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

Something to Talk About..

It appears at the moment that our NL Central rivals are getting into the Christmas spirit a little early this year... - The Rocky Mountain news tells us that "Kaz Matsui appears headed to the Astros ". Well thank you, Ed Wade, your fruitcake is in the mail. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle is less than happy with the potential signing as the Astros continue to find ways to block Chris Burke from playing everyday, apparently the Texas version of Matt Murton. - The Brewers are making a big push to sign Jason Kendall, hopefully before everyone settles in for their Thanksgiving dinners. If he's signed before the deadline to offer arbitration of December 1st, then the Cubs can posthumously offer him arbitration and get a free sandwich pick between the first and second rounds. Merry Christmas to us!!!

Comments

I can't believe we don't have a Tiny Tim! Speaking of Houston, how about Sean Marshall and Mike Fontentot for Luke Scott? I think they plan on moving Pence to right and will start Bourne in center.

I'm mystified by this thread. As I posted here TWO DAYS ago, the Astros made Kaz an offer and, who knows, he may eventually take it but real sources, as opposed to bloggers getting their scoops from other blogs, still say that it's more likely he'll sign back with the Rockies or anew with the Cubs.

Everyone here is mystified by you cwtp... I'm pretty sure Tracy Ringolsby and the Rocky Mountain News consider themselves real news sources.

Not to mention The Houston Chronicle and Richard Justice. Ringolsby also says the Red Sox would be happy to get out from under Drew's contract on his latest Foxsports piece.

Kendall to the Brewers and Barrett to the Mets would make my non-Cubs offseason.

PS - Although he may have looked like it when other teams got runners on base, Mr. Kendall is not yet posthumous and probably would not prefer to be referred to in that manner.

I have to say that I'll be more than happy if Kaz goes to Houston. I have no belief that he'd do any good for the Cubbies and if we were to sign him, we'd be in big trouble. It'd be like Augie Ojeda all over again. Good job Hendry and Co.

Hunter to the Sox? I like that guy. Alot. Too bad we signed Fonzi instead of him. At least we'd get to see more of him in-town. Unfortunately, it means we see him head-to-head 6x a year, too.

I don't see Hunter as a great fit for the Cubs. His defense isn't what it used to be, and he wouldn't be snatching any HR's at Wrigley, anyway. He's not a high OBP guy and he bats from the wrong side of the plate. On a 2 or 3 year deal, maybe, but he's not going to be a good enough hitter in 3 years to justify playing a corner outfield slot, and he's barely a good enough center fielder today.

All in all, Torii would be just another brick in the wall. Has anyone heard any Andruw Jones rumors by chance? Who's going after him? Dodgers?

In about 15 mintues, John McDonough is resigning as President of the Cubs and will take over as President of the Blackhawks. Looks like a preemptive strike on McDonough's part with the impending ownership change. Good news for the few of us Blackhawk fans that are left though. Rocky has done more for the Hawks in two months than his old man did in the last 25 years.

In about 15 mintues, John McDonough is resigning as President of the Cubs and will take over as President of the Blackhawks. Seriously? Source?

Just heard it from the Comcast reporter speaking on Steve Dahl's show @ 8:50 am.

I have a Sox fan in my office and I was hoping to find a resource that would provide me with Orlanda Cabrera's career stats vs. the cubs, on the off-chance that I could tell my co-worker that Cabrera sucks against the Cubs.

Yep, Pat Boyle reported it on Dahl's show. Smart move on his part, I guess, but it doesn't bode well for this offseason.

Press conference scheduled for Noon Chicago time and Crane Kenney to take interim duties. Payroll still expected to be in the $120-130M range for 2008.

Yes seriously. It's been rumored that McDonough was working without a contract and with the ownership situation you'd have to assume he didn't see anyone at the tower being able to give him a longterm deal. That is likely why he's able to slip out and implement the new regime with the Indian Heads. Another fantastic move by Rocky Wirtz. Eventually home games will be on tv so all that's left is to bring back Pat Foley and get Chelios back in a Hawks uni before he hangs up the Bauers.

So much for some semblance of a consistent, overall strategy from the top until the sale finally takes place. Sheesh!

With McDonough leaving and Kenney comming aboard you can rest assured of one thing. Someone is going to be brought in player wise for too much money. Andruw Jones,Fuckyoudome,Jeff Weaver???? A big splash will be made so that the trib will have something to write about. Mark it down.

By that, I mean someone at the top who knows how to manage a company, like a company president should do. That's not the kind of thing you expect a GM to do. Don't ask a scout or player development guy to run a company. I was happy that McDonough had changed the penny-ante McPhail mentality. If the Cubs are going to change the infrastructure to become a superior club in scouting and player development and building overall organizational strength (and not just ape what everyone else does), it will take someone from the very top to cast the vision to do so. I'm thinking of having the Cubs find out how to do something like what Branch Rickey did that revolutionized how ball clubs discover and develop talent. Rickey is the guy that turned the Cardinals and the Dodgers into power organizations by creating a greatly expanded farm system of minor league teams that were obligated to funnel their talent up to you. The positive effect on both teams lasted for years and it took decades for the Cubs to come close to catching up, organization-wise (thanks to years of ownership by the backward, contrarian individualist, P. K. Wrigley). I've been hoping that someone could get the Cubs to develop an organizational edge over the rest of the major league teams and stop playing catch-up. If that ever happens, McDonough isn't gonna spearhead it.

