Making good on his vow to deepen the his pitching staff, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer welcomed approximately 4,000 pitchers and catchers to Mesa this weekend.
Although nearly all of the invitees were unknown, Hoyer seemed pleased with the turnout.
“I wasn’t going to be short-handed this year,” Hoyer said. “I had flyers up in pizza places, college bars and fantasy baseball camps across the country. You know somewhere out there could be the next Trevor Hoffman, including Trevor Hoffman, who also showed up.”
Of the invitees, approximately 2,000 were starting pitcher candidates. Another 1,500 bodies were tagged as relief pitchers. The remaining 500 consisted of potential catchers—each one perfectly capable of throwing the ball all the way back to the mound.
“Statistically, we have to find one or two guys in this bunch,” Hoyer stated. “I mean, it’s mathematically impossible for us not to find at least one guy who can throw, right?”
