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, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* 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
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Send Down Hart and Waddell, Recall Stevens

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

The Cubs have optioned RHP Kevin Hart and LHP Jason Waddell to AAA Iowa, and have (apparently) recalled RHP Jeff Stevens from the same club. The Stevens move will not be made official until just prior to tomorrow's game, so something could conceivably happen in the meantime to alter things.

link

Hart got the start in Wednesday's game versus the Braves and pitched fairly well (allowing just one run over five innings), although he did take the loss. Waddell had been on the Cubs 15-DL for the past three weeks with an undisclosed non-baseball related issue.

Since the Cubs will not need a 5th starter again until a week from Tuesday, Hart will be able to get a start at Iowa (probably next Thursday) before he willl be needed again in the Cubs MLB rotation on 7/21. And Stevens will be able to pitch all three days this weekend, whereas Hart probably wouldn't have been ready to work again (even out of the bullpen) until Sunday.

This will be the first time on a regular-season MLB Active List (25-man roster) for Stevens. He was added to the Indians 40-man roster last November, and then was traded along with two other Tribe pitching prospects (LHP John Gaub and RHP Chris Archer) to the Cubs for IF-OF Mark DeRosa during the off-season. He has spent the entire 2009 season in the bullpen at AAA Iowa. 

The 25-year old Stevens played college ball at Loyola Marymount, and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 6th round of the 2005 Draft. He signed with the Reds, but was traded to Cleveland in 2006 as the PTBNL in the Brandon Phillips deal. Stevens was also a member of Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

Stevens has been used mainly as a two-inning middle reliever for the I-Cubs in 2009. For the season, Stevens has gone 0-3 with a 2.18 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP, allowing just 25 hits (and only one HR) in 41.1 IP (.171 OBA), with a 20/43 BB/K. But he has really pitched well over his last six outings going back to June 21st, throwing 10 innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits and two walks while punching out 14. 

In other organizational moves, the Cubs have signed 4th round pick LHP Chris Rusin (U. of Kentucky) and he has been assigned (at least initially) to the AZL Cubs in Mesa, LHP Jeremy Papelbon was sent back to AA Tennessee from Iowa, RHP Hank Williamson (one of two pitchers acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for OF Felix Pie during the off-season) has been moved up to Iowa from A+ Daytona, RHP Mike Perconte has been promoted from Boise to Daytona (Perconte started the season at Peoria), OF Kevin Soto has been demoted from Boise to the AZL Cubs (Mesa), 19-year old OF Sean Williams has been sent back to the MLB Australian Baseball Academy (MLBAAP) from Mesa, and OF Cliff Andersen (2006 9th round pick out of Cottonwood HS - Salt Lake City) has been released after struggling at both Peoria and (most-recently) Boise.

Releasing Andersen and demoting Soto makes room in Boise for outfielders Brett Jackson (2009 #1 pick out of Cal) and Runey Davis (2009 #12 pick out of NJCAA World Series champion Howard JC), both recently promoted from the AZL Cubs (Mesa)

An "athletic" left-handed hitting outfielder, the 21-year old Andersen was hampered by injuries in 2007 and 2008, but even when healthy he was unable to overcome his propensity to strikeout (283 K in 937 PA in his pro career). If he doesn't sign with another MLB organization, expect to see him surface in indy ball, perhaps with the St. George (Utah) Roadrunners of the Golden Baseball League, the same team that signed Mark Pawelek after the Cubs released him at the end of Spring Training (before selling his contract to the Cincinnati Reds) 

With the addition of Chris Rusin (who got a $140K signing bonus), the Cubs have now inked 25 of their 50 selections in last month's Rule 4 Draft ("First-Year Player Draft"). The Cubs signed 32 of their draft picks in 2008 and 33 of them in 2007, so I guess it wouldn't be too unreasonable to expect the Cubs to sign maybe another seven or eight before closing the check book. Clubs normally have until August 15th to sign players selected in that year's June draft, but the Commissioner's office extended the deadline to August 17th this year because August 15th falls on a Saturday. (BTW, there is no deadline for signing college players who have exhausted their eligibility, but the Cubs have already signed all of the college seniors they drafted). 

