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

Prior Commitment

Mark Prior gets his final ST start tomorrow, facing the Colorado Rockies at HoHoKam Park. But with Wade Miller's outstanding outing at Scottsdale Stadium last Saturday (5 IP, three hits, no runs, no walks, and four strikeouts), it appears that Miller has all but nailed-down the 5th spot in the Cubs starting rotation. Even if Prior has a great outing tomorrow and Miller falters (implodes) in his last start (probably Thursday), Wade Miller is NOT a candidate for the bullpen. He has made that very clear himself. And although he does have one minor league option left, he also has five years-plus of MLB service time, so he can't be optioned to the minors without his permission. And I doubt VERY much that he would agree to go to AAA, even if the Cubs offered to guarantee some of his $3.75M in 2007 performances bonuses to entice him to do so. In fact, Jim Hendry probably promised Miller when he signed him last November that if he doesn't begin the regular season in the Cubs starting rotation, he will either be traded to a club where he will have a chance to start, or he will be given his release so that he can make his own deal. But I would think Hendry probably wants to retain as many MLB-caliber starting pitchers in the organization as possible going into the regular season, so he would probably prefer to retain both Miller and Prior. At least for a while. The problem is, Prior says he feels fine, which makes it kind of tough to place him on the DL. Of course he could suddenly claim his shoulder hurts, or I guess the Cubs could put him on the DL with some "right shoulder weakness" mumbo-jumbo and send him to Extended Spring Training at Fitch Park for a month or two and then on a 30-day minor league injury rehab assignment in May or June, but so far there is no indication they plan to do that. And what happens if, after Prior completes his minor league rehab, he feels "OK," but he's just not getting good results? Or if there isn't a spot for him in the rotation, is Prior a candidate for the bullpen? As of now, Piniella says he is not. Prior has 4+131 days of MLB ST right now, which means he is 41 days short of the five years of MLB ST he would need to refuse an optional assignment to the minors. He has two minor league options left. He would have to clear Major League Waivers to be optioned, but this time of year, getting a player through Major League Waivers is usually just a formality, because Major League Waivers are revocable, and a club can pull a player back if he gets claimed. And I doubt that any MLB GM would put in a "nuisance claim" (forcing the Cubs to either keep Prior on their Opening Day 25-man roster or place him on the DL), because next time, that GM might want to send one of his guys to the minors. (It's also possible that the Cubs put Prior through Major League Waivers at the very beginning of the current waiver period--which started on February 16th, in which case the waivers remain good through April 30th, when the current waiver period ends and the waivers expire). So the Cubs could (without having to get Prior's OK) very likely option Prior to the minors right now. As long as Prior accrues at least 41 days of MLB service time in 2007, he's still in good shape as far as entering the 2008 season with five years of MLB service time (so the Cubs would not be able to option him to the minors without his permission out of ST next year) and so he could stay on target to be a FA after 2008. Which means Prior could spend most of the 2007 season at Iowa, and as long as he is recalled to the big leagues prior to August 22nd, it won't cost him a chance to be a FA after 2008, and in either case, he will be eligible for salary arbitration (again) after the 2007 season. Prior won't like it (although he gets his $3.575M whether he's pitching in Chicago, Des Moines, or Boise), and I'm sure the Cubs wouldn't be exactly thrilled having to pay a pitcher $3.5M+ to pitch in AAA, but the Cubs probably will consider optioning Prior to AAA to start the season and leaving him there for as long as it takes for him to get the velocity back on his fastball and the bite back on his curve. And if he does get the mojo back at Iowa sometime during the '07 season, then the Cubs can decide where he fits at that time (even if it means working him out of the bullpen). And if he doesn't get it back, the Cubs can either try and trade him after the season, or (more likely) just non-tender him in December.

Comments

Go with Miller until he gets hurt, then bring up Prior. Who give a damn about his pride? And for Prior next year if he doesn't have a strong consistent finish to 2007 I would be p.o.'ed at the Cubs if they bring him back in 2008.

The way Marquis has been pitching, Prior should set his sites on the #3 spot in the rotation. Which brings up the question, AZ PHIL, what do we do with Marquis if he picks up where he left off last year with St.L and really sucks?

Z shoots one across the Cubs bow- Chicago Tribune (registration required): "With six days left to reach a contract extension before Opening Day, Carlos Zambrano is discussing the possibility of wearing a New York Mets uniform next year." GET HIM SIGNED!!!!!

CWTP, Barring a trade, I think your answers are (in order): Angel Guzman, Sean Gallagher, Donnie Veal, and Jeff Samardzija (in early 2008).

