Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Paniagua Grand Slam Powers AZL Cubs over AZL Padres

Jose Paniagua slugged a grand slam to cap a five-run 3rd inning and singled and scored in the 7th, Robert Garcia and Alex Bautista each drilled a triple and a single and scored two runs (Garcia also stole a base), and Jesus Camargo (ex-Mexico City Red Devils) tossed four shutout innings with seven strikeouts, as the AZL Cubs bludgeoned the AZL Padres 9-2 in Arizona League action Tuesday night at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ. 

RHP James Norwood (on South Bend 7-day DL) made his second AZL game appearance, tossing two shutout innings.

Shawon Dunston Jr (on Myrtle Beach 7-day DL) played LF for five innings and went 1-2 at the plate, including a double and a sacrifice fly.

RHP Luis Hernandez made his first game appearance of 2015 after being shut-down more than three months ago in Minor League Camp. 

Cubs 2015 30th round draft pick Tyler Payne (West Virginia State) made his pro game debut, catching all nine innings and going 1-3 with a double and a walk. Payne also threw out a baserunner attrempting to steal third base.  

Here is the abridged box score from the game (Cubs players only):

AZL CUBS LINEUP:
1. Robert Garcia, CF: 2-5 (3-U, 1B, 3B, K, F-7, 2 R, SB)
2. Carlos Sepulveda, 2B: 0-3 (K, SH-E1, BB,. 6-3, 6-3, R, SB)
3a. Shawon Dunston Jr, LF: 1-2 (2B, F-7 SF, K, RBI)
3b. Donnie Cimino, LF: 0-2 (4-3, 1-3)
4. Wladimir Galindo, 3B: 0-3 (K, BB, K, 6-3, R)
5. Jose Paniagua, 1B: 2-4 (5-3, HR, K, 1B, 2 R, 4 RBI)
6. Alex Bautista, RF: 2-4 (3B, F-8, F-7, 1B, 2 R)
7. Jhonny Pereda, DH: 1-3 (F-9 SF, 1B, K, 1-3, RBI)
8. Tyler Payne, C: 1-3 (6-3, BB, 2B, K)
9. Carlos Jimenez, SS: 1-4 (1B, F-9, E-1, 5-3, R)

AZL CUBS PITCHERS
1. James Norwood: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1/2 GO/FO, 38 pitches (23 strikes) 
2. Jesus Camargo: 4.0 IP, 3 H,. 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 1 GIDP, 2/2 GO/FO, 59 pitches (29 strikes) 
3. Luis Hernandez: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 GIDP, 10 pitches (9 strikes) 
4. Jesus Castillo: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 3/1 GO/FO, 44 pitches (26 strikes) 

AZL CUBS ERRORS: 1
CF Robert Garcia: E-8 (fielding error allowed batter to advance to 2nd basse on a single) 

AZL CUBS CATCHERS DEFENSE
Tyler Payne: 1-2 CS 

Comments

HAGSAG: Robert Garcia is the real deal as far as speed, defense, and bunting skills are concerned, but his base-stealing technique is raw. He's been driving the ball LH and generally hitting very well in the AZL after struggling at EXST. So until he plays in the NWL or MWL, it will be difficult to accurately gauge his hitting skill going forward. Also, he is 21 and this is his third season in pro ball, so he needs to keep moving upward and not stall at a level.  

One thing I will note is that it appears that Garcia has passed Roberto Caro on the depth chart. They basically have switched places, as Caro had a nice Cactus League EXST but has had some difficulty hitting so far in the AZL. Both are 21 and have a similar skill-set, and they will probably be competing for the same job slot next season. In fact, with all of the outfielders coming on board from the draft, Caro could get released sooner rather than later. 

One notable difference between Garcia and Caro is that Garcia seems to play with more heart, enthusiasm, and desire, and seems to want it more than Caro (not that he necessarily does, but it does appear that way). Caro is more polished in all phases of his game, but he is also somewhat cool and laid-back, and that could ultimately work against him as far as comparison & evaluation is concerned. 

