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

Jim Edmonds Makes Sense of Ozzie Guillen

Cubs centerfielder Jim Edmonds, whose return to St. Louis Friday night was honored by Cardinals fans if not by Tony La Russa, shared a revelation with Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times:

Edmonds would have been traded to the White Sox this past December if he hadn't exercised his right to block such a deal.

Edmonds said he got a call from St. Louis management in the week after the winter meetings in December...

"They told me I was traded to the White Sox, and that I had an hour to OK it, and I told them I needed more than that," said Edmonds, who had asked for a trade closer to his Southern California home after being told he didn't play a big part in the Cardinals' 2008 plans.

"I was sitting on the beach one day with my family, running around with my son, and they told me I had an hour to decide whether I wanted to play with the White Sox or not," he said.

It's unclear what the deal was, although the Cards were said to be interested in Juan Uribe at that time.

"I needed more time, and they kept pushing me and pushing me," he said, "and I said, I can't answer that question today, so obviously I guess I can say no."

The next day he was traded, with cash, to San Diego for infielder David Freese -- a deal he later says he was told by Padres officials had been worked out for weeks.

It seems to me that this story could explain the reaction of White Sox pinhead manager Ozzie Guillien a couple Saturdays ago, after the Cubs had beaten the White Sox, 11-7, in the second game of their series at Wrigley and Edmonds had homered twice in a nine-run fourth inning.

Said the pinhead Guillen after the game:

"He just had a good day..I don't want to promote the guy who's just hitting [.238 and stuff]. He just had a good day. Good for them. I think I'd rather have him out there than [Alfonso] Soriano."

Edmonds shuns the White Sox; Guillen offers a public dig at the first opportunity. Makes perfect sense to me. In fact, I think Chicago fans have seen this movie before.

Finally, speaking of players who wore both Cubs and Cardinals colors, ClassicAthletes.com catches up with one of my favorite Cubs ever, Don Kessinger, a six-time All-Star shortstop for the team between 1964 and 1975. Kessinger was traded to the Cardinals for the eminently forgettable Mike Garman following the '75 season, eventually ending up with White Sox in 1977 and becoming their player-manager in 1979, his last year in baseball.

 

 

Comments

That story also helps to explain LaRussa's idiotic reaction yesterday as well. I know baseball is just a game, but do grown men (who also happen to be managers) have to act like children when things don't go their way? Jeebus, go play in yer sandboxes.

Maybe I've been watching too much election '08 coverage, but I can't help but wonder how much of this is PR. I mean seriously, at odds with Ozzie... now La Russa? And let's face it, Edmonds had serious issues with some Cub fans, specifically those "once a Cardinal, always a Cardinal" types. And when ticket sales are the reward, PR *does* matter. It's not just an afterthought. And I must say... between his hot streak at the plate and ostensibly hating Ozzie & La Russa... For me, it's working. I consider Edmonds a Cubbie.

I think LaRussa knew that this whole thing would cause the papers in both towns to say "LaRussa LaRussa LaRussa LaRussa LaRussa LaRussa Piniella LaRussa" instead of the other way around.

A lot of it is PR, no question about it; always happens during Cubs - Cardinal/Cubs - Sox series. But the thing is - Ozzie and LaRussa have been the ones shooting their mouths off at basically nothing, while Lou's been quiet and couldn't care less about issues that have nothing to do with the play on the field. LaRussa also seems to be forgetting that not only does Edmonds still own a restaurant in St. Louis, he still has a home there as well.

