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

Angels Victory a Saturday in the Park

Trey Martin singled twice, walked, stole two bases, drove-in a run and scored another, Dong Yub Kim singled and doubled and knocked-in two runs, and Danny Lockhart and Justin Marra belted back-to-back RBI triples, but it wasn’t enough as the Angels scored five runs in the top of the 2nd inning and cruised to a 9-5 victory over the Cubs in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, AZ.

20-year old South African RHP Tayler Scott (Cubs 2011 5th round pick out of Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, AZ) had his third rough outing in a row, allowing five runs on seven hits (including a double and a triple) and a walk without retiring a batter in the top of the 2nd inning, after a five-pitch 1-2-3 top of the 1st inning.

While the Cubs were playing the Angels on Field #3, RHPs Su-Min Jung (control issues), David Cales (2011 shoulder surgery rehab), and Arturo Maltos-Garcia (July 2011 TJS rehab) faced-off in a three-inning “sim” game on Field #2, with Cub position players who were not in the starting lineup on Field #3 providing the opposition.

Here is the box score from today’s game (Cubs players only):

CUBS LINEUP:
1. Trey Martin, CF: 2-3 (1B, 6-4 FC, 1B, BB, R, RBI, 2 SB)
2. Shawon Dunston Jr, LF: 1-4 (F-9, P-5, 1B, P-2)
3a. Gioskar Amaya, 2B: 0-1 (F-9)
3b. Danny Lockhart, 2B: 1-3 (2-3, 3B, K, R, RBI)
4a. Wilson Contreras, C: 1-2 (K-WP, 1B, SB)
4b. Justin Marra, C: 1-2 (3B, K, RBI)
5a. Rock Shoulders, 1B: 0-2 (F-7, K)
5b. Dan Vogelbach, 1B: 0-2 (K, F-8)
6. Marco Hernandez, SS: 1-4 (3-U, L-5, 1-3, 2B)
7. Jeimer Candelario, 3B: 0-4 (F-7, 4-3, P-6, F-8)
8. Xavier Batista, RF: 0-4 (K, 6-3, K, F-9)
9. Dustin Geiger, DH #1: 1-3 (BB, K, 2B, 6-3, R)
10a. Garrett Schlecht, DH #2: 0-1 (P-5, BB, R)
10b. SLOT WAS SKIPPED LAST TIME THRU BATTING ORDER
11a. SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TIME THRU THE BATTING ORDER
11b. Dong-Yub Kim, DH #3: 2-2 (2B, 1B, R, 2 RBI)

CUBS PITCHERS:
1. Tayler Scott: 1.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 1 WP, 37 pitches (20 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO
NOTE: Top of the 2nd inning was stopped with bases loaded and no outs after Scott threw his 32nd pitch of the inning
2. Matt Spencer: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 1 K, 45 pitches (21 strikes), 2/1 GO/FO
NOTE: Top of the 4th inning was stopped with one out and bases loaded after Spencer reached his max pitch limit
3. Alvido Jimenez: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 35 pitches (24 strikes), 2/4 GO/FO
4. Bryce Shafer: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 BALK, 28 pitches (16 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO

CUBS ERRORS: 1
P Bryce Shafer - E-1 (throwing error allowed batter to reach base safely - eventually scored unearned run)

CUBS CATCHERS DEFENSE
Justin Marra: 1 PO

ATTENDANCE: 17

WEATHER: Sunny and a bit breezy with temperatures 100+

Comments

Phil - I posted this on another thread, but it may already be dead. If a college player who has no eligibility left fails to sign by the week before the next draft, does he become a total free agent, or is he subject to the new draft. And if so, does he ever become a free agent?

[ ]

In reply to by DavidP

Sat, 06/02/2012 - 6:53pm — DavidP Phil - I posted this on another thread. If a college player who has no eligibility left fails to sign by the week before the next draft, does he become a total free agent, or is he subject to the new draft. And if so, does he ever become a free agent? ==================================== DAVID P: If a college player with no eligibility left is drafted but does not sign, the club that drafted him retains exclusive negotiating rights with the player (he remains on the club's "Negotiation List") until one week prior to the next MLB Rule 4 Draft. Then after a one-week period where he cannot sign with any MLB club, the player is once again eligible for selection in the MLB Rule 4 Draft. The player cannot become an unrestricted free-agent unless and until he goes undrafted, so theoretically a player could get selected in the Rule 4 Draft and not sign (perhaps opting to play independent ball or in a foreign league instead) year after year after year (until he goes undrafted). This has never been challenged in court, but I guess it could be.

With six more players having been sent back to the Cubs Dominican Academy from Extended Spring Training this week, only five "graduates" of the 2011 Dominican Summer League (DSL) remain at Fitch Park: RHP Jose Arias, 3B Jeimer Candelario, SS Carlos Penalver, OF-1B Xavier Batista, and OF Jeffry Baez. X. Batista spent the 2010 season in the U. S. (EXST and AZL Cubs) before being sent back to the DSL in 2011, and Baez is rehabbing a broken wrist suffered when he dove for a ball in RF in an EXST game in April. I don't know if Baez will be remaining in the U. S. (at AZL Cubs) or if he will be going back to the Dominican Academy when he returns to the active list (which should be soon). The DSL kids who remain at Extended Spring Training are certainly the "cream of the crop," but even so it appears that the Cubs are now taking a more conservative approach with promoting players from their two DSL teams to the AZL Cubs and Boise than in the past. We'll have to see how often players are moved up to the AZL Cubs and/or Boise from the DSL during the course of the 2012 season (DSL Opening Day was today).

