Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Z Tossed, Freel Hurt, Cubs Win

An eventful afternoon at Wrigley as the Cubs take their first series in two weeks and climb back over the .500 mark.

Why The Cubs Won: It took eight innings to get there, but the Cubs offense put up five runs and Zambrano pitched mostly well for his 6.1 IP before he got tossed. The bullpen managed to go 2.2 IP without giving up a run as well. 

In the first, after a Theriot one-out single, Bradley lined a triple down the right field line to put him over the Mendoza line briefly... finishing the day 1 for 3 and right at the .200 mark for the first time this season. After Derrek Lee walked, Reed Johnson hit into a sure double play, but with defensive wonders Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez resting, Delwyn Young botched the double play turn and bounced one into the dugout to score the Cubs second run of the inning. 

The Pirates scored their first run with a two-out single in the fourth and things remained quiet until the top of the 7th. Nyjer Morgan led-off the inning with a single down the left field line that he was probably going to try and stretch for a double. Alfonso Soriano whiffed at the ball and it bounced up against the wall just past the bullpen and Morgan cruised into third. Electing to keep the infield back and conceding the run, Zambrano got a quick pop-out for the first out and then the Cubs brought in the infield to try and preserve the lead. Z bounced a breaking ball in the dirt that ricocheted towards the Cubs dugout on the third base side. Morgan doesn't have much going for him besides his speed so he put it to use and took off towards home plate on a ball that most wouldn't dare try and score on. Soto pounced and delivered the throw to Zambrano at the plate to beat Morgan. Z blocked the plate with his foot and put the tag down and it looked like he might have had him but the umpire called him safe. Replays showed that Morgan just snuck his left hand in before the tag got down.

Z went ballistic (edited video here) and in the middle of the argument, the umpire leaned in with his left shoulder pressing against Z's right shoulder. Z pushed back with his right shoulder to get the ump off of him and was quickly bounced from the game for making contact with an ump even though the ump initiated the contact. Z then put on a show that would make Lou proud, ejecting the umpire himself, tossing a baseball into left field, throwing his glove into the dugout and taking a baseball bat to the Gatorade machine. It'll certainly warrant him a six-game suspension and a missed start.

Guzman and Marmol came in to hold the tie including a nice catch up against the center field wall by Reed Johnson. Then with one out in the eight, Johnson lined a home run to left field for the winning run. The Cubs tacked on two more including a double by switch-hitter Andres Blanco and a one-hop shot off the wall from Jake Fox. Kevin Gregg came in for the three-run save and promptly walked the leadoff man and then got behind Morgan. Morgan ripped a ball to deep right just past the well that Bradley caught up to and Freddy Sanchez curiously was standing at third base and was easily doubled off to erase any real 9th inning threat. Gregg though managed to walk another batter before finally striking out Nate McLouth to end the game.

Armchair Managing: In the bottom of the eight, the Pirates bring in Jessie Chavez and he gets Derrek Lee out. Reed Johnson is due up and you would think that it would be time to bring in Kosuke Fukudome as a pinch-hitter. Lou kept in Reed though and he rewarded the gesture of faith with the game-winning home run. I would have probably gone with Fukudome there, but then you have to figure that John Russell would have countered with a lefty and Lou would have just burned a pinch-hitter for no real good reason.

The Curious Case of Andres Blanco:  In his first at-bat versus lefty Zach Duke, the switch-hitting Blanco batted right-handed and grounded out back to Duke. In his second at-bat with a man on first, he batted lefty versus Duke and flied out to right. In his third at-bat versus Duke, he batted lefty again and flied out to right again. Then in the bottom of the eighth, lefty Sean Burnett came in to face Mike Fontenot and then Blanco and Blanco stayed with the left side and doubled in a crucial insurance run. Why the switch-hitting hijinx? I have no idea. My only thought that Duke is more of a fastball/change-up pitcher with a weaker breaking ball and sort of rule of thumb is that left-handed pitchers try to avoid throwing left-handed hitters change-ups as it usually ends up in the lefties happy zone which is low and inside.

