Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Last Day to Vote

The folks at Baseball Prospectus are running their annual Internet Baseball Awards which I find far more interesting and relevant than the ridiculous BBWAA vote. Today is the last day to vote though, so head on over.

- Cubs fan and PECOTA master Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus (and occasional TCR reader) has branched out to politics with a new polling-analysis website. You can see his guest spot on The Colbert Report by following the link.

- More jokes at the expense of us Cubs fans courtesy of SNL and Bill Murray (go to about 3:30 left in the clip).

Comments

if i remember this correctly, my vote:

NL MVP: Pujols, Berkman, Howard, 7 other guys (I think I put Soto 6th or 7th)

NL CY: Lincecum, Santana, Sabathia

ROY: Soto, Votto

MOY: Piniella, Manuel

AL MVP: Mauer, Sizemore, Arod, Lee, Halladay, Quentin, Hamilton, K-rod (totally forgot to put Pedroia in there, but he'd probably be 2nd or 3rd)

AL CY: Lee, Halladay, Krod (probably doesn't deserve this but that's a lot of saves)

ROY: Longoria and who cares

MOY: Maddon, Gardenhire 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Mine, FWIW. AL MVP: Hamilton, Morneau, Pedoria, Sizemore, ARod, Huff, M. Cabrera, Youkilis, Markakis, Quentin NL MVP: Pujols, Wright, Beltran, Berkman, Howard, Utley, Reyes, H. Ramirez, McLouth, A. Gonzalez AL Cy: Halladay, Lee, Santana, Burnett, KRod NL Cy: Lincecum, Webb, Santana, Haren, Hamels AL MOY: Gardie, Maddon, Gaston NL MOY: Torre, LaRussa, Cox

Pinella doesn't deserve it. Not even close. Torre is more deserving. Hell, Cooper and LaRussa deserve it more.

[ ]

In reply to by Chad

probably should have voted LaRussa 2nd...

not sure what Cooper did other than the Astros got on a hot streak in September, doesn't excuse the other shitty 5 months. if that hot streak came in July, no one would have noticed.

Also, why Ryan Howard this year and seemingly half the MVP's of the last 5 years don't deserve it. 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

a chunk of it has to do with voters wanting to blown away, not lulled into the extra 20-ish walks/hits leading to a .400-ish ob% taking importance over 20-ish more extra base hits. voters also tend to not care about someone's walk/singles totals unless it's leading to runs or a good sb/cs percentage putting the guy on 2nd/3rd to score in better position. hell, some voters don't even put that much thought into it...they just vote. mvp voting has 1 mostly-consistant point...dominance of more than just 1 or 2 categories...

[ ]

In reply to by Chad

I think it's impossible to know exactly what a manager influences and does. But, I too think Pinella deserves it for the regular season. What he touched generally turned to gold for 97 wins this year, a good 10 wins above what I expected them to do. Cards crashed and burned at the end, so I think that takes LaRussa out of it. Even with a great September, the Dodgers still only won in the mid 80's. Most everything was expected in the NL...but it wasn't expected that the Cubs would win 97 games and have the best record in the NL.

[ ]

In reply to by blockhead25

Well... I remember that BP had projected the Cubs offense to lead the league in OBP. The other 'surprise' this year was probably Dempster, who Pinhead should get some credit for putting in the rotation... however, Pinhead is the same guy who didn't put him in the rotation last year. I like Sveum for manager of the year. Sveum, Sabathia, Ramirez... who's a rookie who came up late and did well? Smardizjia, those are my winners.

As I recell those BP Internet awards follow the VORP ranking so closely there's no point in even doing them. Like taking a poll for who should be the VP at the Republican National Convention. Biased sample = biased results. Maybe VA Phil and Chad's website should run a poll too.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

don't know about Mauer

VORP Winner followed by IBA winner

2007 - Arod/Hanley

Arod/Holliday

2006: Jeter/Pujols

Jeter/Pujols

2005: Arod/Derrek Lee

Arod/Pujols

I was going to do the rest of the decade but BP seems to freeze a lot on my Mac for some reason when I start sorting through there stats. Safari and Firefox...weird. 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

2007 VORP vs IBA: MVP VORP Arod 1 Ordonez 2 Ortiz 3 MVP VORP Holiday 4 Wright 2 Rollins 9 Cy Young VORP Sabathia 1 Beckett 4 Carmona 2 Cy Young VORP Peavy 1 Webb 2 Penny 3 ROY VORP Pedroia 3 Matsuki 2 Bannister 4 (Guthrie was 1st, was he rookie eligible?) ROY VORP Braun 1 Tulowostki 3 Pence 2 For the most part, pretty close except the NL MVP, where I think the voters did factor in some defense, for some reason.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

the internet awards tend to be a bit more sane at least... they don't match up totally, but they're trying really hard to sell mauer on people this season. last year it was LF holliday and his big park they were celebrating over SS rollins...this year's focus on mauer seems to be really odd and pretty much hinging on the fact he was the only AL catcher this year healthy or talented enough to put in a full season. in the end it's the will of the people...granted, people that frequent their kool aid stand...that get to vote. they've done a pretty decent job historically.

it's like how I imagine the playoffs should have gone, just the Cubs would be up 8-2. /slits wrists

Doesn't it hurt even more when a team or player that kills us, gets killed by someone else.

