Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

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

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Crazy Legs Campana Headed to the Desert

Submitted by Rob G. on

Last week, the Cubs outrighted Tony Campana off thier 40-man to make room for Scott Hairston. Today, the Diamondbacks agreed to give up two pitchers for the speedster...RHP Erick Leal and RHP Jesus Castillo. Judging by the quality going out, I wouldn't expect much on the quality coming in, but maybe the Cubs unearth one of those diamonds in the rough. Leal, a 6'3" righty out of Venezuela, will be playing his age 18 season and Castillo is a 6'2" righty also out of Venezuela and will be playing his age 17 season. In both cases, plenty of time for them to learn the "Cubs Way." Nick Piecoro had both of them in a write-up on some of the D'Backs international signings from back in late 2011 that you can view here and see some video. Here are the quotes from the D'Backs international scouting director Carlos Gomez at the time:

Re: Castillo ($250K signing bonus)

“He’s about 6-2, 165, 170 pounds. He’s long, lean and all kinds of projectable. He has a loose, cool rhythm about him, really free and easy. His fastball ranges from 82-89 mph, but he pitches 85-86 right now. I think he has a chance to throw a lot harder. His best secondary pitch is his changeup and the breaking ball isn’t bad. The spin is there, but it needs work and consistency. He gets really good extension, almost jumps off the mound. We think he can start; we see starter’s arm action and delivery from him.”

Re: Leal ($75K signing bonus)

“He’s 6-3, 180 pounds. He has a nice delivery, a nice arm action, and the highlight again is the breaking ball. He’s a kid who can spin it. It’s 74-76 mph already and his fastball is 86-88. He has the physical size, the delivery, a breaking ball and a present, useable fastball for his age. He’s one of those guys who looks like he might have slipped through the cracks. A lot of that same type of guy was going for more earlier in the year. His delivery is pretty balanced, but he drives pretty aggressively out front; he really gets over his front side well. You can tell the extra breaking ball spin he gets is a function of his finish.”

Something is better than nothing and Crazy Legs was always a lot closer to nothing in my in opinion.

Tags
Tony Campana
Cubs Roster Moves

Comments

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 02/18/2013 - 02:47 pm

Since both Erick Leal and Jesus Castillo are from Venezuela, both will likely pitch for the new VSL Cubs affiliate in 2013.  

BTW, the trade was made right at the 2 PM (Eastern) deadline when the Cubs would have had to place Tony Campana on Outright Assignment Waivers. He could not have been traded once he was placed on Outright Waivers, and it would have been necesssary for the Cubs to place him on waivers today (waiver requests must be submitted by 2 PM Eastern) so that he would either be claimed off waivers or outrighted on Wednesday (the 10th day of the DFA). 

The D'backs must really like Campana a lot. Obviously they would have claimed Campana if he had been placed on waivers, but they couldn't be sure that another MLB with a higher waiver priority (worse 2012 record) wouldn't also put in a claim and get him instead, so they made a "pre-emptive strike."  

Arizona placed RHP Daniel Hudson (TJS rehab) on the 60-day DL to make room for Campana on their 40-man roster.

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Submitted by toonsterwu on Tue, 02/19/2013 - 02:46 am

Without knowing their options situations, it wouldn't surprise me if Eaton or Pollock were kept in AAA a bit longer (probably Pollock), giving them the ability to stash Campana as a 5th OF/pinch runner. As a total side note, I've tried to defend Towers at times, but they've really taken this "scrappy-tough guy" image ... too far. Hadn't really pondered the makeup of their OF until seeing it right now. It was only last year that they had Chris Young and Justin Upton ... and now, they have 3 guys with very little pop (4 if you include Campana) and two very mediocre OF's. As for the trade, eh, no big loss, IMO. Campana didn't have much long term value (and it's debatable how much overall value). Yeah, the arms don't look that exciting (although they are interesting enough), but for Campana, it seems like a very nice gamble.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/18/2013 - 02:54 pm

Jed Hoyer phone interview on today/tonight's MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential (MLB Network's SABR-oriented show), fwiw. -needed pitching this season, waiting for pitching that's already in the system to come up through the system -feels like they have 7 guys who could be in the rotation -e.jackson "young" and fits in with what they want to do with their timetable, great stuff, healthy -timetable is undetermined (run around answer), gave example of 2010 padres as a team that could surprise, "you don't know when it's going to click" -add more talent every year -likes what the bjays did this year...build-then-pounce/aggressive -soriano works hard, fantastic, mentor, etc...if opportunity arises they "would discuss" moving him

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/18/2013 - 02:59 pm

oh canada...u so crazy. "Russell Martin is expected to play shortstop for Canada in the World Baseball Classic."

