Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve 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 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
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: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, 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
 





Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Save a Tree [and a Life]!

Maples are my favorite kind of tree. They are at their best this time of the year. I grew up in the shade of a huge one and one of our two pooches is even named Maple. But someday a maple baseball bat is going to be the cause of death. What a way to go.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that one of the games in the season-ending series between Iowa and Memphis included five shattered bats. I don’t know how many of those were maple, but there is a growing body of evidence that maple bats crack differently than ones made of ash. A game which has always featured balls as hard as stones being hurled around at high speeds and being swatted with wooden clubs is becoming even more dangerous with metallic mallets at amateur levels and maple ones in the major leagues...

   

What’s to be made of Mike Quade’s 17-7 record as the Cubs’ skipper? What a shame that the best series the team’s had in St. Louis in over 20 years and the best road trip it’s ever enjoyed benefit no one in the Cub legions with the possible exception of Mr. Clean. Will Jim Hendry attach any significance to this run? The games are barely facsimiles of meaningful ones when pennants and playoff berths are still at stake. Here’s a thought: maybe hiring Quade would so underwhelm the masses that attendance would stay down next year and keep the pressure relatively low on the youngsters. They’ve been thriving under more or less those conditions this month.

Phil Rogers mentioned Seattle as perhaps another logical spot for Ryne Sandberg in yesterday’s Tribune. It makes some sense. Sandberg hails from Washington. There are going to be a lot of jobs open this winter and Sandberg will get one of them, I’m betting. I hope it’s the one he’s best-suited for in the organization he’s most familiar with in all ways, especially organizational history and personnel.

Recent remarks by Mr. Ricketts can easily be interpreted as Sandberg stage-setters. The best combination of the new ownership’s business instincts and fondness for the Cubs would seem to be #23. The combination of a philosophical downshift to homegrown young talent and a no-name manager will cost the royal family a lot of money in the short-term. More, I hope they decide, than they can afford.

Pay no attention to the man behind the meaningless lineup cards!

Comments

It seemed good to have a Cub fan as owner at first but now I realize that Cub fans do things like hire their favorite player from when they were younger instead of people more qualified for the job. Might have been better if a fan of another team had bought the Cubs. Someone who laughed at and couldn't believe the endless boneheaded moves made by the team since WWII and just decided to put an end to it once and for all because it had moved from humorous to pathetic.

[ ]

In reply to by tbone

Maybe so, T, but a Cub fan bought the Diamondbacks and within a few years won a WS with Brenly at the helm. Now that team plays more like the Cubs than the Cubs do. Money wisely spent seems to be more the answer that transcends managerial traditions. LouPi couldn't handle a young team in Tampa and even made more bad vibe decisions with vets and a big payroll. Baseball remains a thinking man's game, and ryno made HOF decisions at 2nd base - he can do it here and maybe, just maybe 15 years from now he will still be manager and have the Atlanta, Yankee and Dodger tradition of 1 man steering the ship.

very hard to say in advance who is right man for job; much harder than saying in retrospect who was the wrong one...i just think this team had stopped playing for piniella but it might be dangerous to read too much into the 17-7...many of these games are little more than exhibitions

I didn't think this team was really a contender coming into the season. However I also don't/didn't think this was a 90 loss team either. For whatever reason this team did seem to quit on Lou. I do however think that a big bat, 3rd starter and an 8th inning guy could make this thing a fringe contender next year. Call me crazy?

