Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

TCR Donation Drive for $25 Million

I'm not sure if I should be worried about this piece of news, but supposedly soon-to-be new Cubs owner Tom Ricketts is trying to raise $100M in capital from private investors.

According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Tom Ricketts is looking for five to 10 people who could each come up with $25 million.

For that, they’d get front row seats at Wrigley Field, a chance to rub elbows with players and be on an advisory board that would meet regularly to discuss the team’s future.

After 15 years, they’d get back their original investment.

Alright, those seats would be kind of sweet and I think close to 100 people donated last time we had a donation drive. You are going to have to raise the ante though this time to about $250,000 each. You can just go ahead and paypal me the money or send a check to Nigeria.

Tags

Comments

rotation tweaked...

Harden, Lilly, Z for the Reds and Dempster, Marshall, Harden vs. Cardinals

maybe Lou is trying to blow out Harden's arm as soon as possible so they can just move on? Lilly has been battling a cold though...

Bradley could/should be back in the lineup Tuesday

Soriano and Theriot may sit Thursday...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Not possible. Ted Lilly is the only known cure for the common cold.

I think it's time to worry: Crane Kenny just knocked at my door trying to sell me magazines for his "fundraiser". I bought a Sports Illustrated but I told him he'll have to sell a lot of magazines if they want to add Peavy to the payroll.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Yeah, not sure what this guy has to do to stay in the rotation for an extended period of time. He must have shit in Lou's hat or something.

[ ]

In reply to by Q-Ball

Q-BALL: Neal Cotts is only making $1.1M, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Cubs DFA him and see if anyone is interested, and if nobody is interested, the Cubs could try to outright him to AAA. He can refuse an outright assignment because he has three-plus years of MLB service time, but if he refuses, he terminates his contract and the Cubs don't owe him any termination pay. 

As far as who might replace Cotts if the Cubs drop him, the best "pure LOOGY" Cubs minor leaguer in the higher levels of the system is John Gaub, who is at AA Tennessee. Jason Waddell actually is better against RH hitters, but Lou Piniella REALLY liked him in ST, and so I suspect if a move is made with Cotts, Waddell will get the call. But it really should be Gaub if you're looking for someone who can get a Prince Fielder or a Ryan Howard out.

Or the Cubs could recall a starting pitcher from Iowa (probably Jeff Samardzija) and move Marshall to the pen. 

I think Cotts is a goner, though. Uncle Lou looked VERY unhappy with Cotts last time he pitched.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

can't wait for the Google hits on that one...

and it's a joke btw, before anyone takes that clip seriously.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

yow...if you have no sense of voice inflection, personality, or acting you probably shouldn't be joking about a teammate being racist. hehe... that was so dry it's gonna rope some people in.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Vernon Wells also admits to being bisexual around the :53 mark...He can do both sides...These interviews are gold. EDIT: The videos suck for the most part. I only watched Bourne squirm around a pretty girl and Wells calling Hill racist. The rest if crap.

get Blaine Boyer from Braves for Brian Barton.... say that 10 times fast...

"After 15 years, they’d get back their original investment." I would imagine that people who are smart enough to have that amount of capital at their disposal are going to ask Ricketts '15 years, huh... what time frame are you looking at to cover your initial investment?' I would say they should troll around for former Cubs, but the previous management burnt so many bridges, the wealthier former Cubs are all associated with other organizations now.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I'm hoping there are some other details because that's a shitty business deal if you have $25M sitting around. 15 years just to get back your original investment? No interest, no voting rights on the team...you'd only do it if you really want the good seats and say you own part of the Cubs.

at a mere 3% interest rate, the investor would lose out on $13-$14M and that's a pretty conservative estimate.

 

 

If I could be the guy who called Cotts into the office and tell him thanks for his time...here is your severance pay, I'd find a way to come up with 25m

"You can just go ahead and paypal me the money or send a check to Nigeria." Can i just say that i find this remark very racist. in fact, i will go on to say that the entire TCR staff is a racist regime. in fact, i will go on to say further that the Cubs 100+ years of futility never happened and that the Cubs have actually won the world series in there somewhere. i am now inviting other members of TCR in a walkout. you can expect that a clown in lively colored hair will come soon to disrupt your comments section. that is all.

100 Million for naming rights would be a better deal. Dickie Durban could vote some pork to AIG, which would be floated to a certain North Chicago property bailout, ending one hundred years (or so) of first and second half losses. New training facilities will be built for Z OVER Lake Michigan accessible by high speed (23 secs., in honor of Ryno) bullet trains between the stadium and said lake, followed by a small neon sign erection stating, 'Wrigley Field presented by AIGIRS'. Who's with me?

For those of you who have seen BASEketball, I've always been a fan of ____ Tampon Field...I love the blimp with the white string flying easily in the wind. I mean think about it, having tampon nights in the playoffs to soak up all of blood and tears.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4085478 Weird quote by Jim Mraz, Great Falls LL president: "You're a little stunned. Like, 'Whoa, wait a minute.' Here's the game of baseball -- it's got steroids hanging over it, all these issues. ... Needless to say the Nats kind of need help with what they're doing. I could see if he was out trying to do something small or private, but he just came into my community and gave us a shot in the arm." Is it just me, or is it bad that Mraz mentioned something about steroids (on a topic completely unrelated it it), and then used the "shot in the arm" reference. Nothing conspirital about it, just seemed a poor choice of words.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

i still have no idea who the hell would want dukes anywhere around kids...much less giving them advice. no one he was speaking to is old enough to even sneak into a strip club...and none of those kids are married so he can't teach them how to beat their girlfriends and wives without leaving too many marks. ...and none of them are old enough (barely) for him to sleep with. for all the complaining about the TB/durhamBulls(AAA) antics of the old crew of kids from years ago Dukes was by far the catalyst and source of much of the trouble...imo...

• On Roger Clemens' magical hot testicle ointments: "I've seen some of it drip onto his balls. He lubes. I've never seen a guy wear more hot shit on the planet. The guy's basically in a jock and a pair of socks and like head to toe in hot shit. That's no bullshit." • Would he try magical hot testicle ointments?: No, I would fucking cry. The stuff that he used to put on his body-even his hot tanks were like molten lava. He would get in the hot tank before the games, and it was like a cauldron. One time I put my foot in there, my skin almost fell off my foot, it was so hot. http://deadspin.com/5220378/jason-giambi-grows-up-sort-of

I can't believe they will get today's game in. Not since it's been drizzling/raining all day. We shall see. Maybe since it will be pretty chilly, Dusty will have that flask of bullshit he laughed about on Opening Day 2003

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).