Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-23-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
* Matt Mervis
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

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

OPTIONED: 9 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

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

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 





Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

The Cubs Bench Picture Becoming Clearer

Lou started hinting yesterday that Mike Fontenot would get some reps in spring training at shortstop. The idea being that if he can manage to not completely fuck it up, he could keep Andres Blanco off the roster and open up another spot for a legit bat or for Kevin Millar to spin fanciful tales of his World Series days and entertain the press corps.

As it stands now, the assumptions were that the bench would be Koyie Hill, Baker or Fontenot depending on who was starting that day, Andres Blanco, Xavier Nady (or whichever outfielder he's starting for) and then one of Chad Tracy, Micah Hoffpauir, Sam Fuld, Kevin Millar or possibly even Brad Snyder, Bobby Scales or Bryan LaHair. If Fontenot could handle the back-up shortstop duties without being a complete liability, that could open up two spots on the bench and send Blanco back to the minors. Blanco is out of options, so he'd have to go through waivers if that happened, but hardly a loss if someone did decide to give him a 25-man spot.

The other revelation today was that Lou is already ready to give Starlin Castro the shortstop job if Theriot hurts himself.

"If Theriot were to get hurt, which we don't want obviously, we'd just put the kid (Castro) at short and let him play."

Theriot better be sure to always travel in pairs this season.

Comments

my god...someone gave livan hernandez a minor league deal...WAS... it's over, dude. =p ...also from gordon witty's twitter feed... "Zambrano wearing a headband and Silva wearing spare tire just jogged by. ... 3.7 on the Richter scale." ha... also ted lilly has missed the last couple days due to fever according to witty...hopefully it's not the valley variety =p

When I heard Randy Bush on Bruce Levine's show, he pretty much said that 23 of 25 spots are locked up due to contracts and "other things". IF that is true, it will be really interesting to see who numbers 24 and 25 are.

Lou either has Alzheimers or a very short memory. He's tried Fontenot and shortstop and Fontenot sucks balls. He has a career fielding percentage of .500 at shortstop. He's handled 4 chances and committed errors on 2 of them. And the other two chances he didn't fuck up were force outs when he stepped on second. He was tremendously fucking awful.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

He's put footwork in?...at shortstop? He should work on becoming an average fielding 2b before he spends time on other positions. AND work on his hitting. All this talk by Lou about not being able to have a bat because Blanco can't hit, he should stop and look at last season's stats. Blanco's hitting was equal or better than Fontenot's. And unlike Fontenot, Blanco can field. I'm not clamoring for Blanco to start anywhere on this team, it's just that his competition is crap and a legitimate fielding SS is a necessity. If Lou and Hendry think they can put together a team with no back up shortstop again, it's just another sign It's The End in 2010 (and not in a good way). Fontenot: .236/.301/.377 Blanco: .252/.303/.341

[ ]

In reply to by Paul Noce

fontenot's footwork at 2nd is much improved. that was most of the problem with his D, anyway. with the info that cubs are gonna go with s.castro when/if injuries occur this makes a long-term middle IF replacement expendable. if fontenot can show lou he can occasionally handle SS then they no longer have to carry a glove man. if they didn't want to put castro in the equation blanco's job would probably be safer. besides, fontenot has to prove he can do it before they'll let him.

I think an MLB team needs a backup infielder who can actually field. Nothing can cause a team defense to unravel faster than bad middle infielding, except bad catching. If Fontenot had a .900 OPS, I'd say keep him on the grounds that the variance in hitting is greater than the variance in fielding, but as it is, on a real team, I say keep Blanco. If that means there are not enough roster spots for Fontenot, too bad. I say this as a lover of South Louisiana who likes to have as many Cubs as possible to have names ending in "ot."

Mr. White would make a perfect keystone combo with Mr. Castro. He is his translator. I vote for keeping him and breaking up the Cajun scrappy connection. Bueno! Ole!

I find it really interesting how the poster NAVIGATOR who has constantly bashed Tim Wilken since he was hired (at least as far as I can remember), never gives him any credit for what he has been trying to do, nor acknowledges bona fide scouting authorities' take on what is happening in our minor leagues. Nice! Go Internet! "Baseball America also recognized the improvement made in the Cubs' farm system. The Cubs organization jumped from 27th in baseball to 15th in Baseball America's pre-season talent rankings." 5 Cubs prospects in the BP Top 100. Improvement is at least noted.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Why the snark? Look, I don't attach much importance to these lists. But lets look at three of the more notable ones that appeared recently. BA - 5 Cubs ESPN Keith Law of Scouts Inc. -- 2 Cubs AOL Fanhouse's Frank Pilliere -- 3 Cubs 3 Lists, Cubs appearing 10 times. That's an average of 3.33 Cubs per Top 100 There are 30 major league teams. 100 top prospects/30 teams = 3.33 prospects per team on average. If this little exercise has any deep meaning at all, it looks to me like the Cubs are all the way up to average.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

