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

Soto Activated; Hoff Sent Down

The Cubs had to make a roster move today to accommodate Geovany Soto and the victim was Micah Hoffpauir. He'll surely be back up when rosters expand on September 1st and possibly sooner. After a good start to the season, he sort of crescendoed at a .920 OPS on May 20th and since then has hit 182/217/336 in 115 PA with 4 HR's, mostly in part-time duty.

That leaves the Cubs bench with Jake Fox, Koyie Hill, Aaron Miles, Sam Fuld and either Mike Fontenot or Jeff Baker depending on who gets the start. 

 


LIneup for tonight: Fukudome, Bradley, Lee, Ramirez, Soto, Soriano, Fontenot, Theriot, Zambrano

If Soto comes back with a vengeance, that has to be my favorite lineup of the season...hopefully they score some runs this weekend and Lou sticks with it.

By the way, the Rockies are the best team in baseball since June with a .661 winning percentage and 39 wins (tied with the Angels) including 14 straight wins versus NL Central opponents. It's gonna be a tough series...


UPDATE: Z didn't finish his warm-ups and Sean Marshall will make a spot start.

Comments

So much for getting more left handed...fuld is our power bat off the bench? Bradley's OBP gets put to the test. Stl 3 , pirates 4 top 6

Whats wrong with Marshall? Seems like he's been bad for the last few weeks. I know this start was on short notice, but he was having a great year up until this point.

[ ]

In reply to by Jeff_Pico

Sean, are you enjoying the thin air here? Oh by the way, head down to the bullpen you're starting. ESPN showed a stat the other night - Marshall was leading the league in reliever ERA. Not that I dislike Marshall, but he's not even a top 10 reliever in the NL, so you had to know where that ERA was going. The good news is that this start didn't hurt that particular stat.

WOW Soriano broken bat hit, Len saying Soriano should be at second,then they do the replay, Len does not look like he turned it on, Brenley are you surprised.

Soriano sucks. Soto sucks. Fontenot sucks. The bullpen sucks. Someone needs to sit Zambrano down and tell him if he wants to be paid ace money (which we unfortunately paid him before having this discussion) he needs to stop thinking he's a legitimate hitter and start taking less ridiculous swings. Fail.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-08-cubs-rockies-…
Lee refused to label this series and the one against the Phillies as defining. "The only thing that will tell us about our team is where we stand on Oct. 4," he said. "These games mean nothing. We can win all seven, but if you lose seven next week ... you just have to play good the next two months."
Does Lee really believe this stuff is it just me but does this team just lack a sense of urgency at all times? They aren't good enough to just coast.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

They didn't show the fall, but it must have been really awkward for him to ding his head. Gotta hand it to Albert P., who's right there to help the injured guy and get his kid a souvenir. Cardinal or not, Albert is the best.

[ ]

In reply to by H_Vaughn

That's pretty awesome. I wasn't aware of how active Pujols is with Down's Syndrome (apparently being a father of child with it)...I respect him a lot more. Damn it, why can't he give me something to hate?

[ ]

In reply to by The Joe

If there is anything that popular media has taught, it's that anyone who appears to be this perfect on the surface has to be doing something evil in secret. I guarantee he eats puppies or commits ritual sacrifices of panda bears or something. Either that or baseball is a romantic comedy.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

It is a romantic comedy. Jim Edmonds is his love interest.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

The only thing humanity loves more than heroes are fallen heroes.

[ ]

In reply to by The Joe

He's not the father, he's the step-father. And I am pretty sure he got married after he hit the bigs... after you could speculate see he was going to make $100+ million in his career. He's a tempting target to hate, but that kind of stand up manning just doesn't happen much in America anymore. He gets a pass from me.

John Gaub, for the I-Cubs pitched another 2 scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and 4 K's. ERA now 0.54. Maybe it's time to take a look (hard for him to be any hotter) if Lou would use him ...although I understand we may need a starter if Z's MRI is problematic. The I-Cubs starters at this point are Mitch Atkins, Caridad, Fossum, J Russell and JR Mathes. I guess they'd bring up Atkins again but others would know who's pitching best of that group. Cashner?

I think it's ridiculous that with the off day on Thursday, that a starting pitcher who had four days rest since his last start (Ryan Dempster) wasn't prepared to start in place of Zambrano last night. Or knowing he had back spasms in his last start, the Cubs even could have just skipped Zambrano's turn at COL and scheduled his next start on Tuesday vs PHI (first game of the homestand) and sent him home to sleep in his own bed, going with Dempster-Wells-Gorzelanny-Harden FRI-MON versus the Rockies. The Cubs shouldn't have had to start Marshall last night.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

it seems to be dusty's fault...i mean a breakdown of communication between Z and the rest of the coaches. Z should have fessed up earlier and the staff should have planned ahead, but dusty plays favorites with mark prior and...oh sorry, wrong side of the wrong rant... it happens, but this was a combined effort at screwing the team over at the last minute. fun stuff. the staff seemed pretty shocked Z wasn't going to be ready. there was definitively no backup plan in place.

