Cubs MLB Roster

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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

EXST Cubs Face Kelvim Escobar at Diablo Park

Dwayne Kemp drove in the go-ahead runs with a line drive two-run single to right-center in the top of the 11th, but the EXST Cubs could not hold the lead, as the EXST Angels rallied with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, as the Cubs and Angels played to a 4-4 tie in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at the Angels Minor League Complex at Diablo Park in Tempe this morning.

The other offensive highlight for the Cubs was provided over the course of an inning by speedy Dominican lead-off hitter Jose Valdez, who reached base after being hit by a pitch to lead-off the top of the 5th, and then proceeded to steal 2nd, 3rd, and home.

For all you Angels fans out there (and you know who you are), RHSP Kelvim Escobar (on the 60-day DL after undergoing shoulder surgery) made a rehab start for the EXST Angels, throwing 1.2 IP (30 pitches) and retiring all five men he faced on three ground outs, a line drive, and a strikeout. 

Here is today's abridged box score (Cubs players only)...

LINEUP:
1. Jose Valdez, CF: 0-3 (K, HBP, 1-3, 1-3 - 1 R, 3 SB)
2. Hak-Ju Lee, DH #1: 0-3 (L-6, BB, 6-3, L-4 DP - 1 SB)
3. Matt Cerda, C - DH #2: 2-4 (4-3, F-7, 1B, 2B - 1 R)
4. Chris Weimer, 1B: 1-4 (5-3, P-3, K, 1B - 1 R)
5. Jericho Jones, LF: 0-3 (6-3, 6-3, 4-3, HBP - 1 R)
6. Logan Watkins, SS: 2-4 (K, F-7, 1B, 1B - 1 RBI, 1 PO)
7. Dwayne Kemp, 2B: 1-2 (BB, E-6, SH, 1B - 2 RBI)
8. Kevin Soto, RF: 0-3: (K, 6-3 GIDP, 6-3)
9. George Matheus, 3B: 0-2 (BB, 5-3, 3-U)
10. Juan Medina, DH #2 - C: 1-3 (FC, 6-3, 1B)

PITCHERS:
1. Jon Nagel - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1 GIDP, 7/1 GO/FO
2. Tarlandus Mitchell - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 3/0 GO/FO
3. Eduardo Figueroa - 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 3/2 GO/FO
4. Yohan Gonzalez - 2.0 IP, 2 H. 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 0 K, 1 GIDP, 6/0 GO/FO
5. Marcos Perez - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 3/0 GO/FO
6. Josh Lansford - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP   

ERRORS (1):
SS Logan Watkins bobbled a grounder allowing batter to reach base with one out in the bottom of the 3rd inning, eventually resulting in an unearned run.   

CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Juan Medina - 0-2 CS

ATTENDANCE: 16 (including retired MLB LHP Bruce Hurst, who was there to watch his son Kyle pitch for the EXST Angels) 

Comments

Thanks for the report AZ Phil......the Angels pitchers got a lot of ground ball outs and our pitchers weren't giving up walks and hbp like they have been lately.That's incouraging.

Submitted by Raisin101 on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 5:16pm.
Thanks, as always, Arizona Phil.

I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Nagel. I know he's coming back from Tommy John surgery before he was drafted.

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

RAISIN: Jon Nagel pounds the lower part of the strike zone with a hard sinker, sort of a younger version of Randy Wells. He is a big guy (widebody), but he doesn't throw real hard. His sinker is a real good pitch, though. He just keeps pumping it over the plate and gets ground ball after ground ball. So Nagel needs his infielders to make routine plays, but at EXST, the infield defense isn't very consistent.

BTW, the Royals have released RHP Ryan Acosta (Cubs 2007 12th round pick who got 4th round money to give up his NLI to the U. of Georgia), who was somewhat unexpectedly released by the Cubs prior to the start of Spring Training 2009 after struggling with personal demons the past couple of years. Ryan is the son of the one-time Cubs pitching coach Oscar Acosta, who died in a car crash when Ryan was in HS.

Yahtzee goes yard!!! A-Fonse the other day and now Monopoly today with big HR's. That is the way for the other big bats to pick up ARam and Lee. Now we need to bullpen to hold it...

haven't heard this lately about Soto. He did get a single and a walk tonight...so we're just waiting on power and rbi's. Seems that his shoulder is OK and that was an earlier malady for him.

Quick question to MLB. DVR is temporarily una fucking vailable???????????? My divorce lawyer, who is the meanest bastard on earth, will be in touch with you. And he'll make the Cloverfield monster look like a rose in your fucking ass. Thanks.

I like Kemp, but man, he's got a stacked deck in front of him at 2nd base. AzPhil - How's Watkins looking defensively overall? The error comment piqued my interest, and obviously, one error does not make a conclusion, but I am just curious if you think he moves well enough for the position and has the reactions to potentially try to develop there long run. IIRC, some folks were thinking 2nd/CF for him (maybe even you, my memory is a bit shoddy these days). Does it look like Watkins could stick at short? I'm just curious, because IIRC a previous post of yours, you said that Hak-ju might outgrow short. Two other quick questions - Cerda and his defense, and how has Jericho's bat been? Has he been making good contact?

Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 1:46am.
I like Kemp, but man, he's got a stacked deck in front of him at 2nd base.

AzPhil - How's Watkins looking defensively overall? The error comment piqued my interest, and obviously, one error does not make a conclusion, but I am just curious if you think he moves well enough for the position and has the reactions to potentially try to develop there long run. IIRC, some folks were thinking 2nd/CF for him (maybe even you, my memory is a bit shoddy these days). Does it look like Watkins could stick at short? I'm just curious, because IIRC a previous post of yours, you said that Hak-ju might outgrow short.

Two other quick questions - Cerda and his defense, and how has Jericho's bat been? Has he been making good contact?

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

TOONSTER: Logan Watkins is an "athletic" defender who has the range to play middle infield, and he has plenty of arm, too, but he throws almost sidearm, so he probably will end up at 2B rather than SS or CF.

Matt Cerda is still working on his defense behind the plate, but he didn't look good when he was moved to 2B last month, so I doubt that the Cubs will move him again to 2B even if he continues to struggle at catcher. They'll likely just give him as much time as he needs to develop, even if it means spending two or three years in Mesa. He's sort of a long-term investment.

Jericho Jones got sick at the end of Minor League Camp and although he's healthy now, he still looks sluggish at bat and in the field. Hopefully he will get it going soon, but he's definitely really struggling right now.

Chris Weimer and Dwayne Kemp have been the team's hottest hitters so far, while Jae-Hoon Ha shows the most promise as a hitter.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

AZ Phil was right about Jericho getting sick but he is back hitting over .400 for the spring and has been working on pitch recognition; increasing his walks and decreasing his strikeouts.He has been hitting off a machine that throws 96mph from 52 feet to fine tune his pitch recognition and bat speed.He reports early everyday to get in extra work and says his arm strength is better than ever.( he's thrown out several runners from lf this spring )He got to hit in a simulated game vs "animal" ( Julio Castillo)a week or so ago and ripped his 95-97mph fastball for several hits including one off the wall and one gapper.For those who don't know who Julio Castillo is.....he is the pitcher who got suspended after the brawl in Peoria last season. He is allowed to work out but not allowed to participate in the EXTST games.I also heard that after yesterdays game the players were surprised to find one of their two team vans had been stolen out of the parking lot during the game. They had to wait an extra 30 minutes to get another van from Mesa.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • 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.