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

2012 Cubs Draft Tracker Ticker - Day One

1st ROUND (6):
Albert Almora, CF
R/R, 6'2 180, 18 years old
Mater Academy - Hialeah Gardens, FL
COMMENT: Rated best HS defensive outfielder and 2nd best HS hitter in draft by Baseball America... Gold Glove quality defender right now... has average arm strength but with outstanding accuracy... is line-drive hitter with plus bat-speed... has just average speed for a centerfielder but is an above-average baserunner and base-stealer... was named tournament MVP while playing for Team USA 18 & Under squad at Pan American Games in Columbia last November... signed NLI with U. of Miami...
SIGNING BONUS POOL #6 SLOT VALUE: $3.25M

===========================================

1st ROUND - SUPPLEMENTAL (43):
Pierce Johnson, RHP
R/R, 6'3 180, 21 years old
Missouri State
COMMENT: College junior... Ranked 6th in NCAA D-1 in K-per-IP in 2012.... 4-6 with 2.53 ERA in 14 GS for the Bears in 2012, with 85 hits allowed and 28/119 BB/K in 99.2 IP... Throws 92-93 MPH fastball that has touched 96, a mid-80's cutter, and a hard-breaking curve... Has had several injuries in his career, including broken hand senior year in HS, forearm strain freshman year in college, dislocated knee-cap while pitching in Cape Cod League in 2011, and more forearm issues this past season...
SIGNING BONUS POOL #43 SLOT VALUE: $1.196M
NOTE: This was compensation pick received by Cubs for losing Type "B" MLB Article XX-B FA Aramis Ramirez

===========================================

1st ROUND - SUPPLEMENTAL (56):
Paul Blackburn, RHP
R/R, 6'2 180, 18 years old
Heritage HS - Brentwood, CA
COMMENT: Athletic pitcher with 90-92 MPH fastball that touches 94, curve, and change-up... Excellent control... Impressed scouts in Area Code Games (HS All-Star) in 2011... Signed NLI with Arizona State...
SIGNING BONUS POOL #56 SLOT VALUE: $911,700
NOTE: This was compensation pick received by Cubs for losing Type "B" MLB Article XX-B FA Carlos Pena

Comments

Gold Glove quality defender right now Holy over-hype Batman! I'm sure he's great and all, but yeah...a bit much. especially matched with that has just average speed for a centerfielder unless he reads balls like Andruw Jones or Shoeless Joe Jackson. I know that's not directly from AZ Phil, who hasn't seem him play yet.

I am surprised. Someone splain it to me. This team has ZERO top of rotation pitching. Thete wasn't one "worthy" pitcher at 6??

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

explanation #1, it's the MLB draft, rarely what you draft today will make an impact when you want it to...so you pick the best available player based on your evaluation. #2, the top of the rotation pitching in this draft was suspect. Appel, Gausman, Zimmer, Fried...no one thinks any of them are sure things. #3, allegedly a draft deep in HS pitchers, the Cubs are probably hoping to unearth a few Matt Moore's in the later rounds. little doubt they'll be taking a lot of pitching in subsequent rounds.

Muskat tweet: Jason McLeod says Almora was top player on their board. "He fits the criteria of what we were looking for."

Nationals pick up Giolito with #16, $2.125M slot Appel's slot was $2.9M fwiw. Both are allegedly in the $5-7M range in terms of asking price. this should be fun, see how they handle the rest of their draft.

Brandon McCarthy is the best... @BMcCarthy32 Draft comps: do it by race, and if that doesn't work, well just do it anyway.

Cubs "grab" Jairo Asencio off waivers from Tribe. 3/44? Anyone post this previously? No doubt the bullpen will be tremendously upgraded. I am psyched!

maybe next year MLB Network will deinterlace all their video of prospects before they put it on tv...some of this is painful to watch (all that lines-all-over-the-video looking stuff).

larry dierker's hairpiece selected L.McCullers with the 41st pick for HOU. this is interesting given the savings on their #1 pick.

Cubs at #43 take Pierce Johnson, RHP Missouri St "plus fastball, plus curve" according to John Hart starter or reliever, some sort of minor arm injury.

