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

2009 Opening Day Minor League Rosters

Iowa

C - Mark Johnson, Chris Robinson

INF - Andres Blanco, Matt Matulia, Luis Rivas, Nate Spears, Bobby Scales, Jake Fox

OF - Sam Fuld, Doug Deeds, So Taguchi, Jason Dubois, Brad Snyder

SP - Jose Ascanio, Mitch Atkins, Esmalian Caridad, Jeff Samardzija, Randy Wells

RP - Justin Berg, Jessie Estrada, Chad Fox, Kevin Hart, J.R. Mathes, Greg Reinhard, Jeff Stevens, Jason Waddell

That starting rotation is according to the press release and it mentions that Mitch Atkins will get Iowa's opening day start. Also, Triple A and Double A rosters should max out at 24 (according to AZ Phil at least) so there's a good chance two players are headed to the DL right away unless there's been a rule change. Then of course, why wouldn't they just sit back in extended spring training?

Tennessee

C - Welington Castillo, Steve Clevenger

INF - Darwin Barney, Tony Thomas, Jonathan Mota, Matt Camp, Blake Lalli, Kyle Reynolds.

OF - Jim Adduci, Brandon Guyer, Richie Robnett, Ty Wright

SP- James Russell, Hung-Wen Chen, Casey Coleman, Jay Jackson, Casey Lambert (link)

RP - Todd Blackford, John Gaub, Alex Maestri, Jeremy Papelbon, Blake Parker, Vince Perkins, Jayson Ruhlman, Brian Schlitter

25 total for 24 supposed roster spots, so something will have to give.

Daytona

C- Mark Reed, Robinson Chirinos

INF - Russ Canzler, Starlin Castro, Jovan Rosa, Marwin Gonzalez, Nathan Samson, Marquez Smith

OF - Tyler Colvin, Drew Rundle, Dylan Johnston, Jonathan Wyatt

P- Alberto Albuquerque, David Cales, Rafael Dolis, James Leverton, Marcos Mateo, Dan McDaniel, Craig Muschko, Jake Muyco, Dustin Sasser, Ryan Searle, Luke Sommer, Steve Vento, Henry Williamson

Peoria

C - Luis Flores, Mario Mercedes

INF - Rebel Ridling, Josh Harrison, Junior Lake, Ryan Flaherty, Josh Vitters, David Macias

OF - Cliff Andersen, Kyler Burke, Tony Campana, Nelson Perez

P - Chris Archer, Jeffrey Beliveau, Ryan Buchter, Alberto Cabrera, Chris Carpenter, Erik Hamren, Marcus Hatley, Chris Huseby, Kevin Kreier, Mike Perconte, Jose Pina, Aaron Shafer, Josh Whitlock

Last year's top pick Andrew Cashner looks like he'll stay back in Arizona for extended spring training still dealing with his oblique injury he suffered early on in camp. The mysterious case of Jordan Latham remains...mysterious. I was told he was released by Steve Holley at Inside the Ivy. Then when he ran his own story mentioning it (it's been edited since), the Cubs and particularly Latham's family freaked out a bit and Steve was assured that he wasn't released. Yet, he's not on any rosters suggesting he's staying back in extended spring training in Arizona. But for a kid with a 2.63 minor league ERA over two seasons and pitching in Daytona last year, that's an odd choice unless there's an injury of some sort...or possibly some personal issues that put him behind others.

Comments

Soriano, Theriot, Lee, Bradley , Ramirez, Johnson, Soto, Fontenot, Dempster

vs

Matsui, Rodriguez, Berkman, Lee, Tejada, Blum, Pence,  Bourne, Wandy

Rob, are you sure about Ascanio starting in Iowa? Seems like they'd put Mathes in the rotation as filler and let Ascanio develop as a late inning RP, since that's his future in the big leagues. Or maybe they just want him to work on a 3rd pitch? I would think Iowa would only carry 4 OFs, not 5, so maybe they will just release Taguchi or Dubois.

Thanks, Rob! I'm interested to see how both Ryan Searle and Brandon Guyer do. Am I right in that they're both "skipping" a level (Guyer bypassing Daytona, Searle skipping Peoria)? And is it true that they're trying out Casey Lambert as a starter? (This might explain why he didn't jump to Iowa after a strong half-season at AA). And I guess I haven't been paying attention-- what happened to Tiggy? (I know he put up some shizzletastic numbers last year)

Rob, whats the deal with listing Samninja 4th in the I-Cubs rotation? Don't give me that "alphabetical order" bullshit, i'm onto your tricks! Thanks for the run down, now let's watch the cubs shell Wandy

I have a partial list of those starting out in EXTST. Opitz,Brenly,Jones,Calvert,Keedy,Hoorelbeke,Sontag,Weimer,Kemp,Cerda,Watkins,Mattheus,Sosa,Soto,Cashner.

