Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-23-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 9 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

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

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 





Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

We Have a Winner

In a close vote to decide the Official1 TCR Nickname for our Middle Infielders, we can now announce that with 100% of the 66 votes counted, the winner is....

The Scrap Pack

The Scrap Pack beat The Tiger Cubs2 for the honor, and congratulations to all the other worthy suggestions as well.

Among the many virtues of The Scrap Pack are:

  • It rhymes
    • ok, fine, it doesn't.  Me flunk 2nd grad Inglish.
      • Ok, it has "internal rhyme."  I never got that far in English.
  • It's short
  • It has assonance
  • It has a sharp, staccato sort of meter to it
  • It alludes to a bunch of iconic womanizing singing drunkards with ties to the Las Vegas Mafia from the 1960s, who later went on to star in all-time classic movies like The Cannonball Run II.  
  • It is expandable: if necessary it could incorporate Reed Johnson, Aaron Miles and others.
  • Its origin is shrouded in TCR mystery and lore.  CT_Steve mentioned that he recalled seering someone use the nickname in Parachat, but we don't know who.

And most importantly....

  • If they wind up stinking up the field, we can always claim that the "S" is silent.
1 "Official" in the sense that part of my contract to begin writing for Ruz, years ago, included several legal prerogatives, including but not limited to the right to print Letters of Marque and to be keeper of The Official Seal of TCR.  I'm inferring from those prerogatives that I also have the right to declare things "official."

2 Yes, I just made an animal abuse pun.  I'm sorry.

 

Comments

Scrap Pack For all its many virtues, I don't think it rhymes.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

Heh.  I presently am designing final exams for college kids, and I don't remember what it means to rhyme.  What do the kids say these days?  Oh yeah, FAIL.

 Thanks for the catch there, I've updated the post.

[ ]

In reply to by Transmission

I am still trying to figure out how Love & Rockets rhymed 'you' with 'you-ooh-ooh'. Each person seems to have a different threshold for what 'rhymes' . The average rapper, for instance, wouldn't have any problem with rhyming those two words.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Yeah, I'm calling it a "rhyme," again. When me, Real Neal and "the average rapper" all agree, you know it must be correct.

 

And that's four consecutive comments by me relating to what counts as a rhyme.  I'll stop, now.  But god, I'd love to see a flame-war break out over poetry....  Come on, guys...

[ ]

In reply to by Transmission

Trans, you ignorant slut, stand by your call! If it sounds like a rhyme to you, it's a rhyme! At the very least that is a slant rhyme; both words have the same short "A" sound on a stressed syllable and end with hard, aspirated consonants. Grow some balls. And, fuck man, how did you miss the opportunity to note the consonance in "sCrap paCK"? Combine the consonance with the repeated short "A" sound and the fact that "Scrap Pack" contains only two syllables, both with heavy stresses—a spondee (sorry, didn't mean to patronize you all)—and you've got a very punchy nickname. Too bad you don't have any punch, Trans, or none of this would be necessary—you would've just verbally bitch slapped Navigator.

[ ]

In reply to by Transmission

Oh, I wouldn't say it rhymes. I was playing a drinking game Saturday, where you had to 'bust a rhyme' - rhyme a word with one that someone else had said or drink. I was bothered when someone rhymed 'time' with 'line'. I am probably wrong, but it feels to me like just another symptom of the dumbing down of America and the English language.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

It depends on your purposes, I think. For the purposes of modern English language poetry, full rhyme has limited use, since English is a rhyme poor language and the tradition of rhyming is really borrowed from Italian and other, older poetic traditions that, while they have their own merits, have a different word bank and syntactic system to work with than do English poets. For the purposes of a drinking game, I wouldn't consider participants' definition of rhyme the primary symptom of the dumbing down of America.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I can't decide which is more embarrassing: that you were playing a drinking game in which you had to rhyme words, or that you were playing a drinking game.

[ ]

In reply to by O.Julius

Yeah it was an afternoon of 'man, being a frat daddy was cool, let's try that again'. However, drinking games can be fun. Canned drinking games make me feel like I am borrowing someone else's life.

