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 

 



 

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"Stephen Gryzlo"? We Have No Idea Who You're Talking About

Out of concern for the mental health of the many Cub fans who regularly populate The Cub Reporter, the authors request that, until further notice, visitors please refrain from using the following words or phrases anywhere on or near the site:

  • shoulder
  • arm
  • "dead arm"
  • "tired arm"
  • strain
  • discomfort
  • triceps
  • fatigued
  • disabled
  • "skip a turn"
  • orthopedist
  • Dr. Stephen Gryzlo
  • examination
  • magnetic
  • resonance
  • imaging
  • "missed appointment"
Thank you.

Comments

It doesn't take Dr. Stephen Gryzlo to tell you that the Cubs are in danger of having a "missed appointment" with destiny in the 2008, World Series. Things aren't looking too great as a Cubs fan right about now. First you have an offense that gets shutout by the likes of Randy Wolf. Then you have a pitcher who's already talked about issues with discomfort or a strain in shoulder, which crop up after giving an extra two days off because of a fatigued or "dead arm", even though normally you would expect him to "skip a turn". If this was two years ago, you'd have people screaming about hiding arm issues and telling us one thing while the pitcher was off to a magnetic resonance imaging for a "tired arm". Perhaps before he officially gets disabled, I hope he can have his triceps looked at during a full examination or at least visit an orthopedist. And that's just Chad Blasko.

OK, no talk about injuries...how about talking about an inept offense. Great cure coming up. Bronson Arroyo who has given up a whopping 4 runs in his last 3 starts covering 23 innings. Cubs offense this week reminds me of the last week of 2004 when a great offense just died. That year, due to the hurricane, Cubs played something like 26 games in the final 25 days of the season. This year, the slump was at the end of a 13 day stretch and 20games in 20 days including the DH in Atlanta. When an offense as consistantly good as the Cub takes such a deep turn south, I wonder how much fatigue settles in. Maybe 2 days off in the next 5 and 3 in the next 12 will be the cure to all our ills.... or not.

The scene: Cubs clubhouse, September 3, 2008, 11:00 p.m. Lou: OK, well, Bob, tough homestand, huh? Oh well, onward and upward, as they say. Here's your plane ticket for tomorrow. Howry: Thanks. [reads] Hey, this doesn't say "Cincinnati." It says "Changchun." Isn't that the capital and largest city of China's Jilin province? Lou: Uh, that's a typo. See you at the ballpark.

Yeah, but how 'bout those I-Cubs, eh boys?! Seriously, I try to fight the curse/superstition mentality but we were 51-19 @ Wrigley & riding a seven-gamer when my two sons & I piled into the car @ dawn on Saturday & left Des Moines bound for Chicago & our first eyewitness games of this glorious year. I'm starting to feel personally responsible for all that's happened since...

a missed appt isn't the Mental Midget's only concern. Apparently Z also has some major clubhouse heat on him from a number of teammates for calling out (allegedly Theriot)for a botched play on Tuesday. I don't recollect exactly which play it was, but Z sure as hell better not be cracking on his teammates after his August meltdown and after Aramis botched 3 plays in successive innings.

As you might be able to tell from my handle, I'm also a very, very large OSU fan. Between Chris Wells and Carlos Zambrano, my two dream seasons might be dashed. I want to cry (nearly did when Wells went down this past weekend). Here's to hoping the MRI's for both come out in a positive (or is it negative? you know, no bad things) way.

I hoping its a psychological thing. If you remember back in 04 and 05 Z would be getting his brains beaten in and then he would start complaining about his back bothering him. Maybe thats why he didn't do MRI he didn't want them to tell him nothing wrong. I don't know, just reaching for straws.

Cub blogs are also exploding with calls to play Micah Hoffpauir, and bench Lee. I like Hoff and he had a great 1/2 season at Iowa, but I'm not convinced he is anything more than a nice PH/1B who had a great 1/2 season at AAA. Is there any expert analysis out there on this guy?

I think the Cubs management is getting a little crazy because Z didn't get the MRI. They can't require him to get any medical procedure, can they? The Cubs only know that he will miss a start. No news is harder to accept than bad news.

Zambrano news good, could return in Houston September 4, 2008Recommend (10) FROM SUN-TIMES SPORTS STAFF Cubs Nation can stop panicking — at least for the moment — as today's news is good on Carlos Zambrano. Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said today's MRI confirmed his theory that Zambrano has rotator cuff tendinitis. If things go well, Zambrano will pitch in Houston during the Sept. 12-14 series. "It's a relief knowing Z doesn't have anything more significant than what we thought, and hopefully that's it," Hendry said.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

It's not like Z has been any good the second half, he's been awful. ERA over 5.00, 6th man on a six man staff. HE NEEDS REST, preferably in a hospital. We need him in good shape for the playoffs....cause we're going to the playoffs no matter how much we suck in September.