MLB network coverage on Pierce Johnson...announced by Fergie Jenkins: closest mlb comp: Drew Storen Two plus pitches, fastball, breaking ball J. Mayo: he came back at the end of the season to show his forearm strain wasn't a serious injury. Comp pick for Aramis Ramirez

Cubs at #56 take Paul Blackburn, RHP Heritage HS, Oakley, CA "committed to Arizona State, potential for 3-plus pitches"

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

MLB draft ticker on Blackburn After a big performance at last summer's Area Code Games, Blackburn has continued pitching well this spring to keep him firmly on the prospect map. The NoCal high schooler has a good fastball that hits 92 mph consistently and will touch a tick or two higher on the radar gun at times. His two secondary offerings – a curve and a changeup – both have the chance to be very effective pitches. He's generally around the strike zone and thanks to his athleticism and sound delivery, his command should only improve with experience. The Arizona State recruit has some projectability, meaning his already pretty good stuff has room to get even better. That should get him off the board early enough to keep him from heading to Arizona.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Underwood is everything you'd want from a high school pitcher: athletic with arm strength, a chance to have three at least Major League-average pitches and outstanding mound presence.The Georgia product will sit in the low 90s with his fastball typically, but he can reach back for 95-96 mph occasionally. His secondary offerings aren't as good as the fastball, but both his curve and changeup have a chance. When he throws them right, his curve can have a very good 12-to-6 late break and his changeup can be very deceptive.He doesn't throw either consistently right now and he does have some issues with command at times. His poise, knowledge of the game and athleticsm say he'll continue to evolve as a pitcher, meaning he could start moving up charts this spring.

[ ]

In reply to by SheffieldCornelia

Round 5....Cubs draft 6 consecutive pitcher and first lefty, Anthony Prieto. From BA: "Prieto barely pitched in high school until his junior season and joined his first travel team last summer, when he reportedly reached the mid-90s at a tournament in Phoenix. Scouts haven't seen that kind of velocity out of the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder this season, when he missed the first six weeks with a forearm strain. Since returning, Prieto mostly has dealt fastballs at 88-90 mph. Though he's not physical, he generates his heat with an effortless delivery that allows him to throw strikes with three pitches. Both his changeup and curveball show promise. He has signed with Howard (Texas) JC. "

4th round pick, Josh Conway, RHP Coastal Carolina In the smaller Big South Conference, Coastal Carolina has built a pretty good program that saw four players get drafted and sign in 2011. This year, it could have been Conway's turn before an elbow injury ended his season and required Tommy John surgery. Once a two-way player, Conway gave up hitting completely to focus on the mound in 2012 and it was paying off. Coastal Carolina's Friday starter, he’s a bit of an undersized right-hander, but one with a pretty good three-pitch mix. A good athlete on the mound, he throws a fastball, slider and changeup, all of which have the chance to be solid average offerings. Without truly overpowering stuff, he’ll have to continue to improve his command and keep hitters off-balance. Pre-injury, he had the chance to join teammate (and 2011 second-round pick) Anthony Meo as a fairly early Draft pick. Now a team will have to be willing to draft him and let him rehab under its watchful eye.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

this new draft format has proven itself to be a disaster right out of the gate. highschool kids have heavy leverage to pull 1 season at a community college or pulling a few years at a 4-year school now more than ever. guys like m.appell are/were supposed to go top-3 based on their actual value and how much loot it's going to take to sign them. agents may work hard to actually ruin this year's draft for the sake of getting rid of the framework. it wouldn't be the first time they put their interests ahead of the kid(s) for the sake of loot...not like the player doesn't want more loot, too.

[ ]

In reply to by Newport

Anytime Reinsdorff and Selig get a wild hair up their ass, shit like this happens. Someday, Jerry will finally get his hard salary cap in Basketball. Meanwhile, he continues to lead every effort in baseball to do the same thing. For over a decade he has refused to spend money in the Rule 4 draft either assuming or, more likely, hoping the majority of other owners would do the same. If your owner's team has deeper pockets, big market revenue, or just likes to spend money on amateur talent, isn't that what a 'free-market' economy is supposed to do? The fact that some baseball GM's are better at scouting and developing that talent than other organizations is whose fault? Anytime the 'powers that be' start legislating how you can/cannot spend your money, the hair on the back of my neck goes up.

[ ]

In reply to by tem99

they should have given rounds 1-3 flat money rather than slotting everything so sharply after the first 3 picks, then again mid-1st round. there's not enough millions to get things done unless you're a top-3 team getting those extra millions of flexibility. ...when your #1 decides to go on a bargain hunt, though...kinda screws things up. astros picked a highschool kid who should have gone round 1 with their 2nd pick. they actually have some flexibility over where to throw loot thanks to how they played the draft.

If my source is accurate that Appel turned down $6 mm from Astros, #Stanford RHP is a huge egg in #Pirates basket. Bucs draft pool: $6.6 mm. Cubs draft pool is: $7,933,900 fwiw.

LeMahieu looks like the one recently traded (or Rule 5'ed) Cub who is getting significant playing time, starting the last five games for the Rockies at 2B, during which he is 6 for 17, all singles. Marwin Gonzalez has appeared in 36 games for Houston but mostly as a PH or late-inning sub. Colvin is slumping--not hard to picture. Flaherty is showing defensive versatility at 2B, SS, 3B and RF while he tries to point his BA in the direction of .200.

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).