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

Sunday Funnies: What ARE they going to do at this year's Winter Meetings?

While not alot of the activity involved our favorite team, I'm dizzy from all the signings and trades that have already happened this winter.
So, just wondering what all the general managers could possibly talk about at the Winter Meetings in Orlando tomorrow...

(Usually, I can give credit for an illustration's idea to someone's comment here, and while that's what happened I couldn't find it. So anyway, whoever did make that comment wondering if the gms would have anything to talk about...thanks!)

Comments

I LOL'd and I thank you for that, sir, because it's snowy as shit where I am and I have been working straight through the past 10 days.

Hi Charlie, it's just starting to come down in Chicago too. Yuck. And thank you.

per a completely untrustworthy twitter souce..A's/Cubs have a meeting set-up for tonight

Some talk of Brett Anderson and A's have had prior interest in Schierholtz and Barney...

normally I don't bother with those, but it actually makes some sense, other pieces would certainly be involved, but sounds like a good starting point for talks.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

to be clear, A's at some point in the past may have asked about Schierholtz and Barney, doesn't mean they are asking now

I think Gentry possibly filled any OF depth issues, Barney may have some use to them and Anderson is certainly someone they'd deal to get out of his contract (they are the A's afterall), but no one knows exactly what they're looking for now. But they always have an eye on this season and the following seasons, so I'm sure there's some options out there.

they could probably use starting pitch depth, maybe a swingman like Villanueva or maybe a player that has more option years left than Anderson. Maybe they don't match up at all...

Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette indicated Sunday that they are comfortable with Ryan Flaherty as the team's second baseman.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

yeah, and the O's are trying to bring him back. the O's have a thing for r.flaherty. he actually took over the job on a daily basis for a while last year, but he didn't step up and lost the role. the guy can field 2nd adequately (as well as 3rd) and he's got 20HR power. consistent quality contact is his only knock.

I had a thought on Tanaka vis a vis FA spending. Theo appears willing to spend 'FA' money on players like Rizzo, Castro and 25-yr old T-O-R SP like Tanaka. My guess would be to see similar money spent on Baez, Almora, & Bryant as they enter their arbitration years. Until the Cubs are coming off an 88-90 win season, we won't see Ellsbury/Granderson contracts thrown out let alone Cano deals (which was just assinine).

The Cubs are nearing a tipping point with Samardzija, who remains under club control for two more seasons at a time when the franchise is ramping up for 2016 and beyond. Samardzija’s camp confirmed nothing has really changed since last winter, when talks about a long-term extension gained no momentum. After years of shifting between the bullpen and the rotation and commuting from Triple-A Iowa to Chicago, Samardzija simply wants to let this play out and establish himself as a No. 1 starter before signing a new deal.... The two sides have different definitions of market value. The skyrocketing price of pitching could force a Samardzija trade. http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/cubs-focusing-tanaka-samardzija-winter-m…

TIM: Funny, funny shit! Again - L. Berry would love this with a sick Cubs twist!

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Brown for Schierholtz/Samardzija would make some sense as a starting point, obviously Phillies would need to add some prospects of which they have few, not sure if they'd deal Jesse Biddle.

Brown's not due for free agency until after 2017 season.

[ ]

In reply to by QuietMan

Biddle + Brown for Samardzija would be a helluva deal for Cubs imo, also probably a pipedream.

some folks seem to be freaking about Brown fading in the second half, but at age 25, no reason to freak out too much. #4 prospect in baseball heading into 2011, the path isn't always linear.  BB rate over 10% in the minors, just under 9% in minors and with Bryant and Soler, he'd probably eventually move to left field.

Still a lot of potential in there, major league ready and 4 years of service time and Cubs could use some left-handed power.

[ ]

In reply to by QuietMan

Outside execs say (that totally aren't associated with another NL East team)

way to kill my buzz...although as I said, think you'd have to throw in Biddle to make the deal and not sure he's available.

that being said, a pretty consistent 18.4% career K rate isn't indicitive of a huge hole in his swing and seems like he's played long enough that they'd figure it out by now.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

d.brown's swing can get sloppy and long...he loves going for outside stuff, especially high. he couldn't make up his mind whether he was a pull hitter or a reacher in a kinda erratic fashion last season. when he hit a lot of homers up and in the outer part of the zone last may, he spent a few months going back/forth biting at stuff outside the zone trying to replicate may. his K rate doesn't mean much...quality of contact is in play.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

d.brown hit 12 HR in may...and 12 HR in june/july/aug/sept. his D is rather average. if they give up even just ninja for brown it's a blown move, imo...i see it more of a brown + others for ninja before a ninja + others for brown.

torre/cox/larussa to HOF via veteran's/expansion committee. btw, torre was a hell of a player before his managing career.

