7:18 pm: Almonte has chosen to undergo shoulder surgery, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Cubs reliever is expected miss the rest of the 2024 season.
12:28 pm:Yency Almonte hasn’t pitched since May 7 due to a right shoulder strain, and continued discomfort in his shoulder has led to a possible crossroads in how the Cubs right-hander plans to deal with the injury. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that Almonte recently received a less-than-positive second opinion on his ailing shoulder, and is “thinking about what to do here” in possibly pursuing surgery. For now, Almonte has been shut down from throwing while he recovers and decides on his next step.
The exact nature of the surgery isn’t yet known, but it would almost certainly seem that Almonte would miss the rest of the 2024 season, and could potentially be facing an absence of up to a year, based on timelines of more serious shoulder-related procedures undergone by other pitchers in the past. Whatever the case, it’s a tough outcome for Almonte, who was posting some solid numbers before going on the IL.
Acquired from the Dodgers alongside Michael Busch last January, Almonte had a 3.45 ERA over 15 2/3 innings and 17 appearances for the Cubs. His 11.9% walk rate was on the high side and Almonte was benefiting from a .222 BABIP, but a 29.9% strikeout rate and just one homer allowed in those 15 2/3 frames. After relying heavily on a sweeper in 2022-23, Almonte was using his sinker and sweeper in more or less equal measure this season, which also helped set up his 94mph fastball.
Analytics aside, Almonte’s 2024 success could’ve also perhaps been inevitable because it is an even year. The right-hander has yo-yo’d between good and bad years throughout his seven MLB seasons, with the trend of quality numbers in the even years and struggles in the odd years. Case in point, Almonte’s Dodgers tenure included an 1.02 ERA in 35 1/3 innings in 2022, followed up by a 5.06 ERA over 48 innings with Los Angeles in 2023 before a knee sprain ended his season in mid-August.
Unfortunately, the injury bug now seems to have thrown a wrench into Almonte’s usual career pattern. He was already moved off the Cubs’ 40-man roster when he was shifted to the 60-day IL last week. The Cubs have another year of arbitration control over Almonte for the 2025 season, and while a non-tender is certainly possible depending on his health status, Chicago might still issue him a contract since Almonte would receive only a minimal raise on his $1.9MM salary for 2024.
Almonte is one of five relievers on the Cubs’ injured list, and relief pitching was already an issue for Chicago even before such a big chunk of the bullpen was sidelined. On the positive side, Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy recently told MLB.com and other media that Julian Merryweather is nearing a minor league rehab assignment, and Mark Leiter Jr. threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Wednesday and might be able to return next week without going on a rehab stint.
“He has already been moved off the Dodgers’ 40-man roster when he was shifted to the 60-day IL last week.”
what??
Looks like this writer of the article had to many firecrackers over July 4th.
Anyway-Keeping this plain and simple. It’s been a disastrous season for the Chicago Cubs.
They must have edit for the articles also. They already fixed it. As for Almonte he was always a throw in anyway with upside. Now that he’s looking at surgery and a long rehab-Not so much. Hopefully next year these things happen:
Bellinger opts out and saves them 30 million
Hendricks either leaves or gets what he’s really worth-Not much
They figure out a way to move either Happ or Suzuki
They lose Madrigal, Mastro, Wisdom, Bote and get CC a bench
They find a Closer either FA or trade
Or maybe somebody takes a giant leap to be a Closer-Unlikely
Have a plan B for a Closer
PCA starts hitting better- At least enough to warrant his glove
Move or let Morel DH- Rather move him-CC would rather cycle DH
Kick Hoyer upstairs- Is Hawkins ready?- Is he the real GM now? Figure out that whole dynamic. It needs to be addressed. Does it make sense to have a GM that does nothing? Questions abound.
Corner outfield isn’t close to being a problem for the Cubs.
The Cubs issues offensively is that Swanson, Morel, either Catcher and PCA are not providing anything of substance on offense. We can also add Nico into the mix as he has been playing awful.
Happ, Suzuki and Busch are doing their best to carry the offense, Bellinger has been useful as well.
I’m looking at PCA and wondering if he needs to just go to a fourth outfielder role for the remainder of the season. His defense is a huge asset but you cannot have a third of your line up hitting below .200 and 2 more with an OPS under .700. Frankly, I think PCA should go to AAA and rework his swing so he’s more direct to the ball.
Btw, Luke Little has quietly been outstanding lately.
No but saving another 20 plus million is when you have perfectly fine options coming that are ready. not to mention what Happ might bring back at least a decent reliever.
