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

Family Feud: Angels vs. Cubs

A little late on this, but as many of you know I live in a mixed marriage...the wife affectionately known as the AngelFan Wife around these parts. This morning I reminded the 5-year olds that the two clubs play each other today and the rarity of the scenario, gauging their reaction to see where their allegiences may be swaying. My little Gracie, who has an incredible ability to figure out exactly the opposite thing you want her to do or say, jumped on the Angels. You're dead to me blue eyes. This left Katie to redeem all my hard work over the last 5 years. Her eyes darted around the room nervously between my wife and me, unsure of who she wanted to please more. Then with a big toothy smile, she exclaimed, "Cubbies!" A pony for you. I walked upstairs for a few minutes to finish getting ready before heading off to work and could hear them exchanging chants of  "Cubbies"..."Angels" for the next few minutes reminicent of "Left Field Sucks" and "Right Field Sucks" that you'd hear at the bleachers.

It's the little things...

Kazmir vs. Silva is happening right now, no score through three. If the Cubs win this series, the AngelFan wife promises the Angels will take Derrek Lee and Ramirez's contracts off the Cubs hand. If the Angels win, I'll let the girls date before they turn 21.

Comments

let me pass on a little parenting advice that my grandfather told me. to get correct answers from kids it's best to threaten their favorite pet or toy. btw my grandfather is dick cheney.

Ha...love it! Right after you left, the chanting continued in the car all the way to the gym thank you very much (I'll get you for that one later). Gracie remembered me telling her that the Angels had a better record...but she got it a little confused. This is what she yelled..."But Katie, the Angels like better records!" Good stuff. ;0) GO ANGELS!!! XOXO

pitcher hits for himself for an out...immediately replaced by howry...jeff baker with 2 errors in a row putting guys on the corners. so much cubbery.

this is fundamentally bad baseball. did anyone bother to read a scouting report on the angels? the infield setup is just retarded (not even talking about the errors, either). it seems no one knows what the angels players are likely to do in situations. this is like a pick-up game. ...and why did silva hit for himself when the team was down by 1? no one on and 2 outs, but he didn't even pitch the next inning. meh.

"reminicent of "Left Field Sucks" and "Right Field Sucks" that you'd hear at the bleachers." While Left Field certainly Sucks, I'm all but certain that Right Field actually Blows. "It's the little things..." Exactly.

Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet #9 Trey McNutt Team: low Class A Peoria (Cubs) Age: 20 Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.00, 10 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 17 Ks The Scoop: Sometimes timing makes the difference between landing a prospect and watching him go unnoticed. As we explained in the 2010 Prospect Handbook, the Cubs got a better look at McNutt than most other teams because they got a later look. Early last season, McNutt was a "nothing to see here" righthander with an 88-89 mph fastball. But at the Junior College World Series, when the Cubs bore down on him, the Shelton State (Ala.) CC freshman was a 90-93 mph fireballer. By the time the Cubs signed him during the summer, he was reaching the mid 90s, and he's maintained his velocity this season. The Cubs weren't the only team to like McNutt—the Twins flirted with drafting him—but the Cubs landed him as a 32nd-round steal, signing him for a very reasonable $115,000. McNutt has allowed more than one earned run only once in 13 starts, which explains why he has a 6-0, 1.51 record. Brett Jackson "in the team photo." Cubs CF Brett Jackson had his week truncated by the Florida State League's all-star break, but he still provided one of the minors' highlights of the year, hitting for the cycle Monday against Brevard County. He completed the feat with a walk-off home run to boot. The 21-year-old finished his shortened week at .421/.476/.842 (8-for-19), with a homer, three doubles and a triple . http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/…

So if Colvin somehow got into the regular line up we'd have, like, a 35 HR guy in the lineup every day. "We have a fly-ball hitting team and it doesn't really help when the wind is blowing in a lot," Piniella said. "I like to see hitting in a baseball game. I think the fans like to see hitting in a baseball game," he said. "You go watch Sandy Koufax or Fergie Jenkins pitch, you want to see that great pitcher do what he does best. "But (generally) you come to the ballpark and you have a few beers and eat a few hot dogs and you want to get up and down from the seat a few times and see the ball fly out of the ballpark or into the gaps, see a guy hit a nice triple. You want to see some action." As I approach dodderhood, I hope to hell I don't talk about people I worked with 30 years ago or whatever in the present tense. And, um, Lou? Oh, never mind.

