Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

It Was Raining Cub Home Runs: Cubs 6, Padres 4

The Cubs claimed a rain-shortened victory Wednesday night, winning behind: Ted Lilly, who pitched into the seventh inning and improved to 5-2; Alfonso Soriano, who hit his 53rd career leadoff home run; Geovany Soto, who hit his first homer of the season after 96 plate appearances; and George Herman Theriot, who banged out two home runs and now has five in the month of May. (He had seven career homers in 380 games heading into this month.)

The Cubs, now a season-high five games above .500, will go for the sweep Thursday afternoon, when Ryan Dempster (2-2, 4.98) squares off with former Cub Chad Gaudin (0-2, 4.08).

Dempster, by the way, was cleared of head-hunting charges by Major League Baseball, which determined that Dempster had not thrown at the head of Ryan Braun last Saturday at Miller Park, as the Brewers had claimed.

No closure yet on Milton Bradley's appeal to MLB, however. As Paul Sullivan points out in the Tribune, Thursday is the four-week anniversary of the Cubs/Cardinals game in which the alleged ump-bumping happened.

The Scopes Trial, pitting Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan, was decided in eight days.

Comments

Cubnut: The Cubs, now a season-high five games above .500 High water mark. Woo Hoo! Let's hope we don't see all the bench players again on getaway day from Lou. iowaCub: "Half game out of first ..." True that, but even better we are tied in the all important loss column (of course with 3 other teams). But with the injuries and slumps thus far this season, i don't think we could have expected much better.

The final rain delay was 58 minutes...I heard some discussion on the radio that the rules the umpires have recently changed, as far as how long they have before calling a game. Anyone know the current rules?

Holy balls, the Cubs are 5 games over .500? Fan reaction this year has been ridiculous. I understand expectations and how they haven't won in a long time and la-dee-dah, but man... Deep breaths, deep breaths. It will be okay. Will the Cubs make the playoffs? I don't know: There's well over 100 games left in the season. I can say Milwaukee is crap with their Suppan-as-their-ace-rotation, and Cardinals are basically Albert Pujols Plus Some Other guys. The Reds are legit, but they're young, I think they will fizzle out. It's a weak division and the Cubs have a lot of thunder in lineup. Shore up the bullpen, stay healthy and this thing will happen.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Well, allow me to retort! No actually, I won't really. Just nitpick a little. I think Milwaukee is better than crap. Sure, their rotation's nothing special but they're stacked with hitters who can carry a team and vets who can lead. Their bench and bullpen are arguably better than ours right now. If they can hold the opposition to around four runs each day, they're going to be dangerous. Especially if they pick up a Jake Peavy or something in the summer again. The Cardinals are, well, yeah, Albert Pujols and a bunch of guys. But somehow, between him, La Russa, and Duncan, that bunch of guys always seems to overachieve. If Glaus and Carpenter return and are effective for much of the season, they're going to be in the hunt as well. They too could boost their lineup or rotation. I agree that, all that said, the Cubs are the most talented team in the Central and should take the title. But of course, we're the Cubs and so we tend to underachieve. This could be more of a fight than it was last year. And last year could be the reason everyone's been a bit on edge this year -- we bolted out of the gate last year (12-4 start, IIRC) and never looked back. Hasn't been quite that easy this year.

You might have forgotten Yovani Gallardo on the Brewers? Maybe? Just a little? And hate the Cardinals all you want but they come ready to play each and every single year and I can respect that. Their players come in and do their jobs for the most part and don't stink up the joint. Well except for Khalil Greene, remember when a bunch of people on TCR wanted to replace Theriot with Greene?!?! Because you know Greene can hit with power while hitting .220? Yeah those were good times.

[ ]

In reply to by mannytrillo

See, this is one of those times where it looks like you just went out of your way to take a shot at a Cubs player. They don't even play the same position. No one said replace Fontenot with Greene. Fontenot's OPS is still 100 points higher than Greene's this year. Fontentot is off to a slow start, Greene has had a slow career; Fontenot's average last year was better than any season Greene has ever had. And to top off the non-comparison, you tried to cleverly make his last name into something bad: FontNot. If you started a new comment with something like "I'm really concerned about Fontenot's slow start, I hope he gets it going." People would probably respond favorably and we'd have a good dialogue about why he is struggling, if we think it will last, etc. Instead you just take cheap shots at the Cubs all the time, then get defensive when people challenge you on them.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