Miller is moving up on the depth chart, and may not have much to do with Prior any more. Can Lilly keep up with Miller? I doubt that Marquis can. I suspect that Marquis is the number 5 starter at best, and if his ERA stays over six (as in 2006) he'll be doing long relief until his contract expires. Not that Marquis was a terrible signing. He was just insurance in case of arm problems and problems with young pitchers (Guzman, Mateo, Marshall, Gallagher) not maturing quickly. Next time Prior pitches, compare him to Marquis, not Miller.

cubswinthepennant — March 27, 2007 @ 10:46 am The way Marquis has been pitching, Prior should set his sites on the #3 spot in the rotation. Which brings up the question, AZ PHIL, what do we do with Marquis if he picks up where he left off last year with St.L and really sucks? =============================== CWtP: If Jason Marquis turns out to be as bad for the Cubs as Russ Ortiz (for instance) was for the D-backs, the Cubs will give him more than a few chances to get things turned around, and if that doesn't work, then he gets the "garbageman" job in the bullpen and has to work his way back to the rotation. If Marquis has an absolute nightmare season in 2007 (or let's say the '06 nightmare just continues), the Cubs will probably try to move Marquis during the off-season and eat a large chunk of his salary, or else take back somebody else's high-priced problem in a trade, hoping to maybe pull-off another Todd Hundley for Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek-type deal. I'm sure there are many GMs in MLB who would LOVE to see Hendry's post-2006 FA "recruiting class" fall flat.

the chances of Marquis having another putrid season are pretty slim, he was hung out to dry to save the bullpen a few times last year and at age 29, I can't see him being washed up. He does need a good defense behind him and let's hope the Cubs oblige. His GB% the last 3 years starting from 2004 ... 55.5, 52.3, 42.9 Assuming he's back to keeping the ball down which it appears he has been so far in spring, he'll give us exactly what we expect which is a league average ERA and a bunch of innings.

Who would of thought that Wood and Prior will both very likely not be on the Opening Day Roster? SHOCKER I tell ya'!!

I had to change the pic on you AZ Phil, it was just too pixelated. Hope you don't mind.... For future reference, if you're using the horizontal image tag, MVN will blow-up or shrink it to 440 pixels in width, so it's best to find something close to that size.

MANNY: "Who would of thought that Wood and Prior will both very likely not be on the Opening Day Roster? SHOCKER I tell ya’!!" No. No. He has been annointed the closer here (by some). Can't you read, man! Get with the program!

Gee Rob, I thought Az Phil was just making an artistic point about how Prior's future is not in focus.

Will HENDRY pull the trigger on Big Z? I was not optimistic at all on the A-Ram deal. Don't know what to make of this one either. Seeing as he potentialy could have signed him to a long-term extension during the season last year, but didn't, could the team afford to not have a #1 for the next couple years?

If I remember correctly he signed Aram right before the game opening day 2004, same type of situation.

The E-Man: "Will HENDRY pull the trigger on Big Z?" Honestly I have no doubt in my mind that Hendry will get this deal done at some point. Maybe not before Opening Day, but like Lee and ARam, he will get it done. Unless Z gets hurt this year, there is just absolutely no excuse not to resign him, since all indications is Z wants to stay and Hendry just spent like over $300 million this offseason, how could he justify not giving Z $100 million or so?

D-Lee was signed early in 2006, I think it actually was a few days in. Aramis signed in November of 2006. It was first reported no deal was done and he'd hit the open market, but by mid-day (a Sunday I believe), the deal was announced and if I recall correctly it was struck minutes before other teams could start officially start making offers.

Rob G.: "Brownlie got released" WOW!!! The Cubs had 4 first round picks that year and NONE of them panned out even remotely. Luke Hagerty - LHP Matt Clanton - RHP Bobby Brownlie - RHP Chadd Blasko - RHP What idiot was in charge of that draft??? :)

hagerty/brownlie/blasko were considered coup/steals for the cubs at the time for what its worth. injuries happen. that's why they're prospects, not pros.

'Miller 5th starter officially… ' OK Manny, canI I get room on the Piniella doesn't know what the fuck he is doing bandwagon?

"The other kid [Miller] has pitched well. In fairness, what do you do?" What you do, moron, is ... 1. Keep your word and let Prior compete for the job at least through his scheduled start 2. Choose the guy who is most likely to help the Cubs win, not the guy who has the best ERA in Spring Training. We're not talking about Marshall vs Hill and Guzman like we were last year, these are pitchers with a ML track record. Not that I am saying that Prior should be the guy, but he was effective his last start and scheduled to pitch tomorrow, why not let him pitch tomorrow, then make a decision? What possible harm could there be? What advantage are you possibly hoping to gleen from this decision?

The Real Neal: "OK Manny, canI I get room on the Piniella doesn’t know what the fuck he is doing bandwagon?" Hold on a second. Where did I say that? While i am sure there are going to be thing Piniella does that I don't agree with, I am not on any bandwagon knocking him.

Real Neal, Why is Piniella a moron for seeing that Miller has been consistently better than Prior. Even if Prior throws tomorrow as well as he did last time it is obvious that he is not ready to pitch MLB. Miller has shown he can change speeds effectively making his high 80's fastball look better than it is. He also hits his spots. Prior has not shown that he can change speeds nor can he locate what he does have. He might be able to in a month but it is pretty obvious that he is not ready to start on the 25 man roster right now. If that make Lou a moron then 90% of the posters are morons too.

|Why is Piniella a moron for seeing that Miller has been consistently better than Prior.| He's a moron for not doing what he says he is going to do. That's pretty much the worst thing a manager can do. 'I am going to make the final cuts before we head to Vegas' 'There's competition for the 5th starter spot' Technically, he is following his word, but the first implies that he is going to wait until then to settle the final roster, and the second implies that if you're in the starting rotation - well you should be a candidate. If Prior isn't a candidate- why is he starting tomorrow?

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.