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

That was a Lou/Hendry pissing match? I thought it was a Lou/Z pissing match. Moving Z to the pen had nothing to do with not having anyone to pitch in the 8th inning. They did have Marshall, and he was lights out all year, but especially in the first two months. Lou (and maybe Hendry) was trying to make a statement to Z.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

He moved him to the pen April 21st. You'd think a rational Lou would have given his highest paid, best track recorded Starter more than 4 starts? Again, I think moving the highest paid SP to the pen in mid April was a middle finger from Lou to Hendry. All signs point to it. Especially reading between the lines in the Z and Lou quotes in the link I posted above. Lou said it would be temporary. Just until we can trade for an 8th inning guy It was Lou trying to force Hendry's hand into getting him a player. Just like icing Stevie Eyre was his way of forcing Hendry to make a trade.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Hendry is the nut-less wonder. You really think Lou deferred to Hendry on anything? That has kinda been the problem with Hendry from the beginning. He's had two forceful managers that he deferred to. He seems to cave in WHILE bending backwards in contract negotiations. And yet he STILL finds a way to spend more money on Xavier Nady NOW. Kim Ng might have more testicular fortitude than Jim Hendry does?

mlbtr is blocked as an attack site, suddenly, yet if you click on 'why is this site blocked?', the Google page that opens says they've never found any malicious code.

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

Thanks Wes. --- FBI arrests man trying to set off a bomb one block from Wrigley as the Dave Matthews Band concert ended Saturday night: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/09/fbi-man-arrested-in-plot-to-… On Saturday night, Hassoun met with the agent, who provided him with a backpack that Hassoun thought contained a high-powered explosive device, according to the FBI. He was showed how it works, the release stated, and although it was intended to look real, it was made of inert materials and unable to explode. Early Sunday morning, Hassoun and the agent then went together in a rented vehicle towards Wrigleyville, where the bombing would take place. At about the same time, crowds were leaving Wrigley Field after a concert by the Dave Matthews Band. Hassoun was then watched by agents as he placed the fake explosive into a trash container near Eddy and Clark Streets -- about a block south of Wrigley Field, the release stated. He was then arrested and the fake device was recovered.

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In reply to by Paul Noce

the lack of national coverage from almost every outlet is weird, btw. everyone's busy worrying about some idiot in deleware and what she did as a teenager. ...then again the president had a town hall q/a meeting (it's nice to have a president again that actually takes people asking him questions, btw) and no one seems to care about that, either.

Cubs had an extra starter at that point(Lilly was coming off the DL) and the bullpen was awful. Lou hadn't quite warmed up to trusting Marshall in the 8th and and everyone was unhappy with Z's antics at that point. One of Lilly, Dempster, Silva, Gorz, Wells or Z had to move and the combo of Z having the worst ERA at that point and possibly having the highest impact back there led to the decision. The F.U. to Hendry from Lou is just gossip.

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In reply to by Rob G.

So Silva, Wells or Gorzy had earned the spots over Z? Doubtful why would Lou tell Z and make statements to the press about "until we make a trade" unless he was calling Hendry out?

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In reply to by crunch

Did Lou not harp from the beginning about needing: lefthanded rightfielder who could bat 5th late inning lefty reliever left handed backup catcher immediate removal of Eyre, Barrett, Murton and Cedeno? You seriously don't think that Lou made his roster desires known? He aired Hendry out in thinly veiled comments to the media, almost from day one. Although Hendry did botch his job epically. Especially since October 2008.

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In reply to by Dusty Baylor

sure, nonetheless someone had to go from the rotation and it was a reasonable decision given the circumstances of a) someone having to be dropped from the rotation and b)someone that would be a good fit for the 8th inning. not the decision I would have made or many other fans, but not some nefarious plan by Lou to publicly shame Hendry into making a trade (which never happened anyway).

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

unfortunately I never got my masters in debunking Cubs conspiracy theories... nonetheless, saying stuff to the press isn't the same as making a move just to fuck with the GM that has done nothing but try to give him whatever he wanted when he asked. or a move that if done just to piss off the GM would just turn the club on him and a move Hendry supported and was the one that talked to Z to get him to agree

