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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 
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Cubs Trade Izturis, Call-Up Jake Fox

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Cubs have traded INF Cesar Izturis to the Pirates for a PTBNL. Also, OF-1B-C Jake Fox has been acquired from AA Tennessee. Pirates 3B Jose Bautista is on the Pirates DL with a hand injury, so I would think Izturis will possibly play 2B for the Bucs, perhaps with Freddy Sanchez moving to 3B. Izturis is still owed about $2M for the balance of 2007, with a $5.85M salary (or $300K buy-out) for 2008. With Mike Fontenot being strictly a 2B and with Piniella apparently unwilling to play Mark DeRosa at SS, trading Izturis should result in the return of PCL June Player of the Month Ronny Cedeno to Chicago. Ryan Theriot is doing a fine job as the everyday SS, so how much PT Cedeno will get will be the big question. I figured Fox as one of the players the Cubs were going to add to the 40-man roster after the season, so this is just an early start toward that end. Of course it also means one of his options will get burned 20 days after he’s returned to the minors. Fox has as much power as any player in the Cubs organization. He is the proverbial “first-ball/fastball” hitter who never met a fastball he didn’t like. (Waveland Avenue or Bust!). He’s not quite as fond of breaking stuff and off-speed pitches, though, unless he knows what’s coming. He can play 1B-LF-RF (his best position is probably LF, although he is a defensive liability no matter where plays) and also can catch in a pinch, although his days as a front-line catcher are very likely over. Fox was Rich Hill’s catcher at the University of Michigan, so if R. Hill still misses Barrett and Murton, Fox’s arrival should help cheer him up.

Comments

so the cubs finally got their right handed left fielder to put in RF. maybe next they can find a catcher to pitch...after all without a catcher you cant have a pitcher. who else is more familiar with how to do it right other than a catcher? =p show us what u got fox...little guy gonna try to do good.

What are they going to do about Cesar Izturis gold glove giveaway day at Wrigley???

Andy: What are they going to do about Cesar Izturis gold glove giveaway day at Wrigley??? They'll give away "Player to Be Named Later Bobbleheads" The face will be blank.

I posted this on the other thread, but why do they do the PTBNL? Why don't they name the damn player? I have gotten the feeling that they generally know who the player is...

Isn't the PTBNL usually rather inconsequential? Basically they were just "getting rid" of Izturis, right? If the two sides don't agree on a player, Pittsburgh sends a certain amount of cash. The Cub's might just take that.

sometimes...well, kinda often...the PTBN is a pool of agreed on players. the deal gets done to move the immediate MLB impact player while the teams sort out from the player list and conditions they set upon it.

I don't really care if the player is inconsequential... So is Izturis!!! I just don't see why they don't name who it is... If it is nobody, then there is no reason for the Cubs to trade him, rather than releasing him.

Oh, okay, crunch. So they'll just continue to narrow down who the PTBNL is after the fact... Seems like that is a sketchy thing to do. What is Izzy goes over there, and breaks his leg in the first game, and they haven't decided on a PTBNL yet? Seems like thew Pirates would not give the Cubs dick if that happened...

team wasnt using izturis as it is...at least not enough to miss him or care about who's gonna replace him...imo. we know impact players have a very slim chance of benefiting from this move...either coming from PIT or our own minor league system. deck chair shuffling...giving izturis a fair chance to reclaim his career...etc.

Again, this is addition by subtraction. The Cubs are off the hook for a part of his salary, and don't have him clogging up the roster, much less the basepaths. If they get a decent prospect in return, that's a bonus.

If the Cub's (or Pirate's for that matter) don't like the player, they can just send cash instead of a player. It's a set amount. Calling AZ Phil, how much is the PTBNL worth?

"They’ll give away “Player to Be Named Later Bobbleheads” The face will be blank." This is awesome! HA HA!

"What is Izzy goes over there, and breaks his leg in the first game, and they haven’t decided on a PTBNL yet?" that's the thing...there COULD be an injury clause agreed to with the trade (given the low $$ by pitt and chances are low prospects considered this probably isnt the case). its just not vital for the cubs to get that man cuz chances are they dont immediately need on any level whatever theyre gonna get. but the sky's the limit on how the teams negociate these PTBN conditions. if any of it got too weird the commish might send a memo or something. =p

Jace, It is a pre-decided list. You can have one of these 12 players, take 2 weeks and scout them out: If izturis dies tomorrow, the Cubs would still get their pick of the 12 players.

