Roster Being Finalized

Less than a week before the season starts and the roster is coming into shape. The Cubs have moved Yovanni Gallardo, Noah Lowry, and Mark Prior to the DL to start the season. In response the Cubs have signed Jason Isringhausen, Brian Wilson, and Derek Lowe and and activated them to the major league roster.

“We are really looking forward to the coming season and hope to have these guys back as soon as possible, but we were also able to fill some needs with these moves and some tough decisions will need to be made in the near future on roster spots. All will have to perform well to stay on the roster as we have some new faces that will be pushing to stay with the team” GM Jason Hoover said on Monday. The two biggest needs that were filled were the additions of Isringhausen and Wilson to a bullpen which was the major weakness of the team last year. Both are solid closers that, along with Bobby Jenks, should produce much better numbers than last year.

The Cubs also made a minor league move, dropping OF Ryan Sweeney and signing 2B German Duran. Duran fills the need of having some IF help in the farm system.

Roster Is Complete / DL Move Expected

With a little over a week to go, the Cubs have finalized their roster.  Most of the roster from last year’s team is coming back, with headliners like Derek Lee, Aramas Ramirez, Eric Byrnes, Torri Hunter, Alfonso Soriano, Ben Sheets, and Carlos Zambrano.  And like last year, few players are in a contract year with only 5 players not signed through 2009 and two of those were free-agent acquisitions this last winter while another was a free-agent pick-up last summer.

Added to this roster are some prominent rookies and minor leaguers from last year, including Evan Longoria, Joey Votto, and Yovanni Gallardo. Gallardo is scheduled to start the season on the DL so the Cubs are actively looking for a pitcher who can contribute immediately.

Stay tuned for more update as the season nears.