Cubs left fielder Ian Happ won’t be appearing in games for the time being after he suffered a mild hamstring strain during a game earlier this week, club manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times). Counsell added that the club remains “optimistic” that Happ will be ready for Opening Day, though he added that the 29-year-old will need to get additional reps in before Spring Training comes to a close in order to be ready for the start of the season.
The ninth-overall pick in the 2015 draft, Happ is entering the first year of the three-year, $61MM extension he inked with the Cubs early last season. The switch-hitter has settled in to become one of the club’s most reliable regulars in recent seasons, slashing a solid .259/.351/.435 (119 wRC+) across the past two seasons while earning his first career All Star appearance during the 2022 season and back-to-back Gold Glove awards in left field. In 2023, Happ posted a career-best 22.1% strikeout rate while walking at an impressive 14.3% clip. That strong plate discipline has left Happ as a key piece of the club’s core entering the 2023 season alongside the likes of Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson, and Nico Hoerner.
Losing Happ for any amount of time entering the regular season would surely be a blow to the Cubs, though Chicago has plenty of other options for its outfield mix available should their longest-tenured hitter start the season on the shelf. With top outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong expected to begin the season at the Triple-A level, the likes of Mike Tauchman and Alexander Canario figure to be the most likely options for a reserve outfield spot with the big league club to open the season currently on the 40-man roster. Veteran left fielder David Peralta is also in camp with the club after signing on a minor league deal last month, with slugging prospect Owen Caissie also among the club’s non-roster invitees.
More from around the NL Central…
- Pirates outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Joshua Palacios have yet to appear this spring after being slowed by injuries entering camp, though manager Derek Shelton recently told reporters (including those at MLB.com) that each figures to see the field at some point in the next week. McCutchen, 37, has been working on defensive drills and taking swings this spring while rehabbing the partially torn achilles that ended his 2023 campaign in early September. The veteran figures to enter the 2024 season penciled in as the club’s regular DH, though he did make occasional appearances in right field last season. Palacios, meanwhile, figures to battle with the likes of Edward Olivares and Connor Joe for playing time in the outfield alongside regulars Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski. The 28-year-old slashed .239/.279/.413 in 91 games with Pittsburgh last year but has been slowed this spring by a lower leg injury.
- Cardinals southpaw Matthew Liberatore spoke to reporters (including Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) recently about his goals for the coming season, and while he indicated that he still hopes to have a future with the club as a starting pitcher at some point, right now his priority is contributing in the majors regardless of his role. Liberatore struggled to a 5.88 ERA in 11 starts for the Cardinals last year but was dominant out of the bullpen, posting a 2.84 ERA in 12 2/3 innings of work with a 24.5% strikeout rate. The club’s starting five appears set with Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Kyle Gibson, and Lance Lynn all poised to take spots in the rotation, though Liberatore has stretched out as a starter alongside the likes of Zack Thompson with Worthy noting that manager Oli Marmol hasn’t ruled out the possibility of opening the season with a six-man rotation.
Has there ever been such an old starting staff as to what the Cardinals are pulling off?? Is this history being made?
Seriously I don’t think so! Hell I might come out of retirement and try out. I think I could make that rotation!!!
You’re going hard on your two accounts tonight. First comment and responding to it.
Struggled to a 5.88 era and cards are mouthing that Gibson 4.73 and Lynn 5.73 era are the fix. Pretty rich..
I’m not mad they think that lol
Not to worry, Molina…wait…
You have to draw the line somewhere and evidently theirs is somewhere between 5.73 and 5.88.
To average 5.88 that means pitchers were above that level. Both 4.73 and 5.73 are under 5.88! It makes perfect sense.
I hope the cards do not sweep the Dodgers in the first round! That would be historic a bunch of old men that should be drinking beer playing wiffle ball in someone’s back yard knocking off the best team on paper in the last two maybe three decades. I’m sure it’s in the back of every Dodgers fan’s head lmao!!
“I hope the Cards do not sweep”..You’ve got to reach the playoffs first before you can “sweep” anyone. I think the Braves & Phillies will be the Dodgers biggest competition, not the Cards in my honest opinion.
The Cardinals won’t even make the play offs. Their paying Sonny grey like he’s an ace. This guy is gonna be a bust. He’s very similar to Jordan Montgomery and neither come close to being ace pitchers.
Dodgers fan here. Monty and Gray are 17th and 18th in pitcher WAR over the last 3 years. That actually is close to ace-level production. And while Gray likely won’t be the pitcher he was last year, he’s been a really good his entire career. Both guys deserve 20+ mil a year for what they’ve done and will do.
@Dodgers2021 2,
Playoffs!
Are you kidding me?
Playoffs?
Steven matz was a bust. I think Sonny grey is gonna be another dominion. The Cardinals have historically been bad with pitching since Dave Duncan left!!!
