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 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cashner Sails Against the Wind

My wife and I went to the I-Cub game tonight with friends. Free general admission for a donation to an organization that provides those in need with the "basic essentials." We got in for a can of shaving cream, a couple bars of soap, a toothbrush and a disposable razor.

It was a beautiful night with a breeze whipping out of the south @ 20-25 mph. A misty spray from the grounds crew hosing down the infield carried all the way to our seats behind the Iowa bullpen down the third baseline. My buddy and I agreed that a slugfest was in store.

I was surprised when Andrew Cashner came out and started throwing long toss. He was supposed to start tomorrow with an extra day of rest as a result of the team's off day earlier in the week. I didn't have a notebook or a pen or anything to make notes with plus I felt sorry for anybody having to pitch in the hitter-friendly conditions.

Well, Iowa won 1-0 in the Madduxian time of 1:52, the team's 11th win in 12 tries! The game proceeded so briskly that an extended intermission was required before the post-game fireworks show could launch - it wasn't dark enough yet! 

Cashner retired the first 13 hitters he faced. He left after seven innings, 95 pitches, no walks, seven strikeouts and one hit batsman. He's now won all three of his Triple A starts and sports a glittering ERA of 0.95.

His fastball was at the knees or lower all night and clocking in the mid-90's.

Why did he pitch tonight? Maybe Oneri Fleita can answer that one. I thought I saw him on the field walking toward the team's clubhouse after the game ended. No doubt he was on his way to filing a glowing report on what he'd just seen in Des Moines.

I've seen headshots of Cashner before and watched him throw a couple of innings on TV in spring training. But in person he reminded me some of Jeff Weaver - blonde and lanky; hard-throwing.

In the managerial department the Iowa skipper ran the team out of a possible insurance run that wasn't needed after all when he wheeled Matt Camp around third with one out in the bottom of the 8th to try and score on Jim Adduci's single to center. Camp was out before he could even consider whether or not to slide. Adduci, by the way, made the play of the game when he leaped at the wall to snag a blast with the tying run on base and two outs in the top of the 7th. He also fielded the first hit off Cashner in the 5th when it came off the wall in left-center and held the hitter to a single. Those were the only two hard hit balls by either team all night.

Now I can go to a couple of graduation parties tomorrow afternoon instead of the ballpark. I may have just come from one tonight.

Comments

Great report, MW. If Cashner is going to the big leagues then where does he end up? Bullpen is still the biggest need for the team, as they have 6 starters already and Gorzo didn't break anything in his hand. Would Zambrano destroy the city Godzilla style if Cashner took Gorz's spot in the rotation and Z stayed in the pen? I realize that they are keeping Cashner on the SP track, so I don't know how they could call up their 7th starter when the bullpen is still shit. I thought Jackson was going to come up to the bullpen, but maybe the Howry signing changes that? Is Jackson still working out of the pen in Iowa? Great news on the game you were able to watch - but I don't see where they can put him now if they call him up.

Fun fact...cubs are 5-0 when Starlin Castro bats 2nd...so if Castro bats 2nd and Silva pitches Add the 5 mph to Silva's pitches if Koyie Hill catches... Hmmmm.

Thanks Mike! I am on the fence on what to do with Cashner. In the long-run, he needs to be a starter. At this pace, he should start 2011 in the rotation. He is still relatively new to starting in his career, and I hate to take him out of that groove because of our dire bullpen need in the majors. I guess is all depends on what direction the big league club is headed: If we are contending, we probably need to bring him up for the 'Pen. If not, we leave him in Iowa for now, and probably start him if we trade away starting pitching ahead of the deadline, which if we are out of it we absolutely should be doing. IF this club can't win the division, Lilly (with permission) and Silva should be on the block, with Cashner filling a rotation slot.

Look Ma, no ARam... CarrieMuskat: #cubs sun lineup 2b riot, ss castro, 1b lee, cf byrd, lf sori, rf nady, 3b baker, dh soto, c hill whats not to hate (Castro in the 2 hole?...obviously in a lineup kind of way)

I have a bad feeling we're going to have a Homer Howry sighting today. Hope the Koyie 5 mph effect leads to a Silva complete game.

Grabow in to be a loogy vs Hamilton... Another failure. Where's Lou's DOGHOUSE? And Howry is warming up... Maybe the threat of Howry will straighten out Grabow?

This probably doesn't mean much but here's an 8 round mock draft http://www.draftsite.com/mlb/ 1 Dylan Covey RHP, Maranatha HS 2 Marcus Littlewood, SS, Pine View HS 3 Dixon Anderson, RHP, California 4 Tommy Medica, C/OF, Santa Clara 5 Luke Jackson, RHP, Calvary HS 6 Daniel Bibona, LHP, UC Irvine 7 Jordan Cooper, RHP, Wichita St 8 Austin Southall, OF, UC Prep (HS)

They should just let Marshall and Gorz pitch innings 6-8 on alternate days. Fuck the rest of the bullpen. Fuck em right in the ear.

CarrieMuskat: X-rays Sunday of #Cubs Aramis Ramirez's left thumb were negative but he will sit for few days to heal mild sprain/bruise --- hopefully they dont have to play the retroactive to the DL game and waste roster space

It's hard to read that without reading "recently deceased".

I just read that at one point today Howry had gone 36 consecutive pitches without retiring a batter!

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I kinda like this Castro kid. Seems like whenever the opposing pitcher tries to fool him with breaking stuff down and away -- I guess they all think he's Shawon Dunston -- he just lays off the pitch. And when they don't go out far enough he reaches out and belts it to right field. Lots of times for fouls but that's okay. I haven't seen him pull the ball at all yet but I have not seen him a lot of his ABs. So I wonder if he's vulnerable to some inside stuff. But even if he is that's harder to pull off as a pitcher and easier to make a mistake on. The Rangers broadcasters this weekend had this discussion: playbyplay guy: "He's had 5 strikeouts in 45 at bats. 20 year olds aren't supposed to be able to do that." color guy: "20 year olds aren't supposed to be in the major leagues." He's now got 6 strikeouts in 60 at bats. Not sure how many PAs. Apparently he hasn't received the manual yet on how to be a true Cubs rookie. It'll be interesting to see where he is two months from now as the scouts and teams try to fish for weaknesses. In the meantime, I like him in the 2 hole until/if they figure him out.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

He pulled the ball some in Spring Training. He's not Theriot at the plate--he's got much quicker hands and seems to have the ability to adjust with them very easily to pitches up, down, in and out, and he takes a pretty aggressive swing every now and then. At some point pitchers will try busting him up and in with fastballs. I think that if he can lay off the ball out of the zone, he might cash in some of the ones in the zone for a few doubles and maybe a homerun--but probably more top spin liners to left. I'm very encouraged by Castro at the plate as well.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Clearly he had some jitters in his first few games, but he's making plays now and making things happen defensively. With the bat, I don't think we'll know what he's really made of until he has a rough patch and we can see what kind of adjustments he makes. I agree with what you all are saying, though... he has a nice swing and fast hands. I think as long as he keeps his head screwed on he'll be alright.

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.