Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



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

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).