Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

A Rosa By No Other Name

Jovan Rosa had three hits, including a grand slam HR crushed over the CF fence, as the Daytona Cubs and Stocton Ports (Oakland A's Hi-"A" affiliate) played to an 8-8 tie at the Papago Park Sports Complex in Phoenix this afternoon.

A 21-year old corner infielder signed by the Cubs as a "Draft & Follow" out of Lake City JC (FL) in May 2007, Rosa led the Midwest League in doubles last season with 43.

Here is today's abridged box score (D-Cubs players only). Note that Russ Canzler and Marquez Smith have been demoted from AA Tennessee to Daytona, apparently an indication that OF Brandon Guyer and INF Jonathan Mota may have made the Tenneessee Smokies Opening Day roster.

Also, Tyler Colvin (rehabbing from Fall 2008 TJS) will be the DH with Daytona until he is ready to return to the outfield at either Tennessee or Iowa later this season.(Daytona plays in a league that uses the DH in all games, while AA Tennessee and AAA Iowa only use the DH when playing an American League affiliiate on the road).    

DAYTONA CUBS:

LINEUP:
1. Nate Samson, 2B: 2-5 (1B, 6-3, 1-3, 1B, F-9 - 1 R)
2a. Mark Reed, C: 0-2 (1-3 SH, K, E-4, BB - 1 R, 1 SB)
2b. John Contreras, C: 0-1 (K)
3. Tyler Colvin, DH: 1-4 (L-8, 2B, BB, K, K)
4. Jovan Rosa, 1B-3B: 3-5 (K, P-4, 1B, HR, 1B - 2 R, 4 RBI)
5. Dylan Johnston, RF 1-4 (3B, 4-3, BB, K, K - 2 R, 1 SB)
6. Russ Canzler, LF-1B: 1-4 (1B, 5-3, 1-4-3, K - 1 RBI)
7. Drew Rundle, CF: 0-2 (6-3, 4-3, BB, BB - 1 SB)
8a. Marquez Smith, 3B: 1-2 (BB, 1B, K - 1 R)
8b. Jonathan Wyatt, LF: 0-1 (P-5)
9a. Starlin Castro, SS: 1-3 (5-3, K, BB - 1 R)
9b. Marwin Gonzalez, SS: 0-0 (BB)

PITCHERS:
1. James Leverton - 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 1 HBP, 4/5 GO/FO
2. Robert Hernandez - 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, 0/1 GO/FO
3. Chris Siegfried - 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 0 K, 1 GIDP, 3/1 GO/FO)
4. Erik Hamren - 2.0, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 1/1 GO/FO)

ERRORS (1):
Marwin Gonzalez - muffed ground ball with bases loaded, allowing run to score 

Comments

Do you think they will keep Marquez Smith and Jovan Rosa together? If you throw in Canzler, it seems difficult to find positions for all of them. Smith should remain at 3b, but I would expect they want to keep trying Rosa there as well (does he have the bat for 1b?) Also, do you expect either Starlin Castro or Marwin Gonzalez to be at Daytona? I would expect Flaherty to be SS and don't think Gonzalez or Castro are ready for high A ball. Would love to see Guyer to start at Daytona and build more confidence -- actually was looking forward to the (potential) incredible production from Johnston, Burke and Guyer together in the OF. Thanks again for this and all the updates.

Submitted by springs on Fri, 04/03/2009 - 8:47pm.

Do you think they will keep Marquez Smith and Jovan Rosa together? If you throw in Canzler, it seems difficult to find positions for all of them. Smith should remain at 3b, but I would expect they want to keep trying Rosa there as well (does he have the bat for 1b?)

Also, do you expect either Starlin Castro or Marwin Gonzalez to be at Daytona? I would expect Flaherty to be SS and don't think Gonzalez or Castro are ready for high A ball.

Would love to see Guyer to start at Daytona and build more confidence -- actually was looking forward to the (potential) incredible production from Johnston, Burke and Guyer together in the OF.

