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, 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
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Hurl Sack

Submitted by CubbyBlue on

But sometimes in the depths of semi-disaster, one can find inspiration.
This is a new product I figure would sell like hot cakes.
New Cubs Hurl Sacks®.
You know that queasy feeling you get watching the Cubs, and it's ohh, say the
7th and they're clinging to a tiny lead and in comes, well...any one of the Cubs relievers.
Wouldn't it be great to have a Kleenex-sized box of barf bags at the ready, on the side table right next to your frosty cold one?
"Wow" says Bob Brenly, "Marmol is missing the plate by SIX INCHES."
"Ball three." says Len.
Right about now you could just pull out a handy Hurl Sack®, open her up and start gagging.
"He walked him and the bases are loaded."
EARRLLL.
"Lou's gonna visit the mound."
BUUUIIIICCCCCKKK.
"He's calling for Aaron Heilman." RAAAAALLLLLPPPPPPHHHHHHH.
"No, wait. He wants Gregg."
And finally, you know, just let it rip.
Upchuck.
Regurgitate.
Toss your Cracker Jacks.
All without ever leaving the comfort of your couch!
All without any mess!
Plus, I guess you could do Yankee Hurl Sacks® or Padre Hurl Sacks® - any team would work.
Man, this is seriously a good idea.
Scott Boras, if you're reading this, gimme a call.
I think I'm gonna need an agent.

Tim Souers is the illustrator and author of Cubby Blue and appreciates the opportunity to guest blog here at The Cub Reporter.
http://www.cubby-blue.com

Tags
Cubby Blue

Comments

Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:29 am

Nice painting. The reason you may be sick, though, is you're apparently prone to drinking Bud products.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:40 am

a quick thank you to Tim for honoring our site with his awesome artwork and insights. We hope it becomes a semi-regular thing...so be nice everyone. TCR gets a 20% split on all hurl sack sales. :)

[ ]

Submitted by Wes on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:12 pm

HI! BILLY MAYS HERE FOR THE CUBS HURL SACK! The Cubs Hurl Sack is the convienent, safe way to vomit during Cubs baseball. The secret is in the odor-eating blue pinstripes. It's the polite, sanitary way to vomit in your own seat! If you call now, we'll give you the Cubs Hurl Sack for just $19.99. BUT, WAIT! THERE'S MORE! I'M GOING TO DOUBLE THE OFFER! That's TWO Cubs Hurl Sacks for just $19.99. BUT I'M STILL NOT DONE! If you call now, we'll give you the vomit inducing Old Style Beer, a $7 value, ABSOLUTELY FREE! Just pay seperate shipping and handling. So, you get two Cubs Hurl Sacks and the Old Style Beer FOR JUST 19 DOLLARS AND 99 CENTS. CALL NOW! HERE'S HOW TO ORDER! All those caps are almost as annoying as actually watching Billy Mays on TV. Wasn't sure that would translate very well, but it sure did.

Submitted by therealwt on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:03 am

Awesome product. Would like to suggest one to compliment the agressive side of all Cub fans' passive-agressive natures. A mini-Gatorade machine with a mini-bat so you can beat it all to hell when the bullpen is called up or when Soto can't put down a bunt or practically almost any other moment this season.

Submitted by Tito on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:26 am

A Cubs parachute for ledge-jumpers.

Submitted by Jace on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:33 am

Wow, I don't think I have ever seen Buick associated with puking before. I think that's pretty damn funny!

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:07 pm

speaking of the sale...uh oh

The Sports Business Journal has multiple sources saying the exclusive negotiating period between the Tribune Co. and Cubs bidder Tom Ricketts expired last month. The Tribune entered exclusive negotiations with Ricketts in January, when the company selected him over two other bidders to buy the Cubs, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in regional cable network Comcast SportsNet.

There was no comment from representatives for Ricketts or the Tribune.

According to the SBJ article, the problem appears to be the level of involvement Tribune's WGN would have in the Cubs post-sale. WGN has been paying below market rates for broadcast rights to the games, and Ricketts wants that to change, sources said. The Tribune side has said that the terms bidders agreed to in November outlined WGN's role, the sources said.

