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

Waiting for Gryzlo

Update: Paul Sullivan reports in the Tribune that Soto underwent an MRI today and has "minor inflammation in the biceps area." He will not be going on the DL.

Soto is likely to sit out the Friday and Saturday games in Milwaukee and "possibly all three depending on how he feels this weekend." Aaron Miles will be the designated emergency catcher behind Koyie Hill while Soto recovers.


Geovany Soto is supposedly in Chicago today so Cubs team orthopedist Stephen Gryzlo can take a look at that sore shoulder. If the defending NL ROY lands on the Disabled List, the logical move would be to summon 33-year-old Mark Johnson from Iowa. The lefthanded-hitting Johnson, who was originally drafted by the White Sox back in '94, went 4-for-19 at Mesa this spring.

Over parts of eight Major League seasons with the Sox, A's, Brewers, and Cardinals, Johnson has compiled a hitting line of .218/.314/.318. In other words, in the temporary catching tandem of Koyie Hill and Mark Johnson, the big bat would be...nobody.

He is, however, said to "call a good game," the catching equivalent of being a blind date with a winning personality.
Let's keep a good thought re: Soto's check-up.

If you've been on the Web for even a few minutes today, you already know about the car crash that took the lives of Angels pitcher, Nick Adenhart, and two other people. The whole tragic story is here.

 

Comments

I normally consider myself a pretty dedicated follower of AZ's posts but, still, I haven't even heard of Mark Johnson. I guess I don't pay as much attention as I thought I did. Too bad about the kid.

22 years old, it's just tragic. At the end of the day neither all the money in the world nor material things do you any good. All you have are the stories, influence, and inspiration you leave behind.

Carpenter is working on, and losing a no hitter in the 6th versus the Pirates.

This a time for Cubster's insight. Unfortunately, he is in mainland China, no doubt sporadically checking his iPhone, and scouting Bejing club teams for more LH Ofers and ss..

Maybe Rob G should put up an auto-populating tally board for Dunn, Abreau, De Ro, And Woody. This way we'll have an at-hand accounting to those of us who want to constantly grade Hendry on his off-season moves.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

being apprehensive about milton is one thing, but it's kinda hard to complain about a 3/30m contract, imo. that's when it all went out the window for me...

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Actually, Crunch, I have read several reports it's a two-year deal with health benchmarks and a club option for the 3rd year. So essentially, it's a two-year thang.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Abreu only getting 1 year/$5 million was a good deal for LAA.

[ ]

In reply to by mannytrillo

That is indeed a good deal for the LAA. Again, there HAS to be a way we could have stats auto=populate daily so we all can play armchair GM, and see how Hendry ends up "doing" this year.

Wow KC & White Sux are ... ummm ... how do I put it ... Evenly matched.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

And this has always been Guillen's achillies heel, imo... he uses wayyy too many relievers in a game. You can play matchups, I guess, but when you use 7 pitchers in a close game, all it takes is for one of those guys to have a bad day.

DeRosa 0-4 today. Still batting 0.00. [edit] Add his first error of the season to that.

Gotta love Larusa. Motte destroys in ST, but looks ugly in his first regular season save...Denys Reyes gets the call next time out. Nice confidence booster, there, Tony.

[ ]

In reply to by The Joe

larussa reactionary and weird? imagine that. how come carpenter didn't bat 8th today? it's like larussa doesn't know how to read a spreadsheet or something. what an asshat. fwiw, he's having a fun time saying the past few days that he never officially named a closer...a bit too fun, really.

Kerry appears in nonsave situation for Cleveland...2B, K, 2B,K, BB, K

WMVP: apparently Soto has bicep tendon inflammation and although he says he should be ready to go on Mon the Cubs will have to decide if they want to DL him in order to have a backup ready to go.

[ ]

In reply to by dB

I think they should just DL him, if he has tendonatis and you dont give it the rest you need to heal it will likely pop up some time later on. Its April and in the next two weeks we should put up a decent record with or without Soto in the lineup so just let his shoulder heal up and nip it in the bud.

Conflict: I love MLB Network, but I hate the blackout rules keeping me from watching Brewers/Giants. Good job keeping your product away from people who want to watch it on YOUR OWN NETWORK.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 12:32pm.
I normally consider myself a pretty dedicated follower of AZ's posts but, still, I haven't even heard of Mark Johnson. I guess I don't pay as much attention as I thought I did.

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

O&B: See link

The over/under on Harden's top MPH fastball tomorrow: 91 1/2 I'll say over.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

We talking average or fastest of the game? My question is, is he holding back in order to stay healthy, or can he literally not throw hard anymore? Dude used to hit 99 regularly, and now he barely tops 90. I don't give a shit if he throws 65 as long as he's effective, but I just want to know what's going on.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

I believe he's just one of those guys that it takes a LONG time for his velocity to get up. The guy only threw 13 innings this spring. The 3 other starters we actually had in camp threw twice that. It takes some of those big power guys a good 7 or 8 starts to get their velocity right after being off all winter. Add in that he was rehabbing and wasn't actually doing any significant throwing in the off-season, and it's going to take a little while for the 95 to come back. I know that I read that throwing was part of his rehab program, but I can assure you that it wasn't all that strenuous. He's really only put 100% into that shoulder probably 2 starts worth. I'd imagine he was just trying to feel things out the first couple of starts back after the soreness. The long and short of it is that he's about 3 weeks behind everybody else right now. Now, if he's still throwing 88 the first week of May, I'm going to become very concerned.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Sort of, but you're making a horrible over-generalization about all pitchers at all times. I'm talking about this one specific pitcher beginning to gain velocity after an extended period of being on the shelf. Guys throw off-speed with maximum effort, too. As weird as it sounds, it takes a while to get that change-up velocity DOWN as you start to throw in the spring, too. It seperates from your fastball as you continue to loosen out your shoulder. Harden's fastball will go UP from 88 or 89, and his change-up will go DOWN from 85-86 to 82-84. The curve and slider develop a much sharper break, too. We don't even have to worry about it because Harden's throwing 96 today anyway.

with cubs lineup for now, I'm okay with GEO taking some time. And hills got some skillz. HA didn't even notice that. Let the catchers catch and lets hope lee starts hitting.

How far can you bracktrack a DL stint at the start of the year? Because if you can start it at or before Aril 4th (the day before the season started) then Harden could come off of it on April 19, when we first need a 5th starter and bring up Johnson to backup Hill for this series. I hate to see us lose a game because Hill gets hurt half way through and Miles makes a defensive miscue in a key moment. Even if can start on April 5th, you could always have Marshall go on 3-days rest or call up somebody from Iowa if they have light out starts in their first couple of starts. I really dont like the idea of a postional player being your back-up C for a complete weekend set.

Submitted by Chifan on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 11:31pm.
How far can you bracktrack a DL stint at the start of the year? Because if you can start it at or before Aril 4th (the day before the season started) then Harden could come off of it on April 19, when we first need a 5th starter and bring up Johnson to backup Hill for this series.

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CHIFAN: A player's DL stint can be backdated no more than ten days, and no further back than nine days prior to the start of the MLB regular season (which is March 27th this year).

However, a player's DL stint cannot be backdated any further back than the day after his last appearance in an MLB regular season game or MLB Spring Training game. Since Harden pitched in the game at Yankee Stadium last Saturday, a Harden DL stint can be backdated no further back than last Sunday (4/5).

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...