Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

TCR Friday Notes

Submitted by Rob G. on

- Alex Eisenberg runs Baseball Intellect and he's added a premium service where he breaks down video of prospects. Recently he did one that included  Logan Watkins and Hak-Juk Lee from a Boise Hawks game earlier this year. If you're a minor league junkie, I have to think that's a good way to spend $3 a month and I'll continue to give him a shout out when he features Cubs prospects.

- MLB Trade Rumors is reporting their own rumor that the Cubs have interest in the 21-year old 100 mph southpaw from Cuba - Aroldis Chapman. He's expected to be anywhere from $30 to $60M richer by the end of the offseason.

- Speaking of MLBTR, I read this bit over there:

ESPN's Keith Law, former special assistant to the GM in Toronto, mentioned a few interesting Blue Jays' non-trades in his chat today. He says that the Mets once offered 19-year-old David Wright for Jose Cruz Jr., but J.P. Ricciardi said "I'm not trading a major league player for some guy in the (Low Class-A) Sally League." Klaw also mentions that the Jays had a chance to trade Cruz Jr. for Rafael Soriano, but wouldn't do it unless the Mariners kicked in Clint Nageotte as well. What could have been, Jays fans.

Facepalm.

- You may have missed it yesterday, but it looks like the cutoff for Super Two status will be 2 years and 141 days. Arizona Phil broke out how that will affect the players who were near the cutoff (I believe it's suppose to read 2+171 and so forth, but you get the picture). There's a note on Glen Perkins if you follow the link to the original comment as well.

SUPER TWO:
Joey Devine, RHP - A's 2+171
Brian Wilson, RHP - Giants 2+169
Rajai Davis, OF - A's 2+167
Alex Gordon, 3B - Royals 2+162
Mike Adams, RHP - Padres 2+161
Tom Gorzelanny, LHP - Cubs 2+161
Omar Quintanilla, INF - Rockies 2+159
Jesus Flores, C - Nationals 2+158
Hunter Pence, OF - Astros 2+156
Jason Hammel, RHP - Rockies 2+153
Matt Garza, RHP - Rays 2+149
Tim Lincecum, RHP - Giants 2+148
Nick Masset, RHP - Reds 2+146
Jeff Karstens, RHP - Pirates 2+144
Matt Albers, RHP - Orioles 2+141
Carlos Gomez, OF - Twins 2+141

CUT-OFF?
Dustin Nippert, RHP - Rangers 2+140
Adam Jones, OF - Orioles 2+139
Mike Fontenot, 2B - Cubs 2+139
Brandon Morrow, RHP - Mariners 2+139
Micah Owings, RHP - Reds 2+139
Mark Reynolds, 3B - Diamondbacks 2+138
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C - Rangers 2+137
Allberto Callaspo, INF - Royals 2+135
Glen Perkins, RHP - Twins 2+133
Anibal Sanchez, RHP - Marlins 2+133
Ben Zobrist, INF - Rays 2+133
Joe Smith, RHP - Indians 2+132
Fred Lewis, OF - Giants 2+129
Jeremy Sowers, P - Indians 2+128
Mike Pelfrey, RHP - Mets 2+122

- Over at cubs.com, Carrie says that Jeff Baker is the frontrunner for the second base job (Ed note - the Cubs are stupid if this is true), and they aren't going to bring back Mark DeRosa just because he was popular(Ed note - a little less stupid if true). She does say that Starlin Castro has been playing some second base in the AFL and could be a mid-season call-up if he continues his rocket-like ascension through the system.

- Wrigleyville residents are concerned over a new project setting a precedent in building height that would then likely allow the Cubs to build the facility that they've been wanting to adjacent to the park.

- Vote on the game changers in sports at the Huffington Post. The guy that runs MLB.tv is currently in the lead and Dave Appelman of Fangraphs is #2.  Baseball geeks UNITE!

- I did want to congratule "The Joe" on winning the mostly TCR 15-team fantasy points-based league...his second win in the 4 years we've played. Actually no, I don't want to congratulate him, I want to tell him to stop cheating and that he should trade Hanley Ramirez, preferably to me. I know there was another league that pretty much used our rules, so if you could drop the winner and their point total in the comments, I'll put it somewhere on the site to celebrate, that goes for any TCR-based league...I think Transmission ran one as well (Ed note - worst constructed paragraph ever on TCR).

- Bears at Bengals this week, join the fun at The Bear Truth.

- Betus.com has signed on as an advertiser for the next year, you can find their logo on the left when you're on the front page. Gamble away your life savings(Ed note - please don't do that) or just check out the lines on games or the pretty girls.

Tags
Friday Notes
Super Two arbitration

Comments

Submitted by John Beasley on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 10:45 pm

Kmokeefe won the TCR 2 keeper league. At least I think that's his TCR handle.

[ ]

Submitted by George Altman on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 10:59 pm

Can't wait to hear Ricketts' 'Vision'. Would love to see conceptual drawings and construction plans for 'Wrigley Field at Sears Park' located off the NW Tollway between Hoffman Estates and Elgin. Putting any more more money into Clark & Addison is more good money after bad, but as long as it isn't taxpayer dollars - oh, well.

Submitted by Newport on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 10:32 am

I'm confused about this new building. Is it above the Cubby Bear? Behind it? The pictures look like it is on that corner. Maybe behind the Cubby Bear or where Taco Bell is? I don't fucking know, but some hotel rooms on the N. Side would be nice, not enough of them currently. Anyone who is against this is a ruhtard.