Neal - Really? So the Pirates agree to part with anyone on the list, and the Cubs can pick whoever they want from the list? That is intriguing...

Rynox — July 19, 2007 @ 11:03 am If the Cub’s (or Pirate’s for that matter) don’t like the player, they can just send cash instead of a player. It’s a set amount. Calling AZ Phil, how much is the PTBNL worth? =================== RYNOX The Cubs probably have a list of Pirates minor league players to choose from, and making it a PTBNL will give the Cubs a chance to scout the players on the list more extensively before deciding which one they want.

Phil and Neal - Thanks a lot for clearing this up... Since the Cubs a eating a lot of Izzy's contact, it seems to me that the Cubs might get a prospect with at least SOME promise, right?

Woohoo? Doesn't seem to be enough excitement over this move... I didn't see it mentioned in the post but Cubs are sending cash along with Izturis, not sure how much.

Just out of curiosity. If Cesar wins his gold glove this year. Will it count as one for the cubs or the pirates?

Just out of curiosity. If Cesar wins his gold glove this year. Will it count as one for the cubs or the pirates? Pretty sure we won't need to worry about that...

nice story, nohit...I also liked the added comment about Littlefield acknowledging that he'd received the pizzas but wouldn't eat them for fear of being poisoned.

nohit- that was classic... Rob G- The Cubs are said to be eating about 2/3 of Izzy's remaining Contract...- ESPN 1000

Jim Hendry has really turned his GM tenure around. It now seems like he is willing to admit his mistakes AND take steps to correct them. If he can continue to do this. He suddenly becomes better than 10 or 12 GMs.

aaron: I have to think that this is LOU trying to un-do some of the messes that Hendry created. LOU is becoming the GM "Consultant", imo.

I'm not the biggest Hendry fan, but give him credit. The best executives in any business acknowledge their mistakes, correct them and move on. Hendry did that here, even though people are going to murder him for "trading Greg Maddux for a player to be named later." The only problem is that Hendry is probably saying to himself that it was an Izturis thing and not an organizational philosophy thing. That is to say, I still don't think Hendry will hesitate to acquire a shortstop who can't hit if he likes the way the guy plays defense. Because in his mind, that's what shortstops are going to be like. P.S. I'm wondering if Fox goes down and Cedeno comes up once Lee's suspension is over.

lou is the GM consultant based on what? i think hendry is a grown man, ya know.

Once Lee's suspension is over, Fox goes down and ARod comes west. Yeah right.

crunch - don't you know? all bad things are hendry's fault. all good things are someone else's doing. of course... everyone conveniently ignores things like LouPa talking Hendry out of trading Jock over the winter.

cubs were clearly done with izturis in any capacity but a backup role. they're kinda covered with backup flexibility seeing as they seem to want fontenot to stick around... its just respect and business sense to move izturis if they can...both so he can get on with his possible career with more chances to showcase and so the cubs can move on with their immediate future. its not uncommon, either. benefits both clubs even if the impact is minimal compared to the teams on whole. this isnt like the neifi thing where there's another year attached to it, but pitt does the luxury of picking up izturis on the cheap if he suddenly has a 'revelation' second half.

Whatever the case may be E-Man. It sure as heck is a step in the right direction. I particularly like the fact that Lou is taking a first hand look at all the touted kids in AA or above this year. I really doubt that would have happened in the recent past. Gallagher Petrick Fox have all made the jump from Knoxville to Wrigley. Cherry Rapada Fontenot Soto Hill Have all been added to the 40 man and given looks as well. I have a feeling that EPatt will get a look at 2nd when DLEE comes back from suspention and Fox gets sent to Des Moines.

From an SI story: "Cesar was a really good guy. He wasn't getting much playing time here," Piniella said. "In fairness to him, let him go somewhere where he can play." The 27-year-old Izturis is in the final year of his contract. "Theriot really took over the job," Piniella said. "There is nothing wrong with Izturis. Izturis is a good player."

re:#31 Who will ever forget comments like this: Silent Towel — March 26, 2007 @ 7:45 pm I was right about Theriot’s defense. Hence why the Cubs are going to carry another spare infielder. Theriot is not an option at shortstop, it is as simple as that. end of story

