Did anyone know Jeffrey Rea had been released ?

[TilloDawg]

I must have missed the memo....

I googled this up today.

In addition, 2B Jeffrey Rea (2007 18th round pick out of Mississippi State) and OF Cesar Salazar (signed as a FA out of Venezuela in February) have been released.</p>

Rea was hampered by a sore arm in Minor League Camp and then was hobbled with a strained quad for most of the past couple of months. A below average defender at 2B but an above-average hitter (and a very good baserunner, when healthy), Rea should have no difficuilty getting a gig with an independent league team (if he doesn't get signed by another MLB organization), and if he does go the indy route, he could well get back into the minor leagues (albeit not with the Cubs) in very short order. He just needs to prove he's healthy. </p>

 

[State82]

in that article sort of surprises me. He may not have been what you call "stellar" in the field, but I always thought he was very adequate at 2B. Hope he catches on somewhere soon. He was one of my favorite players of the last 5 or 6 years.

 

[lawdawg02]

he was scheduled to start the year in AA, impressive for a player in only his second summer. his injuries kept him down physically and mentally this year, leading to demotion and eventual release. he was never able to get back healthy. i think this is the first time he's been hampered by injury, and it really got to him.

rumor was, he was debating whether to keep playing ball or hang it up and move on. i don't know what he decided, but i sure hope he can get healthy and give it another go next year.

 

[DiamondReb1083]

Jeffery Rea was going to start the season in AA. AA is probably where the guy tops out. Second year players never start there unless they are on their way to the majors.

 

[Ivehadbetter]

He keeps me updated on our guys. Said J Rea was back in Nettleton but didn't know his future plans. He also said Easley and Tatum were doing pretty good in AA and that Moreland was doing pretty good. (I don't remember where he said Moreland was.)

 

[DiamondReb1083]

You are right. I don't ever see him making past AA. Tell me one player in the majors that he favorably compares to? You'll probably say David Ekstein and I'd say you're probably right though David Ekstein is much better and hasn't had injury problems. Guys like him just don't play major leauge baseball. No offense to him or guys like him that's just the way it is. Justin Henry is pretty much in the same boat though he has a better arm which affords him the chance to play some outfield. Another one you might compare him to is Rafeal Belliard. Though he had the arm to play short and second and was much faster. But really who else to you think he plays like?

 

[ScoobaDawg]

How about Dustin Pedroia?
Seems for a little guy he is doing just fine..

 

[KurtRambis4]

he's similar to one current cub, mike fontenot, in ability and stature

 

[DiamondReb1083]

Pedroia is just really laughable. He's got 8 HRs this season. Rea couldn't hit 8 in his lifetime. Fontenot has 4 in only 118 ABs. Plus he was a first round pick. No where near similar. Fontenot was a first round talent and so was Pedroia (may have been a second rounder). See this is what I'm talking about. I ask for a comparison and you give me two first rounders with way way more power.

 

[Todd4State]

Pete Rose as far as his style. NOT saying he was as good as Rose.

I will say this, though- there is a place in the Big Leagues for guys who can hit, steal bases, and play pretty good defense in the OF.

Hopefully Rea will land back on his feet, and if he can't I'd love to have a guy like him on our baseball staff at MSU.</p>

 

[DiamondReb1083]

NT

 

[KurtRambis4]

asked to find a comparable player and i did. fontenot has a little more power, but besides that, their games are pretty similar. both (at their respective levels) field the same, both are similar on the bases, and both make pretty good contact. once again, i wasn't saying that they're the same damn player.

 

[lawdawg02]

rea started this year in tennessee, which is the cubs AA team. here's one link and here's another.

Second year players never start there unless they are on their way to the majors.

well, maybe you were halfway right.

did you think i was making this **** up? seriously...

 

[TilloDawg]

Oneri Fleita was in attendance at Fitch Park again today, sitting high atop the tower between the four fields, from where he could simultaneously watch both the "sim game" on Field #2 and the EXST game on Field #3. And he certainly made his presence known, too! </p>

In true Larry Himes fashion, Oneri went ballistic not once but twice, the first time when he noticed 2B Jeffrey Rea (who is at Fitch Park rehabbing from a quad strain) hitting in the simulated game while dressed only in a t-shirt and shorts (not an unusual outfit for an "off-field" workout at EXST, BTW, especially for a rehab guy who is only cleared to take BP).</p>

ONERI: (yelling at Rea): "Where's your %%%%+*$ uniform?! You think you're a coach? This isn't Mississippi State! Get the hell off the field!" </p>

At first I don't think Rea knew that Oneri was yelling at him (in particular). He just stood there behind the batting cage, leaning on his bat and talking to the other hitters. I think that's what really got Oneri mad, because that's when he mentioned "Mississippi State" (Rea played college ball at MSU). </p>

See, Rea is a nice kid, but he is very quiet and serious. I've never seen him joke around with the other players, and he really seems to study the game closely when he sits on the bench. You could see he was embarrassed and a bit puzzled by Fleita's rant as he trotted to the clubhouse.

And then in the bottom of the 1st inning of the EXST game on Field #3, Josh Vitters scored standing up on a two-out RBI single to LF by Carlos Perez, but Vitters just barely beat the throw to the plate and almost got knocked off his feet, failing to slide because on-deck hitter Kyler Burke didn't get into position near home plate to coach the runner. So Vitters scores and gets a high-five from Burke, and then Burke ambles up to the plate for his AB. </p>

ONERI: (yelling at Boise manager Tom Beyers, who was the EXST game manager today): "Get a %%%%+*$ pinch-hitter up there, Tommy! If he can't coach the runner, he can't play! The runner can't score standing up like that! That's how guys get hurt!"</p>

And so Kyler Burke gets this classic "WTF?" look on his face, and walks slowly back to the bench with his head down, as Junior Lake has to hurriedly run over to Field #3 from Field #2 (where he was hitting in the sim game) to pinch-hit for Burke. (Lake had a "WTF?" look on his face, too). </p>

I think the f-bombs yelled at the top of his lungs are what really put it over the top, especially since the Cubs players at Extended Spring Training are continually being told to maintain a "professional demeanor" at all times. </p>