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

Welly Goes A-Ballin' at Riverview Park

Welington Castillo homered, doubled, and singled, Jesse Hodges doubled twice and walked, and Duane Underwood tossed four innings of no run/no hit ball, as the Kane County Cougars rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 9th to edge the Burlingtom Bees (Los Angeles Angels Lo-A affiliate) 7-6 on Field #3, while the Inland Empire 66ers (the LAA Hi-A affiliate) drubbed the Daytona Cubs 12-3 on Field #6, in Cactus League Minor League Camp action this afternoon at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.

Castillo was "visiting" from MLB Camp, getting six Plate Appearances total between the two games. He moved back & forth between the two adjacent fields, serving as an extra DH and getting a PA whenever the opportunity presented itself. The HR was a line drive-blast over the LF fence in the Hi-A game on Field #6, the double one-hopped the CF fence (also on Field #6), and the single was drilled through the 5.5 hole on Field #3. After bouncing out 3-1 and going down on strikes (swinging), Castillo flied out to the warning track in RF in his last AB of the day. 

Dillon Maples got the start for the D-Cubs in Field #6, and immediately threw 10 consecutive balls to start the game. Before he was relieved with one out in the top of the 3rd inning, Maples had allowed five runs on two hits (a triple and a single), six walks, an HBP, and two WP.

Duane Underwood on the other hand was absolutely masterful on Field #3, setting down the Bees with minimum difficulty. He mixed his fastball, change-up, and curve very effectively, and never was in trouble in any of his four frames.  

The defensive gems of the day were turned-in on Field #3, as CF Rashad Crawford made a spectacular diving catch in left-center after a long run, and then 2B David Bote made a two-out run-saving leaping catch to snare a screaming line-drive seemingly headed for CF (as he jumped higher than he knew how). Both Crawford (who was an outstanding HS basketball player with the nickname "Baby Jordan") and Bote are super-athlectic, and so it's not surprising that they were today's Dynamic Duo of Defense.

Here are the abridged box scores from today's Minor League games at Riverview Park (Cubs player only)

FIELD #3:

KANE COUNTY LINEUP:
X. Welington Castillo, DH #1: 1-2 (1B, F-9)
NOTE: W. Castillo hit 2nd in the bottom of the 1st & 5th
1a. Gleyber Torres, SS: 0-1 (BB, F-9, R) 
1b. Alex Sanchez, SS: 1-2 (BB, L-3, 1B. R)
2a. Kevin Brown, RF: 1-2 (6-3 DP, 1B, PO)
2b. Trevor Gretzky, RF: 1-3 (1B, P-3, 6-4 FC, R, RBI)
3. Jesse Hodges, 3B: 2-4 (2B, BB, 2B, P-4, F-7, R, RBI, PO)
4. Eloy Jimenez, DH #2: 0-4 (3-U, P-4, K, K)
5. Jacob Rogers, 1B: 1-4 (F-8, L-6, 1B, K, 2 RBI)
6. David Bote, 2B: 1-2 (BB, 1B, HBP, E-6)
7a. Alberto Mineo, C: 0-2 (1-4 FC, 1-6-3 DP, R)
7b. Rony Rodriguez, C: 0-2 (P-4, 1-4 FC, R)
8. Charcer Burks, LF: 1-3 (BB, F-8, F-9, 1B, R)
9. Rashad Crawford, CF: 2-4 (1B, 3-1, P-4, 1B, 2 RBI)

KANE COUNTY PITCHERS:
1. Duane Underwood: 4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 5/5 GO/FO, 53 pitches (34 strikes)
2. Erick Leal: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 5 R (5 ER), 3 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 2/0 GO/FO, 47 pitches (23 strikes)
3. James Pugliese: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 0/4 GO/FO, 29 pitches (20 strikes)
4. Orbandy Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 WP, 1/2 GO/FO, 17 pitches (7 strikes)
5. Tyler Bremer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 0/3 GO/FO, 8 pitches (4 strikes)

KANE COUNTY ERRORS (1): 
3B Jesse Hodges - E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely) 

FIELD #6:

DAYTONA LINEUP:
X. Welington Castillo, DH #1: 2-4 (2B, 3-1, HR, K, 2 R, RBI) 
NOTE: W. Castillo hit 2nd in the bottom of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th
1. Shawon Dunston Jr, CF-LF: 1-4 (K, K, 1B, 1-3, RBI)
2. Carlos Penalver, SS: 1-4 (1B, 4-3, K, 5-3, RBI, CS)
3a. Rock Shoulders, 1B: 2-3 (1B, K, 1B)
3b. Ben Carhart, PH: 0-1 (K)
4a. Yasiel Balaguert, RF: 0-2 (5-3, P-4)
4b. Reggie Golden, RF: 0-2 (2-5-3 DP, E-6)
5a. Danny Canela, DH #2: 0-1 (F-8, BB)
5b. Zak Blair, PH: 0-1 (K)
6a. Cael Brockmeyer, C: 0-2 (K, 6-4 FC)
6b. Justin Marra, C: (0-1 (F-8)
7. Jordan Hankins, 3B: 1-3 (F-8, F-8, 1B)
8. Danny Lockhart, 2B: 1-3 (5-3, F-8, 1B)
9. Trey Martin, LF-CF: 0-2 (P-3, BB, K, R)

