Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

27 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE (including the 27th man for second game of 4/20 doubleheader), eleven players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-20-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 14
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little (27th man)
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 11 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




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Rule 5 Draft 
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Cubs @ Nationals: Arrieta vs. Gonzalez (Game 52 Thread)

Submitted by CTSteve on

CHC (27-24): RHP Jake Arrieta (4-4, 3.18)

WAS (29-24): LHP Gio Gonzalez (4-2, 4.73)

First pitch: 6:05pm CST

Fowler# cf

Bryant 3b

Rizzo* 1b

Lake rf

Castro ss

Szczur lf

Ross c

Arrieta p

Russell 2b

 

Span* cf

Rendon 2b

Escobar 3b

Harper* rf

Zimmerman 1b

Desmond ss
Lobaton# c

Taylor lf

Gonzalez* p


Arrieta had a great start to the season, but he went 1-3 with a 3.99 ERA in May. He had given up 3 HRs all season, so of course in his last start the light-hitting Royals came to town and doubled that number, including a first pitch solo shot by Escobar. Arrieta ended up giving up 4 ER in 7 and didn’t factor in the battle of the bullpens. Fowler’s defensive blunder didn’t help. Cubnut put it best: “Didn't see the game, didn't hear the game. Still pissed.”

Gonzalez gave up 4 ER in 5.1 innings and took the loss against CIN in his last outing, but WAS had won his last five starts before that.

Rizzo (15-35 against lefties) is still looking for his first hit in 12 attempts against Gonzalez: he’s 0-11, with a BB. Fowler is 5-11 with a HR and Castro is 5-14. Escobar has had the most success against Arrieta, going 7-18 with a HR. Others have fewer ABs: Harper (4-9), Espinosa (3-7), and Desmond (4-13).

Injury update: Chris Denorfia begins his rehab stint at AA-Tenn tonight. Rendon is back for WAS from knee and oblique injuries, which have kept him on the shelf since March 25. Ramos is out because of a sore thumb--really.

Since winning at Wrigley, the Nats have lost their last two series, including getting swept by the Reds in Cinci and losing two to the Jays at home. Revenge is a dish best served on the road.

Go Cubs!

 

Tags
Cubs 2015 Game Thread

Comments

Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:16 pm

I love the Blue links!$ Anyway way to go Junior Lake! Barely back up to the big leagues after a triumphantly shitty 2014 on a team that may or may not need him, in a league he may or may not be good enough for, with very little to show in his short career - but somehow he is happy to set up a lawn chair and watch his homer and the finger wag and chirping when the Cubs are getting their asses kicked by a team that has a general manager managing it. Because Junior Lake knows that to win games you should always wake any potential sleeping Giants. I hope he and Castro and up on another MLB roster sooner rather than later. I want cutthroat winners not boneheaded hot dogs on an average team.

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Submitted by crunch on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:24 pm

if he keeps hitting homers they'll have to move him out of the 4 slot. castro is doing crappy enough to take over there again. it takes a few months to see what a manager is going to do with their lineups...and whether it's just a slow start for a batter...but maddon's handling of the 4 slot is weird. hell, more often than what should happen there's a better batter in the 6 slot than the 4 or 5. we know with a guy like dusty you're going to get crap in the 2 slot because he was a "contact-heavy" or "second fastest" type for that slot (like too many managers), but i can't figure out what the hell maddon is thinking with the 4 slot. early on i thought he was waiting for someone to emerge, but now i'm confused. he's piling up some crap there.

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Submitted by crunch on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:58 pm

it's not about tonight, but castro was the worst hitter on the team owning the slot for a long time while others were piled behind him. the "weak guy in the 4 slot" isn't an isolated incident. ...just wondering what maddon's thinking is there. even in yesterday's game we had lake/castro going 4/5 with cog slotted 6th...vs a righty.

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:54 pm

at least 2-4 people not doing the worst job on the team other than the pitcher depending on the day in question...pull it out of a hat out of the pool of players...don't care. why does maddon use a sub-par bat in the 4 slot so often, or what skills is he looking at for a 4-slot hitter? ...this is what i'm trying to figure out. it's not like it's happened in only a handful of games. it seems to be something he's consciously doing on purpose. i just have no idea what skill set he's looking at to slot there.

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Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:18 pm

He's struggling ... I believe he has his heart in the right place from everything I've heard. But he does stuff I truly don't understand. Starting with the day he mimicked Bryant's throw to first I've honestly started to question his sanity. He might be the Mark Fidrych of SS. It would help if he didn't suck with the bases loaded.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:30 pm

I loved the mimicking thing as long as he didn't do it more than once. I've always thought he suffers from a bit of attention deficit disorder. He's fine in the field if he's aggressive and charges the ball. I think the hitting is a concern - he's looking more like two years ago than last year so far.

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Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:39 pm

If you watched the mimic replay carefully, Rizzo gives Castro a 'what the fuck' after the play - I think it made no sense and in a worst case scenario could have confused Rizzo and caused an injury etc. these guys have lightening quick reactions, they see everything and they are processing a lot of information. I don't think Rizzo appreciated two throwing motions heading his way. It bugged me. I'm glad you thought it was fun. I just didn't get it.

