| Fri Mar 25 2011 | 17:34 | Braden Looper announces retirement | ||||
Braden Looper has announced his retirement from baseball. | ||||||
Looper failed to make the Cubs' Opening Day roster after posting a 9.95 ERA over 12 2/3 innings, and rather than go to Triple-A, he's decided to hang up his cleats. The 36-year-old spent parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues and finishes his career with a 72-65 record, 4.15 ERA and 103 saves. | ||||||
| Source: Carrie Muskat on Twitter | ||||||
| Mon Mar 14 2011 | 11:13 | Looper plans to retire if Cubs cut him | ||||
Braden Looper plans to retire if he fails to make the Cubs' Opening Day roster. | ||||||
Looper has an offseason home in Chicago's south suburbs and will simply retreat there if the Cubs don't deem him worthy of a roster spot. He's being tried currently as a starter, but has said all along that he's also open to relief. "It's a nice competition for the fourth and fifth spots," said bench coach Pat Listach. "We've got a few guys involved and [Looper is] keeping himself right there in the running." | ||||||
| Source: CSN Chicago | ||||||
| Sun Mar 13 2011 | 19:10 | Cubs' Looper earns win over Arizona | ||||
Braden Looper limited the Diamondbacks to one run in 3 2/3 innings as a Cubs split-squad won 7-5 on Sunday. | ||||||
He also went 2-for-2 with an RBI double at the plate. Looper is probably going to need a Carlos Silva trade to have any real chance of making the Cubs, but it's possible another team will take a flier on him if he turns in a solid spring. | ||||||
| Source: Rotoworld.com | ||||||
| Mon Jan 31 2011 | 09:43 | Looper can earn $3M on new deal with Cubs | ||||
Braden Looper can earn up to $3 million on his new deal with the Cubs. | ||||||
Looper first has to earn a spot on the Cubs' Opening Day roster, then he has to stay on it all year to trigger all of the performance-based incentives. It seems unlikely that he will be able to accomplish both feats, given that he didn't pitch at all last season and had a 5.22 ERA in 2009. | ||||||
| Source: Jerry Crasnick on Twitter | ||||||
| Thu Jan 27 2011 | 16:33 | Cubs sign Looper to minors deal | ||||
Cubs signed RHP Braden Looper to a minor league contract. | ||||||
The contract includes an invite to spring training. This isn't a surprising destination for him, as the Cubs' interest in Looper dates back to last April. The 36-year-old right-hander didn't pitch at all last season. He went 14-7 with a 5.22 ERA with the Brewers in 2009. | ||||||
| Wed Apr 21 2010 | 15:26 | Report: Cubs not expected to sign Looper | ||||
Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports that the Cubs watched free agent right-hander Braden Looper throw, however a signing is not expected. | ||||||
The Cubs are currently considering many options for their hurting bullpen, so it's only natural that they gave the former closer a look. Looper, 35, has a 3.58 career ERA as a reliever, though he has pitched exclusively as a starting pitcher since 2007. | ||||||
| Source: Carrie Muskat on Twitter | ||||||
| Tue Apr 20 2010 | 21:38 | Report: Looper throws for Cubs in Chicago | ||||
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that free agent right-hander Braden Looper threw for the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday. | ||||||
Rosenthal adds that Looper is willing to be flexible on his role if the Cubs want him. The 35-year-old right-hander was 14-7 with the Brewers last season, but posted an ugly 5.22 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in the process. | ||||||
| Source: Ken Rosenthal on Twitter | ||||||