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

Brandon Allen Rolls a Seven at HoHoKam

Brandon Allen drove-in seven runs with a grand slam home run, a two-run double, and an RBI ground out, leading the Oakland A’s to a hard-fought 12-10 victory over the Cubs in Opening Day Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

 

Veteran RHP Rodrigo Lopez got the start for the Cubs and threw two perfect innings (18 pitches – 14 strikes with two punch-outs), as the game was scoreless through the top half of the 2nd inning.

The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd off A’s starter Brandon McCarthy, as Darwin Barney ripped a two-out line-drive two-run double into the left-center gap, scoring Marlon Byrd (who had singled) and Jeff Baker (reached base on a FC after a David DeJesus walk).

Closer Carlos Marmol worked a perfect 1-2-3 eight-pitch 3rd, and then the Cubs scored again in the bottom of the 3rd.

Alfonso Soriano blooped a lead-off single to left-center and Ian Stewart followed with a ground single back through the box. Soriano then came around 3rd to score when A’s SS Cliff Pennington made a bad throw to 1st base thanks to a hard-slide by Stewart, who successfully derailed what should have been an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP.

But then the wheels started to come off next inning, as the A’s put up a six-spot. 2011 Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year Jeff Beliveau entered the game in the top of the 4th, and could not throw strikes (18 pitches – only 6 strikes). The lefty loaded the bases on two walks and a single, before walking in a run with his third free pass of the inning. Manager Dale Sveum pulled Beliveau at this point, bringing in 22-year old RHP Dae-Eun Rhee with no outs and the bases loaded.

Brandon Allen immediately unloaded the bases with a grand slam HR, blasted high & far over the RF fence and beyond the bullpens. Rhee surrendered another long ball two batters later, as Eric Sogard cranked a solo HR to give the A’s a 6-3 lead.

Oakland plated three more runs off Rhee in the 5th to take a 9-3 lead, as Brandon Allen ripped a two-run double before scoring on a Welington Castillo passed ball, but then W. Castillo lined a lead-off laser-beam HR over the LF fence in the bottom of the 6th to cut the lead to 9-4.

At this point, the Cubs starters (as per usual) were replaced by the “B” team.

In most years past, the 6th inning of a Cubs Spring Training game (especially early in Cactus League play) is when things stars to drag a bit, as the starters have left the game, replaced by a mostly-motley collection of 4-A players and second-rate prospects who hope to get some ST PT.

But maybe not so much this year.

With the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Brett Jackson, Dave Sappelt, Adrian Cardenas, Jae-Hoon Ha, and Junior Lake now in the lineup, the Cubs JV showed their mettle, mounting a stirring comeback and scoring five times in the bottom of the 6th off A’s reliever Edgar Gonzalez to tie the game at 9-9. And it was really a lot of fun to watch, too.

Anthony Rizzo opened the inning with an opposite-field single fisted over the shortstop’s head, Brett Jackson drew a walk, and Jim Adduci ripped an opposite-field line-drive single to left to load the bases. Dave Sappelt grounded an RBI single through the 5.5 hole to score Rizzo, and then Adrian Cardenas (claimed off waivers from Oakland last month) smoked a bases-clearing three-run triple into the RF corner to plate Jackson-Adduci-Sappelt and cut the A’s lead to one run. (BTW, after the game, about a dozen A’s players lined-up in front of the Cubs dugout to give their former teammate a fist-bump & a hug). After Micah Gibbs popped-out weakly to the third-baseman, Jae-Hoon Ha fought-off a tough pitch and slapped a broken-bat single to right-center to score Cardenas with the tying run.

Cubs rookie reliever Rafael Dolis threw an easy 1-2-3 7th (1-3, P-4, K) to keep the score tied at nine (Cardenas made an outstanding sliding catch in foul territory for the second out of the inning), but the A’s took back the lead in the top of the 8th off Cubs Rule 5 Draft pick Lendy Castillo.

