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

Sosa Sighting at Extended Spring Training

The EXST Angels blanked the EXST Cubs 6-0 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning.

Iowa Cubs 1B-OF Jason Dubois (placed on the I-Cubs 7-day DL with back spasms on April 21st) got another rehab start (as a DH) with the Cubs today, and got five Plate Appearances (total). He batted second in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th innings, grounding out to third in the 2nd, grounding into a 6-4-3 DP in the 3rd, doubling off the LF fence in the 5th, striking out (swinging) in the 6th, and lining a single to CF in the 7th (his final AB). In two EXST games, Dubois is 2-7 with a double.

In addition, Peoria RHRP Corey Martin (placed on the Chiefs 7-day DL with a strained calf on May 3rd) made his second rehab appearance, throwing one inning in today’s game. Even though the Angels were leading 4-0 after nine innings were completed, the game was extended one extra inning to allow Martin to get his pre-scheduled work, and he was not impressive. Martin allowed a double off the CF Batter’s Eye and a line-drive RBI single, in addition to two fly balls to the warning track.

While the Angels were whitewashing the Cubs on Field #3, RHP (ex-C) Alvaro Sosa threw a two-inning simulated game on Field #1. The 23-year old 5'11 195 Sosa was converted to pitcher a month ago after hitting a combined .225 in 262 pro games going back to 2005 (and never getting past Boise in five seasons), so he is still in the very early stages of the transformation. The Cubs have an extensive history of converting light-hitting catchers into pitchers, most notably Carlos Marmol, Randy Wells, and Blake Parker. It doesn't always work, and Sosa does not have the ideal body-type for a pitcher, but at least he's getting a chance to show the Cubs what he can do on the mound before he's eligble to be a 6Y Minor League Free-Agent (Rule 55 Minor League FA) post-2011.   

Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator Mark Riggins is at Fitch Park this week, so he will get a chance to get a good look at all the Cubs pitchers who are presently at Extended Spring Training.

Here is today’s abridged box score (Cubs players only)

NOTE: DH Jason Dubois batted in five of the first seven innings, getting five Plate Appearances total in the game.

LINEUP:
X. Jason Dubois, DH #1: 2-5 (5-3, 6-4-3 GIDP, 2B, K, 1B)
1. Pin-Chieh Chen, DH #2: 0-3 (K, F-8, 3-1)
2. Arismendy Alcantara, SS: 0-3 (K, K, F-7)
3. Albert Hernandez, 1B: 0-3 (K, K, 4-3)
4. Charles Thomas, 3B: 0-3 (4-3, 6-3, F-8)
5. Alvaro Ramirez, CF: 1-3 (1B, K, K)
6. Xavier Batista, RF: 0-2 (1-3, 3-1)
7. Runey Davis, LF: 1-2 (1B, 4-3)
8. Blair Springfield, DH #3: 0-2 (K, K)
9. Jose Guevara, C: 0-2 (1-3, 6-3)
10. Rafael Disla, 2B: 0-2 (3-1, K)

PITCHERS:
1. Frank Batista – 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 2/1 GO/FO, 36 pitches (24 strikes)
2. Eduardo Figueroa – 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 3 K, 2 WP, 1/4 GO/FO, 51 pitches (32 strikes)
3. Carlos Rojas – 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1/1 GO/FO, 18 pitches (14 strikes)
4. Drew Rundle - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 0/3 GO/FO, 8 pitches (5 strikes)
5. Danny Keefe - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GO/FO, 16 pitches (10 strikes)
6. Corey Martin - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GO/FO, 24 pitches (16 strikes)

ERRORS: (3)
1. P Carlos Rojas E-1 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base – eventually scored unearned run)
2. P Carlos Rojas E-1 (errant pick-off throw into CF allowed runner on 2nd base to advance to 3rd and runner on 1st base to advance to 2nd)
3. 3B Charles Thomas E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely - eventually scored unearned run)

CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Jose Guevara: 1 PB

ATTENDANCE: 9

WEATHER: Sunny and VERY breezy, with temperatures in the 70’s

Comments

so Dubois is still with the Cubs just to set the Iowa Cubs HR record, right? or do they put him in Iowa as a cautionary tale to the minor leaguers of what happens if you don't grab hold of your brief major league opportunity?

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 6:02pm. heh...wells used to catch nolasco in cubs minors...now he gets to pitch against him tonight. =========================== CRUNCH: Randy Wells, Carlos Marmol, and Geovany Soto were three 19-year old catchers at Fitch Park in 2002. Marmol was actually the best hitter of the three (at the time) and had really good speed for a catcher. Soto wasn't that impressive ar the time. He had power potential that he hadn't yet fully developed, and his receiving needed a lot of work. Wells just could not hit. You could see even then that he was definitely a pitcher trapped in a catcher's body.

Carlos A. Silva Updated: Tuesday, 11 May 2010, 11:30 AM EDT Published : Tuesday, 11 May 2010, 11:30 AM EDT (1950 - 2010) - Carlos A. Silva, 59, of Springfield and formerly of Ludlow passed away Friday morning, May 7, 2010, surrounded by his loving family in Baystate Medical Center, Springfield. Carlos, a son of the late Joao and Olinda (Fonseca) Silva was born in Guarda, Portugal on September 28, 1950. He graduated from high school in Portugal and on April 27, 2010 he graduated and received his diploma from Porter Chester Institute for HVAC. He had previously worked for Milton Bradley for 22 years
http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/obituaries/obit-carlos-silva

A source tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that either Nolan Reimold or Lou Montanez will be sent to Triple-A Norfolk in order to make room for Corey Patterson on Wednesday.

