With one game to win and the world championship on the line, Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama called on left-hander Shōta Imanaga to start the decisive game of the World Baseball Classic. Availability and pitch count obviously limited Kuriyama’s options, but still, it’s quite an honor, considering Japan’s pitching staff also included Shohei Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and wunderkind Roki Sasaki.

The Cubs must have been impressed, because on Monday night Bob Nightengale reported that Chicago had reached an agreement with the two-time NPB All-Star. Imanaga, who had previously been linked with the Giants, will make at least $30 million over two years, with options and incentives that could bring the total value of the deal to $80 million over a longer (but still as-yet-unspecified) term. Jon Heyman called the deal “complicated.”

However much Imanaga’s contract will end up confounding the bookkeepers, it won’t be official until he passes a physical. That must be completed before Imanaga’s posting window expires Thursday afternoon. Read the rest of this entry »

Kala’i Rosario won the Arizona Fall League’s Home Run Derby this past November, and he did so in impressive fashion. Not only did the 21-year-old Minnesota Twins outfield prospect pummel a total of 25 baseballs over the fence at Mesa’s Sloan Park, the longest of them traveled a power hitter-ish 465 feet. By and large, that is what Rosario’s game is all about. As Eric Longenhagen pointed out last summer, the 6-foot, 212-pound Papaikou, Hawaii native had previously won the 2019 Area Code Games Home Run Derby and he “swings with incredible force and has big raw power for his age.”

Rosario’s setup in the box stood out to me as much as his ability to bludgeon baseballs when I watched him capture the AFL’s derby crown. The right-handed hitter not only had his feet spread wide, he had next to no stride. I asked him about that following his finals victory over Toronto Blue Jays infield prospect Damiano Palmegiani.

“Tonight my setup was a little different, but in games I usually do a small stride, so it wasn’t a big difference,” Rosario told me. “I have power already, so I don’t lock into my coil too much. When I get into the box I kind of preset everything, and from there it’s just letting my hands do the work.”

Improving his contact skills is both a goal and a necessity for the slugger. Rosario had a 29.6% strikeout rate to go with his .252/.364/.467 slash line and 21 home runs in 530 plate appearances with High-A Cedar Rapids. As Longenhagen also opined in his midseason writeup, Rosario’s “high-effort swing has zero precision.” Widening out and shortening up have been part of his effort to alleviate that issue. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cubs made the first big splash of the offseason by purloining Craig Counsell, widely regarded as one of the top managers in baseball, from the division rival Brewers, under the nose of the voracious, all-consuming Mets. On January 2, the Cubs introduced Counsell’s major league coaching staff. Right-handed pitcher Colten Brewer will also be joining the team in 2024.

But Counsell’s signing was supposed to herald a big and flashy offseason, a statement of intent that the Cubs were set to return to the forward-thinking, all-conquering form that made them such a force in the National League in the middle of the last decade. But the Cubs’ most recent trade was November 6. Their most recent major league free agent signing was Edwin Ríos, on February 17 of last year. That assumes Brewer is on a minor league deal; he’s pitched in the majors in five of the past six seasons, but he broke his own signing on Instagram rather than going through the agent-to-newsbreaker pipeline.

Having a quiet offseason so far is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s plenty of winter left, and plenty of free agents still on the board. Besides, maybe Jed Hoyer is doing a bit based on the fact that the team’s mascot is a bear and bears hibernate. That’d be sick. If there are two things I love, it’s hibernating and overcommitting to a bit. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I covered the American League half of the flurry of transactional activity that occurred as a result of the 40-man roster and non-tender deadlines. Is any one move here as impactful as signing a Yoshinobu Yamamoto or a Matt Chapman? No, but when your favorite team experiences a rash of injuries in June, whether or not they have the depth to scrap and compete is often dictated by the people and processes that surround this day. Below are my thoughts on the National League, with some quick scouting snippets on most of the added players and thoughts about roster construction where I had something to say.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks lone addition was lefty Blake Walston, a former $2.5 million high school signee who, despite being young for his class and physically projectable as an amateur, has seen his fastball velocity plateau and slightly decline since he signed. He’s had fits and starts where he’s thrown harder, but for the most part, Walston’s fastball still sits 89-92 mph and his performance peripherals took a nosedive in 2023, though part of that was likely because of the PCL hitting environment. The lanky 22-year-old is still a fair long-term prospect because of his age and what one could reasonably hope will still be late-arriving physicality, but for now, I’d consider him at the very back of Arizona’s 40-man starting pitching depth chart. Read the rest of this entry »

This post is part of a series covering the 2024 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Managers/Executives/Umpires ballot, covering candidates in those categories who made their greatest impact from 1980 to the present. For an introduction to the ballot, see here. The eight candidates will be voted upon at the Winter Meetings in Nashville on December 3, and anyone receiving at least 75% of the vote from the 16 committee members will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 21, 2024 along with any candidates elected by the BBWAA.

