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

Dos Cabezas RBI Better Than Uno

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Yaniel Cabezas lined a walk-off bases-loaded RBI single into the LF corner with one out in the bottom of the 9th, as the Cubs rallied for two runs in the final frame to edge the Giants 3-2 in AZ Instructional League action this afternoon at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.  

Down 2-1, the EXTREMELY patient Garrett Schlecht led off the bottom of the 9th for the Cubs by drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Rubi Silva then laid down what was intended to be a sacrifice bunt, but it turned out to be a bunt single as the Giants third-baseman could not make a play. Danny Lockhart followed by laying down another bunt, and this time the ball was fielded by the third-baseman, but the throw to 1st base ticked-off the second-baseman’s glove and into RF foul territory, allowing Schlecht to score from 2nd base with the tying run, Silva to advance to 3rd, and Lockhart to take 2nd base. The Giants opted to pitch to hot-hitting (429/551/857) Micah Gibbs, but he drew a walk anyway, loading the bases with no outs. Neftali Rosario then struck out swinging with the bases loaded, leaving it up to Yaniel Cabezas. And Cabezas came through, hammering a line-drive into the LF corner to score Silva from 3rd base and give the Cubs the victory.

Cabezas drove-in the first Cubs run as well, ripping an opposite-field RBI single over the second-baseman’s head with one out in the bottom of the 4th, driving-in Micah Gibbs from 3rd base. Gibbs had reached base on a lead-off triple (near HR) off the right-centerfield fence.

The 22-year old Cabezas was a Cuban defector who signed with the Cubs last December for a reported $500K bonus. Cabezas played on the Cuban Junior National Team and for Los Vaqueros de La Habana (Serie Nacional) with fellow Cubs minor leaguer 2B-OF Rubi Silva. Cabezas and Silva defected together, and both players signed with the Cubs on the same day (12-15-2010), with Silva getting a reported $1M bonus.

While Silva had a good first year in the U. S. (he hit 285/305/392 combined between Peoria & Daytona, and he was 4th in the MWL in triples), Cabezas struggled at the plate with the AZL Cubs and at Boise (combined 202/284/260). However, Cabezas did hit a team-leading 356/402/520 with a team-leading 17 RBI in 82 PA with the EXST Cubs in April & May prior to the start of the short-season leagues in June, and was arguably the EXST Cubs MVP. (Cabezas also threw out 27% of opposing base-stealers in 44 games behind the plate with AZL Cubs & Boise).

Cabezas is currently hitting 348/423/391 and playing solid defense behind the plate at Instructs (which is approximately equivalent to Boise), and despite his offensive struggles with the AZL Cubs and the Boise Hawks in 2011, I think it is likely that he will be the #1 catcher at Peoria on Opening Day 2012.  

RHP Dillon Maples (Cubs 2011 14th round draft pick - $2.5M bonus) made his second Instructs appearance, throwing two shutout innings (28 pitches - 15 strikes). He allowed a single and a double, and he hit a batter (and almost hit two more). He was behind on almost every hitter, and the outs he did get were mainly ground balls on low-90's two-seamers (and he did not rack up any strike outs). He also benefitted from a CS. But at least he looked better than he did in his pro debut last week, when he walked three and couldn't retire the side before reaching his pitch limit.

Ex-Cubs Shawon Dunston, Sr and Lee Smith were at the game today (both are serving as instructors with the Giants), so Shawon Sr got a chance to see his son play (although Shawon Jr is presently buried deep in a 1-25 slump). 

Here is the abridged box score (Cubs players only):

LINEUP:
1. Rubi Silva, 2B: 2-4 (4-3, 1B, 5-3, 1B, R)
2. Danny Lockhart, 3B: 0-3 (L-1, 6-3, 4-3, SH-E4)
3. Micah Gibbs, 1B: 1-2 (BB, 3B, 1-4-3, BB, R)
4. Neftali Rosario, DH-C: 0-4 (K, K, 6-3, K)
5. Yaniel Cabezas, C-DH: 2-4 (K, 1B, 4-3, 1B, 2 RBI)
6. Shawon Dunston, Jr, LF: 0-2 (4-3, 1-3 SH, 3-1)
7. Trey Martin, CF: 0-3 (6-3, K, F-7)
8. Justin Marra, DH #2: 1-3 (1B, P-4, L-1)
9. Carlos Penalver, SS: 1-3 (6-4-3 DP, 1B, F-8)
10. Garrett Schlecht, RF: 1-2 (1B, F-8, BB, R)

PITCHERS:
1. Zac Rosscup: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 21 pitches (10 strikes), 0/1 GO/FO
2. Dillon Maples: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP, 28 pitches (15 strikes), 4/1 GO/FO
3. Matt Spencer: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 30 pitches (18 strikes), 2/1 GO/FO
4. Amaury Paulino: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 22 pitches (13 strikes), 0/1 GO/FO
5. Felix Pena: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 23 pitches (18 strikes), 2/1 GO/FO
6. Scott Weismann: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 13 pitches (9 strikes)

ERRORS: 2
1. SS Carlos Penalver - E-6 (throwing error allowed batter to reach base safely)
2. C Neftali Rosario - E-2 (dropped pop foul fly)

