Cubs MLB Roster

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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 

 



 

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Rule 5 Draft 
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Game 125 Thread / Reds @ Cubs (1 of 3)

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP Johnny Cueto
SP Rich Harden
8-11, 4.90, 136 K, 53 BB, 145 IP
(NL) 2-1, 1.80, 49 K, 14 BB, 35 IP
LF
*Chris Dickerson LF
Alfonso Soriano
SS Jeff Keppinger
SS Ryan Theriot
RF
*Jay Bruce 1B
Derrek Lee
2B Brandon Phillips 3B
Aramis Ramirez
1B *Joey Votto CF
*Jim Edmonds
3B Edwin Encarnacion C Geovany Soto
CF *Corey Patterson RF *Kosuke Fukudome
C *Paul Bako 2B Mark DeRosa 
P Johnny Cueto P *Rich Harden

 That sure seemed like the longest one day break from baseball for some reason. Back to the Friendly Confines, where the Cubs have already surpassed their 44-win total from last year with a 45-17 record. The Reds limp into town, depleted and desperate enough to start Corey Patterson. And in honor of Dusty's return, let's discuss the Cubs leading the majors in walks with 501 and on pace for 655 which would break the club mark of 650 set in 1970. Of course, those walks don't mean much if you're not driving them in. The Cubs compliment those walks with an NL leading .284 batting average and .834 OPS with runners in scoring position. That's base-clogging done right.

Comments

A good night -- Harden brilliant again, Marmol still groovin', Fukky gets a big (although kinda cheap) hit, and the Brewers (Sheets) and Cards both lose! FWIW -- Tyler Colvin hit his league-leading 10th triple tonight.

Random observations: Marmol hasn't given up a run in 38 days. How demoralizing is it to be a Brewer these days? After the traumatizing 4 game sweep by the Cubs, the Brewers put together a nice 12-6 run -- and lost a game in the standings over that span. Even worse for them, If the Cubs play just about .500 baseball (19-18) from this point on, the Brewers would have to go 25-10 to win the division. Harden's line with the Cubs: 42 IP, 14 BB, 59 K, 7ER. The Cubs are on pace to win 100 games. 23-14 gets them there. Don't tell anyone, but Theriot is 5th in the NL with a .316 BA. Soriano has 61 RBI's in 76 games -- that's a pace of 130 RBI's in a 162 game season. So much for not getting enough RBI opportunities at the top of the order. Wood has 25 appearances since Memorial Day and has only given up runs in three of those games. Good times.

who would have thunk that on August 20th... the two teams with the best records in baseball @ 77-48 would be the Tampa Rays and us. Hope I can say something similar on Oct 1st.

...also the play that Soto scored from 3rd on the bunt by Harden is my nominee for most intelligent play of the year. I can't believe that Encarnacion couldn't hear those lumbering footsteps behind him.

Traveling in China for work so no replay, BBTN, or streaming mediacenter...can someone describe the Soto play? Oh, and the Cardinals lost to the Pirates. Heh. That's gotta hurt.

great cubs win took advantage of what was given but corey patterson should have caught that ball. oh well i think the cubs should be able to set there playoff rotation however they want. do we think zambrano is still gonna pitch game one. steve stone thinks if we play arizona we should pitch dempster,zambrano,harden what do we think?

great cubs win took advantage of what was given but corey patterson should have caught that ball. oh well i think the cubs should be able to set there playoff rotation however they want. do we think zambrano is still gonna pitch game one. steve stone thinks if we play arizona we should pitch dempster,zambrano,harden what do we think?

Memories.... It seems like only yesterday we were agonizing like this:
Safety squeeze bunt play lifts Chicago past Cueto, Cincinnati By Hal McCoy Staff Writer Wednesday, August 20, 2008 CHICAGO — When spring training begins next February, manager Dusty Baker needs to start from scratch, as in holding up a round white thing and saying, "This is a baseball." Among 16 National League teams, the Cincinnati Reds are 14th in hitting, 14th in defense and 13th in pitching. There are no tangible statistics for measuring fundamentals, but the naked eye says the Reds are 16th. Dead last, which is why they are dead last in the National League Central standings.
More about tonight's game from an OHIO perspective here (including Dusty claiming he told his infield to watch for the safety squeeze and KPatt blaming Wrigley Field itself for his muffed catch) http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/reds/2008/…

[ ]

In reply to by 10man

Love Dusty's defense: "I yelled 'watch the safety squeeze' to the infield". If that's the case, why wasn't the shortstop covering third on the obvious bunt situation, so as to keep Soto close to the bag? Doesn't the manager set the defense? I think Dusty meant: "The pitcher might bunt, and, if it's a good bunt, the guy on third might ty to score when we throw to first. A good return throw to the plate will get the runner. Don't make a crappy throw. So, head's up!" Clap hands twice. Didn't see Dusty's post-game -- did he bring Darren?

i cannot blame encarnacion for that play....what else is he going to do? not make the throw to first? to get to soriano with the bases loaded? that seems like a pretty bad option. he basically did the right thing, you can't look the runner back to third bc he knows there's no one behind him....once that bunt is down the only thing you can do is take the easy out at first and then try to turn two.

[ ]

In reply to by Green Lantern

as Chad noted, it's the catcher's call there, but if Encarnacion at least gives Soto a look back that's probably enough to give him a pause and keep him from scoring. The play would have been damn close if Votto didn't make such a bad throw as well. I do wonder if Soto or the Cubs noticed on the first pitch to Harden that the shortstop was covering second on that play and Soto could go up the line as far as the third basemen went.

Great baserunning to make up for the piss-poor DeRosa play and Soriano pickoff from two innings earlier...

At the game last night. Weather was almost California-like (and particularly nice for Chicago in August). Stadium was packed (announced attendance in excess of 41,000) and the crowd was into it. All three pitchers for the Cubs looked dominant. Cueto certainly has a live arm, and he was sort of "effectively wild". He had two HBP and came really close to hitting someone at least two other times. When he got ahead, he threw a few real nice changeups. Good weather, a great crowd and a Cubs win. A great night at the ballpark and, for me, a great example of why I like going to Wrigley so much.

Recent comments

  • 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. 

  • 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.

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  • 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...