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

Cocktail Napkin Trading

My how the sports writers love to speculate. They don't start a rumor mind you, they get a few out of context quotes to make it seem like it's from a real "the trade's just about ready to be completed" source. We all know Captain Wrongway Phil Rogers loves to do this stuff in his Sunday 'mlb whispers' column. The newest wanna-be GM rumor comes from Paul Sullivan, the Cubs beat specialist from the currently bankrupt (can I count the ways) Chicago Tribune.

Pseudo GM, 'Paul Sully-My-Reputation' pulls out the two martini cocktail napkin and draws up trade possibilities for Milton Bradley this offseason. On a bigger picture level he categorizes two "how to unload Bradley scenerios". Then he paints a classic bad contract for bad contract, real dollar salary swap with the Giants that oddly makes some sense (accent on odd).

Sully Scenerio #1:

A reverse salary dump or more accurately a salary eat and swallow (definitely not tasty). The team that will take on Bradley and the $20+ million remaining on his deal has no "bad" contracts of near equal value (because their inherently low payroll doesn't have any big contracts of similar value). Kansas City and San Diego get mentions here. KC will have 2 years remaining on Gil Meche's 5/55 deal but Meche has let everyone know he doesn't like the big market spotlight. He was a passing consideration during the 2006 off-season where the Cubs rightly preferred to sign Bulldog Teddy Roosevelt Lilly. A deal with these teams would essentially be the Cubs unloading Bradley but still paying the rest of his contract for minimal minor league talent in exchange. I'm not sure if it's worth discussing this since it's probably about the same as just releasing him and eating the collard "green"(s). The Cubs have done this before and gotten Jerry Hairston Jr., Mike Fontenot and Jose Ceda level value as players on previous trades to get bigger salary players out of town. So current GM Hendry has gotten something out of that situation before with the most value extracted from the unloading of Todd Hundley's big contract (2 years remained on a 4/24 deal) for Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek.

ESPN even got Padres GM, Kevin Towers to add this nearly tampering quote:

"I haven't had any calls from Jim about him," Towers told ESPN.com.

"But I think people kind of know what players we target. We have to take chances sometimes."

"We took a chance on Milton the first time we had him, and he actually played pretty well [before his knee injury].We could be in the market for an outfielder. I'm not saying it's necessarily Milton. But our experience with him was rather a positive one. It wasn't really a negative one."

So it looks like Towers is trying to 'target' ex-Cubs in a paint-by-numbers fashion, starting at #22. That makes Bradley his obvious next target. I'm thinking Ryne Sandberg will be the Padres next manager based on this logic.

Here's the inside poop from KC:

According to Royals insiders, upper management still considers Bradley a talented hitter who could thrive in a low-key environment such as the one in Kansas City.

Sully Scenerio #2:

Finding a trading partner with an ugly contract that makes a bigger financial committment than the current Bradley deal...and Sullivan seems to have found one!

So here's the punch line:

Aaron Rowand for Milton Bradley. Doing the math it's a 3/36 vs 2/21 swap. The Cubs would be on the hook for an albeit deferred, $15 million more. Hey, everybody likes Rowand and we all knows how laid back things are in northern California. Bradley would look a bit small (but comfy) in the Barry Bonds barkalounger. Hitting in front of happy go lucky Kung Fu Panda just might work for Milton.

If the Cubs want to swap bad contracts, as they did in the Hundley deal, the Giants may be Hendry's best option. Center fielder Aaron Rowand has not put up the kind of numbers expected in San Francisco and has three years remaining for $36 million.

Rowand is two years removed from a 27-homer, 89-RBI season for the Phillies and would be a good fit in the Cubs clubhouse.

(addition: and Bradley would be two years removed from a 22-homer, .321/.436/.663/.999 line in Texas)

I hope that Paul Sullivan uses the napkin on that blue cheese (from the olives) dribbling down his chin. A deal like this would make Hendry's biblical acquisitions: 3 Aaron's and 1 Moses...shouldn't the counter move really be a Pharoah Ramses II? That should get the Cubs a player who can really provide "protection" for the middle of the order (of course, that depends on how well the late Yul Brynner can hit).

One last thing...

As suspended Milton Bradley isn't with the team, I'm thinking I should be looking for him under the bus. Shouldn't players (in this case Reed Johnson) just keep their mouths shut rather than putting broken feet in them?

"Cubs fans would fall in love with him (Rowand), for sure," Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson said. "He did well on the other side of town, and I know people ... appreciate the way he plays the game." 