DAYTONA PITCHERS:
1. Dillon Maples: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 5 R (5 ER), 6 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 3/2 GO/FO, 66 pitches (29 strikes)
2. Jose Arias: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1/1 GO/FO, 38 pitches (24 strikes)
3. Justin Amlung:  1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/3 GO/FO, 23 pitches (11 strikes)
4. Jasvir Rakkar: 1.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (5 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 1/1 GO/FO, 35 pitches (23 strikes)
NOTE: Rakkar's first inning was stopped with no outs and runner at 2nd base (after five runs had scored)
5. Hector Perez: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP, 0/1 GO/FO, 21 pitches (11 strikes)
NOTE: H. Perez's inning was stopped with two outs and bases loaded after second HBP of inning

DAYTONA ERRORS (1):
SS Carlos Penalver - E-6 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely)

DAYTONA CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Cael Brockmeyer: 0-2 CS
Justin Marra: 1-2 CS

ATTENDANCE: 81

WEATHER: Sunny & cloudless with temperatures in the 80's 

 

Comments

Olt 2 run HR in top 3rd. A blast. Followed by another blast by the Cubs 2nd baseman tonight. Who is that masked man?

Even Brett Jackson looks a bit better, triple after an rbi double by McDonald. 5 run 3rd inning. 5-0.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

he's got a controlled/powerful swing...too bad he doesn't have the batting eye to go with it. even when he fouls stuff off, it comes off the bat 100000mph. if he squared up on the barrel more stuff that he makes contact with, things could get ugly for opposing pitchers.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Whenever I see Jackson I think of Corey Patterson. Patterson never looked like he had baseball-type skills. He was a good raw athlete, but didn't look like a baseball player to me. Jackson has a classic "pretty" swing, which may be a way of a guy like me who maybe doesn't know every nuance of baseball of saying he looks good trying, but he just up till now hasn't had it click for him. I assume it's routine for baseball teams to give eye checkups, but sometimes it just seems like he doesn't see the ball. I had bad vision as a kid and had trouble hitting a softball.

former Cub Jim Adduci destroyed a Rivero fastball to tie game in 8th, 6-6.

Rivero does look to have some late-inning potential, big, tall kid...hit 97.

sweet, extra innings means bonus Javier Baez AB

rips a liner straight to shortstop

on a Baez note, doesn't look like he has a body that is going to keep him at shorstop or 2b his entire career.

this one ended in spectacular cubs-like failure with 2 outs in the bottom 10th...up at one point 6-0, lose 6-7 after 10. at least the damage in the 10th (and 7th) came from guys who doesn't have a chance of making the MLB club.

spring don't mean a thing...and all that...but... j.lake is 4/28 with 1 walk (.143/.167)...no x-base hits...and 13Ks. r.sweeney is 2/26 with 1 walk (.077/.111)...no x-base hits...and 6Ks. these are supposedly the cubs 1+2 options for CF (with lake being the majority player) unless they plan on shuffling ruggs (who's having an awesome spring) up to majority CF duty and leaving lake/sweeney to scramble for playing time. at least there's options and all 3 are expected to make the team...and r.kalish is waiting around as a capable backup...boni can play CF, but offers little else outside of speed and hitting singles as a starter...i don't wanna talk about b.jacKson. fwiw, lake had a rather good winter ball...could be a small sample size or whatever...not like he's expected to be a superstar anyway. the Ks more than the avg/ob% slash line bothers me, though.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

and on the j.rollins front from his happy home in PHI... "I don’t care which way it is tried to be twisted or said, or if it is exactly how it was said, or even if it was said, I can’t be traded," he said. "It doesn’t matter. If I was tradable it may have weight because that means I could be moving soon. But I am not tradable and so it doesn’t matter."

still searching for a few more owners for a Fangraphs Ottoneu League, We have 3-6 spots open (a few folks I'm waiting on). Need to fill league by this Friday. It's a $9.99 fangraphs points league, but we'll be doing another $40 or so buy-in using leaguesafe.com. Current draft day is Sat, April 5th at 10am CST, but that is subject to change if that's your hold-up.

Pains in the asses need not apply...

drop your email here or use contact form in upper right (send to Rob G. of course)

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I can vouch that this is THE league of the season. It's a virtual who's who that? of internet baseball. If you've ever wanted to rub digital elbows with the type (get it?) of people who moniker themselves with a direct article (and thrive in the realm of wordification and transpartofspeachification), this is the place.

chc/col live tonight on MLB Network, 9:40pm (ET) fwiw, it will most likely be the ROOT Network (COL) providing the feed.

No Olt today, was suppose to play 3b...shoulder still bugging him a little.

-edit- apparently gonna start tomorrow at 3b instead

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I see this service-time issue becoming HUGE in future negotiations with the players' union. And frankly I agree that holding back players so you have longer club control is bad for the game. Not sure what can be done about it? But it really does suck for the fans and the players . . . especially great players who might be missing an opportunity to log lifetime stats towards HOF careers etc. It'll be interesting to watch in coming years . . . you can already sense the frustration bubbling.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

players union doesn't care about kids. the number of them losing 50+ games to suspensions over smoking some weed is absolutely asinine. they're not even held to that standard in the bigs. but yeah, it does suck to see the service time issue held over players...TB has been "abusing" it for years...though "abusing" might be a bit harsh for a team that's operating on their kind of revenue. either way, situations where kids could/should be up don't materialize too often because of the service clock issue.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

I really like the system they have in place where guys have to meet certain goals before being promoted. It takes the mystery out of what's going to happen for these younger players. Instead of thinking about whether or not they will get the call up, they can focus on improving their game. Their future is in their hands and based on their performance. That said, I agree Baez should be in AA/AAA this year. There's no rush. He's not going to put the Chicago Cubs over the top. And I don't think it's going to hurt the game or hurt Baez's career, they just want to protect his value as a prospect and keep him under club control as long as they can.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • 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.