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

2010 CHONE Projections for Cubs

Fangraphs has added the CHONE projections on their player pages along with the Bill James projections. The Hardball Times comes out with theirs in their pre-season annual and of course Baseball Prospectus and PECOTA should be out shortly. But I promised updates when I put up the Bill James projections, so here are the wOBA CHONE projections (league average is generally around the .330 mark, give or take a few points).

Player
Age
2009 wOBA
Bill James 2010 wOBA Projection
CHONE 2010 wOBA Projection
Derrek Lee
34 .412 .386 .371
Aramis Ramirez
32
.392
.375
.373
Geovany Soto
27 .310 .362 .358
Micah Hoffpauir
30
.315 .350 .337
Kosuke Fukudome
33 .346 .349 .343
Marlon Byrd 32 .345 .335 .347
Jeff Baker
29
.338 .346 .325
Alfonso Soriano 34
.314 .346 .338
Mike Fontenot
30
.296 .334 .321
Ryan Theriot
30
.318
.319
.324
Sam Fuld
28
.367 .317 .318
Tyler Colvin
24 .205 .316
.308
Reed Johnson
33
.321 .312
.320
Koyie Hill
31
.279
.289
.287
Andres Blanco
26
.271 .285 .301

For the pitchers, here's their projected CHONE ERA and FIP (explanation of FIP here).

Player
Age 2009 ERA
2009 FIP
2010 CHONE Projected ERA
2010 CHONE Projected FIP
Carlos Zambrano 29 3.77 3.61 4.28 4.08
Ted Lilly
34 3.10
3.65
4.21
4.10
Ryan Dempster
33
3.65
3.87
4.12
3.89
Randy Wells
27
3.05
3.88
4.53
4.27
Sean Marshall
27
4.32
4.19
3.97
3.88
Tom Gorzelanny
27 5.55
3.91
4.41 4.43
Jeff Samardzija
25 7.53
5.90
4.57
4.74
Carlos Marmol
27 3.41
4.06
3.34 3.48
John Grabow
31 3.36 4.20
4.29
4.46
Angel Guzman
28
2.95 4.44 3.89
3.91
Carlos Silva 30 8.60 5.97 5.05 4.67
Justin Berg 26 0.75 2.18 4.85 4.92
Esmailin Caridad 26 1.40 2.27 5.29 5.05
David Patton 26 6.83 5.37 5.36 5.08
Jeff Stevens 26 7.11 5.86 4.13 4.05

Here are the Bill James projections again for reference

Player
Age 2009 ERA
2009 FIP
2010 James Projected ERA
2010 James Projected FIP
Carlos Zambrano 29 3.77 3.61 3.60 3.90
Ted Lilly
34 3.10
3.65
3.76
4.30
Ryan Dempster
33
3.65
3.87
3.83
3.92
Randy Wells
27
3.05
3.88
4.16
4.10
Sean Marshall
27
4.32
4.19
4.06
4.34
Tom Gorzelanny
27 5.55
3.91
4.11 4.01
Jeff Samardzija
25 7.53
5.90
5.44
5.47
Carlos Marmol
27 3.41
4.06
3.45 4.00
John Grabow
31 3.36 4.20
4.00
4.17
Angel Guzman
28
2.95 4.44 4.03
4.11
Carlos Silva 30 8.60 5.97 4.85 4.64
Esmailin Caridad 26 1.40 2.27 4.85 5.10

CHONE projections seem more conservative overall and are particularly unkind to the Cubs starting staff. Offensively, the Cubs would have 6 above average regulars with Theriot and Baker or Fontenot below .330. Then of course, they're just projections, no reason to take them too seriously. For 2009, the Cubs were runaway winners of the NL Central if you looked at them. But just for fun, the Cardinals regulars projected wOBA: Pujols (.431), Holliday (.389), Ludwick (.356), Rasmus (.343), Freese (.340), Schumaker(.335)/Lugo(.314), Molina (.329), Ryan (.310).

Comments

If those CHONE pitching projections are right, Marshall is our ace and we're fucked. Interesting one for me is Fukudome - on one hand he's getting older, but on the other hand he's really only getting his 3rd year in - a time when it's not unheard of for a player to break out. He and Soriano are the guys I could see greatly outdoing their projections - though I wouldn't bet money on it.

Boy a .338 for Sori suggests more of the same extreme expense for extreme underperformance. I really hope Soriano gets back to form and defies projections.

highlights... - everyone was wondering where these guys were gaining 25-30 pounds during the offseason of just muscle (specifically naming Sosa), but never saw anything explicit - had a pre-game meeting and they said if McGwire hit it today, they would do nothing to celebrate, were beyond annoyed when Sosa came in to congratulate McGwire - didn't say anything to Sosa about the incident because needed him down the stretch to make playoffs - the more guys that come out and admit it, the better he looks that's about it, got a good sense that clubhouse and particularly Trachsel weren't big fans of Sosa, yet making the playoffs in '98 was exciting, etc...