Dr. Hecht Could Pick-Up Some Extra Work: Ryan Freel left the game after singling to right, rounding the base hard and doing a sort of slide stop before returning to first. He was was replaced the next inning by Fontenot because of a hamstring injury. Don't get too cozy in Iowa, Bobby Scales.

Milton Bradley sort of winced and was doing some stretching after fouling off a pitch in his third at-bat. He ended up flying out to short right which meant Soriano couldn't score from third and whether due to injury or frustration he didn't really run out the play and sort of walked back gingerly to the dugout. He finished the game though so hopefully it was nothing.


The Cubs start a four game set versus the Dodgers tomorrow to finish out the month of May with three lefties scheduled to start for the Dodgers, but no Manny Ramirez's.

Tags

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

" Brett Jackson, of, University of California: Scouting director Tim Wilken loves athletes and Jackson hasn't hurt himself with some of his recent performances. Eric Arnett could also fit here if he gets this far."

Doesn't it really take a 9 day suspension to make a pitcher miss a start? I would guess the Cubs appeal it then drop the appeal after Z's next start, unless it is ridiculously long. This is twice now that Umpires have fucked up and the Cubs have had to pay for it. Was Soto out on that play at the plate? I thought so but the FSN broadcast didn't show me a replay (or I was watching the soccer game).

31. Chicago Cubs Brett Jackson, of, University of California: Scouting director Tim Wilken loves athletes and Jackson hasn't hurt himself with some of his recent performances. Eric Arnett could also fit here if he gets this far.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8915 thanks Neal, didn't see it...projecting the 31st pick is an exercise in futility, but good to see what's out there. Another easy guess here, since the Cubs like Notre Dame guys, and this time, there's actually a guy worth the bonus, unlike Jeff Samardzija and Grant Johnson. With very good speed, center-field skills afield, and a smooth swing, outfielder A.J. Pollock has moved up from a second-round projection by showing a little power this year as well. Selection: A.J. Pollock, OF, University of Notre Dame

Asked how much he paid to have it fixed (re: Gatorade machine), Dempster said: "They should be paying us for all the publicity we've given them. Everyone will want one now." Pitching coach Larry Rothschild tried to stop Zambrano, and was almost hit in the arm with the bat. Milton Bradley gave Zambrano's act his official brand of approval. "That was really impressive," Bradley said. "It was on a Bradley level," Piniella also laughed about it afterwards, saying: "I'm the only calm, cool and collected one." He later got serious and said Zambrano "has got to be more careful than that." at least they have a sense of humor about it...

* Speaking of Fox, Piniella isn't ready to start him at third even though the Cubs are desperately seeking some offensive help from that spot. Fox will workout with bench coach Alan Trammell at third so he's not a defensive liability. "We'd love to have his bat in the lineup," Piniella said of Fox. "Let's see him over there for a few more days working with Alan and I'll let Alan make that determination." "If Scales isn't too far, he should catch a taxi back from the airport," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said after Wednesday's game. Muskat says they'll know more about Freel tomorrow but a DL trip seems possible.

I think Z should have done what pro basketball players do to accentuate inappropriate contact--he should have fallen to the ground and rolled around clutching his shoulder after the ump leaned into him. I guess that just betrays my method of vengeance: make the other guy look like a total fool. Mockery is in my mind a sweet little taste of "fuck you" in an otherwise boring existence.

love Z...not loving the impending suspension. he could get a week to 10 days for this one. 2 wins in a row feels good.

[ ]

In reply to by mannytrillo

I believe that baseball to you is ideally played with all players completely covered in bubble wrap. You worry more about guys getting injured in non-baseball ways than anybody I've ever heard of. If you had it your way, there wouldn't be any laughing allowed in your clubhouse, else they'd pull a muscle while telling dirty jokes. EDIT: And before you have a fucking manny pity party because I'm being a big meany doo-doo head to the awesomest fucking cat on the planet, understand that's a joke. On a more serious note, I do think that if you were to manage a team, you're overcompensation in trying to avoid silly, outside of the normal day-to-day injuries would cost your team more ballgames than the injuries themselves would.

