Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Sloth Traded To Nats for 3 Baby Ruth Candy Bars

Submitted by Rob G. on

 

 

The Cubs traded Tom Gorzelanny to the Nationals yesterday for 3 minor leaguers. This will make the road to the rotation a little easier for Carlos Silva. Phew. 

The three prospects the Cubs received were 24-right hander A.J. Morris, right fielder Michael Burgess and lefty Graham Hicks. Baseball America has a write-up on each of them.

To the excerpts...

 

 

Morris

Morris pitched effectively enough as a starter for Potomac, going 3-2, 3.16 with 49 strikeouts in 57 innings, but he came down with a sore arm in June and missed nearly a month. The Nationals shifted him to the bullpen upon his return to Carolina League action in mid-July and Morris showed improved velocity, hitting 95 mph, if lesser results—he notched a 12-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 15 innings to go with a 6.60 ERA.

Burgess

Burgess ranked among Washington's top 10 prospects every year from 2008-10, but he had dropped into the 11-20 tier heading into 2011 after a second straight season in high Class A. He's taken 937 at-bats for Potomac in the past three years, batting just .245 but with above-average power output in the form of 37 homers and an isolated power figure of .182. Stocky and strong, Burgess concentrated on making more contact last season, which he did at the expense of a bit of power.

Hicks

Hicks compiled steady strikeout and walk rates for Hagerstown but proved far too hittable because of poor command. A tall, lean lefty, he sits in the high 80s with his fastball, touching 91 mph, and shows the makings of an average curveball and changeup. If it all comes together for Hicks, he could have a future as No. 5 type starter.

Gorzelanny was out of options and the Cubs clearly felt he could net them the best return while still having plenty left to withstand the demands of a 162 game schedule. No big loss or impact in my opinion. The rotation now stands at Dempster, Zambrano, Garza, Wells and Silva with Cashner and Russell trying to force their ways in with a good spring.

Tags
Cubs Roster Moves
Tom Gorzelanny

Comments

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Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:19 pm

rumor was Reds were going to offer around $7M and Votto submitting in the 8.5M to 9.5M range. Considering Howard made $10M his first year, Reds thought they could lose it and that's all that matters. I don't think Jocketty went let's give Votto $38M for the helluva of it. At the low end they probably think he makes $34-35M over the next 3 years or less if he's injured, at the high end, $44 or more and didn't want to risk going that road while keeping their star happy. Gonna guess they put a lot more thought into it then the 5 minutes everyone on here has.

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:34 pm

So.......is it a given that Prince will be the Cubs #1 free agent target for 2012? I guess all bets are off if Pujols doesn't re-up with the Birds, but it sure seems like the Cubs, Jays and Nats would be the likely top 3 bidders for Fielder. Even at $20MM/year.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:02 pm

Likely 2011 Opening Day starting lineup at Tennessee (as things stand right now): 1. Brett Jackson, CF 2. D. J. Lemahieu, 2B 3. Michael Burgess, RF 4. Josh Vitters, 3B 5. Ryan Flaherty, LF 6. Rebel Ridling, 1B 7. Michael Brenly, C 8. Junior Lake, SS 9. Trey McNutt, P I think it's pretty clear that the Tennessee Smokies will be the crown jewel of the Cubs farm system going into the 2011 season. Most of the Cubs best prospects will be rhere. BTW, Burgess is the only one of the players acquired from WAS who will be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft post-2011. So I would say Vitters, J. Jackson, Carpenter, Beliveau, Flaherty, Burgess, Lake, M. Gonzalez, M. Smith, and Campana are (at this time) the ten post-2011 Rule 5 eligibles who are most-likely to be added to the 40 by 11-20-2011 (if not sooner in some cases), with Vitters, J. Jackson, and Carpenter virtual locks to get added, Beliveau and Flaherty likely but not locks, and Burgess, Lake, M. Gonzalez, M. Smith, and/or Campana only if the player has a good year.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:31 pm