Mike Olt's Article XIX-C Minor League Rehab Assignment expires on Friday, so the Cubs will need to reinstate him from the 60-day DL and either put him on the MLB 25-man roster (unlikely) or option him to Iowa (far more-likely). 

Since Olt getting reinstated should coincide with David Ross getting reinstated from the 7-day concussion DL, Taylor Teagarden will probably be dropped from the 25 to make room for Ross and dropped from the 40 to make room for Olt on Thursday. 

Teagarden is out of minor league options, so the Cubs will need to secure Outright Assignment Waivers before they can send him back to Iowa, and while I am fairly sure that Teagarden would accept the Outright Assignment (he probably signed a 45-day waiver prior to getting moved-up to the 40 last week), I don't think it's necessarily a slam-dunk that he will get through waivers without being claimed. 

And if Teagarden were to get claimed, the Cubs would be left with Kyle Schwarber (probably not ready defensively), Willson Contreras (hasn't played above AA), and Taylor Davis (more of an offensive-first uitlity catcher) in the event that Montero or Ross goes down with an injury, what with Welington Castillo and Rafael Lopez having been traded.   

In fact if I'm a team chasing the Cubs for the second Wild Card slot (like the Diamondbacks or Mets), I would seriously consider claiming Teagarden off waivers just so the Cubs would be stuck without a veteran third catcher at Iowa who has big league experience and knows the pitching staff (from having spent six weeks at big league camp during Spring Training). 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Olt is hitting just .192 in 14 games so far at Iowa with 15 Ks and only 2 walks. Very frustrating. I thought he'd be up to help already and provide some more pop than Baxter as the 1B-OF bench player.

Schwarber meanwhile has a line of 351/403/667 (1.070 OPS) at Iowa. Small sample size of 16 games, but the guy is a beast.  Would be nice to see him in LF and maybe a Coghlan/Fowler platoon in CF for the last month of the season. 

PHIL: Forgive my memory lapse but was there a similar player by the name of Paniagua (or "pan y agua" - bread and water) that you had detailed that went by like an assumed name, and was having customs issues a few years ago? Was that "Juan" Paniagua? Was it someone else? But, I seem to recall he was a pitcher? Thanks for filling the memory abyss for me.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

E-MAN: That would be RHP Juan Carlos Paniagua, who went by the name "Juan Callado" when he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks ($17,000 bonus) in 2008. Callado (Paniagua) spent two seasons with the DSL Diamondbacks playing on a "pending contract" (the contract could not be approved until Callado could provide the required identity documention), and then once it was determined by MLB that Paniagua (Callado) signed his contract using a false name and DOB, the contract was voided, the Diamondbacks released him, and MLB suspended him for one year.  

Callado was signed by the Yankees in 2011 ($1.1M bonus) after his suspension was lifted, with Callado now calling himself "Juan Carlos Paniagua" and using a different DOB (04-04-1990) than the one he used when he signed with the D'backs, but that contract was voided by MLB because MLB said that the birth certificate provided by Paniagua was not a legal document. 

Paniagua was cleared by MLB in 2012 and subsequently signed with the Cubs ($1.5M bonus), even though he was still unable to provide a legitimate birth certificate. Clubs were warned by MLB that Paniagua's identity and age could not be verified (and probably never will be verified), so any team wishing to sign him could do so, but "buyer-beware". 

Paniagua(?) is now 25 years old (apparently) and is at Hi-A Myrtle Beach. He features a 95-97 MPH fastball and a hard-breaking slider, so he does have upside. He has had command problems throughout his career, however. He will be eligible for selection in the MLB Rule 5 Draft post-2015. 

I am not certain, but I seem to remember Juan Paniagua having all sorts of problems in his career due to false names and identifications. I think he had a couple of contracts cancelled.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.