Results tagged ‘ Luis Valbuena ’
12/10 Winter ball update
Luis Valbuena went 2-for-4 with five RBIs, hitting his fifth home run and a double for Cardenales de Lara in Venezuelan winter league. Valbuena was batting .312 in 40 games. Meanwhile, Dave Sappelt has five straight multi-hit games, and was batting .324 in 18 games total for Bravos de Margarita in Venezuela.
– Carrie Muskat
12/3 Looking for Mike Schmidt
It’s good to be a free agent third baseman right now. The Yankees joined the crowded market Monday with the news that Alex Rodriguez needed hip surgery. The Cubs also are in line, and Theo Epstein says they may “have to be creative” to fill the spot.
“[We might have to] rely on players who haven’t held down that position over 150 games in a the big leagues or rely on a platoon or rely on someone who is more of a middle of the field player who can provide plus defense over at third,” Epstein said Monday at the Winter Meetings in Nashville. “There are not a lot of obvious fits of every day third basemen in trade or free agents available right now. When that happens, you don’t throw in the white towel but try to be creative to piece it together.”
The Cubs are still talking to Ian Stewart, who was non-tendered on Friday. Now a free agent, Stewart is considering his options. Stewart batted .201 in 55 games last season, and missed most of the year because of left wrist surgery. Luis Valbuena filled in, and is another option for the Cubs for 2013, possessing all the right attributes, Epstein said. Valbuena batted .219, but was faring better in the Venezuelan Winter League, batting .325. The Cubs also could consider a platoon at third base, which is something Epstein favors. Having two players who can start at third helps the team’s bench, plus gives the manager more versatility. The Cubs also are considering other infielders who might not have been full-time third basemen because the free agent market is a little thin there.
“It’d be good to be Mike Schmidt right about now,” Epstein said.
They could use the Hall of Famer. Cubs third basemen combined to bat .201 last season, worst in the National League.
– Carrie Muskat
12/3 Winter league roundup
Michael Bowden gave up one run on five hits and two walks over seven innings, striking out five, as Aguilas beat Licey in the Dominican Republic on Sunday. Bowden is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA in six starts so far with 17 strikeouts over 27 2/3 innings.
Junior Lake went 1-for-4 on Sunday to raise his batting average to .333 overall for Estrellas de Oriente. On Saturday, Lake was 1-for-3, hitting his fourth home run and driving in three runs.
Alberto Cabrera gave up one run on two hits over 1 1/3 innings in relief for Toros del Este, his fourth appearance in the Dominican.
Tony Campana was 1-for-3, drew two walks, scored a run and stole two bases Sunday for Leones del Caracas in Venezuelan Winter League play. He’s batting .148 in 10 games with five steals.
Luis Valbuena was 2-for-4 with one RBI on Sunday and was batting .325 in 34 games with Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela. He’s played second and third.
Dave Sappelt was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and missed hitting for the cycle by a triple on Saturday, playing for Bravos de Margarita in Venezuela.
– Carrie Muskat
11/30 Cubs face tough decisions
The Cubs have to make decisions today regarding their arbitration eligible players, and GM Jed Hoyer said they will likely non-tender some of them. However, he added that the Cubs hope to be able to keep all of the players and sign them to Minor League contracts. The list includes:
3B Ian Stewart ($2.237 million in 2012)
RHP Matt Garza ($9.5 million in 2012)
RHP Jeff Samardzija ($2.64 million in 2012)
LHP James Russell ($512,500 in 2012)
IF Luis Valbuena ($495,200 in 2012)
Both Stewart and Garza are coming off seasons cut short by injuries.
“We’re still having conversations with a number of players’ agents,” Hoyer said Friday. “It’s very likely we’ll have a couple non-tenders. I think we’ll see ourselves below 40 [on the roster] when we get into tomorrow. It’s also difficult to speculate which players those might be.”
The Cubs are currently at 40 on the roster. The deadline to make a decision regarding whether to tender the arbitration eligible players is 11 p.m. CT.
If a player is non-tendered, he becomes a free agent.
“I think it’s fair to say whenever the list comes out of the guys we do non-tender, that all of the guys we’ll end up non-tendering are guys we hope to get back,” Hoyer said. “We do have some hard decisions to make but we don’t want to lose any of the guys we may cut loose. If we do have to take them off the roster, I hope we can work out deals to keep them.”
– Carrie Muskat
11/28 Winter League update
Junior Lake was 1-for-3 and scored a run for Estrellas de Oriente in Dominican Winter League play on Tuesday. Lake, who has primarily played shortstop and third base, made his third start in left field. He was batting .333 overall. Maybe he could be the extra outfielder the Cubs are looking for?
Luis Valbuena went 1-for-3 with one RBI, and scored two runs, for Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela. He was batting .330 in 29 games.
– Carrie Muskat
11/24 Winter ball update
Tony Campana went 1-for-3 on Friday for Leones del Caracas in Venezuela Winter League play. Campana is 2-for-15 (.133) in four games so far. Luis Valbuena went 3-for-3 on Thursday, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs, and was 1-for-4 on Friday for Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela. He’s batting .337 in 26 games, and playing primarily second base.
Christian Villanueva, recently added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster, was batting .195 (8-for-41) in 18 games with Yaquis de Obregon in Mexico. he has two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs.