Submitted by Little Nate Lewis on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 10:56 am

9391, 89 points ahead of Chad. And by Chad, he means Little Nate Lewis.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 10:04 am

"She does say that Starlin Castro has been playing some second base in the AFL and could be a mid-season call-up if he continues his rocket-like ascension through the system." I don't recall Castro playing second at Mesa. Maybe one game or a few innings. He's been alternating between shortstop and DH. The reason he doesn't play short every day is that Mesa also has Jose Iglesias, the 19-year-old Cuban defector the Red Sox just paid $8.5 million. Your paragraph begins discussing Jeff Baker, and then you say Castro has been playing some second. Castro doesn't have to worry about playing second with the Cubs. That's Theriot's worry, and Hak-Ju Lee's, and Flaherty's and LeMahieu's and others. Castro is going to be the SS.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 10:53 pm

Castro doesn't have to worry about playing second with the Cubs. That's Theriot's worry, and Hak-Ju Lee's, and Flaherty's and LeMahieu's and others. Castro is going to be the SS.

that's cute, guess you missed Lou playing Theriot at SS and Blanco at 2b at the end of the year...

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 10:31 pm

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 10:04am.

I don't recall Castro playing second at Mesa. Maybe one game or a few innings. He's been alternating between shortstop and DH. The reason he doesn't play short every day is that Mesa also has Jose Iglesias, the 19-year-old Cuban defector the Red Sox just paid $8.5 million.

Your paragraph begins discussing Jeff Baker, and then you say Castro has been playing some second. Castro doesn't have to worry about playing second with the Cubs. That's Theriot's worry, and Hak-Ju Lee's, and Flaherty's and LeMahieu's and others. Castro is going to be the SS.

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

CUZZ: Starlin Castro played SS, 2B, and 3B for the DSL Cubs in 2007, and then he split time almost 50/50 between SS and 2B in 2008 at Fitch Park (Minor League Camp, Extended Spring Training, AZL Cubs, and Instructional League), when Castro and Junior Lake were teammates and the Cubs wanted both players to get PT at SS. (Castro and Lake were teammates at DSL Cubs in 2007, too).

Castro played SS exclusively at both Daytona and Tennessee in 2009, but he did play 2B for the Mesa Solar Sox last Monday, although (as you said) that was only because Jose Iglesias was playing SS that day. (Castro is a very good defensive 2nd baseman, BTW).

It's possible that Castro could end up at 2B if Hak-Ju Lee remains at SS and both make it to the big leagues with the Cubs, because Lee has better range, and Lee has only played SS (so far, at least). But Castro can certainly play SS.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Sun, 10/25/2009 - 10:52 am

I agree that there could be an argument between Castro and Lee over shortstop. But it certainly looks like Casto will get there first, and that LeMahieu will be zeroing in on second base. I'm not sure where that leaves Lee, who is a rabbit and a real leadoff hitter. But it's a good problem to have. It's not a good problem for Theriot to have.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Sun, 10/25/2009 - 10:50 pm

I know that AZ Phil has suggested in the past that Lee could make a good convert to CF (usually when the issue of his size comes up). However, anticipating that all three of these guys will make it to the majors as productive everyday players with the Cubs is a little bit premature. It could happen, but will anybody be surprised if it doesn't?

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 10:46 pm

A couple of things. Lee in center doesn't begin to make sense to me. Everybody plays shortstop in little league, and many do in high school, but if you can play shortstop at a high level they don't put you in the outfield. Offensively, Lee lacks power. He's an infielder! The Cubs have a large group of middle-infield prospects right now, and some Cub fans are having difficulty getting their heads around that idea. Before the current group, when was the last time the Cubs had a decent middle-infield prospect? Theriot is an overachiever. Eric Patterson turned out to be a left fielder (i.e., someone who can't play any position). Who else? How long ago? What a screwed-up drafting apparatus the Cubs used to have! Almost all their prospects were slugging first basemen (a couple from Jim Hendry's high school). I guess the Cubs thought that it would save some time if their scouts didn't have to watch the players in the field. I mention Castro, Lee and LeMahieu because even among genuine prospects they seem special. They hit the ground running as soon as they turned pro. Everything comes easy to them. "You want me to do the same thing at a higher level? No problem!" Brett Jackson seems to belong in this group also. Most prospects struggle in the minors. I thought they all did until I saw this recent group. Cashner has done okay, unless you expected strikeouts in A and AA from a guy who throws 98. (1.79 K/BB, 6.73 K/9.) After a torrid May, Vitters hit .239/.274/.358 in 88 at bats in June. Then he went to Daytona and really stank. Barney has struggled. Guyer has struggled. Samardzija, obviously. So that's why I focus on three or four guys who don't seem to struggle. If any of them doesn't make it, that will be an opportunity for Flaherty, for Darwin, for Watkins--and for Theriot. Whoever emerges from this competition should be able to perform in the majors. I know it's hard for Cubs fans to be forward-looking and optimistic. Something about Bobby Hill and Gary Somebody, back in the eighties, I think.

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.

    The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.

    I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day. 

     

    That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled). 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.

    When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.

    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

    On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?

    But I digress…

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.  

     

    At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

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