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I just object to the fact people saying Z sucked is the reason he was moved to the pen. If your one of those people *cough* Real Neal *cough* it's a lame ass axe to grind. 4 starts doesn't make a season, especially with a guy who has never had a season ERA over 4.00. And wow do those same people eat any crow with Z sporting a tidy 3.75 ERA at the moment? Many of who thought it would be impossible given what he went through this season. Zambrano is the teams most reliable and best pitcher. Hands down. Again when he turns in 1 season of a 5.00 ERA, sound the alarm bells if he puts 2 of them back to back, maybe its time to stick a fork in him as a reliable starter. But people bitching after 4 starts or 1 or 2 months about the demise of him, is just pure comedy. It's like people are in a god damn hurry for him to suck so we can hurry up and watch Coleman and Samj put up some 5.00 and 6.00 ERA seasons. I don't know if you think they grow on trees or something but they don't. On the other hand its really easy to find a starter to put up a 5.00 ERA.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Zambrano gets paid to win 16+ games. Last year he won nine. This year he was 3-6 in mid August, with an ERA of 5.46 when he took the mound on August 14th and started the winning streak. It's not surprising that his employers felt cheated, and gave him the ball so he could make himself tradeable.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Lou has said that players were going to be held accountable. Z had been the worst of the starters, so he was the one sent to the pen - why is that so hard to grasp? It was actually Lou living up to his word. Lilly and Dempster have been much more reliable than Z from 2008 to 2009, not sure what you were huffing to come up with Z is the most reliable starer idea. He's second on the team in walks, despite pitching 116 innings, let's not cast him for that statue outside of Wrigley just yet, OK? Talk about Strawmen - who said that Z's career was done?

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

You must of missed Zambrano's entire career. To totally disregard it after 4 starts like you are Neal is foolish. I don't even know why you mention walks. What does that prove? Zambrano has had a fairly high walk rate his entire career, yet he still pitches with an ERA below 4. What you should look at is his strikeout rate to determine a decline and thats just fine. But that doesn't really fit your argument. Your better off just quoting Wins, despite all the flack you will take. Zambrano has 9 to Dempsters 14 in 84 less innings. Ohh wait that doesn't really help you either. Hey lets just look at Dempster since his break out year. Hovering around a 3.50 ERA, isnt winning alot of games but the rest of his numbers are fine and he is the greek god of awesome in your mind and many others. You stack them up against Zambrano and they look awfully identical only with Zambrano getting less innings. The only difference is Zambrano has been doing it since 2002, Dempster just figured out how to pitch in the last 3 years and is now 33 to Zambrano's 29. Who you going to bet on over the next 5 years? Your boy Dempster or Zambrano? I guess people forget Zambrano is only 29. Dempster and Lilly aren't/weren't the gold standard. They weren't Roy Halladay or Tim Lincecum better, all 3 of them were about the same. About as even of a 3 headed monster at the top of the rotation as you could get. Those 3 you could plug in atleast 10 wins, an ERA between 3.50 and 4 and about 180 strikouts. Barring injury and a stupid move to the bullpen. He isn't Kerry Wood hurt every year and he isn't washed up physically. He is still a damn fine pitcher, just like your heroes Dempster and Lilly.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Mike if you are incapable of remembering way back to 2009, please at least use this internet thing and look things up. Zambrano hasn't pitched 200 innings since 2007. He hasn't had an ERA below 3.50 since 2006. Oh heaven forbid we put a #3 starter into the bullpen instead of a #4 starter, the whole season's fucked! Dempster is demonstrably a better pitcher than Zambrano. Unless you are using a standard other than ERA, Innings, Starts, Wins or K's... which you obviously are.

Mike Quade will win approximately 10-20 world series titles for the cubs in the next couple years. He's that fucking good.

So that answers the question what would happen if a splintered bat flew into a guy. My bet was that it would go all the way through him. I was wrong.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I agree, it's a clear plastic tape, it has to feel different. Maybe with pine tar and gloves it doesn't. In one of the videos on the BatGlove website one of the D'backs people talks about introducing it in the minors and let guys get used to it, whether they like it or not, then implement it in the majors too. But who knows what MLB is thinking.

