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

2009 Opening Day Minor League Rosters

Iowa

C - Mark Johnson, Chris Robinson

INF - Andres Blanco, Matt Matulia, Luis Rivas, Nate Spears, Bobby Scales, Jake Fox

OF - Sam Fuld, Doug Deeds, So Taguchi, Jason Dubois, Brad Snyder

SP - Jose Ascanio, Mitch Atkins, Esmalian Caridad, Jeff Samardzija, Randy Wells

RP - Justin Berg, Jessie Estrada, Chad Fox, Kevin Hart, J.R. Mathes, Greg Reinhard, Jeff Stevens, Jason Waddell

That starting rotation is according to the press release and it mentions that Mitch Atkins will get Iowa's opening day start. Also, Triple A and Double A rosters should max out at 24 (according to AZ Phil at least) so there's a good chance two players are headed to the DL right away unless there's been a rule change. Then of course, why wouldn't they just sit back in extended spring training?

Tennessee

C - Welington Castillo, Steve Clevenger

INF - Darwin Barney, Tony Thomas, Jonathan Mota, Matt Camp, Blake Lalli, Kyle Reynolds.

OF - Jim Adduci, Brandon Guyer, Richie Robnett, Ty Wright

SP- James Russell, Hung-Wen Chen, Casey Coleman, Jay Jackson, Casey Lambert (link)

RP - Todd Blackford, John Gaub, Alex Maestri, Jeremy Papelbon, Blake Parker, Vince Perkins, Jayson Ruhlman, Brian Schlitter

25 total for 24 supposed roster spots, so something will have to give.

Daytona

C- Mark Reed, Robinson Chirinos

INF - Russ Canzler, Starlin Castro, Jovan Rosa, Marwin Gonzalez, Nathan Samson, Marquez Smith

OF - Tyler Colvin, Drew Rundle, Dylan Johnston, Jonathan Wyatt

P- Alberto Albuquerque, David Cales, Rafael Dolis, James Leverton, Marcos Mateo, Dan McDaniel, Craig Muschko, Jake Muyco, Dustin Sasser, Ryan Searle, Luke Sommer, Steve Vento, Henry Williamson

Peoria

C - Luis Flores, Mario Mercedes

INF - Rebel Ridling, Josh Harrison, Junior Lake, Ryan Flaherty, Josh Vitters, David Macias

OF - Cliff Andersen, Kyler Burke, Tony Campana, Nelson Perez

P - Chris Archer, Jeffrey Beliveau, Ryan Buchter, Alberto Cabrera, Chris Carpenter, Erik Hamren, Marcus Hatley, Chris Huseby, Kevin Kreier, Mike Perconte, Jose Pina, Aaron Shafer, Josh Whitlock

Last year's top pick Andrew Cashner looks like he'll stay back in Arizona for extended spring training still dealing with his oblique injury he suffered early on in camp. The mysterious case of Jordan Latham remains...mysterious. I was told he was released by Steve Holley at Inside the Ivy. Then when he ran his own story mentioning it (it's been edited since), the Cubs and particularly Latham's family freaked out a bit and Steve was assured that he wasn't released. Yet, he's not on any rosters suggesting he's staying back in extended spring training in Arizona. But for a kid with a 2.63 minor league ERA over two seasons and pitching in Daytona last year, that's an odd choice unless there's an injury of some sort...or possibly some personal issues that put him behind others.

Comments

Soriano, Theriot, Lee, Bradley , Ramirez, Johnson, Soto, Fontenot, Dempster

vs

Matsui, Rodriguez, Berkman, Lee, Tejada, Blum, Pence,  Bourne, Wandy

Rob, are you sure about Ascanio starting in Iowa? Seems like they'd put Mathes in the rotation as filler and let Ascanio develop as a late inning RP, since that's his future in the big leagues. Or maybe they just want him to work on a 3rd pitch? I would think Iowa would only carry 4 OFs, not 5, so maybe they will just release Taguchi or Dubois.

Thanks, Rob! I'm interested to see how both Ryan Searle and Brandon Guyer do. Am I right in that they're both "skipping" a level (Guyer bypassing Daytona, Searle skipping Peoria)? And is it true that they're trying out Casey Lambert as a starter? (This might explain why he didn't jump to Iowa after a strong half-season at AA). And I guess I haven't been paying attention-- what happened to Tiggy? (I know he put up some shizzletastic numbers last year)

Rob, whats the deal with listing Samninja 4th in the I-Cubs rotation? Don't give me that "alphabetical order" bullshit, i'm onto your tricks! Thanks for the run down, now let's watch the cubs shell Wandy

I have a partial list of those starting out in EXTST. Opitz,Brenly,Jones,Calvert,Keedy,Hoorelbeke,Sontag,Weimer,Kemp,Cerda,Watkins,Mattheus,Sosa,Soto,Cashner.

