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

Shoeless Z

Shoe? He don't need no stinkin' shoe

more after the break...

3 feet in the batter's box?

Z, to paraphrase Ed Sullivan, "a really big shoe".

more fun than a kick in the...

Z, hanging 15.

Comments

sorry, lost the first comment when I reworked the Z pics. from 6-0 to 9-0. Fukudome, Soto, Colvin, DLee all getting in on the fun. Even ARam gets a clean line drive single. Bob Brenly said he wonders what the Pirates are thinking.

looks like his foot is invisible

Brewers could use some starters, we need a reliever Gorz for Coffey and/or Villanueva and if it's "or" Brewers toss in a minor leaguer or toss in Grabow and give us back Mitch Stetter

The team is playing a lot looser now that Z has been sent to the bullpen. Obviously, it was his presence in the dugout that was making the hitters suck. No fair, Soto is trying to pad his stats against some scrub, and they decide to get Hoffman some work.

well, after the last 2-3 days it's probably safe to say soriano's "hop thing" is showing no signs of stopping. if someone goes to the press and says a bunch of words people get satisfied for some weird reason. they see responsibility and "manning up" and other illusions of common sense coming into play. soriano loves to placate situations with words then keeping on doing what he wants in action. meh...it's not like he's a dick. he does listen to others about his hitting and puts his work in and all that crap, but he just tends to do whatever he wants when he feels like it.

Samaramadingdong at Iowa in a 5-1 loss pitched in the 8th... 1 IP, 1 H, 2R, 0ER, 3 BB, 0K Walks 'ill kill ya.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

when i see stuff like this in real life...such as on the street or in a coffee shop...i try to get away from it. others tune in to listen to and participate in it...whew...not my thing. wow. i barely made it through the 3 minutes...heh...

i haven't seen someone so lost on the curveball as ike davis in forever.

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In reply to by crunch

I would have to assume that he's thinking it is something else - he didn't just miss it, his bat was through the swing by the time it got there.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

Bats are afraid. He really can't hit a breaking ball. That's followed him everywhere he's been. He strikes out a lot. 112 Ks in 488 PAs between A & AA last year. He had trouble hitting that weak ass breaking stuff. Once the big boys start snapping off the nasty stuff on him, he's going to have a lot more swings like that one.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

hell, he didn't even swing at marshall's and took a strike on one while "bailing" out of the box turning his back thinking it was coming inside. tonight he's looked just as bad.

I'm starting to understand the role of Byrd on this team. The Cubs have historically (and by historically, I mean the last 5-6 years) been terrible against lefties. It's nice to finally have a batter that mashes lefties.

Just for fun... Per BA webite, through 14 games at AA, Castro is hiting .426 wih 15 RBI and 11 XBH. Cool.

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In reply to by Old and Blue

Word. Suddenly the Cubs have four outfielders with nice OPS numbers. If our first baseman and third baseman could hit like their usually selves, the offense would be really intimidating.

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In reply to by billybucks

In the double-header today Chirinos (C/inf, AA) hit his 5th homerun of the season and his 4th and 5th doubles. He's batting .383. With all those guys hitting, you've got to wonder if any one of them would be doing nearly as well if the others weren't also pounding the ball. But at Chirinos's age, he has to earn himself a callup to the majors if he can continue to show the ability to make contact and hit for power while playing C and being capable of playing a variety of other positions.

was looking for some info on a couple of early 00's cubs players and ran across a jim callis chat from 2003... Q: Michael Smith from Chicago asks: Hey Jim if Bobby Brownlie would of signed before you came out with your top ten Cub list where would he rank? With Brownlie in the mix where would the Cubs farm system rank overall in baseball? A: Jim Callis: I'd be tempted to put him third, because I think he's more advanced than current No. 3 Andy Sisco and No. 4 Felix Pie. If I took the approach that he hasn't proven anything yet, Brownlie could go as low as 9th or 10th. The Cubs are stacked. One player wouldn't be enough to put the Cubs in the No. 1 farm system spot over the Indians. They're a top five organization, however, and we'll release our rankings in the upcoming Prospect Handbook. ...sigh also... Q:Keno Leighty from Vancouver, WA asks: Hello Jim and thanks for the chat. Is Angel Guzman a future #1 starter or will he figure to be a middle of the rotation guy? Also what is his injury past? Thanks. A: Jim Callis: Possible No. 1, though that's his ceiling and not a certainty. Some in the organization think he might follow Mark Prior's express route from Double-A to the majors this year. I'm not aware of any injury history with him.

