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

My All-Time Favorite Players

While Jim Hendry and the front office continue doing absolutely nothing, I try to come up with blog material. Here's one just for fun, a list of my all-time and current favorite players to watch. This has little to do with my generally numbers obsessed way of analyzing the game, rather just the guys I like to watch play. Now my all-time list was heavily influenced when I was a child and the players that had cool batting stances or pitching motions that we would then try and emulate during recess and after school and of course the Cubs. As I get older, I tend to have a finer appreciation for the more talented players that just make the game look easy.

All-Time

C - Tony Pena

1B - Will Clark

2B - Ryne Sandberg

SS - Tony Fernandez

3B - Ron Cey

LF - Rickey Henderson/Tim Raines

CF - Bob Dernier

RF - Sammy Sosa

Pitchers - Rick Sutcliffe, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, Kent Tekulve

Honorable Mentions: Ken Griffey Jr., Shawon Dunston, Pete Rose, Jody Davis, Benito Santiago, Mark Grace

Current

C - Joe Mauer

1B - Lance Berkman

2B - Chase Utley

SS - Troy Tulowitzki

3B - Aramis Ramirez

LF - Grady Sizemore

CF - Carlos Beltran

RF - Vladimir Guerrero

Pitchers - Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Zambrano, Chris Carpenter, Roy Halladay, Johan Santana

I cheated on the outfielders because I can't think of one left fielder in baseball that I enjoy watching play, maybe Carl Crawford, but I've maybe watched 5 Tampa games in my lifetime. Vlad is a bit of a cheat as well since he's a DH now, but his hacktastic, yet amazing ability to make contact are sure fun to watch. On principle I should hate all Cardinals - but Carpenter, much like Halladay -  just make pitching look too easy.

Tags

Comments

will clark over mark grace? get the hell off my internet. props for r.henderson...the game needs more of him.

Where's Julio Franco? Not only do you get to see his batting stance, but there was also the fans yelling "Ole!" as another ball scooted beneath his glove on it's merry way to right field.

on "verge" of 1 year deal with Angels for $6.5M according to Olney/Stark.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

sounds like they want an extension hammered out with Halladay first and if so, may trade Lee who doesn't want to take any type of discount. I guess if they can get a good package for Lee, not a terrible idea. I'd probably ride out the Halladay, Lee, Hamels train though for 2010 and get the draft picks for Lee (assuming they get Halladay signed to an extension and only have money for one of them).

So let's see if I have this figured out: Red Sox get John Lackey Yankees trade for Curtis Granderson Phillies about to trade for Roy Halladay ....and the Cubs are "interested" in Matt fucken Capps. You tell me who the legitimate big market ball clubs are, and who the obvious pretender is. The Cubs will NEVER win the world series. Ever.

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

I don't know if I'd go that far, but it's no secret they're pretty cash-strapped. The budget is $140 mil and it ain't budging. Hendry's left himself little to no wiggle room with the contracts he's made over the last three years or so, and it doesn't sound like Ricketts has a lot of leftover cash after paying Mr. Zell through the nose. I imagine the immediate future will be more like this than like 2006-2008. I guess it's a good thing our farm system is getting better.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

100m is... soriano/aram/dlee...3 legit power hitters in the middle of the lineup...that sucks, why not 8 top to bottom? boo! Z/dumpster/lilly...no true OMFG ace, but none are trash and none are easy to play against bradley/fuku...high paid support crew there's some overpriced contracts in there, but those guys along with the lower-paid support crew are far from trash. ...and it seems the team is dead set about adding another pen arm...k.colero, m.capps, etc. independent of the bradley situation. team isn't sunk even though there's some guys with overpriced contracts holding some 2010 things back.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I wasn't saying we're sunk, although I do find myself much less hopeful going into this season than I have for several years. I was merely saying that while we've got a decently good roster, it's an overpaid one, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of money available to improve it. I think we could have done more to improve it if either A) Hendry hadn't decided Bradley was the answer or B) Hendry hadn't decided by Sept. 1 he was going to dump Bradley fuck all. Both of those situations, and currently the latter of the two, have kept us out of several potentially beneficial happenings.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Subsequent to Sullivan's puff piece, this article by Jon Greenburg [ http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/columns/story?columnist=greenberg_jon… ] was published at ESPN Chicago. He says,
But overall, according to information from the Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index survey I have put together the past few years, the average Cubs ticket is up about 10 percent. For the 2009 season, tickets went up 10 percent; for 2008, they were up about 24 percent. ... The average Cubs ticket this season, not counting the premium seats or the skyboxes, is going to be up about $5, $52.60 from $47.75, compared with last season
$5 a ticket X 3,000,0000 tickets grosses out at $15 million. And that's on top of the previous year's increase.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

That's contradictory to the other report, that Tito linked. It would be interesting to hear some of the season ticket holders chime in. This guy's article is a confusing mish-mash when he starts using numbers.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

Well, let me explain it to you this way. If you want people to believe your numbers, don't just start arbitrarily grabbing things and making paragraphs. The best way to back up his information would be to show the ticket prices in a chart, so you coul see the # of tickets in a section and the average price of those tickets. If the ticket price increase is actually $4.85 which his article says, $.53 of that is going to this increased tax, so it comes out to $4.32. Then the Cubs don't sellout every game, so you would have to look at what seats don't get sold to determine exactly how much extra revenue they expect. But there's no way to get to $15 million. Maybe $13 million. Then there's also the issue that he didn't seem to verify the prices last year - which would explain why the ticketing department doesn't agree that the % he came up with is correct. Or it could be this:
Average ticket price represents a weighted average of season ticket prices for general seating categories, determined by factoring the tickets in each price range as a percentage of the total number of seats in each venue.
So yeah, the numbers don't represent even $13 million. How many season tickets do they sell 22,000?

