From the Wire … Colvin Optioned to Triple-A Iowa

May 17, 2011 By 40 Comments

According to multiple reports, the Cubs optioned Tyler Colvin to Triple-A Iowa following Monday’s loss to the Reds. The Cubs have not announced the corresponding roster move.

Rumors have suggested that either Luis Montanez or Tony Campana will take Colvin’s spot on the Cubs’ active roster. The Cubs have only one other outfielder on the 40-man roster, Fernando Perez, the addition of either Montanez or Campana would take the final open spot on the 40-man roster, which currently stands at 39.

Updated – 11:23am CDT – According to multiple reports, the Cubs have added OF Tony Campana to the 40-man roster and called up from Triple-A Iowa Tyler Colvin’s demotion to the minors has been expected. Colvin has received only 11 at bats since May 1 and hasn’t hit safely since April 28, the last start he made.

Jim Hendry spoke with Colvin Monday and shared parts of his conversation with the media.

From the Chicago Tribune:

“He definitely needs to go play,” general manager Jim Hendry said. “He had a really good year for us, and since the first days of spring training he never played up to that level. We’re in the production business. It wasn’t that he wasn’t given enough at-bats. He didn’t earn enough at-bats. The other guys here outplayed him. He needs to go down and play for a few weeks and once he does we can go back to the plan we had for him. He completely understood and was looking forward to getting some at-bats.”

From Comcast SportsNet:

Colvin has been blocked by Alfonso Soriano, Marlon Byrd and Kosuke Fukudome. But bench players Reed Johnson, Jeff Baker and Blake DeWitt have also made claims for more playing time in the outfield. “He’s not swinging the bat well and even his approach at the plate is not what made him good last year,” manager Mike Quade said before Monday’s 7-4 loss to the Reds. “You want to give people opportunities, but you got to have contributions. (You’re) responsible for your performance. And to play him ahead of these other guys that are playing pretty darn good right now is a tough thing.”

Tyler Colvin was promoted from Double-A Tennessee in 2009 and has not played at the Triple-A level.


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  • Anonymous47701

    To Jim Hendry: ARE YOU FOR REAL?!!!!!!!

  • Ripsnorter1

     Probably his confidence is shot now and he’ll never be back to stay. So sorry about that. Last year I could see he had a lot of trouble with the breaking stuff. I want him to do well but the Cubs can ruin any prospect. 

    I really expect them to bring up the LH bat. Campana has no power, some speed, and he really fits in the Cubs’ scheme of things because he has never hit a HR in his entire career. Why wouldn’t you–thinking like Jim Clueless–bring up the guy who is “the speed guy” with 8 SB and 1 CS in AAA Iowa? “We need speed at the top of the lineup,” says Jim Clueless, even though he won’t start ahead of Sorry-oh-no, Byrd or Funko. “This is the answer to our speed problems.”  

    LOL

  • Kingdomusa

    Are you kidding me on this joke of a GM & Manager we currently have. To make a comment on Colvin’s performance is a travesty & not send down Hill on his performance of 5 hits this season and a .100 batting average + 2 errors in a 6 inning game. There are some sick people that lack baseball mentality when things like this happen. It makes you wonder how Ricketts can keep letting this this go on. The Cubs are going nowhere  until there is change.This group is more about taking care of veterans instead of a youth movement.

  • wrigleyhawkeye

    I understand this and was wondering what took so long.  He needs at bats and he’s not getting them at the Majors level.  He apparently is not a good DH.  And to compare him to Hill is just stupid– 2 very different positions.  Colvin isn’t a catcher.  Colvin has Soriano, Byrd, Fukudome to contend with– all of whom are outplaying him to this point (toss in Johnson and Baker as well).  I hope he gets to the minors, starts hitting again and is ready to be called back up when Fukudome starts his annual slump. 

    • Aaron

      the comparison to Hill is absolutely justified, especially considering Hendry’s comments “in the business of production”. If that were the case, then Koyie Hill NEVER would’ve made the roster, even as a back-up, as Max Ramirez, Castillo, and even Clevenger outperformed him….and it wasn’t even close.

