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

Does Wells Deserve the Rookie of the Year?

I think they're on the verge of announcing the N.L. Rookie of the Year and Randy Wells was in the running for most of the season. Ultimately I don't think he'll get more than a few third place votes from the Chicago writers and I don't have much time to put together a full analysis, so I'm just going to lazily look at WAR values over at Fangraphs.

Randy Wells - 3.0

Garrett Jones - 2.6

J.A. Happ - 1.8

Chris Coghlan - 2.3

Andrew McCutchen - 3.4

Tommy Hanson - 2.6

Casey McGehee - 2.2

Colby Rasmus - 2.3

My guess is that it ends up Hanson, McCutchen, Happ by the voters and I would certainly encourage a more robust analysis than just WAR values, but there you have it. The Internet Baseball Awards voted Hanson the winner with Wells finishing 8th, for what it's worth.

On the AL side,  Elvis Andrus and Rick Porcello seem to be getting the most press with Andrew Bailey also in the mix.  Fangraphs has Andrus at 3.0 WAR, Porcello at 1.8 and Bailey at 2.4. Pitchers Jeff Niemann(3.2 WAR) and Brett Anderson(3.8 WAR) both surpass Porcello by WAR values but don't seem to be getting much hype. My guess is the voters give it to Porcello as most of Andrus's value came from his glove. Porcello got the nod at the Internet Baseball Awards.


Andrew Bailey wins the A.L. award with Andrus and Porcello finishing second and third. Chris Coghlan took the N.L. award. He was followed by Happ, Hanson, McCutchen, McGehee and then Wells finishing 6th.

 

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

At least Wells can take consolation in the fact that he'll still be a major league player in five years when Coghlan is calling Matt Murton and asking why nobody wants to sign a corner outfielder with limited power and poor defense. Phooey.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

i barely know anything about Coghlan, but isn't he a 2B that played the outfield because of Uggla? His minor league numbers look interesting, although similar to Murton as you mention, contact guy, walks a lot, but not much home run power.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

fwiw, Coghlan played 1 game in left field in the minors before playing for the Marlins. 246 at 2B and 42 at 3b, so I assume if they move Uggla, he may get his 2b job back.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I didn't know that - I'll give him a pass on his defense if he was playing out of position. But his D numbers did look very bad in 2009. There's always room for improvement - if he spends more time in the cage and raises his average a little higher, maybe he can win a Gold Glove.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I doubt that the market for Marlon Byrd can be all that hot? Unless his agent can get Jim Hendry to overpay by his normal overpayment methods, then I can see Marlon getting Reed Johnson 2009 type money. 1/3 2/6 Maybe a couple of million in possible incentives. Forth Outfielders don't get 3/30's and 4/48's in most organizations.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

3/18 or 3/24 is what he's supposedly asking, my guess is they can maybe get him in the 2/12 to 2/15 range with a third year option....

They'd be signing him to be a starter off the free agent market, not as a platoon partner with less than 6 years service time, so he'll do better than Reed did in 2009. Byrd seems to be a better defender and can hit lefties and righties unlike Johnson.

Not that I'd sign him, but if his agent is worth a damn, he'll get much more than Johnson.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Asking and getting are 2 seperate deals. Bobby Abreu didn't set out to get 1/5 last offseason. Everything we've heard so far is that teams are looking to slash money. An astute GM would be able to fill any holes we have quite cost effectively, if they use the proper leverage. Other GM's will pay stupid money to arbitration Loogys and whine to the media about "Tough breaks" and being on the "Right track".

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

He sure as hell ain't Billy Wagner either. spare part/Middle reliever point remains the same Would you feel better if Jim Hendry was looking to overpay to keep Mike Remlinger circa 2004? Hendry's job needs to be the counter point for the player agent. Maybe he is just too nice or too non-confrontational. He needs to work for the Cubs and their best interests. Not strive to be Buddy Buddy with Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa on their ways out of town.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