"Uh, I mean, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't," Lee said, trying to be diplomatic. "It's just a philosophy. I'm more of a believer of 'be stable.' But obviously Lou likes a change, so, that's what he likes to do."

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I have trouble justifying Castro's defensive shortcomings so far by saying "well at least he's better than Theriot". It might not be true, but it probably is; Either way I don't find that to be a compelling argument. Jitters? Okay, maybe. What I see, though, is some raw talent and acrobatic abilities, but a young guy who hasn't built the muscle memory to make those consistent throws or field the short hop flawlessly. With enough time and proper direction he should become a nice SS, though. He definitely has the range and arm and I think the Renteria comparisons are well deserved.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

I guess the anti-Castro sentiment with a few of us isn't about us disliking Castro, its just that we think he needs a few more seasons in the minors to work on his overall game. He is by no means a polished prospect and really has no business being in the majors right now, much less starting his service clock. We don't like him on the roster now, because he doesn't make this team any better now. And playing him in the majors isn't some magic elixir that will make him better simply by playing in the majors. It's called prospect development and the Castro call up is just proof this organization has no fucking clue what they are doing, much less how to run a proper farm system.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Ohh yeah and i was big fans of Choi, and Murton and Theriot to replace the suck of Cesar Izturis. A man with all the gifts on defense but can't hit his way out of a paper bag. And when his defense started to suck Theriot got his job. I appreciate and admire a solid if unspectacular SS who can hit for average and get on base. I think we have all forgotten what its like to watch all of our past Cub SS's hit .250 with an OBP around .300. So yeah i am a little hit and miss. Hated the DeRosa signing as well, but grew to appreciate his time with the Cubs. Same goes with Marlon Byrd.....Fred McGriff can eternally eat my ass though. See not always right. But I slammed dunked the Milton Bradley fiasco. Some things are just wayyyyyyy to easy to predict.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

This is probably going to sound snarky, but it's not intended to. At his present pace over a full season, Castro is going to commit 162 errors. Saying "well how does this help the defense?" right now is stupid, because 1, he's not going to commit four times as many errors as any shortstop ever, and 2 you're not noticing that he has the tools to make plays that Theriot, as nice and scrappy a guy as he is, just isn't physically capable of doing. Theriot's as likely to hit 75 HR's this year as he is to throw out a runner from the hole, unless the runner pulls a hammy or falls, because he is physically incabable of doing those things.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

well whatever, wasn't really getting into that right now. He could be optioned at some point and it becomes a moot point. But his FA clock wasn't really affected by calling him up now versus a month from now. It was his arbitration clock that they possibly fucked up. But at age 20, I don't expect that he'll put up huge numbers that it'll make more than a $2 to $3M difference. That being said, I would imagine any CBA changes wouldn't affect players that started their clocks before the current CBA expired. If they decided, for an extreme example, to go 7 years before free agency, I feel the players would be sure to include something that it only applies to players going forward.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I wasn't really using Strasburg myself, but his 4-year deal only runs through 2012. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/03/why_the_timin… by delaying his Super Two they can set his salary for 2013, but it can't be lower than 20% of what he made in 2012, which is $4.875M (factoring in bonuses). So the most they could cut it is $3.9M, although I'm sure they'll just agree to a buyout of his arb-years by that point. Fontenot was a regular for just one of those seasons, so he's a poor example. I'm under the assumption Castro stays a regular if he reaches Super 2 status. If he struggles, he'll just get optioned most likely making this all mostly a moot point. Super 2's can compare themselves to other Super 2's and Year 3's at their position, which then depends on how well he does, awards, being a starter, etc. If Castro puts up Theriot numbers, that's 2.6M there. Let's assume he does better, then he could make Drew'ish money at $3.4M. That's where I got my $2.5 - $3.5M range. Andre Ethier was a Super 2 and made $3.1M with 100K incentives after 2008. H. Pence was a regular and signed for $3.5M. The high end is of course Lincecum, Howard and Hamels (like $4.5M). But assuming Castro stays in the majors, then I assume he stays a regular and is putting up numbers no worse than Theriot did his first 3 years which puts him in the 2.5 - 3.5 range. If he's really good, then possibly even higher. If he really struggles, then maybe it's more like the $2M range, but more likely he's just demoted.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

OK, I was thinking that the best players were getting $2 million and that Castro would make $1.5 million as opposed to about $1 million. But, I still think in year 4-6 he would get compared to other players in years 4-6. He's not going to get any benefit as a super 2 - other than the higher starting point. Prior, for example, took a pay cut, despite having qualified as a super 2. If he hits like Theriot did last year in year three, he's likely to get what Theriot got for year 4 (plus a little inflation).

cashner starts tonight @ las vegas [under watchful eye of a local ex-pitcher?]& jay jackson threw an inning of middle relief for the i-cubs last night as his arm is shrunk for his soon-to-be-new role in chicago...season high in hits/runs for iowa; fuld is on a tear; 2 more hits for tracy & a 3 run bomb for hoffpauir...the nd guy ran his record to a mighty misleading 3-0 despite 2 more walks in an inning+

Hey Mike Wellman WTF what do you mean misleading 3-0. What is his ERA? If you don't like the guy because he went to ND too bad keep it to yourself and take your big ten crap somewhere else.

really, i just went to the nd shorthand because he hasn't been worth the trouble i went to learning how to spell samardzija...wish i could go to the i-cub games in vegas! finally, god help you jakester if/when samardzija's college comes into the b10 fold...

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).