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

Does Wells Deserve the Rookie of the Year?

I think they're on the verge of announcing the N.L. Rookie of the Year and Randy Wells was in the running for most of the season. Ultimately I don't think he'll get more than a few third place votes from the Chicago writers and I don't have much time to put together a full analysis, so I'm just going to lazily look at WAR values over at Fangraphs.

Randy Wells - 3.0

Garrett Jones - 2.6

J.A. Happ - 1.8

Chris Coghlan - 2.3

Andrew McCutchen - 3.4

Tommy Hanson - 2.6

Casey McGehee - 2.2

Colby Rasmus - 2.3

My guess is that it ends up Hanson, McCutchen, Happ by the voters and I would certainly encourage a more robust analysis than just WAR values, but there you have it. The Internet Baseball Awards voted Hanson the winner with Wells finishing 8th, for what it's worth.

On the AL side,  Elvis Andrus and Rick Porcello seem to be getting the most press with Andrew Bailey also in the mix.  Fangraphs has Andrus at 3.0 WAR, Porcello at 1.8 and Bailey at 2.4. Pitchers Jeff Niemann(3.2 WAR) and Brett Anderson(3.8 WAR) both surpass Porcello by WAR values but don't seem to be getting much hype. My guess is the voters give it to Porcello as most of Andrus's value came from his glove. Porcello got the nod at the Internet Baseball Awards.


Andrew Bailey wins the A.L. award with Andrus and Porcello finishing second and third. Chris Coghlan took the N.L. award. He was followed by Happ, Hanson, McCutchen, McGehee and then Wells finishing 6th.

 

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

At least Wells can take consolation in the fact that he'll still be a major league player in five years when Coghlan is calling Matt Murton and asking why nobody wants to sign a corner outfielder with limited power and poor defense. Phooey.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

i barely know anything about Coghlan, but isn't he a 2B that played the outfield because of Uggla? His minor league numbers look interesting, although similar to Murton as you mention, contact guy, walks a lot, but not much home run power.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

fwiw, Coghlan played 1 game in left field in the minors before playing for the Marlins. 246 at 2B and 42 at 3b, so I assume if they move Uggla, he may get his 2b job back.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I didn't know that - I'll give him a pass on his defense if he was playing out of position. But his D numbers did look very bad in 2009. There's always room for improvement - if he spends more time in the cage and raises his average a little higher, maybe he can win a Gold Glove.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I doubt that the market for Marlon Byrd can be all that hot? Unless his agent can get Jim Hendry to overpay by his normal overpayment methods, then I can see Marlon getting Reed Johnson 2009 type money. 1/3 2/6 Maybe a couple of million in possible incentives. Forth Outfielders don't get 3/30's and 4/48's in most organizations.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

3/18 or 3/24 is what he's supposedly asking, my guess is they can maybe get him in the 2/12 to 2/15 range with a third year option....

They'd be signing him to be a starter off the free agent market, not as a platoon partner with less than 6 years service time, so he'll do better than Reed did in 2009. Byrd seems to be a better defender and can hit lefties and righties unlike Johnson.

Not that I'd sign him, but if his agent is worth a damn, he'll get much more than Johnson.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Asking and getting are 2 seperate deals. Bobby Abreu didn't set out to get 1/5 last offseason. Everything we've heard so far is that teams are looking to slash money. An astute GM would be able to fill any holes we have quite cost effectively, if they use the proper leverage. Other GM's will pay stupid money to arbitration Loogys and whine to the media about "Tough breaks" and being on the "Right track".

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

He sure as hell ain't Billy Wagner either. spare part/Middle reliever point remains the same Would you feel better if Jim Hendry was looking to overpay to keep Mike Remlinger circa 2004? Hendry's job needs to be the counter point for the player agent. Maybe he is just too nice or too non-confrontational. He needs to work for the Cubs and their best interests. Not strive to be Buddy Buddy with Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa on their ways out of town.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

