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

Fitch Parking

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

As most of you know, Cubs pitchers and catchers have reported to Fitch Park, and a number of infielders and outfielders are also in camp.

The pitchers are presently working in four groups, with the four groups rotating periodically from the batting cage, to the ten pac (pitch and catch), to Field #2 for PFP (Pitchers Fielding Practice), and to Field #3 for pick-off drills. A loud blaring horn alerts the pitchers when it's time to move to another location. 

GROUP 1:
Andrew Cashner
Ryan Dempster
John Gaub
Tom Gorzelanny
Sean Marshall
Carlos Silva
Carlos Zambrano

GROUP 2:
Mitch Atkins
Casey Coleman
J. R. Mathes
Mike Parisi
David Patton
Jeff Stevens 

GROUP 3:
Justin Berg
Esmailin Caridad
Rafael Dolis
John Grabow
Carlos Marmol
Jeff Samardzija
Randy Wells

GROUP 4:
Thomas Diamond
Jeff Kennard
Marcos Mateo
Blake Parker
Vince Perkins
James Russell

Jeff Gray (strained groin), Angel Guzman (knee surgery rehab), and Ted Lilly (shoulder surgery rehab and a sore knee) did not participate in drills today.

And Carlos Silva is hopelessly out of shape, barely able to move, although he is participating in PFP & pick-off drills. I suspect Silva might end up spending much of the next two seasons on the 60-day DL. 

The seven catchers in camp (Geovany Soto, Welington Castillo, Koyie Hill, Robinson Chirinos, Steve Clevenger, Blake Lalli, and Chris Robinson) spend most of their morning catching pitchers throwing in the ten pac pit (six or seven pitchers throw simultaneously), and then after the pitchers have completed their work, the catchers break up into two groups and take BP (with coaches throwing) on Field #3 (Soto, K. Hill, W. Castillo, and Chirinos) and Field #2 (Clevenger Lalli, and Robinson). So far, Geovany Soto has been the Star of Camp, hitting a number of balls out onto 8th Street in BP. He also has lost a lot of weight and looks to be in great shape

Meanwhile, the non-catcher position players who have arrived take BP and fielding practice on Field #1. Non-Roster Invitee 1B-OF Bryan Lahair (ex-SEA) has been wowing Fitch Park onlookers with prodigious BP power demonstrations, and NRI 1B-3B Chad Tracy (ex-AZ) looks to finally be 100% healthy after battling knee problems (including microfracture surgery) the last couple of years. Tracy has been taking lots of grounders at both 1B and 3B and shows good mobility. (Tracy is also one of the best pinch-hitters in baseball). New hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo has been spending a lot of time working with "pet project" Andres Blanco.

In addition to the big league coaching staff in camp, a number of minor league managers and coaches and Spring Training instructors are also present, including Special Instructor Billy Williams, Special Instructor Greg Maddux, Minor League Field Coordinator Dave Bialas, Latin American Field Coordinator Carmelo Martinez, Minor League Hitting Coordinator Dave Keller, Minor League Pitching Coordinator Mark Riggins, Minor League Infield & Bunting Instructor Franklin Font, Minor League Outfield & Baserunning Instructor Bobby Dernier, Minor League Catching Instructor Marty Pevey, Iowa Manager Ryne Sandberg, Iowa Pitching Coach Mike Mason, Iowa Hitting Coach Von Joshua, Tennessee Manager Bill Dancy, Tennessee Pitching Coach Dennis Lewallyn, Tennessee hitting coach Tom Beyers, and Fitch Park Rehab Pitching Coach Brad Kelley.

And veteran SK Wyverns (KBO - South Korea) reliever Woong-Chun Cho is a Special Guest Spring Training Instructor at Fitch Park. (The Cubs might be checking him out to see if they want to hire him as a full-time minor league coach, since the Cubs have signed a lot of the best young players out of South Korea the past couple of years).

Also, note that there has been one late Spring Training number change, as NRI 1B-OF Kevin Millar has been assigned #15, bumping Bobby Scales to #19. Otherwise the Spring Training numbers remain the same as they have been for the past few weeks (see right side-bar).

Tags
Cubs Spring Training

Comments

Submitted by Stevens on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:29 pm

Excellent. Has Maddux taken on any "pet projects", AZPhil?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:40 pm

Submitted by Stevens on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 2:29pm. Excellent. Has Maddux taken on any "pet projects", AZPhil? ==================================== STEVENS: Not that I've noticed, but he probably will. Although I wonder if he will contuinue to wait for guys to approach him before he offers advice, or if he will take the initiative and approach them without being asked first. BTW, I would LOVE to see Mad Dog be the Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator (not that he would necessarily want the job), with Mark Riggins moving up to be Cubs Pitching Coach. Riggins is a smart cookie.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Sat, 02/20/2010 - 02:12 am

Interesting idea about Riggins. Welcome to the Dump-LR club, Cousin, at any rate. I just don't think Maddux will want to go near the minor leagues. He's no Sandberg. He may just want to get in line ahead of Randy Bush.

