Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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

The Color Purple

Synonyms for Purple:     amaranthine, amethyst,  bluish-red, burgundy, grape, heliotrope, lavender, lilac, magenta, mauve, mulberry, orchid, periwinkle, perse, plum, pomegranate, puce, reddish-blue, violaceous, violet, wine.


I had to see it in person. For some reason the pictures of the Wrigley Marquee looked more Fuchsia than Purple when I saw Cubs mlb.com reporter, Carrie Muskat's Twitpic.  Any camera or maybe just the wrong lighting can play tricks on you and so can photoshop (tee hee, I rule too!). But in person, sitting in the McDonalds parking lot with my trusty iphone camera and my eyes, there it was...In glorious PURPLE.

Per Wikipedia...

The marquee was installed circa 1934. The sign was BLUE until the 1960s, and originally used changeable letters similar to the scoreboard to announce upcoming games. It originally read "Home of "The Cubs" but was changed to "Home of Chicago Cubs" by 1939. This was also changed during football season to reflect the Chicago Bears. In 1982, the two line announcement board was replaced with an electronic message board and a backlit advertising panel was added below

Of course, the Red Marquee just might be searching for it's Blue Roots.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by garsky

The article is from Phil Rogers. Should have said that first before I even bothered to click. Just from reading the heading looks like old Bourbon Breath has started celebrating the holidays a little early this year.

I think the Ricketts should just keep the Wrigley sign lavender, in honor of them being the gayest owners in MLB.

Have no fear: Dick Pole is available. Actually, I would like to have Orel Hersheiser as pitching coach,but it ain't gonna happen, so Mazzone?

Tampa Bay Rays have signed 1B Russ Canzler to a minor league contract. Canzler is the second Cub Rule 55 minor league FA to sign with a new organization (RHP Mitch Atkins signed with the Baltimore Orioles last week). The Cubs have signed two minor league FA from outside the organization so far (ex-BAL IF-OF Scott Moore and ex-COL LHP Scott Rice), and have re-signed James Adduci, Angel Guzman, Bryan Lahair, J. R. Mathes, Jonathan Mota, Mike Parisi, and Bobby Scales to 2011 minor league contracts. Adduci, Guzman, Lahair, Moore, Rice, and Scales (and presumably Mathes, although it hasn't been confirmed) got NRIs to Spring Training. Pitcher Jeff Gray, catchers Mark Johnson, Mario Mercedes and Mark Reed, 3B Scott McClain, and outfielders Jason Dubois and Brad Snyder remain free-agents.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Phil Based on the minor league contracts and players moving up through the system, who do you think are locks for Iowa? Are the Cubs far enough along in the farm rebuilding to not have to fill out the AAA roster with a bunch of "professional" minor leaguers?

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

Submitted by Jumbo on Tue, 11/23/2010 - 4:12am. Phil Based on the minor league contracts and players moving up through the system, who do you think are locks for Iowa? Are the Cubs far enough along in the farm rebuilding to not have to fill out the AAA roster with a bunch of "professional" minor leaguers? ======================================================== JUMBO: The Cubs are deep enough in their minor league system that they really don't need any minor league free-agents to fill out the Iowa roster. However, one of the functions of a club's AAA roster is to have at least one player at every position (plus several pitchers) who can, if needed, be promoted to the big leagues during the course of the season to replace an injured player or pitcher. Because the exact make-up of the Cubs 2011 MLB Opening Day roster is unknown at this time, I would say that as of right now, very much subject to change, that the 2011 Iowa Opening Day roster will probably look something like this: STARTING PITCHERS: Casey Coleman Jay Jackson, Chris Carpenter (unless he is moved to bullpen) Thomas Diamond J. R. Mathes RELIEF PITCHERS: Jeff Stevens Esmailin Caridad Brian Schlitter James Russell Justin Berg David Cales Austin Bibens-Dirkx (starting pitcher if Carpenter in bullpen) NOTE: This presumes Cubs MLB pitching staff is Dempster, Zambrano, Gorzelanny, Wells, and Silva as the starters, and Marmol, Marshall, Cashner, Grabow, Mateo, Maine, and Samardzija in the bullpen, but that will change if (as expected) Cubs sign FA starting pitcher and/or FA RH reliever CATCHERS: Welington Castillo Robinson Chirinos (C-1B-3B) Steve Clevenger (C-1B-3B) or Chris Robinson (other to AA) NOTE: This presumes Koyie Hill is Cubs back-up catcher (TBD) INFIELDERS: Matt Camp (SS-2B-3B-CF) Bryan Lahair (1B) Nate Samson (SS) or minor league FA SS Marquez Smith (3B) Tony Thomas (2B) OUTFIELDERS: James Adduci or Matt Spencer (other to AA) Tony Campana (CF) Brandon Guyer (RF-CF-LF) Ty Wright (LF) Bobby Scales could replace Mark Johnson as I-Cubs player-coach, starting the season on the Disabled List with some vague injury, and then getting reactivated for short periods whenever a position player goes on the 7-day DL. Mark Johnson (who was player-coach at Iowa in 2009-10) served as an Instructor and Game Manager at Instructs post-2010, and I suspect he will be named the new Cubs Minor League Catching Instructor (with Marty Pevey going back to being a manager), unless he is named manager at Peoria, Boise, or Mesa (this presumes Casey Kopitzke will be promoted to Daytona or Tennessee).

