Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



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

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s a fantastic deal for SF

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?