Submitted by Stevens on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 2:35pm. AZP, what's the story on Rebel Ridling & Junior Lake. I'm not familiar. Love the names, but I imagine there's nothing special about a 1B who hits 6th in AA. And I haven't heard Lake's name pop up in the many middle-infielder conversations in the last couple years. Thanks. ========================================== STEVENS: Rebel Ridling played college ball at Oklahome State and was drafted by the Cubs in June 2008 (25th round). He had a very strong second-half at Peoria in 2009 (finishing at 310/347/466) and an impressive AZ Instructs post-2009, but then he had an appendectomy with complications (he almost died) last March, and he missed the first month of season while rehabbing at Fitch Park. When he returned (to Daytona), he was not quite the same player he had been at Peoria in 2009, and struggled a bit at the plate (hitting 267/312/426). Junior Lake and Starlin Castro were born three days apart, both signed with the Cubs as 16-year olds out of the Dominican Republic, and both played for the DSL Cubs in 2007 and for the AZL Cubs in 2008. When I first saw them at Fitch Park in 2008, I thought Lake had the most upside. While Castro was definitely the better hitter of the two (311/364/464 for Castro and 286/335/417 for Lake in AZL in 2008), Lake had the stronger arm, a bit more range at SS, more power, and was a faster runner. Both Lake and Castro attended AZ Instructs at Fitch Park post-2008, and Castro really took advantage of the instruction from the organization's coaches (fielding, baserunning, and hitting), while Lake did not. For instance, on the advice of organizatinal hitting coordinator Dave Keller, Castro kept a "hitting diary" and studied pitchers for weaknesses. Lake did not. The thing about Junior Lake is that he is kind of a "street kid," sort of a Dominican Oliver Twist. I'm not even sure he attended school. So it might be harder for him to understand coaching, because he doesn't know how to accept instruction. So while Castro rocketed through the Cubs system (surprisingly starting the 2009 season at Daytona before getting a mid-season promotion to Tennessee and a slot in the AFL, and then receiving an NRI to Spring Training in 2010 and an April call-up to the big leagues), Lake has moved more steadilily through the system, playing at Peoria in 2009 and at Daytona in 2010. His big negatives over the past couple of years were a scatter-gun arm, brain farts on the bases, and a hyper-aggressive approach at the plate. But if it wasn't for Starlin Castro, you would probably have heard a lot more about Junior Lake. Lake looked like he might finally have made some improvements to his game at mid-season 2010 at Daytona, hitting home runs, starting to show more patience at the plate, and cutting down on his throwing errors and baserunning gaffes. The Cubs trading Hak-Ju Lee makes Junior Lake the Cubs new #1 shortstop prospect (at least going into 2011), but I would not be surprised if he eventually morphs into a Bill Hall-type IF-OF multi-postional super-sub, with plus power, above-average speed, and the athleticism needed to play both infield and outfield positions. I don't know if Lake will ever be a good hitter, but even if he doesn't hit a whole lot for average, his other tools (power, arm, range, and athleticism) should make him a decent MLB supersub.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:05 pm

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 3:48pm. PHIL: You have always liked Flaherty. Do you still feel the same way about his prospects? =================================== E-MAN: I had Ryan "Flash" Flaherty at #10 in my post-2010 Cubs Top 15 Prospects list. I have always projected Flaherty as a LH corner IF-OF who can also play 2B, and SS in a pinch (he played SS at Vanderbilt and with Team USA), and nothing has changed my mind about him eventually doing that. A left-handed hitting version of Mark DeRosa is a reasonable projection. Flaherty is a big guy and a growing boy (6'5 230), and he has the potential to be a big-time HR hitter (he hit 20 at Peoria in 2009). He is a fairly patient hitter and he runs OK for a big guy. One thing about him is that throughout his career he has struggled against LHP while murdering RHP, so I see him as a platoon guy playing 1B-2B-3B-LF-RF at the MLB level. Flaherty is the son of a college baseball coach (Southern Maine) and he has a lot of baseball smarts and is a student of the game. He knows how to play each of the positions in his kit the right way, he knows how to run the bases, and he can work a pitcher. He was the first-base coach for Mesa Solar Sox (AFL) when he wasn't playing in a game.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:36 pm