What is not at issue is Ricketts' financing for the deal, the sources said. Another SBJ source expressed optimism a deal would be done soon, saying it would be hard for Tribune to go back out to the market looking for another buyer. Ricketts has his debt and equity lined up for the $900 million offer, though he is seeking up to a $50 million price reduction because of the WGN issue.

http://muskat.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/06/sbj_snag_in_cubs_sale.html

 

[ ]

Submitted by Paul Noce on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:46 pm

I believe they've already said the exact details of the TV/Radio deal were not known until farther into the process, which is why Ricketts is throwing a fit. His side has issued a statement that WGN is underpaying by 40-50 million per season for their TV/Radio rights. That didn't matter when it was the same owner, but why should a new owner put an extra 40-50 million per year into Zell's greedy hands? Zell's angle on all this is incredible. Not only does he want a fortune for the deal, but he wants it to fit into his sneaky ways so he doesn't have to pay taxes on a 1 billion dollar transaction. Let's stop and think about that. Zell is the same as the shitty CEO's that have helped do their part to destroy our economy. He guts companies, fires thousands of employees, then sells off the parts to line his pockets with no regard for anyone but his bottom line. Now he's so greedy he refuses to pay taxes on his billion dollar profits. He's a scumbag.

[ ]

Submitted by navigator on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:37 pm

It's hardly news that the Cubs and Trib-owned entities have sweetheart deals. Every bidder knew or should have known this... e.g. BP commented on the Cubs situation back in 2005
As the late great Doug Pappas reported two years ago, the Cubs regularly report less local media revenue than their crosstown rival White Sox, despite the fact that until this October you couldn't find a White Sox fan in Chicago with Google Earth. From there, let's allow sports economist Andy Zimbalist to pick up the story, from his book "May the Best Team Win": So, what's going on? The Cubs are owned by the Tribune Corporation, which happens also to own WGN. The Tribune Corporation transfers revenue away from the Cubs and correspondingly lowers the costs of WGN. According to Broadcasting & Cable, the industry's authoritative source, the Cubs' local media earnings were $59 million. [In 2001; by 2003 this figure was $63 million. -ND] If the Cubs had reported this figure instead of $23.6 million, then their reported $1.8 million loss would have become a $33.6 million profit in 2001!

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:30 pm

well neat...

but pretty much what Neal said, if the timeline that has been reported has been correct, books were opened up to potential buyers sometime last spring/summer and then Trib negotiated their own deal in the fall, most likely w/o asking or telling Rickets the exact details of what they were negotiating with themselves. 

Of course without being in the room for any of this, it's impossible to know exactly what was known and not known at what time, but considering Rickets has wanted to own the Cubs all his life, he's probably risking jeopardizing the deal for good reason.

[ ]

Submitted by Mister Whipple on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:16 pm

When purchasing real estate, this is typically what title insurance is used for--to verify that no liens have arisen that don't yet show up on a title search for the buyer to be able to see. With a business deal like this, there is no way of verifying what is going on behind the closed doors of the company you're buying after the snapshot of the books and legal commitments that have been revealed as of a particular date. This is why Rickets I'm sure has a clause that allows him to walk away from the deal in the event that something like this happens...which it clearly has and he seems to be threatening to do just that. Ultimately it's terribly unprofessional unless it's a negotiative strategy wherein you're trying to see if you can negotiate the deal to a different conclusion wherein this new commitment discounts the price by less than what the deal gains you on its flipside. Without knowing too much about this deal, I would guess that if this is the reason, the primary concern was that the deal with Rickets may fall apart and this deal in some way lessens the long term risks in the event of a postponed or renegotiated sale. In that event it certainly wouldn't demonstrate a lot of good faith on the part of the seller and regardless of value to the deal could torpedo the whole thing by eroding the buyer's trust. This is pure speculation, mind you. That or Zells folks are dirty scoundrels who assumed that Rickets' attorneys would be too dumb to notice this. Stranger things have happened in larger deals than this.

