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

Cubs to Sign First Round Pick Andrew Cashner

Arizona Phil has been all over the Cubs signings, but I did want to mention that the big fish of the draft, first-round pick(19th overall) Andrew Cashner will sign this week with the Cubs. The contract details:

As part of his contract with Chicago, Cashner will receive a signing bonus of $1.54 million. He’ll also receive $75,000 that will go toward finishing school, plus bonuses that will coincide with promotions. Moreover, Cashner will receive an invitation to big league spring training in 2009.

He should be in Arizona by next week and likely to Boise soon after. The Cubs have signed all but one of their first 27 picks, that one being 10th round pick RHP Alex Wilson out of Texas A&M.

Comments

Kind of funny read your mention: "The Cubs have signed all but one of their first 27 picks, that one being 10th round pick RHP Alex Wilson out of Texas A&M." Juxtaposed with this from the same article: "“We’ve pretty much signed everyone we wanted to,” Chicago Scouting Director Tim Wilken said."

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

yeah, i wouldn't count room/board, but yeah...luckily i live in a state where they don't treat 18 year olds like they need to mortgage their immediate lives in order to get an education from a public non-commuter college. it was all just blah blah blah'ing anyway. -edit- for reference, in-state almost every UNC program college (UNC-CH, UNC-W, NCSU, etc) costs around 3-6K in tuition per year. they can pay their profs 100s of K a year, have their buildings built, their research pimped out in proper labs, and all that stuff without sending students out in the world 100K in debt. not that has anything to do with wilson, though...just fwiw.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

yeah, some states have insane in-state tuition. we get a good chunk of out-of-state people coming to UNC-CH/NCSU because the out-of-state tuition is as cheap (or cheaper) than their own in-state tuition. we're not even talking about "rich kids" who just want to get away from their parent's grasp in another state or kids with scholarships. UNC-CH...that school everyone loves cuz of their basketball program... $3750 a year tuition. add on another 2-3K in fees/taxes/weirdness...(roughly 20K per year out of state, tuition only...but fees/etc. are a level playing field for in and out of state students). it's pretty common for an in-state student to come out of the UNC system less than 20K in debt. many, like myself, barely saw few K of debt when they finished.

"Maybe Teflon Wilken is fucked not Wilson." It appears that all of the Cub's minor - league clubs are doing much better, at least as far as their W/L records show. Haven't you told us incessantly that their farm system was awful, primarily because of their standings? Wilken sucked according to you, all because of that one, lonely stat. So which is it, he sucked then but still sucks now?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Thanks for the BP link, I had only read bits and pieces of it. I really wanted Lincecum that year and thought he'd fall to 13 (not trying to be some nostradamus here, I am just a big Pac10 guy who actually had seen Lincecum at UW).

Thanks, Rob - I remember reading about Wilken's excellent reputation and above - average track record regarding prospects from his previous stints, and was overjoyed when came over to the club. So the very least everyone can do is to give the man a few years before we can even begin to judge his efforts. Those who criticize have no idea about the Cub's incredible lack of any success with their farm systems in the past, aside from a brief period when Dallas Green was running things.

Off topic, but did anyone else hear a rumor that Braun is the PTBNL in the Sabathia deal? WSCR reported that Steve Stone's sources told him that's the case. So, 433 says that a radio guy said that Steve Stone said that someone told him that Braun is included. Not exactly a verified story, but has anyone else heard this?

[ ]

In reply to by 433

I haven't found anything on the interwebs even discussing Braun as the PTBNL, so maybe this was just wrong or a joke something, but it was presented on WSCR's Mully/Hanley (sp?) show as seemingly legit. So for now, I'll just say "nevermind."

[ ]

In reply to by 433

Melvin pointed at the presser today that the PTNBL can't be someone off the 40-man roster. So I assuming if Stone isnt talking out of his ass, he probably heard the guy who is the PTBNL was Mat Gamel who is a Braun clone, a butcher at 3b who can really hit.

In other news, why are the Cubs sending Cashner to "finishing school"? Are his manners really that bad?