      Hendry then referenced Colvin’s performance in Spring Training as another factor in the demotion (even though his performance wasn’t all that bad…it was better than just about every veteran on the team).

      So, yeah, double standards abound, and that’s why the Hill comparison is often mentioned.

      You’re right, OF is an entirely different position, but keep this in mind….With 2 hr, 8 RBI, he outproduced Fukudome at 0 hr, 3 RBI and Marlon Byrd at 1 hr, 8 RBI, in about half the AB’s of both of them. 

      High averages and OBP’s are great, but unless you’re driving in or scoring your fair share of runs, they really do no good, and especially if you consider these facts:
      9 of Byrd’s 50 hits have gone for extra bases
      4 of Fukudome’s 31 hits have gone for extra bases
      5 of Colvin’s 7 hits have gone for extra bases

      The point is, Colvin’s production is greater than theirs because over 70% of his hits have gone for extra bases.

      Also, please keep in mind that Colvin appeared in 28 games with just 13 starts, whereas almost all of Byrd and Fukudome’s AB’s came as starters. Colvin has been used as a pinch hitter in 15 games. Colvin was 1-for-16 in pinch hit appearances, which certainly didn’t help matters. 

      If look back at their development of Patterson, Pie, Murton, Fox, McGehee, etc., they tried that same strategy, where they pinch hit with them a lot when they brought them up. If they didn’t succeed in a pinch hitting/back-up role, they sent them down to Iowa. It’s undeniable…just look back at the records.

      So, yes, Colvin was a failure, but giving a guy just 13 starts to turn his season around is absolutely foolish. I’d like to see them try the same thing with Fukudome or Byrd, and completely stop starting them, and having them pinch hit off the bench a few times per week, and see how their stats take a nosedive. 

      The move by Hendry is more indicative of a guy trying to save his own ass than doing what’s best for the team long-term. 

      I hope the Ricketts are proud of this move, because their supposed plan of “developing from within” is NOT going to happen with Hendry at the helm.

      Production DOES matter, and I’ll be the first person to tell you that, but I can almost guarantee you that if you found veterans each offseason to fill holes, you’d probably find that they tend to be slightly more consistent than rookies, and in most cases, you at least know the level of production to expect.

      Therefore, if your job is on the line, and you know the learning curve with rookies might be a little crazy, and they’ll take their lumps, then you most likely will go with veterans to fill holes.

      Think about that one for a second……………

      Done?

      Now, you see why keeping Hendry on board is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo foolish with the future of this team in mind.

      Hendry will ride the lack of production out with veterans, pretty much until the end of their 3-4 year deals, but if you’re a rookie, you’re gone in a flash, and he’ll bring the next rookie in (if it’s during the season), and do EXACTLY the same thing with that guy, until he reaches the offseason, in which he’ll bemoan the fact there aren’t any young guys that seized that spot, and use it as justification to get yet another veteran, and we start the whole process all over again.

      That’s yet another reason why you have to commit one way or the other. If you commit to youth, as the Ricketts say, then you have to blow up the roster. If you commit to veterans, then you trade your prospects while they still have value before you completely ruin their confidence, as Hendry seems to love to do.

      Consider comments made by the likes of Theriot, Fox, McGehee, Pie, and Murton after they’ve left the Cubs. They’ve all bascially said the same things, that the team lacks an organizational plan, and they’re happy to be with teams that actually have a plan for them.

      • wrigleyhawkeye

        The fact stands that Colvin is hitting well below .200 and that won’t cut it.  I understand he isn’t getting the same at bats, but he hasn’t made a very good push for it either with the at bats he has gotten.  The best thing for him is to go to the minors and gets more at bats.
        You can’t possibly feel he should be starting over Soriano, Byrd or Fukudome at this moment.  And with the way Reed Johnson is playing, he has to be no better than the 5th Ofer.  I am a huge Colvin fan and I wish him nothing but the best, but I think some minor league at bats will the best thing for him right now. 
        Of Adam Dunn’s 25 hits he has 13 XBH…. But he is still hitting .200Tyler colvin is 7 for 62– he has 5 XBH, but has made 55 outs– 17 of which were K’s.  Byrd has a .316 avg and Fukudome is batting a .326– he also hase 24 more hits then Colvin on just 32 more AB’s.  If Colvin were to go on a 24 for 32 streak then we could talk. Johnson is 15 for 44– 2x as many hits on 2/3rds the AB’s.
        With regards to Hill, he is terrible at hitting, but in all honesty, he is a very good defensive catcher.  Look around the league, most catchers aren’t hitters and if they are, they are terrible at calling games (see the Chicago Southside).  The catchers #1 job is calling the game and defense– hitting is icing on the cake.  Now I admit that the Cubs cake has no iciing, but who can come in and take over the catchers spot?  I don’t know. 

