Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and eight players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-24-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Pete Crow-Armstrong 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 8 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2
* Cody Bellinger, OF  
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Marlins @ Cubs: Koehler vs Lackey (Game 107)

Submitted by CTSteve on

The Cubs lead in the division is back to a healthy nine games.MIA (57-50): RHP Tom Koehler (8-8, 4.18)
CHC (65-41): RHP John Lackey (8-7, 3.69)
First pitch: 1:20pmCST

Lackey broke his losing streak on Wednesday against the White Sox (6 IP, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 BB). He went 1-3 with a 5.06 in July. He lost to the Marlins in Miami, when he gave up 7 ER and didn’t make it out of the 5th inning. Overall, they are 51-171 (.298) against him. Ichiro is 37-121 (.306).

Koehler had a no-decision against the Cubs in Miami (6 IP, 4 ER, 6 K, 2 BB). He went 2-1 with a 3.33 in July, including keeping the Phillies off the board for six innings and getting a win his last time out. The Cubs are 20-90 (.222) against him. Zobrist is 3-10 with a HR.

Tomorrow is a Netflix day, as the Cubs travel to CA. Lester takes the mound in Oakland at 9:05pmCST on Friday.

Go Cubs!
 

Tags
2016 Season Game Thread

Comments

Submitted by johann on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:49 am

Hammel on the bereavement list and Grimm called up. Wonder if that was part of being pulled early last night. He's had a 1.50 ERA and .96 WHIP through 4 starts since the break by the way. Maybe those potato chips really are helping.

Submitted by Ryno on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:10 am

I think a fun mental exercise would be this question: Who are the Cub's most overrated player and underrated player currently? Just to make it interesting and more difficult, I will disqualify Lackey from most overrated and Hendricks from most underrated.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:27 am

is jason heyward overrated or is pretty much everyone on board with "well, that sucks" through his 4 months so far? it seems a lot of patience from fans has run out over the past couple months, especially after his july step backwards from june. stellar RF defense and an ability to sub in CF can only take value so far...it's not like he's a SS/2nd getting 2-3x the amount of chances to control the defense's outcome. gotta say t.wood is probably underrated the most. he's doing long/short middle relief work, and it's not coming with mindblowing Ks, but it's been steady and effective. he's played in over 1/2 the cubs games so far.

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:43 pm

Under: Fowler. He will probably once again get no love as a FA. Over: Jake. Most "over-rated" stuff is because expectations are unrealistically high. That was the case with Jake after last year (and after the first 6 weeks) -- he's very good, but he's not the next Bob Gibson.

Submitted by Ryno on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:28 am

For overrated, I have Miggy Montero. I am not overly enamored by his catching skills. I routinely see pitches near the strike zone dropped. This is forgivable when nobody is on base, but he's a catcher, you would expect him to be able to catch most pitches. He swings the bat just ok, but my big beef is with his receiving skills. For honorable (dishonorable) mention, I would say Javy. Everyone seems to love Javy, but I think his defensive abilities are oversold and he strikes out too much to make up for that offensively. For underrated, I have Jason Heyward, and I know he might end up on someone's overrated player, but I think his stock has dropped this year because of his struggles with the bat and a fat contract, but in my opinion he makes up for that on the field. The batting team only gets 3 outs per inning, so when you have someone out there taking outs away, it makes it very difficult for other teams. For honorable mention, I'll go with Carl Edwards, Jr. I think everyone kind of sees how much of a stud he is, so that's why I can't choose him as most underrated.

[ ]

Submitted by johann on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:17 pm

I always have a difficult time defining over and underrated but I'd say I've been very impressed by Fowler. He has been setting the table a lot not just with walks but taking pitches. He's 4th in all of baseball in pitches per plate appearances which doesn't only drive up pitch counts but let's everyone behind him see what the pitcher is throwing. He's also been much better defensively and has a .403 OBP this season which is just stellar. Also as frustrating as Heyward hitting has been if you accept the analysis that WAR wise a win is worth $7 million Heyward already has 1.5 WAR and should easily surpass the 2.1 WAR it'd take to make his $15 million this year a value. It's not just good fielding by the way. Even with his limited times on base hes first among NL rfers in BsR, which is fangraphs base running component of WAR. He's not just just good at base stealing but at not making base running mistakes and taking extra bases whenever he can. So...yes his hitting has sucked but I do think his value to the team is underrated and if he can start hitting at all like he has the last few games he'll easily surpass his contract value.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:22 pm

heyward's bat is really bad. he's last in RF WRC+ in all of MLB. he's 3rd worst out of all OF'rs in MLB in WRC+ regardless of position. he's got the 4th worst RF ob% in MLB (17th of all OF'rs), the worst OF slugging in all of MLB (even worse than b.hamilton), and the worst RF wOBA (if you're into that). that's some really bad everyday-player batting before you get into the whole "getting 23-26m a year to do it" thing.