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 08/08/2009 - 6:09am.
...although I understand we may need a starter if Z's MRI is problematic. The I-Cubs starters at this point are Mitch Atkins, Caridad, Fossum, J Russell and JR Mathes. I guess they'd bring up Atkins again but others would know who's pitching best of that group. Cashner?

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

CUBSTER: Andrew Cashner is the Cubs top pitching prospect, but I don't think he would be brought up to start against the Phillies in the middle of a pennant race.

With Jeff Samardzija having thrown four innings last night, I would think the Shark would most-likely be the one who gets the start next Wednesady if Zambrano can't go. If that is the case, the Cubs should option Samardzija to Iowa today and recall Jeff Stevens (giving the Cubs an extra bullpen arm), while keeping Samardzija with the club in Colorado. Then if it turns out Zambrano can't make his next start, the Cubs can place Zambrano on the DL retroactive to Sunday 8/2 (making him eligible to be reactivated on Monday 8/17, meaning he would miss just one more start), and recall Samardzija from AAA next Wednesday as Zambrano's roster replacement.

Or with the Iowa Cubs playing at Wrigley Field on Sunday, the Cubs could just have LHP Casey Fossum remain in Chicago after Sunday's game and be available to start (if necessary) next Wednesday versus the lefty-heavy Phillies. Fossum started for the I-Cubs last night, and so he is already in the same rotation slot as Zambrano.

Fossum has pitched very well in his last five starts at Iowa (29.2 IP, 19 H, 9 ER, 10 BB, 26 K, 2.73 ERA, 179 OBA, and 0.98 WHIP), and because he was released earlier this season by the Mets, the Cubs would only have to pay him the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary, so he could just get released if he is needed for only one start and doesn't pitch well, or if he does pitch well, he could be kept around as the 12th man on the staff.

Speaking of the Mets and the Iowa Cubs, the Cubs have traded AAA Iowa OF-1B Jason Dubois to the Mets AAA Buffalo affiliate in the International League, apparently for the usual PTBNL or cash.  

link  

With Micah Hoffpauir having been optioned to Iowa and with Brad Snyder back from the DL, Dubois was not likely to get much playing time at Iowa the last month of the PCL season, and he wasn't likely to get a September call-up to Chicago, either.

For those who did not hear, Randy Bush was on Bruuuuuce's show this am on Talking Baseball. He stated it is probable that Z will be placed on the DL. Discussion ensued with Levine and his co-host, that Samardjia might be worthwhile to try as a starter. He believes he'd be more successful as a young pitcher in a starting role.

[ ]

In reply to by Paul Noce

it is b.s. if his past is any inclination. his timeline of how long he's been clean when talking to people doesn't coincide with me seeing him kicking back beers.

[ ]

In reply to by Paul Noce

One time thing, but a three thing time? He should have just said he wasn't drinking and that it was Perrier he was drinking off the girl. Just because you're saved or born again or whatever, doesn't mean you shouldn't have any fun for the rest of your life, does it?

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

you're talking about a guy who's probably got some team regulations on his activities. then again, i dunno how that's been handled since he moved from CIN to TEX...and it's not like TEX is gonna cut/void the guy over this. it also doesn't fit the 'whore who found jesus' talks he likes to give for inspiration. you should have seen this guy in highschool..90+mph fastball, could KILL the ball, and looked like a f'n monster compared to his teammates. rare specimen. btw, his wife sure puts up with a lot of shit from this guy...for many many years...but she still sticks around.

Any word on how long Zambrano is out? And when can we stop pretending this isn't a huge injury in a season where the Cubs are just barely playing passable baseball?

For you Jason Marquis haters... I heard on the radio (but I didn't confirm it's accuracy) that every single team Jason Marquis has been on since coming to the majors has made the playoffs. ...

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

But how often has Jason Marquis actually made the playoff roster? Seriously though, he is a valuable guy to have. He makes all his starts, typically pitches at least 6 innings, keeps his team in the game, and does some decent things with the bat. He's great to have as a 5th starter on a contender. Unfortunately, he's not worth the $10 million per Hendry gave him.

Sun Times just broke the news that Z is on the 15 Day DL.

Lefty relievers moving up the food chain. (This is two days old and may be old news.) Dustin Sasser to Tennessee, Casey Lambert to Iowa. Sasser had a nice set of numbers at Daytona: 45 hits in 62 innings, with 51 strikeouts, 25 walks. ERA 1.60, WHIP 1.13. His "twin," Luke Sommer, had similar numbers (more hits/inning) but Sasser got the promotion. Lambert's star has dimmed a little this year but he has been pitching decently since he rested a sore elbow and moved back to the pen.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • 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.