        Not to mention that Hill has outperformed Colvin… sad, but true.
        Colvin – 7/62, 3 doubles and 2 HR’s
        Hill – 5/30, 1 double, 1 triple and 1 HR.

        You can’t make a claim for Colvin and not Hill.

        • roguesqr09

          “good defensive catcher” – uh….really? I would have agreed last year, but have you watched him play this year? That line no longer describes him either. He has 3 errors. Only Castro (7) and Sori (3) have the same number or more.good defensive catcher” – uh….really? I would have agreed last year, but have you watched him play this year? That line no longer describes him either. He has 3 errors. Only Castro (7) and Sori (3) have the same number or more.

          • wrigleyhawkeye

            He had 2 in the 6inning game v SF.  In 243 games he has had 12 errors, Soto has had 17 errors in 390 games– it’s about a wash  When I said defensive, I was getting at calling the game.  He does call a pretty good game.

            Also, comparing him to Colvin is completely unrelated– who is going to replace Hill?  There are numerous players on the current roster who can replace Colvin– you have to go down to the minors to find Hill’s replacement.

      • paulcatanese

        Aaron as I just stated,the comparison of Colvin and Hill may be justified in your’e take, but in mine, no, because I can’t compare Hill to anyone at all, he is so inept,so poor at what he does that I feel I would insult anyone including the batboy to compare them to Hill. He is one of the most undesirable players around , would rather have Miles back. I would feel more secure with a high school catcher back there. The article you wrote is perfect and really agree with all of it,just had to put my slant on Hill. 

      • Ripsnorter1

        And don’t forget Aaron, most of those 13 starts were in a reverse platoon role: bench Funko because he stinks vs. LHP, but play Colvin hoping he will fail vs. LHP.  

    • wrigleyhawkeye

      *double post*

    • paulcatanese

      It’s true,Colvin needs at bats.And you are right that Colvin should not be compared to Hill, they are different positions, but if you include the hitting of Hill and his defense right now he is actually not comparable to anyone,Hill is in a class all his own. Its not only the errors Hill has made this year but poor judgement on pitch selection, not catching up to high pitches,that end up being called wild. He could not play for another team in the majors. Soriono, another story, while he has hit 11 home runs, think about how many he has let in with his defense, atrocious. I see Byrd as a little better, even with more hits as they produce almost nothing with RBI’s. What I object to is not that Colvin has been sent down, but the callous insenitive way it was done, no class at all. That also would put Quade in the same class with his choice of adjectives in his meetings that eventualy make their way to the media.

  • Aaron

     Neil, here’s an update for you from the Tribune:

    Colvin’s spot on the roster will be filled by Iowa outfielder Tony Campana, who was hitting .342 with eight stolen bases.

    • http://chicagocubsonline.com/ Neil

      Thanks Aaron. Just waiting for the official word before I post

    • http://chicagocubsonline.com/ Neil

      Thanks again Aaron, it’s official. Campana has been called up

  • Keith Moreland

    I think some of you guys are overreacting a bit.  What’s the problem with what Hendry said?  He is struggling, that is why he was sent down.  I’m not a Hendry defender, but what good does it do to fry Hendry for every single move?  We can’t even send down a .111 hitter without everyone say “see, it’s Hendry’s fault?”