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

One thing to keep in mind about the Cubs 2011 MLB roster is that Geovany Soto had shoulder surgery post-2010, and it's possible that he will not be able to throw well enough to be a #1 catcher next season (at least at the start of the season). But Soto is also probably the Cubs best hitter, so do you just sit him on the bench and use him as a PH until he is healthy enough to handle the #1 catching job, or do you move him to a position where he can hit without having to throw much? And then even if he is healthy enough to catch 110-120 games, do you want your best hitter to sit on the bench 40-50 games, or would you rather have him in the lineup 150+ games by moving him to another position on days he's not catching? Because Soto (even if healthy) is NOT going to catch 150 games. The only other position Soto can play is 1B (he played there quite a bit at Iowa in 2007 when he had a sore shoulder), and that may be one of the reasons (cost being the other) the Cubs are looking at first-basemen like Nick Johnson and Chris Davis, so that Soto will be able to play 1B whenever necessary without being blocked by an Adam Dunn. But whether Soto plays 150+ games (at catcher and 1B) or just 110-120 games (max) at catcher (only), the Cubs back-up catcher is still going to start 40-50 games. Also, remember that Tyler Colvin didn't say he would not play 1B, just that he didn't want to move there during the season. So look for Colvin to play 1B (in addition to RF-CF-LF) in Spring Training if the Cubs don't acquire another LH 1st baseman during the off-season, with Soto also getting some reps there.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Thanks for both comments, Phil. I understand that arguments that Soto at 1B is less valuable than at C, but if there is no money to be spent outside the organization I would be all for a one year rental like LaRoche or an untested type like Davis. Between Soriano, Byrd, Fukudome, Colvin, and another 4th/5th outfielder type, I don't see why Colvin, Soto, and potentially one additional player couldn't hold down 1B. I'd rather do that than make a big commitment to a free agent like Dunn. With the existing roster, how would you construct the Cubs lineup? There's no great leadoff option. Fukudome could do it against RHP in the first half, but I don't think that's the way to go. What do you think of Castro leading off instead of staying in the second slot? Even if he's not a prototypical leadoff man I think he's the best choice for an everyday lineup. Not a lot of other options?

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

Submitted by Jumbo on Tue, 11/23/2010 - 11:54am. Thanks for both comments, Phil. I understand that arguments that Soto at 1B is less valuable than at C, but if there is no money to be spent outside the organization I would be all for a one year rental like LaRoche or an untested type like Davis. Between Soriano, Byrd, Fukudome, Colvin, and another 4th/5th outfielder type, I don't see why Colvin, Soto, and potentially one additional player couldn't hold down 1B. I'd rather do that than make a big commitment to a free agent like Dunn. With the existing roster, how would you construct the Cubs lineup? There's no great leadoff option. Fukudome could do it against RHP in the first half, but I don't think that's the way to go. What do you think of Castro leading off instead of staying in the second slot? Even if he's not a prototypical leadoff man I think he's the best choice for an everyday lineup. Not a lot of other options? ======================================================= JUMBO: I'd go with... Fukudome, RF or DeWitt, 2B Castro, SS Byrd, CF Ramirez, 3B Soto, 1B-C Colvin, 1B-RF Soriano, LF DeWitt, 2B or W. Castillo, C and then Baker (3B-2B-1B), Barney (SS-2B-3B), Chirinos (C-1B-3B), Fuld (LF-CF-RF), and either Fukudome or W. Castillo on the bench. However, If it's Hendry making the call, then Koyie Hill probably is on the roster, replacing Chirinos or Castillo. If the Cubs acquire a LH 1B like Chris Davis or Nick Johnson, Colvin would probably play RF full-time and Fukudome would be the 4th OF instead of Fuld (presuming Fukudome is not traded). I would think that the Cubs would probably be willing to eat as much as 2/3 of Fukudome's $13.5M 2011 salary ($9M) if they can find a taker (and I think they probably can, as long as it isn't a team Fukudome has on his "no trade" list), and then they would use the $4.5M in 2011 payroll saved by trading Fukudome to pay for the RH set-up guy. If Fukudome is traded, I could see Marlon Byrd hitting lead-off (at least for a while). He has hit there before. Eventually Brett Jackson will probably be the lead-off hitter, and Hak-Ju Lee projects as either a lead-off hitter or #8 hitter if he reaches MLB.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Dunn demanded a 4 year deal at $15 mil per from the Nats, who offered a 3 year deal last summer. Money wise, Dunn getting $12-13-14 mil per doesn't seem so crazy now, but still, he's a DH who refuses to accept he has fielding disease.

Ok so this Bears game might actually be worth writing about.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.