Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Rumor Round-Up: Granderson, Bradley, Castillo, Grabow & Byrd

Let's try to filter through all the rumor reports from the GM meetings...

Milton Bradley

We know Hendry has talked to the Rays, Rangers, Blue Jays, Mets and Angels and really only the Rays and Rangers seem to be showing any real interest and both want the Cubs to pay a hefty portion of Bradley's remaining contract. The two most discussed names coming back were Pat Burrell or Kevin Millwood. For those that thought Aaron Rowand or Barry Zito's contract could get it done, Brian Sabean said he has absolutely no interest in acquiring Bradley.

Robothal's latest said the Rays and Cubs were talking again yesterday and were just $2-$3M apart, but then stirred up some quotes describing the discussions as "worse than Chinese water torture." and "I wish cattle prods were legal." And if the Cubs do get Burrell, they'll probably just have to pay some more to ship to another team as he'll unlikely be a Cub next year considering no one thinks he belongs in the outfield anymore.

One of our most trusted readers heard on the radio from Bruce Levine that a deal for Bradley should go down in the next 3-4 days.

Luis Castillo

There was the bogus three-team rumor of Bradley to the Blue Jays, Overbay to the Mets and Castillo to the Cubs. That was quickly shot down and the Mets say they want no part of Bradley, but Minaya did say he might talk to Hendry about Castillo. Castillo had a nice bounceback year with the bat in 2010 and is owed $6M in 2010 and 2011. He does walk at a friendly 10.8% rate for his career and that's been higher the last few seasons. UZR doesn't like his defense the last few seasons, but he was battling some leg injuries. As part of some package to move Bradley's contract, then it's a reasonable enough move, if it's going to cost the Cubs any decent minor league talent though and adding on Castillo's contract, I'd hope the Cubs would pass.

Marlon Byrd

It looks like the Cubs will make a run at Byrd when free agency opens and the Texas beat writer at MLB.com thinks it will take 3 years and between 18-24M to sign him, although he notes there isn't much demand for center fielders this year. That probably won't stop Hendry from offering Byrd exactly what he wants though. I ran through the numbers on Byrd yesterday, and he certainly wouldn't be a terrible player for the Cubs to pick up. I don't know about three years or $8M per, but he can handle all three defensive positions and brings a bit of power with him.

Curtis Granderson

The reports came out that the Tigers might look to try and trade guys like Edwin Jackson or Curtis Granderson to save a few bucks. Personally I think that either player is unlikely to get moved unless it's a package to rid themselves of one of their bad contracts in Dontrelle Willis, Magglio Ordonez or Nate Robertson. Nonetheless, Phil Rogers went nuts and said the Cubs must sell the fall the farm to get him. And don't get me wrong, I'd love to have Granderson on the Cubs. He plays pretty damn good defense, hit 20-30 HR's in Comerica Park the last few years and walks over 10% of the time and will be 29 next year. On the downside, he strikes out a ton and is basically a black hole versus lefties (.540 OPS against lefties versus .940 against righties over the last 3 years).  His contract owes him just $5.5M in 2010 and then goes to $8.25M, $10M, and a $13M club option with $2M buyout in 2013. That option goes up if he hits various incentives though. 

But, I don't know how available Granderson is yet and we don't know the market. As I said, Tigers would probably love to package one of their bad contracts with him and get a boatload of major league ready talent if they could and neither of that really fits what the Cubs have to offer which is mostly low level minor leaguers with lots of upside. I guess the Cubs could start offering Carlos Marmol or Geovany Soto, but obviously that's doubtful. Dombrowski and Hendry do seem to have a pretty good dialogue and relationship, so I'm sure the Cubs will at least approach the idea.

John Grabow

It appears destined the Cubs will sign him to an extension in the 2/7.5M range, probably with some sort of third year option. I'm pretty indifferent to the whole matter. Grabow was good for the Cubs last year and he's can get both lefties and righties out. On the other hand, he's a bit walk happy and I don't know if you should being committing dollars to the bullpen so soon with other holes to fill and likely plenty of talent still available in February and March.

If we were to believe the GM Meetings rumors, there's the possibility that this is your Cubs lineup next year. 