    It is time for Hendry to go, but to say he is “stupid”, “knows nothing” is really missing the point.  It’s fair to say Hendry’s trades have been more positive than not.  It’s fair to say his FA moves up until 2006 were generally good, and after that not so good, Ted Lilly excepted.  It’s fair to say the farm system has improved under his tenure, but not to where it needs to be.  Hendry probably needs to move on, and probably will, but to say he is an idiot or whatever is pretty dumb.  He signed Ted Lilly while he was having a heart attack, which is about all you need to know about his effort.

    I’m sure now we’ll get a bunch of posts on how the Cubs screwed up Colvin, because if they handled him perfectly, like the way all the other 29 teams that don’t have retarded idiot stupid GMs would, than Colvin would be the second coming of JD Drew. 

    The fact is this:  There is little evidence that Colvin is a good major-league player.  He didn’t look like it in the minors, and save for a couple months, hasn’t looked like that in the majors.  He never consistently hit the breaking ball at any level, and once ML pitchers started reading their scouting reports, they stopped obliging him with easy fastballs.  End of story. 

    • studio179

      For me, it is not about Colvin. However, I don’t feel he got enough time. Did they find out what they have or have not in Colvin with consistent playing time? His ABs were all over the place this year and last, as was his spot in the line up. That is not really consistent time. If they did see enough and feel he was not going to be a solid player, then Hendry should not have kept him on the MLB roster this long. That would be on Hendry. If they feel Colvin can be a solid player, then Quade should have inserted him much more than he did. That would be on Quade. I feel Colvin has to make adjustments to progress, but management did not handle him correctly. We can agree or disagree about Colvin. But again, it is not about Colvin for me. It is the overall plan. 

      To me, it is how Hendry can be so hypocritical by saying the statement ’we’re in the production business’. I am not name calling, just calling out. I would like an overall game plan with prospects and vets. Here is an example. How can Grabow be pitching for this team if they base who plays on production? Ofcourse, it’s money. Ofcourse, every team faces the same. That is pro sports. They would even agree with me. But Hendry need not feed false statements like ’we’re in the production business’ when they do selective action on performance.   

    • BosephHeyden

       There were long stretches of schedule last year where Colvin just wouldn’t play.  They’d never play him against lefties despite his ability to hit them.  The only time he’d get extended playing time was when he got a pinch hit the game before.  It IS basically Ronny Cedeno and Felix Pie all over again:  they called him up so he could go from starting everyday to sitting on the bench and not play every day, or even every week.

      Heck, the only reason Geovany Soto and Starlin Castro both got any playing time at their positions as rookies was the sheer fact that neither guy had anyone behind them at their position (Cedeno had Neifi, Colvin and Pie both had multitudes of veterans behind them).

      Hendry is an idiot.  The Cubs very possibly may have screwed up Colvin.  These are all very well documented.  That they’re already coming up with excuses for when he goes down, hits .400, and is either kept in the minors or brought up to ride the pine again is very indicative of that.

  • Gary J

    Last year the vet (Fuku) was playing poorly and the youngster got the better half of a playing time platoon… this year he played himself out of at bats.  It’s not vet over youth.  If he was hitting even .250 I’d bet he would be getting PT given Fuku’s expiring contract and Fonzie’s glove.

    But…. he’s not.  He’s hitting less than half that.  And it should go without saying for someone hitting .113 but he’s looked lost at the plate when he has played.I don’t see why people are blaming the GM for this – it’s the right move.  He isn’t getting at bats because he hasn’t earned at bats… and just saying “the season is over play the youth” doesn’t even allow for him not getting demoted as he’s behind both Montanez and Jackson if that’s the case (and probably a couple others the way he’s looked)He’s young – he’s not hitting – he needs to get his stroke back – he goes down.Story as old as baseball itself.While there are reasons to bash JH that I understand even if I disagree at times… this isn’t one of them.  This is the right move.  The only thing I could see JH criticized on this one is that it wasn’t done sooner – but not the fact that he’s sending him down.

    • Brentcarmona

      the right move would be trading byrd and fuku and have bjax and colvin out there. but what a dream that is eh?

