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

Rudy Jamarillo: The Cubs' most important acquisition?

Rudy Jamarillo is different than others. He has the reputation as the "best hitting coach in baseball." You can even go online and buy his "5 Simple Steps Hitting Video". Not so for Gerald Perry or Von Joshua (although Von Joshua did have the "Fuzz Machine").

The Cubs weren't able to go sign away their hitting problems this year. They've got to depend on the guys they have to hit better next year. That's a whole lotta weight gonna be on Jamarillo's shoulders, so I think he deserves a bigger title than just the "hitting coach".

This being Chicago, that means something government-like. With an official seal.

How's about "Commissioner of the Office of Hitting Skills Renewal Management"?

Here's what Commissioner Jamarillo has to do:

First, he's got to deal with the media and be in charge of Hitting Skills Public Relations. Why was signing Marlon Byrd so great? Ask Rudy: "He's made alot of adjustments. Every year, he got better. I'm real excited about him coming over there. He brings lots of energy and leadership. He wants to win."

Marlon being a successful Rudy disciple is also good PR. And in fact Marlon can help Rudy "get my system out a little quicker and faster" because "Marlon is a good teacher."

Which is good, because the next thing Rudy has to do is get the Cubs to hit.

Geovany Soto hit .285 with 23 homers and 86 RBIs in 2008. Last year he was injured a little, wasted all that time with the WBC, and hit a sophomore slumping .218 with 11 dingers and 47 RBIs.

Alfonso Soriano was a terror with the bat early last season, then something went bad with the legs and that Fonzie thing where he carries the team on his shoulders by being a one man wrecking crew never really happened later on. In 8 more games than he played in '08, Alfonso hit 9 less homers, 20 less RBIs, and his average sunk to a .241 career low (not counting his 22 game Yankee season in 2000).

Worse, he looked like a joke swinging at the breaking balls in the dirt that were closer to first base than the plate.

Then there's Kosuke Fukudome and the headless tornado swing.

Ryan Theriot's gotta be one of the best students on the team, but that hasn't really worked out so well. He was doing fine with the Gerald Perry thing, then Aramis goes down, Von Joshua comes up. Shows Ryan the "Fuzz Machine" and then Lou asks him to maybe hit a couple more homers. It switched Ryan up. Numbers go like this: 2008 he hit .307 with 73 walks and 58 strikeouts, 2009 he hit .284 with 51 walks and 93 strikeouts. Now, he did go from 1 homer to 7, and 38 RBIs to 54, but I think we want to see Ryan be the guy crossing the plate when somebody else knocks him in.

Anyway, Rudy's got to settle him down.

Fontenot was a train wreck, and you could say didn't take advantage of perhaps his only chance to be a starter in the Bigs.

So that's alot of fixing to do, Commissioner Jamarillo, and it makes you the most important acquisition the Cubs got, at least so far, during this Hot Stove season.

May your System be correct, the Office of Hitting Skills Renewal Management be a success, and may the Baseball Gods be with you.

Comments

Q: In your own words, describe your repertoire. Have you developed a swing-and-miss pitch? I know that was one of the things you were looking to develop last year (2008) in the Fall League.
A: I throw a four-seamer, a sinker, a slider, a changeup and a curveball. I was really trying to work on – my slider wasn’t as sharp as it probably should be and that’s what I was working on last year. This past year, it really showed that that was probably my swing-and-miss pitch along with my sinker. It’s coming along and keeps getting better every time I go out and try and use it.
Q: I understand you made some mechanical adjustments that have helped your cause a little. Can you go into that and talk about what you’ve cleaned up?
A: (A’s bullpen coach) Ron Romanick and (pitching coach) Curt Young kind of tweaked my mechanics to lower my arm slot to get a little more deception. Between the two years -- last year and the year before -- I saw a big change. I’d never really thought it that big of a difference but that really helped.
http://cubs.scout.com/2/935191.html grew up a Cardinals and Astros fan

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I honestly don't understand the Cardinals paying Holliday so much for so long. I'm not saying he's not good. He is a good ball player. But $17 million per year for 7 years good? I don't see that. Obviously, the Cardinals are better with Holliday than without him, but in the relatively near future, I can see his contract really hamstringing the team. As Neal pointed out, he really is the St. Louis version of Soriano. It will be really interesting to see how St. Louis handles Pujols when his contract runs out. If they re-sign him, will they be able to afford anyone else? They're going to have $37-$40 million per year tied up in just two players. Plus, if they exercise Carpenter's option, there's another $15 million. Ouch...

... but damn is that dude good at his job. Seriously, fucking, good. It's really hard for me to not respect that.

I do think Holliday is a better investment than Soriano just by means of far better plate discpline...although they'll certainly be hating it in a few seasons. WARP-1 over last 5 years for Soriano: 1.6, 8.2, 6.4, 3.5. -0.0 Holliday - 2.1, 4.3, 7.1, 5.8, 5.8 WAR for Soriano: 2.0, 5.5, 5.6, 3.1, -0.7 Holliday: 3.3, 4.4, 8.0, 6.3, 5.7 fwiw, Boras said there were other offers for higher average salary but less years and Holliday liked St. Louis and preferred the long term committment.

listening to XM radio, Jim Bowden was on and said his friends/sources in the Marlins office think they'll have Chapman signed by the end of the weekend. no dollar amount was mentioned...

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

I agree with Ryno. I really think Soriano is gonna bounce back. I have no idea why I think this. It's almost as if somebody has been deliberately repeating the phrase "bounce back" over and over so that it would be imprinted on my subconscious. I better go buy some Spring Training tickets and Cubs merch...

What a neat surprise. Congrats to the Hawk.

Will he go in as a Cub or Expo? My guess would be Expo because of the time he spent in Montreal.

Congrats to Dawson and to his HOF supporters. As I've said, I wouldn't have voted for him, but I'm not upset by his inclusion and I'm very happy for my fellow Cub fans.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • 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...