I've never seen anyone do a study of how good these lists are, but I've never heard of AOL Fanhouse or Mr Pilliere and Law, besides being a bit of a tool, isn't a prospect guy. That being said, BA has been pretty crappy at predicting Cubs players. The Cubs have had three RoY candidates including one winnder in the last two years and the highest any of them ranked was 30th (the one who did the worst of the three). Personal opinion is that any list that doesn't have Lee isn't worth the virtual paper it's printed on anyway.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

"Why the snark?" Did Time Wilkens poss in your cereal? Why the grudge? What basis is there for your "Teflon Tim" rants when there is objective evidence that he is moving the talent into the right direction? Excuse me, "AOL Fanhouse"??? Since when does ANYTHING with AOL on it have any significance?! About as much significance as their stock. Ask Time-Warner. Its not just the lists. It is your perception of not knowing what the minors are for, apparently, which is to get players to the Major League Level, and 2., develop players for use in-trade. Whether they become "Stars" or "Key Players" is just gravy. 650 players roughly out of ALL the various baseball levels get to have the chance. Out of that number, only a tiny percentage become Albert Pujols.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

The Cubs have a serious defect in drafting and coaching positional talent. They go after the toolsy players and skip over the baseball players. The Cubs are in love with drafting the jack of all trade player but master of nothing. Its a sad state of affairs when the best and most successful positional talent since Mark Grace is Ryan Theriot. I am not even counting Soto as all he has proven is that he is a one year wonder to date. Go back and look at the drafts of the last 20 years and you will see the Cubs picking their awesome 1st rounder and the next pick or picks is the All-Star/ Hall of Famer. Its not like the Cubs were finishing 1st place every year, even a blind squirrel could luck into one of those organization defining players. The Cubs as an organization DOES NOT DRAFT OR DEVELOP positional talent AT ALL. I will defend Ryan Theriot for who he is, he is the best option over the last 3 years for SS for this franchise. He isn't the best in the world, but that should send shivers down your spine about how crappy our system has been for decades. That and watching Bobby Scales being our best option for the OF should make you want to slit your wrists. Starlin Castro is the savior now at age 19, and no OF or any other positional talent who could ever be considered to seriously to take over a MLB job remotely ready. The way i see it we don't have shit to help this team over the next 3-5 years from our minors. Thats how bad it is.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

3-5 years is a bit harsh. we probably won't get an aram/dlee out of the minors any time soon (unless vitters pumps it up), though. it's weird. the cubs have no organizational philosophy or an owner calling the shots on what kind of player should be drafted, but they've struck out a lot...a whole lot. "The Cubs are in love with drafting the jack of all trade player" ...yes they are. i dont mind it when they do it with a guy like colvin, but when they do it with highschool kid who's got a lot of everything, but still very raw as a complete package...meh...

Ah, but what you do not see, my friend, is the value of a new owner. That is at least a +1.5 added to the prospect er, prospectus. 2000-oh-10 will be a miracle year...(well, at least a contract year for several Cubbies and the GM and the manager). It's gonna happen!

personally think him and Baker would make a pretty decent platoon myself, at least better than just one getting the job. think Fontenot has a nice swing, but looks overmatched against guys that bring good heat, also looks like he's a bit of a guess hitter as he takes some odd swings and odd takes.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I can agree with that, but he didn't have that problem in 2009, so maybe it was a combination of mechanical and mental. I think he and Bradley are the guys who pressed the most with Aram's injury.

wow...matt stairs has dropped 32lbs. this offseason. that's soto-style impressive. too bad stairs didn't do it oh, 10 years ago. btw...pablo sandoval showed up to camp STUPID huge. he's still got youth, though.

Phil, I'm heading to ST game next Friday with my two sons (10&8), any key places or times to get a chance for a Cubs autograph? We're sitting out in the grass behind the outfield. Thanks.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

You named your sons "10" and "8"? That's more jacked than naming them all Jacos. Show up really early and try to get them as they're finishing their drills. HoHoKam is a pretty bad place for autographs, there's other parks where the players litterally walk out of the field after the game... but I can't remember which parks.

I always liked "Kong" for Kingman. I thought "The Baby-Faced Assassin" was okay for Danny Graves before he became "Danny Graves Blows Saves." "Hey Asshole" was always appropriate for Larry "Chipper" Jones.