There's a difference between a setup guy and a middle reliever. Name the last team that won it all without competent setup guys. Was Remlinger circa 2004 the same age as Grabow? Did he have the same number of K/9? Didn't he also have reverse splits? I agree with the 2nd part of your post. Hendry needs to think about how the market is going to play out and correctly offer arbitration to the players who he wants to retain or he has no fear that they won't get signed by someone else. Wood was going to get signed last year - it may have cost Wood some money, but that's not Hendry's concern. The DeRosa bit doesn't make sense.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Hendry has had a chubby for this guy for several years. His career year numbers are echos of another former Texas player that was a free agent last year. Suprisingly, Byrd batted only .244 against lefties. That does not fare well when you project Fukudome in right (.164 avg against lefties in '09), and Soriano in left (.184 average against lefties in '09). Reed Johnson may be considered just for plattoning. On the suprising side, Sam Fuld batted .303 last year in limited AB's against left handers and batted .318 in 107 minor league AB's last year.

[ ]

In reply to by thedirtbag

but no one would project those numbers versus lefties based off one year though...you're talking a little over 100 PA's maybe, that's like projecting a full season after one month.

Corey Patterson once hit lefties well for a season, you have to use a larger sample size. ESPN.com has 3 year splits which still wouldn't add to a full season, but a little better.

Byrd: 829 OPS vs righty, 798 vs lefty

Soriano: 861 vs 829

Fukudome (2 years): 789 vs 667(less than 200 AB's versus lefties)

 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Agreed, sample size is thin. I would agree that Soriano's avg was due to a complete down year, but I think you would have to agree that Fukudome looks clueless against lefties. So, who becomes your fourth outfielder then if Bradley departs and Byrd enters?

[ ]

In reply to by thedirtbag

yeah Fukudome looks pretty lost versus lefties for the most part and they probably still want to platoon him, but finding a short side platoon shouldn't be that hard.

Fuld's career minor league splits don't show much of a discrepancy, .743 vs .788, so he's possibility

I wouldn't be against signing Byrd and Johnson for the right prices. Jake Fox might still be around. Jeff Baker has played a ittle outfield in his career, might be an option as well. Anyway, it should be a low priority on the offseason wish list

Had to share this one off of the Mailbag for Muskat: Trade Roy Halladay for Bradley. Fukudome to right. Tyler Colvin in center. Wishful thinking? -- Ryan P., Sioux Falls, S.D. Not wishful, but very unlikely. The Blue Jays won't make that deal. Someone should inform Ryan to limit his MLB 2k playing time on PS3.

maybe he has a year like Bradley after leaving Texas or maybe he has a few years like DeRosa I don't particularly like his walk rates myself, so as I said, i'd avoid him. my guess is Hendry sees the nice RBI totals and numbers with RISP and thinks for some reason that's something to be counted on...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I am not claiming I know anything about the White Sox farm system, but you would think that with the Peavy trade and the Teahan trade, the Padres would be picking peanuts and raw players that are many years away from stepping onto a major league field. If this is the case, why wouldn't the Angels just trade straight up for Gonzalez? Kanerko is 34 (defensively challanged to be polite) and owed $12 million, while Gonzalez who just claimed a gold glove, in his prime (not to mention would thrive in the AL especially in Boston and NY during the playoffs) and owed $4.75 million with a club option for $5.5 million in 2011. I think that SD can get a lot more for him and the preliminary talks are just to try and get as many suitors involved to start a bidding war.

[ ]

In reply to by thedirtbag

From reading the comments on the site, it would probably be Kornerko for Matthews Jr. He has one year on his contract I believe, and they need a CFer/leadoff hitter. Move Rios to left, Quinton to Rf and AJ to first.

I don't know why you say he is "defensively challenged" when he has performed at league average for 13 years. Actually, one point better in FP (.995, to LA of .994). He is not a GG player, but has been a gamer for the most part in his career and somehow played well in the big games down the WS stretch. For sure the Pads, IF they wish to split up the Gonzalez brothers, can get a lot more than Kanerko in a trade. The Sox gave up some nice players this past season in Lance Broadway, et. al. I wonder how many more players they are willing to trade again?

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/1397/coghlan-vs-mccutchen-m… The funny thing, though? There were 96 openings on the Rookie of the Year ballots: 32 ballots, three spaces per ballot. The best, most valuable rookie in the National League this year was probably Cubs righthander Randy Wells. He took exactly one of those 96 spots, placing second on one ballot. would be nice if he explained why he thought Wells was the "best, most valuable rookie", although I could certainly see a good case for it.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.