Tag Archives: Chris Coghlan

21 Jun

eye on …

Chris Coghlan has been playing more regularly for the Chicago Cubs of late, and his bat is waking from its slumber. Coghlan, the former Ole Miss standout, tripled and homered for the Cubs on Friday in a 6-3 win over Pittsburgh. The left-handed hitting outfielder boosted his average to .219, which might not sound so hot until you consider that he was at .125 on May 21. Brought up from Triple-A Iowa in early May, Coghlan has been in 35 games (73 at-bats) and produced two homers, four RBIs and seven runs all told. He is batting .282 in June. Coghlan, who just turned 29, is a career .267 hitter and hit .321 back in 2009 when he won National League rookie of the year honors with the Florida (now Miami) Marlins. P.S. Southern Miss product Brian Dozier delivered his second career walk-off hit for Minnesota, which beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Friday. … Ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith belted two monster homers — and just missed a third — for San Diego, ending a 20-game long ball drought. He has eight on the year. The Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5. … Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson went 4-for-5 with his ninth homer but Colorado fell to Milwaukee 13-10 in a Coors Field slugfest. … Ryan Buchter and Juan Jaime joined the list of former Mississippi Braves to play in the big leagues when they pitched for Atlanta against Washington. That brings the number to 87. Buchter, who was up at the start of the season but didn’t play, got the win as the Braves won 6-4 in 13 innings.

04 May

it’s the big leagues

It’s a tough situation to walk into, but it’s also a safe bet Chris Coghlan isn’t concerned about the Chicago Cubs’ place in the standings. The former Ole Miss star is back in the big leagues, having been called up by the last-place Cubs to replace another outfielder, Ryan Sweeney, who went on the disabled list. Former National League rookie of the year Coghlan was hitting just .243 at Triple-A Iowa, but he is a career .270 hitter in the majors with 21 homers and 27 steals over parts of five years, all with the Florida/Miami Marlins. He signed a minor league deal with Chicago in the off-season. A left-handed hitter, Coghlan can play any of the outfield spots and even has experience at second and third base. With the Cubs facing St. Louis right-hander Lance Lynn, another Ole Miss product, at Wrigley Field tonight, Coghlan could be in the lineup. P.S. Brian Dozier is building a case for making the American League All-Star team. The ex-Southern Miss standout from Tupelo, now the Minnesota Twins’ second baseman, leads the league in runs (29) and has eight home runs and nine stolen bases. Dozier is batting just .246 but has a .365 on-base percentage and has reached in 11 straight games through Saturday. He is also playing great defense. Of course, the July 15 All-Star Game is at Minnesota’s Target Field, so Dozier would figure to get lots of support in the voting from hometown fans.

10 Mar

heat check

The Chicago Cubs’ cast of outfielders is not exactly star-studded, including the likes of Junior Lake, Justin Ruggiano, Nate Schierholtz and Ryan Sweeney. Also in the mix this spring — as a non-roster invitee — is former Ole Miss standout Chris Coghlan. The former National League rookie of the year went 1-for-3 with an RBI today, but with only two hits in 16 at-bats for the spring, he hasn’t made a great impression. Coghlan, 28, is a .270 career hitter (spent entirely with the Miami Marlins) who has had bad luck with injuries. He hit .256 in 70 games last year for the Marlins, who elected not to bring him back. Eli Whiteside, the former Delta State catcher, is also in Cubs camp as a non-roster player. Whiteside, 34, is hitless in seven at-bats this spring as he bids for the job backing up Wellington Castillo. Whiteside, a good receiver, is a .215 career hitter who spent 2013 in Triple-A with Texas and batted just .187. At this stage, it appears both Coghlan and Whiteside will be left out in the cold when Chicago sets its opening day roster.

03 Dec

off the rails

The Miami Marlins have finally given up on Chris Coghlan, four years after the Ole Miss product won rookie of the year honors as their left fielder. Coghlan, 28, eligible for arbitration this year, was non-tendered by the Marlins on Monday and is now a free agent. The left-handed hitting Coghlan batted .321 with nine homers, 47 RBIs and 84 runs in 128 games in 2009. Plagued by injuries, he has played just 265 big league games since. He got into 70 games in 2013 and hit .256. Coghlan is a .270 career hitter (.337 on-base percentage) but isn’t really a power source (21 homers) or a speed merchant (27 steals). He has some versatility, having played second base in the minors and some third base this past season. He might fit in somewhere as a bench player, but one expects he’ll have to earn such a job on a minor league contract in spring training. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves ace Tommy Hanson, who once seemed to have such a bright future in Atlanta, was non-tendered by the Los Angeles Angels and also became a free agent. … Various reports have Miami among the teams interested in ex-M-Braves catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who had a solid 2013 season with Boston but wasn’t re-signed.