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

Game 102 Thread / Marlins @ Cubs (1 of 4)

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP *Scott Olsen SP
Carlos Zambrano
  6-4, 3.84, 64 K, 45 BB, 124.1 IP

10-4, 2.98, 81 K, 44 BB, 126.2 IP
       
SS
Hanley Ramirez
LF
Alfonso Soriano
2B
#Alfredo Amezega
SS
Ryan Theriot
3B
Jorge Cantu
1B
Derrek Lee
LF
*Mike Jacobs 3B
Aramis Ramirez
CF
Cody Ross CF
Reed Johnson
RF
Josh Willingham RF
Mark DeRosa
LF
*Luis Gonzalez
C
Henry Blanco
C
*John Baker
2B
Ronny Cedeno
P
*Scott Olsen
P
#Carlos Zambrano

Word is that Kerry Wood will head to the disabled list afterall, although Gordon Wittenmeyer says a corresponding roster move may not come until tomorrow. That roster move may be bringing up Jeff Samardzija from Iowa, where's he 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA in six starts with 40 K's and 16 BB's in 37.1 IP. I look forward to it if it happens.

Otherwise, another lefty on the mound which gives another day to rest Fukudome and Edmonds, plus Soto gets a break. Hopefully the Friendly Confines live up to their billing as the Cubs try to hang on to sole possession of first place for another day. 

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Hawkeye

In the video up on the website that Rob linked to above you can see Castillo come in and whip the ball towards the end. I assume he was aiming for a Dayton player just to the left of the screen and must have missed and it sailed into the stands. What an idiot. You have to wonder if Ryno had been there if things would have gone down differently. It really escalated when Martinez came out to argue with the Dayton manager and ended up pushing him. I don't see the convo between him and Ryno going down the same way though.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

WTF is wrong with the cameraman in this clip. It is pretty much unwatchable. I have never seen a clip as bad as this, and the fact that this moron thought it would be useful to post on Youtube says a little more about him... Unless it is supposed to capture the earthquake that was also occurring during the brawl, it pretty much captures nothing...

Felix 4-for-5 last night, with a double, triple, BB and SB. His numbers look a lot better recently -- has anyone seen him? Has he changed his swing/approach, or has he just gone back to what was successful at AAA before? I was at the ballpark last night - the 8th and 9th almost did me in.

On the A-Ram double where D-Lee was thrown out at the plate -- Gonzo threw to the relay man, who threw home to get Lee. The box score shows an OF assist for Gonzo. I guess that makes sense -- just seems a little odd. When you think of OF assists, you think of an OF throwing a guy out, rather than using a relay man to do it.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

From the same article, the story on the draft violations:

''We just had a few clerical errors in the dates of reporting [signing bonuses],'' he said. ''There's no dollars that weren't spent or hidden or things like that. Two of our draft choices were signed to above the slot figures [MLB's suggested bonus levels], which is perfectly legal. But the protocol of when the amounts were called in were not on the day or two before maybe they should have been called in.''

 And Edmonds knee is fine and should be available starting today....

Submitted by Hawkeye on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 10:05pm.

 Julio Castillo is facing felony assault charges. Embarassing. What an intergalactic dumbass

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

HAWKEYE: Julio Castillo was at Fitch Park last year, and he's the guy everybody calls "Animal." Why? He caught a rat at one of the other AZL facilities last year and supposedly kept it as a pet in his motel room.

Animal is from the jungles of the Dominican Republic, near the border with Haiti. He is a legend in the Cubs minor leagues.

He got a late start on the 2008 season because of a "pending legal matter" back in the Dominican, but he apparently beat the rap.

He also throws 95-96 MPH.

INDIANA JJ: Yes, Animal does have control issues (I'm just talking about his pitching here). He had 30 BB in 31.2 IP between Boise and Peoria last season. However, he also is said to have one of the Top 5 "power arms" in the Cubs farm system, along with Andrew Cashner, Jose Ceda, Rocky Roquet and Rafael Dolis (or at least Dolis pre-TJS, anyway). 

How odd is it that until last night, the Cubs hadn't had a save opportunity since Wood's last one on July 11? He is definitely missed, but at least there haven't been any blown saves (or any saves, for that matter) in his absence.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Also of note according to Wilken, who saw Samardzija pitch in a game against Albuquerque on June 29, is Samardzija’s progression with his slider and splitter.

“There’s a little more depth to it (the slider),” Wilken said. “He’s shown an average changeup and has a good feel for it, and he’s tinkering with a split and the split just disappears at times. I would say there’s good light at the end of the tunnel here.”

“He’s getting more groundballs now because hitters can’t pick the ball up as quickly. That’s because he’s repeating his delivery better,” added Wilken.

 

http://cubs.scout.com/2/772252.html

Submitted by Hawkeye on Fri, 07/25/2008 - 11:17am.

AZ Phil... ... do you think that the Cubs should summarily release him? I know that he has lots of raw talent, but it is worth the shenanigans?

What do you think of Samardzija's (I tried spelling it this time with out looking it up) potential start? I think that there is no question that he has the bravado, but I question that logic of using him against the Milwaukee Alcoholics...

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

HAWKEYE: I think Julio Castillo should be released.

As for Jeff Samardzija, I wouldn't have even brought him up. I would have just waited until tomorrow (Saturday) and reactivated Jon Lieber from the DL (he is eligible to come off the DL on 7/26).

Lieber looked perfectly healthy in his three-inning (33 pitches) rehab start for the AZL Cubs at Fitch Park on Tuesday.

And then when Kerry Wood (hopefully) comes off the DL on Tuesday, I would option Sean Marshall to Iowa and keep him stretched-out as a starter, in case a replacement starter is needed later in the season.  

 

Also I heard this elsewhere: "supposedly before the hit, he looked over at Reed and Reed gave him the signal with his two hands against teh side of his face that "he was tired", DeRosa saw this as the "hands together" signal to move closer, so Derosa took a few steps over toward center. " Do you guys know about this?

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.