Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

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

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

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

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

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

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

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

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

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

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

TCR Friday Notes

Submitted by Rob G. on

The big news is that the Cardinals have struck again on the trade market acquiring Matt Holliday from the Oakland A's for 2008 1st round pick Brett Wallace, RHP Clayton Mortensen and OF Shane Peterson. Wallace was a 5-star prospect according to Kevin Goldstein to begin the season and #2 on John Sickels list, with Mortensen and Peterson being "C+" prospects according to Sickels. Apparently being too right-handed isn't a concern for them as they're lineup could be Molina, Pujols, DeRosa, Ryan, Glaus, Holliday, *Rasmus and Ludwick.  Of course Glaus isn't back yet, and he'll probably be given a lot of days off when he does return but that's what their lineup could look like down the stretch.

Good news for the Cubs is that when Alfonso Soriano, Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez really start hitting, it'll be like making a trade.

(slams head in door)

I don't think this guarantees anything for the Cardinals, but it certainly doesn't hurt them this year, so....crap.

- Joe Posnanski, one of the few sports columnists I seek out to read, recently came out with his top 100 list of players right now. The only Cubs to make the list are Aramis Ramirez at #80 and Carlos Zambrano at #92. The TLFC is naturally upset over the omission of Ted Lilly.

I could spend a lot of time picking the list apart, but then I realized that my own attempt would probably come up with just as many issues. There's just no way to do something like that and for everyone not to hate it.

Beyond that list though, I do recommend Joe's blog, one of the better sports writers out there in my opinion and his conversations with Bill James on SI.com are probably the most entertaining baseball reads on the web.

- Speaking of lists, Fangraphs recently did a series on the Top 50 players ranked by trade value with no Cubs making the cut and you'll see what I mean that these lists are ripe for anger.

- Found this link from Ruz's blog on how the Red Sox pitchers dissect the strike zone. A pretty in-depth and technical article on how pitchers attack hitters.

- Ryan Dempster's toe X-ray showed "excellent healing" and he should be back in the rotation next Wednesday (maybe Tuesday now with Lilly going down). Pitching match-ups for this weekend are Harang vs. Wells, Cueto vs. Hart and Owings vs. Harden. Ted Lilly was scratched from his start tomorrow with a sore left shoulder, exam tomorrow....ruh roh.

Today's lineups...

Dickerson RF
Fukudome CF
Taveras CF
Theriot SS
Votto 1B
Lee 1B
Phillips 2B
Ramirez 3B
Encarnacion 3B
Bradley RF
Nix LF
Soriano LF
Hanigan C
Fontenot 2B
Gonzalez SS
Hill C
Harang P
Wells P

 

- If only this headline from the Miami Herald was true (thanks to 10man for the link)...

Tags
Friday Notes

Comments

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:32 pm

I smell smoke coming from the Ted Lilly fanclub supercomputer...

Submitted by Mike Vail on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:32 pm

You had me going there. I was thinking Roy H. Now back to original thought about the Cards: ...hatred.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:35 pm

Everyone seems to be confusing the two...

on my ride in to work, had XM radio on and they had Jim Kaat on for a phone interview and asked him about the trade just as it just happened and he was shocked and surprised the Cardinals got Halladay. When they corrected him, he was like, "well, he has been good before".

That being said, Holliday has picked it up since his awful start and I'm sure coming back to the NL won't hurt.

Submitted by The Joe on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:37 pm

I'm starting Harang on my fantasy team. I'll be happy/sad no matter what happens.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:43 pm

Joe: sounds like a rx of lithium would help...plan B, inhale some party balloons

Submitted by billybucks on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:44 pm

With Harden going Sunday- Any chance to get the game moved to Cincy and played at night?

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:45 pm

Baseball prospectus has helium as the #2 prospect, lithium is #3

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:47 pm

fwiw... vs. Cubs
PA  	AB  	R  	H  	2B  	3B  	HR
117  	99  	18  	30  	4  	1  	3  	
RBI  	SB  	CS  	BB  	SO  	BA  	OBP  	SLG  	OPS
12  	4  	1  	16  	22  	.303  	.402  	.455  	.856
@ Wrigley 
PA  	AB  	R  	H  	2B  	3B  	HR  	
56  	48  	8  	11  	1  	0  	1  	
RBI  	SB  	CS  	BB  	SO  	BA  	OBP  	SLG  	OPS
4  	2  	1  	8  	10  	.229  	.339  	.313  	.652
@ St. Louis 
PA  	AB  	R  	H  	2B  	3B  	HR  	
46  	39  	8  	15  	2  	1  	5  	
RBI  	SB  	CS  	BB  	SO  	BA  	OBP  	SLG  	OPS
7  	0  	0  	6  	8  	.385  	.478  	.872  	1.350