"But he (Rowand) takes responsibility for stuff," Johnson said. "If you ask him, he'll tell you he could be playing better than he is now."

The Grand Waldo Hotel Bus

 

 

 

 

**The Grand (where's) Waldo Hotel Bus**

 

Oddly, if they do get Rowand, it might just mean Reed Johnson might not be affordable as a 4th outfielder with Sam Fuld as a much cheaper option for that roster spot. With Fuld, the Cubs would be one player closer to a minyon, so that prayers for a World Series win could possibly get answered.

 

Comments

The Aarons and Moses' can join the Von Joshua. Somewhere (Dominican?) there must be a Jesus in the org to bring in the New Testament. This trend may keep the f-bomb to a minimum here before long, what with the Exodus of Bradley to the promised land.

Dear Cubster, please take the following rant for what it is, just a rant...but I don't get it, you're a fan who goes to games. You're a season ticket holder. Milton Bradley threw you under the bus Mr. "racist" Cub fan. How could ANYONE expect him to produce with the likes of YOU in the stands?! And yet you're dumping on Reed Johnson for putting in the word (when asked) for his best friend and buddy, Aaron Rowand---something MB would never do because he has no friends. And if you can't make friends with ANYONE on the Cubs, in the stands, or up in the booths, you, Milton "Piece of Shit" Bradley and your deck of race cards, belong under the bus. No one had to throw you there. Under the bus is your home.

In my opinion the Orioles (again) line up as the ideal trading partner-outside of Bradley. Luke Scott and Brian Roberts would be the targets. If we essentially stand pat, I'd see our rotation like this: 1. Lilly 2. Zambrano 3. Dempster 4. Wells 5. Samardzija/Gorzelanny bullpen 1. Marmol 2. Grabow 3. Guzman 4. Caridad 5. Berg 6. open This means I think the Cubs will deal or attempt to deal Sean Marshall. I also believe they will trade Jake Fox (surprise). To get Scott and Roberts we'll have to include a high end pitching prospect and possibly a shortstop (blanco?)I'm guessing we may have to part with Casey Coleman (i hope not) or a pitcher that has some upside. Needless to say, Roberts in the leadoff spot and Luke Scott hitting 5th and playing right would improve our offense significantly.

[ ]

In reply to by carmenfanzone

I'd love to acquire Roberts, but ... the Orioles have him signed down and look to start making a push in the next year or two. I think they are more likely to hold onto Roberts now, look for a middle of the order bat, and add a veteran starter and see where their youth can take them. Even if they do ponder dealing Roberts, I would expect our top names to get involved, ranging from Castro to Jackson to Cashner to Vitters and so forth. I'm not saying that the Cubs would deal any one of them, but with the Orioles having no real need to move Roberts, with the Orioles having one of the deeper collections of young pitching out there, I just don't see them dealing a guy like Roberts unless it's for an elite return, in a deal that makes sense for them, and I think they'd shoot quite high in their demands. Scott, I think it's possible he could be acquired (although it's equally possible they shift him to first base, ponder Josh Bell at 3rd, and sign a DH and let things fall), but I would prefer to acquire a CF and shift Fukudome to RF if at all possible. If we're talking random scenarios, the Rays have been mentioned as willing to listen on BJ Upton. That's a player I'd take a gamble on - they are looking for catching and pen help according to Ken Rosenthal. I'd be willing to shop a package of Soto and others for BJ Upton. Not sure if the Rays would be, but that'd be something I'd be open to pondering, depending on who the others are.

The part I took issue with was: "But he (Rowand) takes responsibility for stuff," Johnson said. I stand corrected as my issue should be with Sullivan for putting it in a context that makes that quote a slap at Bradley. Unless RJohnson really said that as a slap at Bradley. for RJohnson, ARam, DLee and Dempster to be quoted with things that by implication point at Bradley was pretty interesting since supposedly it goes beyond the code of what happens in the locker room stays there. Clearly bridges are being burned here and the sportswriters wanted a bonfire and they got it. I wonder if RJohnson was even thinking of Bradley with that quote? Maybe. I have no problem saying he likes the way Rowand plays the game or takes responsibility for stuff when not used as a contrast to what the Cubs just went through with Bradley. It seems to be piling on at this point and the writers who hate Bradley much more than the fans, want to do that every chance they can. As a fan, I just want the Cubs to win. This other stuff was on the level of distraction leading to a failed season, reminiscent of the 2004 team with Farnsworth, Merker, Alou. Which also had alot of battling with the media issues. When it gets to a player who then can't perform because he's distracted, it's best to get that person to another town. Somebody threw this Cub season under the bus. Hendry is more to blame than anyone else but the finger pointing list is long and the writers are gleaming with that being so. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-25-morrissey-mil…

I vote for a 3-way deal, Bradley and cash to somewhere, Wood to Cubs and some cash to somewhere, somewhere sends some C-level prospects Cleveland's way...

