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

Cubs in Baseball America Top 100 Prospects

The Baseball America Top 100 prospects list for 2010 is out. Here is where the Cubs placed:

Starlin Castro - 16th
Josh Vitters - 70th
Brett Jackson - 74th
Andrew Cashner - 95th
Jay Jackson - 98th

Once again, Baseball America flips some prospects on their top 100 list from their top 10 organization lists. In this case, they had Brett Jackson #2 and Vitters #3 on the Cubs list, but ranked Jackson below Vitters on their top 100 list. It's happened a few times in the past as well.

The five Cubs are the most placed on the top 100 since 2008. Castro at 16th is the highest Cubs ranking since Mark Prior and Juan Cruz were 2nd and 6th in all of baseball in 2002. It's the highest position ranking since Corey Patterson landed 3rd and 2nd in 2000 and 2001. You can always view past lists at Wiklifield.

Comments

rated as his best tool, got a 75 grade (out of 80). others on the list: Jackson: Fastball, 60 Vitters: Power, 65 Jackson: Power, 65 Castro: Bat, 65

Most of the players on the list crapped out. Is that a reflection of the Cubs ability to develope talent or BB America's ability to put list together. I suspect a bit of both. I wonder how other organizations would measure up on prospects developing.

[ ]

In reply to by DavidP

zambrano and a slew of other pitchers, too. i would count mark prior, but mark prior didn't need a second of coaching. he was ready to go the minute he was signed and his stint in the minors was practically a "can you? well, damn you can." formality

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

From a layperson point of view, it appears the Cubs need some new batting coaches in the minor leagues. It's a reductionist point of view, I know, but only because I don't know how the process of developing a prospect into a major league hitter works. To support this theory we have Geovanny Soto saying he didn't start hitting well until he stopped listening to Cubs coaching. We've seen prospect after prospect fail in the Cubs organization. I would say the Cubs have done an above average job with pitchers.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I recall Soto saying he just simply started swinging harder and some stuff about simplfying things. Not sure if there was anything as dramatic as ignoring all previous coaching...but maybe there are some quotes out there.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

The quote below is from USAT but Soto is also on record with SI with the same information. Soto said that when he came up with the Cubs the other catchers all were driving the ball harder than he was capable of and he couldn't compete so they had him Therioting the ball to right field just trying to get base hits. He also said that when he went to the plate he was trying to remember all the various tips the hitting coaches gave him and it made him timid and stiff. Jorge L. Ortiz, USA Today, 7-8-2008
As he approached the 2007 season, his third on the 40-man roster, he felt it was time to swing freely. "I let go of my timidity and would go to the plate more loose," says Soto, who has struck out 78 times but also owns a .373 on-base percentage. "I took it like this was my last chance and I would enjoy the game, play without pressure and let the chips fall where they may."
FWIW other reporters have Von Joshua telling him to start swinging more freely.

Just saw one of the best and original baseball shows in a long time. On MLB network Bob Costas interviewed three retired MLB umps- Bruce Froemming, Palone, and the guy who blew the call against Cards in 85 WS. If you can find it watch it, very interesting perspective and one rarely heard. Called Studio 42 with Bob Costas. Best story- Ump was behind plate in late 70's and Yanks were blowing out a team. Lou was at bat, pitch came over ump just yelled strike. Lou steps out and asks "Do you know where that pitch was at?" Ump-"Lou, you know your not suppose to end a sentence with a preposition?" Lou was stunned, step back in batters box. As pitcher wound up, Lou steps out and calls time. Lou says "Do you know where that pitch was at...a$$hole?"

mcdonald was pretty damn popular with baseball card collectors, but he didn't have a sullivan award, a victory over cuba, or a chunk of the hype of abbott.
McDonald had way more hype than Abbott. He was basically Mark Prior when he was drafted, an absolute sure thing.
the sullivan award is given to the best amateur athlete in the country and it's not a "softball" type of award.
it's also not for being a great baseball player... ...the AAU Sullivan Award goes far beyond athletic accomplishments and honors those who have shown strong moral character. and
i think you underestimate the sullivan award and the buzz it gave him...along with all the buzz before he won it.
Charlie Ward, JJ Reddick are some other past winners...think you might be overestimating a bit there. Actually I'm feel pretty safe in saying your full of shit on this one.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

i have no idea how anyone missed the abbott buzz if they were around to have it shoved in their face. it was a national thing, not a local thing. the guy didn't spend a minute in the minors for a reason. he deserved his sullivan award, too. for the wards and reddicks there's plenty...WAY WAY more on-target marks on their award. this isn't considered a softball award by anyone last time i checked. sure, the guy is a feel-good story, but he was not easy at all to hit on the amateur level and he had a nice olympics to go with his final few college years. teams thought he was MLB-ready out of the box and the one that gave him a chance pretty much confirmed it. just because the guy didn't roll in to get a cy young doesn't mean he wasn't a legit talent. guys just don't waltz into the majors and stick.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

