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

AZL Cubs Rally for Opening Day Victory

Dwayne Kemp ripped an RBI single to drive-in Robert Bautista with the game-wining run, as the AZL Cubs rallied with three runs in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the AZL Angels 6-5 in Arizona League (AZL) Opening Day action at Fitch Park on Sunday. Kemp also clubbed an RBI triple earlier in the game, and Bautista drove in three runs with a squeeze bunt, a FC grounder, and a single, while also stealing three bases.

 

20-year old 2B D. J. Fitzgerald had a memoraable pro debut, going 4-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a stolen base. The Cubs 22nd round pick in the 2009 Rule 4 Draft (First-Year Player Draft) out of Dyersburg State CC, "DJ Fitz" was a star baseball player at Ocean Lakes HS in Virginia Beach, VA. He signed an NLI with Georgia Southern, but ended up at a Tennessee JC instead.

20-year old RHP Toby Matchulat got the start for the AZL Cubs, and was stellar, throwing four shutout innings (7/1 GO/FO), while allowing just two harmless singles and no walks, with four strikeouts. Matchulat just missed making the Boise Opening Day roster, after having an impressive Extended Spring Training at Fitch Park. An 11th round pick out of Wabash Valley JC in 2008, the lanky 6'5 right-hander struggled big-time with his command in his pro debut last year (29 BB in 18.2 IP), but he has really turned it around this year. Kudos to AZL Cubs Pitching Coach Rick Tronerud and Minor Leagure Pitching Coordinator Mark Riggins for helping Matchulat find a better arm slot and a more consistent release point.

19-year old Australian LHP Cody Hams followed Matchulat to the mound, and had a tough couple of innings. He threw the ball OK, but was adversely affected by his own goof-ups, including two hit batsmen, two balks, two errant pick-off throws, and a walk. Of course, Hams has been pitching for only two years (he was a star cricket player in high school, and he had never even seen a baseball game until he attended the MLB Australian Academy in 2007), so he probably is bound to have a longer learning curve than most of the other youngsters at Fitch Park. The 6'5 Hams has a pitching form very similar to that of a Rich Hill or a Sean Marshall.

While Fitzgerald lit it up in his debut, fellow 2009 draft pick 1B Justin Bour (Cubs 25th round pick out of George Mason) had a game to forget, going 0-4 with three K's. A mountain of a man (6'4 250+), the powerfully-built left-handed hitting Bour would appear to be this year's Rebel Ridling.

In addition to Fitzgerald and Bour, 11 others who signed contracts with the Cubs over the past few days are on the AZL Cubs 34-man Opening Day roster, including RHPs B. J. Dail (Mt. Olive College), Steve Grife (Mercyhurst College), Corey Martin (Western Carolina), Tim Clubb (Missouri State), Jake Schmidt (Concordia U. - St. Paul), and Jesse Ginley (St. Petersburg CC), LHPs John Mincone (Suffolk CC) and Daley Cox (Santa Fe CC), catcher Matt Williams (Duke), 3B Charles Thomas (Edward Waters College), and OF Cody Shields (Auburn U. - Montgomery). Cox and Ginley are the only two who weren't selected in the 2009 draft, as both were signed as Non-Drafted Free-Agents (NDFA) out of Florida junior colleges last week. (Ginley was selected by the Cubs in the 43rd round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign).

Also, RHP Robert Whitenack (8th round pick out of SUNY - Old Westbury) and INF Jordan Petraitis (28th round pick out of Miami of Ohio) were moved up to Boise, after initially being assigned to the AZL Cubs when they reported to Fitch Park. (Petraitis switched places with Cody Shields). Whitenack and Petraitis join fellow 2009 draft picks RHP Danny Keefe (U. of Tampa) and 1B Greg Rohan (Kent State) at Boise. Whitenack's stock kept rising prior to the draft, as he displayed a 93 MPH fastball (up 4-5 MPH over what he was throwing last year) to go along with his killer knuckle-curve.

The Cubs have now signed 16 of their 50 selections in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, plus the two NDFA. Note that 5th round pick SS Wes Darvill of Langley, BC, has signed, but he will be touring with the Canadian Junior National Team in the U. S. and Cuba until sometime next month. Then after the tour has been completed, the 17-year old will report to Fitch Park.

The Cubs are scouting a number of their still-unsigned players while they play in summer "wood bat" collegiate leagues (Cape Cod League, Northwoods League, et al) or with touring all-star teams, so it's quite possible that the Cubs will increase their initial offers to some of their draft picks after the scouts have had a chance to evaluate the players more thoroughly.

In addition, RHP Diego Encarnacion has been promoted from DSL Cubs #1 to the AZL Cubs, after he was apparently able to secure an H2B visa. Encarnacion attended the Cubs AZ Instructional League camp at Fitch Park last fall, and made a favorable impression.

And DSL Cubs #1 Hitting Coach Hector Ortega is the new AZL Cubs Hitting Coach. Ortega replaces Ricardo Medina, who is now the Hitting Coach at Boise.

Comments

As always, thanks Arizona Phil (especially since MiLB.com's box scores in the AZL can be unreliable). Do you know what the status is of Dae-Eun Rhee's rehab?

[ ]

In reply to by toonsterwu

Kiley McDaniel (Baseball Prospectus) had the Cubs as the dark horse for Mateo with the main competition coming from San Francisco, LA and St. Louis. A few people including McDaniel have said the Cubs are one of about 10 teams with a legitimate chance at Miguel Angel Sano (though, it sure sounds like teams like the Pirates and Twins are the leaders for his services). McDaniel also linked the Cubs to Nicaraguan 3B Chesler Cuthbert, Dominican RHP Chris Cabrera and Cuban defector SS Jose Iglesias (age 19). All 3 are looking at $500,000 - $1 million bonuses. BA had us at one time linked to Venezuelan LHP Juan Urbina (Ugueth's son) but it looks like the Mets have him wrapped up. The Cubs have already signed OF Dong-Yub Kim (South Korea, $550,000 bonus) and RHP Yao-Lin Wang (Taiwan, $250,000 bonus) and Arizona Phil mentioned both of them will be heading to the MLB Academy in Queensland, Australia.

[ ]

In reply to by Raisin101

Yeah, I remember the brief Sano stuff, but I've gotta think it's the Pirates to lose on that one, as they've been in on him and are rumored to be willing to go higher than anyone.

Does anyone truly believe that Wagner Mateo is ACTUALLY 16 years old? Given the comments about how he looks very filled-out for a 16 year old, I don't know how there could not be questions about how much he is lying about his age...

Theriot ss Fukudome cf Fox lf Lee 1b Hoffpauir rf Soto c Fontenot 3b Blanco 2b Dempster p

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.