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 @ Padres: Arrieta vs Friedrich (Game 125)

A Heyward HR and a Lester pickoff throw. Anything is possible!CHC (79-45): RHP Jake Arrieta (15-5, 2.75) 
SD (53-72): LHP Christian Friedrich (4-9, 4.69)
First pitch: 9:10pmCST

Arrieta has reeled off three straight wins, including an ugly one against the Brewers on Thursday (5.2 IP, 5 ER, 3 K, 7 BB). The Padres are 9-38 (.237) against him. Ramirez is 6-16.

Friedrich, an Evanston native, is coming off of three straight losses and has not won since June 23 in Cincinnati. He pitched well enough to win on Tuesday in Tampa Bay (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 1 BB) but was let down by the Padre offense. The Cubs are 4-15 (.267) against him.

The ERA king Hendricks (11-7, 2.16) versus Paul Clemens (2-2 4.82) at 2:40pmCST tomorrow to finish the series.

Go Cubs!

Comments

that pickoff throw to baez last night was badly needed. it's not the ability to pick off someone that's important, it's the threat of the pickoff being in play. that's the difference between a 6-10ft lead and a 10-15+ft lead in lester's case. i doubt it will totally end the leads runners are taking, but runners have been getting a bit too bold recently with some insane leads...and multiple incidences of guys taking 3rd while lester stands on the mound watching...and SB attempts are creeping up (16 in the past 6 games, 16 in the 19 games before that). reigning in the silly large leads and lack of fear of anyone aside from d.ross controlling the running game should impact his game more than becoming some pickoff master...because that isn't gonna happen. earlier in the game before the pickoff he ran a guy back to 2nd from the mound without throwing, something that should have been an out if he would have thrown the ball because he had the runner leading/breaking the wrong way.

"[I]t's not the ability to pick off someone that's important, it's the threat of the pickoff being in play." What is actually important is preventing runs, and Lester does that just fine.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

except when the dude recently who stole 2nd then jogged to 3rd while lester held the ball looking at him ended up scoring on a sac fly. ...or KC in the playoffs last year. ...or when guys go 1st to 3rd or 2nd to home on a bloop single even though they're not billy hamilton. it's a thing that's not a positive nor does ignoring it let good or neutral things happen. letting baserunners take 15+ ft leads without checking it doesn't mean he improves in some other area. there is no sacrifice for a gain in some other part of his game...not to mention he absolutely needs a catcher who can make up for his shortcomings with little to no exception.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

if the cubs didn't score a run, he would have pitched well for a loss. this is something every other pitcher for decades does without issue. if every pitcher out there, even the best, watched multiple guys run from 2nd to 3rd while they stood on the mound there wouldn't be a cry to ignore it or claim that's not something worth paying attention to. you don't get a pass for that. it's bad baseball. beyond that, it's interesting and unique in a variety of ways...it's not even 1 thing he does badly with baserunners, it's a slew of things...and some of those things have ebb/flow of how teams react based on how he very occasionally decides to address the issue.

I think the real point here is that you continuing to bring it up every Lester start will get him to improve.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

that's not the real point...or i would have spoken up about it 3 SB ago on the last thread, but the first anyone heard from me was about a pickoff. but hey, let's not let that stop you from lecturing me about how i shouldn't pick on lester some more...or that i shouldn't find the clown show of what happens when he's got runners on base interesting even though he's the only guy i've ever seen do what he's doing regularly in my lifetime.

Dear Crunch Reporter: It's a long time ago and I confess to having a dislike of Larry Rothschild, but here's the way I remember Rich Hill's demise with the Cubs. Late in 2007, a year in which he won 11 games, Hill was having trouble holding runners, and Rothschild tried to fix the problem by teaching him to slide-step. Hill at the time had a delivery with a distinctive rock-back and kick that allowed him to conceal the ball until it was tool late for the hitter to pick up the fastball. Tampering with his delivery messed him up, and he started having control issues as well as back problems. He was done as far as the Cubs were concerned, but he seems to have gotten back on track six or eight years later. The point is that it's dangerous to mess with a pitcher's delivery at the major-league level. It is what it is. You should have seen it coming, and dealt with it earlier. Lester is 14-4, he'll be strong in the playoffs, but he won't change or get better.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

at this point i dont think much will change, especially during the season, but it was nice to see him not let the 3rd guy (4th possible, since 2 were stopped in the SD game) in his few recent games waltz to 3rd while lester stood on the mound looking at the guy. SD tried it twice in the last game. one time lester jogged towards 2nd while the runner returned to 2nd...the other time he actually threw and got an out. while all of this is noteworthy to me, and worth ignoring to others, the ebb/flow of how the running game changes around lester and vise-versa is a thing that's under constant evolution and active practice. it's not something that happens 1 way, every time, for months/years, in 1 instance, and only that way. but yeah, some people would rather nothing be said. i think it's really interesting and rare/unique that other teams are obviously interpreting how to handle in different ways.

