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

Game #72 Preview: Cubs (31-40) @ Mariners (30-41)

In the time it took John Isner to beat Nicolas Mahut, the Cubs scored once, lost twice, fanned 17 times while walking three times, dropped nine games behind the NL Central-leading Cardinals, fell a season-worst nine games below .500, and went 1-for-16 with RISP. Oh, yeah—that one hit was a double by Alfonso Soriano which came with Geovany Soto on second base but only got Soto as far as third.

Ted Lilly starts today in place of Carlos Silva (tight hamstring) as the Cubs try to avoid being party to the longest Mariners winning streak (7 games) since July of '07. Lilly, who got tatooed last time out by the Angels, is opposed by King Felix Hernandez, who is 10-4, 2.89 in 18 lifetime starts against NL clubs and has given up two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts.

In other words, just what the doctor didn't order.

Here's the Cubs lineup vs. Hernandez (5-5, 3.39; first-ever appearance vs. Cubs): Fukudome 9, Theriot 4, Byrd DH, Lee 3, Colvin 8, Nady 7, Fontenot 6, Tracy 5, Hill 2.

Finally, if you didn't get a chance to see the excruciating way the Dodgers lost to the Angels last night, take a look right here, and check out FanGraphs' analysis right here. Pretty Cubbery stuff, down to the fact that former Cub Reed Johnson played a central role.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

No i think that was me, Manny was a diehard Hendry lover for years. He only recently converted. Though Hendry wasn't GM till 2002. The not liking Hendry came from the way McPhail ran the team. Making Jim Hendry the GM changed nothing in the organization. It was a Starlin Castro lets make a move to make it look like we are doing something. It was meant to seem like the organization was heading in a new direction after MacPhail's failed promise of winning a WS in 5 years. And like lemmings people were like lets give Jim some time to see what he can do. It was just to buy time. Player development still sucked, drafting sucked, the same scouts still sucked, the same coaches and player development people still sucked, free agent negotiation was still horrible, contract negotiation was still horrible. Everything Jim Hendry learned about running a franchise he learned from MacPhail and MacPhail got all of his success by winning some WS with some other guys players in Minn. Think about this for a moment, Jim Hendry was director of player development from 1995 to 2002 and GM since then. The guy has had about 15 years in the thick of the Cubs organization in getting and developing his type of players and the entire system along with the major league club is a fucking train wreck. The only thing that saved his ass was Sam Zell wanting to spend like a drunken sailor to improve the sale price of the franchise. Jim Hendry wasn't a good GM because he learned from Andy MacPhail and was nothing more than a front man for doing the same thing that MacPhail was doing. I mean geez look what Andy is doing in Baltimore, he is picking up all of Hendry's little projects because Hendry was his brightest pupil and best talent evaluator. They are both idiots.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

There is a lot of gray area in the world, feel free to come on over, there is plenty of room. Not everything is either awesome or sucks. Jeez. Just to make one point. Drafting and player development "suck" - but yet Soto, Theriot, Castro, McGehee, Colvin, Marmol, Zambrano, Wells, Cashner, Marshall, etc. are all homegrown and have made contributions to the major league team over the past few years. Not to mention the 40-50 prospects (e.g. Bobby Hill, Choi, Gallagher) traded by Hendry over the last 7 years that netted the Cubs a number of key major league players. You can see those, along with all of the other transactions Hendry has made, on the Wiklifield page I created here: http://wiklifield.thecubreporter.com/Jim_Hendry_Transactions Are they the best franchise in the majors in drafting and developing players? No, I would say not. But are they the worst? No, not by far. And it has improved a lot in the past 5 years.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubnut

This is what P.K. Ricketts told Al Yellon,
so we (Ricketts) went in saying we have a proven track record here (the last few years) that despite a weak showing last year, we’re going to keep going with the guys we have. Since we’ve gotten in, I spent a week in the team meetings and spent a week down in the Dominican, spent time with not only Jim but all of his staff. I’ve been very impressed and I think that they have, that Jim has a very good organization, and you probably know better than anyone that they’re some of the best in the business. And I’ve also been sitting in on the organizational meetings where you see the coaches and the scouts discuss players, which on some teams doesn’t happen. And I think Jim runs a good organization, I really do. And I was very impressed with the Dominican organization. Oneri down there with those guys that cover that market, I think they’re doing a good job.
I can only conclude that Ricketts is delusional. When you buy the Cubs you are buying a bad, incredibly bad, organization. That is a given. And anyone who thinks Jim Hendry and crew are some of the best in the business doesn't know a damn thing about business. Maybe he'll figure this out eventually..., but meanwhile...we're doomed.

I thought you had a great idea. Just eat all of Fukudome's contract for 2010 and maybe someone would take him off our hands. but...
The Cubs already are shopping benched outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and the $20 million-plus left on his contract. A National League scout said Wednesday night that even if the Cubs ate this year's remaining $7 million or so, plus half of next year's $13.5 million, it's probably not enough for a lot of teams. ''He might not be worth $4 [million],'' he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/2427904,CST-SPT-csep24.art…

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2012196620_mets_twin… in regards to Twins being front-runner for Cliff Lee, but don't count out the Mets.
But the Mets have some pretty good young players of their own. Not catchers, mind you, but if the rumors coming out of New York are true, the M's might have to ship Lee off to the Big Apple.
That's because the rumors -- and they are only rumors, but with some logic -- say the Mets might offer top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia (photo above) and current major league outfielder Angel Pagan in a Lee swap. Wow, that one would be tough to decline.

A weird thing is happening in this game. I can only assume it is because Lou is more comfortable managing without worrying about the pitcher coming to the plate, but he is using his bullpen intelligently. I figured for sure he was just going to pitch Cashner for one inning, and that he was going to save Marmol for a save. I know it's just a brief moment, but it's nice to see he's making some lucid decisions for a change.

wow what a depressing bunch of comments. But everyone who visits this site predicted this crap if I remember right. I guess one surprise is Aram and DLee totally tanking, especially Aram, but this wasn't a very good team from the beginning and if the owner thinks it was he needs to read more in quality baseball forums. My hunch, though, is that Hendry is primed to leave, and Ricketts is just doing what owners do -- false vote of confidence.

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.