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

LeMahieu Shines in Pro Debut

Cubs 2009 2nd round pick D. J. LeMahieu (LSU) made his professional debut tonight at Fitch Park in Mesa, going 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, leading the AZL Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the AZL Brewers in Arizona League action.   

box score

LeMahieu hit 3rd and was the DH, and in his very first pro AB he slammed an opposite-field triple off the RF fence, using his long-stride speed to make it to third base well in advance of the relay throw from the Brewers 2nd baseman. He then scored on a line-drive RBI single to CF by clean-up hitter (and 2009 10th round pick) Charles Thomas. (BTW, Thomas attended Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, FL, which is the same HBCU baseball legend--and one time Cubs coach--Buck O'Neil attended many years ago) 

LeMahieu struck out (swinging) on a head- high fastball on his next trip to the plate in the third, and he bounced out on a two chopper to the first-baseman (unassisted) in the 6th.

In his final at bat, LeMahieu grounded an RBI single sharply through the box to CF, scoring Wes Darvill (2009 5th round pick out of Langley, BC & the Canadian Junior National Team) from 2nd base ,LeMahieu took 2nd on the throw to the plate and advanced to 3rd on a ground out, before scoring the Cubs 4th and final run on a wild pitch. 

LeMahieu is supposed to either leave for or report to the Boise Hawks on Tuesday, so he won't be staying long in Mesa.  

It's always interesting to watch a player make his pro debut, but especially a player with the relative fame of LeMahieu. He was one of the heroes of 2009 NCAA College World Series Champion LSU, and while I had seen him play on TV (and hitting with an aluminum bat), there is nothing like seeing the kid in-person with a wood bat in his hands. I could see that he was pretty stoked tonight, that's for sure.

LeMahieu went to LSU, but he attended HS in Michigan, and lived for several years before that in Las Vegas. He is quite familiar with the Cubs operation in Mesa, having attended a number of Cubs Spring Training games at HoHoKam Park in years past (his grandmother is a huge Cubs fan, and his father lives in Wisconsin and is also a Cubs fan). . .

2009 3rd round pick LHP Aaron Kirk (Owasso HS - Owasso, OK) has also signed with the Cubs, but he is in Chicago this weekend getting the "high draft pick courtesy tour" at Wrigley Field before reporting to Mesa next week.

Boise Cubs RHP Su-Min Jung got the start for AZL Cubs tonight, and pitched two shutout innings. A 19-year Korean bonus baby signed by the Cubs last September, Jung was making his second rehab start for the AZL Cubs (he was shut-down with a sore shoulder earlier this month in Boise), and he looked very good (he picked it up a notch and struck out the last two hitters he faced, stranding Brewers runners at 2nd & 3rd). He threw all of his pitches for strikes and had good velocity on his fastball. Unless there is some reason why the Cubs want him to remain at Fitch Park, I would think Jung will be back at Boise very soon.   

In other news from Mesa, LHP B. J. Ryan reported to Fitch Park last Sunday, and has spent the past five days working one-on-one with Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator Mark Riggins.They are starting with long toss, and working up from there to delivery, arm slot, and release point. Ryan does his work in the morning, many hours before game-time and out of sight of most fans. 

Same goes for catcher Geovany Soto, who is on the Cubs 15-day DL wiith a strained oblique. He is running and hitting, so I would think that (barring any medical setbacks) he will be back with the Cubs in fairly short order. 

Iowa OF Brad Snyder (broken wrist) is also rehabbing at Fitch Park, and he hopes to be back with the I-Cubs by the end of next week. A one-time #1 draft pick of the Cleveland Indians out of Ball State (he was a college teammate of ex-Cubs LHP prospect Luke Hagerty), Snyder was claimed off waivers last September and spent most of Spring Training with the Cubs before getting outrighted to AAA the last week of March (he was out of minor league options). He was en route to a career year at Iowa before he went on the DL in mid-May (319/353/667, with 12 HR in just 36 games and on a pace for 50 HR over a full-season) and appeared to be finally putting it all together (he was even raking against LHP), so if he can pick up where he left off pre-injury and not show any ill-effects from the broken wrist, he could conceivably get a September call-up to Chicago. (That's presuming the Cubs would be interested in a five-tool left-handed hitting right-fielder). If not, Snyder is a minor league FA post-2009, and I would think some MLB club would be more than willing to give him a shot at winning a big league job in 2010. 

Comments

Wow...as always, thanks!! I hope Jung and LeMahieu are up in Boise shortly. Arizona Phil, do you have any information on Dae-Eun Rhee's rehab? Thanks.

"there is nothing like seeing the kid in-person with a wood bat in his hands" heard that. aluminum is such a developmental crutch (what it does to inside pitching/hitting learning/execution and the bad that comes from it), but it's just fiscally sane in an environment where baseball on the amateur level is far from king. *ting*

Submitted by Raisin101 on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 1:29am.
Wow...as always, thanks!! I hope Jung and LeMahieu are up in Boise shortly.

