Cubs Sign Andy Sonnanstine

depth I didn’t know we would go this far. Good signing, yes. Low risk, another change of scenery possible move. If we keep signing guys like this we might hit lightning in a bottle. At least our odds increase the more we sign!

Upps, I think I misread this one.

Cubs are also rumored to be close to signing catcher Jason Jaramillo. So, an active day at work for TheoJed.

if he can turn into a nice #3-#5 starter by midseason, it could turn into a nice haul at the trade deadline

Rich Hill syndrome, and just needs to get out of the AL East

underscore just how bad Theo & Jed regard our MiLB pitching.

I did a quick google search and couldn’t come across a good definition.

I really like the way Theo operates and I like this signing a lot. Like someone said above…. baby steps.

I love these kinds of signings because they’re low-risk and high-reward. If Sonnanstine regains his form, we could either trade him at the deadline or sign him for another year or two. If he doesn’t, he pitches in the minors for a year, and we move on.

Here’s a quick blurb that I wrote on Sonnanstine a few days ago. He’s one of the non-tenders that I found intriguing.

Sonnanstine pitched well in 2008 on the strength of his command – 1.72 BB/9 – and his cutter – 1.59 wCT/C. Unfortunately, Sonnanstine has lost both his command and his cutter’s effectiveness since that season. He has thrown cutters at a much higher rate in recent years at the expense of his fastball and slider. This seems to have affected his cutter’s effectiveness, which has gradually decreased since 2008, to a career-low -1.78 wCT/C in 2011. Fortunately, Sonnanstine will only be 29 at the start of next year, so he does have a few years to figure things out. A switch from the AL East to the National League, as well as a change in pitch frequencies, may help Sonnanstine regain his form.

Naveen Nallappa!

is the sorry state of our starting pitching in the minor leagues. When somebody like Andy Sonnanstine is superior to your internal options you’ve got obvious systemic issues. It’s an indictment of our scouting and player development dating back long before Hendry/Wilken. Other than slam duct obvious picks Wood & Prior, what other starters have we identified & developed in the past 20 years? Big Z is about the only guy who’s consistently proven himself to be more than a fringe 5th starter..

I’m not angry with the Sonnanstine sighning. I am however torked at the conditions which made it necessary.

Sonnanstine is starter number 6 or 7. Corpas is the number 9 or 10 guy in the bullpen. But the team needs some depth, which was a major problem in 2011. Addressing depth at a reasonable price but if either one of these guys pitches a lot in Chicago in 2012, it is a minor miracle or a desperate year.

…really has his work cut out for him. I hope he has what it takes to revitalize and reinvigorate a boatload of marginal pitchers. …I think he can, I think he can, I think he can. – TL

These players are in for a shock when they see the turnout.

I don’t understand how non-guaranteed contracts result in roster spots. Can anybody make sense of this?

On Corpas, the Cubs may just have found themselves a backup closer with good control, IF his ineffectiveness was injury-related after his best year.

On Sonnanstine… can we be realistic around here, please? This is a waste of a roster spot, a younger Rodrigo Lopez at best. There is little to indicate that this pitcher is worth placing in front of Jay Jackson and Trey McNutt, unless the point is to keep those guys under control for an extra year… Hmmmm…. Sorta makes sense if you look at it that way.

Whatever the case, it is clear that TheoJed are bulking up on pitchers and outfielders, and now another catcher. We have four quality players that are tradeable in those areas, so they must be fattening up in order to cut those guys loose. Marmol, Garza, Byrd and Soto will be gone very soon, I think.

his comparables at his age, the best one is Wandy Rodriquez. If he can approach Rodriquez stats, good catch. If he goes the other way such as a Parque it will be a waste of time.

Last season, we were counting on a couple of guys on the brink of retirement to provide starting rotation depth. (Three, if you include Doug Davis.) Sonnanstine’s numbers are ghastly, but at least he’s under 30. He appears to me as a slightly older replicated version of Casey Coleman. But I’m not going to get too worked up about him making the rotation because he’s almost certainly not going to unless several guys get hurt.

Over 280 comments on a thread for a pitcher who’s name we will not remember a year from now.