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

TCR Friday Notes

Let's see, what did I miss over the last week?

Baseball America put out their top 10 Cubs list and it looks a little something like this

  1. Javier Baez
  2. Kris Bryant
  3. C.J. Edwards
  4. Albert Almora
  5. Jorge Soler
  6. Pierce Johnson
  7. Arismendy Alcantara
  8. Jeimer Candelario
  9. Dan Vogelbach
  10. Arodys Vizcaino

Edwards above Almora is a bit of surprise, but also completely meaningless. Mike Olt is falling faster than a reality star.

The Mesa Solar Sox will play in the AFL Finals this Saturday.

Bill Mueller's name is in the hat for taking over hitting instructor duties from James Rowson.

I'm pretty sure you can replace "upper management" with "Crane Kenney" in this story about being way off base on Joe Girardi's interest in returning to Chicago.

Amongst the offseaon rumors, so far we know Jeff Samardzija is certainly on the block with teams like Arizona and Toronto being mentioned. The DBacks also may have their eye on Nate Schierholtz according to Jon Morosi. Patrick Mooney says don't expect McCann or Saltalamacchia signing with the Cubs, but Kurt Suzuki is on the radar. Ricky Nolasco allegedly has a 4-year offer on the table in the 50M+ range. Adjust your contract expectations accordingly for players like Josh Johnson and so on.

Comments

I have about 300 comments about the 1965 video in the tweetbar. What an awesome show. Everyone should watch this winter - I know it's an hour long but it's worth it. Thanks, Al. I was bound to say that eventually, I guess.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

How about letting pitcher bat with tying and winning runs on in the 9th? Hard to believe the Cubs haven't won in100 years. --- in the Jim Maloney 10 inning no hitter (in the TCR Twitter box) vs Larry Jackson from 1965, The Cubs had runners on the corners in the bottom of the 8th (Billy Williams was walked intentionally) and Ernie Banks swings at a 3-2 count low pitch out of the strike zone to end the inning. Santo was on deck. Ah, Cubbery!

according to musk, valbuena has been getting work in at 2nd in VWL. unless olt shows something in spring that may be moot, though.

no idea how accurate this is...saw it repeated on Twitter, but allegedly Theo said recently that Cubs have flipped 4 years of contract control for 78 over the last 2 years.

MLB Network "Clubhouse Confidential" (the network's stats-based show) is once again lamenting m.trout not being named MVP...with a panel of 3 guys (kenney, j.jaffe, and someone else) in agreement. trout - .323/.432/.557 - on base 300 times out of the 1/2/3 slot (69% out of the 1/2 slot) in 157 games (716 PA) miggy - .348/.442/.636 - on base 283 times out of the 3 slot in 148 games (652 PA) better D on trout, but miggy didn't get outclassed anywhere but D and SB (and runs scored by 6 + games played by 9). trout had a better WAR (oWAR, especially), but a lot of people still aren't fans of that stat...plus, somehow, trout's dWAR ended up being -0.9 showing some further flaws in dWAR which is odd for a CF given that dWAR is now weighted to give CF'rs a weird "position importance based" bump in values out of the box before even looking at what they did. dWAR had issues years ago where, because of no position weighting, it was giving some extremely screwed up numbers...but rather than "fixing" the issues with the values to begin with they decided to weigh position-by-default into it rather than fixing what leads to the numbers to begin with.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

...and the same crew is on today's show lamenting y.molina not being named MVP with even more "i don't even understand this" than trout/miggy. craig calcaterra is the other guy, btw. hell of a hivemind they got going on over there. i was surprised molina/mccutchen wasn't closer than it was, but it could have gone either way. oddly, some of the same metrics arguments they made for trout-over-miggy point to mccutchen-over-molina...but whatever, different day, different standard i guess. up next, a discussion by them about how it's time to overhaul who gets to vote for post-season awards so stuff like miggy/mccutchen being MVPs doesn't keep happening.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

twins mulling over m.garza and r.nolasco...cubs mulling over a backup catcher who hasn't had an OPS above .700 since 2009. i hope the cubs have an interesting winter meeting with the trade market since the only player they're linked to in the FA market that's worth caring about is m.tanaka...and the cubs are considered minor players in his bidding so far.

Hoyer: "We will not hit the fast forward button on our plan simply because people are impatient. It will make it worth it in the end." LOVE it!

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

this is coming on the heels of s.boras ripping the cubs a couple days ago (from the owners to theo/jed) for wanting to have little-to-nothing to do with his clients for a number of years. fwiw, e.jackson left boras's agency before signing 4/52 with the cubs. also fwiw, boras represents almora and bryant.

"Cubs signed C Eli Whiteside to a minor league contract." he hit .187/.242/.280 last year in 244 PA...in AAA ...also minor league fodder SS/2nd jeudy valdez...24yo, high-K, low hit, low walk, touch of power who hasn't made it past AA (turns 25 in may).

Cubs.com says that the Cubs have signed Walter Ibarra, IF, formally a Yankee farmhand.( Listed under transactions.)

Cardinals Signed Cardinals signed Scott Moore. He would probably be the team's most productive 3rd Base right now at 30 years old. What the fuck did Hendry get for him anyway when we traded him to the Orioles?

