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

Cubs Recap for April 23, 2012

9th inning dramatics at Wrigley and the Cubs have won 2 of 3. You probably don't want to go any farther back than that though.

@Cubs 3 - Cardinals 2; That certainly was an unexpected win, but let's first take a look at the expected. Garza gives up just 2 ER over 7 innings against a slightly depleted Cardinals lineup (no Berkman or John Jay). Garcia of course answers against a depleted Cubs lineup (no injuries, just by their very nature). Now to the surprises, Garza made a decent play on defense, laid down a sacrifice bunt and the team did not commit any errors. There were some adventures on the basepath, Castro getting picked off by Garcia and then 8th inning weirdness with Campana that worked out for the Cubs. Campana singled with 1 out and representing the tying run in the 8th. I missed the DeJesus at-bat unfortunately, so I don't know if he attempted to run off the lefty Garcia. But Matheny brought in the righty Boggs to face Barney and the Cardinals knew Campana would be running. He did on a 1-2 count and they called the successful pitchout and Molina delivered a strike, but Greene couldn't handle the throw and Campana ended up with the bag and then for good measure took third as well. It was all for naught in that inning, but fun to watch. To the 9th, Motte made quick of Soriano's slowing bat with 98mph heat. LaHair though battled to the tune of 12 pitches, fouling off all kinds of crazy pitches before working a walk. Soto followed with a walk of his own and Sveum went with Clevenger as the pinch-hitter for Dolis. He managed to advance the runners and now with 2 outs and runners on 2nd/3rd, Sveum lets Mather hit with Stewart on the bench against the righty Motte. Not the call I would have made, but Mather came through with the winning hit. I have no idea if Motte used up all his mojo up on LaHair's at-bat, but things certainly turned with that epic at-bat. Winning is fun.

Memphis 6 - @Iowa 2; Iowa played earlier in the day and you can see the recap in the game thread below, so no reason to repeat myself.

@Tennessee 5 - Chattanooga 4 (12 innings); This is an interesting one. Jonathan Mota started in left field, taking over for Ty Wright whom was promoted to Triple A when Campana was called up to the majors. Mota homered and then got credit for the win with a scoreless 12th inning. Mota for his minor league career entering tonight has played the following positions: 300 @SS, 130 @3B, 114 @2B, 15 @RF, 12 @ CF and 4.2 innings as a pitcher since 2008, so it wasn't completely new to him. Elliot Soto also had a multi-hit game with a double and a triple and Watkins had 2 RBI's. Dallas Beeler started and went 5.2 IP/4 ER/8 H/2 BB/ 3 K/1 HR. Justin Bour had the game-winning hit, singling in Nate Samson.

Lakeland 7 - @Daytona 2; A tough draw for Daytona as they got highly touted Jacob Turner for some reason (I presume some sort of rehab assignment as it was his first appearance of the year). Turner went 4 innings, giving up 0 hits, 2 BB's and 0 K's. Zach Cates got the start for Daytona and gave up 3 ER in 4 IP on 6 H/1 K/ 0 BB. Larry Suarez got roughed up for 3 ER in 2 innings of work to put the game out of reach. Richard Jones and John Andreoli were the only hitters to reach base multiple times.

Lansing 7 - @Peoria 3; Jose Rosario roughed up again for 4 ER in 5 innings against 9 H/2 BB/2 K. Offensively, DeVoss and Darvill were the only hitters to reach base more than once and Easterling had the only extra-base hit - a triple.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I love that you guys are giving shit to the first GM in my lifetime to come in with a frickin organized gameplan. (I started watching in '69). It seems like a lot of people here preferred the "spread shit on $1,000,000 bills, throw against the wall, and see what sticks" strategy . . . It's easy to make fun of people and plans in their infancy, babies are awkward but can grow up to own your smarmy asses. Let's let these guys get through the awkward stage, huh? "but, bro it's already been 17 games, bro, huh huh, I've seen enough bro." At least Theo has the guts to stand up to the moronic Cubs' culture and try a "Cubs Way" as stupid as it may sound to you. Anyone remember the flurry of sarcasm when apple announced something called the iPad? It was doomed because it was named after a feminine hygiene product line. I think apple did okay. Go Cubs!

[ ]

In reply to by superjimmer

Ok. Do you really think that Dallas Green, or Jim Hendry, or even Larry Himes really had no gameplan? That they just showed up and said" Well..I wonder what's going to happen today?" I like Theo's plan. It's 2012, not 1980...using sabremetrics, using a uniform model throughout the organization, jettisoning dead wood where he can. Eh...fans will always criticize...it's in out nature.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

Dallas definitely had the best from the ground up - plan. Hendry had a nice gutsy win now, trade deadline movin and shakin thang, which I actually liked until last few years - the no trade clauses and other probs caught up a little to say he least. But Theo is the first to ever gut the place and basically say "we cannot win as things stand. let's rip the vinyl off this old furniture." to criticize the current lineup etc, is basically like shooting ducks in a barrel (mixed metaphors baby)!