Submitted by blockhead25 on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:17 pm

stirring the pot: Overrated: Maddon. Love him, but stupid decisions that happen to end up working, are still stupid decisions. Honorable mention: Heyward, Zobrist, Lackey. Last two helped us to a great April/May, but all 3 are reasons reason we are under .500 since. Underrated: Bryant and Rizzo. ha.

Submitted by Eric S on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:42 pm

Joe Smtih with a Mike Montgomery like Cubs debut. Not a good thing.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:15 pm

Clayton Richard was released, and Brian Matusz was sent outright to Iowa (although he has the right to elect free-agency). 

Submitted by billybucks on Wed, 08/03/2016 - 08:46 pm

Wow -- the 2 ninth-inning WP that saved the Cubs recently were, like, crazy bad. The catcher had no chance on either one.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:41 am

The Cubs have signed Non-Drafted Free-Agent (NDFA) catcher Carlos Diaz (Jackson State) and he has been assigned to the AZL Cubs.

Diaz hit 409/465/620 with 6 HR & 57 RBI in 48 games (205 PA) with an 83% CS behind the plate for the Tigers in 2016, and he was 4th in NCAA D-1 in BatAVG. He was named 2nd team All-SWAC.

Diaz was highly-touted coming into the 2016 season. He was named to the "Johnny Bench Award Watch List," but did not make the final cut. 

A native of Puerto Rico, Diaz was named a Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American in his senior year in HS, and he attended the U. of Miami and Palm Beach State College before ending up at Jackson State.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:59 am

The Cubs have also signed 26-year old FA OF Lane Adams (ex-KC) to a minor league contract, and he has been assigned to AA Tennessee.

Adams has hit 268/344/407 with 195 SB in 760 minor league games (3208 PA) over the course of eight minor league seasons. He plays all three OF positions (mostly RF lately, but mainly CF earlier in his career).  

Adams had a brief "cup of coffee" with the Royals in September 2014, but was left-off the Royals post-season playoff roster. He was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees last January, before being outrighted to AAA Scranton in February. The Yankees released him last month. He is sort of a "poor man's" Matt Szczur.   

Meanwhile, OF Bijan Rademacher has (finally, at long last) been moved-up to AAA Iowa from AA Tennessee. Rademacher was hitting 313/395/484 in 86 games (294 PA) at Tennessee in 2016. He is Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2016 (as he was last December), and he is a good candidate to get plucked if the Cubs do not add him to their MLB 40-man roster by the 11/20 deadline (he is squarely "on the bubble"). 
 . . 
The Cubs are short of outfielders at the upper levels, what with Tennessee OF Billy McKinney having been traded to the Yankees in the Chapman deal, and Iowa outfielders Juan Carlos Perez (Temporarily Inactive List - Paternity Leave), Mark Zagunis (DL - broken toe), Matt Murton (DL - quad strain), and Ryan Kalish (DL - knee surgery) out of action. 

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Submitted by Koyies Bansaw on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:13 pm

How did he not get drafted? Seems like a guy who performed at that level as a catcher, even though it wasn't the greatest competition, would merit a draft pick somewhere. Could he be an actual prospect, org guy, or typical NDFA for this regime and not make it to opening day next year?

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:07 am

HAGSAG: OF Kwang-Min Kwon (2015 IFA - South Korea - $1.2M signing bonus) just wasn't ready to play in the AZL when the season started on June 20th (he hit 152/234/167 with 3/24 BB/K in 77 PA and struggled defensively in LF and RF at Extended Spring Training), so he has been taking pre-game BP and outfield practice and participating in baserunning drills with the rest of the team every afternoon, and he's on the bench in uniform every night. He finally made his AZL debut last night and went 0-2 (L-5 and F-8). 

The Cubs could have sent Kwon to either the DSL or to the MLB Auistralian Acdemy (where Cubs Australian Area Scout Brent Phelan is one of the coaches), but the Cubs Korean trainer/translator ("Moon") is in Mesa with RHP (ex-INF) Ho-Young Son, so they just decided to keep Kwon in Mesa, too, and have him work out with the team until he was deemed ready to play in games. Cubs Korean Area Scout (and ex-Cubs minor league OF) Min-Kyu Sung has been assigned to work one-on-one with Kwon.  