CATCHERS DEFENSE
1. Yaniel Cabezas: 1-3 CS
2. Neftali Rosario: 1 E (see above)

ATTENDANCE: 21

WEATHER: Sunny with a gentle breeze, and with temperatures in the 80’s

Tags
Cubs Minor Leaguers
Micah Gibbs
Yaniel Cabezas
Rubi Silva
Dillon Maples
AZ Instructional League

Comments

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:09 am

Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 1:00am. Any velocity readings on Paulino? The line looks really nice - did the stuff match up with it? ==================================== TOONSTER: I don't have any velo readings on Amaury Paulino from yesterday, but he got lots of swings & misses with his fastball and breaking ball. Yesterday was Paulino's first decent Instructs outing after three poor ones: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 2 K 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K 1.0 IP, 1 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP After struggling at EXST, Paulino spent most of the Summer on the AZL Cubs 60-day DL, before getting reactivated on August 20th. 2011 has been pretty much a lost season for Paulino, so finishing strong should be good for his confidence going into next season.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:59 am

Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 8:34am. Hey Phil, Any thoughts on who might be the most exciting player at instructs this year? ================================ CHARLIE: Certainly it's Dan Vogelbach. When he comes up to the plate everybody stops talking and watches him hit. You never know when he's going to drop a tape-measure bomb. The more I see of Vogelbach, the more I think of John Kruk, although Vogelbach has more pure power than Kruk did in his playing days. Vogelbach seems a really good-natured kid, nothing seems to bother him. I guess he knows that he can silence any teasing he might get by just dropping the head of his bat on a pitch.

Submitted by Koyies Bansaw on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:48 am

Just wondering, what are your thoughts on Rosscup and Weismann? Any chance they could make it to Chicago, or are they just organizational guys?

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:55 am

Submitted by Koyies Bansaw on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 8:48am. Just wondering, what are your thoughts on Rosscup and Weismann? Any chance they could make it to Chicago, or are they just organizational guys? ================================== K-BANSAW: Zac Rosscup probably has a better chance of making it to Chicago than Scott Weismann. When healthy, Rosscup is a control guy with three solid pitches (a 90 MPH sinker, a curve, and a change-up) who throws strikes and keeps the ball down (he had not surrendered a HR in 80+ IP in pro ball prior to this season). I would compare him to Chris Rusin. Scott Weismann was a rotation starter at Clemson until mid-season 2011 (he and Cubs LHP Casey Harman were rotation starters on the Clemson Tigers CWS team in 2010) when he was moved to closer, and he really took to the job. He throws a low 90's sinker, a slider, and a cutter, and while he might be used as a closer or set-up guy at Peoria and Daytona, he probably projects as a middle-reliever at the upper levels.

Submitted by Justin Tyme on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:09 am

What does Spencer hit on radar gun? Listened to Smokies broadcast one night when he did mopup/blowout duty and announcer said stadium gun showed 99. Likely inaccurate, but he threw in low 90's as 18 year old at high school near here. Can he help as pitcher?

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:14 am

Submitted by Justin Tyme on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:09am. What does Spencer hit on radar gun? Listened to Smokies broadcast one night when he did mopup/blowout duty and announcer said stadium gun showed 99. Likely inaccurate, but he threw in low 90's as 18 year old at high school near here. Can he help as pitcher? ==================================== JUSTIN: I don't have velo readings on Spencer, but he definitely throws hard (sort of like Wild Thing in Major League). The problem is he has a lot of difficulty controling his fastball. His curve ball is actually a much better pitch, because at least he can throw it for strikes.

Submitted by Newport on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:14 pm

I don't know if this us 3/44, but Pete Gammons says the Astros are moving to the AL. I always thought it was bullshit having 6 teams in the NL Central. This certainly can't hurt the Cubs chances of making it to the promise land, even though the Astros are turrible.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:27 pm

This certainly can't hurt the Cubs chances of making it to the promise land Couldn't it? Doesn't the extreme suckitude of one (or more *ahem Pirates) team in the division increase the chances of winning the Wild Card? If it happens, I'll miss watching games played in that park. I'll also miss Cubs domination of the shitty-ass Astros lineup. Wood's 20-k game and Zambrano's no-hitter both came against the Astros. Even Ryan O'Malley managed 8 innings of shutout ball against them in 2006 and had casual fans around the net campaigning for him to have a rotation spot in 07.

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:39 pm

Yeah, too remember that shitty-ass Astros lineup that Wood dominated. This was a team that only won 102 games and lead the league in runs scored. They only made the playoff six times (and as noted the WS once with 6x2nd place non playoff finishes) since the NL Central started. They're definitely much worse than our beloved Cubs (4 playoffs, no WS and no additional 2nd place finishes).

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 10:05 pm

Yeah, the Wood case was different. The shitty Astro offenses I'm remembering are mostly the last 3-4 years. And the Astros are not the perennial losers that the Pirates have been. The only way the Astros not being in the division could even hurt the Cubs slightly is in the short term--as their franchise rebuilds--and that's only in the sense that having a couple teams to beat up on slightly improves a team's chances for the Wild Card. Zambrano did seem to love to face the Astros, especially in Houston. But Zambrano is probably gone, too.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.

    That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.

    Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.

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