Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Aaron Miles and Jake Fox Traded To A's

Few details at the moment but Aaron Miles and Jake Fox plus a $1M are going to the Oakland Athletics for RHP Jeff Gray and two more prospects. Refresh for updates...

UPDATE #1: The other two prospects look to be 21 year old RHP Ronny Morla and 23 year old OF/1B Matt Spencer.

Comments

that is such bullshit. we give away mike weurtz to the A's cuz lou won't play him and now we give away jake fox in order to lure the A's to take a couple million of our payroll. just cuz the manager won't play the guys doesn't mean we gotta give them away...yeesh.

So let me see if I have this straight. To free up $1.7MM in payroll that he utterly wasted on Miles last winter, Hendry has to give Oakland a player better than the three "prospects" combined that he's getting in return? Nice gig if you can get it, huh? Remind me again how this fat fuck keeps his job. Prediction: Jake Fox has 11 big league homers. I predict that these three prospects will never combine for as much as 11 big league innings played.

Aaron Miles follows Macias and Ne!f! and the rest down the path of Hendry MI Shame. Fox has the better minor league track record and is slightly younger, but Hendry did in fact acquire the player who had the higher MLB value in 2009 according to FanGraphs. Yes, stats can lie, but so can your eyes. Maybe we'll get lucky for once.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

It's Hendry's continued testing to see just what level of headcase player his $4 million manager can actually manage.

Jake Fox is viewed as a hitter without a position. In truth, he can play several positions, but none of them very well. Hitting is his strength and he probably is better suited for the AL. Trading Miles was a good move on Hendry's part. I didn't think anyone would take him, so getting anything for him is good. The problem I have with the trade is that it uses up two trade chips that could better be used in a more important trade (i.e. for a player the Cubs actually need).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

The first thing that jumps at me as to why Gray probably had much greater MLB success in 09 than AAA/MLB success in 07 and 08 is because of the drop in BB/9. Of course, the K/9 comes down too, but at least at first glance it seemed to work for him last year (116 ERA+). So just stop him from walking guys somehow and then settle for less K's. Disclaimer: I've never seen this guy pitch, and I don't suppose to know what I'm talking about.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

see comment above. he's also extremely athletic with a great work ethic. i don't like how he throws, myself. he keeps in great shape at least. also, don't fool yourself looking at numbers...he's still hittable. when he's "on" he can control his high velocity FB low in the zone making it look like it's got some sink. he still throws a lot of stuff straight even at the higher velocity even though it added more movement than he used to have.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

Welcome to Jim Hendry's way of thinking, Sweet Lou. Hendry makes another bad signing with Miles and we lose Fox and a million bucks for the privilege of getting 3 fringe players. Nice move, Jimbo. If Piniella can't see the value of Fox, despite his mediocre glove, being a cheap, team controlled player for 4 more seasons who can fill in when Soriano and Aramis get their yearly injuries, we're just screwed. It just smacks of being hypocritical. We have crappy fielders at almost every position and Lou rants about Fox. Typical Cubbery.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

The answer Sweet Lou is because Miles was completely miserable last year. 1,000,000 dollars out of the 140 million we are going to spend is not much. The result is that we no longer have a 5'2" worthless "utility" player taking up a roster spot...well worth the money. The bad move was signing Miles in the first place, not trading him for prospects. In my opinion, the odds of Jeff Gray being productive are about as high as the odds of Aaron Miles being productive...plus you save 1.7 million off of his terrible, terrible contract. For those angry about Fox...clearly we weren't getting better offers for Fox. I think all the Jake Fox lovers actually love him more than they should simply because when he played, he was NOT Soriano and NOT Bradley. Let's remember who Fox is...a nice guy but a guy that can't play the field and can't hit a breaking ball.

According to comments in this blog, Moria only has one more year before the Rule 5 and he was in A ball in 2009. Sounds like a waste of a body for the organization.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

that would be nice. he can play CF, though he never got the chance to too much in PIT. decent ball tracking skills up the middle (it's hard for some to track the ball initially off the bat playing center-straight facing the batter).

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/cubs-get-three-from-oaklan…
Cubs' GM Jim Hendry called Gray a "power arm who can come in and compete in the bullpen" when the team reports to spring training. "He's got the stuff to be able to pitch in any area of the bullpen if he would harness it better," Hendry said.
and
As for Miles, he was on the outs with manager Lou Piniella going back to spring training. He is owed $2.7 million for 2010, so moving his salary helps the Cubs trim some of their payroll and eliminate a player who would have seen little playing time.
at this point if you actually speak to Lou during the 162-game season, he doesn't like you...