Strasburg is the devil. I have no other explanation. 6 IP, 9 K, 0 BB on 71 fucking pitches. and he's losing 1-0.

I just have to say that this is the first time I've noticed "Brazil Butt Lift" in the Visit These Sponsors Too box on the left. Who shells out $60 + SH for that?

Colvin Colvin... Of course he should be in the lineup, wth is Lou doing? Still Colvin isn't the silver bullet. This team needs blow'd up.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Colvin is not the silver bullet at all. In fact, he needs to be in the lineup so that the league can come back and say, "hey, fucker, take this." Adjustments, and all. He does actually seem like a good hitter but I gave up on my ability to gauge prospects when I got excited about Hee Seop Choi. My confidence is way down, in other words. We all talk about trades but maybe we should trade Colvin. Just for grins.

[ ]

In reply to by Mitterwald

Also, it's easy to say Hendry didn't know what he had in Colvin, or he never would have signed Byrd and caused this outfield logjam. But if anybody would show faith in Colvin, it would be Hendry, Wilken and the Cubs front office. After all, didn't everybody laugh when Hendry drafted Colvin in the first round when everybody thought he was nowhere near a first round talent? I guess what I am saying is that I have no major issue with the way Colvin has been handled, either in terms of playing time or where he has been placed in the batting order. (Personally, I don't think batting order matters as much as other people do.) As for the way Hendry and Lou have dealt with the Theriot-Castro-Fontenot-Baker situation, that's another matter.

[ ]

In reply to by Mitterwald

if hendry could find someone to take on a chunk of fuku's salary they'd probably be dumping him asap. i wonder what they have planned for d.lee. it seems there's a market for nady if they want to dump him. all this logjam could end pretty quickly if the cubs keep losing. :/ imo, nady vs. colvin fighting for random playing time is a hell of a hard thing to manage...especially when byrd/soriano CF/LF are playing decent enough you don't want to give them more than the occasional day off.

[ ]

In reply to by Mitterwald

I also don't have a problem with how Colvin was handled. Making the kid earn it seems alot better approach than how Pie and Patterson were handled. At this though, the season feels like a lost cause. Play the future of the organization (Castro, Colvin, and Soto to a degree) everyday and let take their lumps and make the necessary adjustments.

I think i heard Lou on postgame say it made the most sense to start Colvin in leadoff spot with the lineup. The question is will it happen saturday. Here is my guess Colvin,Castro,Byrd,Lee,Tracey,Soriano,Fontenot,Hill.

[ ]

In reply to by rokfish

Random comment: Castro can hit a major league fastball. Kazmir threw a couple by him early before Castro ripped one into the left center field alley. He can hit major league pitching, and he can adjust up there. Brenly then became a little critical and said Castro doesn't hit to right center field as much as he did when he first got called up. As if on cue, he rips a liner to the right side that Kendrick makes a nice catch on. I'm more curious to see how he handles it a couple years from now when the fans start booing him when he doesn't turn into Honus Wagner.

[ ]

In reply to by Mitterwald

brenly's a pretty damn observant dude...im a fan of a lot of the things he notices players doing day after day. you can tell he's never turned that 'manager mindset' off. i didn't know much at all about castro until this past summer/fall... it seems he's a guy who can hit the ball anywhere, though. he doesn't have that ichiro-like precision, but it seems when the D is setting up against him it's the vanilla-style no-shift and playing in/out depending on the inning/outs/runners-on-base situation. it'll be interesting once he puts up 2-3 years worth of spray charts. wish minors had comprehensive spray charts...that's stuff the scouts/stats-dudes have, but i haven't been able to find any of that stuff on the net.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Saying someone doesn't have "ichiro-like precision" is like saying I don't have "Jesus-like floating ability". Ichiro's bat literally flexes when it contacts the ball (he keeps them in a humidifier and doesn't let other humans touch them). It's shit like that that drives me nuts. Castro seems like, heaven forbid, a product of the system who is a semi-nice, serviceable piece of a decent team at SS, and he's got good enough D that people won't fucking dog him all the time quite as much as they do Theriot. Fuckin' A man, I like fancy "advanced stats" as much as the next guy, but sometimes you just have to sit back and say "Wow, he plays pretty good ML baseball for a fucking 20 year old kid. Maybe we should keep him around."