  • cubtex

    It is about time! The kid has been brutal. Eye ball test or stats…it does not matter, he has been overmatched big time! If he cannot learn to go the other way,stay back on a curve and shorten his swing with 2 strikes…we might have seen the last of Tyler Colvin in a Cubs uniform. This blame of management is totally unwarranted. No mlb team would have put Colvin out there everyday. Not the Rays,Braves whoever. He didn’t perform…plain and simple. He is not the first player who had a little success and then the league caught up to them….and he definately won’t be the last.

    • studio179

      Please explain why Colvin was on this roster this long? That is on management, plain and simple.

  • cubtex

    It is about time! The kid has been brutal. Eye ball test or stats…it does not matter, he has been overmatched big time! If he cannot learn to go the other way,stay back on a curve and shorten his swing with 2 strikes…we might have seen the last of Tyler Colvin in a Cubs uniform. This blame of management is totally unwarranted. No mlb team would have put Colvin out there everyday. Not the Rays,Braves whoever. He didn’t perform…plain and simple. He is not the first player who had a little success and then the league caught up to them….and he definately won’t be the last.

    • Anonymous47701

      cubtex, you are missing the point, Colvin got screwed out of playing time, thanks in part to a veteran outfield that cannot produce runs when it counts. Now if Hendry wants to talk about Tyler Colvin not earning enough at-bats, that’s his problem, but when he talks about this team being in the ”production business”, I think he needs to evalute his players better, because the only reason Fukudome and Soriano are playing is the fact they are getting paid ridiculous money, neither one of these guys could ever outplay Colvin.

  • http://profiles.google.com/matthirschi2 Matt Hirschi

    This is a question for another day but why does the NL Central have 6 teams and the AL West only have 4? It just makes sense to me that the Astros be moved. 

    • wrigleyhawkeye

       It probably has to do with the Brewers and Selig.

  • http://profiles.google.com/matthirschi2 Matt Hirschi

    This is a question for another day but why does the NL Central have 6 teams and the AL West only have 4? Doesn’t it make sense to move the Astros and even out all the divisions in baseball?

  • Cheryl

    Yes Colvin was not hitting well. But if they saw weakness in his game, he should have been sent down in Spring training. Quade said he was going to emphasize fundamentals. But the team is not playing fundamentally sound baseball. Why was Colvin kept around given Hendry’s comments? It sounds as if there is no organizational plan to develop and keep players.
         It’s sad when you have players like Fund and the third base player for Milwaukee do well after leaving the Cubs. What does that say about the Cubs organization in general? That they can’t keep and develop talent? Hendry deserves some credit for the minor leaguers that are coming up. But Quade and Hendry need to do something so the team isn’ as bad as they are playing. That could be making some immediate trades – Hendry’s respsonsibility; benching players that don’t perform – Quade’s responsibility; or sending a clear message to veterans, fans and whoever that performance does matter. 

  • Cloycub13

    Wow, regurgitation of Hendry’s words have caused me to regurgitate!
    Aaron has layed this out there for ya, he has the numbers to prove it, yet you all just keep saying exactly what Hendry is saying.

    Look at the stats that Aaron posted, look at them!!!

    Colvin did not receive a fair shake! If anyone here thinks he did you are sorely mistaken. Barely any starts, Barely any defensive replacement time and what pinch hit at bats he did get were primarily against lefties. And he was still producing runs when he did hit the ball. The numbers bare it out.

    But…OK, I will say this, in AAA he will get at bats regularly, and I bet he tears it up! But for Campana, is he going to play? Hell no, you know he isn’t! He is going to ride the pine, he is going to get a few pinch hit appearances, and be used as a pinch runner… he will go 0-10 with the limited pinch hit appearances and then be deemed a failure.

    Folks, this team is in absolute dissaray, the manager is snapping, the starters are snapping, primarily due to the crappy defense behind them, the offense is listless, the fans are abandoning ship and not even showing up, there is no running game, no fundamentals, no clutch hitting, limited defense, and Tyler Colvin is not the reason for any of this, but he is the one to blame per Hendry.

    Your sick of this S&%* Mike, so are we!!!!!!!!

    • Cloycub13

      And let me state one more thing… it is May 17th… anyone recall what Fukudome and Soriano have done past this date in their Cub Careers?
      Anyone, Bueller…They stink up the joint!

