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, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* 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
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL
* Justin Steele, P   

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





Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs vs. Brewers Series Preview

Cubs (2-1; 1st in NL Central) vs. Brewers (1-2; 4th in NL Central) at Miller Park

Head-to-head Record
First meeting in 2009. Cubs won 9 of 16 games between the teams in 2008.


Pitching matchups
Friday, 3:05pm
Rich Harden (0-0) vs. Braden Looper (0-0)

Saturday, 6:05pm
Carlos Zambrano (1-0, 1.50) vs. David Bush (0-0, 18.00)

Sunday, 7:05pm
Ryan Dempster (0-0, 3.00) vs. Jeff Suppan (0-1, 13.50)


Hot

Cubs
Hard to say anyone is "hot" after just three games, but the big bats came out in Houston after a couple of lackluster games. Ryan Theriot (5/9, .556) and Aramis Ramirez (6/14, .429 with team-high 5 RBI) are off to good starts and hit safely in all three games in Houston. Kosuke Fukudome (4 hits Wednesday night), Mike Fontenot (5/13, .385), and Alfonso Soriano (5/15, .333, 2 HR) have also contributed. Zambrano had an outstanding, highly controlled start in the opener, yielding just one run in 6+ innings.

Brewers
Milwaukee opened on the road in San Francisco, where Mike Cameron went 4-for-7 with 6 BB and a homer. Ryan Braun, 4-for-12 including a pair of doubles, was the only other Brewer regular who did much hitting. Yovanni Gallardo, not pitching in this series, homered against Randy Johnson on Wednesday, the first time Johnson has ever been touched for a home run by an opposing pitcher.


Not So Hot

Cubs
Milton Bradley is hitless in 9 AB so far, though he has drawn a team-high 4 BB. Derrek Lee was 1-for-6 Wednesday night with 3 K's and is hitting just .154 (2-for-13).

Brewers
Against the Giants, Weeks,Fielder, Hart, Hardy, and Kendall went a combined 7-for-57 with 17 K's.


Other notes: The series opener matches the sometimes brilliant and generally brittle Harden against the former Cardinal, Looper, whose Brewer Spring Training debut was delayed until late March by a muscle pull; when he pitched, he didn't pitch well...In case you forgot, the last time the teams met was on the final weekend of the '08 season, when the Brewers took two of three from the Cubs to clinch the NL Wild Card...This series will mark the first matchup between the two teams since former, WGN extra guy in the radio booth, Cory Provus, left 'GN to start calling Brewers games. I thought Provus did a nice job in Chicago, but since he bailed out on us, he is officially dead to me.

 

Comments

Harden hitting 93-94 with regularity in the first. Should put some doubts to rest.

Just catching up on my pre-game notes from Len & Bob. Harden scheduled to throw between 90-95 pitches. Four pitches into the third inning, he has thrown 38 pitches.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Why? What happened? I only saw the small highlight on gameday (blocked out for Brewers games in Wisconsin). Looked like he went deep in the hole, fielded cleanly, and threw home right away. Better throw would have got him. I'm just getting worried about Gregg, so far his outings have looked like this: Game 1: Single, Single, Sac Fly, Flyout, Groundout Game 2: Flyout, Intentional Walk, Walk-off RBI Single Game 4: K, Groundout, Walk, Double, Wild Pitch, Walk, Walk-off RBI fielder's choice.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

I don't agree with this line of thinking, but I'm guessing that Gathright came in for Fukudome instead of Soriano for two reasons: 1. Lou is more concerned about Soriano's ego than Fukudome's. 2. Lou was hoping for extra innings and didn't want to downgrade from Soriano's bat to Gathright's (the downgrade from Fukudome to Gathright being less noticeable). I could be completely wrong, but that's my guess.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

We talked about this in parachat after it happened. I'm not 100% certain that they turn the double play, but they certainly have a much better shot at it than gunning down the run at the plate. I'd also rather lose trying to turn it on Braun than getting Weeks at the plate from that deep. The question I have is - why does he even try that when they're already at double play depth? You're at double play depth for a reason - turn it!

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

It always kinda bugged me that Dusty would be so stoic while losing. I liked it when Lou got pissed after Gregg lost control of that pitch to the scrub. I don't remember his name. If I was a pitcher I'd never walk a guy, and then, sure enough, Gregg served up a fat fastball to Weeks. He'll need to learn how to pitch for Lou pretty damn quick. Gregg coulda gotten a coupla calls from the ump, too. I didn't see much of the game but from what I saw the ump had a worse game than Gregg -- although he was right about Theriot's throw. Not even close.

Things that sucked about this game: -Theriot awful in the field. Drops a short fly to left after calling Soriano off to try and make a catch with his back to home plate and drops the ball, and throws home in the 9th on a double play ball that would have ended the inning tied. -Lou torching through the bullpen..but Cotts, Marshall, and Heilman all failed in their roles, not to mention Gregg who will not make anyone forget Kerry Wood by the early returns. -Did I mention Gregg looks like a crap closer? -We pull Marmol out of the game so Miles can pinch hit with one out and runners on the corners, only so he can hit into a DP? If you are not going to squeeze, why the hell isn't Hoffpair hitting? This is the second time this season Miles pinch hit ahead of Hoffpair...what is the point of that? I thought Hoff was your new pinch hit guy and he is 1 for 2 in that role???!! There is no way I should be this frustrated this early in the season...help me out here.

[ ]

In reply to by Pat Kane

Agreed on all points. What is bothering me is that this team will clearly win a lot of games and likely make the postseason. But so far they look like the same old Cubs in close games. The 9th in game one was way too exciting, game two was lost in extras, game 4 lost in the 9th. They need to develop that killer instinct or attain that level of confidence that championship teams have. Right now, they don't have it, but it's early.

[ ]

In reply to by Pat Kane

K hill actually took some nice cuts in Spring training while I was there. I thought I noticed it last year, too. Not sure where the bad rap comes from. Maybe he has lousy stats -- I haven't checked. But catchers can come on late as hitters -- witness one Hank White, who has definitely improved over the last two years. They're students of the game and ...blah blah

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

If you're right about that and they make the post season, I'd worry more about D Lee than some of the other stuff, which will work itself out overall. It's true that they didn't have a killer instinct but Bradley may help with that if he doesn't implode into a gelatinous pile of broken tendons. D Lee got under a pitch really bad today that he would have driven out of the park on a line drive during his one good year with us. Small sample size, but a trend worth watching. I hope Lou starts easing Hoffpower into more at bats at 1B if that continues, and takes the same attitude with Lee as he has with Kfuk. Although I don't know what our infielders will do if that happens. I guess they'll have to aim at the first baseman's mitt. Which will be really weird for them.

There is some good news today: A 22-year-old man was charged with three murder counts and drunken driving Friday in the crash that killed Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others. I enjoy a nip or three, but I NEVER drive. Which is why I'm old (being a Cubs fan for all these years is why I'm blue).

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    happ, right hamstring tightness, day-to-day (hopefully 0 days).

    he will be reevaluated tomorrow.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I guess I'm not looking for that type of AB 

    Just a difference of opinion

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.

    I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH. 

    He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.

    You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)

  • crunch (view)

    bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.

    the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?

    I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.

  • Charlie (view)

    Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH. 

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.

    The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.

    I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day. 

     

    That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled). 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.