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

I'm tired of watching minor league baseball at Wrigley, personally... and more to the point, I think this is exactly the problem with the current team. We're seeing minor league players trotting out there every day pretending they are big leaguers. And Castro's fucking .900 batting average and 7 million OPS is just wonderful, but what about him regularly giving the opposition 4 fucking outs to score in an inning? Somehow defense is still a back-burner issue to most people. I'm looking forward to this changing under Theo- He asked me to be patient, so I will be patient. I will also continue to bitch about shitty baseball.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Is the anger about Castro a desire to see management make some kind of change or is it frustration with the rest of us not talking enough about his defense? I for one love Castro and his bat (though I'm hoping to see him develop 20+ HR power so that he can be something more than an exceptional ability to make contact, which is nice, but not as valuable as it is impressive), but I am definitely frustrated with his defense. I just don't think there is anything to do except for management to keep coaching him and hope that his throws get more consistent. That and I'd like to see him improve receiving the ball from the catcher. My asshole tenses up a little bit every time he has to make a throw--and I don't think there is anyone here who wouldn't like to see him improve. Garza's throws actually bother me a lot more, though, because that seems like something that ought to be easier to fix than Castro's much more difficult throws from multiple times the distance.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

If you could write job requirements for a shortstop, what would it look like? Bare minimum requirements: Field the ball nearly every damn time the ball is hit to you Make a good throw nearly every damn time you throw the ball Hit a nice, patient .270 Take some walks Obviously, the ideal candidate would exceed some of these requirements, but this is the bare minimum. Castro doesn't do two of these very basic requirements. So to reiterate a question I've been asking for at least two fucking years: Have the Cubs found a real shortstop yet? No. So here I go bitching about the only guy that will make the all star team. I'm an idiot... whatevah.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

I don't really know. Is there any precedent for a team bringing in a special coach to develop a skill for an up-and-comer? Like give Castro his own defensive coach to teach him how to do it right. Maybe he'll learn it. But if he is moved, I would also throw 3B into the mix, not just 2B. The throw from 3B is easier than the throw from SS... is been my experience from playing ball many moons ago. And anyways- Castro hits as well as our prior 3b.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I think your list of important defensive positions is fine except that it's missing third base. But then you're a Cub fan. So am I, but I remember Santo. And I live in a town where they have Ryan Zimmerman playing third. Castro had 29 errors as a 21-year-old last season. Shawon Dunston, one of those eighties players you are probably nostalgic about, committed 32 errors at age 23. It looks like Dunston missed a lot of games in many of those early years, but when he played 140 or more, his errors were in the twenties. Out of 1657 games over 18 seasons, Dunston played 25 games at second, 11 at third. He did play some OF but not till he was 34.

[ ]

In reply to by superjimmer

Anyone remember the flurry of sarcasm when apple announced something called the iPad? It was doomed because it was named after a feminine hygiene product line. I think apple did okay. Go Cubs! --- AAPL down 11.30 to $560.40 down $83 from 52 week high of $644.00 oh wait, I bought those shares in 1994 at what turns out to be a split adjusted price of $5.06. So being a long term shareholder of Apple before the second coming of Steve Jobs has been a hugely good thing. It can be often very tough if you look at the stock price every minute. There have been better times looking at the Cubs stock price, just not lately. Still, I keep paying attention (obsessively). Guess I'm an idiot...well not completely, cause I'm an AAPL shareholder too.

[ ]

In reply to by superjimmer

"moronic Cubs' culture" is a little strong but I do think there is a flawed Cub culture and since it is never mentioned, I responded to your characterization. Three examples: 1) a contempt for minor leaguers. That's not true at all any more among Cub fans on TCR, which I consider a very positive development. 2) a disregard for what are key defensive positions, particularly third and catcher, where the glove is at least as important as the bat. 3) a distrust of speed on the bases and the aggressive use thereof. Sometimes a runner is thrown out, just like sometimes a hitter swings and misses. (By the way, did you see how quickly Soto made it to home last night? That's not an accident, it's Sveum harping all the time about leads and jumps.) What I would emphasize about this year's team is that it is not bad in the usual ways and should, therefore, improve.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I think Dallas and Jim were actually fine for their team/era. Everything I've read and remember says Dallas got cut a little short in his plan as well. I just actually find this rebuilding/ethos building period exciting and just want to point out how easy it is to rip on people like Theo who are trying to be transparent about trying something new. Maybe the fact that The Cubs Way sounds trite is not his fault. He believes and we don't yet. Glad to have him.