Hunter to the Sox? I like that guy. Alot. Too bad we signed Fonzi instead of him. Are you serious? Hunter is Jaques Jones with an arm, and rumored to be getting a deal in the neighborhood of 5/75. Plus he's 32 and his defensive skills have been on a significant decline, although he can still has the remarkable ability to turn a routine flyball into a diving, made for ESPN, "webgem." If Hunter gets 15 million a year, Fonzi's deal is a bargin by comparison.

"Are you serious? Hunter is Jaques Jones with an arm, and rumored to be getting a deal in the neighborhood of 5/75. Plus he’s 32" Sorry. I do not agree. People have been saying this about A-Rod and other "old" players that still have many terrific seasons ahead. He is still one of the top 3 Cf's in baseball. He may turn out to be a Kenny Lofton type in longevity and will certainly be HOF material.

Hunter might not fall off the cliff, but he's never been that good to begin with. Even if he repeats his contract year performance of 2007 for the next 5 years, he's not a $15 million a year player. Offensively, he really is no better than Jaques Jones, even BR's most similar offensive players include the likes of Jones, Encarnacion, and Preston Wilson, all players who got the "overpaid" treatment when they signed deals in the ballpark of 5 million a year for 2-3 years. The only thing that really separates him is his defense. But over the last couple years its been pretty clear that he has lost a step, and he is no longer quite as able to use his speed to make up for getting a poor read off the bat. And again, while he certainly is a good defender, he also can look better on tv than he does in person, because he will frequently turn an average out into a highlight real dive. Hunter is a good player, but not a great one, and he has never been HoF material, even in his best years.

"he has never been HoF material, even in his best years." Time will tell, and I believe you will be proven wrong. He is still one of the GREAT cf's in the game, and has been for the last several years. More than good.

Gray Ink: Batting - 18 (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 15.9 (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 29.0 (Likely HOFer > 100) Top 10 MVP only once, 6th Tori Hunter is not even close. He's a career .271 hitter. He'd have to replicate his carrer high for hits in a season for ELEVEN seasons, until age 42 to reach 3,000. He'll end up like Dale Murphy, at best, if he doesn't regress much as age sets in.

I fail to see where Matt Suhey will help the Cubs. We already have three of him in The Riot, Fontenot, and that Baby guy, Infante. He can not hit outside of Colorado, and even if he has speed, he cannot steal first base, and the Cubs need as many base cloggers as they can find to help their offense. I sure hope Houston does sign him.

"Tori Hunter is not even close." Do not agree. He is, and will be close when he gets voted in. Think his average is too low? Think again - Ryne Sandberg's biggest supporter has a lifetime BA of .271 as well - its Joe Morgan. You are entitled to your opinion, but its wrong.

Morgan also had a career OBP of 392 compared to Hunters 324. Morgan also stole more than 40 bases for 9 years in a row, compared to Hunter's 23 SBs in his best year. And of course Morgan won 2 MVPs, finished in the top 10 of MVP voting 3 other times and was a 10 time all-star. Hunter finished 6th in the MVP voting once, and has only been invited to 2 all star games. Hunter's 271 average won't keep him out of the HoF, but it won't get him into it either. And right now, I don't know what anyone would see that would have him even sniffing the hall.

Actually, I have changed my mind. He is very, very good. But not "great". He IS a great fielder, imo, and has 7GG's and 3 AS appearances. But actually, he is league average offensively, in his career, pretty much. Had he played on some championship teams, like Morgan did, I believe his popularity would be enough - along with his great D, and average "O", to make it into the HOF. If Morgan can get in with a .271 BA, and LArry Doby with .283, I think in today's "web gem" world, Hunter will make it in. Time will tell.

Hunter is an 800+ ops guy every year but 1 since 2001. Felix Pie sure as heck isnt approaching that level of production anytime soon. As long as he can stick in Cf. Hunter is a plus. If he has to move to a corner spot. He is Matt Murton

in other news.. Indians are about to sign Kobayashi Mariners sending out negotiators to Japan to talk to Kuroda, looking for 3/4 at $11 mil

Though Doby was a good player, I think that there's another reason he got into the HoF (and well deserved at that). If Hunter wants to get into the HoF, he better sign a contract with the Yankees and bat infront of Arod for the next six years.

*Dr. aaronb says: November 20th, 2007 at 1:43 pm Who is a better player at this point. A) Johnny Damon B) Torii Hunter * Which one is worth the money they will paid over the next several years? [answer: neither] Did someone up there just use "Torii Hunter" and "Hall of Fame" in the same sentence without "paid admission"?

Recent comments

  • 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. 

  • 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...