Hendry has and always will be a GM that looks to the people around him and his coaches to try and get them what they feel they need. He's certainly has types of players he likes (throw 100mph and you're as good as gold) but he tried to accommodate Dusty and he's trying to accommodate what Lou thinks he needs. These guys are in constant communication about what's working and what isn't. It's absolutely foolish to believe Lou just snaps his fingers and gets the player he wants. The only real difference right now is Lou has a much better idea of what a ballclub should look like and what type of players are needed. At least that's my opinion. Dusty was stuck in the baseball stone age.

aram back... A. Soriano lf R. Theriot ss D. Ward 1b A. Ramirez 3b C. Floyd rf M. Fontenot 2b J. Jones cf J. Kendall c

You would have to think that by Monday Cedeno will be called up----as we stand now there is NO back-up shortstop on the team---DeRosa could play there if Theroit goes down during a game, but all teams have on their rosters 2 players who can play SS---Cedeno has to be up soon

"Hendry has and always will be a GM that looks to the people around him and his coaches to try and get them what they feel they need." yeah. if lou was using izturis...he'd probably still be here. hendry tried to shove theriot down dusty's throat...he got his play time late, but some would have prefered earlier. i gotta wonder why theriot got so many callups when he wasnt being used, though. lou's done this with pie/gallagher recently. last year murton was up for further coaching...dunno if theriot fell into that or what. izturis was expendable...he was expended. =p

wood's coming soon...blanco's coming soon...supposedly... should be an interesting couple weeks with the roster.

Good Question Rob and I was about to post that? I guess its because Fox can play some 1b and Murt cant, so in case the Giant or Snake (ode to Harry) use a LOOGY on Ward he can counter with Fox. Maybe AZ Phil can shed some light on this.

Yeah, crunch... And they're still messing around with the Wade Miller experiment... We'll see how he doe in AAA today, I think... Dempster is coming up soon, too!

crunch said @#2: maybe next they can find a catcher to pitch already done, they got marmol

Yes, Marmol is indeed a converted catcher, crunch. How's that working out for you?

if the report about sending 2/3 of Izturis remaining contract are correct... my calculations say it's about $1.2 million they're sending (Izturis owed about $1.78 million for the rest of the year) Should get us out of the $300,000 buyout for next year though.

Because they wanted a power righty bat I guess, Rob. Needs more righty homers. Murton may be hitting for power at AAA, but he sure doesn't do that very much in the big leagues.

wood’s coming soon…blanco’s coming soon…supposedly… How dare you? How dare you? W and Hank White please.... Dempster should be back tomorrow which means another move. Dbacks aren't throwing any lefty starters against us either.

Wade Miller...weeping, creeping JESUS!!!!!!! The guy is done...capital D, small o, small n, small e...exclamation point!!!! Trade Bait....or roster filler. Barring a major injury, or gaining 5-7 MPH on his fastball, he should get to know Des Moines.

Murton hit 9 in the 2nd half last year, not sure Fox is capable of much more than that. I think Murton has more power potential than people give him credit for, the problem is his swing. He needs Jim Frey to yell at him to pull the ball more ala Ryno. Nonetheless it's obviously temporary until Lee comes back but man another absolute waste of a 40-man move and option year.

I agree with RobG that Lou has a VERY firm grasp on what he wants and what he sees going on on the field. Whether he tells Hendry to make moves by snapping his fingers or just doesn't play Hendry favorites (Barrett, Izturis, et al), the net result is still the same. I can't remember a Cubs manager going back to Leo Durocher who sees more than Lou (maybe Jim Frey, maybe). Again, I hope no one is holding their breath for Murton's return because I don't think Lou every wants to see him again which means a trade for Matty or, at best, the PCL playoffs this year.

Jake Fox 2007: LHP: .318/.340/.568, 7 HR, 22 RBI in 132 AB's RHP:.264/.320/.467, 11 HR, 38 RBI in 227 AB's It looks like he can still he a little against RHP.

RobG, I think Fox turns 26 this week, so if the Cubs still have him on the Iowa shuttle as he's about to turn 29 we probably have more problems than an extra roster move...........however, your point is well taken if they did something similarly stupid with Eric Patterson, Donnie Veal, or Holliman.

I think if Murton didn't drop 2 routine flyballs he'd still be here. :) but he really wasn't hitting with the sparse playing time, although I'm glad the Cubs organization still thinks well of him. He's a good kid who works his ass off and a great guy to have around in case of injury at the very least. Soriano being a primadonna about LF doesn't help much, cause that's where Murton belongs. Of course, can't complain about the results so far for the team.