I suggested last week that giving Nady at-bats was a plan for some reason to keep Nady's agent happy. I present circumstantial evidence that something is going on... http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/4683
There’s little doubt Nady could have used some minor-league at-bats in the beginning of the season, but I’m not sure what kind of deal GM Jim Hendry cut with agent Scott Boras. That was still one of the more odd conference calls when they signed Nady. Boras also took part. None of us could remember an agent taking part in a conference call to announce the signing of a player.

THIS JUST IN: The Cubs placed RHP Mitch Atkins on the Designated List (Designated for Assignment) this past Saturday to make room on the 40-man roster for RHP Esmailin Caridad, who completed his 30-day minor league rehab on Friday and then was activated from the 60-day DL and optioned to Tennessee on Saturday so that he was available for Saturday night's game at Jacksonville (Caridad had been pitching for the Smokies since his rehab was moved from the AZL Cubs to AA Tennessee in August). Because both Geovany Soto and Tyler Colvin were active (and playing) Saturday, the Cubs had to make a roster move involving another player (Atkins) to make room on the 40-man roster for Caridad. Saturday is only a business day during Spring Training, so the Cubs would have had to wait until Monday (yesterday) to place Atkins on Outright Waivers, and thus they won't find out until tomorrow if any MLB club put in a claim on Atkins. Atkins can be outrighted to Iowa tomorrow if he gets through waivers, but he is eligible to be a Rule 55 Minor League FA (6YFA) post-2010 if he is not on a 40-man roster by the end of the World Series, so unless he likes Des Moines and wants to remain with the I-Cubs in 2011 (where he will be behind at least a half-dozen other more highly-regarded pitching prospects), I would think Atkins will (if he is not claimed off waivers) take the opportunity to ply his trade elsewhere, probably with the Baltimore Orioles (he was a John Stockstill draft pick before Stockstill left the Cubs and took a similar job with the Orioles). Atkins was the Cubs 7th round draft pick in 2004 out of Northeast Guilford HS in McLeansville, NC, and was named Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008 when he went a combined 17-7 (combined) between Tennessee and Iowa. He was added to the Cubs 40-man roster on 11-19-2008. After having a nightmare 2009 season at Iowa (8-12 with a 6.58 ERA, with 164 hits & 26 HR allowed in just 146.1 IP), he bounced-back and put up an 8-3 mark at Iowa in 2010, with a 3.63 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, allowing 88 hits (14 HR) in 106.2 IP and 28 G (15 GS), with a 42/76 BB/K. Atkins had four short stints (seven games, all in relief) with the Cubs at the big league level over the past two seasons, and went a combined 0-0 with a 5.25 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, allowing 13 hits (2 HR) in 12.0 IP, with a 6/10 BB/K. He was not one of the Cubs September call-ups. Atkins is 24 years old and has one minor league option left, should he be claimed off waivers.

mike quade holding a fungo giving his pre-game interview (taped) in the media room... he's looking baseball as all hell.

hendry formally interviews sandberg in arizona...things starting to point to an announcement soon after end of season? [in other words, not waiting for yankees to finish?]

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In reply to by The Real Neal

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 09/22/2010 - 9:02am. Despite having hired two minority managers, he still has to interview one, right? The wonderful world of political correctness we live in ============================================= REAL NEAL: Ex-Iowa manager (and current Nationals 3rd base coach) Pat Listach will be interviewed by Hendry before a Cubs manager is named. He was also the minority interview post-2006 before Piniella was hired.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 09/22/2010 - 10:44am. I'm confused. Growing up in America speaking a Romance language surely should make you a Latin-American, right? Do you know if the policy actually name continents of origin and percentages of "minority"? ==================================== REAL NEAL: Piniella was born in Florida and he is not of African descent. The only native U. S. born Americans who are considered "minority" by MLB are African Americans. This all goes back to the Al Campanis furor on "Nightline" when he said blacks don't have the "necessities" to manage. MLB expands its awkward definition of "minority" to include foreign-born Latin Americans from Mexico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. I can't keep argung this with you. Piniella is NOT considered a minority as far as MLB is concerned because he was born in Florida and he is not of African descent. He is of Euro-Spanish descent, just like Mike Piazza is of Euro-Italian descent (Italian is also a "romance" language).