There is a somewhat similar situation with 17-year old SS Christopher Morel (2015 IFA - Dominican Republic - $800K siging bonus), who works out with the AZL Cubs every day and is in uniform,and on the bench every night but has yet to play in a game. Morel suffered a severe left arm laceration last winter that kept him off the field for Minor League Camp and Extended Spring Training, and although he is now fit to participate fully in drills (BP, baserunning drills, and infield practice) and can play defense or PR, he is not yet ready to face "live" pitchers in a game. 

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:35 am

baseball returns to the summer olympics in 2020...also skateboarding and surfing. the 2020 games will be tokyo's burden to use taxpayer money for a great waste of resources...at least they wont have to build baseball fields, though...maybe.

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:39 pm

Bizarre thought on the walk-off WP: the ball bounced off of Heyward's foot after it had bounced off the wall -- I wonder if the Marlins could have called for interference? Also -- given that the score was tied, with the bases loaded with 2 outs in the bottom of 9th -- there is no scenario in which he could have batted.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:48 pm

BILLY BUCKS: There are two types of interference: intentional interference and unintentional interference, and it is a judgment call by the umpire(s).  

In this case, a wild pitch touching a player who was lawfully "on-deck" where the player does not (in the umpire's judgment) intentionally interfere with the ball or with the catcher attempting to make a play would be considered unintentional interference.

It would be like a double down the LF line at Wrigley Field where the ball incidentally deflects off one of the pitchers sitting in the bullpen where the pitcher does not attempt to intentionally change the course of the ball or interfere with the left-fielder attempting to make a play.

Also, the on-deck batter does not have to remain in the on-deck circle once the pitch is made. In fact, the on-deck batter is expected to function as a de facto coach in the event of a play at the plate, available to direct the runner attempting to score to either slide or score standing up.  

As far as having a player in the on deck circle when there is no possible way the player in the on deck circle could possibly bat that inning, again, the on-deck batter is expected to serve as a coach in the event of a play at the plate. 

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:37 pm

Thanks Phil. Got it. Still, given that the bases were loaded and there were 2 outs -- not a lot of coaching to be done. It's not like the runner at 3rd is going to slide to avoid a tag.... Totally irrelevant point - just thought it was mildly interesting that there was a player on-deck who had no chance of ever batting.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:18 pm

JOHN B: Tommy LaStella stopped accruing MLB Service Time the day he was optioned to Iowa (last Friday - 7/29). When he actually physically reports to the I-Cubs is not relevant.  

I mentioned this last week, but again, Tommy LaStella projects to be at 2+124 MLB Service Time by the end of the of the 2016 MLB regular season, which will place him "on the bubble" as far as being eligible for salary arbitration as a "Super Two" post-2016. 

But if he spends at least twenty days on optional assignment this season (anything less than twenty days and he will accrue a full season of MLB Service Time), he will almost certainly not have enough MLB Service Time to have a chance to be a "Super Two." 

So if he is not recalled by 8/17, this move could have a very specific negative impact on LaStella's 2017 salary (depending on where the "Super Two" cut-off will be). And I suspect that's why he is resisting the minor league assignment so strongly. Depending on where his priorities are, he might have even asked for a trade, even if it is to a non-contender.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 08/05/2016 - 08:43 am

LaStella losing a numbers game to Coghlan seems weird to me. Hell, Almora losing a numbers game to Coghlan seems weird to me. I guess i'm not a big Coghlan fan. I gotta wonder if LaStella went off the ranch somehow from a team perspective. I guess that goes to show, never trust a guy who blows his nose onto the field while he's setting up in the batter's box. The reminds me a little of Carlos May of the White Sox, who would sometimes spit into his helmet, then put the helmet on and rub it on his head before getting into the batters box.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Fri, 08/05/2016 - 08:05 am

Yeah, I've noticed that nostril-clearing thing he does, one at a time. Where were his parents when he started down that path as a teenager? Still, I probably prefer it to Darwin Barney's bubble-gum chewing and the endless inter-pitch fiddling with batting gloves that many players practice. I would draft guys who don't wear gloves.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 08/05/2016 - 08:31 am

Or Moises Alou urinating into his hands. 

I don't think he ever did that on the field during a game, though, but can you imagine Alou coming up to the plate in a key moment in the game, but before he steps into the batter's box he pulls down his zipper, whips it out, and pees into his hands.

Talk about The Human Rain Delay!  