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

No, you're right Wes. I think the Cubs should start a trend after every K they should try to break the bat over their knee. Or after every close play that goes against them they should go in the dugout and smash things needlessly. Hey, injuries happen when they happen, right? Nothing anyone can do. NOTE: Before you get your panties in a ruffle I am just being as over the the top as you were, please understand it is a joke. But seriously, there are stupid actions that can potentially cause serious injuries, they are absolutely needless. Why do them or condone them? Injuries for pitchers are already a major part of the game, why needlessly add more risk for instances that are stupid and don't help the baseball team in any way?

[ ]

In reply to by mannytrillo

I agree to a certain extent. You can't stop everything, but you take it into the tunnel to something soft (some teams even having punching bags just up the way). We've heard of too many guys breaking pitching hands punching lockers and walls. And I thought Larry was going to get hit with the bat yesterday when Z was breaking the machine. You don't swing bats widely at plastic and metal objects 2-3 feet from your teammates who are sitting on the bench. That's just dumb. But ejecting the umpire and heaving the ball and glove, pretty hilarious.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

People who don't lose their temper don't really understand what it's like. I am not sure how much Z was just doing that to show his displeasure, or if he was really losing it but when people say 'Well, he should have done X, he should have done Z', it just means that you don't understand what the phrase means. It means you lose control of your actions.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

LOL. That is hilarious! So why didn't Z punch the umpire in the face? He punched Barrett after all. Because people, despite losing their tempers, are still cognizant of right and wrong. This is why in court it is so difficult to prove temporary insanity. If it was as easy as saying "I lost my temper, I didn't know what I was doing" then everyone would get off. The Gatorade machine still works. If Z were to have broken it, and the rest of his teammates let him know that they were pissed off at him for doing it, I guarantee next time he "lost" his temper he would look for a different target.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

They lose their ability to reason over what is appropriate and what is not. Have you geniuses ever heard of anger management disorders? To think that you understand what Zambrano is going through when he loses his temper is akin to thinking that you know what it's like to be a different race because you watched The Color Purple or Milagro Beanfield War. You're both, really, appallingly ignorant on the issue. Do some research and if you have any questions that are still unanswered I'll be happy to try to help, but to say exceedingly stupid shit like "you can't use it as a legal defense"... I mean, that is moronic, and there's no legal defense that will disprove that.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

To think that you can diagnose individuals you watch on TV with a legitimate anger management disorder is akin to saying you are a doctor because you enjoy watching House. Also, Neal, there is a whole lot of gray area in the world, there is plenty of room, feel free to come on over. It isn't the case that you either have 100% control over your ability to reason or you lose that ability entirely. Come on. That assertion is moronic. No matter how angry he gets, Zambrano is probably not going to murder someone. Now why is that? Could it be that despite being angry he doesn't lose all sense of right and wrong or social norms? Genius, ever hear of the term impaired judgment? Look up the word impaired. Does it mean lost entirely? Do some research and if you have any questions that are still unanswered I'll be happy to try to help.

"We have been for sale for almost 2 1/2 years now. That's hard on anyone ... a franchise of this magnitude," said Hendry. "I think the last four or five months, it certainly has taken its toll on not just how you run the club day-to-day, but just the overall situation. It is not easy to deal with. Not that we were not able to put a club together that way, but it just would be nice to have the thing done and behind us." http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-28-mitchellmay28… "I would like to think we have earned the trust of the fans," said Hendry. haha...no...no you haven't.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

lol! Thanks ROB G. Who knows how long this BS will drag on? IF it is not done by ASG 2009, we can forget about taking on any salary in deals.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

That's not necessarily true. Typically they've had some money budgeted for mid-season trades in years past. It may be that they don't have any this year, but I haven't seen anyone say it.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

And of course they wouldn't say it, it would let the other teams know that the Cubs won't be upgrading.

