Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

ALCS game 7 and Parallel Universes

Submitted by Dr. Joseph Hecht on
This is a bonus Sunday random notes edition of TCR. When Rob G. posted that he thought it would be spooky if Kerry Wood homers in tonight's ALCS final game, it got me thinking. The reality is that if manager Terry Francona brings in Josh Beckett to pitch 4 innings and shut down any Indian rally it will have haunting parallels to one of the more painful days of my life. My son, Ken, was in Boston's Fenway last night and since he's been in Cleveland for college, I've given him permission to root for the Tribe. He also attended the 2003 NLCS games 6 and 7 with me, therefore, he had explicit instructions not to reach for any catchable foul balls near the wall (unless he was sure it would reverse the timeline distortion Bartman had caused). The SF Chronicle is breaking the news that Indians 4th starter, Paul Byrd is now involved in the steroid investigation. He's accused of multiple, large ($25,000) purchases of HGH from the same Florida lab that was recently uncovered and shut down. The article has this inspiring quote, reminiscent of Raffy Palmeiro in front of congress:
In a May 2006 interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Byrd denied using steroids. "I strongly disagree with the use of steroids and cheating in the game," he said. "I have a huge problem with that. I work as hard as I can to compete within the rules."
Byrd was with KC in 2002, getting his career high of 17 wins. He's also played with the Angels and Braves, getting postseason apperances with both teams before signing with Cleveland as a free agent after the 2005 season. For a soft tossing, crafty righty he sure has been valuable to playoff contenders. Interesting timing to release the news before game 7. If they were really on top of their game the news could have come before Byrd's start in game 4. Still, it makes me want to ask lead steroid investigator, George Mitchell, "are you a part of Red Sox nation?" ------------------- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman, who was the Cards minor league field coordinator last year has resigned to take on the position of Bench Coach for the Mariners under John McLaren, who ironically was Lou Piniella's long time bench coach. Apparently Riggs had some interest in becoming the Cardinals manager if LaRussa left. They also now believe Tony LaRussa is coming back to manage the Cardinals even though the Cards chairman, Bill DeWitt Jr. fired LaRussa's long time friend and GM Walt Jocketty. Speculation that LaRussa would be interviewed for the vacant Yankee manager job seemed illogical as LaRussa has a history of being combative with the press in St. Louis, a one newspaper town. The NY mega-press and LaRussa would be an odd mix indeed. ------------------- Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers weekly sunday baseball column where he gets to "Ramble On" has two Cubs mentions. Our own Arizona Phil has given us better ongoing details of the Cub youngsters in Arizona, but Rogers gives brief AFL kudos to Sam Fuld and Tyler Colvin (Colvin isn't in the AFL but possibly is on Rogers radar screen from his Arizona Instructional League play and upcoming Team USA participation).
… Sam Fuld, the outfielder who caught Cubs manager Lou Piniella’s eye in September, is off to a fast start in the Arizona Fall League (.323, two homers, five stolen bases, 10 runs scored in nine games). He and Tyler Colvin could play themselves into spots as big-league contributors as early as the second half of next season
------------------- Finally, Arizona Phil has also written on the Andy "McFail" efforts to accumulate the largest quantity of ex-Cubs in his odd little corner of the universe. Can roles in the Oriole organization for Kevin Tapani, Ron Coomer, Rick Aguilera and Gary Gaetti be far behind? Previous posts here have mentioned McPhail going after recently promoted Oneri Fleita and Bill Hartford so the Rogers mention is definitely a rumor making the rounds.
… Andy MacPhail’s restructuring of the Orioles’ front office has led him to consider guys on both sides of Chicago for jobs. There are rumors of him pursuing Oneri Fleita, the Cubs’ farm director; Alan Regier, the White Sox’s farm director, and Bill Harford, a longtime scout for the Cubs who previously has served as farm director.
Where there's smoke there's fire? Now that Fleita has been promoted to Vice President of Player Personnel, he'd only take their job if they throw in an Oriole "Big Bird" costume and a 3/44 contract.

Comments

Submitted by Cubster on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:11 pm

I added some info on Jim Riggleman leaving the Cardinal organization to become bench coach for the Mariners. The Cardinals organization seems to have been quite a soap opera last year.

Submitted by Dmac on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:15 pm

Many reports have suggested that the list will indeed be quite lengthy - wonder if a certain pitcher we usually call "P" here will be included.

Submitted by OZ on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:19 pm

If Paul Byrd had a legitimate reason to use hGH, allegedly a pituitary gland tumor, why was it being prescribed by a dentist? A dentist who had his license suspended for fraud?

Submitted by Cubster on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:00 pm

more parallel universe stuff...and it would be possible for Joe Borowski to pitch late in this game 7 too

Submitted by slamdog on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:06 pm

Jeez you would have thought the HGH would have helped Byrd throw harder with his fastball?