Ex-Cub Josh Donaldson drew a lead-walk, and advanced to 3rd on a picture-perfect hit & run single by Jeff Fiorentino that was directed at the spot second-baseman Cardenas had just vacated. Donaldson then scored on a 3-U ground out, when Cubs rookie 1B Anthony Rizzo made a bad decision, trying to touch the 1st base bag and then making the throw to the plate instead of going home with the ball immediately.

The Cubs re-tied the game in the bottom of the 8th, as Dave Sappelt drew a lead-off walk, and came around to score on a ground out and a two-out Jae-Hoon Ha infield single + E-5 throwing error by 3B Donaldson.

But the A’s took the lead for good in the top of the 9th, scoring twice off RHRP Marcos Mateo. Jason Pridle drew a one-out walk and Chris Carter doubled, putting runners at 2nd & 3rd. Pridle then scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a Brandon Allen ground-out (no play available at home), and PR Cedric Hunter scored an “insurance run” on a Josh Donaldson RBI single.

Mateo is out of minor league options, so the Cubs have until the end of Spring Training to decide if he has what it takes to pitch in a big league bullpen.

Travis Schlichting set the Cubs down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the victory.

The Cubs will play the A's again tomorrow afternoon at HoHoKam Park.

Comments

-edit- mega-derp...forgot cashner was traded for rizzo...my mind is elsewhere. "Andrew Cashner averaged 102.2 mph with his fastball on Sunday, throwing 10 in a scoreless frame of relief. The heaters ranged between 100.5 and 103.3 mph. " cash, carp, and the trade i still hate for s.marshall (i just don't like t.wood no matter how cheap...don't hate him, but meh)...bye bye pen.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

you gonna vote Ron Paul with the rest of the conspiracy theory crowd? =p it's been a long couple of house-bound days on a lonely island...lots of beer...and time...and rain... my original question was whether cashner was working on another field or pre/post game pitching because he didn't pitch today for the cubs...my mind derp'd.

PHIL: Seems like Mateo (like his brother before him) just does not seem seem to have what it takes. He never seems to get over the hump and has a tough time closing batters out. What are the odds he makes the team?

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Sun, 03/04/2012 - 8:03pm — The E-Man PHIL: Seems like Mateo (like his brother before him) just does not seem seem to have what it takes. He never seems to get over the hump and has a tough time closing batters out. What are the odds he makes the team? ================================= E-MAN: With Carpenter and Cashner gone, I would say Mateo's chances of making the Cubs 2012 Opening Day roster now sits at one in five, with the fact that he is out of minor league options probably giving him a marginal advantage over the other candidates. Barring an injury that could change it, I would think that the Cubs Opening Day bullpen will probably look something like: Marmol Wood Samardzija Russell RH middle (probably either Mateo, Dolis, Corpas, Parker, or Weathers) #2 lefty (probably either Miller, Gaub, or Maine) long relief/spot start/garbage time (probably either Lopez, Sonnanstine, or Coleman)

first the bunting competition, now this... "MESA, Ariz. -- One of the new drills in Cubs camp gets everyone involved. It's a situational drill in which there are infielders, plus a pitcher is on the mound and another is at the plate. Manager Dale Sveum stands in front of the mound and announces whether there are runners on, and how many outs there are. The coaches and players go over the signs, and then Sveum throws to the pitcher." http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120304&content_id=27… the cubs are officially a NCAA team. neats. also, rick sutcliffe is helping rodrigo lopez with his slider grip. first day out went well... "I've told these guys, 'Your second instinct will always be wrong,'" he (SWAIN) said. <--- love that. I'm bit tired of conservative play by the cubs. let the defenders and the coaches setting up the defense second guess themselves...let the opposition know aggression should be expected. also, sorry "Cubby Town" didn't make the cut, carmenfanzone.

6/51.5m range All arb years plus 2 FA years. Maybin got a 5 year deal from Padres as well.

Campana 8, Barney 4, Castro 6, LaHair 3, Baker 9, Johnson 7, Clevenger 2, DeWitt DH, Vitters 5.