"But what's he done for us?" Trollboy, your act has grown stale and tired. Nothing to offer except snark without substance - go play outside in your sandbox and fling your poo at the neighbors for a change.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

wow, then obviously you've never cross referenced your rants on this board, old boards, and other boards not even remotely related to baseball. the fact you're on your 3rd ID on this board and your "bluewater boats" tag is on other boards kicking the same "im never wrong, why must i share this air with stupid men?" attitude... well... you gotta be used to this by now. -edit- see where i said '3rd ID on this board'...well, since TECHNICALLY this isn't the "old TCR" what i said was 100% wrong and therefore the entire statement is wrong. the old posts and other info, while they may exist, cannot be discussed because of the technical error. there nav...i saved you a reply about how retarded i am because you've only had 1 name on this particular board while conveniently ignoring the point.

cc sabathia is 12/40 lifetime (.300/.317) with 2hr (1 this season). 12K, 1BB

So this whole CC Sabathia thing made me do some research on the Cubs' minor league system (since I haven't read an AZ Phil post for quite some now) and I was struck by how pathetic Tyler Colvin's numbers are. Maybe AZ Phil has addressed this in another post (he probably has, he addresses everything) but I'm wondering, is the guy hurt? Did Wilken just fuck up? My other thought was, how is it that we couldn't come up with a package to satisfy Cleveland? Is our system so bad still that we couldn't find 4 prospects or so to make a trade with? Or do you guys think that Hendry just simply made the decision that Sabathia wasn't worth giving up a lot of prospects for. After all, it seems like free agent pitchers typically don't do very well after signing big contracts (Z will go against this trend I hope). I dunno if there are stats about this, though. Speaking of pitching, and sorry if this is 3/44, but the article on Lincecom's pitching mechanics in SI was very interesting. The writer pointed to two Cubs guys, Brownlie and (of course) Prior as two prospects who had lousy mechanics according to the former Mets pitching coach Petersen. That article made me wonder where Wilken stands on that kind of thing. One of the articles RobG pointed to in his links on Wilkin seemed to indicate an appreciation for Lincecom but I am wondering if Wilkin subscribes to this whole biomedical (or whatever the hell they called it in the article) stuff. And I'm also wondering what Dr. Hecht has to say about all that. So many questions. I think it's all the fires here in CA. The smoke is getting to me.

Over at NSBB, they are saying Kaplan said that Huddy could be a target: http://www.northsidebaseball.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=49650 It makes sense as Tex is going to bolt in the off-season and Glavine and Smoltz are likely to hang them up at the end of the year. Plus they dont have Turner's money to throw around to fill the holes and the guys they have brought up from the farm havent worked so they might want a package of near MLB ready guys. Something like 1 of Marshall/Gallagher, 1 of Veal/Russell/Atkins, Ceda, Murton would seem to work.

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

Remember when the Cubs tried to sign Hampton, with a reported offer around 100 million for 7 years, before he went to the Rockies? That's not dodging a bullet, more like avoiding a missile. Hampton made his debut in 1993, and in his 17-year career he has now earned $121,575,086 from his contracts alone. This comes to $880,979 for each of his 138 career wins. He was a much better bargain early on though, and since signing his big 8-year contract prior to the 2001 season he has been paid $107,382,086 for a grand total of 53 wins, or $2,026,077.09 per major league victory. With all of the injuries it has cost the Braves and Rockies (and Marlins) $801,358.85 per game that he has even pitched in. There are other bad contracts out there, but this was one of the worst.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

They dont have have a chance to compete in 09. They will be missing 25 HR and 80 RBI's that Tex can provide and the 30 wins you could count on from Glavine and Smoltz. They have the worst pen in baseball and to add to the misery the guys they have called up from the farm have been bad. Atlanta needs a mass influx of guys that can help them on the cheap. Just as Milwaukee was a perfect fit with Cleveland because they had a influx of power hitting corners ( Im sure the PTNBL will be one of those), we would be with Atlanta because we have an influx of guys who are MLB or should be MLB ready soon a who can be solid contributors to a club and Hendry is probably willing to do a 5 for 1 deal.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Injuries and underperformance have just hit them hard. They projected to have a rotation of: Smoltz, Hudson, Glavine, Jurrjens, and either Hampton or James, with Soriano as the closer. The infield of McCann, Jones, Escobar, Johnson, and Texeira on paper was one of the best, and Francoeur was supposed to be solid in RF. They had some OF spots to fill, and needed to some young guys to step up and fill out the bench and bullpen, but Atlanta has seemingly always found a way to do this. It was hard to predict that NONE of the young bats would do anything with the playing time, Francoeur would be briefly demoted to AA, Smotlz and Glavine and Hampton would be on the DL (well Hampton yes), and Soriano would have just 9 IP by mid-season.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • 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.