Anyone notice the commercial during the cub tv broadcast last night with the parent teaching her little girl the alphabet with flashcards? About the 4th card that comes up is a "W" and the little girl says, "Cubs Win." Now that's my kind of parenting. I can't find it on u tube yet.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/9475/cubs-still-hoping-r… ESPN/Doug Padilla gets this Sveum quote:
“If he clears waivers and everything, we want to keep [Lopez] in the organization and put him in the rotation down in Triple-A,” manager Dale Sveum said. “Hopefully that happens and he elects to go down there as well.”
Rod Lopez, kind of like gum on the bottom of that proverbial shoe? I'm not a fan of small sample sizes, but in this case I'll make an exception:
In four outings this season, all in relief, Lopez was 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA over 6 1/3 innings with five walks and two strikeouts. Opponents batted .320 against him, the highest mark of any Cubs pitcher.

Again, I gotta say, that was an amazing at bat by LaHair, and if THAT doesn't tell Sveum the dude belongs in the batters box every day, I'm gonna pull out what remains of my hair. That's the kind of AB that commands respect from other teams and players.

Peoria has an early game today. Burke cruising through 5, 2H, 0R, 4K.

early starts for Iowa, Tennessee and Peoria Shelby Miller vs. Iowa and Travis Wood; Jackson 8, Sappelt 9, Valbuena 4, Rizzo 3, Castillo 2, Cardenas 6, Gonzalez 7, Vitters 5, Wood 1 Dae-Eun Rhee started for the Smokies and gave up 7 R/5 ER in 5 Ip, they're down 7-2 in the 6th. Ha is 2/3 with an error. H. Simpson goes against Lakeland tonight. K. Burke getting the start for Peoria and 5 IP/0 ER/2 H/0 BB and 4 K so far; 0-0 in the bottom of the 5th

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

1st inning in Iowa: T. Wood: FO-7, 2B, 1B with runner advancing to third and batter thrown out at 2B by Sappelt, K off Shelby Miller: BB by Jackson, SB, BB by Sappelt, K by Valbuena, Single by Rizzo to load bases, K by Castillo in 10-pitch AB, FO-8 by Cardenas 0-0

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

K, K, 2B by Cox, FO-3 1B (Castillo), FO-8 (Cardenas), FO-8 (Gonzalez), 1B (Vitters) w/ Castillo going to 3rd, 9-pitch K (Wood)

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

BB, 1B, HBP, 2-run 1B, GIDP, BB, GO 4-3 K(Jackson), LO-3 (Sappelt), 2B (Valbuena), FO-5 (Rizzo) 2-0 Memphis Chiefs rally for 6 in the bottom of the 9th to win 6-2. (Darvill 2-run 2B, Hoilman Grand Slam).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I wonder how long Hoilman's power (and to a lesser degree his patience) will keep him around if he doesn't drastically improve other aspects of his game. Nobody wants to give up on a minor leaguer who can hit jacks with consistency. But he's obviously behind Rizzo, Vogelbach, Shoulders, and probably even Bour just in terms of Cubs first base prospects.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

K (Cox), K, 1B, 1B, K 6 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 7 H, 2 BB for Wood today - 95 pitches so far Shelby Miller is out so I'm done with the updates

I really didn't enjoy Levine's opinionated chat today. I think I'll skip that little bit of Tuesday reading from now on. Many of us could have answered the same questions with the same degree of expertise. I liked him better when he had people in the front office returning his calls. I do appreciate that the new FO keeps its own counsel and does not scratch any media backs.

FO-8, K, FO-9 K (Jackson), K (Sappelt), 1B (Valbuena), GO-3 (Rizzo) Smokies cut it to 7-5, Adduci bases clearing pinch-hit double Burke goes 6 IP/4 K/1 BB/3 H of course the other team has compiled 10 K's between 3 pitchers and a shutout so I'm thinking it's a favorable ump

@R_Andrew1981I'm hearing the #Bears are offering Matt Forte and their 19th pick to the Browns for their 4th and 22nd picks. Do it!

DeJesus rf, Campana cf, Castro ss, LaHair 1b, Soriano lf, Stewart 3b, Barney 2b, Soto c, Samardzija p

Mather 1.215, LaHair 1.065, Clevenger 1.056, Barney .965, Castro .915 (Campana 1.267 in 5 AB's) Baker .625, DeJesus .470, DeWitt .333, Stewart .297, Johnson .273, Soto .269, Soriano .085 not a home run among the bunch...

as the Steve Goodman song goes, Go Apple Go... --- At market close: $560.28 down $11.42 Earnings: $12.30 per share On $39.2 billion of revs (blows past analyst expectations) After hours quote: $602.55 up $42.27 (7.5%) Geico pigs can fly?

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.