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 Bats Blast Rockies 9-8

Alfonso Soriano drove in two runs and reached base four times on two singles and two wallks, Milton Bradley had three hits including a double and a solo home run, and Geovany Soto drove in two runs with a double and a sacrifice fly, leading the Cubs to a hard-fought 9-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies this afternoon in front of a record Ho Ho Kam Park crowd of 13,298.

box score

The Cubs got off to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning against Rockies starter LHP Greg Smith  Alfonso Soriano led off with a single down the LF line, but was thrown out 7-4 trying to stretch the hit into a double. (Although he wasn't limping, Soriano seemed to be kind of jogging throughout the game). Ryan Theriot then doubled down the LF line, and Derrek Lee busted his bat while hitting a flare into short RF,scoring The Riot from second. Milton Bradley then fisted a bloop single into right-center, sending D-Lee from 1st to 3rd, and Aramis Ramirez lofted an F-8 SF to medium-deep CF to score Lee. 

Meanwhile, RHP Chad Gaudin got the start for the Cubs and labored through his two innings (54 pitches - 30 strikes), especially the 2nd, when he needed 37 pitches to get out of the inning. The Rockies got a runner as far as 2nd base in the top of the 1st but did not score, but they plated two runs (one earned) in the top of the 2nd.

With one out, Dan Ortmeier walked and advanced to second on a stolen base (bad throw by Soto, but Ortmeier held 2nd as the throw skipped into CF). Clint Barmes then ripped a single to CF to score Ortmeier, and  stole 2nd (the third SB of the game off Gaudin-Soto). Christian Colonel struck out swinging, but Rockies pitcher Greg Smith reached base and Barmes moved up to 3rd when Cubs 2B Aaron Miles bobbled Smith's easy roller that should have ended the inning. Ryan Spliborghs followed with a line-drive RBI single, tying the score at 2-2.

Neal Cotts and Kevin Gregg split the 3rd inning for the Cubs in what appreared to be a pre-arranged assignment (both had pitched partial innings yesterday in Phoenix), with Cotts retiring his two hitters on just eight pitches (left-handed hitting Seth Smith on a 3-U ground out and RH hitter Matt Murton on a routine F-9 fly ball), and then Gregg got his man (Chris Iannetta) on a fly out to CF on just four pitches.  

The Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning, scoring two more runs off Greg Smith. Milton Bradley (batting right-handed versus LHP Smith) yanked a solo HR over the LF fence with one out, and then with two outs, Reed Johnson reached base on an error (Rockies SS Omar Quintanilla booted an easy grounder hit right at him), and scored on an RBI double lined into the LF corner by Geovany Soto. Aaron Miles walked putting runners on 1st & 2nd with two outs, but PH Esteban German was called out on strikes, ending Smith's day after three innings of work.

Rookie RHP Randy Wells worked the next two innings for the Cubs (27 pitches - 15 strikes), and got five ground outs and a strikeout (Murton - swinging). He did allow a run, however, on a one-out RBI double by Colonel following a walk to Barmes in the 4th. 

Rockies closer Manuel Corpas walked three Cubs in a row to start the bottom of the 4th, but (unfortunately) Soriano was thrown out trying to steal on a 3-1 pitch to Theriot (second time Soriano has done that in the last week) before Theriot and D-Lee walked. But Bradley flied out to deep CF for the second out of the inning (although Theriot was too far down toward 3rd base to be able to tag up at 2nd), and then Aramis Ramirez struck out swinging to get Corpas off the hook. 

The Cubs did score three runs in the bottom of the 5th off veteran LHRP Alan Embree, however. Reed Johnson and Geovany Soto walked to lead-off the inning (the 4th and 5th Cub walks in just over an inning), and PH So Taguchi lined an RBI single to left-center to score Johnson and send Soto to second. German popped up to short left, keeping the runners at 1st and 2nd, but Soriano picked-up his reammate, ripping a double to left to score Soto and Taguchi and give the Cubs a 7-3 lead. Embree does not appear to have much left.