Lou Piniella

Lou Piniella spent even more years managing in the majors (23, between 1986 and 2010) than he did playing the outfield (18, between 1964 and ’84). To both, “Sweet Lou” brought a flair for the dramatic and a fiery intensity — his dust-kicking, hat-stomping, base-throwing tirades became the stuff of legend — as well as tremendous baseball acumen. Like fellow Contemporary Baseball candidate Davey Johnson, he won championships in both phases of his career, but his failure even to reach the World Series a second time as a manager cast a long shadow on every successive stop. Unlike Johnson, however, he came close to election, missing by just one vote on the 2019 Today’s Game Era Committee ballot from which Harold Baines and Lee Smith were elected. Read the rest of this entry »

An entire offseason’s worth of managerial reshuffling took place early Monday afternoon, as the most coveted managerial role was filled and the most coveted managerial candidate found a home — just not how you’d think.

The Guardians first announced the hiring of Mariners bullpen coach and golden-voiced baritone Stephen Vogt. Shortly thereafter, news broke that the Cubs were hiring outgoing Brewers manager Craig Counsell, despite already having David Ross under contract for that position. Counsell had been expected to follow former Brewers baseball ops boss David Stearns to the Mets, but when he landed in Chicago, the Mets unveiled Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their new manager.

Counsell, regarded as one of the top skippers in the sport, has reset the market for manager salaries with a five-year, $40 million contract. A free agent after his Brewers contract expired, he interviewed with both New York and Cleveland and was regarded as both teams’ top choice. When he made his unexpected switch to Chicago, that made the other teams’ decisions easier, and thus followed the busy afternoon on the coaching carousel. Read the rest of this entry »

Direct Links (Please see full job postings below):

Software Engineer
Data Engineer

Software Engineer, Baseball Systems

DEPARTMENT: Baseball Operations: Research & Development – Baseball Systems
REPORTS TO: Director, Baseball Systems
FLSA STATUS: Exempt

Description:
The Chicago Cubs Baseball Systems Department is seeking to potentially fill a Baseball Systems Software Engineer position. We are a department focused on creating innovative software tools and data solutions that directly impact all facets of baseball operations and are used by scouts, coaches, players, player development staff, and the baseball operations front office. This role will focus on the development and maintenance of those systems, including creating web interfaces and web tools for the user interface; assisting in mobile application development; and building automated ETL processes which feed it.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the design and implementation of web interfaces for the Baseball Ops information system

• Assist with building data visualizations for baseball users

• Develop and maintain ETL processes for loading, processing, and quality-checking new data sources

• Build and/or support mobile-friendly user interfaces and experiences

• Build and/or support web services and business-layer applications that speak to both back-end databases and front-end interfaces

• Provide development support and guidance to Baseball Operations power users and general support to all Baseball Operations front-office and field personnel, as needed

• Examine, and where appropriate, prototype new technologies in the pursuit of creating competitive advantages through software, applications, and tools

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Related Subjects

• Experience with modern web-development practices, including HTML/CSS and/or front-end Javascript frameworks such as ReactJS, Angular or Vue

• Expertise in Python, Java, C# or a similar language

• Expertise with modern database technologies and SQL

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience in building and deploying cloud technologies (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure, etc.)

• Experience in DevOps practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, and infrastructure as code

• Experience building web or native applications for mobile devices

• Experience building and supporting ETL processes

• Working knowledge of advanced baseball statistics and sabermetric concepts

Response Expectations:
Due to the overwhelming number of applications we receive, we unfortunately may not be able to respond in person to each applicant. However, we can assure you that you will receive an email confirmation when you apply as well as additional email notifications whether you are selected to move forward for the position or not. Please note, we keep all resumes on file and will contact you should we wish to schedule an interview with you.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Data Engineer, Baseball Systems

DEPARTMENT: Baseball Operations: Research & Development – Baseball Systems
REPORTS TO: Director, Baseball Systems
FLSA STATUS: Exempt