Submitted by Cubster on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:02 pm

right now Guzman >> Marmol, even with the same work load. (thankful for the TCR bullpen usage chart)

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:37 pm

patton, waddell, and asscan can only be pitched once a week or it'll disturb the multi-player monopoly game they have going on. they're already mad they've had to replace k.hill's player with waddell. marmol, gregg, and guzman can keep holding those "down by 2-5 runs" games within a few solo shots by soriano.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:32 pm

anyone know a site or way to slice and dice historical team records? Like if I wanted to find out the Cubs record versus the Mets over the years? each decade? @ Wrigley...etc. Besides going year by year through BR.com... Maybe it's somewhere else on BR.com, but can't seem to find it.

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:57 pm

When I was looking at the Cubs records over the years, I was thinking about how easy it used to be to make the world series (win a 8 team division), compared to now. Then I was thinking about how much bigger the leagues are then they used to be. Then I came upon a sort of startling thought about parity between the two leagues. It used to be that the AL was bigger (14 teams) and the NL always won the All-Star game. Now the NL is bigger (16 teams) and the AL always wins the all-star game. Which seems counter-intuitive, because a bigger pool should mean more good players to choose from. And the AL has been kicking the NL's ass for several years in interleague, so there's no real debate about which is the better league. Lots of people want to point to the Yankees, but what if it's more simple than that. In the NL you've got a 4 in 16 chance of making the playoffs (roughly) a 2 in 16 chance of making the championship series and a 1 in 16 chance of making the world series, and finally a 1 in 32 chance of winning the world series (assuming all things are equal). Lets say that the playoffs makes you $10 million, the CS $2 million, the WS $5 million and winning it all $10 million. The average AL team would make about $.5 million more a year in that scenario (not looking at divisions which would make it a little more in the AL team's favor). Maybe that money goes part of the way in explaining the disparity in the league records and all star games. And you're welcome.

[ ]

Submitted by waveland on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:14 pm

That difference is negligible. A better indicator would be comparing average payrolls for the AL and NL over the last couple of years. The AL outspends the NL by a considerable margin. The lowest payroll in the AL? Athletics $62,310,000 The lowest payroll in the NL? Marlins $36,814,000 Three other teams in the NL also come in lower than the A's

[ ]

Submitted by John Beasley on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:42 pm

Another equalizing factor, at least over the last 4-8 years, has been that the very best-run small-market franchises - Minnesoat, Oakland and recently Tampa - are all in the AL. It isn't too tough for most big-market teams to buy competitiveness, but the differences between the small markets of each league has been pronounced this decade.

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:22 pm

Yes, but are they the best franchises because they're in the playoffs or are they in the playoffs because they're the best? I wouldn't throw Tampa Bay in with those others. Give MN and Oakland 8 years of top 8 picks, then you'll see some good teams.

Submitted by Dmac on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:14 pm

"I don't see anything wrong with Ricketts position on this." I agree, Ricketts should be able to put the contract up for a fully open bidding process, and let the best broadcast bid win. This type of arrangement is becoming more exposed over the past few years - NBC was outed by none other than David Duchovney, who sued them for a greater share of royalties from "The X - Files" reruns on USA cable network. It turned out that NBC was selling the rerun rights at below - market rates to USA, primarily because they also happened to own most of that network as well.

Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:24 pm

Cardinals losing 4-2 in the 7th inning. Harden pitching rehab assignment tonight. Ho-hum. Off day.

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:06 pm

Rockies, behind Jason Marquis (8-4, 3.98), win to finish a 4-game sweep of the Cards in St. Louis. Woo!

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:05 pm

Marquis now leads the NL in wins while pitching for a losing team. Funny stuff. Somebody please tell Geo to hit to RF -- everyone is pitching him away, he tries to pull everything....DP grounder to short.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:28 pm

it's that kinda season. marmol also dressed up in disguise and threw 20 pitches of relief in the COL game in order to stay in game shape.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:18 pm

in All-Star voting...Ibanez moves to the top of the NL list, as does Jimmy Rollins. Phils must have had a bunch of home games before the deadline. Seems like they're a week behind counting these.

Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:10 pm

Harden goes 4.2 IP, 6 K, 1 ER for Iowa. I'm hoping he was pulled after 4.2 because of a pitch count or something... 70 pitches. In other news Miles goes 0-5 with 3 strikeouts for Iowa. They're going to get fed up with him pretty soon and send him down to Tennessee. Nobody liked Miles when he was signed, nobody likes him now. It's as if Hendry is the only person in the world who liked the idea of signing Aaron Freaking Miles. It's so irritating. I know they can't put together 25 all-stars, but why put a guy in the lineup who is an automatic out? For the same batting average I'd much rather have Blanco playing and at least see some flashy defense.