There's a difference between a setup guy and a middle reliever. Name the last team that won it all without competent setup guys. Was Remlinger circa 2004 the same age as Grabow? Did he have the same number of K/9? Didn't he also have reverse splits? I agree with the 2nd part of your post. Hendry needs to think about how the market is going to play out and correctly offer arbitration to the players who he wants to retain or he has no fear that they won't get signed by someone else. Wood was going to get signed last year - it may have cost Wood some money, but that's not Hendry's concern. The DeRosa bit doesn't make sense.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Hendry has had a chubby for this guy for several years. His career year numbers are echos of another former Texas player that was a free agent last year. Suprisingly, Byrd batted only .244 against lefties. That does not fare well when you project Fukudome in right (.164 avg against lefties in '09), and Soriano in left (.184 average against lefties in '09). Reed Johnson may be considered just for plattoning. On the suprising side, Sam Fuld batted .303 last year in limited AB's against left handers and batted .318 in 107 minor league AB's last year.

[ ]

In reply to by thedirtbag

but no one would project those numbers versus lefties based off one year though...you're talking a little over 100 PA's maybe, that's like projecting a full season after one month.

Corey Patterson once hit lefties well for a season, you have to use a larger sample size. ESPN.com has 3 year splits which still wouldn't add to a full season, but a little better.

Byrd: 829 OPS vs righty, 798 vs lefty

Soriano: 861 vs 829

Fukudome (2 years): 789 vs 667(less than 200 AB's versus lefties)

 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Agreed, sample size is thin. I would agree that Soriano's avg was due to a complete down year, but I think you would have to agree that Fukudome looks clueless against lefties. So, who becomes your fourth outfielder then if Bradley departs and Byrd enters?

[ ]

In reply to by thedirtbag

yeah Fukudome looks pretty lost versus lefties for the most part and they probably still want to platoon him, but finding a short side platoon shouldn't be that hard.

Fuld's career minor league splits don't show much of a discrepancy, .743 vs .788, so he's possibility

I wouldn't be against signing Byrd and Johnson for the right prices. Jake Fox might still be around. Jeff Baker has played a ittle outfield in his career, might be an option as well. Anyway, it should be a low priority on the offseason wish list

Had to share this one off of the Mailbag for Muskat: Trade Roy Halladay for Bradley. Fukudome to right. Tyler Colvin in center. Wishful thinking? -- Ryan P., Sioux Falls, S.D. Not wishful, but very unlikely. The Blue Jays won't make that deal. Someone should inform Ryan to limit his MLB 2k playing time on PS3.

maybe he has a year like Bradley after leaving Texas or maybe he has a few years like DeRosa I don't particularly like his walk rates myself, so as I said, i'd avoid him. my guess is Hendry sees the nice RBI totals and numbers with RISP and thinks for some reason that's something to be counted on...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I am not claiming I know anything about the White Sox farm system, but you would think that with the Peavy trade and the Teahan trade, the Padres would be picking peanuts and raw players that are many years away from stepping onto a major league field. If this is the case, why wouldn't the Angels just trade straight up for Gonzalez? Kanerko is 34 (defensively challanged to be polite) and owed $12 million, while Gonzalez who just claimed a gold glove, in his prime (not to mention would thrive in the AL especially in Boston and NY during the playoffs) and owed $4.75 million with a club option for $5.5 million in 2011. I think that SD can get a lot more for him and the preliminary talks are just to try and get as many suitors involved to start a bidding war.

[ ]

In reply to by thedirtbag

From reading the comments on the site, it would probably be Kornerko for Matthews Jr. He has one year on his contract I believe, and they need a CFer/leadoff hitter. Move Rios to left, Quinton to Rf and AJ to first.

I don't know why you say he is "defensively challenged" when he has performed at league average for 13 years. Actually, one point better in FP (.995, to LA of .994). He is not a GG player, but has been a gamer for the most part in his career and somehow played well in the big games down the WS stretch. For sure the Pads, IF they wish to split up the Gonzalez brothers, can get a lot more than Kanerko in a trade. The Sox gave up some nice players this past season in Lance Broadway, et. al. I wonder how many more players they are willing to trade again?

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/1397/coghlan-vs-mccutchen-m… The funny thing, though? There were 96 openings on the Rookie of the Year ballots: 32 ballots, three spaces per ballot. The best, most valuable rookie in the National League this year was probably Cubs righthander Randy Wells. He took exactly one of those 96 spots, placing second on one ballot. would be nice if he explained why he thought Wells was the "best, most valuable rookie", although I could certainly see a good case for it.

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).