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:52 pm

Judd sirott on wgn pregame said Lilly's test will be an mri-arthrogram...which involves an injection of dye to enhance the imaging

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:09 pm

Not to start an argument, but . . . I think several NL teams wouldn't want Aramis at third, and may or may not be able to make room for him at first. Any AL team would be glad to have him. Whereas every team would love to welcome Marmol and Zambrano. I would give Marmol the nod as the Cubs' most valuable property.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:18 pm

If we had this talk three months ago, it would have probably been Geovany Soto as the Cubs most valuable trade property followed by Marmol, Ramirez and Zambrano.

How things change...

there's also a big difference between player value on the field and trade value and I'm not sure which one you're focusing on...

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:42 pm

late lineup change, Gomes in for Nix... not sure how Dickerson missed Ramirez's ball in right center, looked like he was there and then let up right at the last sec thinking Taveras might catch it... Soriano just missed a nice leaping catch on Encarnacion's double, then hit up against the wall and a second baseball fell out of the ivy...wonder how long that's been there?

Submitted by billybucks on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:52 pm

Randy is not, ah, sharp. Gets the big out at the plate, then serves up a 3-run bomb to the pitcher. Nice.

Submitted by Pell Mell on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:44 pm

Randy just lofted a fly ball to center, but couldn't hit it out. He just doesn't have the sheer power of an Aaron Harang. *slams head in Rob G's door*

Submitted by waveland on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:54 pm

"Speaking of lists, Fangraphs recently did a series on the Top 50 players ranked by trade value" That list has Troy Tulowitzki ranked ahead of Joe Mauer. An OK power, no average, high strikeout SS over the best catcher of the last 10 years with developing power who might hit .400 some day. Sure.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:26 pm

well, as their write-ups say, Tulo is signed for the next 4-5 years or whatever at a good rate and Mauer is a free agent in a year and a half...

so would you trade Tulo straight up if you're the Rockies for Mauer? I doubt it...

nonetheless, we could argue all day about who should go where...

Submitted by joshb on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:00 pm

so why don't we just give up on Bradley batting left handed and switch him around. Maybe he has lost his bat speed from the left side or something. He seems just fine right handed tho. Think this is something they might consider doing?

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:52 pm

Agree -- they either need to tell him to hit RH all the time, or platoon him with someone who can hit RH pitching. They can't afford an automatic out in the middle of the lineup -- doesn't matter how much they are paying him.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob Richardson on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:46 pm

"Lilly was disabled with shoulder tendinitis in Toronto twice in 2005. He'll eventually have arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder, but whether that's during or after the season depends on how he recovers." That's not good.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:46 pm

The Holliday trade and the Lilly injury are really going to put some pressure on Hendry to do something (along with Milton's 2K's in his first two at bats). Makes me wonder if they won't get in on Lee. The Fontenaught's 2 HR week will likely cool the pursuit of a second basemen.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:46 pm

Roberts just signed an extension, he's not available...

Sanchez has an $8M vesting option tied to PA's for 2009 which looks like it'll hit. Unless they can negotiate a buyout, I'm really not keen on getting Sanchez for more than the stretch run and not at $8M.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:09 pm

That's pretty poor journalism to take a shoulder problem from 4 years ago and extrapolate that he needs his shoulder scoped...particularly before the info from the mri-arthrogram...unless he was quoting someone but I don't see quotes or a source (paul sullivan, m.d.) twice on the dl for shoulder symptoms in 2005 and he didn't have it operated on? Omygosh...get Dr Sullivan a scalpel...for locker room surgery...prep that patient...get Carrie Muskat to administer the anesthestics

Submitted by Mike Wellman on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:51 pm

Want a lefty from the farm? I've seen Casey Fossum's last 2 starts; both strong - not walking anybody...

