Cubs MLB Roster

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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 

 



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Rule 5 Draft 
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The All-Time Greatest Cubs Killers

After Carlos Lee beat up the Cubbies again this weekend with a 5 for 12 series, a homer and couple of RBI's (pretty low-key for him), I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the all-time biggest Cubs killers. So thanks to some of the wonderful tools over at Baseball Musings, I looked at which players had the highest all-time OPS while facing the Cubs with at least 350 Plate Appearances. Their database only goes back to 1957 as well.

Player G AB BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
HR
RBI
Frank Robinson
180 636
.336
.436
.645
1.081 49 147
Willie Mays 270 997 .330 .400
.631 1.031 72 207
Gary Sheffield
93 318
.324
.462
.569
1.031 18 60
Adam Dunn 100 344
.265 .398
.602 1.000 33 61
Mike Schmidt 269 971 .292
.387
.598
.985 78 207
Carlos Lee 81 316 .313 .373
.604 .977 23 64
Hank Aaron 285 1093 .327
.379
.598
.977 75 215
Luis Gonzalez 124 475
.324
.389
.587
.976 26 90
Dante Bichette 85 357
.345
.387
.583
.970 19 81
Bill White 189 658
.350
.393
.576
.969 30 128
Larry Walker 135
484
.302 .402
.548
.950
26 97
Jim Edmonds 126
415
.270
.394
.554
.948 24 80
Albert Pujols 114 420
.288 .374
.571
.945 33 85

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would have put my money on Schmidt or Lee myself, but Robinson, Aaron and Mays were doing their damage before I was following baseball. Frank Robinson holds the top spot for OPS, but Schmidt, Aaron and Mays probably did the most overall damage. So who is it?

Well let me throw in one more name into the ring...notorious Cub killer Jeff Blauser. He only had 299 PA's against the Cubs in his career, but that's because the Cubs went and signed him in 1997 as a free agent, so he'd stop pummeling them. As with most things Cub, that didn't work out and Blauser put up OPS+ numbers of 69 and 96 in his two years as a Cub and promptly retired from baseball after 1999. But from 1987 to 1997, he put up a line of .351/.413/.611 against the Cubs with 15 HR's and 48 RBI's.

I've put up a poll below this where you can rank the top Cub killers and I'm eager to hear some others I might have missed in the comments.

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Comments

Good list. But when I think of some Cub Killers- Steve Garvey Craig Counsell Jeff Conine The problem with Blauser was he didn't get to face Cub pitching when he joined the Cubs. :-)

It looks like Richie Ashburn just missed the cut with only 245 or so plate appearances, otherwise he'd top the batting average list with .359 against the Cubs. It's also interesting to see some of the other guys with less at bats. John Olerud hit .414 against the Cubs in 132 PAs, with an OPS of 1.203 - Christ.... Also, the guys the Cubs have feared the most historically, measured by intentional walks, seem to be Barry Bonds (38), Willie Stargell (36), Mike Schmidt (31), Pete Rose (30).

Who are the greatest Cardinal killers for the Cubs? Mark Grace has the highest career average for a Cub vs. the Cardinals at .314, for all players over 250 PAs. However, Derek Lee, with only 230 some PAs is hitting a ridiculous .389 vs. the Cards in a Cubs uni - his OPS is 1.220.

am i the only smart ass who, when i first thought of cub killers, thought of people like... Bartman Alex Gonzales Korey Neifi Dusty Baker etc..

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

How can you blame Alex Gonzalez and Corey Patterson for being the best players the Cubs had to run out at their positions for several years? It's not like the guys sitting on the bench would've done better. Okay, in 2005 bench players would've hit better than Corey. Dusty did a ridiculous amount of damage, of course, running Neifi out there instead of superior players and batting Corey and Neifi at the top of the order. In fact, most of Dusty's damage was in the lineups. Maybe he contributed to pitching breakdowns and maybe he didn't.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Good point--you didn't blame anyone. But what I'm saying is that Corey and Alex were not killing the Cubs while they were starters for the Cubs because they weren't taking playing time from better players who could've improved the team. If you want to say that the presence of Corey and Alex in the everyday lineup killed the Cubs, then I think you have to say the GM killed the Cubs by not finding better players to take that playing time from them.

This site is addicting. This is my last contribution, but one guy I always hated growing up in the late 80s early 90s was Von F-ing Hayes of the Phillies - he hit .317, .406, .482 in 461 ABs against the Cubs.

It's not surprising that guys like F Robby, Schmidt, Aaron and Mays killed the Cubs, because they killed everyone. But who were the guys (like Blauser, or Conine) who seemed to rise to the occasion against us, and hit the ball out of proportion with what they did the rest of the time?

