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

Carlos Silva: Identity Theft Victim?

Five Cubs pitchers combined to throw a three-hitter, Jeff Baker smashed a solo home run, and Xavier Nady doubled twice and knocked-in two runs, leading the Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in Cactus League action before a capacity crowd of 13,157 at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny & warm Mesa this afternoon.

 

box score

Carlos Silva got the start for the Cubs and looked very good, throwing four shutout innings (52 pitches - 37 strikes, 4/5 GO/FO), allowing two hits and one HBP, while striking out three (Julio Borbon once and Chris Davis twice, with all three punchouts featuring a called third strike).

Silva threw effortlessly and just plain cruised through his four innings of work, retiring the last seven men he faced. He looked like he probably could have gone another inning or two if Manager Lou Piniella had let him do it. This was probably the best outing by a Cubs starting pitcher this Spring.

SILVA:
1st inning: Kc, L-4 (outstanding diving catch by Fontenot), 1B, HBP, and Kc (20 pitches - 14 strikes)
2nd inning: P-3, 6-3, 1B, FC (10 pitches - seven strikes)
3rd inning: 3-U, 5-3, P-5 (11 pitches - eight strikes)
4th inning: F-8, Kc, L-5 (11 pitches - eight strikes)

Esmailin Caridad followed Silva and further solidified his spot in the 2010 Cubs bullpen, facing just six men in his two innings (31 pitches - 19 strikes), striking out three (Taylor Teagarden, Elvis Andrus, and David Murphy, all swinging). Caridad did walk Joaquin Arias with two outs in the 5th, but Arias was gunned down by Geovany Soto trying to steal 2nd base. Caridad appeared to be throwing VERY hard today, and overmatched all three of his strikeout victims.

RHP Marcos Mateo entered the game in the 6th, and although he did allow a solo HR to DH Justin Smoak leading off the 8th, he probably threw the ball as well this afternoon as he has all Spring. Mateo threw strikes (22 pitches - 16 strikes), and struck out three of the five men he faced. Like Caridad, Mateo was really rushin' it up there today.

Mateo was relieved by Jeff Stevens with one out and the bases empty in the 8th (it looked like it took Stevens longer than normal to get loose, which may be why Mateo started the 8th inning), and Stevens retired both men he faced, although he did go 3-2 on both hitters.

LHP James Russell continued his fine Spring, working a 1-2-3 9th (13 pitches - seven strikes), striking out the last two men he faced.

The Cubs didn't do much offensively, but they did manage to bunch their hits.

Ryan Theriot singled leading off the bottom of the 1st (chopper bobbled by 1st baseman Chris Davis, but Rangers starter Neftali Feliz forgot to cover 1st), but Kosuke Fukudome and Xavier Nady struck out swinging (and Theriot was caught stealing on a "strike 'em, out, throw 'em out" when Nady fanned). Alfonso Soriano singled with two outs in the 2nd, but was left stranded.

But then the Cubs rallied with two outs and nobody on base in the 3rd against Feliz, as The Riot lined a single to CF, and advanced to 3rd when Kosuke Fukudome grounded an opposite-field double down the LF line. Xavier Nady then ripped a double into the left-field corner, scoring Theriot and Fukudome, and Marlon Byrd lined a single to center, scoring Nady from 2nd with the third run of the inning.

Jeff Baker might be breaking out of his Spring Training slump, as he crushed a towering solo home run over the left-center fence of LHP C. J. Wilson (who had retired all eight men he faced--including FIVE strikeouts--prior to the Baker HR).

The Cubs threatened against Wilson (who worked four innings today) in the 8th, as Tyler Colvin hung in there against a tough lefty and roped a line-single to CF on a 3-2 pitch to lead off the inning. Nady then doubled (his second two-bagger of the day) to advance Colvin to 3rd, but Wilson made some good pitches and retired the next three hitters (James Adduci, Micah Hoffpauir, and Sam Fuld) on weak ground balls (the first two with the infield pulled-in). Hoffpauir and Fuld have really struggled at the plate so far.

The Cubs optioned hard-throwing (but very raw) 22-year old RHP Rafael Dolis to AA Tennessee today, so the Cubs MLB Spring Traning roster now stands at 50 (including 24 pitchers, five catchers, 13 infielders, and eight outfielders). The Cubs must get their MLB Active List roster down to 25 players by Sunday April 3rd.  

The Cubs have their annual mid-Spring Training day off tomorrow.

Comments

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In reply to by navigator

yeah, when he throws that 3rd pitch dujour i'll believe it. what year are we in for silva's 3rd pitch? he shows up every spring working on one and he goes into the year throwing the same 2 almost every time. fastball...slider (rarely thrown to lefties)...and a crappy change lefties aren't fooled by, he doesn't use much on them, and he rarely throws it to righties. cutter...been there done that...sinker...been there done that...splitter...been there done that...hell, he should try the knuckler. his slider isn't even very good...meh. he vows to work on or get a 3rd pitch for years...he ends up throwing the same crap. if it feels good to count the change as a 3rd pitch, fine...you can have that. he's practically a 1-pitch pitcher, honestly. the fact he sees more righties lends to that slider he throw. even vs. the lefties he doesn't break out the change much and if you see one vs. a righty he's being f'n cute.

"Our apologies for the inconvenience, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority will be here soon to fix the problem. In the meantime, please return to our home page and consider donating a few bucks so that it doesn't happen again." WTH?

ESPN 1000 just reported that Rangers' manager Ron Washington tested positive last July (2009) for cocaine. Did that have anything to do with Washington's ability to get along with Milton? Should Lou have just gotten a little tooted up last year to deal with Milton better? And is anyone else amused by the mental images that come to mind from imagining a Lou Pinella high on cocaine? Truly strange. (edit) Evidently, this was reported by SI, according to this link: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/03/si-texa…

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...