Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and eight players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-24-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Pete Crow-Armstrong 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 8 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2
* Cody Bellinger, OF  
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cub Pitchers and Hitters Shine under Overcast Arizona Skies

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Hak-Ju Lee ripped a double and a triple, drove-in three runs, and scored another, Gioskar Amaya had three hits (two singles and a triple), two RBI, and two runs scored, and five pitchers combined to throw a four-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts, as the Cubs blanked the A’s Split Squad #1 7-0 in AZ Instructional League action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this afternoon.

The game was halted with two outs in the top of the 9th after a severe thunderstorm came roaring into Mesa, causing BP screens and tarps to fly across Fitch Park amidst high winds, heavy rain, and lightning & thunder, as the Cubs ran for their clubhouse, the umpires hot-footed it for their dressing room, the A’s loaded up their gear (and themselves) into their two maxi-vans, and the scouts in attendance made a beeline for their cars parked in the lot across the street.

Josh Vitters got his first career start at 1st base today, a position he will supposedly be playing (at least occasionally) in the AFL (which begins play next week). He handled two chances flawlessly at the 1st sack, and also had three Plate Appearances during the course of the game, grounding out to second, rapping a single to RF, and lofting a pop out to 2B.

The Cubs got some really good pitching today, with 19-year old RHP Robinson Lopez (one of the pitchers acquired by the Cubs from Atlanta in the Derrek Lee deal) getting the start and throwing a shutout inning in what was his AZ Instructional League debut. Lopez mixed a 94 MPH fastball with a change-up and a hard-breaking slider to work through his one inning with a minimum of difficulty. He will probably be a rotation starter at Daytona next season.

22-year old RHP (and ex-3B) Charles Thomas (Cubs 2009 10th round draft pick) wowed the scouts in attendance, displaying a 98 MPH heater, a mid-80’s splitter, and a 82 MPH slider, and throwing all of his pitches with minimum effort. Thomas was a combination 3B/RHRP at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, FL (the alma mater of legendary Negro League player & manager and Cub coach & scout Buck O’Neil), but the Cubs drafted him as a third-baseman and played him there exclusively through most of his first two seasons in pro ball. But then he was moved to the mound this past July, and he had been working on his mechanics in side-sessions only for the past ten days after making his initial Instructs appearance in the first game on 9/23. At 6’4 230+ Thomas is an intimidating presence on the mound (he looks a bit like Lee Smith, or maybe Ray Lewis would be a better comparison), and he might be someone who could move very quickly up through the pipeline, as long as he can command his filthy stuff. At least he has a pitching background, so he won't have to spend as much time as some other conversion project would learning the basics of pitching.

RHP Aaron Kurcz continued to throw “lights out” in the AZ Instructional League, using a 95 MPH fastball and hard slider to strike out the first five men he faced (just blowing them away), before allowing a wind-aided double off the LF fence on what turned out to be the last pitch of the game (before the sky opened up and sent everybody running for cover). The 20-year old Kurcz was the Cubs 10th round draft pick out of the College of Southern Nevada (where his teammate was 2010 #1 overall draft pick Bryce Harper) this past June, and he has been absolutely mesmerizing no matter where the Cubs have sent him. He struck out 45 and allowed just 15 hits in 27.1 IP (with a 0.95 WHIP) combined between the AZL Cubs and Boise during the regular season, and he has allowed no runs on two hits with one walk and 12 strikeouts in just 7.2 IP over three outings so far at Instructs. I was told by a scout that Kurcz was overlooked because of his slight build (6'1 170), and while he might not have the physical intimidation factor of a Charles Thomas, his arm really packs a wallop.

Cubs Player Development Director and V. P. of Player Personnel Oneri Fleita arrived in Arizona this morning, and watched the game from the Observation Tower.

Here is today’s abridged box score (Cubs players only):

LINEUP:
1. Hak-Ju Lee, SS: 2-4 (L-7, 3B, 2B, 5-3, 3 RBI, R)
2. Gioskar Amaya, 2B: 3-4 (K, 1B, 1B, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R)
3a. Engel Santana, C: 1-2 (1-3, 1B)
3b. Sergio Burruel, C: 0-2 (L-8, 4-3, RBI)
4a. Josh Vitters, 1B: 1-3 (4-1, 1B, P-4)
4b. Ryan Cuneo, 1B: 0-1 (F-8)
5. Xavier Batista, RF: 1-3 (K, K, 2B)
6. Dustin Geiger, 3B-DH: 0-2 (K, F-8 SF, P-3, RBI)
7. Max Kwan, DH #1: 1-3 (2B, K, F-8, R)
8. Willson Contreras, DH-3B: 1-3 (1B, K, K, R)
9. Chris Huseby, LF: 2-3 (K, 1B, 1B, R)
10. Oliver Zapata, CF: 1-3 (K, 1B, 4-3, R)

