CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs have invited 21 non-roster players to major league spring training, which begins Sunday, February 13 when pitchers and catchers are invited to report in Mesa, Ariz. Their first workout will take place on Monday, February 14. Position players report to camp Friday, February 18 with the team’s first full workout Saturday, February 19.

Today, the Cubs announced they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Braden Looper and infielder Augie Ojeda on minor league contracts with invites to major league spring training.

Seven pitchers – righthanders Chris Carpenter, Angel Guzman, Jay Jackson, Braden Looper, Trey McNutt and Todd Wellemeyer and lefthander Scott Rice – have been invited to major league camp, as well as catchers Steve Clevenger and Chris Robinson.

Seven infielders – Matt Camp, Bryan LaHair, Scott Moore, Augie Ojeda, Bobby Scales, Marquez Smith and Josh Vitters – have also been invited, along with five outfielders – Jim Adduci, Brett Jackson, Reed Johnson, Luis Montanez and Brad Snyder.

Jim Adduci, 25, returns to major league spring training for his second year in a row. Last season, the left-handed batter and thrower hit .248 (91-for-367) with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs, 33 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 114 games at Triple-A Iowa. Adduci enters his fifth season in the Cubs organization after being acquired by the Cubs following the 2006 minor league season to complete the Todd Wellemeyer trade.

Matt Camp, 26, batted .264 (115-for-436) with 16 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 40 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 130 games for Triple-A Iowa in 2010. It was his second season at Triple-A, as he batted .282 (98-for-348) with 13 doubles, one triple, two homers and 44 RBI in 99 contests in 2009. The 2011 season is the left-handed hitter’s sixth season in the Cubs organization after being selected by Chicago in the 13th round of 2006 Draft.

Chris Carpenter, 25, combined to go 8-6 with a 3.41 ERA (51 ER/134.2 IP) in 26 starts between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa last season. Carpenter pitched exclusively as a reliever during the Arizona Fall League, where he was named an AFL Rising Star. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Carpenter was originally selected by the Cubs in the third round of the 2008 Draft.

Steve Clevenger, 24, batted .317 (86-for-271) in 88 games for Double-A Tennessee last season, recording 24 doubles, five home runs and 47 RBI. The left-handed batter has hit .286 or better in each of his first five pro campaigns since he was selected by the Cubs in the seventh round of the 2006 Draft.

Angel Guzman, 29, returns for his 12th year in the Cubs organization after missing the 2010 campaign following season-ending arthroscopic right shoulder surgery last spring training. He is 3-10 with a 4.82 ERA (84 ER/157.0 IP) in 88 major league appearances (14 starts) covering parts of four campaigns with the Cubs (2006-09). Guzman went 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA (20 ER/61.0 IP) in 55 relief outings with the Cubs in 2009.

Brett Jackson, 22, compiled a .297 batting average (146-for-491) with 32 doubles, 14 triples, 12 homers, 66 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 128 games between Single-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee in 2010. This season marks his second as a non-roster invitee to big league spring training. Jackson was originally selected by the Cubs in the first round (31st overall) of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of California Berkeley.

Jay Jackson, 23, went 11-8 with a 4.63 ERA (81 ER/157.1 IP) in 32 appearances (25 starts) with Triple-A Iowa last season, his third in the Cubs organization. This season marks his first invitation to Cubs major league spring training. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Jackson was originally selected by the Cubs in the ninth round of the 2008 Draft.

Reed Johnson, 34, returns to the Cubs organization after spending the 2010 campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johnson played two seasons with the Cubs from 2008-09, combining to bat .287 (143-for-498) with 31 doubles, 10 home runs, 72 RBI, 75 runs scored and a .348 on-base percentage in 174 games with Chicago. Last season, Johnson batted .262 (53-for-202) with 11 doubles, two home runs and 15 RBI in 102 games with the Dodgers. Johnson is a career .281 hitter (781-for-2,783) with 156 doubles, 18 triples, 54 home runs and 321 RBI in 886 major league games with Toronto (2003-07), the Cubs (2008-09) and the Dodgers (2010).

Bryan LaHair, 28, last season spent his first year in the Cubs system after previously spending his entire career in Seattle’s organization. LaHair batted .308 (130-for-422) with 30 doubles, 25 home runs and 81 RBI in 125 games for Triple-A Iowa last year. He made his big league debut in 2008, and the left-handed hitter is 34-for-136 (.250) with four doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI in 45 major league games.

Braden Looper, 36, is 72-65 with 103 saves and a 4.15 ERA (542 ER/1,176.0 IP) in all or part of 12 major league seasons with St. Louis (1998, 2006-08), Florida (1999-2003), the New York Mets (2004-05) and Milwaukee (2009), making 670 appearances, 97 as a starter. The 6-foot-3, 234-pounder last pitched in the big leagues in 2009, going 14-7 with a 5.22 ERA (113 ER/194.2 IP) in 34 starts. Looper saved 28 or more games in three-straight seasons from 2003-05 and won 12 or more games in 30 or more starts in three-straight seasons from 2007-09. He did not pitch in 2010 (non-injury related).