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Submitted by WISCGRAD on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:02 am

Yes, Yogi said that, but the full quote is "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical."And Castro clearly has physical tools. But I agree and have been saying this for some time this season: I've lost patience in him. After so long you have to realize this is what you have rather than saying his young and adjusting and maturing, etc. I like that Maddon has even said that those are no excuses for guys like Russel, so I know he isn't going to give Castro any leeway. I would guess and the front office are just as frustrated with him as we are.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:20 am

I'm not a big fan of America's pharmaceutical culture. I'm of the age where almost everyone my age is on pharms of some kind, and it drives me crazy. I won't go into who to blame - it's a complex issue and this isn't the forum for discussing it. I myself just avoid them like the plague. That preface was necessary because I've read/heard good things about ritalin, which I believe is banned by the MLB but can get exemptions (again, I think that's the case - I could be wrong). Castro seems like a perfect candidate for that stuff. Like I said, I dislike how Americans turn to pharms to treat every small thing, and I believe that most health issues can be dealt with through proper diet and exercise (please, nobody hit me with the exceptions to this - there are obviously serious health issues that come up where pharm is a necessary step in the treatment regimen). Maybe our resident DR can comment on my theory on Castro - but the lack of focus has been there 5 years and I honestly don't believe it's because he doesn't care. If I did, I wouldn't have been in his corner so long. I'm losing patience, too, but reluctantly.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:16 pm

Castro had a very good April, and a terrible May at the plate and in the field. Let's see how June shakes out before we trade him for some grit or scrap, eh?

Submitted by Cubster on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:49 pm

As the World Turns (for ex-Cubs): J. Ruggiano DFA'd by Seattle to make room for the backup catcher (Sucre) who was needed because they flipped Beef Castillo to Arizona in the Trumbo trade. It would have been easier if AZ took Castillo in the Montero transaction. Sure hope Yoervis Medina works out after all that flip-floppin'

Submitted by Cubster on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:30 pm

Don't look now but Christian Villanueva is hitting .305 with 7 HR's for Iowa. Anyone need a strong defensive/offensive 3rd baseman? I'd love to hear AZ Phil's take on Villanueva's improvements this year.

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Submitted by fullykräusened on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:25 am

O&B- I saw Contreras a couple of years ago when he was in the Midwest League, and he seemed very agile and mobile, built more like an infielder than the stereotypical catcher. I don't know about his arm, receiving skills, pitch framing, etc., but he did look "athletic."

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:27 am

"Don't look now, but . . ." Everybody is hitting at Iowa--but I agree that Villanueva's improvement might be the most surprising. Villanueva has always been considered their best defensive option at third. He's a major leaguer if he can hit. His trade value is definitely rising, but the Cubs might want to make sure that he's not the guy THEY want there. Current Iowa ranking by OPS: Szczur 88 ab, .330/.378/.545(/.962) Baez 128 ab, .313/.390/.523(/.914) Villanueva 133 ab, .301/.358/.549(/.907) Alcantara 161 ab, .286/.363/.528(/.891) Andreoli 112 ab, .295/.397/.438(/.834) Silva 136 ab, .287/.285/.507(/.792) Alcantara leads in homers with eight. Plus he has ten SB's, zero CS's. Power and speed!

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:57 am

CUBSTER: I don't think Christian Villanueva has necessarily improved this season. He was rated on of the Top 100 prospects in baseball by Baseball America post-2011, but he was blocked at 3B in Texas by Mike Olt (also a Top 100 prospect at the time), and then fairly soon after Villanueva was acquired by the Cubs in the Ryan Dempster deal in 2012, the Cubs acquired Mike Olt from Texas and drafted & signed Kris Bryant. As a result, Villanueva was blocked at 3rd base by both Olt AND Bryant, and therefore was forced to remain in AA for most of last season when he should have been in AAA. 

Villanueva started the 2015 season back at AA again (because Bryant was at Iowa), but after getting promoted to AAA (when Bryant got called up to Chicago), Villanueva is once again displaying the skillset that got him a Top 100 ranking from BA three years ago. 

Villanueva has always been an above-average defensive third-baseman with a plus-arm and HR power, but he became a forgotten man in the Cubs organization because of the rich depth at 3B. But I think Villanueva has certainly surpassed Olt as far as Cubs third-base prospects go, and I fully expect Villanueva to be an everyday MLB third-baseman within the next couple of years, just probably not with the Cubs, since he doesn't have the versatility or athleticism to play multiple positions (which is probably what he would need to to do if he remained with the Cubs). He's a third-baseman. Period. 

Villanueva wil be out of minor league options next season, and I doubt that the Cubs would want to lose him off waivers if he doesn't make the MLB 25-man roster out of Spring Training 2016, so I would think that he will probably be traded sometime this season or during next off-season or 2016 Spring Training. 

I think the only way Villanueva stays with the Cubs is if either Castro or Baez is traded AND Bryant is moved to LF. 

