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

Angels Edge Cubs at Fitch Park

Justin Bour walked, doubled, and crushed a two-run HR, Matt Cerda tripled twice and scored three runs, and Chris Rusin threw three innings of perfect baseball, but it wasn't enough, as the Angels edged the Cubs 6-5 in AZ Instructional League action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this afternoon.

RHP Chris Archer got the start for the Cubs, and had a very poor outing, allowing four runs on two triples, two singles, a walk, and a HBP (plus three WP), in just two innings of work (41 pitches - 24 strikes). Archer was 4th in the Cubs minor leagues in strikeouts in 2009 (trailing only Jay Jackson, Mitch Atkins, and Chris Carpenter), but he led all Cubs minor league pitchers in walks. 

2009 4th round pick LHP Chris Rusin (U. of Kentucky) followed Archer, and threw three perfect innings, while needing just 35 pitches (24 strikes) to do it.   

Down 4-0, the Cubs came back with one run in the 3rd and three more in the 5th to tie the game.

2008 4th round pick Matt Cerda (Oceanside HS - Oceanside, CA) tripled off the left-field fence with one out in the 3rd, and scored on a Jovan Rosa ground RBI single to RF. 

Kyler Burke led-off the 5th with a sharply-hit single to RF, and then with one out, Justin Bour (2009 25th round pick out of George Mason U.) slammed a long HR over the right-centerfield fence onto Field #5, the "half-field" located north of the Cubs clubhouse. (Bour just missed clubbing a dinger down the LF line on the pitch prior to the HR, as the ball curved foul before going out of the park). 

At 6'4 250+, the 21-year old Bour is a big dude who looks like he should have some power, but he hit only four HR in 62 games and 269 PA (combined) at Mesa and Boise in 2009. But Bour has been working with Peoria hitting instructor Barbaro Garbey in the cages each morning before the games and his new-found power really showed up today! (BTW, Justin Bour's older brother Jason is a catcher in the Reds organization, and Jason was ex-Cubs #1 draft pick Mark Pawelek's catcher at Sarasota in 2009).  

Matt Cerda followed Bour's HR with his second triple of the game, a towering blast that hit off the Green Monster metal "batter's-eye" in dead CF, and then Cerda scored on a Sergio Burruel sacrifice fly.

The Angels scored single runs in the 6th and 7th off relievers Jose Rosario and Nick Struck to re-take the lead, but then the Cubs scored again in the bottom of the 7th, narrowing the Halo advantage to just one run. 

Justin Bour led-off the 7th with a double off the LF fence, but then suffered an apparent brain cramp and was thrown-out trying to advance to third (with no outs!) on a Matt Cerda ground ball to the SS.

Michael Brenly singled to send Cerda to 2nd, and then 18-year old Sergio Burruel (2009 19th round pick out of Trevor Browne HS - Phoenix, AZ) crushed a ball down the RF line that hit the top of the 25-ft high outfield fence, just missing going out of the yard for what would have been a a three-run homer. Burruel had to settle for an RBI double, with Brenly advancing to 3rd base representing the potential go-ahead run. But then Logan Watkins struck out, and Ryan Flaherty bounced out, leaving the runners stranded.

The Cubs had one more chance to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th, as Bour walked with one out. But PR Kyung-Min Na (supposedly the fastest HS player in South Korea when the Cubs signed him for a reported $700K+ this year) was immediately picked-off 1st, and then Matt Cerda hit a game-ending 1-3 comebacker to the mound.  

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

LINEUP:
1. Logan Watkins, 2B: 0-4 (3-U, 4-3, 4-3, K)
2. Ryan Flaherty, SS: 0-4 (K, 6-3, 3-1, 3-U)
3. Brett Jackson, CF: 0-3 (K, K, BB, K), SB
4. Brandon Guyer, LF: 0-3 (P-5, F-8, BB, F-7)
5. Kyler Burke, RF 1-4 (K, 1B, K, 4-3), R 
6. Rebel Ridling, DH #1: 0-4 (L-5, 4-3, P-9, 3-1) 
7a. Justin Bour, 1B: 2-3 (P-6, HR, 2B, BB), R, 2 RBI   
7b. Kyung-Min Na, PR: 0-0, PO
8. Matt Cerda, 3B: 2-4 (3B, 3B, 6-5 FC, 1-3) 3 R
9a. Jovan Rosa, C: 1-1 (1B, BB), RBI
9b. Michael Brenly, C: 1-1 (1B)
10. Sergio Burruel, DH #2: 1-2 (K, F-8 SF, 2B), 2 RBI