but to pretend abbott wasn't a huge deal or a legit straight-from-college-to-majors talent...i dunno at all about that.
Abbott had tons of hype, never said otherwise, but it wasn't just for his talent...people were intrigued by his story just as much. I'll also add he would have never gone straight to the majors if not for the Olympics. He was drafted in '88, played the Olympics and then had spring training to earn his spot on the team. Had there been no Olympics, he would have undoubtedly played some in the minors in '88. McDonald was the guy everyone thought was going to be the next perpetual Cy Young winner. I remember his first start in '90 being a huge deal, although the O's already had him in the their pen after just 2 outings in the minors in '89. But the O's were still working off the Earl Weaver model of letting pitchers get acclimated in the majors through the pen.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

story or no story you don't get to come to the majors and stay if you don't have "the shit." and seriously...the sullivan is a very legit award. i just count the hype over abbott and his eventual drafting/playing as more similar to the hype for prior...going from "really?" to "really!" before the dude even starts his last year. sure, part of abbott's appeal to the media/fans was his freak show thing, but the guy earned his hype. he was not a side-show when he went straight from draft to the major leagues without a minute in the minors.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

either way it's a decent idea to let lou get in his head if he's an option in fontenot. i'd love to have the luxury of blanco off the bench because his 2nd and SS are both excellent, but i also fear this would just be an excuse to rush castro, too. i'd hope they'd at least use this chance to keep tracy or another power bat around on the bench rather than that, though. from what lou/hendry has said about castro...and the new vet invited pickups...it might work out that way. way too early to say, though. woo spring.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

''Oh, no,'' the manager said, ''We're not going to ask him to do that. We're going to stick with it this way. We're going to keep him in an RBI spot.'' awesome. now all we need is soto to get his bat together. worried about theriot keeping his worth...both running and with his ob%...he relies a lot on smacking singles around. fuku i'm not worried about in the #1 or #2 slot, though it seems he'd be a better #2 hitter, ideally (not whole roster ideally...real use, ideally).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Soriano is now Cedeno dumb. Look, you have no legs and no batting eye. You are not a leadoff hitter!!! (five more years) You know what you should work on??? (FIVE MORE YEARS) Flailing at breaking pitches 5 feet out of the zone!!!!!!!!!! (FIVE MORE F'NING YEARS) ~deep breath~ First step, when you see the catcher out of the corner of your eye sitting behind the left hand hitters box, be guessing breaking pitch away. Next step, DON'T SWING!!

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

wrong. ...and fail. if you don't have talent to begin with no one cares how nice you are. what part of straight-to-majors-without-minors-or-going-back is lost on you? is your list of 100s of those guys too long to parse? he earned it...get over it.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

with proof? let's see...a packed house in anaheim...media circus...many teams who would be willing to start him straight out of college...international wins over cuba (first in 2+ decades) and japan in pan am and olympics...2 major amateur sports awards... is it worth mentioning a mid-90s fastball or his other stuff? how about his spring training quotes about whether he can make the jump when questioned by others who don't like how he's used 1 arm his whole life? yes, there were multiple teams who thought he could start as-is. i don't run these teams, btw. just to clear that up... it's not bullshit. it's in print for those that missed it. it's that stuff i referenced. i didn't write it. the guy was destined to start right out of being drafted...and he did...and he stuck. you'd think this guy was a freak show with no skills rather than a freak show who had high skills. if this was going on RIGHT NOW none of you would be talking about him like he's a charity case. want me to paste more proof? link more proof? this isn't coming out of thin air.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

let's see...a packed house in anaheim...media circus.. imagine that, the story of a one-armed pitcher in the major leagues receiving media attention many teams who would be willing to start him straight out of college but 7 unwilling to draft him... is it worth mentioning a mid-90s fastball or his other stuff? not really, clearly he could pitch or he wouldn't have made the majors or been drafted 8th overall you'd think this guy was a freak show with no skills rather than a freak show who had high skills. nobody said that want me to paste more proof? link more proof? this isn't coming out of thin air. yes please, post the quotes saying because he won the Sullivan award he was the consensus top pick in the 1988 draft and the only reason he was passed by in the draft was because of his one arm. Also the quotes saying the Sullivan award was just for his on-field contributions. As well as the quotes saying that he would have started right in the majors in 1988 if there were no Olympics and wouldn't have gone to the minors. I didn't say the guy wasn't a talented pitcher or massively hyped, one-armed pitchers with major league talent tend to get that. your contentions though that his talent(not his story) was more hyped than Ben McDonald, that anyone cared about the Sullivan award when trying to project his major league performance or that him making the majors without any minor league games didn't have something to do with playing in the '88 Olympics and having spring training to make the team are bullshit.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