If a Cubs player deserves a shot to be taken at them, then so be it. If they are playing bad, I will point it out and if they are playing good I say that too. Again, I praise players just as much when they do well, people just don't want to remember those times. Fontenot is struggling this year and I thought it was an interesting comparison as he also currently is a middle IF, has a low average, but with pop. You didn't like the comparison, which you made valid points on, and that is cool. And people would NOT respond favorably to me if I started it out differently. Trust Me! I intentionally tried conforming to how people wanted me to be for a few months on here 2 years ago (2007 season) and it didn't work. People want to think what they want of me, and that is cool. I just want to talk Cubs. I am not going to to get into this conversation again. So I am done talking about me. And hopefully people don't respond to this post and carry on the needless conversation. But I do appreciate you posting what you did in a non confrontational and not personally attacking way. Go Cubs!!

The Cincinnati Reds... #2. Possible wildcard. Believe it. And Andrew, excellent work on the Pulp Fiction reference. Great movie. But regarding Milwaukee: Pitching is what wins. Milwaukee goes nowhere. The Cardinals have that look of a team that is on the verge of rebuilding. Who is their second best player not injured? I couldn't even tell you. Duncan maybe? F'real, they are one Albert Pujols injury away from fighting the Astros for last in the division. La Russa is nice, but he doesn't take the field every day.

Uh oh, Soto on WSCR interview right now... WSCR: "What's gotten into Theriot?" Soto: "Ohh, you know, he's always had a little juice uhh a little pop, you know..." Theriot's secret revealed.

[ ]

In reply to by mannytrillo

I think Soto is just saying what you say about your teammates. But now that Theriot has a few years under his belt of batting righty and has established himself as an opposite field hitter, is it unreasonable to think that it is possible (only possible, not likely our inevitable) that he might adjust to how he is pitched by pulling a few pitches and maybe even learning a little bit (only a little, not a lot or a ton) about how to drive the ball? The guy is 5'11" and listed at 175 pounds. That's plenty big enough to hit a few homeruns, if he decides to not slap the ball during EVERY at bat.

I have stated many times here that imo, LaRussa is the best in the business. A baseball innovator - and somehow, with injuries, DEATHS, DUIs, and lower money to play around with from the GM - his teams are always in it. I am jealous, and I hate him - but its a fact. Duncan has taken "washed-up" pitchers and made them servicable, or "good". The Cubs have a $140MM payroll, and I believe, based on this, should damn well finish in the upper division of the Central - at least! Still, from 1-5, our starting pitching staff - even without Jake Peavy - is the best in the NL. It is beyond that which is scary: Neal Cotts! Patton. Up-Down-Heilman. Gregg. Still a long season. And, do not forget who manages the Reds.

Ya, gotta give LaRussa his props but Pujols is the key. ---- Agreed. It reminds me of Dusty's (pre-Cub) managerial experience riding BB. Not implying Pujols drinking apple juice, just that he's the most dangerous hitter of the time. It can go a long way (so to speak). but LaRussa/Duncan does get a lot out of castoffs and less talent than almost all other managers/pitching coaches.

Do any of the good doctors out there have any thoughts on the implications of the fact that ARam is still in pain? Baseball Prospectus is saying that this means surgery is almost inevitable. I don't know if Sheehan has any medical basis for this, but if it's accurate, his time out could be extended. Thanks.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeVail

Here's the Will Carroll comment on ARam (also I did reply briefly with post #37). It's clear WC is just a reporter and when I read some of his writings, I'm not so sure that he does justice to the details regarding the medical terminology, anatomy or surgical concepts in what his sources tell him. It reminds me of trying to describe surgical anatomy to lawyers, there is just something that often gets lost in translation. I'm sure he tries to understand this material as his niche is that of a sports-medical reporter, it's just that he seems to jump the tracks at times. I remember some back and forth stuff with him on TCR when I wrote about #22's shoulder surgery. I mentioned capsular thermal shrinking for a congenitally lax capsule but that isn't done as the primary procedure when the anterior capsule is torn off the front of the socket/glenoid (aka a Bankart lesion). Back then he was trying to describe capsular shifts (there are several techniques) vs Bankart repairs (also several techniques) if I recall it correctly. Now he's talking thermal capsular tightening for ARam (in the offseason) which is quite a stretch of speculation (pun intended). Thermal shrinking of the shoulder only makes sense after repairing any torn Bankart anatomy (ie, what is torn off the glenoid) and the shoulder capsule remains very lax. Saying it has it's downside (doesn't any operation?), does it imply that the other options don't have downside (or consider it a no comment on them having more/less downside)? They all obviously have risk/downside. Any of the options that tighten a shoulder capsule can be over-tightened or stretch out or re-tear. Number 22 is now a case in point as most all of the above happened unfortunately. I'm pretty confident to say that there is no literature that indicates pain leaving in less than (or more than) a week (Friday will be 1 week) has any predictive value for future instability or time to recovery. Although a younger person who has had multiple dislocations does have a high rate of recurrence, that doesn't mean he will have a recurrence, especially if he's compliant with appropriate exercises for the front of the shoulder from here on out. Of course if he returns and has another hyperextension trauma it can re-dislocate but as the capsule gets more stretched out (and easier to reduce in subsequent dislocations, as the tissues are "pre-stretched" and less new tissue damage occurs) from repeat dislocations the shoulder can get progressively less stable and therefore becomes more reasonable to offer surgical stabilization procedures. Also, if he has a bony defect (Bankart or Hill-Sachs) the anatomy can be less stable but the media reporting on his post-reduction MRI didn't say there was any associated bony lesions. There is some recent literature that suggests to position the shoulder in slight external rotation (with a modified sling) rather than the conventional arm sling position as this reapproximates the anterior shoulder tissues to a more anatomic location for healing, although that data is still soft. http://tinyurl.com/pcdrw3 I think the severity of pain may be more of an indicator that ARam's shoulder injury was more reminiscent of a first time dislocation (since it was almost 9-10 years since the previous episode). But again, it's not been shown that intensity of (subjective) pain correlates with any prognostic value as to time to heal or type of surgical considerations down the road. --- Aramis Ramirez (60 DXL) Ramirez is still in pain, and that says a lot about how serious the dislocation that he suffered last Friday actually was. He is eventually going to need some sort of capsular tightening, a surgical procedure that's exactly what it sounds like, though there are several ways to accomplish that goal. Surgeons differ on how they prefer to do it, with the "thermal" version being the most popular, but it has its downsides. The Cubs still believe that he'll be back in six weeks, but all signs point to a more extensive stay unless the pain leaves quickly and some reasonable stability returns to the joint. At this stage, the likelihood of a recurrence is through the roof. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8871

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

"It reminds me of trying to describe surgical anatomy to lawyers, there is just something that often gets lost in translation." Dr. Hecht -- Having formerly worked as an attorney in personal injury and Worker's Comp. cases, I know there was a lot that got lost in the translation for me, and I generally understood more than many attorneys about these things. I always found shoulder injuries and their surgical procedures more difficult to get my head around than those for knees, elbows, wrists and spinal joints. Thus, my frustration with some of the simplistic and conclusory statements made by many people about the condition of Kerry Wood's and #22's shoulder joints. It just ain't that simple, folks. I struck me that Will Carroll's statement, "He is eventually going to need some sort of capsular tightening" without more supporting evidence or authority to be quite a leap. I.e., I can't tell if that is Will Carroll's opinion, the opinion of a particular doctor, or the conclusion Will Carroll came to after consulting with a doctor(s) or otherwise. Personally, I'd like to know what he bases this statement on. Just my thoughts.

Rob G., I have a problem when I click to reply to a post and I click down in the text box to start typing but it either doesn't let me type sometimes or depending on what keys I am hitting it does some funky stuff like go back to a previous page or something. It is really annoying and am just wondering if it is only me (if it is no jokes anyone!) or if other peep have the same problem. Thanks!

[ ]

In reply to by mannytrillo

I've had that the same problem as Manny. Also using Firefox on a PC. Seems to be that if the page is not completely loaded yet and I hit backspace, I'll go back to the previous page. I hit the "Go forward" icon in Firefox and I go back to where I was with no text lost, but it is very annoying. Glad to know I'm not the only one.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

not much I can do about it then...does seem like a Firefox bug. Now that i tried to hit backspace before the page fully loaded it did the same for me...and Andrew has kindly provided the workaround. Either wait for the page to load fully or just hit the forward button on your browser if it happens. Or type slower and don't make mistakes....