Most of the guys on this list are/were all around good or great players no matter who they faced. I think a true Cub killer would be some guy who usually is mediocre, but when facing Cubbie Blue, becomes a superhero... maybe like Wally Backman listed above.

Will there be a list of pitchers, too? I'd be especially interested in a list of mediocre, junk ball pitchers who have managed to dominate the Cubs despite their own mediocrity.

without looking it up, I'll guess that no one outperformed themselves quite like Jeff Blauser though...1024 OPS against the Cubs versus 760 for his career.

Its a small sample size, and his Cubs Killing-ness is relative to his overall suckiness, but Rob Mackowiak seemed to feast on Cub pitching for a couple of years.

suppose to play 2b and 1b later this week as well...seems like he might have been useful.

Let's be a little more upbeat! What players have the Cubs KILLED? Way below career average? I have no numbers per se to back this up, but seems like we did well against Doc Gooden, and Barry Bonds didn't hit us like he did everyone else.

[ ]

In reply to by Q-Ball

Just taking a quick glance at pitchers with more than 10 starts vs the Cubs, most of the worst are just bad pitchers. But a few stand out as doing worse against the Cubs than their career lines. Jim Deshaies 7.13 ERA has the highest ERA of any player since 1957 against the Cubs with more than 10 starts, and this is much higher than his career ERA of 4.14. Other notables and their ERAs: John Smiley 5.11 Frank Viola 5.03 David Cone 4.74 Don Newcombe 4.52 Looking at pitchers with 10 or more games finished: We owned Bruce Sutter - 5.36 ERA in 33 games against the Cubs. Other notables include Bob Wickman (6.12), Jason Isringhausen (5.03), Francisco Cordero (5.00), and David Weathers (4.94).

I agree it is more fun to see the scrubs that killed the Cubs and no other team. I disagree about Blauser. When he became a Cub he did not stop being a Cub killer.

I seem to remember Don Sutton having some ridicoulous stat against the Cubs. He was something like 1 -15 against them and then won 14 of 15 or something crazy like that. It may have been reverse. Does anyone have those stats?

Dave Giusti, a palm-ball specialist, starter turned closer for the Pirates in the 1970s was 100-93 with a 145 saves and a 3.60 ERA for this carrer. Against the Cubs he was 23-9 with 15 saves and a 2.97 ERA. 23% of his wins against one team??

hardly a complete list but some of the top hitters by OPS discrepancy (career OPS compared to OPS vs. Cubs)

250 PA cut-off:

Blauser +264

Bo Diaz +166

Bill White +163

Duke Snider +158

Bob Robertson +150

Big_lowitzki though did the legwork for 350 PA's and I'll be posting that shortly..

two of the more recent "little guy" Cub Killers that I hated to see up against us (a bit further down on Rob's leaderboard) are: Craig Counsell OBP .368 Abraham Nunez OBP .364 ...I really hate Counsell and now I know why. Started paying attention when he beat Matt Clement 1-0 with a game leadoff HR a few yrs back. He only has 3 HR's vs Cubs and I'm sure each has cost us.

...ok I fixed my April Fool's Day (AAMCO)Transmission-based handle...Growing up in the NJ/NY area I seem to remember the immortal Doug Sisk always doing well against the Cubbies as well...

Small sample size, but Zach Duke is worth a mention as a budding Cubs killer. He's 4-2 with a 2.10 ERA against the Cubs versus his career 21-25 / 4.18.

To me, the big names aren't what bothered me. It is always the average guys like Tim Wallach, Jim Morrison, Willie Mo Pena, Marcus Giles, or Chris James that always has killed us.

He killed us so badly, we HAD to sign him. And, he sucked mightily. On another topic, Brian Roberts has an OBP of .568 Considering Soriano is an automatic out, BRob could have helped to diffuse that. After watching "Butcher" DeRosa, and Cedeno, I wish that McFail and Hendry could have found some common ground.

As far as I can remember Bob Walk used to kill us. 15 -4 3.68 And I don't remember who thought that we did well against Doc Gooden: 28-4 3.32 With only 15 wins over his next highest opponent.

I seem to recall that Andy Van Slyke (Pirates) had many critical hits that beat us badly - and before he stunk up Wrigley on an everyday basis, Ron Cey (Dodgers) killed us, both at home and in LA.

The real way to determine the Cubs killers is to figure out who performed significantly BETTER against the Cubs. Guys like Mays were sure to do well, they were already Hall of Famers. I suggest (OPS vs. Cubs)/(Career OPS) to determine who were truly Cubs killers.

For all-around Cub-killing play, no one can top Clemente – especially at Wrigley Field. Jerry Lynch was the Blauser of the 50's and early 60's and Counsell, no doubt, is today's version of same. Nice call by others on the in-house killers. Phil Wrigley will always top that list, followed by his media enablers, especially old "Hey Hey."

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).