Pitchers and catchers in Mesa; Scott Hairston deal is official as Tony Campana is designated for assignment

Today is finally the day when Cubs pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Mesa.  Hooray!  But along with the good comes some change.  The Cubs announced today they have made the two-year contract (which was first announced towards the end of January) with outfielder Scott Hairston official.  In a corresponding move, they have designated fan favorite Tony Campana for assignment.

Cubs fans will miss Tony Campana's speed and diving abilities

Many of Tony's fans are very upset at this news, which I can completely understand.  However, I think the Cubs are still hoping that Campana doesn't get picked up (especially by a contender) so that he can return to camp as a non-roster invitee.  I say this because why else would the Cubs wait this long before officially announcing the Hairston deal and Campana DFA news?  At this point, it's likely that most teams' 40-man rosters are set, so even if they wanted to, it would be tough for them to pick up Campana.  Of course, there are always exceptions to this, which we will know soon if Campana is claimed off waivers.

In the meantime, here's a list of Cubs uniform numbers for the new players on the 40-man roster and also for the non-roster invitees (as posted by Cubs beat reporter Carrie Muskat):

40-man roster
Pitchers
32 – Scott Baker
46 – Scott Feldman
71 – Trey McNutt
56 – Hector Rondon
57 – Carlos Villanueva
41 – Arodys Vizcaino
67 – Robert Whitenack
Catchers
4 – Dioner Navarro
Infielders
61 – Christian Villanueva
74 – Logan Watkins
Outfielders
19 – Nate Schierholtz
68 – Jorge Soler

Non-Roster Invitees
Pitchers
76 – Drew Carpenter
77 – Dayan Diaz
60 – Jensen Lewis
85 – Barret Loux
50 – Blake Parker
63 – Zach Putnam
81 – Nick Struck
47 – Hisanori Takahashi
59 – Cory Wade
Catchers
79 – J.C. Boscan
78 – Michael Brenly
82 – Rafael Lopez
Infielders
70 – Javier Baez
6 – Alberto Gonzalez
20 – Brent Lillibridge
65 – Edwin Maysonet
75 – Brad Nelson
Outfielders
66 – Brian Bogusevic
80 – Johermyn Chavez
16 – Darnell McDonald

It sounds like most of the pitchers are already in Mesa and have reported to camp.  The first official workout for pitchers and catchers will take place on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of Darwin Barney and Anthony Rizzo at Fitch Park  taken by Tim Sheridan on February 8th.

Darwin Barney and Anthony Rizzo at Fitch Park on February 8th (photo by Tim Sheridan)

For more pics and spring training info, you can check out Tim's "Boys of Spring" blog at: boysofspring.com.