Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

The Ted Lilly Chronicles --The Knee Bone is connected to the Shoulder Bone

Bruce Levine reports Ted Lilly goes to the DL, righty reliever Justin Berg (acquired in the 2005 Matt Lawton trade from the Yankees) gets called up from Iowa. Lilly's MRI-Arthrogram apparently didn't show "any significant abnormalities" (possibly showing tendonitis but no structural damage) but as we've all seen what the media gets to report and what the radiologist and orthopods see isn't always identical.

Levine also says Lilly has agreed to having his sore left knee undergo arthroscopic surgery (scheduled for Monday) to clean up Lilly's meniscus (link to anatomy pic), speculating that he can be back in 3 weeks if they do that now.

From a report on Levine's ESPN-1000 radio show, Lilly said the shoulder got his attention the day after the game in Philly. The shoulder felt "a little unusual". Yesterday he tried to throw and had sharp pain. He said he was familiar with it as it felt like his symptoms in Toronto. Lilly said he expects himself to come back in 3 weeks...

Based on my experience, how long it takes to recover from a knee arthroscopy varies greatly and 3 weeks is certainly possible but continuing to push the envelope on these injuries is like playing with fire. This implies the medical staff thinks Lilly's shoulder injury is a cascade problem, meaning that his knee soreness lead to altered pitching mechanics that secondarily lead to the shoulder problem. I found evidence that they connected his knee and shoulder woes when his shoulder took the brunt of the blame in 2005. 

From this mlb.com article on the Bluejays archive circa Spring 2006:

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.

I did some additional background research on Lilly's shoulder problems from 2005. Back then his diagnosis was biceps tendonitis (link to anatomy drawing). He missed most of spring training and started his season by coming off the DL 4/10/05 but had a rough April and worked through the problem until it flared up at the end of July 05. This lead to a 2nd DL stint lasting 5 weeks. 2005 wasn't kind to Lilly producing a 10-11 record but Lilly is a tough guy and naturally he didn't make his injury an excuse in this end of season interview from the Bluejays site.

"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.

Regarding the 2009 version of Ted Lilly, his shoulder tendonitis/torn knee meniscus might just take 3-5 weeks if they don't push things and add the knee arthroscopic surgery to his recovery list. Getting Lilly back in September is just like trading for an All-Star for the pennant stretch (slamming head in Rob G's door).

A chronology of the Ted Lilly 2005 biceps tendonitis after the fold...

Here's a chronology of Ted Lilly's 2005 shoulder problem ridden season:

Lilly chronicles I, report from spring training 2005:

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."

Lilly Chronicles II, early season 4/25/05:

Mailbag: Is 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.

Lilly Chronicles III, before heading to the DL 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.

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.

Lilly Chronicles V, a healthy Spring 2006:


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.

Sing along with me..

Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.
Oh those bones, oh those bones,
oh those skeleton bones.

Oh mercy how they scare!

Tags

Comments

from ESPN radio, Levine/Dahlgren... 10:50 AM Lilly said the shoulder got his attention the day after the game in Philly. The shoulder felt "a little unusual". Yesterday he tried to throw and had sharp pain. He said he was familiar with it as it felt like his symptoms in Toronto. Lilly said he expects himself to come back in 3 weeks... I doubt that agressive timeframe based on his shoulder symptoms lingering and eventually returning when he came back too soon in April 05. BJ Ryan expected to go to Iowa on Monday. Berg to be used in a relief role (obvious, since he didn't get used more than 2-3 innings per appearance in Iowa) Geo Soto will take batting practice today.

Injury, opportunity--I have trouble telling those two words apart. If they're looking for a starter in the next couple of weeks, Cashner is mowing them down at double-A now. Here's a fun stat: in two partial minor-league seasons, Cashner has given up two home runs. In 2007, at Daytona and Tennessee, Samardzija gave up 16. Then he yielded 11 more at Tennessee and Iowa in 2008. Speaking of minor-league stats, Tony Campana stole his 39th and 40th bases at Daytona last night, numbers 50-51 when you add his Peoria steals.

When is Lou going to acknowledge that just because Bradley and Fukudome bat left-handed does not mean they are well suited to hit behind Lee and Ramirez? Both guys are OBP strong, slugging and average weak right now. I get that both of them can't bat second, but one of them can and the other can bat 6th or 7th (behind the Fonz and even Fontenot, whose July numbers are respectable). He could even ignore handedness and bat Fuki leadoff and Bradley 2nd to get some high OBPs at the top of the lineup, since Theriot's continues to hover around .340-.350.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

if you're talking about right now, we have 38 on the 40-man, they could add a catcher at any point without exposing anyone to waivers and optioning a pitcher.

If you're talking about when Berg got added to the 40-man to keep him from being exposed to the Rule 5 draft, the Cubs could have added a third catcher at any point since February.

I'm actually starting to believe a little bit. I know the Reds are ice cold, but we are due about a thousand 'breaks' at this point. All they need is just a semblence of a respectable offense and this team should be ok. One things for sure, I'm not scared of the Cardinals.

