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

Running a Yellow Light

Will Carroll, BP's staff writer focusing on team health had this very interesting recent quote, from his "Cubs Team Health Report":

Age is a poor predictor of injuries. Younger players get hurt more, but they heal more quickly. Older players get hurt less, a variant of the survivor effect, but heal more slowly.

The media that follows baseball does it's best to understand and decipher sports injuries. It's a tough job for them and much gets lost in translation of medical terminology. Injured athletes often don't understand what they are being told about an injury or they are just afraid to fess up that their ache might be a significant problem until it goes on for weeks or longer. Trainers and medical staff are often reluctant to discuss information on the grounds of patient-physician confidentiality and some teams are just less open to giving what information they have to the media. The information is important to us fans, since key players dealing with even minor injuries and not performing to their best ability can drastically affect how a team plays. In 2009, Alphonso Soriano apparently had a knee injury that he tried to work through until it was so obvious that he couldn't run, leading to his arthroscopic knee surgery in September. An injury that flies under the radar screen of the medical staff, as in Soriano's case was costly and not in a way you can put the usual "days lost" analysis to.

It's one thing for a player to communicate his symptoms and another for the teams medical staff to recommend diagnostic workup and treatment. No matter how you "slice" it (c'mon...it's an "Under the Knife" pun), it's still a stretch to predict the impact of injury, past and present, on the future performance of a team.

Baseball Prospectus' staff writer Will Carroll has taken on the mantle of analysis of baseball players health and attemps to put projections to the impact of a player's medical status.  His regular "Under the Knife" column discusses weekly injury updates and for the last 8 years he has written spring training evaluations and projections for each club, "Team Health Reports".

The team health reports are broken down into three categories, Red (high injury risk), Yellow (moderate) and Green (low injury risk).

He also figures the injury days lost, which is a variant on what companies use to analyze their employees regarding sick days taken.

For the Cubs 2009:

The Facts
Days Lost: 687
Dollars Lost: $19,627,956.52
Injury Cost: $15,614,027.78

Although Carroll's club by club team analysis will contnue through the spring, so far one other club that made the playoffs in 2009 had worse numbers. The Angels had 873 days lost and the injury cost reported was $21.9M.  On the low end for NL competitors against the Cubs, the Phillies (who's medical staff was given Carroll's "Best Medical Staff Award" last November) had 546 days lost at $8.9M cost and the Cardinals also did well, having 530 days lost at $12.2M. The Mets were clearly 2009's most injured team with 1451 days lost at a cost of $51.8M.

Carroll also presents his annual "Dick Martin" Award, given to the Best Medical staff. 2009's season award went to the Phillies. This recognition was started by Carroll in 2003 and is named after the long time Twins trainer that "helped set the standards that today's athletic trainers and doctors aspire to."

Carroll has provided a spreadsheet (downloadable link at bottom of his article), that gives in full color his red, yellow and green analysis of each team. He's only looking at the starting 8 position players (9 in the AL), 5 starters, 1 closer and 1 "key reliever".

For the Cubs the red lights are ARam, Soriano, Lilly, Guzman and Marmol. The first four are obvious inclusions on this list. Aramis' shoulder dislocaton, Soriano's knee surgery, Lilly's shoulder surgery and Guzman's perennial shoulder problems plus his Jaunary knee scope clearly warrant Red Light status. Marmol's Red is most likely based on mechanics as he doesn't have an injury history and if he sticks as closer he will probably have fewer two inning outings.

The yellow lights seem to be given because of DL time last season with the expectations that their injury problems have resolved. This group includes: Soto, Zambrano, DLee and Dempster. He mumbles something about pitchers who were converted catchers breaking down regarding Randy Wells, so this might be a part of his giving Marmol a red light too. Marlon Byrd gets a yellow for being old and not handling a starters load well in the past.

...by the way, Kerry Wood is now a Yellow light! Woo. Carlos Silva (not rated), if he was rated would get a red light. I read a comment on TCR that said if Silva ever needed surgery, he would bleed gravy.