[ ]

In reply to by rokfish

Like the post Jumbo has below, Lou is not too bright with the lineup construction and understanding what he has. Crunch has pointing out for last couple years of our best power hitter batting lead off. You can talk about line up construction not mattering but I believe you can lose enough games here and there with a stupid line up. Which obviously this team can not afford to do. Lou will explain at the award's picnic after the season where everyone gets a trophy because it's the "fair thing to do."

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

it's worth repeating...
Plain and simple: Piniella is screwing up. He’s playing a bad player over a good player in an effort to win more games. It’s not like the team is responding to the move, either. On May 17th, the Cubs were 17-22, 5 1/2 games out of first place. Today, they are 29-36, 6 1/2 games out of first place. They’ve gone 12-14 since Piniella decided to make Soto a part-time player.
The Cubs are almost certainly going to have a house cleaning at some point in the near future. In the best interest of the organization, their manager should probably be part of that, and the franchise should make “Is Geovany Soto a better catcher than Koyie Hill?” the first question they ask in the interview process.

For anyone else who caught the discussion on yesterday's broadcast about Bobby Abreu, I found it funny that Mike Scioscia thinks he is getting close to being considered a Hall of Famer. Abreu's career .891 OPS is fantastic, but he has been an All-Star twice, has won one gold glove, and has never finished above 12th in the MVP voting. He's simply not a Hall of Famer. In my mind, Abreu is in the Dave Parker or Al Oliver tier of players and won't even sniff getting in the Hall.

wow, a wild pitch without a run scoring. the cubs pitchers are improving there at least. bases loaded angels, 1 out. AWESOME!

rare switch...entire battery mid-inning out. lilly + hill (hill is obviously injured or hobbled after the last inning and it was weird he was still in the game, anyway)

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

They would have figured out after the first playoff sweep that some fairly fucking important (not necessarily drastic, but important) changes needed to be made. Even if that just meant talking to Lou about when to, and not to, pull your fucking starter, and that EVERY GAME MATTERS, especially in the playoffs. They would have spent whatever money needed spending, and they'd have spent it wisely, and wouldn't have pulled some bullshit like letting one hometown hero walk (Wood) trading another "fan fave" (DeRosa) and then gambling the whole gosh damn thing on a fucking nut job (really? do i have to type his name?). Mark my words. If Hendry continues to run this team, and Byrd continues to perform at/near/above expectation, and continues to 'blog' and work hard and 'hustle' and win over the fans, Hendry's going to trade him during or after 2011, probably to the Indians, for a ham sandwich and 2 mid-level prospects. And what will the fans do?? Show up, because that's what Cubs fans do. Jacos, I think your question is a valid one (even though it REALLY upsets me) and I think it's one that Hendry should have (at least secretly) asked himself 3 years ago. Why? Same reason you asked it. Because those teams FUCK. ING. WIN.

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

I do want to point out in my own post, that as much as I didn't agree with it emotionally at the time, trading DeRo acutally was the right baseball move. I think I mention it just to point out that in theory the fan is the customer, and Hendry is out of touch....er something, hell, I don't know, I'm really just frustrated and ranting here.

That was as much fun as a) a kick in the nuts b) watching Human Centipede c) watching Sex in the City 2 d) the 2006 season

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

at least we don't have the outrage of the 2006 season. things got very reactionary with "simple solutions" that could solve everything if only Player A/B/C or Manager/Coach A/B/C would do this or that. 50 million dollars and 4 years later...yeesh. i was expecting a lot more out of this season, but when aram/dlee and the bullpen aside from 2 arms can't pull their weight...yeeeeeeeeeesh. ugg.

after the umps declared slaughter rule was in effect, they rolled out the kegs onto the on deck circles and then Starlin Castro committed his error (of course they carded him but his ID says he's 21)

Lou postgame: When they can't hit the ball and can't field the ball, what am I supposed to do? Yell and scream, , that won't do any good. We've changed lineups...we've done all we can do. They just have to play better. --- if it's not time for a new manager (who has run out of options), it's time for a roster blowup and that means eating a ton of salary over several seasons. Teflon Jim, put some of that non-stick spray. You're going to need it.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Well said, and you're absolutely correct. (I for one say Yes, yell and scream your fool head off, our season as fans and your fucking job depend on it, but that's me) The man says himself, in the press, to the world and everybody that he doesn't have any answers, can't fix the situation. So if I'm the owner, I've gotta ask myself, Who can? And then I hire that guy.

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).