Cubs MLB Roster

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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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Merde: Dawson Goes in as an Expo and Other Cub Notes

Submitted by Rob G. on

 

 

The Hall of Fame made the right move, albeit the unpopular one, by announcing that Andre Dawson will be inducted as a Montreal Expo. Real Neal did the legwork for me using BP's WARP3 numbers:

Montreal: 43.7 Wins
Chicago: 18.1 Wins
Others: -2.2 Wins

Dawson may have been a more popular player in baseball thanks to his Cubs days, but he was clearly a better player as an Expo. Even if you divide his wins per season, it's 3.97 as an Expo and 3.01 as a Cub, so there's just no reasonable argument for Dawson as a Cub other than a popularity contest. Dawson did prefer the Cubs for what it's worth and says he may don a Cubs hat during his speech to acknowledge the Cubs fans.

- The Cubs agreed to a contract with left-hander Sean "What the Fuck Do I Have to Do to be Guaranteed a Roster Spot?" Marshall. I fear that nickname might not catch on. According to some tweets it's for $950K.

- It's almost official that Cubs will pick Mesa today to enter exclusive negotiations that could take up to a year. The preferred location may be revealed as well. Good news for me as it's a short 6-hour drive and for TCR, as I don't think Arizona Phil was planning a Florida move. I'm hoping to make my first spring training trip this March.

- Current 25-man roster:

Starters: Soto, Lee, Baker, Theriot, Ramirez, Soriano, Byrd, Fukudome

Bench: Hill, Nady, (3 of) Blanco, Fontenot, Fuld, Hoffpauir, Tracy, Castro or Colvin

Right now Blanco, Fontenot and Fuld seem like the favorites, but a hot or cold spring or injury could certainly change things.

Rotation: Zambrano, Dempster, Wells, Gorzelanny, Marshall (probably skipped until 5th starter needed)

Lilly will start the season on the disabled list.

Bullpen: Marmol, Grabow, Guzman, Silva, Likely RH addition, (2 of) Berg, Samardzija, Parisi, Stevens, Gray, Caridad, Gaub, Atkins, Dolis, Patton, Parker

and it'll just be 1 of those last 10 when Lilly is back from the disabled list and Marshall or Gorzelanny moves to the pen.

Tags
Hall of Fame
Cubs Roster Moves
Sean Marshall

Comments

[ ]

Submitted by navigator on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:34 pm

so there's just no reasonable argument for Dawson as a Cub other than a popularity contest.
No reasonable argument? How about Dawson wanting to be remembered as a Cub not an Expo? How about the fact that Dawson made his indelible mark in Chicago not Montreal? How about he had a higher BA, OBA, SLG and OPS+ as a Cub? How about he averaged 33 HR and 110 RBI/ 162 games as a Cub? -- much higher numbers than when he was an Expo. How about he went to 5 consecutive All Star games as a Cub (and only 3 total as an Expo)? How about he won his only MVP as a Cub and did it for a last place team? How about until 2001 the Hall allowed players to choose the cap they went in on and then arbitrarily changed the rule? How about Reggie Jackson went in as a ...Yankee?? I think those are a few reasonable arguments, not that they change anything.

[ ]

Submitted by navigator on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:13 pm

Keith Law can be all over the place with his rankings. Here's where he ranked the Cubs 1 year ago:
27. Chicago Cubs: Josh Vitters and a few hard-throwing relievers, and that's about it. The Cubs had some really atrocious drafts in the mid-2000s -- it's a fair bet that the 2005 draft class will fail to produce a big leauger(sic) other than Donald Veal, who was lost in the Rule 5 draft last month and has done absolutely nothing to earn a big league shot this April.
That's right, he ranked the Cubs 27th! And, apparently, Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner weren't even on his radar. He had only Vitters at #14 and Jay Jackson at #98 on his 2009 top 100 list. And, fwiw, here's what Keith Law organizational rankings are supposed to mean, ".. a system with high-impact prospects who are relatively close to the majors ranks high, even if the system lacks depth in second- and third-tier prospects. "

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:42 pm

on 1-yr deal... Damon, Reed Johnson, Baldelli and Dye still out there. someone is going to get a Bobby Abreu-like steal in Damon at some point.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:56 pm

Another mentioning of Dolis for the bullpen. At this point I think it's more likely that one of the top pitching prospects get added to the 40 than the Cubs start the season with a guy who has struggled at high A. Though I don't care if the Cubs save money, Parker, Gaub, Stevens and Cardidad aren't going to learn much in AAA. It makes more sense to me to let them start in Chicago. If we can't find a RH setup man by May, make a trade then.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:29 pm

he's in camp and in the mix, albeit unlikely to make the team none of those other guys I listed or the NRIs are going to get picked over Dolis if Dolis outperforms them, unlikely as that may be...

[ ]

Submitted by thedirtbag on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:26 pm

TRN, my comment a couple of days ago was just a long shot. I understand that there are more likely canidates to get the call up. He is a feast or famine type of pitcher who may benefit from the spotlight. I think it is unlikely that he will get added to the mix at some point in the season, but all it takes is an injury to one of the top arms and a sense of maturity from Dolis this upcoming season to equate to a cup of coffee. Also in reference to my post, I think that the Cubs will end up making a trade and somehow invovling Colvin. His stock is not exactly through the roof, but he did enough I think at the end of the season to keep him on the radar of teams as a potential target. He has had injury issues, but also was involved with Team USA and has has college experience. I think it would be a mistake to move some of the younger arms for bullpen just simply because of the uncertainty revolving around the starting staff next year.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:16 pm

if Cubs are comfortable with a 4-man rotation for the first 2-3 weeks, they could carry an extra bench bat.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:34 pm

when you learn that a certain player didn't play for Dusty but always thought he did. Today's guest is Miguel Cairo who just signed with the Reds. Seemed like a perfect Dusty Baker All-Star...