Another steal of home in the bigs (Michael Bourne of HOU). I think that is #4 this year. If I heard right I think there were only 5 all of last year. Cuuld be wrong, please correct me if anyone knows. Trivia question: Who has the most career steals of home plate in MLB history? ***See if you can get it without looking for the answer.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

I hated sitting Bradley today mostly because his bat is starting to heat up, so why risk throwing off his timing by sitting him for a day when he's already had plenty of rest? And it's great that RJ had some nice hits today, but for this team to succeed over the long haul, Milton Bradley needs to play a big part. If he can boost his confidence and perfect his timing against a shitty pitcher with the wind howling out, I'm all for it. Off-topic: Bobby Scales is fucking awesome. Obviously he's not going to hit .400+ all year, but it's great to see him making the most out of this opportunity.

Kudos to Demp. TErrific game - he looked really sharp. RBI single and double as well! And, he is undergoing tremendous personal agony with his infant daughter. Very impressive win (I'm assuming) today - bottom 7 as I write. Ascanio will get the hill in the 8th. Who knows - Cotts could even pitch!

Padres Fire Sale: If, again, IF the Pads continue to play at this rate, and a fire sale develops , one guy I wouldn't mind having is Cla (missing Y) Meredith. Side-arm, RH, effective reliever. Actually, during the run last year, I believe he was available and Hendry passed in favor of Howry.

in case anyone missed it...bradley was in the dugout in mid/late game wearing the catcher's gear. it seemed to go over well in the dugout on the humor factor...i wonder where the joke started on that one.

Kenney and Hendry think they're staying if/when this sale gets done.. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-14-mitchell-may1… "I'm sure they had to sign off on [my contract]," Hendry said. "In this job your role is pretty much established in what you have to do. I spent a little time with [the Ricketts] and we have some mutual friends from our past in Omaha and my Creighton [coaching] days. But we haven't had any chats at all about job descriptions."

Nice little game here. The Padres are really BAD but sweeping them feels good. Really the best part about the game was that Gaudin walked 7 and we don't have to hear any whining about how Gaudin should have been kept. Now its up to Vizcaino to suck in Cleveland and we won't have to hear about that. Scales has been pretty amazing. I expected him to be on the team about 2 days, but of course the Ramirez injury happened. He reminds of me Dwight Smith who was a high energy guy and left handed hitter. Smitty was always one of my favorites.

Astute comment, Jeff Pico. Like Scales, Smith was a loose-limbed lefty (I know Scales switch hits) with a line-drive stroke. I wish I knew what happened (off the field?) to some of the key guys from the 1989 team- especially Smith and Walton- because that was the one Cubs team built from within the organization (Maddux, Girardi/Berryhill, Grace, Smith, Walton). I really thought they'd be good for a while. By the way, given your handle and time frame, you are a true long-suffering Cub fan. Me, I got to see Jenkins/Williams/Santo/Hundley/Hands/Regan/Beckert/Kessinger/Holtzman-- so my expectations were for the Cubs to WIN. You were a Cub fan who cheered for Jeff Pico and Rick Wilkins.

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In reply to by Jeff_Pico

1989 was my first real year following as a kid. I too had great hopes for those guys. I still watch the Boys of Zimmer VHS from time-to-time. If I recall from coverage back then, Walton got lazy, thought he didn't have to work anymore after his ROY season. I remember stories about him being cocky and out of shape, and not making adjustments. Smith was a pretty decent fourth outfielder and pinch hitter until he was 32, so he had a pretty good career, and I think that was probably reflective of his skill level. The other guy who had a career year was Bielecki. He ended up spot-starting and pitching in the pen until he was 37, but that 18-7 season was a freak of nature.

I am loving this Bobby Scales story as long as he can play it out. Considering we have "starters" hitting barely above, or below, the Mendoza line, this 31 year old rookie, is wonderful to root for. At least that's how I feel. Truly, it is actually inspiring to those - whatever the vocation - who want to go after the "dream". And, they guy is a Substitute Teacher in his hometown, in the off-season! Could you imagine?! "Mr. Scales - why is OBP important?"

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Well there's no secret to why he's had success in the big leagues. He has real nice bat control, he keeps his hands back. It's just a real sweet swing all around. He's not going to hit .400+ once pitchers adjust to him and I think he'll struggle especially against the top-notch pitchers, but he'll be a better-than-average hitter. And I said it before we even seen him play his first game with the Chicago Cubs this year: "I think we'll come to love Bobby Scales". Also, this is a lesson on why minor league stats sometimes lie. Pie has a trainwreck of a swing that is somehow effective against AAA pitching, but once he gets to the bigs he's flailing his bat around like a little leaguer. Then you have guys like Theriot & Scales who actually know how to hit and they come up to the big leagues and survive.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s a fantastic deal for SF

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?