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

Jacksonville, Arizona

Joe Mather clubbed a three-run home run, Brett Jackson slugged his second home run in two days, and Jay Jackson threw three perfect innings, as two squads of Cubs played to a 3-3 tie in a five-inning intrasquad game played under sunny skies this afternoon at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.

After reaching base four times yesterday on a solo a HR, a double, and two walks, B. Jackson picked-up right where he left off, ripping a HR into the upper bullpen beyond the RF fence off LHP Chris Rusin to give the Sveum Squad an early 1-0 lead. (B. Jackson’s HR yesterday also came off a LHP).

Joe Mather took Trey McNutt deep with a three-run dinger off the LF scoreboard in the bottom of the 4th to give the Sutcliffe Squad a 3-1 lead, but B-Jax drew a lead-off walk to spark a two-run rally in the top of the 5th that tied the score. Dave Sappelt (acquired from CIN in the Sean Marshall deal) followed Jackson’s base on balls with a line-drive RBI triple off the CF batter’s eye 410+ feet to straight-away center to score Jackson, and then after Adrian Cardenas walked, Anthony Rizzo lofted a sacrifice fly to left-center to score Sappelt with the tying run.

RHP Jay Jackson got the start for the Sveum Boys, and threw three innings of perfect baseball (1 K and a 4/4 GO/FO), efficiently mowing down the opposition on just 32 pitches (22 strikes).

The Sutcliffe Band of Brothers reversed their fortunes in the bottom of the 4th, however, as Tony Campana ignited the inning with a drag bunt single down the 1st base line. Campana just plain outran the defense, sliding head-first into 1st as 1B Anthony Rizzo made a desperation toss to 2B Bobby Scales covering at 1st base.

Once on base, Campana seemed to rattle pitcher Trey McNutt, eventually stealing 2nd base before Jim Adduci worked a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Campana was then caught red-handed halfway between 2nd & 3rd, but he somehow managed to survive the “hot box,” getting into a run-down before eventually jitterbugging past a defender and sliding into 3rd base amidst a cloud of dust. (Adduci moved-up to 2nd on the play), After Jae-Hoon Ha was called out on strikes on a close 3-2 pitch, Joe Mather sent a hanging McNutt slider high & far over the LF fence.

Matt Szczur followed up yesterday’s 3-4 six-RBI day by reaching base in both of his two plate appearances today, drawing two walks and showing a lot of patience and a good eye in the process.

No doubt the People’s Choice at HoHoKam Park right now is Tony Campana. The fans absolutely LOVE this guy. Besides his bunt single and the daring base-running, Campana also made a couple of eye-opening plays in the field this afternoon, running a half-mile and making a head-first diving attempt at catching a pop-up in foul territory down the LF line early in the game (a ball that Alfonso Soriano would not even have thought about chasing), and then rescuing CF Jae-Hoon Ha by running full-tilt to catch a fly ball in dead-center that Ha lost in the sun. I suppose it’s just his combination of hustle, spirit, and exuberance, but the fans cheer wildly every time Campana comes to the plate or gets on base.

I wouldn't be surprised if Campana ends up playing CF and hitting lead-off for the Cubs on Opening Day. What will happen to Marlon Byrd I cannot say, but Campana seems to be in the right place at the right time right now.

The Cubs play their first “official” Cactus League Spring Training game against the Oakland A’s in Mesa tomorrow afternoon. Rodrigo Lopez will is reportedly get the start.

There is no official scorer at Spring Training intrasquad games, so here is today’s unofficial box score:

SVEUM SQUAD LINEUP:
1. Dave Sappelt, CF: 1-3 (K, F-9, 3B, R, RBI)
2. Adrian Cardenas, 3B: 0-2 (F-8, L-7, BB)
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B: 0-2 (F-9, K, F-7 SF, RBI)
4. Steve Clevenger, DH: 1-2 (1B, F-8)
5. Micah Gibbs, C: 1-2 (5-4-3 DP, 2B)
6. Jonathon Mota: SS: 0-1 (BB, L-8)
7. Matt Szczur, LF: 0-0 (BB, BB)
8. Bobby Scales, 2B: 0-2 (K, L-9)
9. Brett Jackson, RF: 1-1 (HR, BB, 2 R, RBI)

