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

Game 114 Thread / Astros @ Cubs (2 of 3)

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP Rich Harden
SP
*Wandy Rodriguez

1-1, 1.11, 39 K, 8 BB, 24.1 IP


6-4, 3.61, 83 K, 27 BB, 92.1 IP
LF Alfonso Soriano
2B #Kaz Matsui
SS Ryan Theriot SS Miguel Tejada
1B
Derrek Lee RF Hunter Pence
3B
Aramis Ramirez LF Carlos Lee
CF
Reed Johnson 1B #Geoff Blum
2B Mark DeRosa 3B Ty Wigginton
RF *Kosuke Fukudome CF *Darin Erstad
C Henry Blanco C Humberto Quintero
P
*Rich Harden P *Wandy Rodrguez

Apparently the new trend for the Cubs is to get shut out the first game of a series. I can't say I approve. The amazing Rich Harden goes for the Cubs who saw his strikeout rate go down after striking out nine in seven innings in his last outing. He'll oppose Wandy Rodriguez, the Astros ace, who seems to have figured out how to pitch on the road this season - a 4.03 road ERA vs 3.31 home ERA. This compared to his 2007 split of a 6.37 road ERA vs a 2.94 home ERA.

The weather looks a little nicer today and I do hope all of our Chicago readers are safe and sound after yesterday's storm. Sure, the clear skies means there will be baseball, but it also means we won't see a repeat of Elvis sliding on the tarp. Suspiciously, the Astros' "Fat Elvis" - Lance Berkman - is out of the lineup today.

Comments

the 2 shut outs this homestand, the Cubs have come out hacking away in the first couple innings, including Soriano swinging at the first pitch of course. Show patience, good things will happen.

If you watch the highlight video, he makes a totally unnecessary jump. Quick adjustment, nice catch but more goofy than great.

I realize this is completely off topic (and that since the baby I never post; in fact I had to register for the first time), but that Miller Lite commercial I saw between innings - was that at Moody's?

In order to make the playoffs and make a deep run, I think Bob Howry has to get on track. That's the only possible explanation for Lou leaving him in today, and let's just hope it doesn't backfire. --edit-- Backfired. Fucking Carlos Lee.

on the bus with Eyre for Howry?

I like Lou for the most part, but he's gotta give up on Howry right now...he should have about 1 month ago.And F U Carlos "Cub Killer" Lee...

Not being able to scratch a run across when you have first and third with no outs is probably the bigger problem than Bob Howry's batting practice fast balls. How about a hit and run with Theriot on first?

I think we all agree that Howry's toast for the remainder of the season, or at least should be, after numerous chances. How about a Guzman call - up, maybe before 9/1?

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

I'd put Aramis in the 3 hole, Edmonds or Soto in the 4 hole, and Lee in the 5-6 hole. Maybe even just swap Lee and Aramis. The only problem I have with Lee in the 3 hole is that his power has been fairly limited the last couple years, and with Theriot getting on all the time in front of him (but only to first base), there are WAY too many opportunites to hit into double plays (opportunities that he rarely lets pass by these days). I think by now we all realize Lee's 2005 was an aberration that won't be repeated, and his 20-25 HRs just aren't enough for the 3 spot.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

Well... lineup simulators have found that you should put your 4th or 5th best hitter in the 3 slot. Your best hitters should be in the 2 and 4 slot, and then depending on the skill sets the next three should be in the 1, 5, and 3 slots. I am not sure that I completely buy it yet... but the numbers back it up. I don't mind Lee hitting 3rd at all. No question he has been in an extended slump, but it isn't like there are a lot of good options to replace Lee in the 3 slot. ARam hits into his share of double plays also... Further - Lee's double play propensity this year doesn't align with his stats for his career, so there is, in reality, no reason to expect him to continue to hit into double plays. And... FWIW.. Lee's GB% is only slightly higher this year (45%) than the previous two years (42%, 43%), so it would appear that there is a lot of luck involved.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

I don't know what the lineup simulators say when your 4th or 5th best hitter hits a grounder to short every other AB. I just looked at his spray chart on MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_hitting_chart.jsp?c_id=mlb&p… Unfortunately it only lets you look at one ballpark at a time, but the chart of his ground-outs has a huge red splotch over the shortstop. I don't know if it's because he's getting jammed on inside fast balls or he's not going the other way with outside pitches. Probably a bit of both. It's hard to complain too much since the team's in first place and he had four hits today, but it's just disgusting how many times Theriot takes a walk or gets a seeing eye single, only to be doubled up on another DLee grounder to short. There are a few solutions: 1) Put someone in front of him with a higher slugging percentage than Theriot so there's not always someone standing on first (e.g. swap Sori and Theriot). 2) Hit-and-run more often 3) Start making Lee bunt (obviously not going to happen) 4) Drop Lee in the order The only one I see legitimately happening is number 2.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Without looking into every player's spray charts, I can't really prove that DLee hits more grounders to short than other players do. But anecdotally, it seems to me that he hits way more grounders to short than anyone else (at least on the Cubs). I'd even be willing to bet he's at or near the lead in Fielder's Choice 6-4's (the only difference between that and a double play being there were already 2 outs). If anyone knows how to find this information, I'm a bit curious. Otherwise, we'll just have to leave it up to my perceived observations versus someone else's.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