PITCHERS:
1. Chris Archer - 2.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP, 3 WP, 5/0 GO/FO, 41 pitches (24 strikes)
2. Chris Rusin - 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 5/2 GO/FO, 35 pitches (24 strikes)
3. Jose Rosario - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GO/FO, 15 pitches (10 strikes)
4. Nick Struck - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1/4 GO/FO, 28 pitches (15 strikes)
5. Corey Martin - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 0/3 GO/FO, 10 pitches (7 strikes)

ERRORS (3):
1. Jovan Rosa (E-2) - overthrow at 2nd base on SB attempt, allowing runner to take 3rd.
2. Matt Cerda (E-5) - errant throw to 1st base bounced past 1st baseman allowing batter to reach safely, but then batter-runner was thrown-out 3-6 trying to advance to 2nd base.   
3. Kyler Burke (E-9) - over-ran a ground single to RF allowing batter to advance to 2nd and to 3rd, and then batter was thrown out trying to score 9-4-2 (OF assist to Burke - see below). 

CATCHERS DEFENSE:
1. Jovan Rosa - 0-1 CS + E-2 throwing error (see above)
2. Michael Brenly - 1 PB

OUTFIELD ASSISTS (2):
1. Brett Jackson - batter-runner was thrown out 8-4-2 trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park HR.
2. Kyler Burke - batter-runner was thrown out 9-4-2 trying to score on a H+E (see above).   

BASERUNNING GAFFES:
1. Justin Bour - led off bottom of the 7th with a double, then was thrown out 6-5 trying to advance to 3rd base on a ground ball to the SS with no outs.  
2. Kyung-Min Na - PR for Justin Bour at 1st base after Bour walked with one out in the bottom of the 9th with Cubs trailing 6-5, but then was immediately picked-off by the Angels pitcher.  

WEATHER: 90 & sunny

ATTENDANCE: 14 

Comments

AZ Phil -- I am trying to figure out who will be at Triple A next year. Assuming Samardzija and Caridad will be at the Major League Level, I have Starters: Atkins, Russell, Coleman, Jackson, and Chen. Relievers: Parker, Stevens, Gaub, Papelbon, Berg, Mateo, Mathes/Reinhard Lambert made it to Triple A but will be rehabbing after TJ surgery. Not sure if Schlitter, Maestri, Patton or Ruhlman will be there. There seem to be a lot of candidates for a few spots and that is not counting any potential minor league FA that they sign. Let me know what you think.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

A potential bust. The problem with the guy is expectations. He signed a $10MM bonus, thanks to Daddy Warbucks Hendry. Naturally, the team put him on the fast-track. He certainly is not Mark Prior (when that meant something good) or Adam Wainright, and I just think that the Cubs have blown it based on the fact that he is expected to perform well NOW, yet he has developed one and a half pitches to this point. What the hell has he shown at the Major League level, so far? ZERO If he could "simmer" for a while in AAA, that is one thing, but the dude's original contract is going to be up already in 2011, I think! Do most people believe he will be an effective MLB pitcher by that time? Notre Dame is overrated.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

the guy has a MLB contract...they're just gonna use him. he's not ready, but given how total shit the pen was this year he found himself making it up in the pecking order. he could use a consistent 3rd pitch and some control that isn't over the fat of the plate. no big deal...if the pen is actually in good shape in 2010 we might not see him for a while. he needs to be stretched out to start anyway...AAA should be just fine for that. btw, the cubs have an option on the guy beyond his 5 year mlb contract that pays him 6-7m combined in 2012/2013...it's not like it was a totally boneheaded deal. basically, he's guaranteed a roster spot on the 40 man while he earns service time and can walk away with 16-17m over 7 years...total. he's got some bonus thing on top of that, too, that's good for another 6-7m, but I don't know exactly how that "i won't walk away from this to play football" bonus works.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Just correcting a misconception. He's not gonna be "young" next year. He's been around twice as long as some people think. He's running out of time. There are only two seasons left on his 5 year contract. Two seasons left to stick with the Cubs in some useful capacity and get the Cubs to exercise their 2012 and 2013 $3.25 million extensions. But he was incredibly mediocre at all levels this year. And that's his second contract by the way. He was originally signed in 2006 to a $1 million bonus, then re-upped in 2007.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

