Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Zambrano still Cray-Zee

Hat tip to Bleacher Nation for the find, but it appears that Carlos Zambrano has duped us all. Official rosters are set to be announced tomorrow but SI.com has the scoop on Team Venezuela.

Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs will stand in for Santana on the mound while sluggers Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers will lead Venezuela's offense, according to the line-up released on Monday by Edwin Zerpa, president of the Venezuelan Baseball Federation.

In addition to Santana, Anibal Sanchez, Angel Guzman, Maicer Izturis and Renyel Pinto will not be participating, mostly because their respective Major League teams would not clear them. Others did not want to risk injuries.

Zambrano was not originally expected to join the line-up, but the Cubs decided to clear him.

No good will come of this.

Comments

1st! ...but sad. First we have all of these questions about Z's health, now this? Oh boy, no good will come of this.

I'm hoping, seriously hoping, that if the questions about his health were real, the Cubs wouldn't have cleared him. It has been an interesting progression of events for Z: turning down the WBC to have eye surgery, not having eye surgery, delaying throwing regimen, now rejoining the WBC. Maybe he just changed his mind about wanting to play for his country, and this is all pretty benign. Oh wait, that's right, this is the Cubs.

i'll take this. we'll get to see how ready he is and see him in games where there will be a gun on his arm. been a weird news-stream spring for Z...

Let me be the first to throw this out there....Z goes down, or something looks Prior-esque about him during the WBC: how soon does Hendry get on the phone with the Padres?

If they thought Z was hurt, he would not be in the WBC as they can block injured guys from playing. So I will take this as good news that he suiting up for Sean Penn's favorite team.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

But I don't think it's as easy as saying "you are injured you are not playing." I believe if there is a disagreement the player has the right for some sort of MLB board to decide on the issue. Z did not have off-season surgery or anything, he ended the season healthy, so there is no real argument the Cubs could make and win about Z not being able to pitch. Unless there was some sort of public injury already in spring training, it would be hard to keep him out if he wanted to play, even if he doesn't feel 100%.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

"while he's drafting Endy Chavez" That's exactly why I don't want him in there. I build my OF around Chavez, Juan Pierre and Willy Tavares with Michael Bourne, Carlos Gomez and Fred Lewis/Joey Gathright coming off the bench. I feel the need...for speed. And Chavez is in Seattle this season, so he'll be drafting Ryan Church and Fernando Tatis (who hit 2 grand slams in one inning ya know Why the Dodgers left in Chan HoHoKam Park after the first slam I'll never understand.)

[ ]

In reply to by CPH2133

then you won't like the pt system we use either, although it would still work with weekly lineup changes..

and sorry to JohnBeasly and all of you involved in that league, my previous comment came off as rather pretentious...set-up the league as you see fit.

I do agree that H2H fantasy baseball is quite lame...I also think roto league is quite lame.

I joked yesterday, but the fact is Z isn't Prior. The dude is a horse and it would take a lot to keep him down. Some guys are just built tough.

off topic but... with ARod now being questioned about his association with Dominican "trainer" Angel Presinal and a Sun Times article about Soriano not being associated with this guy (also a mention that ARam hasn't worked with him either) --------- Soriano said Presinal -- who runs what Soriano called an offseason ''minicamp'' in Santo Domingo for pro ballplayers -- is well-known and respected among Dominican major-leaguers. He estimated that about 80 percent of them use Presinal to prepare for spring training. Presinal first came under Major League Baseball scrutiny in 2001 for his link to Juan Gonzalez and a checked bag containing steroids that was seized by officials at the Toronto airport. He has been banned from MLB clubhouses for several years. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1444357,CST-SPT-csep23.art… --------- I wonder if anyone has tried to link Sosa to this guy? He seems to be the obvious rock to look under. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/blogentries/index.html?bbPostId=B5oJGQuS… According to a former baseball scout, who worked with players who trained with [Angel] Presinal in the Dominican, Presinal provided some players with steroids. The former scout declined to be named in this story but says that players refer to Presinal as “The Cleaner,” someone who can rid traces of steroids from the players’ urine before a drug test. “He puts them through a cycle and then they flush the body out,” the former scout said. “If you’re afraid of testing positive, this is the guy to go to.” He said players are afraid to discuss Presinal because they depend on his expertise as a trainer. It is also expensive to work with Presinal, according to the former scout, who says the trainer charges as much as $10,000 for an offseason session.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=274352 Carlos Zambrano is showing no signs of the problems that hampered him last season, although the team is taking a conservative approach with its ace this spring. "Physically, I feel the best I've ever felt in spring training," Zambrano said Monday after a free-and-easy throwing session against hitters. "I'm not a rookie. I know what to do and I know my job here is to get ready." Zambrano spent the off-season strengthening his shoulder, and the Cubs sent a trainer to his native Venezuela to work with him. official WBC rosters come out at 5pm CST today

I was going to make an argument that in essence, by choosing to pitch in the WBC, Z will perform shitier when he comes back, and he will wear worse as the season goes on. However, looking at his 2006 MLB stats, there is no evidence to support this. His worst month was indeed the opening one, but after that, he performed well, although, his era in Aug/Sept were over 4.00 - but by then, nothing mattered to the Cubs that year - except we got to see a "promising prospect" (Ronny Cedeno), and Neifi too much. April/March 6 6 0 0 2 0 0 0 33.2 5.35 33 23 20 6 25 2 38 3 May 6 6 0 3 1 0 0 0 42.2 1.90 23 9 9 4 22 0 47 2 June 5 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 36.2 1.96 22 8 8 2 15 0 27 1 Regardless of all of the Zee Press, he's my favorite player.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

I'm with you, E-Man. Part of the reason I love having good starting pitchers is that going into a game day I can feel like I have a pretty good chance of seeing the Cubs win. Z gives me that feeling--so he's among my favorites. I think most of the Z press comes out reporters needing stories and Z not making much effort to not give them a story.

If Z is really participating in the WBC, wouldn't at least one of the guys covering the Cubs for the trib, suntimes, daily herald, or cubs.com know about it? I have read several articles listing Z as one of the many that have decided to skip the WBC... Perhaps SI.com is wrong?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Haven't researhed it, but I doubt the expected BABIP's they've got there include speed to first. The old 'high grass' at Wrigley thing may play to certain guys' advantages, though I don't recall this being mentioned really at all last year. Weird how Miles replies to people who ask questions and have comments. It's like he doesn't understand that he's a professional or something.

Recent comments

  • 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. 

  • 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...