Submitted by Mike Wellman on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:50 pm

I saw Harden tonight; will post my observations in the morning...

[ ]

Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:51 pm

Dude? Major d*** tease. At least tell us he was just pulled because of a pitch count and not another injury.

Submitted by Mike Wellman on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:09 pm

No injury! He was free & easy; just don't have time for more right now - don't worry!

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 06:13 pm

Geovany Soto had a breakthrough season last year, earning National League Rookie of the Year honors, but has regressed in '09. Micah Hoffpauir is contributing in a limited role, while Jake Fox, recently called up after tearing up the Pacific Coast League, can't find his way into the Cubs' lineup. Ryan Theriot has been consistent at short but lacks the dominant offensive numbers to make him an impact player. At this point, it appears that the top position player drafted by the Cubs in the last decade was an obscure catcher selected in the 38th round of the 2002 draft. That catcher turned out to be Randy Wells, now one of the most dominating rookie pitchers in the National League.

I love you Paul Sullivan...you make all us bloggers look smart.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 06:17 am

Cubs 2005 6th round pick 3B Kyle Reynolds (son of ex-MLB SS Craig Reynolds) has been released after "hitting" just 150/195/252 with 30 K and only two HR in 114 PA (combined) between Tennessee and Iowa, making room on the AAA Iowa roster for INF Luis Rivas, who was reactivated after spending the last six weeks on the DL with a hamstring injury. Rivas had three hits (a single, a double, and a HR) and four RBI in a rehab start at Fitch Park last Friday. As for Reynolds, he hit 21 HR combined between Daytona and Tennessee in 2007, but he's been going strictly backward ever since.

With the release of Reynolds, only three players selected and signed by the Cubs out of the 2005 draft remain in the organization (LHP Jayson Ruhlman and RHP Jake Muyco at AA Tennessee, and OF Dylan Johnston at Daytona).

2005 #1 pick LHP Mark Pawelek was released in Spring Training (he is now in the Cincinnati Reds organization), #2 pick LHP Donald Veal was selected by the Pirates in last December's Rule 5 Draft, and #3 pick RHP Mark Holliman was selected by the Brewers in the AAA Phase of last December's Rule 5 Draft.

Catcher Michael Brenly was selected by the Cubs in the 43rd round of the 2005 draft but did not sign (instead opting to attend UNLV), although the Cubs did draft him again last year and he did sign at that time.

By comparison, 17 of the players drafted & signed by the Cubs in the 2006 draft are still in the organization.

[ ]

Submitted by John Beasley on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 06:25 am

Wow. So not only did the Cubs flub the entire draft that year, but our top three guys are now all with other teams in the division. Cubbery.

Submitted by John Beasley on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 06:30 am

There appears to be an interview with Tim Wilken about the '09 draft at Inside the Ivy, but it's premium-only, so if anyone has a subscription there, a summation would be just wonderful.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 06:52 am

I've got a draft preview coming up sometime today....would have been this morning, but too much wine last night and I deleted the bulk of my work.

As for the article, it's a whole lot of nothing....he basically says the commish office is cracking down about talking about individual players so there's no tease as to who they'll pick. Otherwise, likes athletes from the middle of the diamond (CF, SS), drafts the best player available regardless of position and if there is a need in the system it's left-handed pitching. He does feel they're pretty well stocked at catcher and shortstop. No real blue chip catching prospects in the system necessarily, but good depth and not like there's a big-time catching prospect in the draft this year that they could grab. 

Submitted by Ryno on Tue, 06/09/2009 - 06:09 am

Wow, for someone who very recently put a WS-winning team together, Kenny Williams is kind of baseball-stupid.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    cubs getting crazy good at not having player moves leak.

    taillon we 100% know is pitching tonight.  who he's replacing and any additional moves are unknown as far as i can tell.

    p.wisdom was not in today's lineup in iowa (rained out) and he was removed from the game last night mid-game, but not for injury.  good bet he's with the team in the bigs, too.

  • 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? 

Click HERE for the last 50 comments