In a prosodic, poetic, and very real, sense it does rhyme - internally rather than at the end is all.

I like it. But then, what is the penalty if someone were to use, say, The Oui Men instead of The Scrap Pack?

[ ]

In reply to by Transmission

I think I'll go with Pepper Spray and Theriot. Pseudo-rhyming is cool and all that, but anytime you can work four puns into one nickname, that gets my vote. Do I have to pay for the season tickets?

Y'all'll be sorry when I'm a thousandaire from selling t-shirts of Font and Riot-lookalike tiger cubs saying "grr" in a text bubble to drunk white girls in Lakeview. The way I figure, I'll make enough money to either go to a game at Wrigley or buy a house near the Cell. Congrats to Scrap Packers.

i'm calling the nickname and the players "The Crap Pack" yeah, i went there.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

i don't know as i already stated that i refuse to drink it. But since you went to maine east and then marquette, i would assume it takes like MGD mixed with Drakkar Noir. With a slight hint of sausage.

This is exactly why Democracy is a failure. Never let people vote for things. Scrap Pack is pretty stupid. Its not really even funny. It doesnt even pass the "hey, thats not a dumb cliche" test. I think that the writers here could have come up with something better and come to a consensus over a couple of beers and a Vienna Beef dog at Murphy's. Sigh. At least there is parachat.

It was me who came up with that, for the record. Any criticism of my hilarious creation will refuted with insults of your sexual preference. Proceed with caution.

Levine says that Lee's neck and back issues a bigger culprit in his decline, along with his refusal to sit. Although most people point to the broken wrist Lee suffered in 2006 as the reason he doesn't hit with as much power, the real reasons are his back and neck woes from a home-plate collision after the wrist injury. http://espn.go.com/chicago/columns/blog?post=4105498&name=levine

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Interesting in that pitch selection has nothing to do with Lee's problems with grounding to short. Also, Levine is happy to take another needless shot at Bradley. So far, Bradley is winning the 'media is out to get me' debate.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Well partially it does, but those pitches that he now hits weakly to second for double plays used to be doubles in the right-center power alley. He can't quite extend with power to the outer part of the plate like he used to. I see your argument, though. If you can't do hit that pitch anymore, quit fucking swinging at it.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Personally, AZ PHIL has mentioned that HOFF is "Gold Glove Caliber" at 1st B, and hits for power - something DLEE is just not doing well right now. It would not be so bad if The Hoff gets a few more starts at 1B.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I just don't feel, that in his 60's, Lou will put a career minor leaguer (even though performing well) in a platoon situation with a former MVP and All Star.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

hoff's lack of K'ing is getting increasingly interesting as far as what kind of player he can be. sure, he's not exactly picking his pitches even though he's got some walks...he's hacking...he's just not missing as much. that said...yeah, it's probably dlee's job to lose and it's probably not going to happen in early May unless he goes on a hell of a down-turn.

"Unfortunately for Lee there's no remedy for a bulging disc and upper-neck and back pain. The only thing Lee can do is ask out of the lineup and wait for it to subside, which he refuses to do. [ ] That type of philosophy has hurt Lee as he's not the offensive player he was prior to the injury." [ ] "And although I don't know the extent of the injury to Bradley (strained right groin), he should probably pay attention to Lee's work ethic." I am confused. Is he saying Bradley should play even through his doing so would make him a poorer player, or does he think that Bradley should stay on the bench until he is fully healed?

When do we learn the DFA/Vizcaino aftermath? Will we get anything back for this move? (besides an empty roster spot?)

[ ]

In reply to by Romero

10 days from last Thursday, so I think by this coming Saturday they have to make a decision.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Thanks, Rob. Have any guesses about what comes back? (just for fun)

Has Wittenmyer "tweeted" the line-up for the game tonight?

Geez - why not Soto 8th? Or, a start for Hill. He is in an outrageous slump.