Submitted by Mister Whipple on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:58 pm

Anyone else tired of this whole doping meme? Someone get the word out to professional athletes. Doping is sooo 2003.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:24 pm

hell, let em dope it up...break all the records. until MLB actually gets serious about it the numbers will only dwindle, not disappear. theyve only had 15-30 years to deal with it depending on who you wanna believe. suddenly 500HRs isnt what it used to be and bonds is trying to hit 1000HRs...now its an issue...whatever. MLB as a whole failed on the issue and even with these reforms its taking almost a decade to get serious. If it wasn't for this govt. investigation (no matter how any of us feel about it) it would still probably be business as usual.

Submitted by Green Lantern on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:13 pm

BEARS

Submitted by Brick on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:33 pm

BEARS I concur. They've made for some pretty fascinating 4th quarters the last few weeks.

Submitted by iowaCub on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:57 pm

Holding Lofton at 3rd? So runners on corners with one out, wonder what could go wrong?

Submitted by Evil Parallel … on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:13 pm

well here we are, top of the 8th inning... two men on, nobody out, pitching change.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Sun, 10/21/2007 - 10:27 pm

The Chronicle said one of the prescriptions Byrd used to buy growth hormone was written by a Florida dentist, whose license was suspended in 2003 for fraud and incompetence. The pertinent quote. Any chance that the SF Chron doesn't actually have all the prescriptions written and someone is jumping to conclusions? Apparently Byrd did break the rules, though, because he took the drug without applying for an exemption. Why apply for an exemption on a drug that they don't test for? Well, now we know. So I guess he will get a slap on the wrist suspension, rather than the mandatory first timer's one.

Submitted by Pell Mell on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 10:40 am

#16: (chalmers) SkinNER!!! (/chalmers) Actually, I didn't think it was that bad a call at the time, although in hindsight, ManRam probably wouldn't make the play at the plate and yeah, the tying run would've been nice. But I think the Cleveland pitching staff going on to give up 8 more runs was much more the deciding factor, don't you? Still, I think we can agree it was quite a Cubbish moment. Cleveland overall seemed to succumb to Cubbery: imploding aces, not-so-much-thundering bats, possible coaching brain cramp, general depression, angry Kenny Lofton.

Submitted by BillyBucks on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 10:10 am

Difference between the Cubs and Red Sox: - Red Sox SS makes a huge error late in a critial playoff game. Other team blows the opportunity due to a choke by the 3B coach and an inning-ending DP. - Cubs SS makes a huge error late in a critical playoff game and ....

Submitted by George Altman on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 10:27 am

I was looking through an old post of AZ Phil and what Cub salaries project to be for 2008. With this 'probable' roster (meaning no immediate trades and resigning Wood approx $3M and arbitration with Wuertz approx $2.5M) I come up with approx. $108.6M for the 2008 payroll: P) Z, Lilly, Marquis, Hill, Dempster, Eyre, Howry, Marmol, Wood, Hart, Wuertz, Ohman C) Soto, Blanco IF) Lee, DeRosa, Ramirez, Theriot, Cedeno, Ward OF) Soriano, Jones, Murton, Pie, Fuld I believe this would be about $10M over 2007 payroll. Therefore, I believe Hendry's top candidates to be moved over the winter will be: Marquis - $6.375M Dempster - $5.5M Jones - $5M Ohman - $1.6M Not that he wouldn't trade a top prospect or any combination of Murton, Cedeno, Marshall, etc., but I would predict a salary swap for a RF or SP with those listed above in the package.

Submitted by ARM on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 10:59 am

When the Indians lost game five, I thought to myself, well, I think I have seen this show once before, back in 2003. One difference though is that the Tribe then had to go on the road for games six and seven. On the other hand, our games six and seven in 2003 were at home. Would it have helped the Tribe to have had games six and seven at home? We will never know. But with some teams, the Cubs back in 2003, game five really turned out to be a "must win." The pressure is pretty much off in game five. As soon as you lose that won, the pressure builds and then builds to great heights if game six is lost. What happened last night really did seem inevitable after game five.

Submitted by tbone on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 10:59 am

I always look back to game one in '03. If Z had pitched as well in that game as he did in game four - which wasn't great but good enough - the Cubs would have swept - two of the games being blowouts - and would have had six days to rest Prior and Wood.

Submitted by Chad on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 10:31 am

"I always look back to game one in ‘03. If Z had pitched as well in that game as he did in game four - which wasn’t great but good enough - the Cubs would have swept - two of the games being blowouts - and would have had six days to rest Prior and Wood." We tied it in the ninth. Z didn't matter. Our bullpen blew for the entire series.

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

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