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:58 pm

Bruce Levine mentioned Hendry going to the Pirates trough again...not sure how real his names are...but said Tom Gorzelanny and Grabow...Gorzelanny doesn't make sense, either he's injured or just bad. I'd take Zack Duke and Matt Capps though

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:01 pm

Sources have informed the Philadelphia Inquirer that the Blue Jays want Kyle Drabek, J.A. Happ and Dominic Brown for ace Roy Halladay. via Rotoworld...

Submitted by Chad on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 07:39 pm

I just realized why no one should worry. All the big bats in the Cardinal lineup are right handed. The are not left-handed enough to win.

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:20 am

Bruce Levine's blog confirms my mention of the Pirates that Hendry is considering. BL needs a better spell checker...miniscus? (meniscus, maybe he meant a mini Scus, whatever a Scus is, sucky cubs underachieving slugger?)... BL speculating that if Lilly goes on the DL for his shoulder so he might have his knee scoped while he is waiting for the shoulder to improve is pretty much of a stretch and would be a bad/risky decision as sometimes it takes longer than 3 weeks to recover from a knee scope for a torn meniscus (can be up to 6 weeks). --- Lefties Joe Beimel of Washington, George Sherrill of Baltimore and Pittsburgh's John Grabow are relievers the Cubs are watching for a possible trade this week. The trading deadline is 3 p.m. CT on July 31. Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny might also be a short-term answer to the left-handed starting problem the Cubs may incur if Lilly goes on the disabled list. If Lilly is sidelined with the shoulder problem, he may elect to have his left knee scoped if his miniscus cartilage needs repair. That type of surgery, according to medical sources, would have a three-week recovery time. http://espn.go.com/chicago/columns/blog?post=4354314&name=levine

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:44 am

Lilly Chronicles III, July 05: Lilly was out twice with shoulder problems in 2005. Initially in spring training then in July (biceps tendonitis). 7/26/05: Ted Lilly could feel the pain in his pitching arm before his last start, but he willfully ignored it to take the mound. The southpaw explained his perspective on Tuesday, and he also confirmed his injury is a case of biceps tendinitis. "The other day was a situation where I didn't want to press the panic button too early," said Lilly, who should miss at least one start. "Obviously, as a pitcher, you go through some times where you have some [discomfort] in your arm. There have been times where I didn't say anything, and then it's gone. http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050726&content_i…

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:43 am

Lilly Chronicles II, early season 05: 4/25/05: s Ted Lilly hurt? When will he start pitching up to his capabilities? -- Jim B., New York Lilly may be hiding a little bit of discomfort, but he's told the media that his shoulder is completely healed and that his early pitching returns have nothing to do with the tendinitis he dealt with for most of Spring Training. Assuming he's telling the truth, there are a few potential reasons for his struggles. One is that he just tried to come back too quickly. Lilly wasn't able to pitch in any genuine exhibition games -- he was stuck working in simulated games and against Minor League opponents while his teammates were getting the legitimate Grapefruit League experience. In that respect, his first few starts of the season are actually his Spring Training. Lilly went through the same thing in 2004, and he didn't gain all his strength back until mid-May or early June. No. 2 deals with his mental state of mind. Lilly may have all his stuff without being able to use it correctly. The southpaw likes to mix his pitches in random fashion and get the hitters thinking, a style of pitching that requires consistent mechanics and dead-solid precision. If he's off -- even by a few inches or a few decisions -- it can throw the rest of his game out of whack. If he's unable to find his rhythm, it doesn't really matter what kind of stuff he has that day. The final theory is also the least exotic. Lilly may be perfectly fine, despite the fact that he hasn't pitched well. His only positive start was his debut, when he tamed the Boston bats largely on adrenaline. Since then, he's had two largely forgettable starts -- against Texas and New York, teams that boast two of the league's most potent offensive lineups. Lilly may not have been at his best, but those batters can make you look that way. http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050425&content_i…

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:44 am

Lilly Chronicles IV, after a 10-11 season: 9/29/05: "To put it very mildly, I'm disappointed in the way I've gone out there and competed," Lilly said Wednesday after his last start of the season. "I guess, coming into this year, I just expected us to be competitive in this league. And [I expected] myself to really make a push to help us do that." To be fair, injuries played a large part in his inability to meet those goals. Lilly missed all of Spring Training with a case of shoulder tendinitis, and when he came back, he clearly wasn't ready to pitch in the big leagues. http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050929&content_i…