The green lights go to Fontenot, Theriot, Fukudome and Gorzellany. Heaven help them.

Carroll's summary on the Cubs future health and a comment on why the Cubs medical staff has been hard to analyze:

The Cubs took on players with known problems or extended players that were already risky. That makes it nearly impossible to tell how good the medical staff might be. If nothing else, they've stabilized things since the problems of the last decade and kept things nearer average than I'd have expected over the last three years. The next three years will be a bigger challenge.

Looking at the NL, the "healthiest" projected teams are the Brewers (1 red- Rickie Weeks) and the Phillies (1 red-Jamie Moyer). Carroll still tags the Mets health as the most in question with 7 Red Lights (Hank White, Luis Castillo, Reyes, Beltran, Maine, Niese and K-Rod). Next in line are the Dodgers and Reds with 6 Red Light players.

On the Green side, the Angels lead the majors with 11 and the Phillies and Brewers lead the NL with 8. The team with the fewest Greens, the Astros with 3.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

You would come here in the late 80’s and people would be talking about Andy McGaffigan’s change-up and sh–. Some dude actually wondered aloud if ERA was a poor gauge of a pitcher’s value. Who gives a f*&@, dude. I’m trying to mack on some chick, and you’re talkin’ math? This isn’t school, bro. Shut up. That one produced an honest-to-God chuckle.

Vegas for work tomorrow, then to Az for spring training on Thursday. I'll hopefully have something to report next Sunday. See ya!

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Right, because Hoffpauir and Colvin are almost as good as Howard. Let's just say I respectfully disagree. Anyways, to answer JBeasley, if all it took was Vitters and some other minor league scrub to rake Howard, hell yea. He's not my first choice but I certainly wouldn't mind 35+ homers every year.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

They could re-sign Ramirez and move him to first to keep him healthy and let Vitters get a shot at 3rd.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Let me clarify then--I didn't mean to imply that any of them could approximate the on-field value of Howard: IF the Cubs have a particularly competitive pitching rotation going into 2011. IF the Cubs can still pass Soriano off as an outfielder. IF Aramis is still with the team and is still playing 3B IF Soto returns to form. Then, yes, I trade Vitters and some other prospects for Howard. He might be a difference maker in that situation. However, if those things are not true, I don't see him as a big enough positive impact to save a struggling club that already needs to jettison/suffer through some bad contracts (Soriano, Silva, Fukudome, Byrd). If the Cubs don't think that Howard would push them over the top for 2011, they should take on a bargain player and keep their prospects. You all may still disagree with that, but it's not the same as saying any of those guys are just as good. Playing Colvin at 1B would probably be a worst-case scenario if the Cubs look really awful in 2011. It would just be a way to save money and get a young guy playing time.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

Not for Ryan Howard, but I would make Vitters available for a potential trade. I disagree with Charlie that the Cubs should just give Hoffpauir a chance. High payroll, consistent playoff teams don't do that. They don't fill starting spots and give at-bats to mediocre players (my apologies if I missed the sarcasm). With a $140 million payroll, the Cubs should have several perennial all-stars in their line-up. How many do they have now? The Cubs need to change the way they build their roster if they want to be a true year-in and year-out contender.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

140 million dollar payrolls should always keep us right in the thick of it.
What makes you think the Rickett's are going to maintain those payroll levels??? They went on record in the last few days saying they're not going to spend money on free agents anymore. Face it, the Ricketts= the Wrigleys

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

It could also be pointed out that we've signed free agents since they took over. A productive farm system is the key to being competitivie without having a $250 million payroll, and they've said that they're going to invest into that.

[ ]

In reply to by Mike Vail

I'm not so sure, guys. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I still hold out hope that Ricketts can change the entire culture of the Cubs. So far, it doesn't look really good, but it's still very early. Once he replaces Hendry, then I think we can better judge what Ricketts has in mind.