Thanks again for this and all the updates.

=======================================

SPRINGS: The minor league rosters are probably about 95% set right now.

I think the Canzler and Smith demotions are probably the final Spring Training moves downward from Tennessee. I suspect Canzler will play mostly in LF, Rosa mostly at 1B, and Marquez Smith will play 3B. And yes, Rosa does have the bat to play 1B, although his future could be as a corner IF-OF if he can learn to play LF and RF. Since Tyler Colvin will be the DH most every day at Daytona, it won't be possible for the Cubs to use Canzler or Rosa at DH very often. 

I haven't seen Tennessee in action since Canzler and Smith got demoted, but it's possible that Kyle Reynolds could have been moved down from Iowa when Smith and Canzler got demoted, and will play mostly 3B at AA, with both Steve Clevenger and Blake Lalli getting PT at 1B when they aren't catching. But if Reynolds did get sent down (and I don't know that he did, but Iowa is loaded with veteran infielders Hendry might like to keep on retainer at AAA in case something bad happens to one of the Cubs infielders), that would still leave one too many position players at AA.  

And I do expect both Starlin Castro and Marwin Gonzalez to start the season at Daytona. Player Development Director Oneri Fleita really loves those two guys (and Junior Lake, too, who will probably be the primary utility infielder at Peoria). Of course if Mota were to get moved down to Daytona from Tennessee (Justin Sellers and Matt Camp are also utility infielders at Tennessee right now), that could cause a Marwin Gonzalez to move down to Peoria, and Lake to EXST. 

BTW, Canzler getting demoted back to Daytona has got to be a bitter pill to swallow for him. While Marquez Smith only played about 40 games at Daytona in 2008 (he spent most of the year at Peoria), Canzler was at Daytona for the entire '08 season, and really had no competition for the 1B job at Tennessee. And yet here he is, back at Daytona again. That does not bode well for his future in the Cubs organization.

 

Awesome updates AZPhil!! I am thrilled to hear that Brandon Guyer is moving up the ranks. He was easily one of the top players in Peoria last year despite struggling at times at the plate. He is very athletic and has surprising speed for his size. He played all of the OF positions in Peoria (mostly CF), but where do you see him settling in at the major league level?

Submitted by rob9999 on Fri, 04/03/2009 - 10:56pm.

I am thrilled to hear that Brandon Guyer is moving up the ranks. He was easily one of the top players in Peoria last year despite struggling at times at the plate. He is very athletic and has surprising speed for his size. He played all of the OF positions in Peoria (mostly CF), but where do you see him settling in at the major league level?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ROB: Adding a power stroke to his game is what's taken Brandon Guyer's game to the next level. I now rank him as one of the Cubs Top 10 prospects (up from Top 15 during this past off-season).  

As long as he remains with the Cubs (I say that because he could get traded), I expect Guyer will probably end up in CF, but capable of playing the corners, too, doing basically what Reed Johnson does now.

Don't forget Guyer's "natural" position is 3B (that's the position he played in HS), but he was moved to LF at UVA, partly to take greater advantage of his athleticism, but mainly because some guy named Ryan Zimmerman was already playing 3B for the Cavaliers. 

BTW, kudos to Cubs master-scout Billy Swoope for bird-dogging Guyer. Swoope is probably the best Area Scout in baseball (IMO).

Its great that Starlin Castro has advanced enough to play for Daytona at least so far. Phil, I am interested where Michael Brenly fits?

Submitted by Hagsag on Sat, 04/04/2009 - 6:55am.

Its great that Starlin Castro has advanced enough to play for Daytona at least so far. Phil, I am interested where Michael Brenly fits?