Among the still unsigned are 2nd round pick INF D. J. LeMahieu (LSU), 3rd round pick LHP Aaron Kirk (Owasso HS - Owasso, OK), and 6th round selection LHP-OF Brooks Raley (Texas A&M). LeMahieu and Raley have college eligibility remaining and Kirk has a scholarship waiting for him at the University of Oklahoma, so even though LeMahieu says he's a big-time Cubs fan (his grandmother lives and dies with the Cubs, his father lives in Wisconsin and is a Cubs fans, and D. J. attended Spring Training games at HoHoKam Park in Mesa as a child), signing any of the three (including LeMahieu) could prove difficult. 13th round pick RHP-SS Chad Taylor (Jefferson HS - Tampa, FL) has already announced that he will not sign with the Cubs and will be attending the University of South Florida (at least he's "almost 100% sure"). The Cubs would get compensation picks in next June's draft if they are unable to sign their 2nd and/or 3rd round picks (LeMahieu and/or Kirk), but MLB clubs get no compensation for failing to sign players selected in Round #4 and below.   

Also, CF Cody Shields (2009 15th round pick out of Auburn U. - Montgomery) is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Cubs signed Shields almost immediately after the draft concluded, and he reported to Fitch Park right away and was even initially on the Boise Hawks Opening Day roster, before getting the bad news. Shields joins 2008 4th round pick C-2B Matt Cerda in the Fitch Park Infirmary. (Cerda is on the DL with a broken hand).

The most-impressive pro debuts among the 2009 draft class (so far) belong to slugging left-handed hitting catcher Richard Jones (9th round pick out of The Citadel) who leads the AZL in HR while hitting 344/382/750, and 20-year old 2B D. J. Fitzgerald (22nd round pick out of Dyersburg State CC) ,who hit 531 for the AZL Cubs before getting jumped all the way up to Peoria (VERY unusual for a first-year player signed out of a junior college).

For those of you who follow this stuff, clubs have up to 15 days to add a newly-signed player to a minor league reserve list, so sometimes a player signed after the June draft does not appear on a minor league roster right away, usually because the roster is full and the club needs to make a move to open up a roster slot.  

Tags
Cubs Roster Moves
Kevin Hart
Jason Waddell
Jeff Stevens
Cliff Andersen
Chris Rusin

Comments

Submitted by JoePepitone on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:46 am

Too bad about Cliff Andersen being released. He had a nice, strong arm. I remember seeing him in RF for Peoria in their game last year at Wrigley. His throws to 2B were like lasers and "popped" in the infielder's glove so loudly that it made me wince with sympathy pain in my left hand - and I was sitting in the upper deck on the third base side. It's always fun to see someone play who has skills that make you open your eyes wide. Too bad he didn't have enough of the whole package to stick.

Submitted by toonsterwu on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:03 am

AzPhil, What's the scouting report on Fitzgerald? I've only see brief blurbs on him, so I was mildly curious when I saw he got the jump to Peoria to take Vitters spot (I believe he was the corresponding move). With Rosa back at Peoria now, I imagine Flaherty/Lake/Fitzgerald will split the 2nd/SS/DH duties perhaps. As for LeMahieu, my first thought was that, with Maineri and Hendry's relationship, I'd be a tad surprised if the Cubs didn't have some idea on what it would take to sign him. I'm hopeful that we can perhaps get him in and work on developing some more power in that bat. I really hope we can get Raley in. Heck, he only needs to see what happened to his teammate, Alex Wilson, who I believe got a better offer from the Cubs last year than what he signed for this year. I like Raley as an arm - any idea what the Cubs current intention are?