Cubs lose. Back to .500. THE GOOD: - Dempster. A very good start. More than kept the team in game. Too bad the offense couldn't come through. - Soriano. Another HR. And it was a BOMB off Latoya Hawkins. - Bullpen. Held Houston scoreless for 3 over innings giving their offense a chance to win it. Though Gregg hasn't looked great giving up a run yesterday and an inherited run tonight. THE BAD: - Soriano. 3K's and an error. Luckily the HR made us forget about the bad. THE UGLY: - Offense. Just did not click tonight. Theriot did have 2 hits, but offense only got 1 run outside of Soriano's HR. Let's go get them tomorrow and win the series. Hopefully Lilly can turn things around and start to get on track. Go Cubs!

File "Milton Bradley" under "spring training stats don't mean shit" Be good if he got a hit before they open at Wrigley. Otherwise -- Jacques II I still don't like closers who "pitch to contact". Amazing stat -- Cubs haven't been 2-0 since 1995. But, hey -- the Bears still got Jay Cutler.

How about Hawkins being 0-2 on Soriano and he throws him a fastball down the middle? 10 cent head-glad we don't have him around anymore...

The Cubs have a tendency to push players through the system quickly and I believe this can (and has, though no great examples come quickly to mind) hurt certain players. This year Starlin Castro, one of our better prospects, is moving from Rookie ball at Mesa at 19 years old to High A ball at Daytona. Marwin Gonzalez, another young SS, is moving from Boise to Daytona. Meanwhile, Ryan Flaherty, a 22 year old who played in big time college ball, is going from Boise to low A ball at Lansing. Similarly, Brandon Guyer finally got healthy and started producing in the second half of last season. Instead of bringing him along slowly and moving him up one level, the Cubs push him up to AA (skipping Daytona). I expect Castro, Guyer and Gonzalez will struggle, though have hope and excitement that they excel. I think there is much higher risk from these quick movements, such as that a player will lose confidence and/or develop bad habits while struggling, without much benefit (if he dominates at a certain level, he can be promoted, which is a boost to confidence). Any thoughts?

[ ]

In reply to by springs

One thing to keep in mind,especially with the latin guys. Peoria is cold this time of year. Maybe the Cubs think they will have a better chance to get off to get starts in a warm weather situation, as opposed to freezing in Peoria with the rest of the guys. This was mentioned as a reason that Josh Vitters might also start in Daytona this year. I suspect that if Gonzalez or Castro struggle in Daytona. They will head to Peoria once the weather heats up. Just a hunch. As for Guyer, he is in the same situation that Marquez Smith is in. He is already 23 years old. He needs to be moving up through the ranks a little quicker than the other guys if he wants to be considered a prospect. So maybe starting him in AA is the Cubs way of saying "Move forward or Get out of the way". Again, just a hunch.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

It's hard to figure their thinking on moving or not moving players. You have a big time 2-way college player like Jericho Jones who turns down being picked in the 3rd round (as a pitcher) so he can take his shot at hitting and being a position player ( Cubs 20th round pick) By the way, the Dodgers clocked him 92-96 in their pre-draft tryout. So he leads the AZL in hitting for most of the summer ( and falls off somewhat in August)....he reports to spring training and bats over .400 and holds his own in the AA games.....he wasn't promoted last summer to Boise and he was not promoted to Peoria or Daytona this week. Go figure......he has the highest power rating (97) of any outfielder in the Cubs system.Guyer needs to be moving on up.....he has the tools and should rise to the promotion. I think moving Starlin Castro that far up is a big mistake......there will be some players that will not rise to the level they're starting at so we will see some shuffling around of rosters after a few weeks.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 11:53am.

As for Guyer, he is in the same situation that Marquez Smith is in. He is already 23 years old. He needs to be moving up through the ranks a little quicker than the other guys if he wants to be considered a prospect. So maybe starting him in AA is the Cubs way of saying "Move forward or Get out of the way". Again, just a hunch.

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

AARON: 23 is the most-common age for players at A+ (like Daytona), 24 is the most-common age for players at AA, and 25 is the most-common age for players at AAA.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • 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.