Cubs MLB Roster

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40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




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The Cubs 2009 MVP and LVP Analysis

Submitted by Rob G. on

This is probably no more than a formality for 2009, but might as well go through the motions. Last year our wonderful readers voted Geovany Soto as the Cubs 2008 MVP, so let's see who we come up with this year (attempts to build suspense). You can vote in the post above, leave comments on this post though.

Your offensive candidates:

Derrek Lee and...(shuffles papers, clicks on Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus)...I got nothing. Let's put Koyie Hill just for laughs and because he saved this season according to Hendry.

Name
WARP-1
WAR
Team Record when starting
OPS
OPS+
League OPS @ Position
HR
RBI
R
Lee 5.2
 5.2
73-68
.972
 147
858 35
111
 91
Hill
1.8
 0.3
42-27 .636
65
710
 2
26
 24

For what it's worth, Lee led the Cubs in home runs, RBI's, runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging (for qualified hitters) and was second in doubles (to Fukudome) and hits (to Theriot). Koyie Hill has a mangled hand, caught 29 straight games and threw out 40% of would be basestealers.

Let's throw in some pitchers for fun:

Name WARP-1 WAR
ERA
W-L
IP
K/9
K:BB
xFIP
Dempster 3.3 3.7
3.64 11-9
200
7.74
2.65
3.86
Lilly 4.6 3.7
3.10
12-9
 177
7.68
4.19
4.08
Zambrano  3.4
3.6
3.77
9-7
169.1
8.08
1.95
4.28
Wells
4.7
3.0
3.05
12-10 165.1
5.66
2.26
4.28

The team MVP is pretty obvious, but the teams' pitcher of the year is a little more open to the discussion. I'm not even including Zambrano in the poll. I think it comes down to the Ted Lilly or Randy Wells, although if Ryan Dempster isn't dealing with his family problems, I would venture a solid guess that he would have had the best season.  But let's deal in reality instead of theory. 12 innings more for Lilly isn't much of a difference, the W-L records are about the same and the ERA's are pretty much the same. Wells stepped up big and cost a lot less than Lilly, so to put the value in valuable, I'll give Wells the nod.

LVP Candidates

Kevin Gregg, Aarron Miles, Milton Bradley, Alfonso Soriano, Mike Fontenot, Geovany Soto

Player
WARP-1
WAR
OPS
OPS+
League OPS at Position
PA
HR
RBI
R
Miles
-1.1
-1.3 .466
21
 .743 170
0
5
17
Bradley
2.6
1.1
.775
101
 .781 473
12
40
61
Soriano
 1.1 -0.8
.726
85
.782 522
20
55
64
Fontenot
 0.5 0.5
.677
74
 .743 419
 9 43 38
Soto
 1.8 1.3
.702
81
 .710 389
11
47
27

 

and Kevin Gregg...

5-6, 4.72 ERA, 23 S, 7 BS (1 after he was removed from closing duties), 13 HR, 68.2 IP, -0.3 WAR, 1.2 WARP-1,  -0.78 WPA, 

That looks like a three horse race to me between Miles, Soriano and Kevin Gregg. Bradley underperforming jack-ass and all, still put up league average numbers at his position. Man, this is tough...I got good reasons to vote for anyone of those three.

Soriano - when you get paid like a superstar, you just can't put up sub-replacement level numbers...you just can't do it. Throw in his scatter-brain defense (11 incredible errors in LF), and refusal to be up front about his injury and then remember he has 5 years left on his deal. How does that make you feel about the Cubs future?

Gregg -  If you looked at his numbers on July 30th, you'd come away impressed...3.35 ERA and just 3 blown saves. But his August was one for the history books, blew a Marlins game that the Cubs came back and won, then blew another one in Florida, took the loss in extra innings against Philly and then giving up 4 runs in a 1-0 game at San Diego.

Miles - I can't tell you how impressed I am that he accumulated a negative WARP-1 and WAR value in 170 PA's. He has surpassed Neifi! in TCR folklore as the representation of everything that is wrong with the Cubs.