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Submitted by WISCGRAD on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:38 am

Everyone keeps saying the Cubs need to trade for pitching, and I agree that the bullpen has been an issue and you could of course aquire a starter that would be better than Wada (though he has been sharp of late), but I really wish this team could score some damn runs. The pitching, particularly the starting pitching, overall has been pretty good. They are 9th in the majors in Runs Allowed. But they are 24th in Runs Scored! So either the team needs to trade for a bat (LF?) or bring up Baez now to see if he is the answer. Otherwise I almost wouldn't waste my time trading for pitching, just to continue to lose close games. 

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:46 am

I'm so with you on that comment. Yesterday was a game they should have lost. They had guys on base enough, they can just never bring them in. I wouldn't mind seeing a very consistent bat in LF. I doubt Baez is ready to be taken out of the oven yet, but his swing looks really better from a couple recent video clips.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:56 pm

The problem with pitchers though is if you spend a bunch of prospects on one guy, and that guy blows out his arm, which is probably 50-50 that he does, there go your prospects, and for nothing. Getting prospects that way has been the Cubs formula, and it is working for them. We all want a world series this year but guess what? It's not gonna happen. Not with all these rookies starting and screwing up like rookies do. I'm enjoying watching the team play, and I'll enjoy watching it grow. What I won't enjoy is watching the team trade a bunch of prospects for a pitcher who is more likely than not to blow his arm out. Just keep piling up the pitchers, and some will rise above the rest, probably in time to go deep into the playoffs next year. Add a free agent maybe. Maybe they sneak into the playoffs THIS year. Cool, anything can happen then. Otherwise, I'm hoping for a patient front office.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Fri, 06/05/2015 - 06:54 am

"I don't think Christian Villanueva has necessarily improved this season." Look at the numbers, Phil. 234 ABs at Tenn last year: .248/.310/.385(/.695) 223 ABs at Iowa last year: .211/.283/.372(/.656) 133 ABs at Iowa this year: .301/.358/.549(/.907) 10 HRs last year; 9 already this year (including 2 at Tenn)

Submitted by Cubster on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:36 pm

Joe Maddon working the bullpen like he was commanding a Roman slaveship with a whip. After the first two reached (including a near brilliant play on a bunt by Rizzo, but he double clutched), lets Grimm get Uggla on a pop out, Russell to get the lefty out and Motte to strikeout Rendon.

Submitted by Cubster on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 06:39 pm

Random thoughts of the night: Did Mike Olt fall off the face of the earth? Did Theo/Jed have to pay him additional hush money?

Recent comments

  • Charlie (view)

    I hope Cards management and their fans treat Willson with respect going forward. I'd be happy to still have him as a Cub. Heck, he'd even be our best DH option at this point.

  • Raisin101 (view)

    Hi Arizona Phil!

    Exciting to see Naz Mule in box scores a few times. What's his stuff like now after the TJS?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Mastrobuoni can't come back, yet

    Wisdom does have an option left. He can hide in Iowa if Jed DFA's someone else

    Does Brennan Davis get shown the door? I know it's too early for that, but these injuries are crunching the roster of a 12-7 team playoff demands and BDavis isn't going to help anytime soon.

    Someone has to go to add Peralta. And Canario isn't going to get to play everyday regardless of RHers or LHers. Neither is Tauchman. Also don't see PCA getting a chance over Peralta.

    If Jed does those moves:

    4 OF: Belli, Peralta, Canny, Tauch

    2 C: Gomes and Amaya

    2 DH: Cooper and Mervis

    5 INF: Busch, Nico, Dansby, Morel, Madrigal

    Little short on OF depth but two injuries will do that  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I have had the pleasure of watching some of the young A's pitchers lately (first Joe Boyle the last day of Minor League Spring Training in March, and more recently Luis Morales last week and Steven Echavarria yesterday at Extended Spring Training), and it reminds me of the Miami Marlins a couple of years ago. A really nice collection of young pitchers. It will be interesting to see what the A's will get for two years of ex-Cub Paul Blackburn at the Trade Deadline (there should be a robust market for Blackburn). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Good deal

    MB needs some talent infusion!

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Very possible. Suriel, too. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: if a pitcher is recalled to be the 27th man for a doubleheader and then is optioned back to the minors the next day, the 15-day "clock" does NOT reset. The one day call-up for the doubleheader is treated like it never happened with respect to a pitcher having to spend at least 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Probably the only reason David Peralta is still in the organization (he is at AAA Iowa) is to be available in case anything bad were to happen to Ian Happ (which it just did). So if Happ needs to go on the IL, the Cubs can select Peralta to play LF, DFA Wisdom (and hope he and what remains of his $2.725M salary gets claimed off waivers), and recall Mervis to platoon at DH with Cooper (with Canario / Tauchman sharing RF), at least until Suzuki and Happ are back...

     

  • crunch (view)

    i'd just like to take a moment to express to the world i'm still pissed willson contreras is not a cub when the pricetag was 5/87m (17.5m/yr).

    it would be nice to have a legacy-type player to stick around, especially one with his leadership and the respect he gets from his peers.  cubs fans deserved more than 1 season of contreras + morel...that was gold.

  • crunch (view)

    happ, right hamstring tightness, day-to-day (hopefully 0 days).

    he will be reevaluated tomorrow.

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