"Scrap Pack" is the Jose Vizcaino of nicknames. Serviceable but bland. "Scrappy Deux" (without the extra "-ot" mind you) is easily superior, working on more levels with surprising effect--the Doug Dascenzo of nicknames. Wither "Tiger Cubs," the clear champion of the three, full of promise but potentially diminishing with increased exposure, no doubt the Gary Scott of nicknames.

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Things I've been wrong about:

    -Tauchman is fine as a 4th OF. I knew that. I just want a better LH DH option and he was really the DH for us until Seiya got hurt. I'm glad Mervis is getting a chance at it. Caissie is coming for that job for sure. But Tauchman continues to be highly useful as a 4th OF with Seiya being hurt

    -I wanted Yency to go to get guys at Iowa a chance. Guys like Palencia and Sanders or RileyT. Maybe even Hodge! But Yency has been better the last two plus weeks. He did hit 96 the other day. He was 93 in Texas to open the season.

    -Leiter has his split working enough. It just needs to stay there

    -I was surprised Jed picked Wisdom over Cooper. I wonder if this happens if Seiya wasn't hurt. Wisdom has more power. Cooper is the better hitter. Jed picked Wisdom and Wisdom had an option left as well.

    -Palencia just doesn't miss enough bats. Similar to ManRod, just two yrs younger. ManRod is killing AAA for TB right now!

    Things I got right so far:

    -Hendricks. Sorry Kyle. You got paid though!

    Jed, you missed there.

    -Smyly. If Jed could've traded him before or during ST, then he should have and saved some cash.

    -Mastro.  Not a LH DH. Pinch runner. Defensive utility. Maybe he's better than Madrigal but didn't get a legit chance to prove it.

    -Luke Little is good. He's had one bad outing. That's it. Needs to get better entering with guys on base. But he needs to stay in MLB.

    -Oh yeah....Morel is doing fine at 3B! He'll get better as well!!

  • crunch (view)

    bellinger "right rib contusion"

  • Childersb3 (view)

    South Bend just lost the lead in the bottom of the 9th on the weirdest scenario, ever.

    It's absolutely pouring rain....men on 1st and 2nd, 1out....JPatterson asks for a new ball, but no time out was called....he throws the old ball toward the dugout (not sure if it rolled out of play).....the ump declares the runners get two bases each so one run scores. Then a single up the middle ties the game.

    The rain was coming down in buckets at this point.

    Just weird

  • crunch (view)

    ...and bellinger is gone in the 7th because of that 2nd blown chance and the wall he bounced off of...

    hopefully his rib cage/shoulder feels better tomorrow, we just got happ back.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil,

    Any thoughts on Y. Rojas' stuff and Y. Melendez's game (I believe I've asked about him before, sorry)?

  • crunch (view)

    wow, things are moving fast.  hopefully it continues.

  • crunch (view)

    morel with 4 clean plays in 4 innings...showed off his 100000000mph arm a couple times.

    cody bellinger not having a good 4th, though...5 run leads are handy when your CF is making your pitcher have a 5-out inning.  2nd blown chance was ruled a hit even though it went in/out of his glove...1st was lost in the lights, also ruled a hit.

  • crunch (view)

    welcome back happ!  double off the wall 1st PA back.

  • crunch (view)

    oh yeah, totally, i was just chiming about why i fan like i fan.

    i would like nothing more than hendricks to keep on hendricks'ing.  guys with his stuff can throw for a long, long time as long as it works.

    he velocity is actually up a minor amount this year.  it's really "damn" when a guy like him not only has gas in the tank, but it's looking like it was years ago.  he added a curve a few years ago and it helped a little bit, but he's throwing it less and less while the fb/change combo are less effective.

  • Alexander Dimm (view)

    CRUNCH—There is no one person in this community I’m talking about.  My remarks were not directed at you or anyone, but at a tone I’ve noticed lately. 

    You have a great, dry sense of humor and there is thought behind your comments.   You and I don’t always agree but I always understand your position.  

    Lastly, and I’ll be quiet, I agree with you on Hendricks.  We can dislike the recent performance but still love the guy.  Lots of questions about his future.