And I still can't decide...but I think I'm going Soriano. As the second highest paid player on the team(he'll be first going forward for the next 5 years, wrap your head around that), the expectations are rightfully high. He disappointed like no other, driving in just 12.7% of the runners on base in front of him, and more interested in playing it up with the fans, then working on his defense. If the knee was the problem, that's fine, hope he heals up well, but he did his team a huge disservice trying to play through it instead of taking a DL stint. If it wasn't the knee, the Cubs are gonna be the proud owners of the worst contract in baseball.

Comment below, vote on the post above....

Tags
Statistical Analysis
Cubs MVP
Cubs LVP

Comments

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:36 pm

Image removed. Image removed.
via Rotoworld...

Charlie Manuel is hoping to bring in a new backup infielder in the offseason.
Not good news for Eric Bruntlett. "I want something similar to who [Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley] are and someone that can probably contribute something similar to that," said Manuel.

being Rotoworld, they probably butchered the quote and I can't get the link to work, but I'm guessing infielders that can contribute like Rollins and Utley aren't gonna be back-ups.

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:46 pm

soriano was a flaming POS this year. he doesn't change..he doesn't listen to coaches..but he waves to the OF bleachers and smiles a lot. i'd like to have a beer with that guy! well, flaming POS is harsh, but his "swing hard at the front of the box" days seem be catching up to his body/skill decline. he's still got his power swing, but he was late on so much stuff in the box. out in the field his casual play is getting embarrassing.

Submitted by Tito on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:23 pm

Not trying to defend Soriano, but it seems pretty clear that he wasn't 100 percent physically. I don't think we can expect more than his '07-'08 seasons at this point, but I think he'll be better next year than he was this year.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:12 pm

Levine mentioned the same thing yesterday in the post I had about arbitration, think I mentioned it at the bottom of it. De Luca says the Cubs are pushing the Rays for a "quick resolution."

Burrell, 32, is officially owed $9 million next season, though $2 million of his salary was paid in advance. Bradley is owed $9 million next season and $12 million in 2011. So the Cubs could repay the Rays some of the $2 million advanced to Burrell and pay some or all of the 2011 Bradley salary to get off the hook relatively cheaply.

mentions something about putting Burrell in RF (bwahahahaha)

 

[ ]

Submitted by navigator on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:18 pm

Well, Bill James said one thing that won't be popular here at all. He said that clubhouse chemistry is hugely important. And one guy (e.g. TheRealNeal) can really screw things up. He also said --balanced skills are more important than the ability to do one thing well (see Alfonso Soriano..except this year he could do nothing well). --wasting an out to move a runner to 2B is ill-advised unless the pitcher is batting --not making outs most important --RBI not very important, too related to opportunities --BA with RISP...not predictive of what a player will do in the future --OBP very import --SLG very import --ERA very import --OPS..he doesn't use it but it's useful --BA can be useful --Wins by a pitcher IS a VERY reliable stat over a period of years (not in a single year) On Carlos Zambrano, "Is he an ace..I don't know, but if you don't want him I'll take him" On Milton Bradley, "outstanding player when he keeps his head in the game"

[ ]

Submitted by Tito on Fri, 10/09/2009 - 10:22 pm

You've never been in the Cubs' clubhouse, but that doesn't stop you from commenting on it. You are correct, though, about what players will say. Every one I've talked to said it's important but that winning breeds chemistry, not the other way around. The good chemistry aspect seems to come into play when dealing with adversity. The Cubs had plenty of that this year and didn't seem to deal with it all that well.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:23 pm

starts off interview referencing the Theo interview that Dave linked to earlier where he says the Red Sox don't look at RBI's at all when valuing players and then goes into how RBI's are a function of opportunities and not making outs is the most important thing they look at...

then talks about hitting with RISP and yes, it makes a big deal within the course of the season, but it has very little predictive significance...

it goes to touch on other topics...college hitters, balanced players over guys with just one great skill, clubhouse presence being important, takes some questions, sac bunts, Kaplan then runs through a bunch of stats and asks how James values them, Kaplan goes off on Z and especially his contract, James defends Z a little, etc...

so yeah, nothing new, but relevant to the recent Milton/Soriano discussions...

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 10/09/2009 - 10:40 am

well I agree with what you're saying about the booing, but there are certainly people I've run into in my jobs that I don't get along with and don't make work a fun place or make it more difficult to get work done. You have to overcome it of course, but doesn't mean I want them around. I doubt any Cubs player is going to point to Bradley for their disappointing season, and if they do blame Bradley, they should be shot on site, but I'm sure they're glad they don't have to deal with him.

