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

Marshall Works Into 5th As Cubs Drop Mariners

Sam Fuld and Andres Blanco slammed home runs and Sean Marshall took a shutout into the 5th inning, as a Cubs "split squad" drubbed a Seattle Mariners "split squad" 8-1 in front of 10,910 happy fans at sunny Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park this afternoon in Mesa

box score

The Cubs got off to a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning versus Mariners RHP Gaby Hernandez. Sam Fuld (who was on base three times today) walked with one out and stole second, and then after Derrek Lee lined out to LF, Aramis Ramirez walked. Mike Fontenot then rapped a single through the middle of the infield to score Fuld from second base and send Ramirez to third, and then A-Ram scored on a two-out wild pitch.

Sam Fuld homered over the RF fence into the Cubs bullpen leading off the bottom of the third to make it 3-0, and then Andres Blanco virtually duplicated Fuld's poke, sending another solo dinger into the Cubs bullpen with two outs in the bottom of the 4th. (Both home runs were hit off Gaby Hernandez).  

Sean Marshall got the start for the Cubs and worked into the 5th, allowing one unearned run on three hits and a walk, along with three strikeouts in 4.1 IP (56 pitches - 38 strikes, 5/4 GO/FO).  

Marshall had little trouble with the Mariners through the first four inning, retiring ten of the first twelve men he faced.

With the Cubs leading 4-0, Marshall started the 5th, allowing a lead-off single to Prentice Redman. The next batter tried to bunt and lined the ball right at Marshall, who made a nice play coming off the mound to nab the ball. But then the lefty tried to do too much, as he wheeled blindly toward first and whipped the ball right at the bag to try and double Redman off. Unfortunately, second-baseman Mike Fontenot hadn't gotten there yet, so the ball bounced past first-base and into the stands, as the runner was awarded third base on the overthrow.

That was it for Marshall, as RHP Luis Vizcaino (who had been warming up in the bullpen since the start of the inning) came into the game, with a runner at third and only one out. The next batter (Oswaldo Navarro) hit a sharp bouncer back at Vizcaino, but the ball bounced off the pitcher's glove for an RBI infield hit, as Redman scored from third. Vizcaino then retired the next two hitters on a F-7 and an infield pop up to end the inning (17 pitches - 10 strikes).

Mike Stanton worked a quick 6th (10 pitches - seven strikes), and while he did not allow a run, he didn't fool anybody, either, allowing two hard hit singles to the outfield (one by a left-handed hitter) to go along with two ground outs and an F-7.

The Cubs posted another single run in the bottom of the 6th off Mariners reliever Mark Lowe, as James Adduci (up from Minor League Camp for the day) drew a lead-off walk, and advanced to second and third on consecutive wild pitches. Then Mike Fontenot walked, before Reed Johnson chopped a single over the third-baseman's head to drive in Adduci with the Cubs 5th run.

Kevin Hart pitched the 7th for the Cubs, and had his best outing of the Spring, striking out the side on 17 pitches (14 strikes). 

LHP Jason Waddell worked the 8th, and had mixed results (17 pitches - 11 strikes), allowing two singles to the outfield (one of which was a rope to RF by lefty-swinging Russell Branyan), but also striking out a right-handed hitter for the first out of the inning and then getting out of trouble with an inning-ending 5-3 DP.    

The Cubs put the game away in the bottom of the 8th, scoring three runs off Mariners reliever Tyler Walker. James Adduci and Nate Spears (another invitee from Minor League Camp) led off with infield singles (and Adduci showed good speed down the line while beating the throw on his dribbler), and Jason Dubois was hit by a pitch on the upper left arm to load the bases with no outs. Koyie Hill then smoked a line single to RF that was hit too hard to score more than one run, and after Darwin Barney and Esteban German struck out, Richie Robnett (who had been optioned to Iowa earlier in the day) hit a fly ball into short LF where the Seattle left-fielder and shortstop collided (nobody was hurt and no error was charged, though), allowing the ball to drop for a cheap double and giving the Cubs their final two runs of the day. .  

Jose Ascanio continued his fine Spring, throwing a 1-2-3 9th (6-3 GO, F-7, and strikeout swinging) to finish off the game, but he actually got four outs in the inning, because Koyie Hill failed to catch a foul pop up behind home plate (although no error was charged).

