Cubs MLB Roster

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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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




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Rule 5 Draft 
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Gathright for Freel Done

Submitted by Rob G. on

UPDATE: If I understand this correctly, the offical deal is the Cubs getting Ryan Freel and $2.6 or $2.7M from the Orioles for Joey Gathright. The O's would then pay the rest of Gathright's contract (about $670K), thus making it "cash-neutral" as Rosenthal described as Freel was owed about $3.3M on his $4M deal for 2009.

 

I guess the O's really did want to get rid of Ryan Freel as Rosenthal is now reporting that deal has been made...Joey Gathright for Ryan Freel.

The deal is cash-neutral, according to one source. The Cubs will pay the balance of Gathright's $800,000 salary for 2009 with the O's paying the balance of Freel's — about $3.3 million (ed note - Freel's 2009 deal was for $4M total).

If that source is correct, then an absolute no-brainer for the Cubs as Freel can play the outfield and a few infield positions at the same cost for the Cubs. Freel also gives the Cubs a right-handed bench option that they'd be missing, whenever a walk or a single might be needed.

 

Besides his little friend Farney, Freel also brings a rap sheet with him...a DUI offense in Kentucky in 2005 and then "disorderly intoxication" during a bachelor party in Tampa, FL in January of 2006. He's also a magnet for concussions.

 

On the other hand, Christie Freel is part of the package as well.

 

 

 

Soriano, Theriot, Fukudome, Ramirez, Hoffpauir, Bradley, Fontenot, Hill and Randy Wells tonight versus Weeks, Hart, Braun, Fielder, Cameron, Hardy, Hall, Kendall and Dave Bush.

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Comments

Submitted by Mike Vail on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:25 pm

Okay, maybe I should change my name to doom and gloom. Freel is just one concussion away from having to quit playing. This is just another Meh trade imho. We need some bullpen help and Mark DeRosa, come back: all is forgiven. The Freel trade reeks of Dusty-like desperation. Meh.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:31 pm

This is better than just eating Gathright's salary. If in fact we don't have to pay any of Freel's this is a good trade. It won't be a big help to the team (and DeRosa is a much better option than Freel), but at least it gives Lou some flexibility and we won't be seeing Koyie Hill at 3rd base anymore.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:37 pm

not jumping down your throat, but the dero talk just needs to die. the guy deserves and is a starter...he was either gonna start for the cubs and have fontenot ride pine waiting for injury or he was gonna be traded away with fontenot sliding in. dero's flexibility would have been nice, but the guy deserves to start. yes, the cubs paid for him and they could do whatever they want with him, but hendry and co. would have issues in the future with FA's signing in dero's range for dero's years if they rode him for 300-400ab's after what he did the past 2 seasons. of course, many would be just fine having fontenot ride pine...i, personally, think fontenot is ready for 2nd and doing a good job. why he's playing 3rd so much...no comment...cuz it's not a good comment.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:33 pm

Freel later said that Farney's name arose from a conversation with Reds trainer Mark Mann: "He actually made a comment like, 'How are the voices in your head?' 'What's the guy's name?' I said, 'Let's call him Farney.' So now everybody's like, 'Run, Farney, run' or 'Let Farney hit today. You're not hitting very well.'"[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_freel wscr says Farney has an mlb.com e-mail address

Submitted by Paul Noce on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:40 pm

I agree with others that it's better than just eating Gathright's salary, which had to be done after last night's trainwreck defense. How much Freel has left is questionable, but it's a good gamble for no increase in salary. If he stinks, cut him.

Submitted by Paul Noce on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:02 pm

Tribune says Freel doesn't have to be activated until Saturday. Gathright was sent down and Wells called up before the trade, so they are supposedly ok for Friday. Scales will almost certainly be the guy sent down, but he had to be thinking he was going down to make room for Wells anyway.

Submitted by Romero on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:10 pm

Interesting deal. Makes me wonder a few things: 1. Why did the O's want to get rid of Freel so badly? 2. Is it because his numbers the past few seasons kind of suck? 3. How much of a clubhouse influence will Farney be? 4. Freel might be an upgrade over Gathright, but is Freel a better option than Scales? 5. Will Felix Pie start calling Joey Gathright "Farney"? 6. Who is next to eat a dick?

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:41 pm

Submitted by Wes on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 3:59pm.
Not 100% sure on the rules here, and maybe AZ Phil or dave or somebody can help me out here...