Al Yellon was on fire today. In the morning, he posted this: "Notes: sources tell me, despite me and some others wanting the Cubs to go after Mark DeRosa, the Cubs will not seek his return, nor are they at this time looking for help outside the organization; and, further, there are no immediate plans to call up Jake Fox. If the team keeps hitting the way they have the last two games, a turnaround could come as quickly as the losing streak did." Emphasis mine. Of course, Fox was called up hours after the post, in a move that surely didn't look sudden; then, in the post acknowledging the move, he mentioned this: "This has to count as a fairly major shakeup -- those of you clamoring for the dumping of Cotts and Miles have gotten pleased; Waddell's numbers weren't great at Iowa, but he threw well in spring training and is more of a true LOOGY than Cotts." Emphasis mine, again. Christ, does Al know how to look for pitcher splits? Does he talk just for the sake of filling a blog post? He's getting torched to the tune of a .346 BAVG vs lefthanded batters, and the only homerun he's allowed was against one. And finally, the evening game recap says this: "So an umpire admits publicly that he missed the call on 4.7% of the pitches in a game? That seems like a large number to me -- any one of those could have changed the complexion of the game." How about some research Al? I'd do it, but I didn't bring up the subject; did he bother to look for the MLB average of missed umpire calls? Sure, that might be hard to do by himself -- maybe he could ask his sources?

[ ]

In reply to by carlosrubi

you're talking about a guy who argued with his own readers over a blown call 400ft. away from where he saw in it person that cameras showed was correct. his view was "I was there and you were not" (not exact quote) on the issue when told the cameras showed otherwise. keep in mind this was well after the game was over and even he had to have more than a few chances to see the camera replays, himself. go figure.

Leadoff hitter Alfonso Soriano revealed to the Sun-Times before the game that he has been dealing with a sore left knee for most of this month. While rounding the bases on a fifth-inning leadoff double, it was clear Soriano was not 100 percent. ''I've been battling with my knee for three or four weeks,'' Soriano said. ''Nothing serious. A little sore, but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. I get treatment every day to feel better because this game is not easy to play with pain.'' http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1595705,CST-SPT-cubnt28.ar…

Yes, last night was a Jake Fox jersey shirt giveaway & his same-day promo to Chicago was in keeping w/ a growing I-Cub tradition. Previously, Sean Gallagher, Felix Pie and Sean Marshall were all summoned on the day their shirts were handed out @ the turnstiles - now, w/ regard to Zombie...he's entertaining & clownish, but he's not a winner; not a championship sort of fellow...one of the Chicago papers described the Cubs this morning as "outlaws" in the eyes of the NL & MLB - sounds more or less accurate...as if this organization didn't carry enough baggage already the current edition of the team seems unable to get out of its own way...

[ ]

In reply to by Mike Wellman

I'm okay with the Cubs being considered outlaws -- it's better than lovable losers by a long shot. But if they're gonna be outlaws they better win. If they could get back to the way they were last year they WOULD win. Work the count. Umpires, by and large, are not gonna screw them even if they are considered outlaws. Umpires have their own bosses to answer to, and their own metrics. And damn, I don't care if Jake Fox is an error machine. If he hits like it looks like he can, you find a way to get him into the lineup every night. At the very least, we could get another high end prospect for the guy a bit later.

described the Cubs this morning as "outlaws" in the eyes of the NL & MLB --- I found it funny that if you look up Barrett's stats on yahoo sports there is a link to Zambrano's antics from yesterday. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6098 --- Note to Z: Michael Barrett isn't available (he's on the DL). Barrett begins long rehab road: The Toronto Sun reports that Blue Jays backup C Michael Barrett (torn shoulder muscle) has begun playing catch but could be out weeks or months. "It's going to be a long road," Barrett said. "I can't let my expectations get too big," he said. "I hit off a tee (yesterday). Hitting won't be as bad as throwing. It's still a challenge to work through the pain." (Updated 05/08/2009). Barrett hurt himself on a bizarre play when he landed on a weighted sleeve in the on-deck circle while retrieving a wild pitch

Don Cooper, W Sox pitching coach, when asked about the Zambrano thing, said he thought it was funny, but they wouldn't stand for someone like that on the team. He said they don't want an "asshole" destroying the dugout. Ha. Really? They've never had a player go nuts and destroy the cooler or something? I find that hard to believe.