Submitted by tbone on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:11 am

Get the wives and children in the house. The red-clad chubby Budweiser-swilling hicks with their tube socks and sandals are descending on my beautiful city to gawk in amazement at a downtown with actual people in it, stare in confusion at signs that say Museum and, as always, fill the alleys with urine.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:24 am

Minor-league trivia: a couple of weeks ago, Kyler Burke had 28 doubles and Tony Campana had 28 stolen bases. Campana now has 39 SBs, while Burke has gone into a deep slump--until yesterday, when he went 3 for 3 with two doubles, to finally reach the 30-double mark. Campana has continued to hit (all singles, of course) and may find himself in AA one of these days. Lou has been complaining about lack of speed on his team. There is some speed at Daytona right now. Start with Campana, then Castro with 14 SBs, and finally Brandon Guyer, who wasn't able to make the jump (along with Sandberg) from Peoria to Tennessee, but is thriving at Daytona, hitting .378 with 10 SBs (1 CS) in 24 games.

Submitted by Q-Ball on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:43 am

AZ Phil: How about a quick hit update on your preseason Top-10 prospects, and how they are progressing in your eyes? Who do you see emerging into your top 10 next year, based upon performance so far?

Submitted by toonsterwu on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:49 am

On a side note, very impressed with Williamson this year. He was the hard throwing youngster in the Pie deal, and so far, he's been solid. Still has some work, but with the fastball/breaking ball, he has a shot at the bigs. I imagine he might go back to AA at some point (seems like a stopgap jump), but he's been a pleasant surprise. I think I like him better than Schlitter.

Submitted by Paul Noce on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:01 pm

Raining in Chicago, looks like there could be a rain delay to start. But there is a window after that they should be able to get most or all of the game in before the next bunch of rain hits. I'd like to see Pujols hit by lightning on live TV.

Submitted by Chris on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:10 pm

Is it really that hard to catch a "can of corn" pop fly? Soriano. What a joke. Sometimes when a player is awful at the plate, they put a little extra hustle in their defense. No such worries from Alfonso.

Submitted by Ryno on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:47 pm

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The Cubs, on the other hand, just roll over and play dead. This lineup has exactly one batter who hits the ball like he has a pair of testicles.

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Submitted by Mister Whipple on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:37 pm

Divorcing couple is in court fighting for custody of their 7 year old son, Billy. After both parents make their case for custody, the judge says, "Billy, tell us, do you want to live with your mother?" Billy responds sheepishly, "no, my mommy hits me." The judge asks, "Well would you rather live with your father?" Billy sadly whispers, "no, my daddy hits me too." The judge pauses and thinks for a minute and then says, "Well Billy, who do you want to live with?" Billy smiles brightly and chirps "The Cubs!" The judge, looking confused asks, "The Cubs? Why would you want to live with the Cubs?" Billy responds, "Because they don't hit anybody!"

Submitted by billybucks on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:19 pm

A few more like that, and the season shifts from tragedy to camp comedy. Nice job by Harden to keep his name in the running for Biggest Turd of 2009. Lots of competition: - Hendry - Lou - Milton - Sori - Fat Geo - Harden - Fontenot - Heilman

Submitted by jakester on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:28 pm

It seems like Harden is really having a hard time right now. You almost have to expect an outling like this. But this team just picked a bad time to go flat and lose 3 games in a row. It just doesn't make alot of sense the way things have gone. Man how bad would things look if D. Lee was not in the lineup.

Submitted by SJS on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:29 pm

Terrible and with the payroll at what it is, unacceptable. I lost interest after the Cards blew by the 3-3 tie. Lou can't make a lineup, our pitchers can't pitch their way out of a wet paper bag, our highest priced players are looking like children, and every time our team looks to be 100% healthy, someone else goes down.

Submitted by Bigz on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:35 pm

bullpen....what's the point? Lets cut lose the bad apples and just bring up a steady diet of younglings. I mean a minor leaguer can't be much worse than Heilman or the irish fella. And lets put Milton as a righty for a month and see what happens. Move J Fox back to catcher. Its all crazy - but we aint winning with this current formula, so lets take some risks.