Chifan3887- so in case the Giant or Snake (ode to Harry) use a LOOGY on Ward I hear Z may have one left over from yesterday

they already did something that stupid with Sean Gallagher.... but yeah losing a year on Jake Fox's options or if you have to DFA is probably not going to be a biggie down the road.

Thanks, Dusty! That's the response I was hoping to get about the Wade Miller news... This saga has gone on for at least 2 months longer than it neede to...

RobG, If they could do ST over - never sign Floyd, have Soriano in RF from day 1, and let Murton battle for LF (or at least platoon with Pagan). Agreed, I think all of us would be pleased back in March to know the Cubs would be within 3 games of 1st, 2 games out of the WC as we near the end of July.

forgot about the Izturis/Jim Tracy connection. Makes a little more sense and gives them the luxury of trying to deal Jack Wilson I guess...

Chad wept. Wood supposedly in August, Stone said "People down there are in impresssed." with Wood. With his stuff? Or that he can throw?

and let Murton battle for LF (or at least platoon with Pagan) Not sure why you would need to platoon Murton, considering he hits both rhp and lhp well, and hits both better than pagan. but it doesn't really matter, as Soriano isn't moving from LF anytime this year at least.

If Dumpster is on the team tomorrow then who will go back down? Sean Gallagher? or Jake Fox? Also I don't get this trade how does it make the Cubs better - the Cubs need a quality backup at SS. Who will provide that? I have seen Ronnie Cedeno play SS last year on teh Cubs and unless he has improved he is very inconsistent. Ronnie from what I saw will make one great play and boot two easy ones. I just don't see this as anything more than a cost cutting move.

PTBNL Bobblehead is an all-time classic. Sweet! I agree with the consensus: Lou doesn't want Murton, he's trade bait; Fox gets a cup of coffee during Lee's suspension as a reward for his good ST in AZ, where Lou was obviously impressed with his thump (Lou has a well-known fetish for bruising sluggers); by Monday, Lee and Dempster return, Fox gets swapped for Cedeno, Gallagher returns to Iowa. BTW, someone was nervous about the lack of a backup SS for 4 games while this goes on, now that Pizza^2 is gone. I wouldn't be. DeRosa has over 100 games MLB experience at SS, Fontenot can play it in a pinch (badly, as we saw), and even Fonzie has some extremely limited SS experience as a youngster. Bottomline--I don't see this as much of an issue for 4 lousy games. Go Jason Kendall, make us proud, or something....

Not nervous about 4 games - nervous about the rest of the season. I am sure everyone on the Cubs current squad can play backup SS! However, can Ronnie Cedeno be a quallity SS in the bigs? Thats the question and it might be premature but that's how I see it.

Izzy isn't a quality backup Rory. He's an expensive backup who's defense is going south and who could never hit. AND YES I AM SO HAPPY HE'S GONE NOW I HATE NO ONE ON THE CUBS!

Wes -- "Murton may be hitting for power at AAA, but he sure doesn’t do that very much in the big leagues." What?

#68 What do you think the cahances are that we get Jack Wilson? I like The Riot, but he's more of 2B. Wilsons range and esp arm are better. What would it cost, Cedeno?

Didn't they still have a Barrett bobblehad giveaway after he left? Maybe it's the same with Izturis

I love this trading-deadline stuff, espy when a guy goes for a PTBNL and opens up a roster spot. Change is good when you have a SS at Iowa who has been flashing power lately and an outfield so crowded that Kroeger played first two nights ago and sat last night. Actually, Kroeger/Murton/Pie/Coats are not bad compared to Soriano/Jones/Floyd/Pagan. Anyway, one down (Izzy) and three to go (Jones, Blanco, Eyre). Blanco is on the DL and may just stay there indefinitely; but even if his rehab assignment goes well, it's hard to imagine him replacing the lefty-hitting Hill. I never thought Piniella had much use for Blanco.

The scene: Pittsburgh clubhouse, July 20, 2007 Cesar Izturis: So, you ever hit walk-off homers? Jason Bay: Sometimes, I guess. Why? Cesar Izturis: *grins*

Izturis one good year offensively 04-05(I think??) for LA and his defense hasn't been anything special for us. Good riddance. Blanco- never really liked him- stay on the dl or leave the cubs. Jones in the past week has been creeping up his ba. If he could get it to .280-.290 like it was last year and learn to run the bases I wouldn't mind holding on to him. Wood-don't give up just yet. Ken Griffey Jr. look at his year in 2007. Wood's velocity is back up past 95- could make an interesting addition to the bullpen to try to salvage his career.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • 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.