Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

There's Ugly and Then There's Cub-Ugly: Mets 6, Cubs 1

Submitted by Cubnut on

Here's the ugly box score, and here are some details...

The good: Randy Wells allowed just one scratch run over six innings, yielding six singles and a couple walks while fanning five. At the plate, Wells delivered two singles of his own, one of which figured in the mini rally that netted the Cubs' only run of the game. Also, Marlon Byrd, moved up to the leadoff spot in Lou Piniella's new-look batting order against southpaws, collected three hits and the only Chicago RBI of the night.

The bad: Where to begin?

Cub hitters went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and blew a chance to salt the game away before it would have ever had a chance to get away. The 5th inning was especially galling, as the Cubs had men at first and third with Lee, Nady, and Ramirez due up and failed to score. (Ramirez, by the way, went 0-for-4, personally stranded four runners, and is now hitting .157.) In all, the Cubs left 12 men on base.

And of course no Cub fail in 2010 would be complete without some imprint from the bullpen. In tonight's installment, the relief staff took over the game from Wells in the seventh and promptly allowed the Mets five runs, their biggest offensive inning of the season.

James Russell, unscored upon before tonight, served up a two-run, go-ahead homer to Angel Pagan; Jeff Samardzija allowed a walk, a double off the base of the left-field wall by Jason Bay, and a smash by Jeff Francouer that resulted in an error by Aramis Ramirez; and even Sean Marshall got into the act by allowing a run-scoring single to heralded Mets rookie Ike Davis and tossing a wild pitch that accounted for the fifth and final Mets run in the inning.

Lastly, I heard the radio account of, but did not see, Alfonso Soriano's second-inning double. Pat Hughes and Keith Moreland (especially Moreland) were unequivocal in saying that the only reason Soriano didn't end up with a triple on the play was that he lingered at home plate to admire what he assumed was a home run.

I guess as infrequently as Soriano hits the long ball these days, he must figure he needs to get in the self-admiration whenever he can.

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Cubs Game Recaps

Comments

Submitted by Cubster on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 04:34 pm

guess as infrequently as Soriano hits the long ball these days, he must figure he needs to get in the self-admiration whenever he can. --- Ah fond(?) memories, I remember the 2004 version of Sammy Sosa admiring a few blasts that hit high off the wall that ended up being singles he admired very much.

Submitted by The E-Man on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 04:39 pm

" In tonight's installment, the relief staff took over the game..." This is really, pathetically funny. I have stated even during ST, that I believe A-Ram is injured, or just not 100% recovered from his injury last year. Barring a one-year rental for next year, we really do not have a viable alternative at his position until Josh Vitters is ready to play (IF he is ready). If I was GM in 2011, I would not re-sign A-Ram, but then again I would not have the choice b/c no other team will give him what the Cubs are on the hook for at HIS OPTION. FUCK YOU JIM HENDRY!

Submitted by billybucks on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 04:44 pm

If this is Year 1, one shudders at the thought of what Year 2 might bring. - Drafting more Notre Dame football players? - Signing more impotent free-agent outfielders? - Really believing that "the bullpen will sort itself out" is a successful strategy? This feels like it's going be to ugly for a long time.

Submitted by Ross_Barnes on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 04:51 pm

The Samardzija delusion has to end. The guy was never better than mediocre in his short minor league career and is obviously in way over his head. I'd be beyond annoyed if I was any of 10 other guys in AAA or AA who has put up better numbers over a longer time frame than Samardzija. The organization's promotion of this guy is a joke and the extreme denial exhibited by Hendry in this case is almost pathological. Positives on the farm: Cashner another excellent start: 7 IP, 2H, 1R, 1BB, 5K. Jay Jackson at Iowa was dominant: 8 IP 2H, 0R, 1BB, 4K (only 86 pitches). Lilly tossed a great game as well in Peoria: 7IP 3H 1R 1BB 9K. Two hits again for Castro (now raking at .370 with three triples and two two-baggers in his first 10 games). Brett Jackson 4 for 8 in a twin-bill, including a triple and three knocked in.