SUTCLIFFE SQUAD LINEUP:
1. Tony Campana, LF: 1-2 (4-3, 1B, R, SB)
2. Jim Adduci, RF: 0-1 (4-3, BB, R)
3. Jae-Hoon Ha, CF: 0-2 (F-7, K)
4. Joe Mather, 1B: 1-2 (5-3, HR, R, 3 RBI)
5. Welington Castillo, C: 0-2 (F-7, 5-3)
6. Edgar Gonzalez: SS: 1-2 (6-3, 1B)
7. Alfredo Amezaga, 2B: 0-2 (L-8, 4-6-3 DP)
8. Blake Lalli, DH: 0-1 (K)
9. Matt Tolbert, 3B: 0-1 (F-7)

SVEUM SQUAD PITCHERS:
1. Jay Jackson: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 32 pitches (22 strikes), 4/4 GO/FO
2. Trey McNutt: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 1 GIDP, 29 pitches (19 strikes), 3/0 GO/FO
NOTE: McNutt’s first inning was stopped with bases empty and one out when he reached his max pitch limit for that inning.

SUTCLIFFE SQUAD PITCHERS:
1. Chris Rusin: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 GIDP, 54 pitches (29 strikes), 2/4 GO/FO
2. Alberto Cabrera: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 0 K, 43 pitches (22 strikes), 0/4 GO/FO
NOTE: Cabrera’s final inning was stopped with runner on 2nd base and one out when he reached his max pitch limit for the game.

SVEUM SQUAD ERRORS: NONE

SUTCLIFFE SQUAD ERRORS: (1)
P Chris Rusin E-1 - errant pick-off attempt at 2nd base allowed runners at 1st & 2nd to advance a base.

CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Micah Gibbs: 0-1 CS

 

Comments

ike davis (NYM) doing it all wrong again... he's contracted "valley fever"...even though his ST camp is in FL. sigh. wrong coast, buddy. he probably lives in AZ in the offseason...went to college there. unlucky break. hopefully it doesn't lay him up. it's like "mono" for some people...some can shake it off...some carry the effects for months/year+.

"Unfortunately, the "Moneyball" film came up empty with the Academy Award voters, and the same fate beckons for Beane and Oakland A’s owners Lew Wolff and John Fisher in their determined effort to move to a new stadium in Hi-Tech haven. The latter prospect, in which, for a variety of reasons, MLB is going to uphold the San Francisco Giants’ territorial rights in San Jose, will be especially disheartening for Beane." http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/3/3/2842925/report-as-wont-be-moving-to-sa… ow. it's like a separated couple (fans/ownership) forced to share a house together at this point...and no one's moving out any time soon.

Well Phil, based on the early returns, I think most Cub fans (self included) would be perfectly fine if the Cubs dumped both Soriano and Byrd RIGHT NOW and had Campana and BJax on the opening day roster. Won't happen of course...but it should. What did you think of Jay Jax, how did he look? Last year was awful for him, can he get back to being a prospect pitcher for us? Who is Joe Mather?

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

Sat, 03/03/2012 - 9:21pm — Jim Hickmans Bat Well Phil, based on the early returns, I think most Cub fans (self included) would be perfectly fine if the Cubs dumped both Soriano and Byrd RIGHT NOW and had Campana and BJax on the opening day roster. Won't happen of course...but it should. What did you think of Jay Jax, how did he look? Last year was awful for him, can he get back to being a prospect pitcher for us? Who is Joe Mather? ============================== JIM H: Jay Jackson looked very good today. He worked fast and threw strikes, and nobody hit the ball hard off him. Too bad they were using a DH because J-Jax is one of the best-hitting pitchers and best athletes among pitchers in the minors (he played CF at Furman on days he wasn't pitching). And I certainly think he is still a prospect. Something to remember about Jay Jackson is that he rocketed through the Cubs system and got to AAA Iowa in just his first full season in pro ball, but he was unable to move forward from there and has even regressed some since then. But he just turned 24 last October (he's two years younger than Chris Carpenter), and he does profile as a starting pitcher. He has been pitching in an extreme hitters league (PCL) for the last couple of years so his number probably look worse than they should, but he threw the ball pretty well the second-half of the 2011 PCL season. Joe Mather is a 29-year old RH hitting 1B-OF. He kind of resembles Richie Sexson, except he never developed into a full-time MLB player. He is tall, lanky, and slow, but he does have HR power. (Jason Dubois might be another comp). Mather spent most of his lengthy minor league career in the Cardinals organization, and over the years he has managed to accrue about a year-and-a-half of MLB Service Time. By this point in his career, though, he is mostly an intinerant "4-A" player, bouncing from organization to organization (St Louis in 2009, Atlanta in 2010, Colorado in 2011, and now the Cubs in 2012). Right now I would say he is really just competing for a job at Iowa, but because he got an NRI for signing with the Cubs, he will be at big league camp for a while. The Cubs have so many OF prospects at AA/AAA that I think it's fairly likely that (barring injuries) Mather will probably get released prior to Opening Day. There probably won't be room for him at Iowa.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