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:05 pm

milton bradley bad...carlos silva and kevin millar good. 2010 offseason here we come. SEA gets a LF who can play RF in a pinch (i think ichiro's got that job down, imo)...we get a DL roster spot holder and a couple million in payroll flexibility over the next 2 years.

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:27 pm

well, they do got a guy in RF named ichiro. that's what LF is about...nothing's changed about his arm this offseason. they got a .350+ ob% guy with pop who can play both corners in milton. we got one of the worst pitchers in the game and 2m bucks extra to spend on a 140m roster. cute.

Submitted by ruz on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:37 pm

So happy to be getting on-the-scene reports from Arizona Phil again! I have to say I like the possibility of Tracy as a lefty off the bench. Of course, that assumes that the last two years were an aberration rather than a trend. But we're allowed to think like that in Februrary, right?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:33 pm

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 3:48pm. Phil, on the video at cubs.com it showed what looked like some covered batting cages...did you notice if they built them as was rumored earlier in the offseason? or have these been there for awhile? =============================================================== ROB G: These are the same covered batting cages they've had at Fitch Park since it was renovated in the mid-1990's. The Mesa City Council allocated funds (about $700K) to build a new batting cages complex at Fitch (to be used mainly by minor leaguers), but decided to wait to begin construction until the Cubs made a commitment to stay in Mesa. I don't know why they're waiting now, though, unless Mesa thinks they still might lose the Cubs. But the Cubs are not going to be at Fitch Park past 2011 even if they remain in Mesa, so the $700K cage complex probably won't be used by the Cubs for more than a couple of seasons (and actually only one Spring Training), which never made much sense to me. That is, unless the City of Mesa is serious when they say they believe they can entice another MLB club to take the Cubs place at Fitch/HoHoKam in 2012. Personally, I suspect offering the Cubs new Fitch Park batting cages was just an attempt by the Mesa City Council to show the Cubs that the city was serious about wanting the Cubs to stay in Mesa. They never really expected that the Cubs would ultimately require the cages to be built as a pre-requisite for the Cubs staying in Mesa long-term.

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:08 pm

for future reference feel free to delete stuff like that if it crosses a line you don't want crossed...or add a warning like you did. i'll try to be less shitty in the future and a lot more clear about what i'm posting.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:59 pm

made my head spin... also don't necessarily trust Pitch F/x on some of their pitch identities...but assuming all that is accurate. the charts from the catcher's point of view? doesn't the cutter move inside on lefties, so what's the point of reference on the vertical line? release point? middle of the plate? wouldn't it have been easier to break out the slash lines against each pitch and swing and miss rates than whatever rv100 and rv100e? I'm sure the math is all wonderful and I read the explanation, but it sure would have made it a lot easier to understand.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Sat, 02/20/2010 - 02:53 am

To go with his new attitude, Zambrano said he plans to ditch the cut fastball from his repertoire. He hasn't displayed enough control of it to keep throwing it regularly so he decided to go back to what made him successful in the past.
http://bit.ly/c2cwgm

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:33 pm

Now if you told me Joe West was retiring, I would throw a party. Don't get me started on "umpires".

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:38 pm

Hi AZ PHIL: Thanks again, sir! So, can we expect to see Soto attempting stolen bases this year, PHIL? lol Seriously, can you notice better footwork or more zip on his throws due to the weight loss? And, do you still feel that Castillo still has the "arm" edge on Gio?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:45 pm

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 7:38pm. Hi AZ PHIL: Thanks again, sir! So, can we expect to see Soto attempting stolen bases this year, PHIL? lol Seriously, can you notice better footwork or more zip on his throws due to the weight loss? And, do you still feel that Castillo still has the "arm" edge on Gio? ====================================== E-MAN: I haven't seen Soto make any throws in anger yet (that is, to try and catch a base-runner trying to steal a base). We'll probably have to wait for Cactus League games to see how he looks. As for Welington Castillo, he absolutely has the #1 best arm among catchers in the Cubs organization (44% CS in 2009). His big problem is that he still needs work on his receiving, although he showed improvement in 2009 (cut his PB in half). He needs to show more improvement in 2010, though. But he's only 22. I can tell you that Castillo is better than Soto was at that age.

Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:09 pm

Sounds like terrible news for Micah Hoffpauir, especially with LaHair showing off power too. Jaramillo spending time on Blanco's hitting lends a little more credence (along with AZ Phil's comments in the previous thread) to the theory that Blanco still has some offensive upside beyond being a .250/.300/.320 guy. What OBP would he have to manage to equal Theriot's overall value? .330? .340? (Guess that depends a bit on what Theriot hits.) Too early to start believing that Soto will return to his .280/.360 20+ HR form?

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 02:30 pm

cj wilson (TEX) is being a little outspoken this spring... "It's no secret I don't think I should be limited to the set-up role. I have too many weapons," said Wilson. "Here is the reality. It is real simple. There are not very many guys that have the stuff that I do that would be willing to sign here if they were free agents. There is no experienced pitcher that has my stuff that would sign here, historically." ...way to say you really really really really want to be that 5th starter, dude.

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.

    I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH. 

    He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.

    You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)

  • crunch (view)

    bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.

    the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?

    I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.

  • Charlie (view)

    Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH. 

  • 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!

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