Description:
The Chicago Cubs Baseball Systems Department is seeking to potentially fill a Baseball Systems Data Engineer position. We are a department focused on creating innovative software tools and data solutions that directly impact all facets of baseball operations and are used by scouts, coaches, players, player development staff, and the baseball operations front office. This role will focus on the import and maintenance of the Chicago Cubs baseball information system data warehouse, including building automated ETL processes which feed it; maintaining back-end databases; automating data quality checks; and troubleshooting data source issues.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and maintain ETL processes for loading and processing new data sources

• Create automated processes to identify data integrity problems

• Diagnose and resolve data source issues

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Related Subjects

• Expertise with modern database technologies and SQL

• Expertise in Python, Java, C# or a similar language

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• High level of attention to detail

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience building and supporting ETL processes

• Experience with Airflow or related scheduling tools

• Experience working in a Linux environment

• Experience working with cloud-based computing

• Working knowledge of advanced baseball statistics and sabermetric concepts

• Knowledge of statistical concepts

Response Expectations:
Due to the overwhelming number of applications we receive, we unfortunately may not be able to respond in person to each applicant. However, we can assure you that you will receive an email confirmation when you apply as well as additional email notifications whether you are selected to move forward for the position or not. Please note, we keep all resumes on file and will contact you should we wish to schedule an interview with you.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Chicago Cubs.

Luke Little was an afterthought when our 2023 Chicago Cubs Top Prospects list came out in early July. Pitching for Double-A Tennessee at the time, the now–23-year-old southpaw garnered no more than an honorable mention on a list that ran 52 players deep. His stock has since risen markedly. By season’s end, he had earned a big league cup of coffee and thrown 6.2 scoreless innings over seven appearances. Featuring a high-octane heater and a sweeper delivered from a low arm slot, he fanned a dozen batters and allowed just five hits.

His numbers across three levels of the minor leagues were every bit as impressive. Over 36 appearances, all but four as a reliever, the 2020 fourth-round pick out of San Jacinto College had 105 strikeouts and surrendered 40 hits in 63.2 innings. He’s an imposing figure on the mound: The Charlotte, North Carolina native stands 6-foot-8 and weighs 270 pounds.

Little discussed his repertoire and delivery prior to a late-September game at Wrigley Field.

———

David Laurila: Who are you on the mound? For instance, do you identify as a power pitcher?

Luke Little: “I like to think I’m a power pitcher. Obviously, I throw hard. At the same time, I like to think that I have good offspeed pitches. I’ve been really comfortable with my slider, and I’ve also got a good feel for my splitter now, although I haven’t thrown it too much.”

Laurila: How hard are you throwing?

Little: “Last night [September 19 against the Pirates], I sat 97 [mph] with my fastball, and my slider was 81–82. I was up to 99 with my fastball at the beginning of the year, [which is] the hardest I’ve ever thrown, when I was a starter [with High-A South Bend].” Read the rest of this entry »

CHICAGO CUBS BASEBALL R&D: ANALYTICS & SCIENCES OPPORTUNITIES
The Chicago Cubs Baseball Research & Development team is looking for analysts to contribute to the Baseball Analytics and Baseball Sciences teams. We have consolidated applications for these two roles so that candidates only need to apply once to be considered for both roles. There will also be an opportunity to specify the role that you think is a better fit.

Analyst, Baseball Analytics

REPORTS TO: Director, Baseball Analytics
FLSA STATUS: Exempt

The Chicago Cubs are seeking analysts to join the Baseball Analytics group in the Baseball Operations’ Research and Development team. This role will focus on constructing models that estimate skills, likelihoods, and contexts for various baseball phenomena. The analyst will work closely with the entirety of the R&D department to develop methods to process data, improve the effective understanding and application of data, and disseminate analytic insights throughout the organization. Analysts may focus their efforts towards collaborating with the Advanced Scouting, Amateur Scouting, International Scouting, Professional Scouting, Baseball Sciences, or Player Development groups, as strengths dictate.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Create data modeling pipelines that maintain up-to-date predictions of a variety of baseball metrics

• Analyze collected data leveraging in-house models and insights

• Research, develop, and test methods and models for the purpose of player assessment, development, and acquisition, as well as the optimization of in-game strategy

• Effectively present analyses using written reports and data visualization methods to communicate relevant findings

• Work with Baseball Systems team to integrate new statistical analyses, models, and data visualizations into Cubs web applications

• Incorporate new analysis into existing data processes to improve automated reporting

• Identify, diagnose, and resolve data quality issues

• Handle data and analysis requests from the coaching staff and other departments within Baseball Operations

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in a quantitative field such as statistics, engineering, mathematics, physics, quantitative social sciences, computer science, or operations research