It doesn’t matter how I spell his name, he’s not an ace, maybe over in KC or Oakland. The only people that argue with my comment are Cardinals fans. I feel really bad for St.louis cause their ownership doesn’t care about anything but the franchise value and pinching pennies!!!
Well I’m a Cub fan and the Cardinals aren’t ” Pinching Pennies” I don’t think they spent their money wisely on the pitching side but time will tell. Their starters are old and getting older and Arenado, Crawford and Goldshmidt aren’t getting any younger either. But to say they pinch pennies is lame at best.
Liberatore is on the wrong side of 30.
Show us your nips
Liberatore was the rays rapping the Cardinals. What a heist!!!!
He’s 24
That’s the joke.
Good one.
26 days till opening day. Buckle up black and blue central gonna be a fun summer and october baseball.
Liberatore is a better fit in the pen his fastball is too flat. Gets crushed
No way Lynn lasts the season Liberatore will get another crack at giving up 5 runs by the 3rd inning.
Geez, a sub-.800 OPS and .259 BA with barely 20 HR power in LF gets you $20M/yr from the Cubs? Explains a lot.
Guess you don’t value gold glove defense. Better player than Chapman. Has some speed too. Switch hitter. Chapman got 54. Happ worth the extra 7. 99 walks last year. Gets on base. A lot said about Crow Armstrong and Canario however both have done zero so far in the league. Happ is solid, a very good player.
Happ can be counted on to be an above-average hitter, BA means next to nothing, and his Gold Glove defense is valuable.
Do you prefer outs over hits?
Chapman has value, it’s all in the glove hence the 54 million he got. Happ has been consistent, and has the defense to back it up. The offense is solid enough to justify the extra 6 million he got over Chapman.
Giants fans got Chapman at what he should be valued for, and at most three years if he doesn’t opt out. Farhan just had to play the waiting game on Boras.
Unfortunately we are living in a Fulton Reed era of baseball. Don’t blame the Cubs for seeing value in skills other than closing your eyes and hoping for the best.
Happ is a very solid player, good power, good defense, one of the top walk rates in the game. Had Happ entered free agency last year he would have been on of the top hitters on the market and surely would have topped his 61 million dollar extension, maybe not in terms of AAV but definitely in overall value.
There’s nothing wrong with Happ. Solid defense, Gets on base, Good LH hitter. The NTC is the horrible part.. He’s blocking Caissie and Canario’s power and Alcantara’s speed in the system. I’d like to see Counsell let Canario bat against LH pitchers and give Happ a seat. I don’t know what happens but Caissie is having a great spring and when Canario makes contact the sound it makes is just special, And I mean rare special. Obviously these guys are not going to hang around for 3 years while Happ’s contract plays out so what’s gonna happen? No idea.
How many championships Chapman won? Too many non competitive AB’s. Boras wins again!
And Ted Williams was over-rated too?
Yeah, Ernie Banks was no good because he never won a World Series, neither was Barry Bonds. Scott Spiezio with his two champion rings clearly was superior.
NL Central is going to be a lot of fun this year.
Both Central divisions should be fun this year but I don’t see a World Series champion coming from either Central division for the next 5+ years at least.
The division seems like it’s going to hinge on injury luck and under-performers. People have been crowning the Cards and Cubs as paper champs all offseason, but these are the two teams with glaring depth issues that could torpedo a season. If Father Time pays a few visits to the Cards’ rotation, I feel like they’re in a heap of trouble, for instance.
The Cubs might find themselves hurting for offense if Happ is out for any length of time while Bellinger rediscovers the player that got him non-tendered in LA. Similarly, I wonder if the Brewers really have the horses to get them through a season in their rotation, and their lineup isn’t all that scary, particularly if Yelich continues his decline and Hoskins isn’t able to get himself righted.
Which leaves the Reds and the Pirates — both of which have the most question marks as to young players growing and suspect pitching (the Pirates in the rotation, the Reds in their bullpen). One or both of these teams will probably overcome some of their flaws to some degree and be more competitive than people think.
The guard is changing either way, the Reds and Pirates are on their way up, the Cubs could go either way, and the long-term outlook is trending down for the other two clubs.
How exactly are the Cubs lacking in depth? they go at least 4 deep at every position and have tons of MLB ready pitching and the best manager in the division. You better look again. Now with Bellinger back they’re really not missing anything. And if you say 3rd base , Between Morel, Busch, Shaw and Madrigal it’s covered. In fact there’ going to be some really tough cuts and 40 man decisions to make.
I would echo this and ask how exactly are the Cardinals “trending down”. They have a young core of Walker, Gorman, Donovan, Winn, and Nootbaar to build around with Victor Scott II and Ivan Herrera waiting in the wings. That’s a core teams dream about that the Cardinals will be able to lean on for 5+ years.