[ ]

In reply to by Mike Vail

As tWittenmyer reported this weekend,
"Our commitment -- and what Tom Ricketts I think is extremely comfortable with -- is: 'Let's spend more money on scouting and player development and get out of the free-agent business for the most part," (asst. GM) Bush said.
Spend more money on scouting and player development....what a joke. It's like he hasn't heard that Wilken and Fleita have been working together with a fat wallet (see Samardzija) for four years already. Ricketts has only two years left of prime time from the core of this team as assembled. He should be spending the bank to fill in the remaining holes in an effort to win now. But that's just one long-suffering, humble, and probably pathetic Cubs fan's opinion.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

"Ricketts has only two years left of prime time from the core of this team as assembled." What core? Everybody in the starting lineup is easily replaceable except Lee and Ramirez. Lee can play first base, an easy position, four or five more years. Ramirez is thirty-one and a half. If his days at third are numbered, I'm sure he could play left as well as Carlos Lee, Ryan Braun and the current Cub LF. Ryan Dempster is 32 (nearing 33). Lilly is getting up into his mid-thirties. Like Lee and Soriano, he will be league-age 35 in 2011. Lee and Lilly--that's not much of a core. A bad contract is not the same problem as a core player getting old, so I assume you're not talking about Soriano and Fukudome.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

I think what was meant, is that if you look at the Cubs team at the end of this season: 1B- DLee 35 yrs old 2B- Fontenot 30 yrs old SS- Theriot 31 yrs old(december, but still) 3B-ARam 32 yrs old LF-Soriano 34 years old CF-Byrd 33 yrs old RF-Fukudome 33 years old C- Soto 27 yrs old This is not a team with a bunch of players entering thir prime. Replacing a player or 2 is one thing, but Lee, Soriano, Fukudome, Byrd, ARam, are all entering the late stages of their careers. Dempster will be 33, Lilly is 34..it's not like these are guys hitting their stride. As for Lee playing 4 or 5 more years? Without HGH or steroids, really? How many 1B are playing well at age 36-39? Not too many..

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

Not too many, Dusty, but here are a few that I came up with. Lee is league-age 34 this year, so four years takes him through league-age 38. Delgado had a big year at 37. Since then, two hip surgeries. Chipper Jones still going strong at 37 last year. Mark Grace had his last solid year at 37. McGriff had a big year for the Cubs at 38. Thome had decent numbers last year at 38. Galarraga had 28 HR, 100 RBI for Atlanta at 39.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

what was the quote about not spending on free agents exactly? they also said they wanted to model the Red Sox, so I'm sure they'll spend if necessary. if they run the company as a family rather than a corporation, they should be able to take any savings from one year and pump it into another season, which is fine by me. It's not hard to tell when you a good FA class is coming up or when a hole in the team or system is going to be approaching. The Trib saves anything on payroll one season and it had to go to their stockholders.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

Nav, I have serious doubts that the Ricketts would come in here and undermine their investment by going "Cheap". The lack of movement this offseason were likely more of Sailor Hendry's past corner painting spending, and less an effort to pinch penny's. Even if payroll drops to 120ish, as long as we spend an extra 10 on Minor league development/draft/latin signings. Then I will consider them an upgrade from Tribco. Hell, Tribco was notoriously cheap until all the empty seats in August/September of 2006.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Hell, Tribco was notoriously cheap until all the empty seats in August/September of 2006. one of the beat writers recently claimed that Hendry was under a mandate to spend after 2006 fwiw. Can't remember the link or author though. I want to say Levine, but could be wrong.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I could get behind this too. I am perhaps being overly pessimistic about the hypothetical 2011 Cubs. A good season from Samardzija and more progress from Jay Jackson could easily have me being unreasonably optimistic again.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