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In reply to by crunch

the q/a is part tragic and part funny...the cascade of injuries that took down most of the kids mentioned hadn't started yet. it also seems baseball prospectus compared ex-cub brendon harris to albert pujols in their annual prospect rankings that year and people were shocked baseball america wasn't as high on him based on a chunk of the questions. it seems to be from Feb. 2003... http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/features/chat020703.html also...from the lol dept... Q: Sean from Calistoga asks: What are your expectations for Carlos Zambrano this year and in the years to come? A: Jim Callis: Long term, I see him as more of a reliever than as a starter.

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In reply to by Cubster

Kerry Wood? We can't afford no stinkin' Kerry Wood. Why aren't you posting anything about Milton Bradley? He just took another week off. Didn't even have the courage to play in Chicago. Knowing stuff like that is very important to, uh... not exactly sure why it's important, BUT IT IS!

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In reply to by navigator

What is your problem? You have been doing this to every one of Cubster's post the past few days. When I follow players day in and day out while they are on the Cubs, I am still somewhat interested in what happens to them after they leave the team. In addition, we are always trying to evaluate Hendry's moves, including players he has traded away, players he had the chance to sign but didn't, etc. For example, I like to see Silva doing well and Bradley sucking, and it not the other way around. So ex-Cubs news is interesting. You've been here awhile, surely this is not the first time you've seen this. If you are not interested in reading anything about Bradley, then don't. But no need to attack Cubster for posting this stuff.

I'd like to think that Lee's bomb is a sign that he's going to start turning things around soon. And Aramis hit the ball on the screws yesterday, but he hit it right at the defense. But time will tell if it actually starts clicking for them.

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In reply to by Fireball

It will be difficult for them to maintain a .250 BABIP & .149 BABIP respectively if they are hitting the ball as hard as they did yesterday. It's a completely different lineup when Aramis Ramirez is hitting. Also, with Marlon Byrd's massive 600/577/840 lefty split, maybe the Cubs lineup won't be so impotent against the Doug Davis's and Zach Duke's of the world like they have been in the past. Still, for all the optimism, let's not forget these are the same guys that slumped for an entire season (last year).

[ ]

In reply to by Fireball

Ramirez's swings are looking better. He'll thaw in the next 20 games at most. A little bit of Santo Domingo weather wouldn't hurt.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

Aram's swings looked much better yesterday, but that makes one day in a row they looked okay. He's been dipping all season and you can't even hit a ball off a tee when you move your head as much as he has been.

So the Astros start out 1-9 this year, then they go 7-1 during the last 8 games. If anyone figures this game out, let me know.

I will give it to Colvin he is really impressing me. He might be one of those guys who doesn't light the world on fire in the minors but just excels in the majors for some odd reason. Keep up the good eye and power stroke. Next step in his evolution is when the league adjusts, can he?

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In reply to by MikeC

Next step in his evolution is when the league adjusts, can he?
Absolutely. The real test is how does he react when he starts to struggle?

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In reply to by MikeC

Well, at least you have owned up that not every single prospect is shit and the Cubs have the worst minor leagues in baseball as you usually do. WTG

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In reply to by The E-Man

I didn't own up to anything, I have 20 years of history on my side that this organization doesn't know its ass from a hole in the ground in developing positional talent. I am the biggest pro-prospect guy around here. I wanted Choi, Murton, Theriot, Patterson, Pie to all do good. But at the same time i recognize players glaring faults. Like Pie had no business being in the majors when everyone wanted him on the roster. What would it hurt for him to actually develop for the next 3-5 years? What he gets called up when he is 25? Clearly that would be to late in his career to be worth anything. Now everyone wants Castro to be Pie Version 2.0, brought up too early, destroying anything of value from him. I like some parts of Colvin and not others, and I am still not part of the play Colvin over Soriano crowd. Though Soriano's defense lately will want me to have anyone out there but him.

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In reply to by MikeC

Well, the Cubs ran out of options on Pie. That's not close to being an issue with Castro yet. But if Castro continues to hit he should see AAA soon, and then his offense will again be the determining factor in deciding whether he sees Wrigley before September. He's hardly being handed anything. It'd be nice if Kyler Burke and Josh Vitters would start hitting. They seem to be the only high-profile slugger prospects in our system right now, though Chirinos (old for his league) and Castillo (of the sub .200 average but over .600 slugging percentage) are showing decent power for catchers.

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In reply to by Charlie

Well...they could have...I dunno....played Pie? For more than 6 weeks? I know I'm a pain in the ass on this..always have been, but they never really gave him a shot. Brutal.