"I can move around -- that's the only thing I'm doing 100 percent, is the fielding, and I don't feel any pain at all," he said. "No problem." Soriano on testing his knee in the field. He needs to figure out how to go 100% in the field during the season.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

MLB Network...forget which show, i think it's "Hot Stove," has been highlighting a "SABR-style" stat nightly debating their worth and what they show...along with poking holes in some of them. it's a mix of intelligence, ignorance, and personal opinions.

"Theriot hit on left wrist by Rafael Dolis during BP, says he's okay" I'm guessing Dolis is on Team Castro. Might want to take that Theriot target picture down. :-)

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    I would have kept Cooper rather than Wisdom, but at least I can understand why they did it.  In a team that lacks dominant power hitters, Wisdom can be a dominant power hitter, at least in streaks.  I suppose that there is always the possibility that the streaks longer in both duration and frequency.  I will be content if they essentially make a 100 % DH commitment to Mervis against righties and Wisdom against lefties.  When a regular needs rest, give them total rest, rather than a DH rest.  Do this for at least 2 months, and then re-evaluate at that point.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    This is Cubs adjacent but…


    Jordan Walker just was optioned by the deadbirds. For all the talk of the Cardinals development machine, they’ve really missed on a lot of can’t miss superstars lately. Walker has struggled. Gorman has been okay. They’re already trying to push Carlson out the door. Their pitching system has been so bad they had to go out and sign basically a full rotation over the last two offseasons.

    They’ve still developed a few of those pesky solid players, like Donovan, Edman, and Nootbaar. Their two best prospect to MLB players have been Adolis and Arozarena, neither of which is a cardinal.

    I hope they never figure it out again. Cardinal failure brings me such joy.
     

  • Raisin101 (view)

    Thank you so much! I really appreciate not only all your posts but how eager you are to respond to our questions.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Is it just me or does it seem that official scorers are becoming less likely to call a misplay an error? 

     

    Guess I've hit my cranky old-man phase in life.  "I remember back in the day when an error was an error.  Official scorers have gone soft.  Now where did I put my readers?!!??"

     

    Sidenote, maybe Bellinger should be a little more careful against the Astros.  That was the series last year that a play at wall put him on the IL.   

  • crunch (view)

    i hated the almonte pickup, but he's 9-10 out of 12 for good outings, following a great spring.  hope he can keep it up.

    i already miss cooper, but yeah...the thin OF roster backup the team seems to want to carry probably got wisdom preference over cooper.  i could live without seeing wisdom at 3rd unless it's a blowout, though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Things I've been wrong about:

    -Tauchman is fine as a 4th OF. I knew that. I just want a better LH DH option and he was really the DH for us until Seiya got hurt. I'm glad Mervis is getting a chance at it. Caissie is coming for that job for sure. But Tauchman continues to be highly useful as a 4th OF with Seiya being hurt

    -I wanted Yency to go to get guys at Iowa a chance. Guys like Palencia and Sanders or RileyT. Maybe even Hodge! But Yency has been better the last two plus weeks. He did hit 96 the other day. He was 93 in Texas to open the season.

    -Leiter has his split working enough. It just needs to stay there

    -I was surprised Jed picked Wisdom over Cooper. I wonder if this happens if Seiya wasn't hurt. Wisdom has more power. Cooper is the better hitter. Jed picked Wisdom and Wisdom had an option left as well.

    -Palencia just doesn't miss enough bats. Similar to ManRod, just two yrs younger. ManRod is killing AAA for TB right now!

    Things I got right so far:

    -Hendricks. Sorry Kyle. You got paid though!

    Jed, you missed there.

    -Smyly. If Jed could've traded him before or during ST, then he should have and saved some cash.

    -Mastro.  Not a LH DH. Pinch runner. Defensive utility. Maybe he's better than Madrigal but didn't get a legit chance to prove it.

    -Luke Little is good. He's had one bad outing. That's it. Needs to get better entering with guys on base. But he needs to stay in MLB.

    -Oh yeah....Morel is doing fine at 3B! He'll get better as well!!

  • crunch (view)

    bellinger "right rib contusion"

  • Childersb3 (view)

    South Bend just lost the lead in the bottom of the 9th on the weirdest scenario, ever.

    It's absolutely pouring rain....men on 1st and 2nd, 1out....JPatterson asks for a new ball, but no time out was called....he throws the old ball toward the dugout (not sure if it rolled out of play).....the ump declares the runners get two bases each so one run scores. Then a single up the middle ties the game.

    The rain was coming down in buckets at this point.

    Just weird

  • crunch (view)

    ...and bellinger is gone in the 7th because of that 2nd blown chance and the wall he bounced off of...

    hopefully his rib cage/shoulder feels better tomorrow, we just got happ back.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil,

    Any thoughts on Y. Rojas' stuff and Y. Melendez's game (I believe I've asked about him before, sorry)?