Tag: Chicago Cubs

Former UNC Baseball commit James Triantos named Arizona Fall League MVP

No – not the American Football League, but the Arizona Fall League. A former UNC baseball commit, James Triantos, tore up the circuit.

The country’s best high school baseball players have two choices upon graduation – play for the college they committed to, or sign with a professional organization.

The players who are good enough to go pro, but feel like they need to fine-tune their skills while enjoying their youth a little longer, opt for college ball. Those who absolutely dominated in senior year, to the point of where they could do the same in college, tend to go pro.

One high school standout who opted for the latter was former UNC baseball commit James Triantos, the Chicago Cubs’ second-round, 2021 MLB Draft selection who is among their Top 10 prospects.

On Veterans’ Day (Saturday, Nov. 11), Triantos was named the MLB’s Arizona Fall League MVP after amassing a deadly .417 batting average, which included an AFL-leading five triples, second-place finishes with a .679 slugging percentage, 1.144 OPS, 35 hits, 57 total bases, plus a third-place ranking with a .495 on-base percentage.

Triantos, listed as a second baseman on the Cubs’ official Top Prospects list, is currently in AA ball with the Tennessee Smokies. He’s currently competing for time with Andy Weber at the AA level, but only has Chase Strumpf (AAA) and Nico Hoerner (MLB) to surpass on the organizational depth chart.

Given the type of player Triantos is, it definitely would’ve been fun to see him come through Carolina.

The fact that Triantos is already hitting over .400 in minor league baseball, though, shows he’s exactly right where he’s supposed to be.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

One surprise team reportedly intrigues Shohei Ohtani as an option for his free agency

So, you’re saying there’s a chance …

The Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes will undeniably dominate baseball’s offseason as it’s not every year that teams have a chance to sign a generational unicorn to a longterm contract.

And while many around baseball see the Los Angeles Dodgers as the favorite the land Ohtani, reports suggest that Ohtani is open to playing on contending teams regardless of geography.

One option, in particular, stood out in a Monday report from MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. He said that Ohtani would be “very intrigued by playing for the Atlanta Braves.”

Now, Morosi did say that it was unlikely the Braves would sign Ohtani as they are looking for immediate pitching help (Ohtani will not pitch in 2024 as he recovers from elbow surgery). And though the Braves have shown a willingness to spend on contracts to Matt Olson and Austin Riley, it would be difficult to imagine the Braves’ owners at Liberty Media giving the green light for Ohtani’s price tag. Basically, it won’t happen.

Still, the report did enough to suggest that Ohtani is going to prioritize winning and not necessarily choose a team on the West Coast. The Cubs were also mentioned as a legitimate option.

Fans predictably had thoughts on this latest update for Ohtani’s free agency. That Braves lineup would be something else.

Former Notre Dame baseball star will now manage the Chicago Cubs

Congrats Craig!

In a whirlwind of events, former [autotag]Notre Dame baseball[/autotag] and MLB player [autotag]Craig Counsell[/autotag], will move away from the [autotag]Milwaukee Brewers[/autotag] and travel down I-94 south to take over the managerial duties for the [autotag]Chicago Cubs[/autotag].

The rumors first started on Monday morning, as there were reports and teams were looking to poach Counsell from the Brewers. Not many expected the Cubs to be the main suitor, but the move was made and it has been verified by the ball club.

During his Irish playing career, he was a career. .306 hitter, walking twice as many times as he struck out, which led the Colorado Rockies to draft him in the 11th round of the 1992 MLB draft.

Counsell would score the winning run for the Florida Marlins in the 1997 World Series, which was the highlight of his playing career. He would then immediately move into coaching inside the Brewers organization when Counsell retired in 2012.

Three years later, in 2015, he was named their manager, guiding them to a 707-625 record during his tenure. Counsell now takes over a Cubs team that barely missed the playoffs this past season, but has deep pockets and could field a better team than their division rivals.

Congrats Craig!

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

MLB fans wondered what happened to David Ross after the Cubs hired Craig Counsell

Did the Cubs hire a new manager before firing David Ross???

The Chicago Cubs dropped a stunning revelation on us on Monday afternoon. Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they hired former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell as their new clubhouse leader. That’s great for them because Counsell is quite good but, uh … wasn’t David Ross still their manager?

Something doesn’t quite add up here.

News of Counsell’s hire came as a shock to the MLB world because the Cubs seemingly offered zero notice that Ross — Chicago’s manager since 2020 — wouldn’t be returning to the organization. In fact, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts even went as far as to say that Ross was their guy moving forward after the 2023 season ended. So, again, what changed between early October and now? And why didn’t anyone with Cubs brass say anything in advance?

Ross’s apparent sudden departure from the Cubs had MLB fans speculating about what could’ve happened when Counsell officially took over as Chicago’s manager.

Yan Gomes records one RBI at Milwaukee

Former Vol Yan Gomes Yan Gomes records one RBI at Milwaukee.