– Carrie Muskat
11/22 Winter League update
Tony Campana was 1-for-4 with a double and stole a base for Leones del Caracas in Venezuelan Winter League play on Wednesday. Luis Valbuena was batting .318 for Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela, going 1-for-5 on Wednesday. He has two home runs and eight doubles over 24 games.
Junior Lake had a long day Tuesday, playing all 16 innings for Estrellas de Oriente in a 4-3 win over Gigantes in the Dominican Winter League. He went 1-for-7 with one RBI, but was still batting .345, among the tops in the league.
– Carrie Muskat
10/17 Winter ball
Winter League baseball is underway, and several Cubs prospects, including infielder Junior Lake, are participating. Here’s an early list of the players and the team they are on:
Mexican Pacific League
Alfredo Amezaga (Obregon)
Esmailin Caridad (Obregon)
Greg Rohan (Mazatlan)
Christian Villanueva (Obregon)
Dominican Winter League
Arismendy Alcantara (Licey)
Jeffry Antigua (Toros de Este)
Jairo Ascencio (Este)
Diory Hernandez (Este)
Junior Lake (Oriente)
Venezuelan Winter League
Juan Apodaca (Zulia)
Eduardo Figueroa (Caribes de Anzoategui)
Yoanner Negrin (Caracas)
Loiger Padron (Caracas)
Luis Valbuena (Lara)
Ty Wright (Aragua)
Note: Tony Campana and Miguel Socolovich also were to play for Caracas in Venezuela
10/1 Award winners
Sure, there are the big awards, like Cy Young and MVP. Dale Sveum was asked which players were the biggest surprises of the season. He picked Shawn Camp and Luis Valbuena. Camp was released by the Mariners in March, and signed a Minor League contract. The right-hander has appeared in a career-high 78 games for the Cubs. Valbuena was claimed off waivers on April 4, spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, and will finish with more starts at third base than Ian Stewart, who had been projected as the Cubs’ every day third baseman.
“Some of these key pickups right at the end of Spring Training have kept us afloat,” Sveum said of Valbuena and Camp. “Those kind of guys have helped us out tremendously or this would have been an even tougher season.”
But Sveum’s biggest surprise was veteran Alfonso Soriano, who has set a career-high in RBIs.
“Soriano has been the biggest every single day, all season long surprise, defensively and offensively,” Sveum said. “The person he is, the work ethic and everything has been awesome for a new manager to come in and see what he brings to the table.”
* Who is most improved? Sveum picked catcher Welington Castillo. He has taken over most of the catching duties since Geovany Soto was dealt to the Rangers at the Trade Deadline. In Spring Training, Castillo was like “a deer in the headlights,” Sveum said.
“What he’s done in the last six months has been the most impressive of anybody and he’s the most improved guy I’ve seen this season,” Sveum said.
Castillo, 25, has worked with pitching coach Chris Bosio and coach Mike Borzello on each day’s game plan, and is counted on to handle the pitch calling. Sveum said the transformation is a combination of more playing time, Soto’s departure, and the realization that Castillo has a chance to be an everyday big league catcher.
“It’s not that ‘yes’ man anymore,” Sveum said of the young catcher. “He’ll actually have input on situations. There are definitely guys who are starting to step up and going into Spring Training, it’ll be a very different atmosphere than going into it this past spring.”
Castillo took it as a challenge.
“I want to be a leader one day, and why not start now?” Castillo said. “They’re giving me an opportunity to be an everyday catcher and I think I have to take advantage of that and start doing that now. I feel really good and appreciate the confidence they have in me.”
– Carrie Muskat
9/30 Baserunning 101
First it was Luis Valbuena getting thrown out at third trying to advance on what would’ve been a sacrifice fly, but instead ended up as a double play. Joe Mather made the same mistake. Dale Sveum said he hadn’t seen that in 30 years in baseball, yet saw it twice this year. On Sunday, there were a couple more gaffes. The Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, and one out later, pinch-hitter Dave Sappelt hit a run-scoring infield single. Anthony Recker was hit by a pitch to force in another run, and Bryan LaHair then lined a two-run single to right. But the inning ended as LaHair was picked off at first.
In the third, Anthony Rizzo doubled, and was picked off when he was walking off the base. He thought Alfonso Soriano had struck out, but instead it was only the second strike of the at-bat.
“It’s like a vitamin. One a day,” Sveum said of the strange base running mistakes. “It’s stuff you don’t teach it and don’t see it. It’s strange stuff, it’s unbelievable.”
What happened?
“Rizzo thought there were two strikes and two outs and thought Soriano struck out, and started walking off,” Sveum said. “LaHair got caught — [first base coach Dave] McKay was telling him to go and draw the throw and we could score the run on the backside. It’s one of those plays, you’ve got the outfielder where you want him. You can go, and if he throws to first, you walk into second. If he throws to second, you score the back-end run.”
The Cubs did work on that in Spring Training.
“It’s something that comes up rarely during the season,” Sveum said of LaHair’s play. “Two strikes, two outs, you’re not teaching that. We’ve got some pretty big scoreboards out here to let you know [the count]. You have no explanation for those.”
Rizzo took the blame.
“I just thought there were two strikes, two outs and I did the right thing if there were two strikes, two outs but there wasn’t,” he said. “It is embarrassing because I know Dale has to answer those questions. … I’m happy we came up with a win.”
– Carrie Muskat
mlblogsmuskat1
Recent Comments