I believe a player on the DL has to be activated before the trade goes through unless you get some kind of special exemption from the commissioner.

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

WES: A player on an MLB DL can be traded, but he cannot be reactivated until he has served the minimum time required.

In the case of Ryan Freel, he was placed on the Orioles 15-day DL on April 21st and has been on a minor league rehab assignment since April 27th, so he should be ready to play immediately.

And although he was added to the Cubs Reserve List (40-man roster) as soon as the trade was completed, the Cubs have 72 hours to place him on the Active List (25 man roster).

And a slight clarification on something Rob G mentioned in another post about Gathright earlier today....

Gathright did not have the right to refuse an outright assignment to the minors because he had accrued at least five years of MLB service time. Actually, a player can refuse an outright assignment to the minors once he has accrued at least three years of MLB service time, or if the player had been previously outrighted in his career. So Gathright had the right to refuse an outright assignment to the minors because he has accrued three-plus years of MLB service time (he had 3.064 MLB ST coming into the 2009 season)

Players with at least five years of MLB service time can refuse an OPTIONAL assignment to the minors, but since Gathright has not yet accrued five years of MLB service time, and since he is out of minor league options anyway, that rule isn't relevant in this particular case

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:16 pm

arod's gonna pay the price, much like the rest of the roiders. ...loss of job, shunning of the baseball community, having to find new work, making way for the clean players to take their place over those that used drugs to keep them out of a fair shot at a job... it's a new era and all these guys paid a huge price for it. ...wait... i hope every f'n roider gets in the hall of fame and they put a picture of the team's owner and bud selig up beside every single one of them.

Submitted by Jeff_Pico on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:25 pm

If I were an Oriole fan I would be pretty pissed that they keep getting the Cubs rejects. As for Freel? Who knows. I should never call a player completely washed up after seeing what Edmonds did with us last year. Just have to see how he does in whatever amount of playing time he gets. Freel was great when he was healthy 5 or 6 years ago.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:27 pm

The Orioles apparently kicked in more than $1 million to even out the scales, which is why the trade required approval from the Commissioner's Office before it could be approved and announced. (Hopefully it's more like $3M which would make the trade more $$ neutral) ------ Note below, Freel recently failed an Impact test as referenced in the mlb.com article below (for post-concussion eval). For those who want to know what is exactly included in an impact test...here is a link: http://www.impacttest.com/testmodules.php --------------------------------- new update on the mlb.com site wrt the Freel-Gathright trade. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090508&content_id=4625566&vke… The Orioles apparently kicked in more than $1 million to even out the scales, which is why the trade required approval from the Commissioner's Office before it could be approved and announced. Freel, who had been on the disabled list with a head injury, will go to Chicago along with a significant cash amount designed to even out the team's obligations. Andy MacPhail, Balitmore's president of baseball operations, said that the deal took around four days to complete and that both the Cubs and Orioles were trying to fix an organizational surplus. Freel had one game scratched because he couldn't pass an impact test, and he sat out both ends of a rain-strewed doubleheader for Double-A Bowie this week. "It's just one of those star-crossed things," said MacPhail. "Ryan and I talked a couple times, and he saw himself more as a National League player. Double-switch, get to play there more than he did here.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:33 pm

Freel on the DL, not saving any money on the deal...bleh Not a big deal...appears to be garbage for garbage. Better than just sending Gathright down though.

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Submitted by mannytrillo on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:26 pm

big_low: "Huh? What money did you want to save?" The first report I read it seemed like the Cubs were going to net save some money. But like many first reports that was not 100% accurate. big_low: "They are not spending any more money, and got a better, more versatile player." Agree 100%. I even mentioned that earlier in the thread (you must have just accidentally missed that). Unfortunately though, Freel is on the DL right now. big_low: "But no surprise that you would criticize it..." I wouldn't say I criticized it, I, just like at least a few other posters, just aren't that excited about it. Like I said it is better than just eating Gathright's salary by sending him down to Iowa. But I would rather have DeRosa. But hey, what the hell am I doing posting here with the Cubs winning two in a row, right? Go Cubs! Go Wells!

Submitted by Romero on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 05:09 pm

Hey guys-- Am watching on Gameday-- can someone tell me what happened with Ramirez? Please GOD tell me he's not seriously injured.

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

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