ROB G: Just heard on ESPN 1000, Bruce Levine believes that Z will incur a 7-10 game suspension. Z is my favorite Cub. Exact opposite of Cotts to me. However, this shit just hurts the team and has to stop. He has been in the league long enough and should know what the "line" is.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

Von Joshua usually had good results with Pie. Pie actually had a higher minor-league BA (.299) than any current Cub except Aramis (.304). For comparison, Corey Patterson hit .280 in the minors--but it was lower than that in AA and AAA on the way up. Ryan Harvey is at .248 for his career. Baltimore turned out to be a land of no opportunity for Pie, since he should be playing center or right, but both positions were locked up long term. In left he has to contend with the young sluggers in the organization who can't play a position. I don't know if Reimold is exactly in that category--maybe he's more all-around--but Pie is not going to compete well in left field while he's learning to hit.

It's nice to be a fan of a winning team again, even if it may only last for 30 hours. If I recall correctly that 2005 team was pretty streaky. I hope if we get a good streak going it won't be another sign of 2005 redux.

I just had a wtf moment... Sam Zell, chairman and chief executive of Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. today told Bloomberg Television that financing has "obviously contributed to the delay" of sale of the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts family. "These are very difficult times. These are difficult times to arrange financing," Zell said in an interview, adding that if the Ricketts deal falls through, he is confident the media company--which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December--will find another buyer for the ballclub. "We’ve made it very public that the Cubs don’t fit into the long term picture of the Tribune," he said. "So if the Ricketts deal doesn’t get done, I’m sure there will be other ones." With a bid said to be worth around $900 million, the Ricketts in January emerged from a pack of would-be buyers to enter into exclusive negotiations with Tribune Co. for the team, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, a regional cable network. "If the Ricketts deal doesn't get done..."? Wow. Source: Chicago Tribune

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    i 100% agree with you, but i dunno how jed wants to run things.  the default is delay.  i would choose brown.

    like hellfrozeover says, could be smyly since he's technically fresh and stretched.

    anyway, on a pure talent basis....brown is the best option.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Use pitchers when you believe they're good. Don't plan their clock.

    I'm sorry. I'm simply anti-clock/contract management. Play guys when they show real MLB potential talent.

    If Brown hadn't been hurt with the Lat Strain he would've gotten the call, and not Wick.

    Give him a chance. 

    But Wesneski probably gets it

  • crunch (view)

    alzolay...bro...

  • crunch (view)

    wow.  what a blown call.  go cubs, i guess.

  • crunch (view)

    neris is good for 70-ish appearances and having him throw 89-91mph fastballs was something i was not looking forward to for 70-ish games.

    his splitter today was ranging 82-83mph...also a bit faster than spring performances.

  • Eric S (view)

    Holy shit this umpire sucks


    However, all is forgiven when his suckiness works in favor of the Cubs. 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Neris must have been sand-baging spring training. He's a veteran, so he knew what he was doing. Had me fooled to be honest. Glad I was wrong.

  • hellfrozeover (view)

    Looks like he might the cliche veteran pitcher in spring not really ramping it up and just “forking on stuff” in spring. If he gets to 94 on the regular he’ll do just fine. 

  • crunch (view)

    topped out a 94mph, threw 4 of those.  feeling a lot better about neris.

  • crunch (view)

    neris has thrown 2 pitches at 93mph out of his first 5 pitches.  that's a positive turn.