Arizona Phil, do you have any information on Dae-Eun Rhee's rehab? Thanks.

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

RAISIN: Nothing new to report on Dae-Eun Rhee. He's at Fitch Park, and he could be throwing side-sessions in the bullpen "10-PAC" (ten-mound pitch-and-catch) behind the clubhouse, but I can't say that for sure.

It has been more than a year since he had his TJS, and while most pitchers who have a TJS are back throwing in games within a year, the Cubs may just be overly cautious with Rhee, due to his age and the type of "out-pitch" he has (some kind of hard breaking splitter or knuckle-curve).

Even if Rhee doesn't pitch in any AZL games, he still could throw in AZ Instructs games in Sept-Oct, where there is more control over pitch counts (innings can be extended or stopped early). At least that's my hunch. (We'll see).

Something else I've been meaning to mention, and I hate to keep ragging on milb.com for inaccuracies, but they have some of the Cubs minor league rosters screwed up...

1. Marcos Perez is a LEFT-handed pitcher. He is NOT right-handed. He pitched again tonight, and he's definitely LEFT-handed. In fact he has been a lefty since the day he arrived at Fitch Park (and probably even before that). What is troubling is that milb.com did a similar thing with Harol Tolentino (who has since been released, BTW) the previous two seasons, except in Tolentino's case, milb.com continually listed him as a LEFT-handed pitcher when he was (in fact) a RIGHT-handed pitcher.

2. INF Dwayne Kemp (who is on the DL with a right leg injury) is a RIGHT-handed hitter. He is NOT a switch-hitter. Whether he was a switch-hitter before the Cubs signed him, I don't know. But he has hit ONLY right-handed for his entire career with the Cubs (that I've seen).

3. Unless he changed back again when he got to Peoria, INF Jose Made is a switch-hitter, NOT a right-handed hitter (although he just started switch-hitting in Spring Training 2009). And catcher Alvaro Sosa is a switch-hitter, too, and has been for at least two years.

4. 2009 17th round pick RHP B. J. Dail had his contract voided and is a free-agent. Why he is still listed on the AZL Cubs roster as "active", I have no idea.

5. RHP Cedric Redmond was relased last month. Why he is still listed as "reserved" on the Boise roster, I don't know.

6. 2009 15th round pick OF Bryan (Cody) Shields is on the AZL Cubs 60-day DL after undergoing TJS last month, and 41st round pick RHP Jake Schmidt is also on the AZL Cubs 60-day DL, but I don't know why. But they are definitely not "active"...

7. OF Sean Williams was sent back to Australia and is playing in the MLBAAP. He is not at Fitch Park, and hasn't been for about a month.

There may be other problems with the rosters on the two Cubs DSL clubs, too, but I'll let Boca Chica Phil discuss those.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Thanks for the report, Cousin, and especially for the news about Brad Snyder. A few of the Cubs' below-the-radar signings and trades--e.g., Snyder, Blanco, Avery-for-Buchter, Barrett-for-Burke--could work out pretty well and offset some of the smell of the higher profile free-agent signings. I have to ask you, though, with regard to all the confusion about who is righty or lefty or both--is it possible that Milton Bradley was mis-identified as a switch hitter?

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 2:15am.
"there is nothing like seeing the kid in-person with a wood bat in his hands"

heard that. aluminum is such a developmental crutch (what it does to inside pitching/hitting learning/execution and the bad that comes from it), but it's just fiscally sane in an environment where baseball on the amateur level is far from king.

*ting*

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

CRUNCH: I've been hitting 85 MPH fastballs three or four times a week with the same EASTON 34-inch 32-oz carbon composite bat since 1992 (it was supposed to break within a year, but it never did), and while it is not wood, at least it doesn't make that stupid "ting" noise. That sound drives me nuts.

He (Soto) is running and hitting, so I would think that (barring any medical setbacks) he will be back with the Cubs in fairly short order. --- on wgn radio yesterday they said to expect Geo Soto back by the first week in August. This translates to me as: August 1st is next saturday...so sometime during the next road trip to Fla/Cincy/Colorado

LeMahieu did pretty well in his debut. I'm excited about his potential. It will be very interesting to see how he produces in Boise. Kind of wondering where he will play when he gets there with Lee playing SS and Watkins hitting the ball real well and playing 2nd. Also, Austin Kirk is already in Mesa. He didn't make the trip to Wrigley.

Phil, Can anyone get in to the Cubs workouts (like Soto, BJ Ryan, ect.) in Mesa? Is it free? Are the Mesa Cubs games free to get into? How about Mesa Solar Sox AFL? Thanks for your help!

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.