[ ]

In reply to by Raisin101

Sat, 06/02/2012 - 10:35pm — Raisin101 Thanks for that update. I'm glad guys like Acosta and Malave aren't being pushed with the massive culture change/language/etc of being in a foreign country in their first pro season (well, Malave is from Venezuela but I bet the DR is easier to adjust to than the U.S.). ====================================== RAISIN: I know you know this, but others might not be aware of it... 11 Latin players who attended Minor League Camp and/or Extended Spring Training at Fitch Park this season (pitchers Daniel Adrian, Javier Castro, Augusto Colina, Jorge Diaz, and Loiger Padron, catchers Wilfredo Petit and Antonio Valerio, infielders Luis Acosta and Mark Malave, and outfielders Delbis Arcila and Kevin Encarnacion) have returned to the Dominican Academy and were assigned to one of the Cubs DSL squads. In years past, Latin players who came up for Minor League Camp and/or Extended Spring Training at Fitch Park would normally remain in Arizona and play that season for the AZL Cubs (or Boise). Once the player was in Arizona, he usually would stay. And the players knew that, too, so just getting to Fitch Park might have become a kind of end-game goal to some of the players in the DSL. But now it looks like the Cubs are looking at the Dominican Academy almost like a college program, where they don't think twice about a player remaining in the DSL for two or three, maybe even four seasons, without the player losing "prospect status." The player might come to Mesa for Minor League Camp or Extended Spring Training, or for AZ Instructs, but then he goes back to Boca Chica for the DSL season. And I think there are several reasons why the Cubs are doing this: 1. They might feel that some of the Latin American prospects they have signed over the years were rushed and were not allowed to develop at their own pace; 2. It is now much easier for a foreign player to get a work visa than it used to be (there used to be a limit on the number of H2B visas each MLB organization could get in a given year), so coming up to Fitch Park just for Minor League Camp and/or Extended Spring Training (or AZ Instructs) and then returning to the DR is no hassle and no big deal; 3. The Cubs added a second DSL team in 2008 and now have two DSL teams (DSL Cubs #1 and DSL Cubs #2), and so they need twice as many players to stock the two teams as was the case when they had only one team in the DSL. (U. S. players cannot play in the DSL). Why two DSL squads? If the Cubs have two really good Latin shortstop prospects (for instance), they both can getting regular playing time at SS in the DSL instead of having to play one of them at another position or move one of them up to the AZL Cubs just to insure regular playing time for both at their natural position. 4. The Cubs are building a new state-of-the-art academy in the Dominican Republic that will open in 2013 that will be better (in many ways) than the facilities at Fitch Park, so why send a player to the AZL if he can receive good instruction in a first-class facility in the Dominican Republic while developing his skills playing in the DSL?

watching the highlights i noticed the 2nd (winning) run scored on yet another boring, yet-not-turned double play. this is getting kinda stupid and i dunno wtf can be done about it besides demanding the infield charge more balls and having d.barney actually make some of those throws to 1st when the runner is coming in to knock him off balance.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

yeah, i edited that part out...but yes, d.barney needs to get his finger out of his ass rather than tumbling ball-in-hand every DP opportunity that pops up. sometimes it's not his fault, but meh...he topples without throwing a whole lot. both castro and d.barney take a game of inches with turning the DP and do just enough to not get it done more often than they should. they got lots of positives with the D, but it seems they just f'n suck at turning a DP.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

I'd definitely like to see us get Jacob Turner (or another front-line starter prospect) and 1 or 2 more good prospects for Garza. If Dempster continues consistent quality starts, I think we can get a little more than Bowden suggests. I'd love to be able to trade LaHair, but he needs to get hot again and show it wasn't just a great first 6 weeks.

Az Phil -- Thank you for the update! Did you have a chance to see the sim game? After seeing the scouting report on Maltos-Garcia, I think he is going to become one of our better pitching prospects (which isn't saying much) if he fully recovers. Also, I am a fan of David Cales (went to my high school, one of my best friends coached him there) and think he will be a strong set-up man when he gets back to form. As such, I wanted to know if you have had a chance to to AM-G or Cales yesterday or previously. Thank you again for your summary and any insight!