Submitted by rokfish on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 04:04 pm

Samardzjia needs to go away. Russell i like what he brings but if a lefty goes to bullpen (Gorzo) russell will be sent down. Ramirez looks lighter to me does not look the same. Lou is not giving Colvin his 3 starts a week he needs consistent work. Is there a NFL team that owns wide outs rights?

Submitted by tbone on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:01 am

The Cubs should be using Samardzija in red zone situations. With his height he can out jump most corners. But I'm still pissed that Hendry got rid of DeRosa who was, of course, the Cubs' best QB. This is no way to run a football team.

Submitted by Jackstraw on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:08 am

There's Ugly on occasion, and then there's Ugly all the time. Russell's performance last night, while utterly infuriating, reeks of rookie-ness...up 0-2, come too far inside, hit (THE F'ing) leadoff hitter...pay too much attention to him, get lit up. One can only hope he learns from it. But it's his first remarkably aggravating appearance in front of Lou. Samardzija was bad for the third time in four appearances this year. On top of the bad appearances last year. My guess is Lou is tired-er of Samardzija than he is of Russell. Of course, maybe I'm just projecting.

Submitted by Dmac on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:30 am

I noticed that Fonzie's doing his hop in the OF again - thought he was doing away with that crap, you know, in the attempt to actually field his position. Old habits die hard, apparently - he better get used to the boos at Wrigley if he keep that schtick up.

[ ]

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:52 am

From the Tribune: Another problem is the daily saga of Alfonso Soriano, who brought back the hop when catching fly balls that he said over the weekend he had ditched, and also stood at the plate admiring a long fly ball in the second inning. He wound up with a double but could've had a triple if he had run out of the box. Soriano wound up stranded at third. "He probably thought it was a home run, didn't he?" Piniella said. "This is a big ballpark. Yeah." Doesn't that anger Piniella? "I'm going to talk to him," he said. Soriano said he "hit it very good," and realized he had to run after a few steps out of the box. "The more important thing was I made a very good swing at that ball," he said, adding he didn't think he could've had a triple. Soriano also conceded he did the hop to "feel comfortable" in the field.

Submitted by thedirtbag on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:31 pm

"What kind of trade value does Soriano have? Surely some team would like to have him. I wonder how much of that massive contract the Cubs would have to eat." Leverage does not come to mind from a Cubs Management perspective.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/20/2010 - 04:26 pm

Well Okay I will add that right after spring training was over I did say that this team is crap. Nothing up the middle, no defense to speak of, Soto obviously was a one year wonder (I'd rather see Hill everyday right now). Although, Soto does have great eyebrows if he can keep them up. Bring up castro, move Theriot to his rightful spot at 2b or the bench, shore up the damn defense. Eat Sori's contract since it is already eating the team. The Ricketts are too much like the Wrigleys for my liking. Shall I go on? This is gonna be a good season for Rob's blog. The bitching and moaning should bring in at least one new solid advertiser.

Recent comments

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: I think there was an issue with Luke Little coming into a game with men on base. He seems to need a "clean" inning to be dominant. So he is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AAA. Same goes for Michael Arias. He needs to come into a "clean" inning, and is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AA. Porter Hodge is a more versatile pitcher, a better version of Keegan Thompson (multi-inning RP). But Little, Arias, and Hodge (probably in that order) are the Cubs top three RP prospects (all three are Cubs Top 15 prospects).

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    So, let’s do a little war gaming. Taillon is back for tonight’s game. He pitched two rehab games, just a few innings each, and not especially sharp. Let’s face it, he hasn’t been lights out since the Cubs gave him the big contract. In other words, as flat out bad as Hendricks has been, the chances of Taillon being the savior don’t look exactly promising.

    If Taillon is equally ineffective or perhaps even worse, what’s the next move? Winning teams can often find a way to work around a dud fifth starter - kinda. Two dud starters make things much more difficult.

    I believe the biggest reason for the recent bullpen moves was dissatisfaction with the recent blowing of big leads and the recognition that the bullpen wasn’t all it was thought to be. In other words, they are exploring alternate options and configurations. If similar juggling becomes necessary (even more so than it already is), what kind of reasonable maneuvering do we think could be explored?

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