      Colvin was sacrificed, you all got what you are clamoring for… have fun watching the twirlybird and the defensively inept Soriano the rest of the year…you are all right… Justice has been served. In this “Production business”  Hendry era, bring me some more Koyie Hill, John Grabow, James Russell and the like, I have finally bought in! Hallelujah!

      • Anonymous47701

         I don’t read all the comments, but I might have mistakenly picked off what you said when I was replying to cubtex, my apoligies if that happened.

    • BosephHeyden

       You know what else?  Aaron’s not getting paid for this.  I think he puts in more work getting these stats than any of us, but still he’s only going to put in as much work as he feels he needs to since he isn’t getting paid for it.  And since he’s not getting paid, you have to believe that he has access to the same stats any Joe-Everyman has access to.  All that being said, how is it no one on the Cubs team knows any of this before Hendry starts talking in points that are clearly unproven by stats??  Either Aaron needs to start getting paid for this (which he very well could, with the Cubs staff clearly not knowing what he does) or massive house cleaning at Wrigley is necessary.

      • BosephHeyden

         Also, for the record, my dad said it best when I told him about Campana being called up:  late inning defensive replacement/pinch runner.  That’s his role.

  • paulcatanese

    My thoughts an prayers go out to the family of Harmon Killerbew who passed away today. Have watched him play many times. 

  • Anonymous47701

    They should have put Colvin at First Base, knowing that the outfield was taken up by Soriano, Byrd and Fukudome. I know he hasn’t played that position in quite a while, but I think Colvin should have been given the chance to get more at-bats. But because of the Cubs Management, a clogged outfield, and the signing of Carlos Pena, he will never that chance again this year, if ever.

    • Cloycub13

      Again I have to agree. Plus he makes a whole hell of a lot less than Pena. I believe if I am correct that Tyler had one start at 1st…ONE! And to me he actually looked pretty good defensively, picking balls out of the dirt etc.

      But again you have another lefty lefty platoon, kid was screwed from the start, no matter how hard he worked no matter how hard he tried.  

      But what do I know.  

  • Jay from Samdwich

    Lets set the record striaght on the Colvin issue once and for all.
    1) the last time a manager proved to me that he knows how to handle a rookie to get the most out of him was Jim Frey with Ryno who struggled for 1/2 of his first year.
    2) It is a know fact that Q is a rookie basher (just look at what he did last year with the kids in september by benching some and not playing others). He has yet to bench a veteran for bad play.
    3) In Colvin’s behave he got hit by a bat last year (which is still in his head a little bit)
    lerning first base,  along with his wedding and adjusting to marrage life. He is going through alot in the last six month’s.
    4) The majority of use known tHAT SOME PLAYERS LIKE “Aram” Do not play well when it is could out. Aram should have played 1/3 of the time so far and shared third base with either Baker or Dewitt watch ever is swinging the hot bat. Aram will produce just like always once it is warm out side (80′s and 90′s) is when he is on a tar and will carry this team. hence if most of the fans know this nQ should have too.

  • paulcatanese

    Interesting comment by Byrd at team meeting , “Enough is enough. You can only watch that for so long> We have to start doing better and I start with myself”. Therin lies the problem, what has he been watching? Seems to me he should be playing instead of watching. What will he improve on?,hitting weak grounders to short instead of third? And followed by another “colorful explixative” by Quade at the meeting. What will that  achomplish? Vets let it go by, and the kids don’t need it.

  • paulcatanese

    As I had stated earlier,if Quade is serious with that team meeting he had with the players I again offer this suggestion: If one of the vets and I stress vets pulls a bonehead play as so often happens, pull that player out of the game at that point,do not wait, do it then. A little Seinbrenner treatment would get the lesson out there and I gurantee will not be forgotten by said player. This would do many times as much as the stupid meetings that clearly shows he is losing control of this team. When one has to resort to the screaming bad language it reverses the intent of what he is trying to say. Half these guys dont speak the language anyway, so they dont know what was said in the first place.

  • Anonymous47701

    If you had to pick somebody to be the New Cubs Vice President/GM, who would it be?

    My bet’s on either Josh Byrnes or AJ Preller.