[ ]

In reply to by springs

Sun, 06/03/2012 - 10:28am — springs Az Phil -- Thank you for the update! Did you have a chance to see the sim game? After seeing the scouting report on Maltos-Garcia, I think he is going to become one of our better pitching prospects (which isn't saying much) if he fully recovers. Also, I am a fan of David Cales (went to my high school, one of my best friends coached him there) and think he will be a strong set-up man when he gets back to form. As such, I wanted to know if you have had a chance to to AM-G or Cales yesterday or previously. Thank you again for your summary and any insight! ====================================== SPRINGS: Yes, I did see both of them throw. Cales is just getting back into game action, but he looked OK and (being a relief pitcher) if all goes well he could get assigned someplace fairly quickly. He was at AA when he got hurt last year, so I would think he would probably initially go to Daytona when he leaves Arizona. AMG has been throwing in EXST games as well as in "sim" games, essentialy alternating every-other outing EXST-sim-EXST-sim, etc. He looks rusty and he needs to get command of his breaking ball before he will be effective, though, because he uses his fastball to set-up the breaking ball (his strikeout pitch). He was a starting pitcher in JUCO, but he probably projects as a reliever in pro ball.

soriano breaks up t.wood's no-hitter in the bottom 5th, 1 out. right over his head for a double...very catchable (2 days in a row)... he's pretty limited out there with his knee issues and recovers poorly from screw-ups. ...and of course the run scores. ...and you have to catch the ball before you apply a tag k.hill.

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In reply to by crunch

soriano is getting hard to watch...both for the missed plays and the fact he's obviously trooping through some pretty severe pain and still going out there almost every day. ...just missed another easy out for a healthy LF'r...thankfully this one landed foul. he didn't get close to it. and speaking of k.hill... Last Play: K. Hill struck out swinging, I. Stewart caught stealing yeah, you gotta at least make contact on the hit-and-run, homie. sigh. hey, i.stewart has 2 singles today so far...raised his BA 10 points back to .200+ land.

hector sanchez (SF) is earning his pay today...and will promptly invest in a shin/foot guard after this game (fouled off painfully twice). lulz...they're putting one on him now to finish his AB. bob making a "closing the bar door after the horse has left" joke. ...and he flies out and the fans give him a hand for finishing the AB.

7ip 3h 1er 2bb 7k awesome day for t.wood...too bad he's in line for the loss...russell in. zito's pitching like he's he's in his early 20s again. 8.1ip 4h 0er 2bb 5k

"I'm 36 years old, so, yeah, I would like to have the opportunity to ... if they want to trade me, I hope it is to a team that's a contender because it's about trying to go for that ring," Soriano said Sunday. "You want to feel good, feel like maybe you got a chance for that if we don't have a chance here. But like I said, it depends on them. I don't control the situation."

according to Jim Bowden tweet Buxton, Correa, Gausman, Zimmer, Almora, Zunino, Fried will follow in some order

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In reply to by Rob G.

They want pitching, but their previous statements about this draft being generally deep in HS pitching leads me to think they want to get a position player early. Almora seems like someone who is being drafted much higher than he normally would in a normal year where there are a good number of quality hitters, but that is not true this year. I still am hoping they roll the dice on Giolitto (sp?) and probably would also prefer his teammate Fried, but I would prefer Almora over Correa. If we can add Almora and, later this week, Soler, that would be a nice OF combo that, along with Kim (if his recent production is a sign of turning the corner) and Szcur would give us a good young pipeline of OF prospects.

Ben Badler‏@BenBadler From a team reported to be in on Soler: "A lot of raw power…runs from breaking balls…flinches…runs around the OF like an 80-year-old man."

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In reply to by Rob G.

dylan bundy is disappoint. though i agree with you unless the kid already has a developed (or damn near completely developed) offspeed pitch...that don't come up too often, though. this year's crop of top college pitching is ZzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzz imo...appell and glausman. the top HS-aged bats seem to be line drive "bit of all 5 tools" types rather than pure mashers. i'm still a fan of the college catcher zioznoznionznzonio, but the cubs haven't been linked to him too much compared to others out there. there's nothing special about the guy...he's just seen as a "safe" pick who should move quickly through a system.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

if you're talking about d.bundy you're talking about a rarity, not just a kid. he's part of that new gen of meddling parents that buy their kids custom vitamins and nutrition trainers at age 12...etc etc... he had parents that weren't about to let their kid throw 150+ pitches in a game just to get his numbers up or make a coach look good. plus, he's already got a developing curveball that he uses as a strikeout pitch along with the fastball. control over both is top notch. fastball, cutter, curve...control. the "throws 100mph" stuff is hype, though he works mid-90s consistantly. the guy projects to show up in the bigs in 2-3 years given where his development is...that's about the best you can hope for all but the most elite college pitchers.

Another bullpen option...Chad Fox redux?:
The Cubs signed left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo to a minor league deal, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports (on Twitter). Kuo signed a Major League deal with the Mariners in February and has been a free agent since Seattle released him in March. Kuo struggled through 40 appearances in 2011, posting a 9.00 ERA with 12.0 K/9 and 7.7 BB/9 and missing time with an anxiety disorder. His results were much better before last year; he had a 3.19 career ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 entering the 2011 season. The 30-year-old Octagon client underwent his fifth career elbow surgery in October of 2011 and the Dodgers non-tendered him two months later
. per Paul Sullivan via MLBTR http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/06/cubs-sign-hong-chih-kuo.html

Sveum trying to be tough: Sveum's message for Starlin: “It’s the last straw. If he wants to play, he better start getting his head in the game. Period.”

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • 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.