Jeff Samardzija pitched the top of the 6th, and had a poor outing (21 pitches - 14 strikes, 0/3 GO/FO), allowing two runs on three hits and a walk, with no strikeouts. He left almost all of his pitches up in the strike zone and the results actually could have been worse, but fortunately the outs were all "at 'em" balls.

The Cubs regained their four-run lead in the bottom of the 6th, scoring two runs off RHRP Ryan Speier. Milton Bradley smoked a double into the left-center alley, and after PR Joey Gathright advanced to third on a ground out, Reed Johnson ripped a triple into the right-center alley to score Gathright, and then Johnson scored easily on a Geovany Soto F-9 SF to deep right.

Mike Stanton made what will probably (hopefully) be his last appearance as a Cub, struggling through a 28-pitch 7th inning while trying to protect a four-run Cub lead. Dexter Fowler reached base to lead off the inning when Stanton was late covering 1st base (too bad, too, because Micah Hoffpauir made a fine stop), and then Fowler stole second. Chris Iannetta then bounced a single past SS Andres Blanco to score Fowler, and Dan Ortmeier hammered a one-out HR over the LF fence to cut the Cubs lead to 9-8. Stanton did manage to retire the last two hitters in the 7th (a 6-3 GO and an F-8 FO), but he sure didn't fool anybody in the process. I half-expected Cubs GM Jim Hendry (who sits in a front-row box seat right behind Lou Piniella and his coaches) to come out to the mound himself after the Ortmeier HR and personally take Stanton's uniform from him right then and there.

The Cubs threatened again the bottom of the 7th when Hoffpauir lined a double down the RF line into the corner, but Andres Blanco and PH Brad Snyder struck out swinging to end the threat. 

Rule 5 RHP David Patton (a former Rockies minor leaguer) worked the 8th for the Cubs, protecting a one-run lead, and retiring the side on 15 pitches (getting an L-9, P-3, and F-7 while allowing a two-out walk and a SB), and then RHRP Chad Fox pitched the 9th (14 pitches). 

Fox hit speedy Chris Frey to lead-off the 9th and then allowed Frey to steal 2nd (he wasn't paying attention to the runner), putting the tying run in scoring position. But the veteran retired the side on two fly outs and a game-ending strikeout (that being ex-Cub Mark Bellhorn, swinging just as hard as he possibly could at each pitch). 

The Cubs get a day off tomorrow, before resuming Cactus League play at Scottsdale Stadium versus the Giants Thursday night.   

 

Comments

Arizona Phil - Can you fill us in on the minor leaguers who were released by the Cubs today? Word has it that Ryan Harvey and others were released. Thanks for an awesome report as usual.

[ ]

In reply to by mastrick

Since joining the team, Bradley hasn't hit a single meaningful home run in a regular season game. Hell, he hasn't even hit a dooble yet! And his plate discipline has been less than advertised ... no walks in Cubs regular season games so far. Hell, when I look out at right field at Wrigley, it's like he's not even there playing defense. I apologize for thinking he'd bring some power to this team in the regular season. I was clearly wrong.

Yet another good outing this spring from Chad Fox. This guy is a character guy, in and out of the clubhouse. I look for him to coach/instruct when his playing days are over. As for Jake Fox, seems you have to find a roster spot for a guy hitting .350 with 4 homers. Manny isn't a great defensive player, but teams find room for hitters.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

43?!?!?! 20 year old future big leaguer is married to a 43 year old? Excuse me for asking, but WHAT THE FUCK

Az Phil: I doubt So Taguchi has a chance at a final 25 man roster spot. Is there any chance he'll stay in the organization and wait for a call-up when Soriano/Gathright goes on the DL? (He's got the magic touch winding up in the World Series wherever he seems to land)

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Well, he played for the Cardinals from 2002-2007 and made two WS just like the rest of them, and so he has actually only landed once in his career, last year with the Phillies. But I am also wondering why he is here. At age 38 he hit 220/283/297 last year, he has no power or speed, and he is an average to below-average defender. Someone speculated on here that he might have been brought in for Fukudome during ST, but then Fukudome wasn't even here. So you got me. I would think he must be willing to go to the minors or he would have picked a team he had a better chance of making to sign a minor league deal with.

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...