In addition to the usual suspects I mentioned a couple days ago - Meche, Bedard, CC, Wolf, Burnett - here are a couple more for discussion: Derek Lowe - at 36, he still has a mighty sinker that would be a terrific in Wrigley. We gave Coletti Maddux - maybe he'd return the favor? FA in 2009 Livan Hernandez - I was at Game 3 against the D-Backs. 'Nuf said. Unfortunately for the Cubs - ain't much more out there this year.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

This is the story I was talking about E-Man. From June 9: Meche staying put Right-hander Gil Meche just laughs at those rumors circulating regarding a possible trade sending him to the Chicago Cubs. “How’s that going to happen?” he asked. Meche has a no-trade clause in his contract and said he hasn’t been asked to waive it. Furthermore, he has no interest in doing so. General manager Dayton Moore declined to comment on the rumor, but club officials privately dismissed it. One said, “If we’re going to make a run at this thing in 2010, how are we going to do it without Gil Meche?” Meche is in the second season of a five-year contract for $55 million. He has struggled for much of this season and enters tonight’s start against Texas at 3-8 with a 5.54 ERA. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/656829.html

here is a trade to beat around cedeno,patterson,and pignatello for a.j. burnett and d. eckstein eckstein to back up theriot free agent next year burnett possible free agent. comments

[ ]

In reply to by rokfish

I cant see Toronto having much interest in Patterson as they have a 2b of the future in Aaron Hill and a load of OF talent. Pignatello at this point is a 26 yr old 4 A Loogy. I imagine in a trade for Burnett the Jays would want a combination of players that fix to sure up the left side of their IF, get a cheap pitcher who can hold down the 5 spot for them next year, a righty for lefty domiant bullpen, or power hitting 1b/DH guy. I could see something like: Cedeno/Marshall/Ascanio for Burnett As for backup SS I would rather get Aurilla as I want a solid RHPH more than a glove man out of that spot.

[ ]

In reply to by Little Nate Lewis

To me, Dave Weathers will always be right alongside McGriff as an emblem of the 2001 debacle. Maybe it's not rational, and Ruben Quevedo certainly didn't turn out to be any great shakes, but just the sight of him bothers me.

and is reporting the feeling among scouts on teams looking at Sabathia is that he has pitched his last game in an Indians uniform and that he will be a Brewer unless the Dodgers part with Matt Kemp in a deal. Personally I think a Either/Laroche or Hu/Meloan trade would be better than a Brewers deal without 2 of Escobar/Gamel/Laporta/Weeks.

[ ]

In reply to by Little Nate Lewis

Well, that wasn't my point (I was talking about Hendry's screwed up priorities that left us with a hole in centerfield, now filled, and a need for another frontline starter if we're serious about winning the division), but do you really think we'd go to the bother of obtaining Sabathia and then not pay him? -- just let him walk? Knowing Hendry he'd want someone he could re-sign. And if you recall, it was the glaring hole in center that prompted Lou to try Soriano out there and he injured himself. Hasn't really been the same since. April 16, 2007 Shortly after rejecting Cubs manager Lou Piniella's offer to switch from center field to left, Alfonso Soriano was forced to leave Monday's game against the Padres with a strained left hamstring.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

well CF was taken care of...pie + RH platoon/hitting mate...plans were also made giving e.patterson and cedeno CF time both last year and during the winter. yes, YOU think pie sucks. big deal. yes, pie wasn't up to it...yes, something was done to patch it...yes, it's not been much of a hole all year. this isn't much of a new or unique thing for GMs to move on. hendry's made way bigger mistakes than giving a shot to a .300+ hitting AAA 23 year old and a "vet" backup. so have many GMs. what genius is supposed to move in and make every right move anyway? if you really need the best of everything money can buy there's some teams in the north-east really into that. most of the other teams have to work with payroll, and therefore talent, restrictions.

Ugh the priority was to improve the offense over the last couple years. Remember the lean years with top free agents and the Cubs coming up with nothing? Yeah we kinda of changed that the last 2 years getting Soriano and Fuku. And bitch about Soriano all you want, he single handedly put us in the playoffs last year and is a big reason we are 20 games over .500 now. He is an elite impact player on offense. And this team misses his bat in the lineup a great deal.

Don't forget that the commenter also obsesses with the W/L records on the team's minor league clubs. If a club's doing poorly, then Hendry sucks. If they're doing well, so what?

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.