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 South of the Border

In addition to the seven players (RHPs Dae-Eun Rhee, Kevin Rhoderick, Nick Struck, and Tony Zych, INF Javier Baez, IF-OF Rubi Silva, and OF Matt Silva) who are assigned to the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League, there are 17 other Cubs or Cubs minor leaguers on the rosters of teams in the Latin winter Leagues:

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE:
Alfredo Amezaga, IF-OF (Obregon)
Esmailin Caridad, RHP (Obregon)
Greg Rohan, 1B-3B-LF (Mazatlan)
Christian Villanueva, 3B (Obregon)

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE:
Arismendy Alcantara, SS (Licey)
Jeffry Antigua, LHP (Este)
Jairo Asencio, RHP (Este)
Diory Hernandez, INF (Este)
Junior Lake, INF (Oriente)

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE:
Juan Apodaca, C (Zulia)
Tony Campana, OF (Caracas)
Eduardo Figueroa, RHP (Oriente)
Yoannis Negrin, RHP (Caracas)
Loiger Padron, RHP (Caracas)
Miguel Socolovich, RHP (Caracas)
Luis Valbuena, INF (Lara)
Ty Wright, OF (Aragua)

Tony Campana and Luis Valbuena are both already big leaguers who will likely have bench jobs in 2013 no matter what they do in Venezuela, but Campana still needs to figure out how to draw more walks, and Valbuena needs to improve as a hitter, and it‘s possible that one or both could find the keys to those adjustments/improvements in winter ball.

Junior Lake is already on the 40-man roster and would appear to be headed to AAA Iowa in 2013, but if he has an eye-popping performance in the Dominican this winter, it could provide him more time to show what he can do in Spring Training next March.

Miguel Socolovich was claimed off waivers by the Cubs last month but didn’t have much of an opportunity to show what he could do, so he needs to pitch well in Venezuela if he wants to keep his slot on the MLB 40-man roster going into next season. (Even then he still could get dropped).

Christian Villanueva was acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Ryan Dempster deal and is one of the Cubs Top 15 prospects. He will probably be added to the Cubs 40-man roster on 11/20 no matter how he performs in Mexico, but there are others on the list who are also eligible for selection in the December 2012 Rule 5 Draft and who are not likely to get added to the Cubs 40-man roster by the 11/20 deadline, and they could get some attention from other clubs with a strong performance in winter ball.

29-year old RHRP Esmailin Caridad has big league experience and had a solid year at Iowa in 2012, 26-year old Greg Rohan is the proverbial minor league “big stick” who hit a combined 282/349/491 with 38 doubles, 21 HR and 106 RBI at three stops in 2012, and 22-year old LHP Jeffry Antigua is the type of Rule 5 candidate who might have value to a team in search of a lefty reliever with AA experience. And if they perform well in Mexico and are not selected in the Rule 5 Draft, Caridad and/or Rohan could get an NRI to Spring Training with the Cubs in 2013 and be given a legitimate chance to score a slot on the Cubs 2013 Opening Day 25-man roster.

Arismendy Alcantara won’t be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft until post-2013, and while he probably played his way into Top 15 prospect status at Daytona this past season and projects as the #1 shortstop at AA Tennessee in 2013, he still needs to have a strong season in the Dominican to stay on the front-burner, what with Javier Baez coming up fast behind him.

28-year old Cuban defector Yoannis Negrin was signed by the Cubs in 2011 but spent most of the 2012 season “on loan” to Tabasco in the Mexican League, so how he performs in the LMP this winter could help the Cubs decide whether he gets another year (probably at Iowa) or gets released.

Likewise, Eduardo Figueroa (Daytona) and Loiger Padron (AZL Cubs) could get released if they don’t show well in Venezuela.

27-year old Iowa LF Ty Wright will be a minor league free-agent post-2013 and will be released at Minor League Camp next March if he doesn‘t make the iowa Opening Day roster, so it wouldn’t hurt him to do well in winter ball.

Four of the 17 Cubs playing Latin winter ball will be minor league free-agents next month, and three of them will likely be someplace else in 2013. Alfredo Amezaga, Jairo Asencio, and Diory Hernandez probably won’t return to Iowa in 2013, but the Cubs are almost certainly looking for a veteran catcher who can be the back-up at Iowa in 2013 and who can be 4th on the depth chart behind Welington Castillo, Anthony Recker and Steve Clevenger, and since Juan Apodaca did a nice job as a back-up catcher at both Tennessee and Iowa in 2012, the Cubs might want to try and bring him back by offering him a pay raise and an NRI to Spring Training as inducement. It might help his cause if he does well in Venezuela.

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.