Cubs 7 vs Brewers 7 vs Astros 9 vs Pirates 7 vs Reds 3 vs Cards 3 vs Nats 3 vs Marlins 6 vs Mets 3 vs Phillies 3 vs Padres 4 vs Rockies 4 vs Dodgers 4 vs Giants 3 vs DBacks 1 vs White Sox 36/66 vs .500 or better Cardinals 9 vs Brewers 9 vs Astros 6 vs Pirates 6 vs Reds 3 vs Cubs 3 vs Nats 3 vs Braves 3 vs Marlins 2 vs Mets 1 vs Phillies 7 vs Padres 3 vs Rockies 7 vs Dodgers 37/62 vs .500 or better Edit Forgot to add that we are now 1/2 game back with Cards' loss to Phillies. Houston will be too after they win tonight

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

Houston lost, still 1.5 back, Brewers won 2.5 back

Cards 53-47 (+27)

Cubs 50-45 (+15)

Astros 50-47 (-23)

Brewers 49-48 (-7)

Red are now 7 back and a whopping -70 run differential (they did get whipped that one game), but probably should look to start selling starting with Harang and Arroyo and their relievers.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ge-tradenews072509&prov=yhoo&t… The Angels did indeed make a run at Halladay, offering Jered Weaver(notes) plus the Blue Jays’ pick of outfield or infield prospects, including Brandon Wood(notes), but it wasn’t enough. Weaver, Wood and something wasn't enough...dear lord. With the Cubs’ only All-Star, Ted Lilly(notes), having shoulder trouble that will put him out of action indefinitely – worst-case scenario is that he has a torn biceps – expect the Cubs to be one of the teams making a push for Pirates left-hander Zach Duke(notes), who is very available. The Cubs also could have interest in shortstop Jack Wilson(notes). Torn Bicep? that sounds like quite a reach...although with this new injury to Lilly and no idea where Harden, Z or Dempster will be come September, another arm would be nice.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Weaver hit arbitration next year. And Wood sort of sucks. The best thing about trading for Duke is we wouldn't have to face him (3.09 ERA) anymore. He's been a better pitcher in the second half, but a worse one in day games over his career.

via Bruce Miles... Great story. A few years ago in Pittsuburgh, he(Steve Stone) was going on about what he was going to do "when" he bought the A's. Ron Santo finished his dinner, wiped his mouth and said, "I'll tell you what you're going to be doing next year _ broadcasting baseball!" And so it was. And so it is. http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/2325

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

yeah, his big mouth is what pushed him to the extreme of trying to buy a small market club with a group of investors rather than being a GM or assistant GM for someone (which he can't even seem to get interviews for...gee, i wonder why). his quest to be back as a greater part of the business and lord over others was pretty important. the guy supposedly wasn't very liked as a player, but like mike marshall he gets the "because he was so much more book-intelligent" scapegoat from some. meh...

from Rob's Yahoo sports link... With the Cubs’ only All-Star, Ted Lilly(notes), having shoulder trouble that will put him out of action indefinitely – worst-case scenario is that he has a torn biceps... --- This speculation is implying Lilly's got what troubled Curt Schilling at the end of his stay in Boston. I don't think that's the case as Lilly's tendon wasn't showing structural damage on the MRI. Inflammation of the biceps tendon at the shoulder is a spectrum of damage and the orthopod who was Schilling's doc (Dr. Craig Morgan) said his biceps was severely damaged. The procedure he recommended was a tenodesis of the tendon, meaning they anchor the tendon to the humerus (upper arm) and remove the damaged tendon from it's attachment on the shoulder socket (glenoid). There was controversy about this recommendation as the Redsox team orthopod didn't agree and wanted Schilling to get treated non-surgically with rehab alone. Tough decision in a pitcher over 40. ----- quote from Dr. Morgan, clearly Schilling's MRI showed damage to the biceps tendon (Lilly's didn't): “This is a progression of disease that’s been going on silently probably for several years, became symptomatic last year, and has progressed to this point where normally, think of the tendon as sort of an electrical cable, and within the cable there’s a thousand wires. It’s all one solid single tube.” “When the tendon becomes irreversibly diseased, which my opinion is that it is now, the fibers are bundles within the single tendon, can start to separate longitudinally. It isn’t torn cross-wise, it separates into these bands of spaghetti would be a good term to have a layman understand it. And once you see that, which is how it appears on his recent MRI, then really conservative measures will not resolve the pain." http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2008/02…

from the Bruce Miles/Herald link... The Cubs still are in no hurry to activate infielder Aaron Miles, who is in Iowa rehabbing an elbow injury. "Aaron is playing," Piniella offered. "He was about 2-for-15 at one time. I think Jim (GM Hendry) is waiting for Aaron to start swinging the bat a little better." --- Is this like waiting for the temp in Hell to drop?

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.