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

25-Man Roster Update

AZ Phil's Cubs Depth Chart | Cubs Reserve List (40-man Roster)

Let's take a revised look at what we might expect the Cubs Opening Day Roster to look like after the recent series of moves.

Starters

C - Geovany Soto
1B - Derrek Lee
2B - *Mike Fontenot
3B - Aramis Ramirez
SS - Ryan Theriot
LF - Alfonso Soriano
CF - *Kosuke Fukudome
RF - #Milton Bradley

Bench

C - *Paul Bako
OF - Reed Johnson
OF - *Joey Gathright
INF - #Aaron Miles
INF/OF - *Micah Hoffpauir

Starting Pitching

#1 - Carlos Zambrano
#2 - Ryan Dempster
#3 - *Ted Lilly
#4 - Rich Harden
#5 - Aaron Heilman

Bullpen

#1 (Closer) - Carlos Marmol
#2 (Set-Up) - Kevin Gregg
#3 - Luis Vizcaino
#4 - *Neal Cotts
#5 - Chad Gaudin
#6 - Angel Guzman
#7 - *Sean Marshall

Moving Wuertz opens up a spot in the bullpen for the loser of the 5th starter job and sometime during spring training, Lou is going to say he wants two lefties in the pen. Hoffpauir gets the final bench spot at the moment, that is until they sign Rich Aurilia, Nomar Garciaparra or Kevin Millar. If Harden starts the year on the disabled list, then I'd expect Marshall in the rotation and Jeff Samardzija or an NRI invitee to take the final bullpen spot. Of course, Samardzija may end up with a starter's job and Heilman and/or Marshall will end up in the pen. 

Comments

phew...that pen is gonna walk some guys. and hopefully guzman wont give up 1000000 homers.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Biggest problem with letting Wood walk is now you take your top "Come in in a bind and strike out three clowns" guy and move him from being flexible to being labeled "The Closer"...now he only pitches in the 9th, so we'll bring in Gregg/Vizciano/Scrub and they'll give up the runs and will make having Marmol available in the 9th a moot point. The pen screams mediocrity and that isn't good for a contending team.

[ ]

In reply to by The Joe

"Lou gives less than a shit about your fantasy team." Sorry The Joe, not everyone can be TCR Keeper Champion/Runner-Up like you. Some of us are still in the little leagues playing public leagues over at Yahoo. One day I aspire to be like the man, the myth, and the legendary fantasy baseball player that is The Joe.

Can somebody explain to me why Hoffpauir will be on the outside looking in? To my knowledge he's done nothing but hit the cover off the ball at the major league level, and he's not really at an age where time in the minors will help him anymore.

[ ]

In reply to by kmokeefe

let me preface this as it's not my idea...

But Hoffpauir does have options and might be better suited to start off in Iowa in case of an injury, plus he's a one position player - 1B. The Cubs seem to have soured on the lefty pinch-hitter with power since they got a little more left-handed now and they might be worried that Hoffpauir will struggle with very limited at-bats.

[ ]

In reply to by CPH2133

if you broke down any hitter by how they did 100-150 PA's at a time, I'm sure a lot had lines that looked like Daryle Ward. Counting on a pinch-hitter to repeat his performance year-to-year is foolish...

He had good AB's, walked a lot as no one wanted to pitch to him, which probably set up Soriano and the top of the order for more opportunities than they should have expected.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"He had good AB's, walked a lot as no one wanted to pitch to him, which probably set up Soriano and the top of the order for more opportunities than they should have expected." They walked Ward so they could throw two curveballs in the dirt and an eye high fastball to Soriano to get out of the inning... I kid I kid, I understand with a small sample size it's hard to take averages for what they're worth (shit Fukudome was batting .500 at one point least season) Just seems to me that they're looking for a bit more versatility out of that last roster spot than The Hoff...for whatever its worth.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Not your idea? I remember when you first said it, the first time Aurilia's name surfaced. You may have started the rumor that there was an open spot on the roster, temporarily filled by Hoffpauir. You had me scared for a while, but then Uribe signed a minor-league contract with somebody else, and I just figured the Cubs were looking for someone to stash in Iowa in case Ramirez got injured. Anyway, on a different subject, let me toss this out concerning Vizcaino. A guy who makes upwards of $4 million is automatically on the major-league roster. Normally. But Vizcaino may be different. It may be that the Cubs don't like him much, but were given these two options by the Rockies: pay half of Marquis' salary, or pay one million and then also pay Vizcaino. They would have shelled out the same amount either way. They opted for the warm body. That doesn't mean he's in their plans. They do have to try to make Vizcaino attractive for a few months (so they can pay only $2 million for someone else to take him), so maybe he has to be on the 25-man. I just don't think they necessarily like him at all.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Not your idea?

I remember when you first said it, the first time Aurilia's name surfaced. You may have started the rumor that there was an open spot on the roster, temporarily filled by Hoffpauir.

Reality is calling, please pick up....

http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1000/blog?id=3738908&post…

The Cubs are still looking for a right-handed hitting infielder/1B-3B backup. Names that have come up for the Cubs are Kevin Millar and Rich Aurilia. The team had shown early interest in Nomar Garciaparra, but were told that he was looking for more of a full-time position. The team also inquired about the availability of former White Sox SS Juan Uribe before he signed a deal with the San Francisco Giants.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

The ESPN link is dated 1/30. I was referring to something you wrote on the 15th.
"The Cubs have spoken to Rich Aurilia's agent and may offer Aurilia a one-year deal to take Cedeno's spot and back up Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee." Whose spot was Cedeno going to take though? I'm starting to wonder if Micah Hoffpauir is on the outside looking in at a roster spot.
Nothing wrong with connecting the dots, I just said you were the first to connect Aurilia et al. to Hoffpauir.

In a recent thread somebody raised the point that "Lou hates pitchers". I'm not sure of that, but I do think he hates relievers who walk guys. Hence reliance on HR Howry last year. #5 starter comes down to Heilman or Gaudin, with whomever shows better control actually going to the bullpen. I guess Heilman. I think Marshall will get the least look for the #5 starter, since Lou has talked about liking him in the swing role. I also think by the time it shakes out it will be Samrdizja--Marmol-Gregg to finish games. So either Vizcaino goes somewhere (I assume with the Cubs paying part of his salary) or Guzman goes. I also think Hoffpauir starts the year at AAA to stay sharp. His primary value to the Cubs (at least in management's mind) is as a regular fill-in for D Lee if he gets hurt, rather than as a 24th man. Better to play at Iowa and be only a phone call away.

Ramirez is now on the wrong side of 30, and has averaged 140 games a year for the past five seasons. Miles is the only backup 3B on the roster, and is best suited for 2B-SS. We need a guy who can backup both 3B and 1B and provide a litle PH thump off the bench. Hoffpauir simply can't fill that role.

Speaking of Fantasy Baseball....we should have a Cubs Report fantasy league! Thoughts on that guys?

[ ]

In reply to by spongebob

well, if you look at the 2 signatures above you, you'll notice there are a few around already. I think Transmission runs some as well. We had 2 leagues going on mlb.com last year, that were low maintenance, so might bring that up again.

I'm a bit stretched thin, so I probably won't be starting anything new up this year. Others are welcome to schill their leagues in the comments though or start a new one.

Doug Mientkiewicz is another fallback option ---- he also an anagram for Samardzija in Belarus, nyet?

Concern: If Marshall swings to the rotation, is Cotts the only lefty option in the pen? Beimel never sounded so adequate.

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.