PITCHERS:
1. Robinson Lopez: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 19 pitches (11 strikes)
2. Cam Greathouse: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HBP, 1 BALK, 1 GIDP, 51 pitches (33 strikes), 3/0 GO/FO
3. Dustin Fitzgerald: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 30 pitches (20 strikes), 1/5 GO/FO
4. Charles Thomas: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 12 pitches (7 strikes), 0/2 GO/FO
5. Aaron Kurcz: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 23 pitches (17 strikes)

ERRORS: (2)
1. 3B Dustin Geiger E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base)
2. 3B Dustin Geiger E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base)

CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Engel Santana: 1 PB

=================================================

ATTENDANCE: 15 (mostly scouts)

WEATHER: Overcast & VERY breezy, with temperatures in the 80’s

Tags
Cubs Minor Leagues
Hak-Ju Lee
Josh Vitters
Charles Thomas
Aaron Kurcz
Gioskar Amaya
Robinson Lopez
AZ Instructional League

Comments

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 10:12 am

Cubs 2010 5th round pick OF Matt Szczur, who returned to Villanova to play football, is suffering from a high ankle sprain and missed Nova's last game at Bill & Mary. Szczur must decide prior to the NFL combine next February whether he wants to play football or baseball, or at least he has to choose baseball at that time if he wants to collect the $500K bonus he gets if he opts for baseball over football.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 10:34 pm

Submitted by George Altman on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 11:05am. AZ Phil, Going thru the updated Roster Info, would you hazard an educated guess on how much of a reduction from $145M they're looking at for 2011? If Archer, Brett Jackson, and/or Carpenter have a ST like Colvin this year, do you think they would break camp with the team? Besides a LH 1B, would their next highest priority be a RHRP or a 3rd/4th SP? ========================================= GEORGE A: Although the 2010 payroll was announced as $144M, the salaries paid out (including minor league players on optional assignment and money owed to players who were no longer with the team) was actually about $132.5M. One thing that MLB clubs do is spread signing bonuses evenly over the length of the contract for the purpose of determining luxury tax and revenue sharing, even if the bonus is actually paid in a lump-sum when the player signs his contract (as is usually the case). I would expect the Cubs actual 2011 payroll to be around $130M (announced as $135M), which means that with $119M the estimated projected 2011 payroll right now (see right sidebar), Hendry probably--right now, today--has about $11M in available 2011 payroll he can spend on free-agents (or veteran players acquired in trades), but with more $$$ available once players are non-tendered or traded. I think a LH 1B will be the Cubs #1 priority and a RHRP with some MLB closer experience is #2. I would be surprised if Hendry allocates any of the available 2011 payroll toward adding another starting pitcher, especially a #3 or #4 starter. If an ace somehow drops into his lap he'll probably reconsider, but otherwise I just can't see the Cubs adding a veteran MLB SP during the off-season. As for whether any of the Cubs top prospects (B. Jackson, J. Jackson, Archer, et al) break camp with the big club at the end of Spring Training 2011, it all depends on what needs the Cubs have at that time, and how the youngsters perform in ST. Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner were in a slightly different position in 2010, because the Cubs wanted an upgrade at SS so that they could move Theriot to 2B, and Cashner had been the #1 closer in college baseball (at TCU) in 2008 and so he was considered a good bet to be able to adjust to bullpen life in the big leagues with minimum difficulty, plus he throws about 2-3 MPH harder when he pitches out of the bullpen than he did as a SP.

Submitted by navigator on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 10:19 pm

Ballpark Digest comments today on the Cubs-Mesa deal:
The Cubs and Mesa have described the lease as running 30 years, but that's not quite right: it's a 25-year lease with two five-year options, and the Cubs can leave after 20 with a buyout, as spelled out in the current Memo of Understanding between the team and Mesa. It is quite the doozy: Mesa pays for everything (including water and trash service; the Cubs will pay for electricity) and receives literally no revenue from the project past normal sales-tax* revenues. The Cubs retain everything, including naming rights, suite revenues, concessions and parking revenues. Which, apparently, was the price for keeping the Cubs in Mesa.
*Mesa Sales Tax is 1.75% which is added onto the Arizona state sales tax of 6.6% and the Maricopa county sales tax of 0.7% when you purchase retail items. All of which means that the average household in Mesa is on the hook (if voters approve) for $1000 plus interest to finance this deal but the State of Arizona, which contributed nothing, will be the beneficiary of most of the tax revenue generated by keeping the Cubs in Arizona.