Sweet 16 Schedule (1) Beliveau over (12) McNutt (2) Coleman over (14) Rusin (9) Samardzija vs. (12) Wells (3) Maholm vs. (15) Sveum (9) Cardenas over (4) Lalli (3) W. Castillo over (10) Clevenger (1) Mather vs. (5) Castro (2) DeJesus vs. (3) Baker Elite 8 to date... (1) Beliveau over (2) Coleman (3) W. Castillo vs. (9) A. Cardenas

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

no Clevenger love besides SS, that's about the best the Cubs will get... my guesses 1B: bottom 10 2B: bottom 5 SS: top 10, possibly top 5 3B: bottom 10, possibly bottom 5 LF: around the 20 range CF: bottom 10 RF: around the 20 range

  • Samardzija $2.64M
  • Castro 567K
  • Russell 512.5K
  • T. Wood 505K
  • Barney 500K

480K is league minimum

I get just north of $107M on the 25-man roster. Another $5M for Pena if you wish and then various split contracts and call-ups and such, my guess is the USA Today number will be in the $110M range for the year.

Or $70M if you're using aaronB's Ricketts bashing calculatortm.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Do you think ultimately the Ricketts are going to be good owners? Are you glad we got them as opposed to a Mark Cuban? How much of the money on the books right now is there because of deals that Tom Ricketts approved? All I've seen from them is the hiring of a suit, and an attempt to cut the pay of his scouts. What is his grand plan once Dempster and Z are off the payroll and we are in the 70's going into next offseason? Is he going to let Theo spend freely? or is this now a franchise that is going to operate in a 80-90 million dollar range? I can't believe you are so dismissive about such an issue. It's sure as heck more important than the Darwin Barney and Koyie Hill hate that we continually bitch about around here. Why do I become the bad guy for even broaching this subject?

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I will be the first to admit it if they prove me wrong you still think Adam Dunn was the key to 2011, I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one. Especially blogs like yours that can wield some power and potential sway. haha, funny. The only time Ricketts will ever take notice of this blog is when he decides that he somehow owns the name and sends a cease and desist letter. I'm sure a couple of people associated with Cubs know of the site, mostly because of AZ Phil, but I doubt it holds any influence.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I think you're the bad guy for continually repeating the exact same talking point in the exact same manner and also for making up shit, like a $70M payroll. As for the other issues, I'll give the guy at least 5 years and see where the direction of the team is headed and will always presume I have about 70% less information at my disposable then the ones making the decisions. If Theo and Jed do this right, by 2014 the organization will be headed where it'll never be a question if they'll finish above .500 or not. I'm happy to give them more than 3 months to get there.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

One comment out of context and you make it sound like I'm Silent Towel. They paid Z to leave and kept Garza. That was the difference between 70 something million and where they are. My problem isn't and has never been about Theo or Jed. It's about what ownership will allow them to spend. Why was it totally ok to rip on the Trib or Sam Zell around here. Yet the Ricketts are teflon figures that must never be questioned?

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

One comment out of context and you make it sound like I'm Silent Towel. They paid Z to leave and kept Garza. That was the difference between 70 something million and where they are. yet you keep repeating that complete and utter fallacy like it was ever near $70M or going to be. what you did was looked at Cot's Contracts, spewed out a number, me and others told you that was bullshit because you weren't accounting for a whole slew of things (arbitration deals, pre-arb deals, etc) and then you kept spewing it out. When was it ever presumed the Cubs were going to get any kind of salary relief for Z or that Garza was some foregone conclusion? Obviously it wasn't, cause Garza's still here. Why was it totally ok to rip on the Trib or Sam Zell around here. Yet the Ricketts are teflon figures that must never be questioned? that's it, play the victim.