Oh Carmen. The Orioles are a no-go as long as their crazy owner insists on buggering up each trade. Let Roberts go. The Cubs's biggest problem with any trade they might want to make is that they have so little to offer over other teams (Angels) that have a lot of talent. Rowand would be interesting. I'm sure the WSox fans would love this. Here's some wish list people I would like to get but not bloody likely: Lackey - pipe dream Aaron Harang -(may be injured, more likely just burned out from the Reds by lack of run support) Ichiro Suzuki- again hah! but I do like him. DeRosa-no comment needed Pitching coach- Orel Herscheiser or Leo Mazzone coach/babysitter-Hank White That's all for now. Hope you chuckled a little bit.

Twittenmeyer: Lineup vs. Zito: riot, gooch (7), rami, fox (3), bake, rejo (9), soto, fuld, gorz.

I'm so tired of hearing of the racist Cubs fans. I'm sure there are jerks everywhere, but one thing Jock Jones, Latroy Hawkins, and now Milton Bradley can't seem to grasp is the fans loved Sammy Sosa. If we are all racist to the bone we would have ripped Sammy daily. The team ended up throwing Sammy under the bus, not the fans. Bottom line, produce for the team and the fans will not only accept you but love you. Suck and you'll get your ass booed constantly. Does anyone really think the ushers at Wrigley let people scream racist threats at players? The moment that is heard the fan would be kicked out. I've been to Wrigley a hundred times, heard some heavy duty heckling, but never racist stuff. Personally, instead of trading or releasing Bradley, if I owned the team I would buy a semi-pro team in Siberia and transfer Bradley's contract there.

[ ]

In reply to by Paul Noce

I don't intend to argue that all Cubs fans are racist. That's absurd. However, racism is more than just hating all people with certain perceived physical similarities. It also includes assigning roles for those people based on the perceived physical similarities. I suspect that Bradley (or anyone accusing Cubs fans in general of racism) would counter that, sure, Wrigley loves black players that stay in their place, never make a fuss, and perform extraordinarily. Again, I wouldn't necessarily agree with any one of those points, but they are arguments that one could make regarding racism at Wrigley.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Wrigley loves black players that stay in their place, never make a fuss, and perform extraordinarily.
I think you have a much truer statement if you simply remove the word "black' from this sentence. Cubs fans love just about any player, regardless of skin color, who plays hard and doesn't make a fuss. Do you think Ryne Sandberg or Mark Grace or any of the other "fan favorite" white players over the years would have been fan favorites if they had behaved like Bradley? I doubt it. It's pretty universally accepted that Bradley is a jerk. And generally speaking, fans don't like jerks, regardless of their skin color.

Ken Rosenthal was just on TV during the Cubs game and said the Cubs have already had contacts from other teams regarding Bradley. San Fran, San Diego, Mets, Texas and Tampa were mentioned. Also said that the Cubs are confident they can trade Bradley this off-season and do the sliding scale in paying Bradley, the more we pay the better player we get back.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS officials dismiss — in strong terms — reports of possible interest in acquiring outfielder Milton Bradley from the Cubs. “Idiots” was one of the nicer comments directed at those offering such speculation. ~snip~ The Royals are likely linked to Bradley because they nearly acquired him from Oakland in 2006 for reliever Leo Nuñez. The deal was voided at the last moment when Bradley suffered an injury. It was former manager Buddy Bell who pushed to acquire Bradley because the two had an amicable relationship in Cleveland (where he was a coach). http://www.kansascity.com/385/story/1472338.html

Muskat tweeting more useful stuff: Don't expect D-Lee in #cubs lineup Sunday; he's still bothered by neck spasms Lou Piniella is first cubs mgr since Charlie Grimm to have winning record in first 3 years with team; Grimm's first years were 1933-35

A couple things: There were FIVE games the Cubs EASILY choked away this season with Gregg - and I would have to admit with DeRosa in the early part of the offensive drought lineup, and subbing for A-Ram, the team adds on another 2-4 wins no problem. With that scenario, the team is right in the thick of the Wild Card race. Bradley/No Bradley - Hendry royally fucked the team with these two decisions. I really think that even a "closer by committee" without Gregg would have done a better job. On the bright side, in spite of a few of you who constantly trash out Minors - and BP or whatever tip sheet you read, the team's inexperienced players did an admirable job this year and could be at least bench players on nearly all MLB squads. There are 800 total players in the entire major leagues - and making it to this level is a success. OK - we don't have another Albert Pujols perhaps - but servicable Major League caliber players - which is the true objective of the farm system. Plus using players in trades...