I'm fine with the deal. Fox really didn't have a role here, and considering his age, along with the probability that we may have to take Pat Burrell, plus the 1.7 million savings (which might really be the key, considering how tight things are financially), we got a usable pen arm in Jeff Gray (I don't buy him as a late inning type), an upper level positional piece (granted, I don't think Spencer is more than a Quad-A type, although there is some pop that if he improves on things, maybe his bat develops into Jake Fox-ish), and Ronny Morla. Morla's the intriguing one to me. Big, lanky guy who likely will physically mature some more. Low 90's fastball, throws strikes, and a decent change so far. There's a lot to like. Considering what we gave up, and where things stand for the organization now and in the near future, I'm fine with this deal.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

you are asking questions that need to be asked in two months. clearly they are rebuilding the bench. no more miles, no more fox, no arbitration for Johnson...let's pump the brakes a little bit.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

not that I remotely agree with any of this, but I imagine the plan would be move Baker to third and then Fontenot or his replacement plays 2b, could call up Castro and move Theriot to 2b, Blanco as well could play middle infield... basically what they did with DeRosa, he shifted to third and Fontenot played 2b...

I was trying to come up with a Jake Fox comp, best I could was Chris Shelton, but that's pretty tenous... BP has names like Matt LecRoy, Jason LaRue and Ryan Garko guess they still count him as a catcher...

It does free up a little money for Rob's snowball chance in hell (aka Figgins) or Hudson or a 4th starter. I like the deal. Even organization soldiers, which is the worst that Morla and Spencer are going to be have some value, and Hendry frees up $1.7 million to spend in a market that looks like it will yield better values than last year's did.

"Let's remember who Fox is...a nice guy but a guy that can't play the field and can't hit a breaking ball." Jake Fox is Matt Stairs but younger, and he cannot hit a breaking ball as he did not "adjust back" to the league. As we said all last year, Jim Hendry is just out of it. Half of me wants the team to fail miserably in 2010 (which they look like they are working on already), so that Ricketts just has to let the knucklehead go. Jake had no position on the team, is an AL DH (where he should get some AB's) and Miles, like Bradley were TOTAL fuck-ups by the aforementioned GM. Its the usual "our crap for yours". Jake was a cut above crap, but the NL does not have a DH.

As for the trade, I dont really know what value Fox had. He is a horrible defensive player who cant layoff sliders so I think it a fool's errand to say he was a good trade chip. I think Gray and the 1.5 mil we save on payroll by dumping Miles is a decent return.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

he's just got nice power, a nice effortless swing, and doubles/HR power. i doubt he's the next big thing, but honestly, i'd like to see fox on the bench in 2010 finding 250-350 ab's. i think they could use that more than another pen option like gray in 2010.

This off season will be about clearing $$$$ so big Jim can eat more of bradleys salary i guess he just ate about 2 million more. This sounds like last two years lets focus on one move publicize it so all teams know what we need to do. Somehow i think some rather good teams are more gaurded in press statements.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 12/03/2009 - 5:53pm.
don't have time to do dossiers on these guys at the moment, but Gray's one of those great stuff, can't control it guys. Can never have enough bullpen arms and I assume he has some option years left.

the other 2 from their numbers look like a 22-yr old kid that K's a lot of hitters and a corner outfielder/1b type with a lot of power and not much else but from the left side...Jake Fox's mirror image in other words.

==================================

ROB G: Jeff Gray has one minor league option left.

Submitted by John Beasley on Thu, 12/03/2009 - 6:33pm.
According to comments in this blog, Moria only has one more year before the Rule 5 and he was in A ball in 2009. Sounds like a waste of a body for the organization.

===========================

JOHN B: Ronny Morla and Matt Spencer will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time post-2010.

I have seen quite a bit of Morla out here over the past three years (he was at Extended Spring Training 2007-09), because the Cubs play mostly the A's, Giants, and Angels in Minor League Spring Training, EXST, and Instructs. He is somewhat comparable to Robert Hernandez, a bit raw but with some upside.

And I saw Spencer play quite a bit in his college days at Arizona State and then a little bit in Minor League Camp (ST), and I would compare him to Micah Hoffpauir (1B-LF-RF). While Hoffpauir is the better defender at 1B, Spencer has a stronger arm and is a better corner OF, although he can play 1B, too.