Sorry, he didn't play at Daytona in 2006. Check again. He did not get promoted TWICE. He pitched 19 innings with Boise and then 11 innings at Peoria before going back to football practice and his senior year of college. So he pitched 30 innings in between his collegiate baseball and football seasons. This is qualitatively different than David Patton being limited by injuries over a full February-September major league season. Surely you see that? Yes, he may turn out to be a bust, but the fact remains that he is YOUNGER than others like Caridad, Berg, Stevens, etc. You should be recommending we get rid of all of these guys then because they are too old and haven't made it yet.

Good to see Cerda showing a little pop, but that is extremely discouraging out of Archer. He is the real wild card for me in the DeRo trade. While Gaub and Stevens both look like they will be big additions to the bullpen as early as next year, if Archer could develop into a #3 starter for us, the trade would definately be a win for us. In other news, Shark pitched a good game in Mexican ball last night. 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 Ks, with tons of ground balls. The 0 walks was the big thing for me, though. Hopefully he works the crap out of his secondary stuff and pushes for the fifth starter spot out of ST.

Submitted by skavoovee on Thu, 10/15/2009 - 7:54pm.
AZ Phil -- I am trying to figure out who will be at Triple A next year. Assuming Samardzija and Caridad will be at the Major League Level, I have Starters: Atkins, Russell, Coleman, Jackson, and Chen. Relievers: Parker, Stevens, Gaub, Papelbon, Berg, Mateo, Mathes/Reinhard Lambert made it to Triple A but will be rehabbing after TJ surgery. Not sure if Schlitter, Maestri, Patton or Ruhlman will be there. There seem to be a lot of candidates for a few spots and that is not counting any potential minor league FA that they sign. Let me know what you think.

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

SKAVOOVEE: As things stand right now (and this is very much subject to change), with the 2010 Cubs Opening Day staff likely to be Lilly, Dempster, Zambrano, Wells, and either Gorzelanny, Samardzija, or Marshall as the starters, and Marmol, Guzman, Grabow (who I believe will be back), Heilman, and Caridad, plus two more from amongst Gorzelanny/Marshall/Samardzija forming the bullpen, I would say Atkins, Jackson, Coleman, and Mathes will be the top four starters at Iowa, and Parker, Berg, Stevens, and Gaub will form the basis of the I-Cubs bullpen, with Carpenter, Cashner, Chen, Diamond, Maestri, Mateo, Papelbon, Patton, Reinhard, Ruhlman, Russell, and Schlitter (plus any minor league free-agents the Cubs might sign during the off-season) battling for the remaining four slots (probably one starter and three relievers, although Mathes could be moved to the bullpen if two starting slots are needed or if a second lefty is needed in the pen). It depends on who pitches best at Minor League Camp next March, and who starts the year on the DL.

some magic PED down in Mexico... --- Way Cool. Fastball's are blue, Slider's green, Changeup red. Beats the hell out of K-Zone.

When Greg Maddux was 25 he won his 75th game and pitched his 1100th inning as a Cub. --- maybe Hendry should be scouting the ND golf team (not football)

CM tweets on Sl(ar)amma-J(ar)amillo CarrieMuskat: cubs have asked rangers for permission to talk to Rudy Jaramillo to fill their hitting coach vacany. could be an announcement early Nov

there's a fight here about whether to count years of samninja service has anything to do anything and how many years it is... so what? here's all that matters. 5 year ***MLB*** contact 2007-2011 (aka, use him whenever, whatever, you're paying for the real deal anyway). 2 year CLUB option on him 2012/2013 worth 6.5m COMBINED for both years. 2009 just ended. 4 more years of relatively cheap control. now everyone try not to piss their pants and deal with the fact that the cubs can cut him loose in 2 years or keep him around for 4. players getting MLB contracts before they deserve it is part of the process now...like it or not. get used to it.

