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

Spring Training Battles: Center Field

The Cubs are a little over two weeks into spring training with about three weeks before Opening Day. It's time to check in on the yearly ritual of spring training battles. What's the fun of spring training without a little competition? The Cubs have a few spots up for grabs and today I'll take a look at the center field spot between Felix Pie and Sam Fuld.

The Cubs had the opportunity this offseason to shore up center field with a more reliable veteran, as a few stars hit the market including Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones . The Cubs were obviously determined to give their youngsters a shot at the job, as they didn't even bother to call Hunter, which leads to the obvious conclusion that they probably didn't call any of the available center field free agents. We'll all soon find out if that confidence will be rewarded.

Felix Pie has been one of the Cubs top prospects and usually the Cubs top prospect ever since he joined the organization as a wide-eyed 17-year old out of the Dominican Republic. Pie has often been compared to the Cubs last great center field prospect, Corey Patterson, both being left-handed hitters with five-tool talent and questionable strike zone judgement. A tenous comparison, superficial at best, and, to be honest, a lazy comparison. While Corey Patterson struggled with each promotion in the minors and was truly rushed to the majors, Pie has taken each promotion in stride, often putting up better numbers than the previous stop.

Let's compare the two after the jump....

Corey Patterson

(Note: Minor league OBP is compiled with available data)

Age Level AB
HR
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
19 Lo-A 475 20 25 85
.320
.354
.592
.946
20 AA 444 22 45
115
.261 .329
.491
.820
21 AAA 367 7 29
65
.253
.308
.387
.695
  TOTALS 1286 49
99 265
.281 .332
.498
.830

 

 

 

 

 

Felix Pie

Age Level AB
HR
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
17 Rookie 218 4
21
47
.321
.381
.569
.950
17 SS A
8 0
1
1
.125
.222
.250
.472
18 Lo-A 505 4
41
98 .285
.339
.388
.727
19 Hi-A 412 8
38
113
.299
.358
.442
.800
20 AA 240 11
16
53
.304
.349
.554
.903
21 AAA 559
15 46
126
.283
.341
.451
.792
22 AAA 229
9
19
40
.362
.410
.563
.973
  TOTALS 2171 51
182 478
.300
.355
.469
.824

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While they do share similar K/BB ratios (2.63 for Pie and 2.68 for Patterson) and career OPS numbers, Pie has almost twice as many minor league at-bats. More importantly, he's almost twice as good. Corey's numbers are inflated by his one good year in lo-A ball, while Pie has continually progressed. And what doesn't show in the numbers is the difference in personalities. While Corey has been marked with the "uncoachable" tag (maybe he's just stubborn or stupid), Pie is known for being eager to please and willing to adjust his game. Had the Cubs remained patient with Corey, they would have had a much better idea of exactly how poor a player he'd end up being.

Sam Fuld's minor league career hasn't been dogged with the same ridiculous comparisons as Pie, but he has struggled with injuries. The 10th round pick out of Stanford has had a tough time making it through a full season with hip, oblique and shoulder injuries, some attributed to his hard-nosed style of play. He's remained consistent with the bat though, putting up a line of 297/377/417 (794 OPS) as a minor leaguer. He certainly helped his cause by being named the AFL MVP with a line of 402/496/626 (1.118 OPS). But before you get too excited about that MVP award, remember he's in a class with Chip Cannon, Eric Duncan, Chris Shelton, Jason Dubois and Ken Harvey.

Defensively, both players are considered a plus and both probably have the arms and range to play any of the three outfield spots. Fuld has a reputation as a player that will run through a wall for you and he nearly did last September for the Cubs, with this highlight reel catch against the ivy. Pie showcased his arm in his very first game, gunning down Russ Branyan to preserve the tie, in a game the Cubs eventually lost. Either one will likely make the Cubs pitchers very happy.

PECOTA has Pie projected at 291/344/480 (824 OPS and 3.8 WARP) which would put his OPS fourth among NL center fielders last year, with at least 350 plate appearances. While that might be a bit kind, it is, at least, encouraging. Sam Fuld comes in at 265/334/369 (703 OPS and 2.5 WARP), which would put him in Juan Pierre territory.

So heading into camp, it looked like Pie was probably the favorite, based on both talent, past performance and future projections. But anybody can get hot in March, so how have they been doing so far? Well, Pie has staked his claim, hitting a robust 321/406/607 in about 32 plate appearances. Fuld has showed that top of the order patience that has been expected of him with 8 walks and a 455 OBP, but has had problems finding holes in the defense, hitting a paltry .143 in his 22 plate appearances. Manager Lou Piniella has already acknowledged that Pie has taken the early lead. But, as mentioned, anyone can get hot over a few weeks and Fuld could still catch fire.

It's my opinion though, that it's time to see what Pie can do in the majors. I understand the desire to supplement him with a right-handed hitting counterpart, as he's historically struggled versus lefties in his career. Beyond that, Piniella should pencil him in regularly at the 7 or 8 spot in the lineup and let his glove make up for the offensive learning curve that any 23-year old in the majors will have to go through.

Coming Up Next: The Starting Rotation

Comments

Just stick him in the 8 spot and let him play a season. What's the point of making him untouchable for years, if they weren't going to give him a full shot to prove himself?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Heh, I thought it had more of a Daily Show / Colbert Report vibe. I expect to see a graphic of an eagle shedding a single glistening tear the day Murton gets traded.