Castillo 2B, Fukudome RF, Lee 1B, Ramirez 3B, Byrd CF, Soriano LF, Soto C, Theriot SS

 

Comments

I think Theriot could be involved in any deal with Detroit. For example Granderson + Bad Contract for Bradley, Fox (or Fuld), Theriot + prospect. We would be left with Andres Blanco (a defensive upgrade) at SS and Miles (ugh!) until Castro is ready. We might have to re-sign Reed Johnson as a CF back-up since Granderson struggles against lefties. Reed is a .310 career hitter against lefties. Sorryano, Granderson and Fuku works for me. I realize I am probably in the minority here but I would rather see Uggla at 2nd than Castillo. I know his defense is weak but we sure could use his run production @ 90 RBIs which is what he has averaged over the last 4 years in a very defensive ballpark.

I like Granderson, no idea what it would take to get him though. I would already be thinking of Johnny Gomes as his platoon partner off the bench against lefties and Fuku playing CF on those days. But I want to make sure crunch is ok with wasting his power in the leadoff spot first. Those 30 HR's would be much better suited lower in the lineup than leadoff. Marlon Byrd is just a bad idea in the OF in my opinion. DO NOT pay for guys who have career years so far outside of their norms at age 32. Disregarding all of Miltons attitude problems the same case was made for not paying for a guy coming off a career year so outside of his norms at age 30. Nice year Marlon Byrd and all, but he isn't ever going to match 89 RBI again. He was greatly helped by being a Texas Ranger with a home OPS of .897 and a road OPS of .742 over the last 3 years. Absolutely do not pin your offensive hopes to a back up player coming off a career year at age 32. Spend your money on sure things, not lightning in the bottle players like Byrd and Milton.

I'm with Mike C here. Old retreads ain't gonna get us far in the playoffs. Wake me if we get Granderson, Figgins or somebody worth caring about. Burell? No thankee. I still want some pitching help. Our bullpen SUCKED.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"The new world is bright and full of possibilities, and that excites both of them. Aroldis Chapman, who spent the first 21 years of his life shackled to an island..." So, Jeff Passan, tell us what you think of Cuba.

What would it would take to snatch Carl Crawford from Tampa? The Rays have a number of good young outfielders, maybe a three team trade would get this done? I wouldn't be dissapointed if the Cubs had to eat most of either Badley's or Burrell's contract and gave up a prospect like Vitters to aquire Crawford. Castillo- No thank you! Grabow- Need to resign Grabow, Hendry wouldn't have to greatly over pay for his services. Plus you can't rely on Marmol to consistantly throw strikes and get ahead of hitters in the closer role(Another need is a reliable pitcher in the backend of the bullpen). A decent lefty pitcher is hard to find with out over paying or giving up good prospects. (I see Gaub in the bullpen in 2010). Granderson- Is a good player, but Hendry would be stupid to give up the farm for him. Scott Podsednik- Is an intersting choice for a fourth outfielder instead of Johnson. It would also depend on if the Sox don't resign him. Bryd- I can see him in the outfield for the Cubs, since Hendry once had a hard on for him. I also see Hendry over paying for him as well. I think Baker has more value off the bench and I would like to see Theriot move to second as long as Hendry can find a shortstop to play there until Castro is ready. The Cubs should stay in Arizona!!!

I know you can't rely on Grabow to throw strikes, but I do not want to see Neal Cotts back in the Bullpen. Marshal has done a decent job of what has been asked of him but he isn't a backend end of the bullpen type pitcher. I wouldn't be disapointed with Fuld as the fourth outfielder either. Just like Pods he has had nagging injuries though Fuld's injuries are due to his aggressive balls out defense. The reason I say Hendry needs to sign Grabow is because the market for left handed bullpen help is weak in my opinion. Off topic, I just want to say I love this site. Very informative and you guys allow people to formulate their own opinion without jamming your own down the reader's throat. Most blog sites are just a bunch of people ripping on other peoples opinions were this site I do not see that. Keep up the good work and keep on feeding us info on our team that most sites do not!

[ ]

In reply to by Southpaw

Southpaw makes a good arguement regarding Grabow. I have seen the criticism on the amount of money the Cubs are prepared to offer him, but the market for left handed set-up guys are thin. The Cubs have not had anything decent in this department since Stevie Eyre. I think the consensus is for Fukudome to move back to right field and for a new center fielder to be brought in, which is why Marylon Byrd will get a sizable contract offer from the Cubs. Ideally Crawford would make sense if he can hold down center at Wrigley. I think that the irony of the whole centerfield situation is that the departure of Jim Edmonds caused this mess. I am not implying that the Cubs should have signed Jim Edmonds at all, but he was valuable for many reasons during '08, more so because there was not anyone playing out of position, although someone may argue Theriot at short would be out of position. I do agree this site brings valuable insight and allows opinions to be expressed and is not dominated by egos.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

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  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.