you act like jim abbott didn't have the buzz unless it was about him being a freak. you seem to think he didn't earn his golden spike or his sullivan. you also seem to think the sullivan isn't a major award, but some other sideshow. how many guys do you hear scouts and teams saying "this guy is mlb-ready" and REALLY mean it. seriously? for all the 1-arm stuff, the guy had STUFF. it was legit stuff. the 1-arm crap is a nice story, but if he didn't have legit stuff to go along with it... well... 1- you don't get major awards for it 2- you don't get to start in 2 major international competitions and get to start vs. the hardest teams 3- you don't have teams saying you're ready to go right out of college 4- you don't have the guy in question fielding questions by reporters asking him why some teams think he may not be ready 5- you sure as hell don't stick around if they try you out and you're not ready he's not little timmy from the special olympics or some dude with autism who's really good at shooting free throws. we heard about this dude for 2 years...he won a golden spike as a f'n sophomore. he dominated international competition back when college kids made up team USA and they played against other country's pros. guy had a 95mph fastball and a HARD slider...also a curve. All 3 were refined and everyone knew it. THAT is why he was moved so fast...because he was MLB-ready out of the box. You don't just stumble into that. ...and i never EVER said or hinted "he won the Sullivan award he was the consensus top pick in the 1988 draft" ...and if you think you don't have to have an athletic base to even be considered for the sullivan it must be new award territory for you.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

you act like jim abbott didn't have the buzz unless it was about him being a freak. no I didn't, clearly he pitched well in the Olympics and international competition and was good enough to be drafted 8th overall. But his "freak" status did make him a lot more interesting to the general public. You think he carried the US Flag in the Olympics while playing for a demonstration sport just because of his talent? you seem to think he didn't earn his golden spike or his sullivan. you also seem to think the sullivan isn't a major award, but some other sideshow. I never once mentioned the golden spike award, now you're just making stuff up. I think the sullivan award is a major award given for talent and leadership and overcoming obstacles. But if he had 2 arms, he wouldn't have won it. how many guys do you hear scouts and teams saying "this guy is mlb-ready" and REALLY mean it. seriously? I hear it all the time. How do you know they REALLY meant it with Abbott? and mlb-ready doesn't necessarily mean he's the most talented or best player fwiw, it's just that his skills are ready for the majors and don't need much refining. for all the 1-arm stuff, the guy had STUFF. it was legit stuff. the 1-arm crap is a nice story, but if he didn't have legit stuff to go along with it... never argued that, not sure why you keep coming back to it. He had good stuff on top of a fascinating story. But there were pitchers who were considered more talented and with higher upsides...like Ben McDonald. ...and i never EVER said or hinted "he won the Sullivan award he was the consensus top pick in the 1988 draft" you did say: i think you underestimate the sullivan award and the buzz it gave him and funny thing is if it wasn't for having 1 hand abbott would have easily been the #1 overall. ...and if you think you don't have to have an athletic base to even be considered for the sullivan it must be new award territory for you. I didn't think they gave it to ballerinas. You seem to think he won it almost exclusively because of his baseball accomplishments and that major league teams gave much of a crap when considering drafting him.

Crunch posting at 3:10 am. Where's my coffee? You know what's a shame? Mordecai "3 fingers" Brown never won the Sullivan Award. There's an injustice. Is Koyie Hill still eligible?

offtopic.... I'm moving to Milwaukee in August. (just found out) I want tickets but the ticket icon on the cubs site isn't available. (for games in september) Does that really mean they are already sold out?

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In reply to by The Real Neal

middle infielders seemed appropriate to me, that's what Castro is afterall and Smith was curious was other 20-yr old middle infielders did with their careers if brought up that early. That was the question he asked and he answered it for the most part with the 2nd half of it coming tomorrow. He already seemed to acknowledge that he thought Castro would be better than Templeton and fwiw, Tony Fernandez ended up with 39.4 total WAR for his career. But maybe Castro finds some power and maybe he finds second base as well. I'd be thrilled if he turns into Roberto Alomar myself. anyway, no use in me defending someone else's article, he has comments open over there if you have questions or concerns. I just found it interesting, not some holy grail, in the end it's all pretty disposable.

In other news. I need to get resmarted. I just realized I can view new comments merely by reloading the page. I didn't know it'd behave like the 'new comments' button. Now I know. ...and knowing is half the battle.

Boy, that 2004 list doesn't give you much faith in BA's evaluation, does it? Angel Guzman - 26th Justin Jones - 56th Ryan Harvey - 65th Andrew Sisco - 77th Felix Pie - 85th Bobby Brownlie - 92nd

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In reply to by Rob G.

His stats just weren't that good, and there was always talk of him moving to the bullpen. He was 68th the previous year, according to Wickifield. You know what would be interesting, is to review the list for guys who are on it 2+ times. My gut instinct is that if you're on it 3 times, you should be moving up it, not down, and your chances of being a significant ML'er are pretty good.

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?