The Pirates are not a team that will take over the guard. It doesn’t really matter how much young talent they get because they won’t spend the money to make the moves to supplement with needed vets. Reds are the only real threat in 2024.
I know it’s the Pirates and they don’t really have better options for an everyday CF but Suwinski shouldn’t just be given the job by default. Signing Michael A. Taylor and pushing Suwinski to the larger share of a platoon in RF would help this team a lot. They should probably sign Lorenzen too to raise the floor of the rotation in a similar manner. Both guys on 1 year deals this late in the offseason is probably about 20-22 million on the high end of an estimate and nobody is gonna be worried about losing Palacios, Olivares, Jackson Wolf or Bailey Falters on waivers.
I’ve been on the Taylor bandwagon all off-season, but think at this point he’s either not particularly bothered about playing baseball, looking for a crazy deal or maybe injured.
I think Taylor’s power numbers were a total anomaly for him, I just don’t see his defense upgrading this team enough to be worth the spend, though I agree that Suwinski isn’t particularly thrilling in CF.
Lorenzen — you know what you are getting with him, which is more like the guy down the stretch than the first 5 months of last season. Priester & company are at least capable of putting up the same numbers as Lorenzen has historically done. Lorenzen isn’t going to be appreciably worse than he has been, whereas the other guys could be. However, Lorenzen can’t touch Roansy/Priester/Ortiz at their best. And you only gotta live with a dumpster fire at the bottom of the rotation for a couple of months before the reinforcements arrive.
If you’re going to sign Lorenzen, it should be with the knowledge that he is leaving at the trade deadline regardless of the team’s record (unless they are just mowing down everyone and he’s a huge part of it), and it shouldn’t be for more than $6-7 million per season, which he’s not desperate enough for at this point in the offseason.
Palacios, Olivares, and Wolf all have options remaining, so they won’t have to pass through waivers. Falter is out of options, though, but I think he’ll be in the bullpen.
Olivares is definitely going to be on the team, the only question is if he’ll be the short side of a platoon in RF, the full time RF, or something in between.
I don’t think the Pirates need Taylor. He’s kind of redundant with Bae since Bae doesn’t have platoon splits. I’d rather go with the younger player. I’d also rather go with Billy McKinney if they decide they want Bae to play everyday in Indy.
I’d be on board with Lorenzen on a short-term deal. If the young guys are ready to come up mid-season, Lorenzen has a decent track record as a reliever, so he could just slide to the pen. I think he’d be a nice add, but I just don’t think he’s totally necessary. Like others mentioned Ortiz, Contreras, and Priester all have a higher upside. Even if they don’t reach their upside I feel like they could put up similar numbers to Lorenzen, so I’d be good with or without adding him.
I didn’t watch a lot of Cub’s baseball last year but when I did, Ian didn’t look like a gold glover. Then again, left field in Wrigley not the easiest position. I’ve come to think they overspent on his extension but OTOH, he was in the all-star game, he’s a good clubhouse presence (if that matters), and I was calling for re-up’ing him at the time. This’ll be an interesting year for him.
What earned Happ the Gold Glove was the game where he gunned down two runners trying to score, one I believe was in the 9th and another in the 10th, securing the tie and the win for the Cubs.
Aside from that game, Happ was solid but not spectacular but none of the other left fielders were spectacular either.
Yep, I guess relativity has a lot to do with a gold glove and teams don’t usually park their best defenders out in LF. The games I saw him in he had a couple of miscues, including misplaying a fly ball and a single on the bounce.
In 1999 Rafael Palmeiro won a gold glove at first base despite playing less than 30 games there and over 120 as DH. Gold gloves are won by reputation, by being a better hitter than the competition and having reasonable defensive value or by having a couple highlights everyone remembers. Happ checked two of those boxes and now that he has a gold glove the reputation box is covered for future seasons.
That was before defensive metrics. For the most part now, best defender typically wins but if it’s close it will default to reputation.
When I watch Happ play Gold Glove doesn’t leap to mind . It just proves how lame that award has become. It’s just as much about a guy’s bat as his glove. Mostly it’s a popularity contest. But then what is a GG LF? As long as you don’t drop fly balls and trip over your own 2 feet I guess you qualify. Throw out a few guys and now you’re a legend I guess.
This is the only logical explanation for Arenado’s 2022 GG at 3B.
Just heard that Ed Ott, has passed away. Member of the 1979 pirate world championship team. Played 7 years for the pirates.
Tough hard nose player. He was 72.
Deepest condolences to his family.
RIP
Red Hot Ed Ott.
Show some respect for the dearly departed
I’m sorry to hear about Ed Ott.He was a good hard nosed player and a good guy,and a key member of that WS team.
“Meanwhile” has to START the sentence. It can’t come in the middle, set off by commas.