Recent comments

  • CubbyBlue (view)

    In honor of dispatching with the Astros, this painting is titled “The Sweep”. 
    I retired a couple years ago, and took a job at Wrigley as a security guy. SO cool having Wrigley as your office. SO cool being there when PCA got his first hit. 
    “The Sweep” happens at the end of every game - the security staff sweeps through the ballpark making sure it’s empty.
    (Hopefully I’ll be putting this painting up often this year.)
    Lastly, because working for the Cubs, they understandably don’t want you voicing opinions on social, which is why I’m only painting the banners here. 

  • First.Pitch.120 (view)

    Honorable mention to Jim Bullinger via BleedCubbieBlue: 

    Bullinger, a converted shortstop, had pitched in three games before he came to the plate. He had entered the game to relieve starter Shawn Boskie after four innings, and came to the plate to lead off the fifth, and hit Rheal Cormier's first pitch over the left-field wall to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead; they eventually won the game 5-2 in 14 innings. Of the 129players to homer in their first MLB at-bat, Bullinger is one of just 32 to hit that blast on the first big-league pitch he saw (including Contreras) and one of just six pitchers to do so.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Most of this activity will lead nowhere, of course, but it is fantastic that they’re looking for talent in every nook and cranny. You never know where that can lead, and virtually nothing is lost if if leads nowhere, as long as no one of superior talent and potential is losing an opportunity.

  • First.Pitch.120 (view)

    Fun 1st Hit / HR Fact…


    Recent Cubs players to have HR as 1st MLB hit:

    PCA

    Morel

    Happ

    Contreras

    Baez

    Soler

    Castro

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Miguel Cruz walked six in 1.2 IP in his last start, so I guess he is improving. Wilme Mora also walked six in one of his appearances a week or two ago, and one or two others have walked five. I don't know what would be the most I have ever seen a pitcher throw in a game out here, because the manager / pitching coach usually gets the pitcher out of the game if it gets too ridiculous. 

    As for the attendance, probably about 20 of the 25 were early arrivals for the Savannah Bananas game who came over to Field # 1 to see what was going on, and once they saw all the bases on balls (12 walks by Cubs pitchers and four by Angels pitchers) they ran away screaming. I'm used to it so it didn't bother me that much. 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Jed has added Teheran, Tyranski, Kissaki, and now Straily and Nico Zeglin today.

    Zeglin is 24 yrs old. Pitched well at Long Beach St in '23 and well in some Indy Ball.

    They also added Reilly and Viets in late ST.

    Have to search for MiLB arm depth anywhere you can and at all times!!!

  • Childersb3 (view)

    25 in Attendance!!!

    Phil, is that a backfield record?

    Also, 6 BBs for Cruz in 2 IP. What's the most walks you've seen in one EXT ST outing that you can recall?

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    He has a pulse. Apparently that’s the only requirement at this point.

  • crunch (view)

    cubs sign dan straily...for some reason.  minor league deal.

    welcome back.

    zac rosscup is down in mexico trying to make it happen...maybe they could throw him a contract, too.  junior lake is his teammate.  shore up a bunch of holes with some washups.

  • fullykräusened (view)

    The great thing about going to live sports events is you don't know if you're going to see something historic. Today I went to the Cub game, after putting the liner back in my coat and fishing my Cubs knit hat out of the closet. I needed all that- my seats are in the upper deck, left, so the east wind was in my face. Both teams failed to capitalize on good situations, but both starters did a good job to accomplish this. So, we go to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Cubs tie it up, and then Pete Crow-Armstrong comes up. We all know he would still be in AAA if not for injuries, and future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander absolutely carved up the young fellow up in his first two plate appearances. So this time he hits a fly ball. The wind was blowing in and had suppressed several strong fly balls- including a rocket off Altuve's bat that Canario hauled in (does he remind anybody else of Jorge Soler?) , but the ball kept carrying and carrying. 107mph, legit angle and carry. The crowd went nuts, the dugout went nuts. Maybe, just maybe, I saw the first homer from a long-term Cub.

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