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Proficiency with SQL, and at least one statistical programming language (e.g., Julia, MATLAB, Python, R)

• Expertise in one or more of the following areas: advanced baseball analytics, specialized statistical methods, implementation of models in a productionized data pipeline (i.e., MLOps)

• Familiarity with advanced statistical modeling techniques

• Relevant experience working in baseball preferred

Response Expectations:
Due to the overwhelming number of applications we receive, we unfortunately may not be able to respond in person to each applicant. However, we can assure you that you will receive an email confirmation when you apply as well as additional email notifications whether you are selected to move forward for the position or not. Please note, we keep all resumes on file and will contact you should we wish to schedule an interview with you.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Analyst, Baseball Sciences

REPORTS TO: Director, Baseball Sciences
FLSA STATUS: Exempt

ROLE
The Chicago Cubs are seeking an analyst to join the Baseball Sciences group in the Baseball Operations’ Research and Development department. This role will focus on improving our understanding of player performance through the analysis of various data sources and technologies, including motion capture, force plates, wearable sensors, and off-field assessments. The analyst will be responsible for performing quantitative research on existing data while also helping the organization identify novel technologies or initiatives that could lead to further insight. The ideal candidate will possess strong quantitative skills, the ability to think critically and creativity, domain-specific knowledge/experience, and the ability to communicate effectively to non-technical stakeholders.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform quantitative research to better understand and quantify player performance

• Identify and evaluate new technologies and assessments

• Work with the Baseball Analytics group to integrate Baseball Sciences research into player valuation models

• Communicate research insights to various departments and stakeholders—including coaches, scouts, trainers, and S&C staff

• Collaborate with Player Development to design/oversee initiatives that can help answer research hypotheses

• Stay up to date with academic literature and public research

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in either a quantitative field (statistics, engineering, physics, computer science, etc.) or a domain-specific field (biomechanics, exercise science, neuroscience, etc.)

• Proficiency with SQL and at least one statistical programming language (Julia, MATLAB, Python, R)

• Familiarity with advanced statistical modeling and machine learning techniques

• Experience analyzing motion capture data or other relevant time-series data sources

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Experience working in baseball preferred

Response Expectations:
Due to the overwhelming number of applications we receive, we unfortunately may not be able to respond in person to each applicant. However, we can assure you that you will receive an email confirmation when you apply as well as additional email notifications whether you are selected to move forward for the position or not. Please note, we keep all resumes on file and will contact you should we wish to schedule an interview with you.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Chicago Cubs.

Justin Steele has an uncommon pitch profile and an uncomplicated approach to his craft. He also has an outside chance of capturing this year’s NL Cy Young award. With two starts remaining (one if the Cubs clinch a Wild Card berth prior to Sunday’s regular-season finale), the 28-year-old southpaw is 16–5 with a 3.00 ERA and a 2.99 FIP over 168 innings. He’s not only been Chicago’s best pitcher, but he’s also been one of the best in the Senior Circuit.

Steele’s emergence as a frontline starter was portended by last year’s performance. While his won-lost record was an anything-but-eye-catching 4–7, his 3.18 ERA and his 3.20 FIP weren’t notably higher than this year’s marks. Moreover, his strikeout and ground-ball rates were actually better, as were his xFIP and HR/9. His BABIP was nearly identical. The only meaningful difference, on paper, was his walk rate, which at 3.78 was essentially double this season’s 1.88.

Prior to his last outing — a game in which he was BABIP’d to death by six consecutive fourth-inning singles — I approached Steele in Wrigley Field’s home clubhouse to get his thoughts on what has been an outstanding season. The following day, I asked Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy about the pitch characteristics that make Steele a Cy Young contender.

———

David Laurila: Won-lost record and walk rate aside, a lot of your numbers aren’t all that different from last year’s. Are you more or less the same pitcher?

Justin Steele: “I would say that I’m better. The pitches are the same, I’m the same pitcher as far as that goes, but I’ve been more consistent this year. I’m not walking as many guys. I’m being competitive throughout the count, I’ve cut down on non-competitive pitches big time. So yeah, a lot more consistent.”

Laurila: Were you happy with last year?

Steele: “I think so. I was definitely happy with how I finished up [a 0.99 ERA over his last seven starts]. I felt like the entire season I was improving. That’s something that’s really important to me, always improving from start to start.”

Laurila: What’s behind this year’s improved consistency?

Steele: “I think it’s just more reps, getting more and more comfortable out there each time I take the ball. It’s like anything in life: you do it more and you get more comfortable doing it. You also get better at it.” Read the rest of this entry »