Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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

Elias Rankings for Cubs Free Agents

Submitted by Rob G. on

The official Elias rankings are out and they don't differ too much from the reverse-engineered list that MLB Trade Rumors was putting out (courtesy of Eddie Bajek).

Type A - John Grabow, Kevin Gregg

Type B - Rich Harden

Reed Johnson didn't make the cut and even if offered arbitration, the Cubs would not get any draft picks if he signed with another team.  The Cubs weren't going to offer Gregg arbitration as is, since the chances of a team signing him and giving up a draft pick are between zilch and none and the Cubs don't want him back. Grabow may get offered arbitration because the Cubs would prefer to have him back in 2010. Rich Harden should be offered arbitration because he's one of the two most talented pitchers available on the market and even with his arm issues, a one year deal is pretty low risk even at $10Mish a year. Plus Ted Lilly is broken.

In case you forgot the rules, a  Type A free agent - if offered arbitration by his previous team - nets a first round pick and a supplemental pick for his previous team if he signs with another club. That first round pick comes from the signing team but it could be a second round pick if that team has a draft pick in the upper half of the draft. It could also be a second round or lower pick if the signing team signs multiple Type A free agents.  A Type B free agents nets a supplemental pick for the player's previous team but costs the signing team nothing.

In terms of some players the Cubs might have some interest in and who might get offered arbitration.

Type A - Chone Figgins,  Billy Wagner, Johnny Damon, Placido Polanco

Type B - Mark DeRosa,  Mike Cameron, Randy Johnson, Randy Winn

Tags
Reed Johnson
Rich Harden
Elias Rankings
Kevin Gregg
John Grabow

Comments

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:41 pm

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/11/cubs-billy-williams-dont-g…

"If we could salvage something here and get a good ballplayer after what has happened, I think it would be a good thing," Williams said Monday. "I am going to continue to try to talk to him and give my opinion on what he should do and what he shouldn't do. I know that he listens and he will tell me a lot of things."

Williams was one of the few people who maintained a steady dialogue with Bradley throughout last season.

 

[ ]

Submitted by navigator on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:07 pm

Williams is right. He's costing us $21 million, so salvage Bradley instead of giving him away--at least keep him next year. I think Milton is an over-emotional guy who just can't stop losing it. He's a basket case but now that the meltdown is over he could settle down and have a great year in 2010. Except for batting average and slugging, Bradley actually had an above average year for him. In his 11 year career here's how 2009 stacks up. 108 OPS+ 6th best year/ out of 11 .378 OBP 4/11 66 BB 3/11 124 Games 3/11 473 PA 3/11 61 Runs 3/11 101 Hits 4/11 17 2B 5/11 12 HR 6/11 40 RBI 5/11 11 HBP 1/11 Well that's a pretty mediocre stack of stats but you can see it was above average. Nice OBP though thanks to taking one for the team 11 times. But he hit well by any measure at Wrigley Field 246 PA, .296 .407 .485 and he handled LHP much better than Alfonso Soriano did which opens the possibility of a platoon in LF. If it were me, I'd do just that in April and May 2010 and bat him second where his OBP would be useful.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:57 pm

yeah, but if williams is the only guy willing to put in the work to manage the baby then what's the point? and yeah, he did nice at wrigley...and some bleacher fans responded by pissing on him as if it's part of the price of admission and what a baseball game is all about. his "real" manager doesn't seem to like him and he got in a fight with a coach end-of-season. he seems destined to find a new home. the cubs, who need help hitting, are going to pay another team to take their .370-.400ob% hitter with a bit of pop who can play CF/RF away from them because 5-6m worth of managers and coaches can't make it happen.

Submitted by The E-Man on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:37 pm

I had advocated for Polanco prior to the Tigers getting him. McFail did not want to do it as we were so "stacked at 2nd" at the time. Now though, I wonder if he is past his prime?

Submitted by kmokeefe on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:06 pm

glad to see one out of the three ground balls we see him take is fumbled also, I'm hardly an expert in the field, but he appears very loose and i'm not a fan of the 3-minus arm slot

Submitted by John Beasley on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:00 pm

"According to our records, Derek Jeter only had 58 walks in 1993 in the South Atlantic League. (As further corroborating evidence, the league record for walks drawn in a season is held by Jeff Gardner, who had 142 in 1985 with the Columbia club)." - Eric Krupa, South Atlantic League

[ ]

Submitted by John Beasley on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:22 pm

Yes, he's a mid-30s, single-hitting second baseman with limited defensive ability who's signed for two more years at $6M per. But his OBP is respectable, he steals bags at a nice clip, and more importantly, this would allow the Cubs to dump Bradley and move on with the other important pressing business of the offseason. And if the Cubs don't have to throw in much/any cash, all the better. I wonder if the Mets would do that deal straight up and take Bradley instead of Overbay. Not that it would really matter from the Cubs' end, but Rosenthal said Toronto might not bite.