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

According to this chart the Cubs attendance was 96.3% of capacity last year. So assuming that doesn't change, 41,160 (Wrigley capacity per Cubs.com) x .963 x a $4.32 increase (your number) x 81 games = $13,866,981. You have to assume that some tickets will be comped, but even assuming they comp a thousand tickets a game the Cubs would still pocket around $13.5 million. As for figuring out which tickets went unsold, based on my observances I'd say the cheapest tickets -- e.g., the upper-deck foul-line seats -- are the ones most likely to be unsold. So the total might indeed be higher that $13.5 mil.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

He can platoon in right with Aubrey Huff.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I don't want anyone playing RF unless they are of GG caliber. Tired of all these substandard Right fielders keeping the Cubs out of the World Series. Sign Gary Pettis and stick him in Right.

I was sitting out in behind the bullpen in SF years ago when Clark hit a homer and raised his fist as he rounded first. With that, Mike Krukow stood up in the Giants' bullpen, turned to the rest of the seated pitchers and gave the universal hand motion for male self-pleasuring. Apparently despite the pretty swing, not a huge favorite with the teammates.

assuming Lackey and Matsui become official, along with Figgins and Harden so far, we have a grand total of one correct pick. "The stick" had Harden to Texas for 10.

Do I win anything? I'm hoping for something like a Dusty Baker used toothpick. I could put a bow on it and my Christmas shopping for my brother would be done.

speaking of untouchable...via rotoworld... "Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun has heard that RHP Kyle Drabek is involved in Monday's three-team blockbuster but not Mariners prospect Phillippe Aumont." wow.

from ken rosenthal's twitter... "# Cameron money: Two years, $15.5 million range. 8 minutes ago from web # Cameron in serious talks with Red Sox on two-year deal. CF or LF unclear. about 3 hours ago from mobile web " shi...

It really sucks to not be a part of this off season with the exception of trying to see how little of Bradley's contract we have to eat. Just think, if Hendry hadn't been "forced" to dump DeRosa and Marquis' contract in order to sign Bradley, the Cubs could of not only enjoyed having a back up for when A-Ram got hurt and an above average (but overpaid) 5th starter for a season but now would have around $20 million worht of contracts coming off the books. That may have made this offseason more exciting.

Rick Ankiel's turned back into the pumpkin he always was. Pass. I'd rather deal with another year of Bradley's BS.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

Call me crazy, but I like the edge that Bradley brings to the clubhouse. Keeps the team from getting too relaxed. We just need to keep the reporters away from him or appoint a new DeRosa/Wood to give them a bunch of quotes and satisfy their appetite for soundbites. It needs to be a talkative starting position player or key reliever... I nominate: Theriot Grabow Soto? Marshall? Free Agent? Who among these men can give the media what they want? I'm fully on board to keep Bradley and watch the fireworks of 2010. It is the least costly move for the future of the team. We won't have money to sign anyone until next year, and that's assuming that Lee and Lilly provide the salary relief! How unfair that they are the two best players at their respective positions (of course ARam has a player option). 2010 $25M coming off books After 2011 the Cubs will be out from under Bradley, Fukudome, Grabow (Cubs can also buyout last year of Ramirez contract, not reflected below). 2011 $29M coming off books I say we give up for the next two years and focus on rebuilding the farm system. Try to get some draft pick compensation once in a while and let the kids develop into a major league ball club. Once there's only $71M committed to Zambrano, Soriano, Ramirez, Dempster, and Samardzija, just think of the possibilities. Pretty early to give up hope on two seasons, huh?

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

Good suggestion. Add that motivational guy that Dusty had, because Lou is not gonna do it. His swagger is losing its grip on his belly. If we give up on the next two seasons, then let Ryno have the team now. Bring up the kids he's been working with in the minors and clean house now. The only way to get Lou back in the game is to pressure him. Fans, media, and T.R. all putting him on the edge. The money's been spent. If Lou can't give one more good showing as a manager, then give him the boot. It worked with the Blackhawks...

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

If the Dodgers are willing to pay $9 million to get rid of Pierre and the Red Sox are willing to pay $9 million to trade Lowell, what will it cost the Cubs to move Bradley? I think they're fooling themselves if they think they can find a deal that will only cost them $5 million (the amount I've read). I still think there is an argument to be made for trading Bradley to Atlanta for Lowe. Bradley fills the Braves' need to dump payroll and for a corner outfielder. A straight up trade will cost the Cubs an additional $24 million dollars over three years.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

I was recently assessing organizations for an article I'm going to write ranking the performance of MLB teams 1-30 between 2000 and 2009. Dodgers are a tough nut to crack - they had 9 winning seasons in the decade but only 4 playoff appearances and 0 pennants. So while on some level they've displayed a level of consistency only matched by NYY, BOS, LAA and STL, it's hard for me to agree that they are a "much" better organization than the Cubs. 'Somewhat' seems to be more in line. I haven't finalized my rankings, but based on early work I expect to put the Dodgers around No. 10 and the Cubs around No. 16.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • 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.