Trey McNutt, 21, combined to go 10-1 with a 2.48 ERA (32 ER/116.1 IP) in 25 starts between Single-A Peoria, Single-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee last season, his first full year of professional baseball. He spent most of the season at Peoria, where he earned Midwest League All-Star honors after going 6-0 with a 1.51 ERA (10 ER/59.2 IP) in 13 starts. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder was selected by the Cubs in the 32nd round of the 2009 Draft.

Luis Montanez, 29, returns to the Cubs organization after being originally selected by the club in the first round (third overall) of the 2000 Draft. The right-handed batter and thrower remained in the Cubs chain through the 2006 campaign before joining the Orioles organization as a minor league free agent, where he has split the last three seasons between the majors and the minors. In 2010, Montanez batted .289 (28-for-97) in 24 games with Triple-A Norfolk and hit .140 (8-for-57) in 26 games with Baltimore.

Scott Moore, 27, returns to the Cubs organization after spending three years in the system from 2005-07. The left-handed batter and right-handed thrower split the 2010 season between the Baltimore Orioles and their Triple-A Norfolk affiliate. Moore batted .209 (18-for-86) with three home runs and 10 RBI in 41 major league games and hit .280 (63-for-225) with 11 home runs and 45 RBI in 61 Triple-A games last season.

Augie Ojeda, 36, is a career .234 hitter (249-for-1,062) with 44 doubles, nine triples, seven home runs and 81 RBI in 502 major league games with the Cubs (2000-03), Minnesota Twins (2004) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2007-10). In his major league career, Ojeda has seen action at second base (169 games), third base (120 games) and shortstop (163 games). The switch-hitter batted .190 (15-for-79) in 59 games with Arizona last season.

Scott Rice, 29, combined to go 2-1 with seven saves and a 2.86 ERA (22 ER/69.1 IP) in 58 relief outings last year between Colorado’s Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Colorado Springs affiliates. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound southpaw is 28-45 with a 3.97 ERA (290 ER/657.0 IP) in 361 career minor league outings, 54 starts, covering 12 pro seasons.

Chris Robinson, 26, batted .248 (57-for-230) with 10 doubles, one triple, two homers and 26 RBI in 67 games for Triple-A Iowa last season. The 2011 campaign marks his fifth full season in the Cubs organization since being acquired from the Detroit Tigers August 20, 2006 for infielder Neifi Perez. Robinson attended the University of Illinois and played for Team Canada in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006.

Bobby Scales, 33, split the 2010 campaign between the Cubs and Triple-A Iowa, batting .308 (4-for-13) in 10 games with the Cubs and hitting .268 (100-for-373) with 33 doubles, three triples and 10 home runs in 119 games at Triple-A. Scales made his major league debut with Chicago in 2009 following 11 seasons and more than 1,000 career minor league contests. A switch-hitter and right-handed fielder, he begins his 13th pro season after he was originally selected by San Diego in the 14th round of the 1999 Draft.

Marquez Smith, 25, enters his fifth season in the Cubs organization after being selected in the eighth round of the 2007 Draft. The right-handed batter and thrower reached Triple-A last season for the first time and batted .314 (95-for-303) with 26 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, 53 RBI and 60 runs scored in 91 games with Iowa.

Brad Snyder, 28, made his major league debut last season with the Cubs after spending most of the year with Triple-A Iowa. With Iowa, Snyder batted .308 (147-for-477) with 37 doubles, six triples, 25 homers and 106 RBI in 132 games in his second season in the Cubs organization. He batted .185 (5-for-27) in 12 major league games. The left-handed hitter and fielder began his career with Cleveland after he was selected in the first round (18th overall) of the 2003 Draft out of Ball State University.

Josh Vitters, 21, begins his fifth pro season after combining to hit .247 (78-for-316) with 20 doubles, 10 homers and 39 RBI in 91 games between Single-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee in 2010 before a broken left hand prematurely ended his season in July. Vitters came back to participate in the Arizona Fall League. He was selected by Chicago in the first round (third overall) of the 2007 Draft.

Todd Wellemeyer, 32, is 32-34 with three saves and a 4.83 ERA (330 ER/614.2 IP) in 208 major league appearances (75 starts) covering all or part of eight major league seasons with the Cubs (2003-05), Florida (2006), Kansas City (2006-07), St. Louis (2007-09) and San Francisco (2010). The righthander returns to the Cubs organization after being selected by Chicago in the fourth round of the 2000 Draft. He made his big league debut with the club in 2003 and spent three seasons with the Cubs before his trade to Florida just prior to the 2006 campaign. He went 3-5 with a 5.68 ERA (37 ER/58.2 IP) in 13 appearances (11 starts) with the Giants last year.


Hoping this is the year Vitters finally figures it out and actually stays healthy. Angel Guzman staying healthy would make the bullpen look a whole lot better, but I'm guessing no one is expecting him too There is absolutely no reason for us to sign Augie Ojeda. That bastards .1101 OPS in 11 PA's against us in 2007 is still fresh.