I vote for...who f**ing cares, the Cubs got swept, does anybody even remember...I'm still bitter...

My ballot: AL MVP: K-Rod (I know its out there but if the Angels had Eric Gagne as their closer those 15+ games they won the division by would have turned into a tight 3 way race race with the Rangers and A's. Also its not like their is a hitter with eyepopping stats.) 2. Youklis 3. Mauer 4. Sizemore 5. Hamilton 6. Pedroia 7. Quentin 8. Longoria 9. Morneau 10. Lee AL CY- Cliff Lee (Just too dominate as a SP to to give the award to a CL even if he is the MVP) 2. K-rod 3. Dice K 4. Mussina 5. Halladay AL ROY- Evan Longoria 2. Alexi Ramirez 3.Denard Span AL MOY Gardenhire (While the Rays were a surprise, everyone knew they had talent unlike the Twins) 2. Maddon 3. Ozzie NL MVP Pujols (He showed how valuable he was this year by making guys who looked they were done (Glaus) and washed out (Ludwick) into solid contributors. He also lead the in BA and was up there in most everything else) 2. Berkman 3. Utley 4. Lidge 5. Howard 6. Sabathia 7. Chipper 8. Beltran 9. Soto 10. Hanram NL CY Lincecum 2. Webb 3. Santana 4. Sabathia 5. Lidge NL ROY- Soto 2. Joey Votto 3. Jair Jurrens NL MOY Joe Torre (Found a way to mesh a team that was rebuilt at the trade deadline) 2. Fredi Gonzalez 3. Tony LaRussa How I aspect the BWAA voting will go: AL MVP Pedroia (East Coast writters just love scrappy white guys), AL CY Lee, AL ROY Longoria AL MOY Maddon NL MVP Howard (BWAA loves the counting stats and East Coast guys making Howard too hard to pass up), NL CY Webb (Hey he had 21 wins!) NL ROY- Soto NL MOY Torre

[ ]

In reply to by Vince

The Cy Young is suppose to go the Best pitcher, while the Most VALUABLE Player award is suppose to go the player who is the most imporant to a team's success. Given all the 1 or 2 run games the Angels won having K-rod instead of a league average closer likely gave the Angels more wins than Mauer gave to the Twins or Pedroia gave to the Red Sox. If the award was meant as an award to be strictly given away to the best player in any year, Sizemore would be running away with it.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

a lot would argue MVP goes to the best player, period. how important a player is to a team matters, but they do tend to be above average in a number of categories rather than being simply a team leader with few peers on other teams. when i think "MVP" i think the player who could walk onto any of 30 teams and not only do well, but dominate a number of categories.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

If you were a manager and had the Angels bullpen, and instead of K-rod you had Gagne, and you used Gagne as your closer instead of someone else, you would be fired by July. You are using an illogical and unrealistic example to try and prove your point.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

So Sheilds [sic] would blown at least 10 saves? And the team would have lost those 10 blown saves? Heh. The MLB leaders in blown saves were Gregg and Corpas, with nine (9) each. The MLB leader in losses was 10. I am pretty confident that Scott Shields would have had less than 10 blown saves and less than ten losses, or he would not have remained the closer. The Angels would have won more than 90 games with or without KRod.

NL MVP Pujols NL Cy Santana Nl ROY SOTO NL MOY Torre AL MVP Mauer AL Cy Lee AL ROY Longoria AL MOY Maddon

Cubs, Sox (for those so inclined in Chicago), and now another absolutely brutal Bears loss, the 2nd in 3 weeks. Somebody in this town has SERIOUSLY pissed off the sporting gods.

Vindication? ...but Jeez, what a weird existence. Jose C. must have used his advance book money to make this purchase. Did anyone read the second book? hCG is also what is tested for in positive pregnancy tests http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_chorionic_gonadotropin ========================== SAN DIEGO (AP)—Jose Canseco was held for nearly 10 hours by immigration authorities after agents said they stopped the former baseball star as he attempted to bring a fertility drug from Mexico, his lawyer said Friday. Canceco was detained at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing Thursday after agents searched his vehicle and said they found human chorionic gonadotropin, which is illegal without a prescription, said his attorney, Gregory Emerson. Emerson declined to say if Canseco—who admitted to using steroids in a 2005 book that also alleged steroid use by other baseball players—had the drug, which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for use in males. The drug helps restore production of testosterone lost in steroid users. A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Virginia Kice, said Canseco was ordered to appear in federal court in San Diego “related to an alleged smuggling violation” Thursday at a U.S. border crossing. She declined to elaborate. Canseco has not been charged with a crime, Kice said. If he were to be charged, it would happen at his court appearance.

Through the grapevine... sounds like the Cubs are going to be making a serious play at this guy over the off season. Could be a good thing, could be bad... We'll see if the rumors are serious.

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).