Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

All-star Break/Game

The most-needed break ever.

Comments

Glad to hear that Jake is leaning towards not pitching in the All-Star game.

Me too as long as it's not injury related. He's just been off for a while now and hope some extra rest will help. Hell I'd be happy if no Cubs were playing though I am enjoying Cardinals anger at so many Cubs and no Yadi.

AZ PHIL- Do you know why Jose Albertos and newly drafted Tyler Peyton and Stephen Ridings were placed on 60-DL? Tommy John in the future for any of them or other surgeries??

[ ]

In reply to by cubbies.4ever

To expand....I'll ask in this thread since it's more likely to be seen....Thanks for the Albertos update the other day. I was wondering if you got to see any of Faustino Carrera, Brailyn Marquez, Yunior Perez, or Carlos Ocampo if/when any of them were in AZ for offseason training or EXST?

[ ]

In reply to by KingKongvsGodzilla

KING KONG v. GODZILLA: Faustino Carrera,  Brailyn Marquez, Yunior Perez, and Carlos Ocampo were not at Minor League Camp or Extended Spring Training this year, or at Instructs post-2015, so all four have yet to make their U. S. debut. 

Here are the position players & pitchers who were at EXST: 

link 

[ ]

In reply to by cubbies.4ever

CUBBIES 4 EVER: I don't know (yet) why Albertos was shut-down and I haven't seen Peyton or Ridings so I don't if they are injured and if so what the injury/injuries might be.  

Since the AZL season only runs through the end of August, any July injury (even a hamstring or oblique) would probably be season-ending for a pitcher (though maybe not so much for a position player), but it would not necessarily preclude the pitcher from participating in post-2016 Instructs (again, depending on the nature of the injury).

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

ok, because Basball America has them all being put on the 60-DL in their latest transaction page, which I had found rather odd since Peyton nor Ridings hs thrown a pitch in a game. Drafties all the time don't touch minor league action the year they were drafted so being out on injury report before throwing a pitch? Don't know.

[ ]

In reply to by cubbies.4ever

CUBBIES-4-EVER: When a club signs a player selected in the MLB Rule 4 Draft (First-Year Player Draft), the player must be either placed on an Active List or DL of a minor league affiliate within 15 days.

Even with Peyton and Ridings going on the DL, the Cubs still have more than a dozen draft picks (Hatch, Miller, Bailey, Robinson, Mekkes, Carter, Cammack, Huberman, Swarmer, Freeman, Zinn, Davis, andf Filotei) who will need to be added to a minor league roster in the coming days, and there are only maybe ten open roster slots presently available (combined) between AZL Cubs and Eugene (and no slots available at any of the four full-season afiliates). 

So the minor league rosters are a bit of a tight squeeze right now, and any of the draft picks who won't be able to play or pitch right away (or at least fairly soon) will probably get placed on the DL. 

It's interesting that during Spring Training and Minor League Camp, the roster pressure is top-down (from above), with players cut from the MLB Spring Training squad getting sent down to Minor League Camp, and then players at Minor League Camp are moved down from the Iowa squad to the Tennessee squad, the Tennessee squad to the Myrtle Beach squad, etc (or released), as additional players are cut from the MLB Spring Training roster.

But this time of year, the roster pressure is bottom-up (from below), with draft picks getting assigned to one of the two short-season affiliates, and once those rosters are full, other players get promoted or released to clear roster space at Eugene and AZL Cubs. 

The Cubs have already released OF Alex Bautista and OF Ricardo Marcano from Eugene and INF Sutton Whiting from South Bernd, and LHP Justin Steele, RHP Tommy Nance, C-1B Alberto Mineo, SS Andruw Monasterio, and RHP Tanner Griggs were moved-up to full-season affiliates from Eugene or AZL Cubs, and I would expect a few more to either get released or promoted before too long as well. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Thanks for the info. This just might prove that there's too many players on each teams total rosters with all the Latino kids and do you really need 40 round draft. I know they recently cut it back from 50 round. I realize that you only sign about 25 or so of them. but that alone is another full team every year. - NBA has 2 rds (understandable) so few spots no real minors (D-Leagues) - NFL has 7 rds same few spots, no minors (10 man practice squad) - NHL has 7 rounds and they have minors, college, europe, and junior leagues to control players rights. Not saying MLB only needs 7, but 40 seems like too many. There's got to be a happy medium. So many players stuck in AZ.

Nathan's Hot Dog Watch: 3 up/3down tonight. Chattanooga Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Joe Nathan replaces Juan Paniagua. Niko Goodrum grounds out, second baseman Ian Happ to first baseman Gioskar Amaya. Stuart Turner flies out to left fielder Kelly Dugan. Engelb Vielma flies out to center fielder Trey Martin.

B. Zobrist B. Harper K. Bryant W. Myers (DH) B. Posey A. Rizzo M. Ozuna C. Gonzalez A. Russell J. Cueto (SP) J. Altuve M. Trout M. Machado D. Ortiz (DH) X. Bogaerts E. Hosmer M. Betts S. Perez J. Bradley Jr. C. Sale (SP)

I don't want to rain on anybody's parade. And I love the Contreras kid. But is it a total coincidence that our pitching fell apart after he joined the team? His Catcher's ERA is 5.23, far higher than Ross or Montero.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

On the plus side, he has caught Hendricks since he came up. Kyle has given up 2 ER in 19 innings since that time. The Cubs defense also has not been sharp during the slump -- throwing to wrong bases, not turning DPs, Baez running the runner back to 2nd instead of turning 2, etc. Clearly, he has work to do behind the plate in terms of receiving and blocking. But, I think (hope) that a lot of the runs given up recently have been the result of a total team slump.

Completely unrelated to anything: bizmarquis suggested offline (well, different-online) that we do an All-Star Game Parachat.  I'll be there and hope you will too. 

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).