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

Thanks. That really is bizarre. Interesting that they didn't bother using the Civil Rights Act's defintion of protected class when developing their policy. As fewer and fewer of the premium black athletes choose baseball, the candidate pool you'd think will shrink over the next 20 years or so.

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In reply to by Rob G.

It sort of makes me wonder if these "writers" intentionally write one or two things a year just in the hopes of getting the FJM treatment. I can sort of understand how better understanding the cause-effect relationship in observing anything could take away from the beauty and wonder of it. I don't get how that would possibly keep someone from getting laid, though. The "white guys" joke had me BWAHAHAing into the ear of some poor lady on the phone.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

it has it's place...i just never got the crew of readers who wanted a daily dose of frat boys screaming obscenities and outrage while clinking plastic cups of self-celebration at each other. they have plenty of imitators out there. most don't have a shred of pseudo-intellectual/intellectual filler to drop in between all the screaming, though, and come off as drunk bleacher bums.

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In reply to by Rob G.

they just remind me of the drunks in the bleachers who talk amongst themselves...from what they say and especially from how they say it. it's comedy, but some people consider what Tim and Eric or Howard Stern do comedy. not everyone is gonna chuckle at every type of comedy. ...this kind of stuff...from the BEWBS vs. stats article...it's a common theme/formula for a huge chunk of their writing... ---- Um, "this time of year?" "Spring training?" Check your calendar, genius. It's September! How dumb is this guy? Oh, right. Our fault. We only do this once a year now. Incidentally, that alcohol/boat fumes mixture has a name: It's called Revere Beach! Ka-boom, Boston style!

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In reply to by Rob G.

yeah, first and only. i'm obviously a freak of nature for being the only person ever to make this link or observation. it's all coming straight out of no where and it'd be nice if i actually had a shred of explaination for myself. as a similar site once said...obviously i don't understand sarcasm. yes, i don't find it funny, obviously i'm an ignorant idiot that's not capable of criticism. ps- everything i say is a daily battle to force my humor on the world. if you don't like it you obviously are a commie nazi mexican terrorist. gtfo my country.

I have always questioned how team offensive statistics are listed---highest batting average first. The team scoring the most runs, obviously, is the best offensive team. Most of us have questioned batting our best OBP hitter 8th. How productive was our batting order? Could it be measured by seeing how how many runs were produced per hit? The Cubs currently rank 17th in MLB in runs scored, 651 runs on 1327 hits making each hit producing .4905 runs. (We rank 19th in this resspect.) On the other hand, the best run producer per hit is Tampa Bay who has scored 756 runs on only 1256 hits, producing .601 runs per hit. What does this prove? Nothing. But it is interesting to note that Tampa Bay leads all of MLB in BB and stolen bases.

I don't see why you guys are debating humor and Zambrano. Can we talk about the real issue most closely related to this post? Who has a favorite kind of tree anymore? I mean, come on. Who can be bothered?

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.

    That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.

    Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Wesneski and Mastrobuoni to Iowa

    Taillon and Wisdom up

    Wesneski can't pitch for a couple of days after the 4 IP from last night. But Jed picked Wicks over Wesneski.

  • crunch (view)

    booooooooooo

    also, wisdom and taillon are both in chicago.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Tonight’s game postponed. Split games on Saturday.

  • crunch (view)

    cubs getting crazy good at not having player moves leak.

    taillon we 100% know is pitching tonight.  who he's replacing and any additional moves are unknown as far as i can tell.

    p.wisdom was not in today's lineup in iowa (rained out) and he was removed from the game last night mid-game, but not for injury.  good bet he's with the team in the bigs, too.

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!