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/18/2013 - 02:06 pm

"Alfonso Soriano has given the Cubs a list of "six or seven" teams that he would be willing to accept a trade to. Soriano doesn't want to be traded to the west coast, as he said the clubs are in the "east or center" of the country. "[The Cubs] know what teams," Soriano said. "We talked, my agent talked with those guys." The Cubs are reportedly willing to eat about $26 million of the $36 million remaining on Soriano's contract if they receive the right package in return."

Submitted by Cubster on Tue, 02/19/2013 - 02:48 am

per Rotoworld...
Matt Garza was diagnosed with a mild lat strain following an MRI.
Garza will rest for one week before trying to throw again. His first Cactus League start will be pushed back, but it's too soon to say whether it will affect his readiness for the start of the season. Still, all things considered, this is pretty good news for the Cubs.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 02/19/2013 - 02:47 pm

So... the COL GM/front office is moving their operations to the player's clubhouse. along with the absolutely stupid pitching thing they got going on, they're moving into the "player's office" and seemingly undermining the manager's authority. now that they're busy scaring away any SP that might want to sign/play in COL, they're now going to disrupt all the player's space... at what point do these stupid "experiments" get a GM/front office fired? c.hurdle getting fired from COL was a blessing in disguise for him. btw, he got a 1 year extension with PIT today + 1 year club option for 2015.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:52 am

AZ PHIL: Since "Rocket-Man" Tony is gone, who becomes the fastest Cub in the system? I know we have no Billy Hamiltons, but there must be a couple of speedy prospects? Szczur, Dunston Jr., Reyes, Lillibridge, Logan Watkins, Johnny Andreoli?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:10 pm

E-MAN: There is nobody to compare to Tony Campana in the organization, but the fastest runners would be (in order of furthest along in development and not including the DSL guys I haven't seen) Logan Watkins, Matt Szczur, Evan Crawford, Arismendy Alcantara, John Andreoli, Rubi Silva, Zeke DeVoss, Pin-Chieh Chen, Tim Saunders, Gioskar Amaya, Trey Martin, and Rashad Crawford, with Szczur probably #1.   

BTW, Szczur hammered LHP to the tune of 458/552/625 with 0 strikeouts and was tied for 7th in walks and tied for 5th in SB in the AFL post-2012 (and the AFL is approximately equivalent to AA), so he could be in Chicago as a RH platoon CF and lead-off hitter sooner rather than later. He really struggles to hit RHP, however. I'm not sure he will ever be anything more than platoon player or 4th OF (albeit a very useful one).

Submitted by Andrew on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:50 pm

I'm curious as to how everyone thinks the final 25 man will shake out. Phil had something the other day about it, which seemed to be pretty logical to me. But that article noted that the last rotation spot (after Baker comes back) was going to be between Feldman and Wood, with Feldman moving to the bullpen being the most likely move. But in the last week or so, Sveum has been clear that Feldman will be a starter, and Hoyer said something about how he signed with the Cubs because they assured of him a roster spot. So, one would assume that Wood is going to go to the pen, since he can't be optioned. However, whose spot is he going to take? Not Marmol, Fujikawa, or Villanueva. Probably not Russell, although maybe. I doubt Rondon, after they selected him. Bowden's out of options too and Camp's too good. So maybe it's a bench bat? Valbuena or Sappelt? I know depth is good and all, but it seems like there are too many guys they like and want than can fit on the 25 man.

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Submitted by John Beasley on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:43 pm

Wood will definitely go to the pen when Baker's ready, unless Wood is pitching lights-out, in which case Baker may start in the pen after a tune-up in Iowa, assuming no one's hurt. I don't think any of the Cubs' 7 bullpen probables (Marmol, Fujikawa, Villanueva, Russell, Rondon, Bowden, Camp) can be sent down due to service time, rules, options, or Rule 5. Russell's the one I'm not sure about, maybe Phil can clear that up. It does create an interesting logjam if everyone including Baker is healthy.

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Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:00 pm

I'm hoping to see this improvement from Feldman before banishing Wood to the bullpen so quickly. Feldman has had an ERA over 5.00 4 of the last 6 seasons, his WHIP is 1.417 career, and he doesn't strike out a ton of batters. Yes, he pitched in Texas, but his career home ERA is 4.40, on the road is 5.24. Ugh. Wood pitched pretty darn decently from a crap team last year Ah I dunno....whatever I suppose...Lol....

