Minor League Preview – Rookie and Short Season A Good Morning to everyone at the CCO! Today is the first installment previewing the 2016 minor league season. A brief overall look at the system will precede the team summaries. Please note that the previews are based on current roster assignments and anticipated Spring Training success. All assignments, both as to position and level, are subject to change pending the completion of Spring Training. Overview The pipeline to the majors was a … [Read more...]
Cubs Select Three Players in Minor League Phase of Rule 5 Draft
Baseball’s Winter Meetings concluded Thursday with the Rule 5 Draft. The Cubs did not lose any players in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, and did not select any players. The Cubs’ 40-man roster currently stands at 38 players with one contract pending (Trevor Cahill) and a player due from the Yankees in the Starlin Castro trade. The Cubs did select three players in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft. And the Cubs lost four players in the Triple-A phase. There were not any … [Read more...]
The Daily CCO: Cubs News and Notes on the Last Sunday of Two Thousand Fourteen
It’s hard to believe another year is almost over, only three full days left in Two Thousand Fourteen. And it was a good year for the Chicago Cubs with a better off-season to this point than the big league team turned in on the field in the first half of the year. The Cubs were in the news for the wrong reasons Saturday after a report hit the wire that Starlin Castro had been arrested in the Dominican Republic. Castro was not arrested or detained for questioning in a shooting incident in which … [Read more...]
The Daily CCO: Cubs Are Contenders Now? And Other News and Rumors
It’s been quite the off-season already for the team that finished with a 73-89 record but went 28-27 over the last two months of the season with Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro missing significant time. The front office brought in Joe Maddon to call the shots, made changes to the coaching staff that would seem to benefit the development of the young players on the roster and made three additions to the roster last week in Jon Lester, Jason Hammel and Miguel Montero. Despite what the Vegas … [Read more...]
Cubs Trade Rule 5 Selection to Angels, Lose LHP Andrew McKirahan to the Marlins
It was a rather active Rule 5 Draft to close out Baseball’s Winter Meetings on Thursday morning. The Cubs lost a lefty reliever in Andrew McKirahan to the Marlins and two players in the Triple-A phase of the draft while selecting one. The Cubs selected INF Taylor Featherston from the Rockies in the Major League phase of the draft and traded him to the Angels for cash in a pre-arranged deal. The 25-year old infielder hit .260/.322/.439 at Double-A Tulsa last year. Featherston will have a … [Read more...]