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In reply to by Dusty Baylor

I'm assuming that is a response to MikeC, but just in case, I'm right there with you. They still ran out of options on him, though, which wouldn't have meant getting rid of him had they been willing to make a role for him on the major league team.

Maybe the Cubs can pick up Embree: Alan Embree said Monday that he will opt to become a free agent if the Red Sox do not call him up to the majors this week. "There's not going to be any extending of the deadline anymore. I've been a good soldier, I did whatever's asked, and I did what it took to get ready," Embree said from Triple-A Pawtucket, where he hasn't allowed a hit, walk or run in his last five outings. But with Tim Wakefield joining the bullpen this week, it's doubtful that the Red Sox will have room.

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In reply to by WISCGRAD

he's a lefty...it seems they're in the market for a righty. i hope they find him fast. i'm still getting over this Z-in-pen thing.

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In reply to by crunch

Cashner and Diamond are both pitching very well in the minors, and so is Jay Jackson. They're all slotted as starters right now, but the Cubs shouldn't be that concerned about impeding Diamond's development, and most people (not necessarily the Cubs) seem to think Cashner is 8th or 9th inning material in the long run. Caridad is also due off of the DL fairly soon. Marmol Grabow Marshall Caridad Russell Gray Z/Silva/Diamond/Berg/Cashner/Parker/Schlitter/Gorzelanny/Jackson/Stevens/Patton The biggest problem in that bunch of guys right now is Grabes, who's going nowhere. I'd be okay with picking somebody like Juan Cruz off of waivers, though. Those personality problems were all the way back in 2003, weren't they? Maybe he's matured.

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In reply to by Charlie

The other problem with Cruz is that you just don't know which Cruz you will get: ERAs by Year 2002: 3.98 2003: 6.05 2004: 2.75 2005: 7.44 2006: 4.18 2007: 3.10 2008: 2.61 2009: 5.72

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In reply to by WISCGRAD

True. That's true of most relievers, though, isn't it? I'd be okay with Rob G.'s suggestion of a Gorzo for Coffey and a minor leaguer deal--the Cubs have a surplus of left-handed starter types right now, might as well use them somehow. But Cruz seems to actually be a better bet to be effective than Coffey (of the career 1.46 WHIP and nowhere near Cruz's K ability).

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In reply to by Charlie

There is a pretty lengthy discussion about the merits of Juan Cruz over at Goatriders. One reader (SMan) argues that Cruz's weakness has been that he cannot be trusted in high pressure situations and thus has been relegated to low pressure/mop-up type of situations. He concludes with the following statement: "We need Bullpen help, we don’t need mop-up guys with arguably average low-pressure results but horrible track records in pressure situations. Might as well take our chances on what we got if its between them and Cruz; at least we know they have upside…" Check out the whole thread for the entire discussion over at: http://www.goatriders.org/sman-stumps-for-juan-cruz More discussion at: http://www.goatriders.org/node/4209 Personally, I tired of Juan Cruz several years ago and I don't want him back. Another million dollar arm with a 10 cent head.

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In reply to by jacos

As someone correctly pointed out in the comments of Rob Neyer's blog, Cruz has allowed every inherited runner he's got this season to score. Sounds like a Wrigley disaster.

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In reply to by crunch

i'm still getting over this Z-in-pen thing.
I happen to feel better about the pen. Let me put it another way: In Saturday's game, who were the Cubs going to turn to if not Z in that very key situation? Marmol? How would you feel about that? Expensive bullpen arm, sure, but a great reliever fill-in until Hendry does what he should have done in the off season: solidify the bullpen. And I'm not dogging Hendry on this issue. He's screwed a lot of things up, but we don't know how short his leash was this off season. My guess? Real short.

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In reply to by Ryno

"In Saturday's game, who were the Cubs going to turn to if not Z in that very key situation? Marmol? How would you feel about that?" well...Z didn't exactly make me feel better with that outing. all i saw was a 120+ pitch arm doing the same thing he always had with his day being over quickly. the guy isn't holding back some "woah" pitch or something he doesn't want to show too many hitters than he can just let go because he doesn't want to break it out early when he might have to face the same 9 guys 2-3 times through the lineup.

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In reply to by Ryno

It's funny, we've decided not to use some guys in high pressure situations because they have given up too many runs in too few innings this year. But Z gets the 8th inning because he's got stuff, even though he has given up too many runs in too few innings this year. We excuse Z because he has a track record that says he's a good pitcher. These other guys simply don't have track records. How do you get a track record, again?

i can hear zombie ticking from here...can hardly wait until 1st 8th inning blown lead @ home when he gets the latroy hawkins treatment; there will be casualties...

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.

    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.