Ask yourself what might actually be possible just once if the Cubs had 50 million dollars under the Tax just ONCE at the deadline since they don’t want to go over? Hoyer treats treats money under the Tax like it’s contaminated and can’t spend it fast enough. Maybe he should take a lesson from his contemporaries Poles and Davidson what you can actually accomplish going into a season with a ton of cash. The things that might be possible.. Hmmmmmmm…….And all the Cubs young arms will be fine when they learn to throw strikes.
Tom Ricketts has said before that the Cubs are willing to go over the luxury tax.
Also, if the Cubs were 50 million under the luxury tax, certain people who be waa waa waaing all over the board about Tom Ricketts being “cheap”.
“A decent reliever” why do you refuse to admit Happ is good? Happ should get traded because most Cub fans don’t deserve to watch him play. He’s been one of the best outfielders in the league for a little over a month now and yet fans think he’s easily replaceable, same with Suzuki.
As for Ricketts going over the Tax I’m from Missouri. Show me. As for Happ yeah he’s fine but they still aren’t winning are they so he’s not really a difference maker now is he? He’s not the bat that going to carry a team for a week. He’s a good player. Hoyer should be striving for a little better than that ya think? That happens when Available Money + opportunity = Difference Making Player.
“He’s not the bat that is going to carry a team for a week”
Last week: .444 .565 1.056 1.621 3 home runs, 10 rbis.
AND THEY’RE STILL LOSING! Oh they beat the Angels. Big freakin deal. They haven’t won a series since early May. It’s only 2 months ago. Stop defending these people.
And from the looks of it they can’t beat the Angels either.
The Cubs losing isn’t Happs fault. It doesn’t matter if Judge was playing left or Soto (considering Happ has out produced both over the past 30 days) the Cubs would have still lost those games. The Cubs losing is not Happs fault, it’s not Suzukis fault, Bellingers or Busch’s. It’s not Steeles fault, it’s not Taillons either. It’s not Hoyers fault that Wicks, Brown, Alzolay, Merryweather, Lieter and anyone else is on the IL.
It’s Swanson and Nico, it’s the “kids” you whole heartedly believe are going to be magically better than two viable all-star corner outfielders, Amaya, Mervis, PCA, Morel, who can’t or couldn’t hit their weight. The kids haven’t produced, but that’s fine, you’ll just throw some new, unproven and not ready names out there and say they are better options.
So you’re saying the kids can be worse than the collection of swamp rats that currently reside on the Cubs bench? I think the odds of that are about a million to one.
So you’re saying we should promote kids to have them sit on the bench? Brilliant. Nothing like stunting development.
Facts are facts. Not everybody they have is going to start. What they need is MLB At Bats and experience and let the chips fall where they will. They’re either better than the people in front of them or they’re not. And the facts are a lot of them should be in Iowa figuring that out not Tenn. It’s not their fault. It’s Hoyers for not eliminating the crap in their way. Sorry if that escapes you.
Facts are indeed facts, too bad you’re stating opinions and attempting to state you know more than people who actually get paid to make these decisions.
The other fact is that you are watching minor league players playing against minor league players and coming to a conclusion that this player is better than that player. If minor league stats mattered, Jake fox and Bryan lahair would have had Hall of Fame careers but the fact is, they didn’t. They were not major league caliber players and scouts knew it. They saw what you don’t see. They have data you don’t have. So just because a “good” prospect is hitting minor league pitching it doesn’t mean he is better than what we currently have or is “ready” for major league pitching.
Turn out the lights
The surgery’s over
they say that all good things must end
Let’s cut it all down to the bone
And wait a year and hope it mends.
Sums up Cubs’ bullpen. Bad to the bone.
Mojo
They meant “Cubs” obviously
Here’s the sentence that deserves a “what?”.
“Analytics aside, Almonte’s 2024 success could’ve also perhaps been inevitable because it is an even year.”
Jed Hoyer deserves pretty much all the blame for the Cubs failures this season. He knows the playoffs are a crapshoot with almost half the league making it in anyway, so he built a slightly above average team on paper. Now he’s surprised the team is terrible after some injuries and underperformances.
It’s almost like if you’re a big market team, you should play to be a really good team, and even if things don’t go well, you’ll still be in a decent spot.
But nah, let’s keep building bullpens from other teams castoffs and signing short term deals to build this team.
Luckily internal help is on the way. Hodge and Little already here. Bigge, Arias and Scalzo Jr at Iowa. But you’re absolutely right about Hoyer. He built this team around pitching and defense. Then re-signed Hendricks at 16 million instead of getting a Closer. If they had a decent Closer all year they would have probably 10 more wins. Betting all or nothing on Alzolay was really stupid. He got away with it for a couple of years when they started the rebuild. But it’s no way to roster a team.
The underperformance of some of the guys in the lineup is not really Hoyer’s fault. Nor are the injuries. But his bullpen “philosophy” has been a disaster for several years now. That alone has cost them this season so far. The incredible amount of blown saves should be enough to make even clueless Ricketts want to make a change.