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:07 pm

bowden is a lot better than his history shows. his slider isn't very punchy, but his fastball/change combo is nice...having 3 decent pitches is neat. control will make/break him. seeing as he's not even arb eligable til 2015 he was a steal, imo. he's not got closer stuff, but i like him more than 88mph s.camp in a high leverage relief role going down the road.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:37 pm

"This is how you know Theo Epstein is a heartless, calculating bastard. Sure, Campana can’t “hit” or “get on base” or “play baseball” in a major-league sense, but he was so f’n cute."

and with that BP wins the Campana trade anaylsis!

"As the ultimate underdog, Campana connected with the Cubs’ fan base in a big way. During introductions at the team’s annual fan convention last month, Campana might have received a bigger ovation than Ernie Banks. It was really close. Yet, Epstein and his cronies apparently believe that actual organization building outweighs the fact that Campana is the kind of player grannies like to bake for. Cynical pricks"

Snark done right!

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19644

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:20 pm

i'm still blown away by how many people want to ignore wade davis as a starter as part of that mega-trade. yes, giving away myers and odorz was something big to give away, but people seem to think davis (and his long-term cheap value under contract) doesn't exist. some people also seem to not have noticed his curve or cutter in 2012. what he's done with both of those pitches is an eye-opener that's only apparent if you watched him throw them. his cutter is now more deadly than his curve or his scrapped changeup ever was...and he's got a good curve. i don't even want to hear a peep out of those that ignored him about how surprised they are about what he probably will do in 2013 as a starter. it's practically the most under-reported/under-analyzed part of that trade, and one of the most important parts of the trade given how long he's locked down for at such a cheap price.

Submitted by John Beasley on Thu, 02/21/2013 - 02:49 am

"When I had Corey Patterson as a young guy, I asked him what his expectations were. It was 30 homers and 100 RBIs. I looked at him as a player like Oddibe McDowell, who played in Texas and hit 10 or 12 home runs. I wanted Corey to keep the ball out of the air, but he was one of those guys who wanted to pull everything. I think he learned, later on, that he wasn’t going to be that kind of player. You have to be patient with the young guys and try to convince them of the best approach. At times, they can end up getting really messed up with their swing." - Don Baylor http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/qa-don-baylor-d-backs-hitting-…

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Submitted by Charlie on Thu, 02/21/2013 - 02:08 pm

I remember feeling exactly the same way. He'd already hit 13 HRs, he'd been maintaining a decent average, and he was stealing bases. In hindsight, though, he was K'ing 22% of the time and walking 4.3% of the time, and his BABIP was .353 (career BABIP of .296 now). That was the highest HR/FB% he had in any single year (though the next wasn't drastically lower), and he never got close to that 24.9% line drive rate again (unless you count his 30 PA 2009). The other day I was actually thinking that Patterson's knee injury may have helped the Cubs make the playoffs that year. Kenny Lofton had a higher OPS with the Cubs that year than Patterson did, even with his elevated BABIP.

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Submitted by JoePepitone on Thu, 02/21/2013 - 02:44 pm

I think it was just a matter of time before the league adjusted to Corey -- and he couldn't make the counter-adjustments to get beyond that. Once they had developed the book on how to pitch him, he could only get a hit if the pitcher made a mistake. Then, when he started to fail, he began spiraling down and became even worse. I was a big Corey fan -- and it was painful to watch, near the end.

Submitted by Rob Richardson on Thu, 02/21/2013 - 02:23 pm

Just walked past Tom Ricketts on my way back from lunch in the Loop. He was on the phone, so I am sure the Cubs will be announcing a big trade soon.

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 02/21/2013 - 02:05 pm

Wow...I knew they got snow in Tucson yesterday, but the pics/video of the fields in Phoenix area covered in snow is mind-blowing. It's rare enough for Tucson to get snow that actually sticks...for it to happen in Phoenix and actually stick is "woah." There's a lot of really unhappy/dead citrus in home gardens all over AZ after all of this.

Submitted by Cubster on Thu, 02/21/2013 - 02:28 pm

Cubs win 7-3 (White beats blue). Starlin 3 hits plus flashing some leather. Soler hit's a moonshot off Nick Struck. Schierholtz, 2 run HR off foul pole. Bogusevic HR off Dolis. Stewart double, Lake triple. Plus a Carrie Muskat tweet about Stewart and Vitters both with sore left quadriceps but able to play. I'm hoping for an AZ Phil eyewitness report. One of the great things in life (those AZ Phil reports).

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 02/21/2013 - 02:48 pm

"Ian Stewart is day-to-day with a quadriceps strain." doh...supposedly a mild strain, fwiw.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 02/22/2013 - 02:32 pm

Ian Stewart getting an MRI, Vitters not getting an MRI. Can we read into this how they value each player currently? Quad strains don't really need MRI imaging since it wouldn't have any affect on how it's treated but they are fun to read (at least that's what the radiologists tell me).

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

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