Is WISCGRAD still around? Here's a project for him or anyone else who would be interested... Lester's allowed 22 SBs. How many of those have scored and how many games did the Cubs lose due to them? #baseballtalk

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

it's not about SB...it never was. jake arrieta being slow to the plate isn't comparable to jon lester not throwing to any base. how the runners read off arrieta isn't anything similar to what a runner is reading off lester. maybe arrieta could use a personal catcher solely to control his running game...but i doubt it's that important.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

we already has this asinine discussion. you didn't like the answer. there's already an answer above you can apply about how a guy goes from 1st base to home on a sac fly that included him stealing 3rd while lester watched from the mound. the fact that the cubs bats, 100% independent of that situation, scored some runs invalidates it as an issue to you. i find that stupid. we will not get anywhere with this. you know we will not get anywhere with this...because we already had this asinine discussion. #circularlogic

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

if runner = on base and pitcher = j.lester then lead = large if lead = large then probability of extra base on following hit > average of mean okay, enough of that silliness... ...you can read more on the thread i copy/pasted this from the last time you decided you needed to talk to me about me.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I'm asking how much it has hurt Lester and the Cubs this year. Do you have that answer? I legitimately don't recall you answering that quesion, apart from the condescending silliness you just posted. So if you did answer specifically about the impact of Lester's issue, I'd like to re-read it. Thanks. #baseballtalk

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

shouting down my points about lester with "well, it didn't hurt" is like saying it doesn't matter if a guy starts out walking 3 guys every inning as long it's followed by a K and a double play. it's like elevating ERA and wins to a high level while ignoring what it took to get there. the individual contribution can still be good, but flawed. lester has an obvious flaw that only he can address, and until it's addressed (if addressed) he's out there doing things with runner that NO OTHER PITCHER IN THE GAME is doing. yes, this is interesting to me as much as it being pointed out is irritating to you. this doesn't happen every season/decade/century as far as i can tell. what he's doing on the mound isn't comparable to greg "i dont check runners" maddux or jake "slow delivery/SB pains" arrieta. it doesn't matter if a single run never scored. check that again. it doesn't matter if a single run never scored. nothing he does with this shortcoming sets up a situation where he takes an advantage because of what the runners are doing on the bases. lester doesn't get a special set of improved odds because he can't control a guy taking 5-10' extra lead off a base, ignores a double play or lead runner to get an underhanded throw out at first, or watches a guy take another base without attempting an out...for a start. he is still putting himself at a disadvantage and also needs a personal catcher to make up for the things he can't/won't do. he is the only guy in the game that needs this. his issue isn't a singular thing and manifests itself in the total running game.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

He is putting himself at a disadvanage. But how much of one relative to the rest of his game? He's not Justin Germano -- he's inarguably one of the best SPs in baseball, issue or not. It would be more of thing to discuss ad nauseum if it constantly caused him to give up runs and lose games. But it doesn't. #baseballtalk

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

he gains nothing, no advantage, no saving of resources, nothing...there is not a cost/benefit tradeoff...him letting the running game go on around him for others to control isn't gaining him an advantage elsewhere. it's putting him at a disadvantage even if it's not cashed in with a run. he puts himself at a statistical disadvantage letting runners take huge leads and he raises his pitch count by leaving outs on the bases because he can only throw to 1st underhanded after a short jog. just because he can do "4-out innings" well doesn't mean he should let them happen because he can pitch his way out of it. besides, this is gambling even if his talent lets him win more than he loses. baseball is a game of statistical margins and capitalization on marginal advantages. long story short, what he's doing has no excuse to me. it's also a weird ass clown show to watch in practice. things happen with him on the mound that no other pitcher in the game allows anyone to see happen.

And out of respect for the rest of TCR, I'm done on this. I'm sure I'm not the only one in the other camp, but time to let it go. (Until the next Lester start. I kid.) #baseballtalk

On another topic....I returned to South Bend last night for the 2nd time this season (still haven't tried either the deep-fried mac & cheese sandwich nor "The Porknado", as the drive home is over an hour and that could get ugly), and was pleasantly surprised to find D. Underwood pitching in a rehab start. He looked good -- although, to be fair, these are low-A hitters -- fastball consistently at 94-95 (if the SB scoreboard is to be believed -- several pitches were clocked in the 30s...) and with good location. 3IP, no hits, one walk, 5Ks -- the highlight was a perfectly located 97mph fastball to punch out Kirk Gibson's son Cam, who swung, feebly, after the ball was in the catcher's mitt. The son looks just like his father, including batting stance. Eloy Jiminez looks ready to move up -- a line-drive single and a rocket that hit about 15 feet up on the extremely high CF wall that is 405 feet from home. I imagine that wall (which has got to be 25 feet high and provides ivy as the hitting background) has cost him a few HRs, and may be one reason he leads the league in doubles instead of HR. Also -- Eddy Martinez looked good (two hits, a line out and a steal of third), much better than when I saw him in June. One caveat -- the West Michigan Whitecaps pitchers were all LH until the 9th, so neither hitter had to deal with any RH breaking stuff. Eloy just looks bigger, better and more athletic than anyone else on the field. If anyone is in the area -- I highly recommend a visit to Four Winds Field in South Bend. A very enjoyable night of baseball.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

four winds field is awesome. it's crazy how minor league parks have "grown up" since the 80s/90s and that park was one of the late-80s models that showed a low-capacity ballpark could look like you're at something other than a highschool baseball game.

real shame I missed this week's episode of The Crunch Reporter.

It's highly unusual.

It does matter a little.

It matters much less than you think.

 

 

my gawd...that castillo-to-bryant pickoff was a thing of beauty. the knock on him in the minors being slow out of the crouch is looking less like a thing.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Yes!!! Thanks crunch!! It's mesmerizing

Dylan Cease throwing gas tonight for the Emeralds. In first three innings, has hit 100 mph six times, averaging 98 mph

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • 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...