I really think that even a "closer by committee" without Gregg would have done a better job. (Bradley/No Bradley) --- aka Wuertz and Ceda/No Gregg?

Yeah, small sample size and everything, but... Who needs Soriano and Bradley? Definitely looks like the Cubs do NOT. Do NOT need those dudes. Pack ya bags, leave the bill on the table. OUT.

It is amazing the record without Bradley any where around maybe: Should have done this earlier. Its just a small sample size. When Scales starts are record is? We are 1-0 when Taguchi starts. The clubhouse is less stressful with no Bradley. Or could it be no Bradley and no hope of post season which takes all the pressure off and makes team relax.

I think the team is happy for the first time this season. Trust me, it takes alot out of you to deal with assholes like Bradley.

Sullivan takes another shot at MB, manipulating a quote out of Jake Fox: Is it just a coincidence, or has the removal of Bradley from the picture improved the team's chance of success? "It might be," Jake Fox said with a laugh. "That's a funny point to bring up because I didn't even think about it. I guess it could be, but guys are playing relaxed, and guys are playing fun. "It's a learning experience because it shows you if you just play that way every day, regardless of what kind of pressure is on you, regardless of what people may be saying or not saying about you, [it] shows you a lot about what we can do as a team." The operative word is "team." The Cubs never could be a true team with one player going in another direction for 5 1/2 months. Now that everyone is relaxed, there's much more camaraderie in the clubhouse. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-27-cubs-giants-c…

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Sounds to me like Fox was trying to turn it back around to talk about the overall reduction of pressure, perhaps including the near impossibility of making the playoffs at this point? Still, Fox would've been better off dodging that question; rookies are not allowed to criticize anyone.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

I don't know where Twitten-Witten gets his numbers from but Baseball Reference had the Cubs at 21-9 when Bradley doesn't play. Make that 21-10 after today's game. It was even more spectacular when Bradley was still actually on the team. The Cubs were 15-6 when he didn't play. The Cubs were 60-64 when he did. And, fwiw, 31 games is a sufficient sample size to say with 99% confidence that it's not just luck that the team played better when he wasn't on the field.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

This is not in any way a defense of anything about Milton Bradley. Typically with a sample size of thirty data elements you can say create a 'confidence interval' that allows you to say, that you're 90% certain that the element you're looking at is withing 1 standard deviation of the mean, 95% within two SD's and 99% withing three. It's totally OK to apply that to this sample of 31 games. All you need is: 1. The same teams 2. The same ballpark 3. The same weather conditions 4. The same lineups, including pitchers 5. Who are pitching on the same amount of rest - and all the bullpen pitchers have the same amount of rest 6. The umpires are exactly the same 7. Everyone on both teams have had the same amount of rest, and have had the same diet for the last few weeks 9. The players all have the same level of health 10. Etc etc If you had all those things, you could say that the Cubs were 99% likely to be a better team with Bradley, assuming that the 21-10 record was 3 standard deviations away from their record in other games, with the exact same situation, the only variable being that Bradley was in one set and not in the other.

72% of all statistics are made up on the spot. --- So the more precise stats, the other 28% are on the... Gee, spot?

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13434777?nclick_check=1 The A's didn't know Michael Wuertz, obtained from the Chicago Cubs last winter, would become a dominant setup man. Wuertz entered Sunday leading AL relievers in strikeouts. Wuertz struggled with his slider last season, but he identified and fixed a mechanical flaw in his delivery while watching video during spring training. A July report in the Wall Street Journal found Wuertz's slider to be the toughest pitch to hit in the majors in 2009 (not Marmol's), based on a 49.7 percent swing-and-miss rate. He is the third reliever in Oakland history to reach 100 strikeouts, joining Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers. Wuertz, rumored to have garnered trade interest near the July 31 deadline, is arbitration-eligible but very much in the A's plans for 2010 ####### If you recall, the conventional wisdom last year was that Wuertz was having trouble locating his fastball and as a result started relying on his slider "too much." He wound up throwing fastballs 28.9% of the time, 60.8% sliders, and 9.5% changeups. For some reason this drove Lou batty and Hendry gave Wuertz to the A's. (Did I mention that I really really hated this "trade") So what is Wuertz doing differently this year? Surpise! He's throwing MORE sliders and dumped his change. 30.9%FB, 65.1%SL, 2.2%CH http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1856&position=P

Z won't just quit. Two things amaze me about this story: 1. People still take everything he says seriously and 2. Zambrano hasn't figured out that everything he says will be taken seriously.

