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

“…But If You Try Some Time, You Get What You Need”

If Eric Patterson had only known how much impact his tardiness would create in the 2007 playoff picture. When Corey's little brother was sent down to the AA Tennessee Smokies playoffs as the consequence of his reporting late to the ballpark, little did he realize he just might have Wally Pipped himself. In a quasi-punitive measure, Cubs GM Jim Hendry sent EPat out and recalled Sam Fuld. MLB teams use the roster expansion differently when a team is in the pennant chase than for a team playing out the string. Outside of the Geovanny Soto "happening" (how cool is that?), teams in the race use the extra players to rest the bullpen in blowout games or play defense late in games or pinch run. Only the non-contenders like the Astros and Pirates are playing some of their promising minor leaguers to see what they look like at this level for next season. Being in the pennant chase, the Cubs didn't expect Patterson to see much action except as someone who could pinch run or maybe sacrifice bunt. Mostly it was a reward for a good minor league season and a chance to catch some important learning by observation at the major league level including some rare Chicago-style pennant fever. Invaluable experience for a young ballplayer. So when it was decided that his "opportunity" was not being respected it was rescinded, thus opening the door to the Sam Fuld experience. Sam played most of the year with the AA Tennessee Smokies (335 AB, .372 OBP) but was promoted late in the season to AAA Iowa for 52 at bats and who's season at AAA Iowa was over when he was brought up. As TCR readers know, Sam Fuld is an Arizona Phil favorite. His strengths are a high baseball IQ, good defensive CF skills with a plus arm, he is tough to strikeout and is a good base-stealer. Az Phil also warned us about potential downside: " ...he plays with a hyper-reckless abandon that has resulted in a number of season-ending or season-interrupting injuries over the past few seasons (torn labrum and fractured shoulder at Stanford in 2004..." He had a great college career at Stanford. Ron Santo has taken him under his wing as they both have had to deal with Type I diabetes. Yesterday's catch by Fuld, was a season highlight with a fearless race to the right centerfield brick wall on a ball crushed by Nyjer Morgan, a crash landing with his shoulder hitting the bricks and hat flying stage left. Then he showed enough moxie to bounce and not break (note that Mr. Floyd), followed by a one hop throw to double off the runner, Nate McLouth at first, to end the inning for reliever "Stevie Ire". It was a play that will be remembered in Cub fan lore for the ages. It's been a long time since fans had the opportunity to chant, "Sam-mie, Sam-mie", and it sure felt good. ...and I can only wonder how E-Pat felt, as he watched it last night on Sportscenter with the rest of us.

Comments

I, too, have been wondering about Fuld for a couple of years. I have seen his OBP, and his low K totals, and have been wondering what he is doing in the Cubs' system. I have been fairly sure that he was exactly the type of player to be traded away from the Cubs system, to become a good player elsewhere. What could the Cubs possibly do with a patient, high OBP, SMART baseball player?

And (from the last thread) congrats to Pell Mell on the birth of your son, Commemorative Brick Mell.

Dr. Hecht, Lately I've been having this unsettling feeling, I was hoping you could help with a diagnosis. You see, every time I see the Cubs win, I get this feeling in my head and my stomach. My face contorts--the best way I can describe it is that the corners of my mouth are strangely "pulled up" and my teeth get revealed. Somebody told me this was happy excitement, but I think it's more clinical. As a Cubs fan, I know that whatever it is, it's not normal. Your thoughts? Mister Whipple

Milwaukee Journal baseball writer Jim Lingl showed up at Wrigley yesterday with a goat and tried to get in. He thinks he successfully renewed the billygoat curse but methinks he may have transferred the curse (he used a nannygoat) to the Brewers instead. That sure was an excruciating loss Milwaukee suffered last night after being "one out away" from a win. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=665932

WSCR radio reporter David Schuster from the Ballpark... the same lineup as the previous two days. SOTO lives! Soriano DeRosa DLee Aram Murton Soto Monroe Theriot Z

Mr. Whipple...there is a radio commercial about a parent reporting to her doc about her teenage daughter having weird twitching in her legs, etc and she's worried about siezures. the doc says it sounds like she's: Dancing and I believe it's about to be redone to the tune of: Go Cubs Go. somewhere Steve Goodman is smiling.

re #4: Actually that may help our voodoo karma hex stuff. You see, you can't try to revive a hex just by recreating the scene. I think it will have a reverse effect, and should the Cubs win the World Series, that move will be pointed to as the reverse curse that made us win. The worst part is that guy was from Milwaukee so once he was stopped from going in, well, I think we know what happed in his Motel 6 room that night. Poor goat.

went to the game yesterday and Sammy's catch and throw was the best I have seen live.

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.