Cubs lose. Back to .500. THE GOOD: - Dempster. A very good start. More than kept the team in game. Too bad the offense couldn't come through. - Soriano. Another HR. And it was a BOMB off Latoya Hawkins. - Bullpen. Held Houston scoreless for 3 over innings giving their offense a chance to win it. Though Gregg hasn't looked great giving up a run yesterday and an inherited run tonight. THE BAD: - Soriano. 3K's and an error. Luckily the HR made us forget about the bad. THE UGLY: - Offense. Just did not click tonight. Theriot did have 2 hits, but offense only got 1 run outside of Soriano's HR. Let's go get them tomorrow and win the series. Hopefully Lilly can turn things around and start to get on track. Go Cubs!

File "Milton Bradley" under "spring training stats don't mean shit" Be good if he got a hit before they open at Wrigley. Otherwise -- Jacques II I still don't like closers who "pitch to contact". Amazing stat -- Cubs haven't been 2-0 since 1995. But, hey -- the Bears still got Jay Cutler.

How about Hawkins being 0-2 on Soriano and he throws him a fastball down the middle? 10 cent head-glad we don't have him around anymore...

The Cubs have a tendency to push players through the system quickly and I believe this can (and has, though no great examples come quickly to mind) hurt certain players. This year Starlin Castro, one of our better prospects, is moving from Rookie ball at Mesa at 19 years old to High A ball at Daytona. Marwin Gonzalez, another young SS, is moving from Boise to Daytona. Meanwhile, Ryan Flaherty, a 22 year old who played in big time college ball, is going from Boise to low A ball at Lansing. Similarly, Brandon Guyer finally got healthy and started producing in the second half of last season. Instead of bringing him along slowly and moving him up one level, the Cubs push him up to AA (skipping Daytona). I expect Castro, Guyer and Gonzalez will struggle, though have hope and excitement that they excel. I think there is much higher risk from these quick movements, such as that a player will lose confidence and/or develop bad habits while struggling, without much benefit (if he dominates at a certain level, he can be promoted, which is a boost to confidence). Any thoughts?

[ ]

In reply to by springs

One thing to keep in mind,especially with the latin guys. Peoria is cold this time of year. Maybe the Cubs think they will have a better chance to get off to get starts in a warm weather situation, as opposed to freezing in Peoria with the rest of the guys. This was mentioned as a reason that Josh Vitters might also start in Daytona this year. I suspect that if Gonzalez or Castro struggle in Daytona. They will head to Peoria once the weather heats up. Just a hunch. As for Guyer, he is in the same situation that Marquez Smith is in. He is already 23 years old. He needs to be moving up through the ranks a little quicker than the other guys if he wants to be considered a prospect. So maybe starting him in AA is the Cubs way of saying "Move forward or Get out of the way". Again, just a hunch.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

It's hard to figure their thinking on moving or not moving players. You have a big time 2-way college player like Jericho Jones who turns down being picked in the 3rd round (as a pitcher) so he can take his shot at hitting and being a position player ( Cubs 20th round pick) By the way, the Dodgers clocked him 92-96 in their pre-draft tryout. So he leads the AZL in hitting for most of the summer ( and falls off somewhat in August)....he reports to spring training and bats over .400 and holds his own in the AA games.....he wasn't promoted last summer to Boise and he was not promoted to Peoria or Daytona this week. Go figure......he has the highest power rating (97) of any outfielder in the Cubs system.Guyer needs to be moving on up.....he has the tools and should rise to the promotion. I think moving Starlin Castro that far up is a big mistake......there will be some players that will not rise to the level they're starting at so we will see some shuffling around of rosters after a few weeks.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 11:53am.

As for Guyer, he is in the same situation that Marquez Smith is in. He is already 23 years old. He needs to be moving up through the ranks a little quicker than the other guys if he wants to be considered a prospect. So maybe starting him in AA is the Cubs way of saying "Move forward or Get out of the way". Again, just a hunch.

==========================================

AARON: 23 is the most-common age for players at A+ (like Daytona), 24 is the most-common age for players at AA, and 25 is the most-common age for players at AAA.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    bruce bochy is hobbling rather badly for a guy who's had 2 hip replacements.  his gait is extremely wonky taking the lineup card to the ump.

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • 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.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    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?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.