Michael Burgess played high school ball at Hillsborough HS in Tampa, FL, the same school that produced Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield, Carl Eveett and Elijah Dukes. The Nationals selected Burgess in the Supplemental 1st round (overall pick #49) in the 2007 Rule 4 Draft, one slot below the Cubs, who selected Auburn C Josh Donaldson (compensation pick for the Cubs losing Juan Pierre to LAD) at #48. Burgess had signed an NLI with Central Florida, but gave up a chance to play college ball at UCF when he signed with the Nats ($630K signing bonus). Like Josh Vitters (who had signed an NLI with Arizona State), Burgess would have just finished his junior year in college last Spring (and would have been eligible for selection in the 2010 June draft) if he had not opted to turn pro out of HS. Burgess has one of the top OF arms in the minor leagues, so if he flames out at the plate, the Cubs could always make him a pitcher.

[ ]

Submitted by DavidP on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:02 pm

There was another one that came from the same group. In 1981 the Cubs drafted a left handed pitcher out of the same HS that was said to be a close friend (and perhaps relative) of Scheffield. His name was Vance Lovelace, and had just about the best stuff I ever saw in a prospect. Fantastic fastball (no gun used in those days) and a slider to equal Marmols. Unfortunately, his control on his best day was worse than that of Marmol on his worst day. He was traded to the Dodgers for Ron Cey, but floundered in their system also. I believe he finally made it to the majors for a cup of coffee. There were all sorts of rumors about his being a drug abuser, but I sort of wrote them off when he was appointed a very high level scout with the Dodgers about 10 years ago. His fastball was better than that of Carl Hamilton, another lefty in the Cubs system that looked outstanding until injury knocked him out of baseball.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:13 pm

The Cubs have signed 29-year old former 1st round draft pick (2000 #3 overall) OF Luis "Lou" Montanez to a minor league contract with an NRI to Spring Training. Montanez was one of biggest busts among Cubs 1st round draft picks over the years, especially if you consider the fact that he was the 3rd overall pick the year he was drafted. 1st overall pick Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley, and Adam Wainwright turned out to be the best players picked in the 1st round of the 2000 draft, but in the Cubs defense, Gonzalez was gone when the Cubs picked 3rd, and a number of teams passed on Utley and Wainwright. Montanez spent seven seasons (2000-06) in the Cubs minor league system before becoming a Rule 55 minor league FA post-2006 and signing a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent the past four seasons bouncing back & forth between AA Bowie, AAA Norfolk and Baltimore, hitting 223/251/323 with four HR and 11 doubles in 93 MLB games (266 PA). A right-handed hitter, Montanez can play all three OF positions. Montanez was signed by the Cubs as a SS out of a Miami HS in 2000, but was moved to the outfield in 2004. He has not played one inning in the infield since the move. He hit a career-high 26 HR for Bowie in 2008, but has only hit six dingers in the past two seasons.

[ ]

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:34 pm

Sounds to me like Montanez has Jose Macias' skill-set covered just fine. Guaranteed Chicago roster spot! /snark In reality, unless I'm missing something with Phil's earlier depth chart, it seems there is no one at Iowa to play in LF with Guyer traded away. So Montanez is organizational filler to cover LF there, that is unless Bobby Scales plans on playing some LF for the I-Cubs this year (and I thought Phil said he was going to start coaching? Or maybe that was Doobie). I'm not sure who plays SS for Iowa, either. Also, some good news: just saw a Twitter that Matt Szczur has picked the Cubs over the NFL. Woot! I'm guessing he'd be targeted for Peoria's OF, right Phil? Too much college experience to go to Boise.

Submitted by H_Vaughn on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:19 pm

I'll miss Gorz. By WAR, he's already the Nats third best pitcher. He'll never be more than a decent fourth starter on a good team, but he has nice stuff and competes. Hard to project any of those suspects is ever gonna be able to contribute nearly as much as Gorz has. Meh.

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.

    The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.

    I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day. 

     

    That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled). 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.

    When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.

    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

    On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?

    But I digress…

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.  

     

    At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

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