That's very, very dumb. But I don't think he'll stick to that for more than a week if either of them struggles against opposite-handed pitching.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/theo-ellsbury-and-uzr/
Finally, this is a big point – Jacoby Ellsbury played 1,302 innings in center field last year, basically one full season’s worth. As has been noted many times, one season’s worth of any defensive metric is not a very large sample size. Due to the amount of marginal plays that a player is judged on over the course of a single season, a few bad breaks here or there can make a pretty significant impact on a player’s overall rating. We have always suggested that you want more than one year of data before you start making judgments about a player’s true worth defensively. No one should look at Ellsbury’s 2009 UZR and state definitively that he is a poor defensive center fielder.
and
There is a school of thought that these swings suggest an underlying flaw with UZR, but I’d suggest that it may be evidence that the perception of perfectly consistent defensive value is a myth. We know that hitters and pitchers often see wild swings in their performance, but no one thinks its proof that home runs are bunk when David Wright gets out-homered by Ichiro Suzuki. Wright obviously has more power, but over one season, he didn’t show it. It is certainly reasonable to believe that a player that Epstein believes to be “a good defensive center fielder” could simply have a bad year.
pretty good article w/ a lot more passages worth highlighting imo

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I think the level variation is what is in dispute, not the chance that players have good or bad seasons. If UZR is perfect, or as close to perfect as they like to imply, then why do teams hire people to make their own defensive stats?

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

If UZR is perfect, or as close to perfect as they like to imply, then why do teams hire people to make their own defensive stats?
well I certainly don't think it's perfect or close to it, let's make that clear before we go any further. Cardinals did hire Lichtman for awhile and I think they did well defensively during those times (probably a coincidence) and defensive stats are new enough that I'm sure teams think they can do better or improve upon it. but put UZR, maybe +/-, and BP's stats together with a some scouting reports and I think you have a good idea of a player...and you should definitely look at least at 3 years worth though if trying to assess their talent. if somebody tries to tell me Bobby Abreu or Dye can play right field passably, I'll laugh at them, but a guy with one bad year of UZR scores (or whatever your preferred defensive metric), I'll hold off final judgement. No doubt that UZR has been accepted a little too freely for what it can actually do.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I'm pretty much in agreement with you there. UZR definetly gets a pass because the math and logic are so convoluted you'd think it 'must be right'. I like the +/- in that it can't really be "gamed" like UZR can, but as we've talked about before, it seems to have a lot of objectivity in it, for whatever reason. I've been thinking about trying to quantify how Lee's throw catching ability improves his teams overall defense, but when I look at FRAA rates, I didn't really see much correlation between, say 2005 and 2007 versus 2006. I think we can all see that Theriot makes a lot of throws that he shouldn't, because he knows Lee will catch them, but teasing that out of readily available fielding data is going to be a bit hard.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Hey Rob, now look. Lou did tell him to pull the ball once last year. And we all know that range doesn't matter at SS. And speed doesn't matter if you're hitting at the top of the order. Plus, his lady likes biceps and Marlon Byrd is moving into the neighborhood.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

That's an awful lot of weight to put on. For years and years the conventional wisdom was that putting on weight like that would ruin your hitting stroke, first Lance Parrish and later guys like Canseco, Bonds and Sosa put that theory to rest, but still it's hard to think you won't sacrifice a little athletic ability by throwing that much weight on. Colvin's frame is one that always looked like it could easily support an extra 15 to 20 lbs, I thought.

They're out and it's great news for Starlin Castro fans. His #1 comparable player: Cesar Izturis. There is some better news, though, with JJ. Hardy being his #2 comp (and trending upwards) along with Elvis Andrus checking in at #5. The news is less cheerful for other tops cubs hitting prospects. Brett Jackson: Tracey Ealy Tyler Colvin: Adam Johnson HJ Lee: Tito Navarro Andre Blanco: Casey Candaele and Sam Fuld: Raul Gonzalez Just for kicks, Jake Fox: Jeff Liefer with other guys like Bob Hamelin, Brant Brown, J.T. Snow and Andy Tracy in there.

Recent comments

  • 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.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • 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...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.