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

NBC has already decided Leno is moving to 11:30, so he's quit, although he carefully worded it so that if they decide to change their minds again, he'd be happy to keep his time spot. I'm 98% sure he still gets paid even if he doesn't do the midnight time period, as his contract said he gets the Tonight Show at 11:30. Any changes to that are on NBC, so he's not walking away from anything. If he gets picked up by Fox and let's say they pay him $15M a year (he's getting I believe $20M a year now from NBC), NBC would only have to cover the difference.

[ ]

In reply to by Paul Noce

looks like I was bit misinformed, there is no language the show had to start at 11:30, rather that it be The Tonight Show, but The Tonight Show has been at 11:30 for 60 years. they'll let him out and give him a settlement I'm sure and he'll be on Fox in 6 months.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Can we get LA Phil's expert opinion on this contract mess? Does Conan have any options left? Will NBC offer him arbitration? Personally, I think NBC is in a real tough position right now. They should have known when they signed this contract that it would end badly, and now they're going to have to eat a lot of money or take back something awful in return. Conan definitely still has some value, but based on past experience I'm guessing NBC will get pennies on the dollar in whatever deal they broker here. It's probably going to be something like Conan straight up to Fox for the syndication rights to "Herman's Head".*

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

I dont know what kind of good deal Gomes is looking for but based off his career stats he is looking between Bradley and Byrd money from the Cubs. The Cubs have really screwed the pooch in offering insane contracts to backup OFers. So any one halfway decent is looking to break the bank. I would of signed Gomes before Byrd, because this team needs someone to crush lefties. Marlon Byrd sure isn't going to do it. And the NL central is loaded with lefties.

Hard to disagree with Phil Rogers' column today concerning McGwire but this one gem of a sentence did stand out - "Like others in my profession, I knew something smelled bad. But reporters were handcuffed by the lack of information then available," That's right, Phil. No few in your profession of sports journalism would actually want to do the job of, you know, being a journalist. As Woodward later said, "Bernstein and I knew something smelled bad, but we were handcuffed by the lack of information then available."

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

"My job is to report the news, not to make it up..." ---P Rogers Are we going to have to go through metal detectors at games, seems to me some fans might think that through the years they MAY have, uhm, you know, uh, feel cheated just a bit. I know if I was Sammy, I'd tell the world the I was the home run leader of all time since...oh, never mind. Seriously, why go after Conan when Pee Wee Herman is still available and we know he is ambidextrous and can be had for a strip of aluminum.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122490934 My god... this NPR story on Mark McGwire on Talk of the Nation yesterday is completely brutal. They all but kiss his ass... he saved the game... it took a lot of courage to come clean... he said it didn't really help him hit home runs... everyone knew what was going on... jesus christ what the hell? Complete and utter latte-sipping bullshit. It's not two-sided, it was self-serving for him to come clean, he cheated... no different than Barry Bonds. No difference whatsoever. And despite what we all think about these douchebags now, history will NOT look kindly on them.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

How was it self-serving for McGwire to come clean about steroids? What did he gain? He admitted to taking steroids and he didn't blame anyone else or throw anyone else under the bus. He took responsibility for his actions, apologized, and said he wished he had never taken steroids. He's now being vilified by bloggers, reporters and talk show hosts. I just don't see how he's better off today than he was a week ago.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

he didn't come totally clean. he just admitted to using them. he claimed he only took them for health/rehab reasons which is a lie and a half. he claimed he wished he didn't play in the roids era while not taking responsibility for being the poster boy for it. he acted like a victim of society in his bob costas interview rather that someone who knew what and why he was doing it.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Maybe my expectations were lower than most people, but I didn't expect McGwire to give the times and dates that he took PEDs. An admission of guilt was sufficient. I didn't need all the gory details. As for lying, I don't know how you can know his motivations for taking PEDs. However, I can find it plausible that a guy who has been able to hit homeruns his whole life would believe that he didn't need PEDs to hit homeruns, he only needed them to get and stay healthy. I can also understand his desire in hindsight to not have played in the steroids era. McGwire was a product of the era, not the creator. He was one of many who took steroids and other PEDs. As it turns out, he was one of the highest profile players to indulge, but I'm not sure how he could take responsibility for being the poster boy for the era. Finally, I didn't get that he acted like a victim during the interview. He was upset and I'm sure having to come clean to his friends, family, teammates, coaches, and the media has been a difficult thing to do. But there was nothing he said or did that made me think he was playing the victim. In fact, just the opposite. He claimed responsibility for his actions and didn't try to blame anyone else.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

the guy can be shown to have been using since 1989 and on/off well into the late 90s. there's a few who date it back further than that, but that's still in hear-say with no secondary source. he also admitted to trying HGH "once or twice" but didn't like it. the guy seems like his motivation for using was to get big and hit better. it's easier for him to use that excuse if he started using in 93-95, honestly.

Cubs have shown interest in Kiko Calero and that's your rumors for the day... think the Naples press conference is happening as well, or may have already

LHP's J.R. Mathes and James Russell RHP's Andrew Cashner, Casey Coleman, Thomas Diamond, Jeff Kennard and Vince Perkins Catchers Robinson Chirinos, Steve Clevenger, Blake Lalli and Chris Robinson. Infielders Darwin Barney, Matt Camp, Starlin Castro, Bryan LaHair, Bobby Scales and Josh Vitters Outfielders Brett Jackson and Brad Snyder.

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...