Submitted by OakLawnGuy on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:12 pm

During the 5th inning Sirott said that Harden told him the shoulder is great, but it's changed his mechanics, which he's still working on getting straight between starts. No time like July when your team is about to fall off the cliff to start THAT workout.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:25 pm

Submitted by toonsterwu on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 4:03am.
AzPhil, What's the scouting report on Fitzgerald? I've only see brief blurbs on him, so I was mildly curious when I saw he got the jump to Peoria to take Vitters spot (I believe he was the corresponding move). With Rosa back at Peoria now, I imagine Flaherty/Lake/Fitzgerald will split the 2nd/SS/DH duties perhaps.

As for LeMahieu, my first thought was that, with Maineri and Hendry's relationship, I'd be a tad surprised if the Cubs didn't have some idea on what it would take to sign him. I'm hopeful that we can perhaps get him in and work on developing some more power in that bat. I really hope we can get Raley in. Heck, he only needs to see what happened to his teammate, Alex Wilson, who I believe got a better offer from the Cubs last year than what he signed for this year. I like Raley as an arm - any idea what the Cubs current intention are?

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

TOONSTER: D. J. Fitzgerald (AKA "DJ Fitz") was drafted as a SS, but he was immediately moved to 2B when he arrived at Fitch Park. He is what I would call an "offensive-first" second-baseman. He makes most plays OK, but nothing to write home about. He could improve once he learns the moves from the right side of the bag.

But in his short stay in the AZL, he looked like a D-1 All-American at the plate. Quick bat, hit the ball hard to all fields, good knowledge of the strike zone, just an outstanding all-around hitter. He has decent speed, but he's not a burner. I could have understood a promotion to Boise, but jumping him to Peoria was really a surprise. I guess the Cubs saw Fitzgerald's self-confidence/brashness, and decided he could handle a jump like that.

I agree that the Cubs SHOULD have a pretty good idea about what LeMahieu is looking for. The only thing I can think is, the Cubs intend to pay him over-slot, but they are going to wait until later in the summer to sign him, when paying over-slot won't cause as much of a problem as it would now for other clubs and their still-unsigned 2nd round picks.

As for Brooks Raley, I have heard nothing.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:31 pm

I usually can find something funny to say. In fact, that's often the reason I bother to comment. To overwhelm you with my wit. But today, I realize something I remember from the end of the year, and that a bunch of you guys mentioned at the beginning of this one. This is the same team that couldn't hit during the playoffs. The only difference between this team and last year's, really, is Milton Bradley. A lot of folks were upset with Hendry for not working harder this off season. At the end of the day, I'm just gonna hope this damn sale goes through and we get a reboot. I'm old, but this team has no chance now, or in the near future, without a young, gung-ho dude willing to rip the thing down and start over.

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Submitted by fullykräusened on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 07:46 pm

Ever since the Cubs were "five outs away" [remember where you were then?], upper management has tried to put us back there. Almost worked in 2004 (Victor Diaz, aggghhh).2005: Neifi! and Korey. Then came the trade for Juan Pierre,followed by the free agent merry-go-round: Soriano, Fukudome, Bradley. Lots of money, lots of optimism, didn't quite get there in 2007 and 2008. All along, those in the know (i.e., TCR posters) knew that somewhere down the road all these guys (including Lee and Ramirez) were going to get old all of a sudden. So here we are. Maybe we'll take three in a row and get back in it, maybe the goddamn Cardinals will stick a fork in us. No matter what happens this weekend, it seems to me that 2010 will bring a clean slate. This is a ballclub with expensive, aging players in key positions. They will be hard to move. But I am prepared to tolerate a rebuilding phase, even giving up players like Zambrano for prospects. We do seem to have some possibilities in the minors, and I'd like to hang on to a couple of the current occupants of the dugout like Wells, Marshall, Marmol, and Soto (with a personal trainer), but overall I think it's time to blow things up. God, I hope this post looks really stupid at the end of October...

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.

    When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.

    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

    On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?

    But I digress…

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.  

     

    At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.

    That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.

    Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Wesneski and Mastrobuoni to Iowa

    Taillon and Wisdom up

    Wesneski can't pitch for a couple of days after the 4 IP from last night. But Jed picked Wicks over Wesneski.

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