Bruce Levine‏@MLBBruceLevine Source :The Rays and Dodgers may be matching up on David Price. Bruce & Ned are buds...

tweet there from Witty says Cubs exploring reliever trade market, Storen and Clippard mentioned

Another pitcher on the market. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that the Indians are listening to trade offers for Justin Masterson. The Indians are aiming to contend in 2014 and Masterson is their ace, but Rosenthal says the thinking in dealing him would be to explore "longer-term options." Masterson is entering his walk year, and the Tribe must not feel good about their chances of locking him up to a long-term extension. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported earlier this offseason that Masterson was looking for an extension in the five-year, $75 million range.

Skaggs about to be off the table...3-way trade nearing completion.

DBacks: Trumbo & 2 prospects

White Sox: A. Eaton

Angels: Skaggs & H. Santiago

maybe DBacks getting 2 really good prospects to ship for Samardzija, but I doubt it.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

unless the sox are giving up the prospects i'd rather than a.eaton over h.santiago... bats should be big this offseason. next year's FA market is pitching-heavy (pending extensions) and very bats-bare (and should get worse with extensions in the coming season). the OF market is really bare. hanley ramirez, chase headley, and pablo sandavol are the batting "stars" of the 2015 FA market who aren't going to be 35+ years old...and it's expected that h.ramirez will be off the table pretty soon...and the 35+ year old crowd doesn't contain anyone to be too excited about. tons of pitching, though.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

blah blah blah...tremendous challenge...blah blah blah... renteria has sent a "text" out notifying the kids that they should be willing to sacrifice things outside the game to make their game better...focus, desire, etc...come together and become a family... has spoken to s.castro...great kid...must continue to have conversations...understands he has to do well... almora/soler/bryant excites him...organization as a whole excites... likes the foundation of the rotation...talked about how the bullpen needs building... d.barney is "a solid baseball player" who's "capable of turning it around"..."he needs to know we believe in him." ---- on whole it seems like renteria's main focus is baby sitting kids making sure they know they're there to play the game and expected to be ready and able to perform at the best of their ability.

deal was as I mentioned

DBacks get Trumbo, and 2 PTBNL's...one each from Angels and White Sox to be finalized after Rule 5, one may be A.J Schugel from Angels

White Sox get Eaton

Angels get Skaggs and Santiago

"FOX Sports' Jon Morosi reports that the Cubs, Pirates, Royals and Braves have showed interest in Jason Hammel." good stuff, poor results (so far)...he's one of those guys that should be doing better than he is given the velocity + variety of pitches that comes out of his arm. he's already 31 (as of a few months ago), though, and people have been waiting for that turn-around for a while.

"two unidentified NL teams" in on Kemp trade talks. wp.me/p2reWi-3NT Prediction: Mets are one, obviously. I just can't imagine who the other one is if not the Cubs. The only other team that makes sense from need and financials is San Francisco, but I simply do not think that can happen.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

i can't imagine the cubs would be in on it...unless for some reason the LAD want ninja...which makes as little sense as all the other SP they've been rumored to be looking at because they have a full house of pitching already (kershaw, greinke, ryu, beckett, haren). vogelbomb will probably be a trade chip for the cubs eventually and would be attractive to almost any team out there who doesn't have a long-term 1st/DH solution. he will probably come in handy one day in a trade, if not this offseason. the cubs can also play fast/loose with some of their 3rd base prospects since they're flush with them, though bryant is almost assuredly going no where out of that group. kemp's interesting...can play all 3 OF positions so he's got flexibility. he's had an injured shoulder nagging him for years, but it's his non-throwing arm. he's got a good enough arm to play RF should a situation dictate him playing there rather than CF (aka, almora). that said...i dunno if the cubs have what it takes to get it done...or what the dodgers would even want. it's hard to guage what kemp's worth, especially without knowing how much (if any) money the LAD is willing to chip in to lower his contract value and get something done.

"CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports that the Cubs' brass will have a meeting with Jeff Samardzija's agents on Wednesday. Heyman says an offer "isn't necessarily expected," and an extension is "unlikely anyway.""

Sahadev Sharma‏@sahadevsharma One source tells me Samardzija will get moved soon. Another says nothing doing. Cubs official, "Yeah, both those sound about right."

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.