RBI's for DeWitt (3) and 1 each for Clevenger, Vitters, Lalli and Barney Baker the only hitter with a multi-hit game. scoreless frames for Maine, Parker, Weathers and Rhoderick runs given up by Dempster, Zych, Carillo (4) and Corpas (2)

One guy says the payroll is at 105 - 110 million, and another guy says it is 70 million. It is quite easy to show that the 70 million figure is silly. Since Ricketts bought the team, they have about tripled their budget for draft and overseas acquisitions, increased the size and cost of the front office, and purchased an expensive computer system. At this point, criticizing Ricketts for not spending enough money on the team is just plain silly.

For those interested, Jeff, on another board has computed this year's payroll for the Cubs, as listed below. It comes to just shy of 113 million. Quite a bit higher than 70 million. "For the projected 25-man roster, I have them at $90,746,000. Over and above that, they owe the following: Carlos Silva's buyout $2,000,000 Carlos Pena's deferral $5,000,000 Carlos Zambrano's salary $15,345,000"

[ ]

In reply to by DavidP

I have it this way: SIGNED FOR 2012: + Has NO TRADE rights (DeJesus, R. Johnson, Maholm, and K. Wood only thru 6/15) + Alfonso Soriano - $18M + Ryan Dempster - $15.5M (includes $1.5M deferred from 2010 salary) Matt Garza - $9.5M (plus $50K bonus if 210 IP and $100K if 220 IP) Carlos Marmol - $7M Marlon Byrd - $6.5M + Paul Maholm - $4.75M (plus $50K bonus if 150 IP, and $100K bonuses at 160, 170, 180, 190, & 200 IP) Geovany Soto - $4.3M + David DeJesus - $4.25M + Kerry Wood - $3M Randy Wells - $2.7M Chris Volstad - $2.655M Ian Stewart - $2.237M Jeff Baker - $1.375M + Reed Johnson - $1.15M Andy Sonnanstine - $1M? or $250K? minor league split SUB-TOTAL: $107.892M? (includes $15.345M of Carlos Zambrano’s 2012 salary, Carlos Pena $5M deferred 2011 salary, and Carlos Silva $2M 2012 buy-out) AUTO-RENEWAL (PRE-ARBITRATION) POST-2011: Darwin Barney Jeff Beliveau Alberto Cabrera Tony Campana Adrian Cardenas Lendy Castillo Welington Castillo Starlin Castro Steve Clevenger Casey Coleman Rafael Dolis John Gaub Bryan LaHair Junior Lake Scott Maine Marcos Mateo Anthony Rizzo James Russell Jeff Samardzija ($2.2M?) Dave Sappelt Matt Szczur Josh Vitters Casey Weathers Travis Wood ESTIMATED PROJECTED SUB-TOTAL: $8.2M? (includes projected $2.2M auto-renewal salary for Samardzija, average $500K 2011 salary for another nine auto-renewal players on MLB 25-man roster, and average $100K minor league “split“ salary for 14 players on Optional Assignment to minors) ESTIMATED PROJECTED 2012 OPENING DAY PAYROLL $116.1M? NOTE: Blake DeWitt and Manny Corpas were outrighted off 40-man roster, and because they are Article XX-D minor league players, their minor league salaries would probably come out of the MLB payroll. DeWitt makes $1.1M with no minor league split salary. Corpas has a minor league split in his contract, but the amount of the split is unknown.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

The payroll would have been substantially higher if Aramis Ramirez had exercised his $16M 2012 player option and Carlos Pena had accepted the Cubs salary arbitration offer (Pena probably would have gotten $10M through salary arbitration), although adding upwards of $26M to the 2012 payroll probably would probably have precluded the Cubs from signing David DeJesus ($4.25M), Paul Maholm ($4.75M), Kerry Wood ($3M), and Reed Johnson ($1.1M), tendering Blake DeWitt ($1.1M), and trading for Ian Stewart ($2.237M). So the increase actually would have been about $12.5M (with three more auto-renewal players--probably including Blake DeWitt--needed on the 25-man roster to offset the two-for-five exchange involving Ramirez and Pena for DeJesus, Maholm, Wood, Johnson, and Stewart), which would have meant about a $128-$129M 2012 payroll if Ramirez and Pena had come back in 2012.

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.