Veteran IF-OF Esteban German (signed to a minor league contract this morning after getting released by Kansas City last week) made his Cubs debut today, entering in mid-game at 3rd base. He had two poor ABs, popping up weakly, and then striking out (flailing wildly at strike three on an outside pitch in the dirt) with one out and the bases loaded in his second PA. He also didn't make much of an effort to stop a bouncer hit to his left that ended up in LF. All in all, it was not an impressive debut for German. 

While the Cubs were thumping the Mariners in Mesa, the other Cubs squad traveled to Tempe Diablo Stadium and lost to the Angels, 8-2 

box score

I was not at that game, but I can tell you that Cubs starter Chad Gaudin apparently got racked up pretty good, allowing six runs on five hits and four walks in just 1.2 IP, including a 2nd inning grand slam by Kendry Morales.

The Cubs got their two runs on a two-out two-run 4th inning RBI double by Bobby Scales, although Scales (playing 2B before later moving to 3B) also made two errors in the game. 

I suspect the Cubs may try to trade Gaudin and his $2M 2009 salary before Opening Day, but they also could just release him (presuming he is signed to a non-guaranteed contract).

Comments

Thanks, Phil! What are the chances of Fuld being the 4th/5th OF-er versus Gathright? Or does Fuld stay at Iowa to take over for Gathright next year and/or come up when/if Bradley gets hurt?

"What are the chances of Fuld being the 4th/5th OF-er versus Gathright?" Wondering this to, AZ-PHIL. It seems like he his having a nice ST so far. Would he have to wait for a Sept. call up one more year? Welcome to the new guy Romero.

Okay. Hear me out. I am not an idiot. I am a big shot web developer at paypal so I am not stupid about this shit, but I cannot, for the life of me, get my account on MLB premium to work. Anyone else have problems, or is it just me. I'm about to go postal, so any positive thoughts are good. I mean, the damn thing redirects like a silly bastard, as if the people who run the damn site are Nigerians or something. Fuck, they probably are. Thanks to Bush (sorry assholes, but let's not forget the fuckface who got us into this mess). Now, nobody can afford to pay anyone to do shit.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

as a designer you should be familiar with the "overkill" aspect of development going on these days. hehe... making everything idiot-proof tends to confuse (oddly or not) those who want to navigate around a site looking for information, not eye candy...properties/advanced-option tabs that are hidden behind extra steps so "idiot guy" won't screw it up and spend 30 minutes bugging some support dude making $5 an hour in india. i'm a technical writer for 2 companies and usually contract on the same projects over and over. watching their evolution to GUI-bloat has been amazing. the idea of "user friendly" seems to be "shove too much stuff in 1 place and hide that stuff that novice users could screw up."

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

(1) make sure you don't have two MLB passwords ( you may have picked up more than one over time...I know I did)...you need the correct one. Make sure autocomplete isn't entering the wrong info into your login form. (2) Use the Internet Explorer 7.0 browser. (3) DOWNLOAD the MLB premium software and install it. It's easy to miss this. The new premium HD requires two upgrades to the browser including a Flash upgrade. AND it apparently requires a computer processor running at 2.33 MHz or more. (4) Disable pop-up blocking until you get this settled.

I am not an idiot. Agree that their site is fussy ---- Blue: This is probably the most simplistic thing to try, so you've most likely done this. Go the the mlb.com home page and find the log out link (and log out). Then when you try to get back to any of the video/audio game links, it's reset and lets you use your name/password to get the streaming. Also if you're on a mac, make sure you have the newest silverlight application although I think it automatically prompts you to do that.

Submitted by Romero on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 8:02pm.

Thanks, Phil!

What are the chances of Fuld being the 4th/5th OF-er versus Gathright?

Or does Fuld stay at Iowa to take over for Gathright next year and/or come up when/if Bradley gets hurt?

============================================

ROMERO: I can't see Fuld beating out Gathright for the 5th OF job, but I could see a speedy super-sub IF-OF-PR type taking Gathright's slot (if they can find one they like before Opening Day), with Lou going with only four OF (Soriano, Bradley, Fukudome, and Johnson).

I am fairly certain that Fuld will begin 2009 as the CF and lead-off hitter at Iowa, and he could get called up if there is an injury to Bradley or Fukudome. He also could get traded in a mid-season deal for a spare part.

What will happen in 2010 depends on the moves Hendry makes during the next off-season, but I would think Fuld will probably be playing in the big leagues somewhere by next season. He is an ideal MLB 4th OF, and he could probably be an everyday CF on some clubs.

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).