How is the underperformance of the guys in the lineup NOT Hoyers fault? He basically brought back all the guys from last years underachievers AND gave a few of them RAISES only to get more of the same. Who’s fault is it then exactly? Last year he had Bellinger on a 1 year 17 million dollar deal and now he has a 3 year 90 million dollar deal where HE has all the power! Hendricks? Ridiculous signing. Ah what’s the use.
Now that Bellinger has all the power a good GM would say look we’re probably not going to be able to swing a deadline deal with that contract. So if you opt in we’re going to move you in the off season and you won’t have a choice of where you go. Although a smart GM would have made it a mutual option in the first place. A smart GM would have declined Hendricks option and signed him for less. How much do you think anybody was really going to pay Hendricks as a FA? I would of loved to have found out. I bet not much. A smart GM would have signed a Closer. Neris is a nice piece but not a Closer. I don’t blame him for the C mess as nobody could have predicted what a disaster that would become.The odds of both guys sucking that bad would have been pretty high I think. I’m sick of everybody DEFENDING this guy who like I said has built a nice farm system and the blocked the crap out of it. But as far as him being a winning GM? I can safely say he’s not it. And Ricketts saying he’ll go over the Tax is so far just talk. Much like the bill of goods Reinsdorf sold Bulls fans about them paying the Tax. He keeps saying under the right circumstances…Apparently those circumstances are when He** freezes over. Ricketts isn’t cheap, His money is just wasted.
Hoyer is a joke and maybe worse than Epstein
Resigning Belli was a must
But adding crap for BP pieces and over paying for a manager is NEVER the smart move.
Happ and Hendricks making 36mill tween then 2 of them is a joke
Hopefully we can move Belli, Happ, Taillon , Morel and others
Time to see what these kids can do
Overpaying for a manager, really has nothing to do with anything. It doesn’t count against the cap.
And Happ is probably getting the going rate for his profile as a player – it’s the NTC that’s a problem.
And Hendricks – well that’s sort of a personal preference that Ricketts likely approved as a thank you gesture. As well as a gamble – that I’m ok with trying.
Over paying for a Manager and giving him a crap bullpen and bench isn’t very smart though.
The Cubs bullpen heading into the season had question marks. The reality is most all MLB bullpens have questions. They are volatile and unpredictable. No one knows where the next Mason Miller will pop up. He’s a relief pitcher who literally fell from the sky. In 2023 Alzolay had 22 saves and an ERA of 2.68. Not bad. Hoyer was hoping he would continue to develop into the closer role. There was the misfire signing Neris. But again, he had some success in the past. I am no backer of Hoyer. That’s for sure. But it’s not his fault Almote, Merryweather, Leiter got injured. Add injuries to Ben Brown for example, who could have filled a role and all this adds to a train wreck of a bullpen. A poor, injured bullpen with an under performimg offense and you have a bad season.
Agree, and don’t forget Alozay. Blew like 6 saves that should’ve been wins and then injured. That’s basically an entire bullpen from 6th inning to close a game. Most teams can’t supplement that type of loss, which then took Neris from a strong middle or 7th inning piece to closer. Belli has underperformed, Happ until the past week as well (pretty typical for Happ throughout his career tho). Suzuki injured again early in season after starting hot, and Dansby has been bad. You can predict a lot going into a season, but even with a top farm system you don’t have 1:1 replacements at the ready for that type of loss.
Happ was great to start the season, up until he injured his hamstring. He continued to play injured because both Bellinger and Suzuki were on the IL. Happ also was fantastic all of June, not just this past week.
In Happs last 36 games, he has 13 home runs, 38 RBIs, scored 24 runs, and has 10 doubles.
Worse than Epstein? You mean the guy who got us our only title in 108 years? Just double-checking.
Same folks who were screaming to sell last season two weeks before deadline then ready to put Rossy’s head on a stake by the end of it.
The Sandberg statue is ugly.
It looks more like The Incredible Hulk…
They should’ve made it with his batting stance.
I don’t disagree, but in the interview that aired after the statue was unveiled, Sandberg indicated that he had input into the design of the statue, and preferred being represented on defense.
I didn’t know that part.
Tom Ricketts is like Richard Pryor in the Toy. Tom is the kid. The cubs are Richard Pryor and his father Joe bought the Cubs. Tom doesn’t give 2 squirts of p¡ss about the team. He’s like Vince McMahon “its all about the money” he could care less how the team does. Fans are gonna show up no matter what.
jammer, pretty accurate, not totally, but fairly close.
Tom cares a little – but I likthe McMahon part.
Nothing quite as pathetic as a Trevor fan. If you ever watched a game you would know that starting pitching isn’t really a problem either now or in the future. Fool.