Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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





Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

The Cubs 2009 MVP and LVP Analysis

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....

Comments

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.

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.

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

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)

 

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

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"

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

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...

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

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.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

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.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

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.

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

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.

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

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.

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.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

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

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team.