Interesting sponsor at Samardzija's Baseball Reference page: Bootstraps the Bussie sponsor(s) this page. NOBODY was more excited about your choosing baseball over football than I was...HOWEVER...your off the field late night activities while playing here in Daytona with the Cubs were VERY VERY sad...please change your ways and become a role model.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Crunch, you might think you are truly anonymous, but almost all self-publishing portals record the exact date-time an IP address of anonymous postings and judges have ordered ISP's (Interntet Service Providers) reveal the identity of anonymous defamatory bloggers. Anonymity is an illusion, and judges rountinely issue "John Doe" subpoens to ISP's when someone has been CYBER-LIBEL. I strongly suggest you keep such false and defamatory statements to yourself.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Crunch that's great, just tell me your name and were you live and I will come and pick up the check. You do have a million dollars don't you? You know so much about professional talent you must have been a super star yourself. What level of sports did you play? It just makes me laugh when I read statements by publishers such as you that can't even back up anything they have to say.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

So big Rob G., what crunch can't speak for himself so you have to butt your way in. Yeah I live Valpo and I know Ninja so what. I least I don't bad mouth any Cub players like you publishers do. I've been a Cub fan for many years win or lose. I enjoy watching the Cubs on TV and going to the games as much as I can. But I would never lower myself to your guys level and bad mouth the players like you do. See I have never played baseball at any high level and from the insults you guys post I tell you neither of you have either. So there you go. Sorry but I'm going to go and watch some NCAA football.

[ ]

In reply to by jakester

The really more important question is, just because you grew up with someone, does that mean that you know everything about him? Have you got some sort of psychic connection so that you know what time he gets to bed every night and who he has spent his evenings with? It's great that you're a friend, and or a fan of Smardijza's but unless you're his bodyguard, odds are that you don't know what he does and how he conducts himself 1200 miles away from where you two grew up. Not saying that crunch is absolutely right or anything, he's been known to blow some smoke up people's asses on occasion, but you are there first person who has ever claimed to know what everyone in his middle school was doing every night of their mid 20's that I've ever come across.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

So he acted like a kid with a huge heap of cash who thought he was entitled to something? There really isn't an issue here, is there? Wonder what this guy's problem is. Jeffy never called his daughter back after they did the no-pants dance? If he got way too drunk way too often, caused a shitload of trouble, and acted like an asshole, he's just one of those super propsects who have millions of dollars guaranteed. There's 3 or 4 of those in every team's farm system.

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

no, there isn't an issue, imo. it happens. if i really wanted to rage on the issue i could tell a few elijah dukes and delmon young stories that would require me to cut a couple $100,000,000 dollar internet lawsuit checks. kerry wood did it, too...he turned out just fine. as long as you show up ready to play and the media isn't noticing you enough to put it in print it's all good.

If he is not under contract - why does the team need "permission"? --- I've read that his current contract ends 10/31/09, so officially he needs permission to talk to other clubs before that date.

i was going to post milton's... In appreciation of Sean Forman, B-R and MB sponsor(s) this page. B-R made it easy to realize that MB's 284/402/443 between April 28 and September 4 didn't tank the Cubs' season. Too bad the Chicago media don't use it. The 0.5% of Cubs fans who see beyond batting average and RBI wish you the best of luck. also from the TBS broadcast, Torre talking about Padilla "if one guy can come in and disrupt your clubhouse chemistry, it wasn't that good to begin with."

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

me and torre agree on something...scary. it also needed to be said by someone. too bad the local chicago press (some) were too busy with other milton-related celebrations to actually bring that up. btw...it seems there was no clubhouse leader for the season that just finished. that said, it seems that way because wood used to be the guy with the pitchers and dero acted as that guy for the cubs bats...wood and dero also did a killer job running quotes/stories for the press to take the crap off all the other guys. dero saved dlee (a pretty boring guy when it comes to reporters/press) a lot of crap last year as well as almost all the rest of the team. it's not even like dero/wood were these strong wiley rock-hard oldschool veterans or something...they just didn't mind getting up there and doing the things non-field related they felt needed to be done and the rest of the team seemed to respond well to it. no one stepped up this year and it seems like stuff festered pretty badly while everyone sat around and watched it happen.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

There's worse things that can happen to the roster than having Fuld as a 5th outfielder (Johnson as a 4th outfielder/platoon center fielder being one of them), but there's the issue of his inability to stay healthy, so you need a backup plan for your 5th outfielder, which seems a bit silly when you say it.

"if one guy can come in and disrupt your clubhouse chemistry, it wasn't that good to begin with." --- maybe someone can figure out the chemistry equation using the NHL +/- on ice scoring system... net change = -wood-derosa + (-bradley) = -3

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.