"Volstad is not Carlos Zambrano and that's enough for the Cubs. He's going to top out at around 160 innings and that seems to be a problem for baseball execs." ...and then i quit reading. ...and i probably should have quit reading after the d.barney blurb...even though his "green" rating i don't have an issue with. ...and wtf was up with that byrd blurb? "His playing time was down last year because the franchise was looking at options." I knew it was a conspiracy that he got drilled in the skull. I got one for Will Carroll.... RED (Clairvoyant) Will Carroll Just because you can get 10 patties on a In-and-Out Burger doesn't mean you have to. I saw a video of Carroll eating a couple of 10-patty burgers and noticed his left shoulder isn't raising as high as his right shoulder. This points to a shoulder injury which may prevent him from hitting 300...pounds.

AZ PHIL: Is Campana-Fuld comparison accurate in terms of their role and projection? excepting that Sam is a LH. Don't know much about Campana's arm, but if he can learn how to walk and hit some singles, he would have ro make the team as a 4th OF? From many scouting reports I have read, he is one of the fastest guys in the game. But that in itself is not enough except as a pinch runner.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

I was wondering the same thing. Does he really have the batting skills needed to start in CF on Opening Day, and remain there, ahead of Marlon Byrd? Or is the Cubs' new braintrust putting so much emphasis on defense that he would start on Opening Day on the basis of his D alone?

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Sun, 03/04/2012 - 8:28am — The E-Man New Re: Jacksonville, Arizona AZ PHIL: Is Campana-Fuld comparison accurate in terms of their role and projection? excepting that Sam is a LH. Don't know much about Campana's arm, but if he can learn how to walk and hit some singles, he would have ro make the team as a 4th OF? From many scouting reports I have read, he is one of the fastest guys in the game. But that in itself is not enough except as a pinch runner. ====================================== E-MAN: Both Sam Fiuld and Tony Campana are above-average OF defenders, but Campana is faster and more of a disruptive influence on the bases than is Fuld. Fuld is a better hitter, takes walks, and has occasional power, though, while Campana is mostly a singles hitter. I would say Campana's eventual role will be that of a "5th OF" (late-inning defensive replacement and PR), but if the Cubs are going to scramble for runs in 2012 (and it appears that might be the case), a lead-off hitter like Campana would seem to be the type of short-term solution who could both single-handedly generate a run in a close game AND give the fans some pleasure in what could be a down year.

I would be very surprised if Campana starts in CF on Opening Day over Byrd. Seems like a huge over-reading of fan reaction to a player on the 2nd day intra-squad games

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I would love it if he turns out to be an impact player, but right now he reminds me of Ced Landrum. In nearly 3,000 PAs in the minors, Ced had a career line of .280/.343/.365, and stole 267 bases while getting caught 77 times. In 1991, he played in 50 games in the majors with the Cubs and stole 27 bases while only being caught 5 times. But he also had an OPS of just .592. (Campana was 24/26 in SB with an OPS of .603 last year). Many thought Ced would be the lead-off man of the future for the Cubs and would steal 50-60 bases a year. But Ced only had 20 more big league PAs in his entire career. There are certainly differences between the two (age for one) but right now Campana has shown he has speed, but beyond that little else offensively. I am hopeful, but not holding my breath.

Sorry, was trying to clean up this thread that had my early (and long) posts that lead to the Theo interview on Bruce Levine's show and it seemed to delete 2 related posts from Rob and E-Man. I don't think it took away any of the posts that were related to Arizona Phil's article or other miscellaneous posts (it went from 19 comments to 13 and I think I used 4 on the Theo interview).

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.