how much time he will miss, but he shouldn't be gone for too long. 

Daniel Descalso was limping after a foul ball and was placed on the 45-day injured list with an ankle sprain. He was a huge disappointment last season after signing a three-year deal after the 2018 season, and it's possible he's played his last games with the Cubs as they have a team option that is very unlikely to be picked up after this year.

Since Brothers and Phegley both had to be added to the 40-man roster the Cubs had to make some moves to open some roster spots up. The Descalso move was one, and the other one was designating 27-year old IF Robel Garcia for assignment. Garcia was a nice story coming all the way back from the Italian leagues to the big leagues, but he struck out way too much to be a viable big league option.

There is also an extra opening on the South Bend roster as OF Mark Zagunis has opted out of the season, so it's possible the Cubs will make an addition to fill that roster spot.

The Bryant implication in the Betts deal

As you may have heard the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed star outfielder Mookie Betts to a massive 12-year $365 million dollar extension. Betts, who was rumored to be dead set on testing free agency, has instead secured the bag now with the uncertainty surrounding the world.

Since 2015 here is the top 4 in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to Fangraphs:

1. Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels) 44.2 WAR - signed a 12-year $430 million extension prior to the 2019 season
2. Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers) 35.4 WAR - signed a massive extension today
3. Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs) 27.8 WAR - a free agent after 2021
4. Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers) 27.7 WAR - signed a 9-year $215 million dollar extension in Spring Training

The obvious problem with this is these players have been getting big money contracts while the Cubs have been penny-pinching in recent years and could be primed to led the third most valuable player in baseball over the past five seasons walk in free agency.

Bryant, of course, is not at the same quality as the two players above him. He's not quite the all-time great inner circle talent that Mike Trout is, and he's not the all-around superstar that Mookie Betts is while playing a premier position. But he is still an huge piece of the Cubs and an extension should be a top priority for the Cubs.

The 2021 offseason will be a fascinating one for the Cubs. Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Javier Baez are all due to become free agents so that will be a day of reckoning for the Cubs. They most likely won't be able to extend everyone, but they will need to be willing to open up their check books.

Focusing on Bryant, 2019 was a nice return to form after an injury plagued 2018 season. He hit .282/.382/.521 with 31 home runs, he showed excellent plate discipline walking in 11.7 percent of his plate appearances while striking out in 22.9 percent.

His defensive metrics did take a hit as well, he had a career worst -6 defensive runs saved along with posting a -1.4 UZR which is the second worst of his career. Defensive metrics can flux significantly year to year so it's hard to make an evaluation based on one season.

Bryant has also had his fair share of injury issues, a recurring shoulder issue plagued his 2018 season and his 2019 season was ended early by an ankle sprain. These injuries likely won't severely impact his play now, but it's something to keep in mind as he moves into his mid-30's.

A good comparison for a potential Bryant extension is the free agent deal Anthony Rendon signed with the Angels. The 30-year old received a 7-year $245 million dollar deal that includes a full no-trade clause and keeps him locked up until his age 37 season. Bryant has not been as good as Rendon over the past three seasons, but he has shown in the past that he can just as valuable as Rendon.

Bryant will be a free agent going into his age 30 season and would likely be posed to become just the third player to receive a $300+ million deal as a free agent if he can continue to improve on his excellent 2019 performance.

Cubs sign catcher Jose Lobaton

The Cubs added more catching depth yesterday inking veteran catcher Jose Lobaton to a minor league deal and adding him to the 60-man roster.

Lobaton has never been much of a hitter with a lifetime .215/.293/.319 line in 1278 plate appearances between the Padres, Rays, Nationals, and Mets. He is perhaps most known for hitting a walk off home run against the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the ALDS for the Tampa Bay Rays.

His biggest value comes from his defense, at one point he was one of the best framing catchers in baseball. In 2015 he had a strike rate of 52.5 percent along with saving three runs from his framing. Although those numbers fell to 46.1 percent and zero respectively in 2018 it's also worth nothing that it was a much smaller sample size and he was catching a Mets pitching staff that ranked 10th in the NL in ERA.

It's fair to question what role Lobaton will play in the Cubs organization. They already have Willson Contreras locked in as the starting catcher along with Victor Caratini as the back up. Josh Phegley was already making a strong impression as well and the Cubs have PJ Higgins who has been in the organization for a while. He's most likely just another veteran depth piece that could give guys like Contreras and top prospect Miguel Amaya some pointers on framing.

Cubs release Brandon Morrow

According to Baseball Americas minor league transaction tracker the Cubs have released RHP Brandon Morrow ending a frustrating and injury riddled tenure.

The Cubs signed Morrow to a two year $21 million dollar deal after his dominant 2017 season with the Dodgers. He got off to an excellent start for the Cubs posting a 1.47 ERA in 35 appearances along with converting 22 of 24 save opportunities, but he got injured taking off his pants (yes really) and never threw another pitch for the Cubs.

The hard-throwing righty was just never able to return to form, suffering numerous setbacks and a variety of other injuries in the rehab process. The Cubs had signed him to a minor league deal this off season, but suffered a calf strain during Spring Training. He was considered a long shot to make the team, but he has always had excellent stuff when healthy, but the health has never been there.

Cubs scheduled unveiled

Major League Baseball announced the team schedules for the abbreviated 60 game schedule and with that we get a look at the way things will work out for the Cubs.

They open their season with a three-game stand at home against the Brewers and finish their season with a potentially dramatic three game set at Guaranteed Rate against the White Sox that could have huge playoff implications for both teams.

This has the potential to be a very fun season, each game has a lot more meaning and teams will be going all out to win every game. Every series can have huge playoff implications and the Cubs. The Cubs and their fellow division rivals play seven combined games against the Royals and Tigers who ranked as two of the worst teams in baseball last year, and that could give them a big boost.

From a travel standpoint the schedule is extremely favorable to the Cubs, they travel the second least amount of miles traveled in the league, only the Brewers travel less miles than the Cubs.

The Cubs will also play three preseason exhibition games with two coming against the White Sox and another against the Twins. It will be a good opportunity to get a look at how everything is going to work.

Jose Quintana lacerates hand doing dishes, has surgery

Add this one to the list of strange baseball injuries: the Cubs announced that lefty starting pitcher Jose Quintana suffered a lacerated thumb while doing dishes at his home in Miami.

A microscopic surgery revealed a lacerated digital sensory nerve in his left thumb that was repaired via surgery. Quintana will resume his throwing program in two weeks in which more will be known about his expected absence.

Quintana, 31, is coming off the worst season of his career posting a career-worst 4.68 ERA in 171 innings pitched for the Cubs. However, his FIP of 3.80 is only slightly about his career average and his career-worst .326 BABIP and 65.9 left on base percentage suggest that he was definitely a victim of some bad luck.

This shortened season is a pivotal one for Quintana. He is a free agent after this season, and although his Cubs tenure has overall been a disappointment he would have a chance to build up some value with a strong showing this season.

Quintana is likely to miss some time in the regular season, although the exact time frame is unknown. It will be interesting to see if the injury will effect his ability to grip his pitches since a nerve was lacerated. The Cubs would likely use Alec Mills to fill his spot since Tyler Chatwood already seemingly had the edge for the 5th starter spot.