Milwaukee defeated the Cubs, 4-3, Friday at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Former Vol Yan Gomes started at catcher for Chicago. He was 0-for-4 and recorded one RBI against the Brewers. Gomes has recorded eight hits in his last 10 games.

Gomes played at Tennessee from 2007-08 before transferring to Barry University.

He won the World Series with the Nationals in 2019. The former Vol was an American League All-Star with Cleveland. Gomes won a Silver Slugger Award while playing for Cleveland in 2014.

Chicago will next play on Saturday at Milwaukee. First pitch is slated for 7:10 p.m. EDT at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

Cubs announcers ripped the Braves for pausing an extra innings game over Ronald Acuña Jr. montage

“This is pretty absurd.”

A really cool thing happened on Wednesday night: Ronald Acuna Jr. stole his 70th base, making him the first MLB player ever with 40-plus home runs and 70 steals in a season. An NL MVP might be in his future.

The steal came in the 10th inning with the Atlanta Braves playing the Chicago Cubs, who are in the middle of trying to contend for a Wild Card spot.

Why I’m mentioning that: When Acuna stole the base, he picked it up in celebration and the game stopped in the middle of the inning for the Braves to show a montage. And the Cubs’ broadcast was NOT happy.

“Are we really stopping the game to do a highlight montage?” asked Boog Sciambi?

“Can we get the base after the game?” replied Jim Deshaies. “This is pretty absurd.”

I sort of get it with the Cubs trying to win a game but maybe this was a bit much.

Yan Gomes records two-hit performance at Atlanta

Former Vol Yan Gomes Yan Gomes records two-hit performance at Atlanta.

Atlanta defeated the Cubs, 7-6, Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia.

Former Vol Yan Gomes started at catcher for Chicago. He was 2-for-4 and recorded one RBI.

Gomes has a two-game hitting streak, while recording eight hits in his last 10 games.

Chicago has a four-game winning streak.

Gomes played at Tennessee from 2007-08 before transferring to Barry University.

He won the World Series with the Nationals in 2019. The former Vol was an American League All-Star with Cleveland. Gomes won a Silver Slugger Award while playing for Cleveland in 2014.

Chicago will next play Wednesday at Atlanta. First pitch is slated for 7:20 p.m. EDT.

Seiya Suzuki’s dropped fly ball to blow a late Cubs lead was just so heartbreaking

An awful error that was so hard to watch.

The Chicago Cubs are in the thick of a super tight NL Wild Card race with only a few games left in the 2023 season, and what happened Tuesday night was the most heartbreaking.

The team was up 6-0 in the bottom of the sixth on the powerful Atlanta Braves. But Atlanta fought back to the point where they were down by just a run with men on second and third and two out in the eighth.

Sean Murphy hit a pop fly to right field, where Suzuki called off Cody Bellinger … and completely missed for a heartbreaking error in the eventual loss.

For Cubs fans, it was shades of this with Brant Brown dropping a key fly ball in 1998:

What happened? Here’s an answer from Suzuki via ESPN:

Afterward, Suzuki said the lights at Truist Park played a part in the error, but he refused to use that as an excuse.

“I was seeing it pretty well until the very last second,” Suzuki said through his interpreter. “I honestly thought it went into my glove. So it was just that split second where I blurred my vision.

“Ever since I was playing in Japan you do have to take that [the lights] into consideration. … If I do say that, then it’s an excuse, so I’m not going to say that.”

Heartbreak. All around.

Yan Gomes records one hit against Rockies

Former Vol Yan Gomes records one hit against the Rockies.

Colorado defeated the Cubs, 6-4, Tuesday at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.

Former Vol Yan Gomes started at catcher for Chicago. He was 1-for-4 and has recorded eight hits in 11 games.

The loss ended the Cubs’ three-game winning streak.

Gomes played at Tennessee from 2007-08 before transferring to Barry University.

He won the World Series with the Nationals in 2019. The former Vol was an American League All-Star with Cleveland. Gomes won a Silver Slugger Award while playing for Cleveland in 2014.

Chicago will next play Wednesday, concluding a three-game series against the Rockies. First pitch is slated for 3:10 p.m. EDT at Coors Field.

Yan Gomes records three-hit performance at Colorado

Former Vol Yan Gomes records three-hit performance at Colorado.

Chicago defeated the Rockies, 5-4, Monday at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.

Former Vol Yan Gomes started at catcher for the Cubs. He was 3-for-4, recoding three RBIs and one run. Gomes has recorded 10 hits in his last seven games.

Chicago has a three-game winning streak.

Gomes played at Tennessee from 2007-08 before transferring to Barry University.

He won the World Series with the Nationals in 2019. The former Vol was an American League All-Star with Cleveland. Gomes won a Silver Slugger Award while playing for Cleveland in 2014.

Chicago will next play Tuesday at Colorado. First pitch is slated for 8:40 p.m. at Coors Field.