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:42 am

Lilly chronicles I, spring training: Last year, Lilly spent most of Spring Training battling the effects of a sprained wrist. This year, he came to Dunedin with a sore shoulder and wasn't able to throw from the mound until last week. He still hasn't faced live batters, and he won't do that until Wednesday, when he pitches in a simulated game. The decision was made and the opinion noted. Ted Lilly's last-minute appeal was denied on Monday when the Blue Jays announced their starting rotation for the first six games of the regular season. Lilly, battling back from shoulder tendinitis, will be on the disabled list when the regular season begins. If all goes according to plan, he'll be activated to start the sixth game of the season. That means the earliest Lilly will debut is April 10, a full five days after he wanted to pitch. "It makes perfect sense not to rush him, because he's got the whole year ahead of him," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "I know he wants to go that second day in Tampa Bay, but we decided this was better for him." http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050321&content_i…

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:17 am

Starting the season on the DL... 4/10/05 Activated LHP Ted Lilly from the 15-day disabled list 7/30/05 Placed LHP Ted Lilly on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 25, with left biceps tendinitis. 9/6/05 Activated LHP Ted Lilly from the 15-day disabled list so his DL stint starting in July 2005 was 5 weeks for biceps tendonitis. I don't see what diagnostic imaging they did that season but it probably was just a conventional MRI. The arthrogram-MRI is an enhanced study which is better able to look at small rotator cuff tears, labrum tears or detachments of the biceps tendon off the glenoid (shoulder socket). It's the same test most recently used on Rich Harden (10/08) and Carlos Zambrano (mid 2008).

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:11 am

Lilly Chronicles V: Lilly in 2006, his last season in Toronto, didn't have any shoulder issues after resting the problem through the offseason. Here's his 2006 line: 2006: 181 IP, 15-13, 179H, 81BB, 160K, 1.43 WHIP, 4.31 ERA but I did find this one mention in a spring 2006 article saying that his shoulder problems may have been related to having a stiff landing with his right leg... having implications that his knee/meniscus issues this year may hbe a cascade injury, particularly since tendonitis often develops over time rather than an abrupt event (hence knee problem leads to shoulder problem): •Last year, he said he had a tendency to have a "stiff" landing with his right leg, which put unnecessary strain on his throwing shoulder. Perhaps not coincidentally, Lilly sat out last spring with a shoulder injury. http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060320&content_i…

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:20 am

Sat 9:19 am...Bruce Levine says MRI-Arthrogram "didn't show up anything significant " and Lilly will go on the DL Justin Berg called up Levine still going with possiblity of knee meniscus scope too

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    This is Cubs adjacent but…


    Jordan Walker just was optioned by the deadbirds. For all the talk of the Cardinals development machine, they’ve really missed on a lot of can’t miss superstars lately. Walker has struggled. Gorman has been okay. They’re already trying to push Carlson out the door. Their pitching system has been so bad they had to go out and sign basically a full rotation over the last two offseasons.

    They’ve still developed a few of those pesky solid players, like Donovan, Edman, and Nootbaar. Their two best prospect to MLB players have been Adolis and Arozarena, neither of which is a cardinal.

    I hope they never figure it out again. Cardinal failure brings me such joy.
     

  • Raisin101 (view)

    Thank you so much! I really appreciate not only all your posts but how eager you are to respond to our questions.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Is it just me or does it seem that official scorers are becoming less likely to call a misplay an error? 

     

    Guess I've hit my cranky old-man phase in life.  "I remember back in the day when an error was an error.  Official scorers have gone soft.  Now where did I put my readers?!!??"

     

    Sidenote, maybe Bellinger should be a little more careful against the Astros.  That was the series last year that a play at wall put him on the IL.   

  • crunch (view)

    i hated the almonte pickup, but he's 9-10 out of 12 for good outings, following a great spring.  hope he can keep it up.

    i already miss cooper, but yeah...the thin OF roster backup the team seems to want to carry probably got wisdom preference over cooper.  i could live without seeing wisdom at 3rd unless it's a blowout, though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Things I've been wrong about:

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

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

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

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

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

    Things I got right so far:

    -Hendricks. Sorry Kyle. You got paid though!

    Jed, you missed there.

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

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

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

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

  • crunch (view)

    bellinger "right rib contusion"

  • Childersb3 (view)

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

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

    The rain was coming down in buckets at this point.

    Just weird

  • crunch (view)

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

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

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil,

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

  • crunch (view)

    wow, things are moving fast.  hopefully it continues.

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