=====================================

HAGAG: It appears that position players like Michael Brenly, Jericho Jones, Ryan Keedy, Sean Hoorelbeke, Kurt Calvert, Ryan Sontag, Chris Weimer, TeWayne Williis, Dwayne Kemp, Matt Cerda, Logan Watkins, George Matheus,Alvaro Sosa, and Kevin Soto have been assigned to Extended Spring Training (EXST Cubs), where the older ones will spend April-May at Fitch Park waiting for their "Letter of Transit" (waiting for somebody at Peoria or Daytona who playes their position to get hurt or get demoted to EXST)  Otherwise, all of them are hoping for a slot at Boise in June.

The players assigned to EXST could be there because they failed to make the Peoria roster, or they could be injured. Also, one or more of them could get released in the next couple of days, too, since Peoria still needs to cut two position players who will likely end up at EXST. . 

AZ Phil- Maybe the answer to this one is too simple for me to see. What's the point in an NL team having somebody be an every-day DH, as you suggest Colvin will be at Daytona? Training somebody for a job that doesn't exist at the big club seems like training somebody to do the job for another team.

Submitted by Jackstraw on Sat, 04/04/2009 - 10:16am.

AZ Phil- Maybe the answer to this one is too simple for me to see.

What's the point in an NL team having somebody be an every-day DH, as you suggest Colvin will be at Daytona? Training somebody for a job that doesn't exist at the big club seems like training somebody to do the job for another team.

========================================

JACKSTRAW: Tyler Colvin had Tommy John surgery last November and isn't at the point yet where he can throw well enough to play defense, so he will DH at Daytona (where they use the DH in every game) until he's ready to return to the OF sometime later in the season, and then he will be moved up to Tennessee or Iowa (the I-Cubs and Smokies only use the DH when they play an A. L. affiliate on the road). 

One other move of note from this morning.

Catcher Robinson Chirinos (ex-2B who was converted to catcher last Summer) has been demoted from AA Tennessee to Daytona where he will share catching duties with Mark Reed, and John Contreras (ex-3B who is being converted to catcher) will be assigned to EXST.  

This means either Welington Castillo, Chris Robinson, or Shawn McGill got assigned to AA to share catching duties there with Steve Clevenger and Blake Lalli (both of whom hit LH and also play 1B). And then either Robinson or McGill probably got released (Iowa had four catchers, and needed to cut two). 

And 19-year old Australian RHP Ryan Searle and 22-year old Dominican RHP Alberto Alburquerque (who had shoulder surgery a year ago, but is a decent prospect when healthy) have apparently made the Daytona Opening Day roster (both worked in Daytona's game today), with 19-year old Venezuelan bonus baby (and Carlos Zambrano clone) RHP Larry Suarez (who missed most of last season after undergoing elbow surgery during Spring Training) assigned to Peoria (he pitched today, too). Somebody asked a while back about RHP Justin Bristow (2008 5th round pick out of East Carolina who was shut down with a sore shoulder at Boise last August). He's OK and is also assigned to the Peoria roster, as is LHP Ryan Buchter (who was acquired from WAS for RHP Matt Avery last November).

It looks like 2B Jake Opitz (2008 12th round pick out of U. of Nebraska) is with the EXST group now, too. (He was with Peoria as recently as yesterday). He was together with Sean Hoorelbeke, Ryan Keedy, and Chris Weimer this morning, and all of them are assigned to Boise/Mesa (EXST). I haven't seen 2008 draft picks Ryan Sontag (23rd round) or TeWayne Willis (28th round) around for a few days. They were assigned to Boise/Mesa, but they may have been released.

The Cubs are supposed to release at least a dozen minor league players (mostly pitchers) at Fitch Park this afternoon. So Opening Day rosters for Iowa, Tennessee, Daytona, and Peoria should be finalized by this evening.

Submitted by falcon on Sat, 04/04/2009 - 4:50pm.

I heard that Willis injured himself while diving for a ball in centerfield a week or so ago. Can they still release you if you're injured?

===============================

FALCON: If Willis was injured diving for a ball, they won't release him until he has a chance to try and rehab the injury.  

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).