Bryant having a rough game so far (0-3, 2 SOs, 5 LOB) as Mesa trails Surprise 0-1, Dallas Beeler in line for the loss despite 5 solid innings of 1-run ball.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

he's battled injuries...but after this AFL performance, his age (24), throws 93mph, slider, changeup...well, someone might take him as a rule5. he was signed overslot after TJ, so it's not like he's a 41st round talent over-achieving (though he wasn't a round 1-10 talent). it was viewed as a nice gamble at the time. his game produces ground ball outs rather than Ks. he seems to be a rick porcello or rick reuschel type at best.

[ ]

In reply to by QuietMan

...and 32nd in pitching WAR no one's clamoring to put long time cub bill dahlen in the HOF for his 74th all-time WAR as a SS yet...he fell 2 short in the vet vote this year. all that aside (and i realize you're just adding to the information base), i just threw reuschel and porcello out there cuz they're 2 guys who throw innings with decent stuff, yet do most of their game on ground balls rather than Ks.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I'm guessing it was the "at best" part of the comment that made it sound like you were quantifying his overall value as a pitcher, rather than just making a comparison about their pitching styles. I took it the same way as QuietMan seemed to. BTW, I'm clamoring about Bill Dahlen not being in the Hall of Fame, but then again, I pretty much fit the definition of "no one".

[ ]

In reply to by JoePepitone

r.reuschel's WAR stats is something i see as a combination of his longevity and the era he pitched in (which played greatly into how effectively he pitched). i also have a bit of an issue with using WAR to evaluate some talent to begin with (especially over different eras). reuschel being the 97th best player based on this stat is odd...being the 32nd best pitcher in the game's history with pWAR is eye-rolling. without a good D behind him reuschel is not as good as the stats he earned. his game relied heavily on others to make the outs he sets up. he also got to pitch to a slew of other players on teams that valued infield D over production with bat+power in his era, too. if you insert him into the style of play we have had for almost the past 20 years where infield D can be somewhat tossed to the side for a better bat his game most likely doesn't look so slick. he played in an era and for teams where infielders who couldn't hit didn't matter that much as long as their D was solid. he'd have the same game with different results on many teams if he came along in today's game. in 2012, rick porcello had the 4th best gb/fb ratio in MLB...he also gave up the most hits in all of MLB (226 h in only 176.1 ip) thanks to his leaky low-D infield. if he had adequate D behind him, not only would the hits be lower, but his IP would be higher, and his ERA/whip lower, too.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Well, first, BR's WAR adjusts for eras, since it is based on relationships to league averages and replacement players computed annually. You don't think they would anticipate that obvious criticism and account for it? Everyone knows the game has changed over time, so they control for the type of baseball played when calculating player values. Second, they also take into account team defense when calculating pitcher war. Everything is right here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/war_explained_pitch.shtml Finally, if you insert any player from one era into another they would have different results. Duh. Cy Young would pitch every 5th day not every 3rd. Players who walk a lot now would be benched in previous eras. Power hitters would have WAY fewer home runs in the deadball era and would fly out a lot. Catchers who can't throw can pass in some eras but would see their defensive metrics take a huge hit and would be benched in other eras where stolen bases are high. Etc.

"Daniel Bard has retired one of 13 batters faced over three outings with Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Yikes. Bard has actually yet to allow a hit, but he's given up seven earned runs on nine walks, three hit batters and four wild pitches." ...well, that's special.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

he's lost 3+mph on his fastball the past couple of seasons along with an increasing lack of control+command, but this is just silly. before BOS cut him last year he put up 27bb in 15.1ip in RK-AA ball (as a 28 year old). he wasn't much better in 2012, but not this bad.

per muskat... "Luis Valbuena made his third straight start at second base on Saturday for Cardenales de Lara in Venezuela, and for the first time, was hitless."

the cubs seem to be cornering the market on crappy AAA IF'rs this offseason... "Cubs sign INF Chris Valaika to a minor league contact."

"Jeff Niemann has elected to become a free agent." hope the cubs are in on this if his medicals check out.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

CRUNCH: The Cubs could have claimed Jeff Niemann last week when he was on Outright Assignment Waivers (as they did with Daniel Bard in September and Mat Gamel last month) if they were interested. 

Even if they didn't want to risk having to go to aribitration with him (despite the shoulder surgery Niemann will likely make $3M+ in 2014 if he is tendered), the Cubs could have claimed him and then non-tendered him on 12/2 with the possibility that they could work-out a pre-arranged minor league deal with him to avoid aribtration. 

BTW, with the way he has pitched in Puerto Rico, it's very possible that the Cubs might not even wait to non-tender Bard. They might just outright him tomorrow when the MLB and minor league reserve lists are filed. 

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

His 1.05 for the Cubs in 2004 was his second lowest in a nearly 20 year career if you don't include a cup of coffee with Houston in 2008. His 2.3 WAR in 2004 was his second highest. Unfortunately, his 9 blown saves were epic. Which makes the 2.3 WAR a head scratcher. I guess I could look up how they calculate that, but to me it doesn't matter. It's meaningless. They could have put anybody into that role and they would have done better.

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.