For better or worse, Lee has turned himself into an opposite-field hitter, someone who is happy, early in the count, to get a slap single to right. It's not quite accurate to say that he has been in a slump. In June, when he hit 2 home runs, he batted .283. In July (2 more home runs) he hit .292. It's not even a power slump, since he hits the ball farther to straightaway center than Soriano hits it to left. But Lee's long balls don't go out (except occasionally over the 368 sign). His inside-out swing probably lends itself to grounders to the left side on inside pitches. I'm not criticizing him, it's just who he is and what he wants to be. Some guys just like to spend a little more time looking at a pitch.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Not a slump? You do know that there is more to baseball than batting average, right? April: .364/.437/.682 OPS: 1.118 May: .234/.269/.411 OPS: .681 June: .283/.371/.404 OPS: .775 July: .292/.339/.442 OPS: .781 May - July: .268/.324/.420 OPS: .744 His career line: .282/.367/.500 OPS: .867 I have no idea how you can say a SLUG of .420 is not a power slump for Lee. And his OPS over the last 3 months is 123 points lower than his career OPS. Not a slump? Sure... I guess there is a chance that he has just become a .744 OPS hitter, but I doubt it.

Neither are very good pitchers right now, but Lou really disliked Eyre as the season progressed. Lou's reaction in coming out to the mound to get Eyre in his last appearance spoke volumes - he looked absolutely disgusted with him.

Given all the hype and all the $$, and the fast start, it is remarkable how quickly Fukudome has become an afterthought in the lineup. His K's seem to have accelerated dramatically -- lots of swings and misses on sliders down and in (didn't see today's K). Hopefully, he can adjust.

Weird game today. You think 6-1 with Harden on the mound things are pretty safe. Lou keeps trying and trying to give Howry a confidence booster but so far its backfired just about every time. Soriano was HUGE though, when that guy is healthy and on this team is pretty damn good.

[ ]

In reply to by 10man

Gaudin pitched two innings last night, Samardzija threw 40 pitches on Sunday, Cotts has been worked VERY hard of late, and Lou goes out of his way to make sure Wood doesn't enter a game in the middle of an inning. So realistically, Lou's only options were Marshall or Howry. And I don't think Lou could have lived with himself if a righty slugger like Carlos Lee took a soft-tossing lefty like Marshall deep. So he put his chips on Howry, especially knowing that Howry rarely walks anybody.

Lou just needs to back off of Howry. Similar to the "dead arm" period that Marmol and Wuertz both went through earlier this summer, from overuse. Maybe Howry would benefit from a little "Wade Miller back spasms" DL trip for a couple or 15 days. Then if he still has trouble. You still have 10 days to try and make a waiver trade. Also it gives you 2 weeks to take a look at an Angel Guzman down the stretch. I personally think Angel will make a difference down the stretch.

Shit. Carpenter. 5IP, 0 runs. 0.00 ERA Fuck You! So it will be Demp and Carpenter on Sunday night, I guess. Maybe his arm will fall off too - like Mulder.

"...the kid gets the mlb pension and health plan for life." Does he really need this, after he signed his big - money contract not that long ago? Seems like the kid already won big after that development - shades of Bobby Brownlie. "Carpenter. 5IP, 0 runs. 0.00 ERA Fuck You!" Someone told me that I was nuts to keep insisting that his return could be an effective one, given some time. I hope I'm clearly wrong about that, but let's hope we can put this club in the rear - view mirror after this weekend.

thats it lets make sure harden doesnt have to run the bases next start . even though i must say the bunt he got a hit on was nice maybe he can give some tips to theriot.

Brewers vs. Reds, 11:35 am (Chicago time) today. Homer Bailey for the Reds -- Opp. BA this year = .381. Yikes.

Any word on Pie? Next year's OF -- corners are set, and I assume they will want to keep Reed as the 4th OF, but who is the main CF? Maybe they should tell Edmonds to buy a 1B mitt -- he can become the new Ward next year (late inning LH bat), but could actually play in the field, and could be an emergency backup if no other CF emerges?

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • 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.