From Ben Maller's site... Because there was so much negative reaction to their "bomb" celebration at home plate when Prince Fielder hit a walk-off homer against San Francisco three weeks ago, the Brewers had a muted reception for Ryan Braun after he beat the Phillies with a ninth-inning homer Saturday night. Macha was afraid to look, however. "I told (Dave) Bush, 'If we have a walk-off, I'm going straight into the locker room. I don't know what's going to happen at home plate,'" said Macha. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel WTF? What was wrong with Fielder's celebration? I thought it was fun. Lame.

Wrongway Phil Rogers "whispering" at his dumbest... --- http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-27-rogers-whispers-sep27,0,52809… Some baseball people believe the White Sox could have interest in the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, possibly even for the newly acquired Jake Peavy. It would be a way for two teams without much money to spend to shake things up, but wouldn't Peavy have more value than Zambrano at this point? --- The Padres and Rangers aren't the only potential destinations for Milton Bradley. The Rays also are on that list, but it's hard to see a fit, as they would look to dump underachieving designated hitter Pat Burrell on the Cubs. The Padres know Bradley from his previous stay there and might welcome him back, but only if the Cubs pay most of the $21 million left on his contract. The Cubs might ask for right-hander Chris Young in the deal, assuming the risk that he will bounce back from shoulder surgery in June.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

at this point it's take what you can get and then deal with that problem...

as for the Chris Young talk, he had surgery in August...

Two Padres doctors found he had multiple tears in his right labrum as well as fraying. They smoothed the edges around the labrum that were causing severe bursitis, then repaired the two small tears in the shoulder.

There was no damage to the rotator cuff or Young’s shoulder capsule, which will cut his rehab time in half.

claim he'll be ready by mid-February, owed $6.25M in 2010 and $8.25M club option in '11. I suppose it's possible the Padres might not want to wait around to see if he's going to get healthy. Shoulder surgeries are a lot sketchier than elbow surgeries for pitchers and chances of recovery (or so it seems). Plus Young is a product of Petco...

 

Cubs' magic number is now one. They will not be eliminated today, however, as both they and the Rockies are off. I venture no prediction about tomorrow. A few weeks ago, I though there was a high probability that they would be eliminated during the road trip they just completed.

My thoughts on another possible trading partner: Texas has a glut of outfielders-Hamilton, Borbon, Byrd, Cruz, Jones and Murphy. I would consider trading for David Murphy. He's lefthanded and has good power numbers. Perhaps Sean Marshall for David Murphy? Another guy who could help the Cubs would be Hank Blaylock. He could back up Ramirez and Lee, hits lefthanded and has some pop. He makes over 6M and might be adverse to coming off the bench, but he could be viable in exchange for Bradley.

[ ]

In reply to by carmenfanzone

"Another guy who could help the Cubs would be Hank Blaylock." Ouch. Blaylock's OBP this year was .280 (.239/.280/.470). Not showing much plate discipline this year -- only 24 BB in 482 PA. So yeah, some "pop" but only a 93 OPS+. Would we be hoping for improvement from coming to the weaker league? Hoping for a bounce back year stat-wise? At any rate, he'd hardly be a sure thing.

[ ]

In reply to by JoePepitone

Ugh... No offense to the poster here, but I always cringe when I see something like "Eww, Blalock? He only hit .239..." Dude. There's an actual game with actual humans that is played and only a very small part of this game is batting average. But yes, Blalock's 93 OPS+ is nearly equal to Milton Bradley's OPS+. And Blalock doens't have the Milton Bradley baggage. It doesn't matter much, if I'm the Rangers I don't make this trade, even if the Cubs cover the entire paycheck.

getting rid of bradley to pick up a near useless piece of crap who's upside isn't near milton's is of no interest to me, honestly. a bad contract of a bad player's year in exchange for a bad contract of a bad player...meh.

I would hope hendry has learned lessons : 1. Towers likes to talk to the press about possible cub trades, much surprised he has not been hit with tampering charge. When Towers was negotiating to trade Peavy to the sox how come we were surprised when Kenny Williams and Towers made that trade it was a total shock. 2. Trade with orioles WHY should hendry even try.

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).