Not too many surprises here, typical ex and old players Spring Training invites. Maybe Looper will help Ca%hner make the transition to the starting rotation easier?

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Team Cutler.

I've got a feeling Marquez Smith is going to be one of those guys that you drafted just to fill out the minor league rosters so your prospects can have a team to play with and he ends up getting better each year until he surpasses many of them.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Most of these guys won't get any playing time because Hendry brought in veterans. Shit, they're still talking about platooning Colvin. I don't get it. And the Fuke is still clogging up the roster.

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Fuk needs to be moved sooner than later. Splitting time with Colvin is bullshit.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

McFail decided to give up on Montanez and Moore after we gave up on em

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Impressive list, should blend in good with the rest of this shit roster Hendry and Ricketts have assembled.

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Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

Did anyone catch the piece of shit that Dave van Dyck wrote today?

It's going to be a long bad season of bad bad writing. Bad.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

speaking of which , arent players supposed to be reporting today or somethin?

did that happen, or has it been delayed because of the weather? whats the deal?

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This is way too early for them to report. Give them 7 to 10 more days.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

From Jim Bowden:

47. Josh Vitters, 3B, Chicago Cubs — He has off the charts bat speed and a quick compact swing. He loves the 94-98 mph FB in and can handle it. Really struggles with pitches away, especially sliders. Below average defender at 3B. Laid back approach to the game. Still only 21 year olds and should develop into a 25-30 HR 100 RBI bat in time. The key will be to not rush him, he won’t get there as quickly as Michael Moustakas and Matt Dominguez even though he was the first of the three third baseman taken in the 2007 draft.

I really hope Jim wasn't driving after providing this report. However, I sure do hope he's correct.

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I hope he's incorrect about "lazy and can't field his position," to say nothing of "can't hit a slider low and away." Steve Stone will know just what pitchers should do against him!

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Soto laid off the pot brownies

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Team Cutler.

He looks good in blue


Koyie Hill getting ready for Bear-bonais

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Team Cutler.

And just some fodder for the sox fans who will come a-trollin'


Fuck.

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Team Cutler.

Vitters has 49 Walks in 4 years.


Next

He's also got a mean set of pipes.

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Say what you will about what happened to all of those guys later on, but at the time that was one hell of a good staff...

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On paper


If you could have taken 2003 Wood Prior and Clement and combine them with 04 Maddux and Zambrano...then you'd have something.

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Yeah, that staff could have really been something for years... Injuries and steroid testing really were the downfall to that rotation. Had they came around in the mid 90s when people didnt care about roids, the Cubs drought would be over.

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Spring Training fluff pieces in full force




Speaking of Darwin Barney he really had a beneficial off-season here, adding 18 lbs to put him closer to 190 lbs after playing at about 170 at the end of last season. While watching some batting practice’s I noticed Darwin’s added strength giving him more pop with the bat (although he will likely never be confused with a power hitter). Barney is part of a dedicated group of Cubs organizational players who worked extremely hard this off-season.

One of the other players showing big results is DJ LeMahieu the second round pick for the Cubs in 2009. LeMahieu has added 19 lbs this off-season to his 6’4” frame . This is a very good thing because LeMahieu can hit, I bet he’s never hit below .314 for a season in his lifetime, although I haven’t checked his T-Ball records. Cubs Director of Scouting Tim Wilken said a while back that he thought DJ would eventually develop power to go with his natural line-drive swing. So it will be interesting to see if the added weight ups DJ’s power numbers this coming year. DJ has been a middle infielder playing college ball at LSU (2009 College World Series All-Tournament team) and was at second base last year with the Cubs A+ Affiliate in Daytona. LeMahieu is a player to keep your eye on, as his added strength could eventually make him a future candidate to shift to third base.

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Team Cutler.

They love those middle infielders from LSU.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

LSU is Tim Wilken's Abilene Christian.

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Ken Rosenthal
@Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal
Source: Marmol agrees to three-year deal with #Cubs. #MLB

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Scares me. His arm is bound to fall off soon with that throwing motion

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Team Cutler.

I'm not too worried about it, Wood can teach him the proper throwing mechanics he needs.

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3 years scares you?

Thats a perfect deal IMO


And remember he hasnt been logging innings since he was 12 like most MLB pitchers.

He'll be fine.

Quade names Dempster opening day starter.


Cool. Love it. It isn't Z's divine right. Liking Quade more and more

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Team Cutler.

fixed

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So I just got my annual offer from a friend to split his nights/weekends package. Pair of seats in 427 (UD, just between home and 1st, 6th row) they are actually really good seats - better than majority of the lower level seats. He divides them up in 8 game packages, with essentially 2 "premiere games" (Cards, Sox, Yanks, etc.), 4 decent games and 2 "crap" games. He basically does this so that each share costs the same.

8 games, 2 seats in the UD = $980 face value.

No thank you.

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