Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: On base four times in loss
Rotowire
Mastrobuoni went 1-for-2 with a double, three walks and a stolen base in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the Astros.
Mastrobuoni hadn't drawn a walk this season prior to Wednesday. The 27-year-old wasn't able to get involved in the Cubs' run-scoring plays, but it was a solid showing in a rare start at second base with Christopher Morel covering for Cody Bellinger (knee) in center field. Mastrobuoni is slashing .214/.290/.286 with one RBI, one run scored, two doubles and two steals through 31 plate appearances.
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Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: Recalled from Triple-A
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The Cubs recalled Mastrobuoni from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
The 27-year-old will add a bit of versatility to the bench while Nico Hoerner recovers from a left hamstring strain. Mastrobuoni has slashed just .194/.216/.222 through 37 career plate appearances at the MLB level.
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Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: Optioned to Iowa
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Mastrobuoni was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
The move opens up a roster spot for Seiya Suzuki (oblique) to return from the injured list. Mastrobuoni slashed just .200/.200/.250 over 20 plate appearances during his time with Chicago, and he will likely remain in an organizational depth role while he's with Triple-A Iowa.
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Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: Gets second start of series
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Mastrobuoni will start in right field and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Mariners.
Mastrobuoni will be making his second start of the series after going 1-for-3 with a double in Monday's 3-2 win. The Cubs haven't committed to a full-time replacement for Seiya Suzuki (oblique) in right field while Suzuki has been on the injured list all season, but with five starts at the position now under his belt, Mastrobuoni appears to be the preferred option for the time being, at least against right-handed pitching.
Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: Gets call in RF for Opening Day
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Mastrobuoni is in right field and batting ninth for the Cubs on Thursday against the Brewers.
Mastrobuoni won one of the last roster spots for the Cubs but is immediately thrown into the fire. Patrick Wisdom is handling third base and Trey Mancini is in the designated hitter spot, with Edwin Rios on the bench.
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Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: Makes Opening Day roster
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Mastrobuoni has been informed that he's made the Cubs' Opening Day roster, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
Mastrobuoni earned a spot with an .833 OPS, two stolen bases and more walks (six) than strikeouts (four) this spring. The 27-year-old's versatility should allow him to find fairly regular playing time even if he doesn't have a set starting spot.
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Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: Continues solid spring
Rotowire
Mastrobuoni went 1-for-2 with two walks, two RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks.
Mastrobuoni has quietly had a nice spring, as he's batting .333 across seven games with an .862 OPS. The 27-year-old, who came over from Tampa Bay in November, is competing for a bench role with the Cubs. He likely won't have a huge fantasy impact even if he makes the team, however.
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Cubs' Miles Mastrobuoni: Could compete for bench spot
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Mastrobuoni is an option to earn a bench role with the Cubs out of spring training, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Mastrobuoni was acquired in a trade from Tampa Bay in November. The 27-year-old appeared in only eight games for the Rays during his MLB debut in 2022, so he's likely to start the year in the minors. However, he's a lefty bat with some positional flexibility, so he could force his way onto the roster with a strong spring.
Mastrobuoni was traded from the Rays to the Cubs on Tuesday in exchange for a low-level pitching prospect, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
As Topkin notes, this will open up a 40-man roster spot for the Rays that they can use to protect a prospect from the Rule 5 draft. Mastrobuoni can play second base and the outfield and hit .300/.377/.469 with 16 home runs and 23 steals in 129 games as a 26-year-old at Triple-A this past season. He will compete with Zach McKinstry for lefty-hitting utility work in 2023.
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Rays' Miles Mastrobuoni: Optioned to minors
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The Rays optioned Mastrobuoni to Triple-A Durham on Monday.
During his first stint in the majors, Mastrobuoni saw action in eight games and slashed .188/.235/.188 with a stolen base across 17 plate appearances. He'll be replaced on the 28-man active roster by another utility type in Vidal Brujan, who was called up from Durham in a corresponding move.
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Rays' Miles Mastrobuoni: Productive in first start
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Mastrobuoni went 2-for-4 with a run scored Friday against the Blue Jays.
Mastrobuoni made his first big-league start, hitting seventh while starting at second base. He chipped in a pair of singles, also coming around to score his first run in the majors. Mastrobuoni isn't likely to see significant playing time moving forward, though he could get some plate appearances so long as Yandy Diaz (shoulder) is banged up.
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Rays' Miles Mastrobuoni: Gets first call to majors
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Mastrobuoni's contract was purchased from Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Mastrobuoni had seemed like a potential utility prospect for several years thanks to his solid hit tool and defensive versatility. This is the first year in six minor-league seasons the 26-year-old logged an ISO over .150. He hit .300/.377/.469 with 16 home runs and 23 steals in 129 games at Triple-A. Mastrobuoni played 56 games at second base, with another handful of starts coming at shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots.
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Rays' Miles Mastrobuoni: Showing well this spring
Rotowire
Mastrobuoni, who slugged his second home run of spring in Wednesday's Grapefruit League win over the Pirates, is hitting .294 (5-for-17) across 10 exbibitions.
Mastrobuoni's well-rounded line includes two doubles, two homers, three RBI, two walks and six runs -- rock-solid numbers for a prospect who's never actually demonstrated much pop at the minor-league level. However, the 25-year-old has been an above-average on-base presence and has recorded double-digit steals at three different professional stops. His spring showing and the fact that he got four games of exposure to the Triple-A level back in 2019 makes it likely he opens the campaign there again in 2021.