Can we offer Z a bonus NOT to pitch in the next World Baseball Championships, or whatever they are called?

two mri/arthrograms in 3 months for rotator cuff tendonitis? add that to the list of all the perks a $91 million contract will get cha... People also call this impingement syndrome as the friction of rubbing the cuff (supraspinatus tendon) against the adjacent acromion (overlying bone from the shoulder blade/scapula) causes the inflammation. It's a positive diagnosis to have since this usually responds to a subacromial cortisone injection (which is what was done today). Symptoms usually start to respond in 3-5 days then they will ramp him up again.

or is there a chance that if he went to two other doctors, he would get two other diagnoses? ------------- Regarding other dxs, that could happen but I doubt it in this situation. The dx is made on a mixture of physical exam and diagnostic imaging. If the MRI + A/G shows inflammation but no dye extravasation it's extremely accurate regarding a full thickness tear. Some fraying or degeneration it might be less accurate although the MRI alone picks that stuff up. So unless the diagnostic study is unusually subtle to read, things should be clear cut. Unless they saw a full thickness rotator cuff tear or a large labrum tear (that is why we should feel relieved), Z was going to pitch in 1-2 weeks if the pain quiets down and I expect it will. Surgery can be done for impingement syndrome alone that doesn't resolve. The surgery addresses the structures that rub/produce friction causing inflammation. What is done shaves the acromion and/or releases a ligament in the front (the C-A or coraco-acromial ligament) that is responsible for the friction. Often this is done with a scope and certainly would not be done in the heat of a pennant race with them trying to work thru his symptoms if they were to persist after the cortisone injection.

another blog is suggesting that Z and teamates got into it a bit Tuesday Night after Zambrano called out Theriot for his error the other night. Wonder if there is any truth to that, and I wonder if maybe some lockerroom stuff is adding to the somewhat odd behavior.

Iowa goes for a 2-0 lead in the best of five series. Daytona can clinch the best of three with a win over Palm Beach.

This whole story seems odd from the minute he was pulled ============= Yeah, as if Lou had to have a press conference after spending the weekend babysitting for his grandchildren and explaining to the press what when on over those past few days.

Thank God, the NFL starts tonight I can't think of one other thing that a sane, red blooded American male would watch tonight. :-)

He displays our jubilation when things are going well, and he gets spitting mad when things go bad. If nothing else, we know, beyond doubt that Zambrano cares about winning. This very reason is why we love Zambrano, so naturally he'll get frustrated when a very good Cub's team is struggling to win games.

What are the chances, in other words, that Zombie's abrupt removal from the game was somehow related to his upset @ the Theriot play? Also, Cubster,can we take any encouragement from the fact that Zombie was clocking @ 96 in the early innings; could someone w/ a more serious RC problem than 'impingement' throw that hard even briefly?

does it strike you as odd that Z says his shoulder is sore and he gets a doc visit then an mri-arthrogram rich harden shoulder is sore and he gets nada I guess it's like the kid who has cried "wolf" too often (rolls eyes), and I don't mean Randy Wolf At $91M, you'd better get your money's worth. ------- Cameron Tripled and scored, 1-1. Estes sucks.

Venable! Venable! Venable! (2-4, HR) Big ups to you, young sir. May you have a long and fruitful career in which you apply much hurt to Cubs divisional opponents. Thank you for starting that aspect of your career this evening.

Micah Hoffpauir is 28, Scott McClain is 36. That's a big difference. Hoffpauir is old to be considered a "prospect," but i'd sure rather give a guy a shot who hits 25 HR and 100 RBI in 71 games in AAA, and then comes up for a cup of coffee and goes 14 for 37, with 6 doubles than not.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

Hoffpauir does deserve a shot--as a backup 1B/emergency outfielder and pinch hitter. He deserves a shot at Ward's spot on the roster. Hoffpauir has 3 knocks on him at this point that prevent him from being much of a prospect: 1. He's 28, so chances of him improving much aren't great. 2. He plays only 1B and very little LF/RF, so he plays positions where you are looking for star hitters (especially since he's not a gold glove type). 3. He's a AAA style free swinger, which may not translate well to MLB (though you won't know until you let him play). He's also got a few important good points: 1. He's demonstrated that he's got good pop. 2. He does hit for a high average, even though he doesn't walk. 3. He's an OK defender at first (though I've heard a variety of reports on his defense). 4. He's apparently a really good clubhouse guy. A nice guy's nice guy. 5. He'd probably be happy with bench role. I honestly expect to see him take Wards place next year, and if he struggles then Fontenot and others will start to see more of the pinch hit opportunities.

To win the NL Pennant Cubs 5:4 Brewers 5:2 DBacks 4:1 Mets 11:2 Phillies 10:1 Dodgers 14:1 To win the World Series Angels 14:5 Cubs 3:1 Red Sox 9:2 Rays 9:2 Brewers 6:1 DBacks 10:1

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.