Obviously if the Cubs did better and Milton did better, half the shit that went down doesn't happen.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 10/09/2009 - 10:10 am

manny was signed by dan duquette and yeah, didn't they try to get rid of him like every year?

but obviously you have to balance winning, the player's output and their attitude, I don't think Bill even remotely insinuated it was the only factor. A matter of fact, he just gave a very general workplace example and just said it's not something the Red Sox completely ignore from his understanding...like let's say RBI's.

[ ]

Submitted by Washington on Sat, 10/10/2009 - 10:01 am

I'm for that even if we dump MB for Burrell. One of those three is likely to be hot. Fox has to stay as backup 1b-3b at the least in case of catastrophy at those positions. Can we then get Chone Figgins to play 2B? And can he spell Theriot at SS for 15 games so we don't need Blanco? Reed is gone if we have Burrell, Fox, and Hoffpauir, yes? I wouldn't spend money on Reed's slot with the cheaper choices at hand. Fontenot can go to the minors? That would help. Miles has to go. Tampa have any use for him along with Bradley, and throw in Cotts too? Iwamura back to the Cubs? That's a complete stretch. They have to eat Miles. Soto/Hill, Lee, Figgins, Theriot, Ramirez, Soriano, Fukudome, Burrell, Fox, Hoffpauir, Baker, Johnson or Fuld or Blanco and we've already run out of slots? Who goes, I could see a case for all fo them staying somehow. Looks like the bullpen will get younger. Grabow would be nice, Cotts not so much. Not gonna be much of a first offseason to the new owner. Ramirez and Soriano healthy and back all year would be huge enough for 2010 I believe.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:52 pm

Cole Hamels leaves the park after being lifted from the game...wife gave birth during the game I believe. I think DeRosa's wife is due at any moment as well, if I heard that correctly from Vin last night on the radio. speaking of DeRosa, other than soul-crushing errors and a double play, he's hit the crap out of the ball in the last 3 playoffs.

[ ]

Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:59 pm

Yeah - he "hit crap" alright, to end any chance of the Cubs winning a Playoff game against the DBacks. A nice 6-4-3 DP with the bags juiced. I was there and you could hear a pin drop. He is a very nice player. I was disgusted that Hendry traded him. But "clutch" in the Playoffs is not his strong suit. Even in Atlanta - same thing.

Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:57 pm

man. even though i am not a big Dodgers fan, how sweet it would be for the Ned-Flanderish, Cardinal Nation to have a huge turd placed on their collective head. it is goin to be tall odds to win three straight. Wheeee! btw - joe torre's scouts know what they're doing

Submitted by rokfish on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:33 pm

Dave Kaplan on comcast sportsnite talked about how a source of his in Minnesota (damn he has a source in every city) told him the twins wanted to trade for Harden and Gregg but Hendry said he didnt want to wave white flag on Aug. 30th. To bad Kaplins source did not tell him who the Twins were offering. My question is are you really waving the white flag by trading Harden and Gregg. I would think addition by subtraction would have worked here.

Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:20 pm

Paul Sullivan Soriano's lack of concentration in the field is definitely a problem. He committed 11 errors this year, while no other left-fielder with 100 or more games there made more than five. But I don't think it's a problem of him not working hard enough. He just takes bad routes, plays the wall and corners poorly, and seems afraid of injuring himself making a diving catch. He should hire an editor, so someone could point out to him that you don't get errors for doing any of those things.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 10/09/2009 - 10:15 pm

Well, bad routes and fear of the wall/corners can result in errors if they contribute to getting into bad position or not concentrating on the ball. But most of the errors I've seen out of Soriano don't seem to have much to do with the wall, and often he seems to get to the spot in plenty of time. How does one explain those errors? Add those to his poor range (bad routes and fear of diving--or poor first steps and poor last steps) and his difficulties with the walls and corners, and you've got some defensive problems. His arm makes up for some of them, I think. I don't know how it is that in the past he's been evaluated as good by defensive metrics... I just don't have insight into the stat, I think.

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.

    I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH. 

    He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.

    You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)

  • crunch (view)

    bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.

    the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?

    I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.

  • Charlie (view)

    Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH. 

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.

    The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.

    I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day. 

     

    That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled). 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

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