The Cubs had to throw in Jake Fox just to unload Aaron Miles. Real smooth, Hendry. I'm not all for Jake Fox or anything... I like him, but he's not an impact player (nor future impact player for that matter), so whatever. My biggest problem is how shitty Hendry was at his job last off season and how it is still affecting the team, even in December '09. The silver lining to all this: Aaron Miles is gone. Fuck him. Kind of wish he was stuck in Kansas City, Canada, or Minnesota or somewhere besides warm, sunny Oakland, but oh well... he's someone else's problem now.

Now that Fox and Miles are off the roster, I've been thinking about what the cubs should do with the rest of the lineup this offseason. 1. Offer Orlando Hudson a 1 year deal in the 3 to 3.5 range. Make the offer with a must sign date of 12/12 because he will effect the next chain of events. 2. Assuming Hudson agrees, Non-Tender Fontenot. The 1.7 from the Miles/Fox Deal plus Fontenot's likely 1 million will be almost enough money to pay Hudson. 3. Get Lou,Milton Bradley and Hendry in a room together to see if the relationship can be salvaged. The more I hear, the more I don't see a way to improve from Milton's production in 2010. Better to keep him and hope he builds value at this point. 4. Target Rocco Baldelli as a 4th Outfielder, 3 outfield postion defensive, Kfuk platoon mate. Figure 1 Million plus some small incentives would be enough. He should be in line for 250-400 At bats with a Soriano-Bradley-Fukudome Outfield. 5. Target a AAAA corner OF slugger to stash in Iowa. (Mike Restovich?). Cubs organizational Outfield depth is thin. 6. Offer Koyie Hill his old job back for 750K max. If he doesn't agree then replace him. Surely he would accept. Looking at a Lineup of Cf Kfuk 2b Hudson 3b Rammy 1b DLee LF Soriano Rf Bradley C Soto SS Theriot Bench of Koyie Hill: Backup catcher Blanco: SS backup, late inning defensive wiz Hoffpauir: 1b, corner OF backup. Primary LH Pinch Hitter Baker: 2b,3b primary backup Baldelli: All 3 OF position backup, Fukudome platoon mate

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Dick I got the info from Cots. The Espn the mag this month speculated that he would have to take a paycut from the 3.38 he made last year. Neither mentioned the incentives.

I would have liked to have seen what Rudy Jaramillo could do with Fox and Hoffpauir. Now, I guess that's just Hoffpauir. I'm not particularly angry by the trade, just confused that the Cubs don't want to put any more organizational effort behind Jake Fox when it seems he's been game to try anything to add value to the team.

via Rotoworld and Olney
Rival executives have informed ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Tigers will listen to offers but are not actively shopping Curtis Granderson. "I think they might be reconsidering their position on that," said one official. "Maybe they reacted to the response they got (in Detroit) to the news that Granderson might be moved. I think they would have to be overwhelmed."

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Levine has updated his blog to indicate that Hendry is looking to involve an additional team or two into the Bradley-Burrell-Castillo swap. Hendry has shown an ability to pull off these more complicated multi-team deals, and one has to wonder if teams like the Angels (Matthews, Jr.) will bring their bad contracts to this white elephant sale. By involving more teams, the Cubs may be able to spread around some of Bradley's 2011 contract and actually save some money.

Although it looks like 90% of Cubs fans like the trade, an awful lot of people are looking at it from a Chicago-centric point of view. Basically they see it as a hat-in-hand Hendry knocking on doors and begging GM's to take Aaron Miles off his hands and asking them what it would take to make that happen. "Jake Fox and a million bucks? You got it. He's yours! Thanks man." Which would have been pathetic if it had gone down that way. More likely though, it was a case of the A's approaching the Cubs because they wanted Jake Fox. They sure seem happy to have gotten him, as opposed to Miles who is getting second billing. With Fox as the centerpiece, the deal looks a lot better. Having fallen out of favor with Lou, Jake didn't have a role with the Cubs next year. But he helped us unload Aaron Miles, freed up a couple million bucks, opened some roster spots and restocked the farm (at least for one year) in preparation for some losses there when the inevitable Bradley trade goes down. The Bay Area media are looking at this trade the same way I am. John Shea of the S.F. Chronicle posted:
To help convince the Cubs to part with Fox, the A's agreed to take on most of Miles' 2010 salary, $1.7 million of $2.7 million.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/03/SPN91AUNL4… FWIW, Fangraphs says Miles has on average been worth $1.6 million per year.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s a fantastic deal for SF

  • 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?