Pie should be given the chance to be the starting CF on an everyday basis for at least through the AS Break. If he is struggling then, we might need to go get a CFer. I say might, because if he is playing excellent defense and SS, RF and C steps up and successfully answering many of the questions and concerns about them, then we could live with Pie out there even with him struggling with the bat. But we couldn't live with it if those other positions struggle also.

He'll continue to struggle at the plate until he shortens his swing, which he doesn't appear to be doing at all. By month two, he'll be booed by the drunks and we'll all be trying to find someone for CF so we can send him back to AAA to work on his hitting mechanics. *sigh* I guess if fans & the club can tolerate this guy hitting .230/5-10 HR, he'll give them A+ defense all year.

"The Cubs were obviously determined to give their youngsters a shot at the job, as they didn't even bother to call Hunter, which leads to the obvious conclusion that they probably didn't call any of the available center field free agents." I thought unless we hear directly from Hendry, we can't assume Hendry wasn't involved with every known possible free agent or traded player...:)

I'm wondering at what offensive level Pie can contribute that will ensure his stay in CF for the season. What would be the bare minimum acceptable here? If he cuts down his s/o ratio and raised his ops to the league average for CF's, would that be considered successful for a full 1st season in the majors? Lou didn't show much confidence in him when he came back at the end of last year, what kind of committment will he demonstrate this season?

[ ]

In reply to by Dmac

Well, that's easy. Here's what Cubs CF's put up last year when we won the Division title: .254 .305 .404 .710 Those numbers are clearly achievable by Pie this year if he's allowed to play regularly. The same goes for Soto at catcher and Theriot at SS. Here are the numbers they need to beat to be better than the Cubs' cumulatives from last year: C .239 .304 .369 .673 SS .254 .309 .331 .640 Ironically, the player least likely to beat last year's numbers is Fukudome in RF. RF .293 .375 .419 .794

[ ]

In reply to by Dmac

If he defense is Gold Glove caliber, I'll settle for an average year of the 8-time GG, former Oriole Paul Blair: .250/.302/.382, 11 HR, 14 SB I'd be thrilled with an average year of 7-time GG Devon White, .263/.319/.419, 17 HR, 29 SB Or that of the "Secretary of Defense," 8-time GG Garry Maddox: .285/.320/.413, 11 HR, 23 SB And wow, could he really have an average Andy Van Slyke (5-time GG) year? .274/.349/.443, 13 HR, 19 SB Sure, I cheated and did not include Barry Bonds, Larry Walker, or Andruw Jones. I don't think Pie will ever reach Jones' level. But if his 2008-2011 seasons are of the lines above in the #7 lineup spot, it would be difficult to call him a bust.

According to ESPN 1000 reports out of Boston that Bosox are not interested in deal and are in no hurry to move Crisp. Although, Beckett left yesterdays game with back spasms.

I'm fine with Pie in CF, especially since we don't have the depth to acquire both Crisp and Roberts at this time. I am worried about batting Pie 8th, as he won't see anything good to hit and his plate discipline is really suspect to begin with. I realize that if he does get on, the pitcher can bunt him over to utilize his speed, but I'd rather see him hit 7th so that he can have some success and gain confidence. My final offer for Roberts: Gallagher, Cedeno, Patterson and Veal.

Depends, was the article any good?

I agree with most, let Pie start the season starting in CF and give him a couple of months of everyday play. This should give us a good glimpse as to what type of MLB player we have on our hands. If he proves to be a solid option in CF awesome and if he doesn't, make a deal for a franchise type of CF'er we have always wanted (Carl Crawford, PLEASE!!!) or an experienced fill in to take us through the regualar season and into the playoffs. (Kenny Lofton, Marlon Byrd, Rajai Davis) But I'm truly optimistic on Pie's abilities and think he will develop nicely over the first couple of months. The great thing about this situation is we have good enough pieces around Pie we don't need him to be great like we needed Corey Patterson. The cubs will be successful in 08 regardless of whether Pie develops or not.

Sorry, couldn't resist. No, that wasn't me.

Rob, etc. -- Now that we have the subject lines and the new threaded organization of comments, is there a reason we need different comment sections for each story? That is, couldn't we do with one master comment section for all stories, and let the subject lines and threads work their magic and organize things? It would make the comments more cohesive and easy to use, and we would all be virtually present in one comment "room" at all times.

[ ]

In reply to by 433

Yeah, I could just close the comments and add a message board instead. But I think your in the minority on that one. I mean, have you looked at Orioles Hangout and NSBB? Brutal to follow a conversation in my opinion...

 

 

Logo needs more fire, imo. I like the new site. When TCR switched from allbaseball to MVN, there were real problems. Nested comments are nothing.

I would like to see Pie get a healthy chance to show if he's ready. No matter how much money we can throw around, there's nothing like getting production out of a cheap young player. It's the reason I like Theriot. He's a good utility infielder. Also, I like the new TCR.

Pie's surgery: assuming the testis is viable... To prevent subsequent torsion, fix viable gonads to the scrotal wall with 3-4 nonabsorbable sutures. Perform both exploration and anchoring of the contralateral testis through the same incision. http://www.emedicine.com/Med/topic2780.htm in case it's not viable: Patients requiring an orchiectomy because of a nonviable testis may benefit from the placement of a testicular prosthesis.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • 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).