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:20 pm

You're not bothered by the .361 BABIP that Baker put up last year? Before you start looking at his career numbers, keep in mind a big hunk of that came at Coors field where the ball falls 6% faster, which boosts BABIP. Not sure how these projections go, but unless that's a straight platoon projection for Baker, I'll bet a pair of Cubs tickets on each of the unders for the slash stats. That's pleasantly surprising about Baker's defensive statistics, though. He doesn't look very good. Remember way back in 2008 when we thought that Mike Fontenot could handle 2nd base based on a partial season and some good results in defensive metrics?

Submitted by artskoe on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:21 pm

Let Tommie Harris follow Milton around and go into the bleachers while he's playing outfield in case any fans act like idiots. One way or 'tother Cubs should get their moneys worth and MB 'nother chance. But if Lou can't get better results from his players it's going to be at least one more long, difficult summer. So far the only thing I've heard about new owners is the hot dogs will be served faster with a smile and stainless urinals will be polished. When will TCR post the spring training countdown?

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:31 pm

the Rosenthal article says there isn't much legs to it fwiw says Rays are the heaviest pursuers but want Cubs to pick up most of his 2011 contract...

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:51 pm

-9.3, -12.0 UZR/150 over the last 2 years... hasn't touched average in Rate2 since 2005, 84 and 94 the last 2 years... but he takes walks...

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:48 pm

But is that not true of practically all potentially available second basemen? So how does that help us figure his value in comparison to others? Would he especially benefit from Lee's presence (that is, do his troubles stem particularly from an erratic arm rather than a lack of range)?

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:59 pm

Well, people are comparing his defense to Baker's, so if you're going to compare apples to apples, you would need to evaluate how Castillo would do playing with an actual first basemen instead of next to a DH or an outfielder. When you can pretty much throw any old thing towards firstbasish, like the Cubs infielders can and not get charged with errors, that's going to allow you to make throws that you wouldn't attempt otherwise, and turn some of those into outs.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:03 pm

hey, Ryan Theriot comes out as a perfectly passable shortstop by most rankings, so there must be something to it :)

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:09 pm

UZR is a shit stat. ask tiexera or elsbury about it...hell, you see guys with 10+ point swings over a single season. bobby abreu had a -25 uzr a while back. it's sketchy...

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:36 pm

from what I understand, it takes 3 years worth of defensive opportunities to equal one year worth of offense in terms of sample size...

if you break down a player by every 2 months of their offensive stats, you'll see some some wild swings there too...

that being said, it's measuring performance, not talent....and anyone can have an unlucky year with the bat or glove...

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:44 pm

UZR doesn't even measure performance. UZR could care less how well a middle IF'rs footwork is or what he does with a ball after he handles it. it is also pretty notorious for coming to flakey conclusions with 1st basemen and what players who play deep/close can do to UZR. also, part of what the stat is based on...error runs...is a horribly ill-weighted stat, imo.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:01 pm

UZR could care less how well a middle IF'rs footwork is or what he does with a ball after he handles it. it is also pretty notorious for coming to flakey conclusions with 1st basemen and what players who play deep/close can do to UZR

the basics of any defensive metric are going to be how many more or less outs the player gets than his peers, how he goes about doing it, is going to be of no consquence...play deep or shallow, or ugly footwork are left for the scouts like we leave if a guy can handle a slider or not even though he hit a ton the year before....

also, part of what the stat is based on...error runs...is a horribly ill-weighted stat, imo.

how so? don't know enough about it myself...

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 11:20 pm

RngR (range runs): The number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by how the fielder is able to get to balls hit in his vicinity. ErrR (error runs): The number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by the number of errors he makes as compared to an average fielder at that position given the same distribution of balls in play.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 11:00 am

it's not a quantitative thing except for the fact it's actually considered...i worded it incorrectly. i consider it to be an even worse part of the stat mixture than the range part, basically. i'm just not a fan of the stat on so many play positions that i don't consider it a good stat.

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 11:13 am

My biggest beef with UZR is how it divides hits 'Through the hole(s)' between the infielders and that it ignores catching line drives for infielders. Fix those two aspects and it would probably be pretty decent.

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. 

Click HERE for the last 50 comments