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Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 08/05/2016 - 08:28 pm

It seems like La Stella's agent/the players union (whoever does this stuff) would have a reasonable case to file a claim against the Cubs. But not showing up to his minor league games seems like it will only improve the Cubs hypothetical case for not calling him up sooner (if not an explanation for why they optioned him in the first place).

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 08/06/2016 - 08:01 pm

CHARLIE: Tommy LaStella would have a case if in fact he was being sent down merely to delay arbitration eligibility, but the Cubs would contend (quite rightly) that LaStella was sent down because the Cubs saw the decision as a choice between LaStella or Coghlan remaining on the 25-man roster, and while Coghlan has minor league options left, he also has accrued enough MLB Service Time where he must give his permission before he can be optioned to the minors, whereas LaStella has minor league options available and he has NOT accrued enough MLB Service Time to refuse an optional assignment to the minors. Same thing happened to Justin Grimm when the Cubs added Brian Matusz to the 40 and 25. LaStella's agent really needs to explain to him the Facts of of Life as they pertain to MLB Service Time. Just because a player doesn't "deserve" to be sent to the minors does not mean it's not the logical move in certain situations. It's happened to many, many players over the years. LaStella isn't the first to feel the system is unfair and that he is a victim of the rules, and I'm sure he won't be the last. I think the Cubs fully expected LaStella to accept the assignment without resisting it so strongly. Obviously he was bound to be disappointed and upset, but the Cubs must have figured that he would go to Iowa for a month, get regular playing time and lots of AB and reps at 2B and 3B, and then come back ready to contribute on September 1st, or maybe even sooner in the event that another position position goes on the DL prior to 9/1. But with the way this has turned out, I suspect the Cubs now wish they had just released Coghlan. They certainly don't want to poison the well with LaStella going forward by suspending him or by placing him on the Restricted List or Ineligible List, but they also can't be seen to be rewarding LaStella by recalling him from the minors after he refused to report. Something will need to be worked out to make it acceptable for both sides. I think the Cubs really like LaStella and see him as a valuable bench piece in the years ahead, but they can't set a precedent by allowing a player who does not have the rights of a veteran do what he is doing and get away with it without some consequences.

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Submitted by Charlie on Sat, 08/06/2016 - 08:30 pm

I certainly don't see how refusing to report in a timely fashion is in La Stella's interest--I just thought he had a similar case to Bryant's. But you make a good point that the Cubs have a pretty good defense re: Coghlan, flimsy though it may seem to those of us who see Coghlan as entirely redundant to the Cubs overall roster.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 08/06/2016 - 08:49 pm

it doesn't help he's 27. he's a few years late in acquiring his service time and he'll be lucky to have a career 10 seasons from now (because most ballplayers don't get that far). along with that, he'd be a starter on a lot of teams whereas he's been a part-time player since he came to the cubs. that said, his frustration/anger/whatever might not have anything to do with this.

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Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Sat, 08/06/2016 - 08:06 pm

La Stella just needs to get over this. It does no good to burn bridges with the hand that feeds you. Minor league assignments are part of the game. Coghlan/Szczur have no options. Makes sense. You can say he's a valuable part of bench, but anything he can do Baez can do better. Bryant's situation was pure business (smart and unfair but legal) too, but he went down played his 11 days or so and stayed out of the media (Boras covered that) and got over it. It's good to see him upset, shows passion for the game and belief in himself, but there's a point when it becomes arrogance and he's crossed that line.

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 08/04/2016 - 08:40 pm

Almora now with at least one hit in all 8 games he has played since getting sent down. Attaboy!

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Fri, 08/05/2016 - 08:16 pm

La Stella has no case. He had options, Szczur doesn't. It's a numbers game. Otherwise maybe Justin Grimm and Spencer Patton should file grievances too. Not like he was an everyday player. Does anyone know if he can get fined? Like in NFL training camp if you miss days you can get fined per day or get suspended (just ask Manziel).

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Fri, 08/05/2016 - 08:30 pm

People make a big deal about Chapman's "character" (rightfully so), but what does not showing up for games etc say about La Stella's "character?"

[ ]

Submitted by johann on Fri, 08/05/2016 - 08:48 pm

Well if he's not showing up because he's unhappy than that would not look good but I would hesitate to say that yet. Last thing I read was Cubs were giving him extra time for personal reasons and I don't think they've said yet he's not showing up because he's mad so I'm gonna wait to see still. Also I am not a Stella fan really but it'd be difficult to compare what Chapman did and what Stella might be doing. Both are bad but for different reasons.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

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