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:46 pm

http://twitter.com/BobKlap/status/8303534460
Cashman responds to Boras: "On Dec 17, we were told not to make an offer for a penny less than $13 million a year for two years."
http://twitter.com/BobKlap/status/8303455837
More Cashman: "Boras told me I wouldn't find a No. 2 hitter for less than $13 million. I found one for half that (Nick Johnson)."
I was going to make a Dusty joke there about Nick Johnson batting 2nd, but I assume Granderson and Jeter would bat 1-2 in the Yanks lineup, unless they plan Jeter, Johnson going 1-2 and Granderson batting 9th.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:39 pm

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 8:33pm. shhh, he's the next Derek Jeter scouting report on their sidebar says he has plus speed which conflicts with BP's take ================================= ROB G: Starlin Castro has average speed for a middle-infielder (above-average for a position-player), but he has plus-range because he has very good lateral movement and first-step quickness. Hak-Ju Lee has plus-speed, though. He is VERY fast. And because he bats left-handed and his hands and body are usually moving forward when he swings (sort of like Ichiro), Lee is able to beat-out a lot of infield hits and bust singles into doubles. I think HJ Lee is a true lead-off hitter, while Castro is more of a #2 hitter. Castro reminds me of a young Edgar Renteria, and I wouldn't be surprised if he develops into a 10-12 HR guy as he fills out. Lee is more of a slap hitter, but he could start to drive the ball more as he matures physically (he just turned 19 in November).

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 01:56 pm

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 10:49pm. Do you think that because the Cubs got to Lee at such a young age they'll be able to get some more power out of him, compared to the Ichiro types or are they going to be content to have him follow that philosophy of hitting? He does seem to take more walks from the little we've seen. ================================== NEAL: So far they have allowed HJ Lee to hit the way he learned to hit in Korea. As long as he is sucessful doing it that way, they'll probably leave him alone. He is kind of tall & lean and he grew an inch and bulked up a little bit last off-season (he was down-right scrawny when he reported to Fitch Park for Instructs as a 17-year old in Fall 2008), but he looks like if he adds some more muscle over the next couple of years he could develop some Ichiro-like incidental power. He could be a big-time base-stealer, too. Lee actually might have a higher ceiling than Castro, but Castro is more consistent both offensively and defensively, and I have never seen a more "coachable" player than Castro. The Cubs Player Development guys LOVE Castro.

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:29 am

is it april yet? at least i get my first cubs ST game this year...even if it's only 1 game...and even if it's at hi-corb. field in Tucson at the COL ST complex. heck, i'm already stoked about the Carb. WS being shown on MLB Network (Feb 2-6).

[ ]

Submitted by navigator on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:29 pm

Don't know about you, but this commentary from Keith Law strikes me as hypberbolic but I hope he's right. Maybe he's making up for leaving Castro entirely off his list last year:
Castro is one of the most exciting position player prospects in the minors as a quick-twitch player with an electric bat and a hose for an arm at shortstop. As a hitter, Castro has lightning in his wrists and the ball absolutely flies off his bat. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and adjusts well when pitchers try to come in on him, keeping his hands inside the ball and squaring up pitches many hitters would foul off. His swing can get long when pitchers work him away, but he still makes a lot more contact than most hitters do, courtesy of his bat speed and hand-eye. He recognizes breaking balls well for his age and projects to hit for power even to the opposite field. As a shortstop, he's quick on his feet with good range in both ways, especially to the hole, but it is his arm that really stands out, grading at 65 or 70 on the 20-80 scale. The Cubs have pushed him up the ladder aggressively because he can make contact and needed reps against better pitching, but it has obscured his power potential because he's been so young for his leagues. He's going to be an impact bat in the middle of the diamond and could arrive as early as late 2010.
The Cube has Castro listed at 6'0 150 lbs which is scary skinny.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:09 pm

http://bases.nbcsports.com/2010/01/gerald-lairds-arrest-involved-nba-pl…
So, to recap: Just about everyone in the entire Laird family showed up to a Suns-Celtics game drunk and then made their way to an in-arena bar for some more drinking, Grandpa tried to get fresh with an NBA player's wife, Brandon got angry and turned the harassment level up a few notches, and Gerald sucker-punched a security officer once things got out of hand. Awesome.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:13 pm

Damon, Sheffield and O. Cabrera being talked about with Reds Smoltz leaning towards Cardinals although could wait till mid-season to pick a team. 3-6 teams still vying for Orlando Hudson

Submitted by Sweet Lou on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:59 pm

The Phillies are going nuts with pitching. They have six legit starters in Roy Halliday, Cole Hamel, JA Happ, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer (sort of legit), and Antonio Bastardo (what an unfortunate name). They also have Kyle Kendrick who can start and they just signed Jose Contreras who they plan on stretching out so he's ready to start. That's eight starters, but according to Todd Zelecki at MLB.com, the Phils are looking for even more starting pitching depth. Must be nice to have your team set up so well that your main focus is on an 9th starter. http://zozone.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/01/thursday_morning_notes.html

[ ]

Submitted by Sweet Lou on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 01:08 pm

Rob -- I had seven when I first posted the comment and then somehow I suffered some sort of math aneurysm. I'm not sure what happened, but I counted eight pitchers and quickly updated the comment. Thankfully, the moment is passed and I'm back to being able to count (for the moment).

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

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