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

Game Thread / Cubs @ Mets

Cubs Mets
Theriot, SS #Reyes, SS
Baker, 3B #Castillo, 2B
Lee, 1B Wright, 3B
Byrd. CF Bay, LF
Nady, RF Francouer, RF
Soriano, LF *Davis, 1B
Soto, C Barajas, C
*Fontenot, 2B #Pagan, CF
*Gorzelanny, P Santana, P

Good news is the Cubs can split the series with the win tonight, bad news is they're still the Cubs. AmIrite? Okay, the actual bad news is that it's Johan vs. Gorzelanny.

Comments

So apparently the new lineup against southpaws lasted all of one game. Lou is nothing but consistent in his inconsistency.

two more hits tonight for Starlin Castro including a dooble, single, a walk and two runs scored Josh Vitters went 3 for 4 including two HR's, 3 runs scored and 4 rbi's

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Nice to see Vitters wake up a bit. I am starting to think he is just a streaky hitter and scouts' impression of him are based entirely on whether he is on a hot or a cold streak when they see him. He first gained prominence by dominating some HS exhibition tournament, as I recall - 4 years later, it looks like he just happened to be hot that week.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I googled "streak hitter" and came up with a lot of all-stars, from current Mets Reyes, Wright and Beltran to Ichiro, A-Rod and Willie Mays. It may depend on what you do when you're hot. Vitters had a streak last May where he hit 8 home runs in 10 games (without any two-homer games) and 12 for the month. If he's waking up, that's good for Daytona, a team that is below .500 and lagging way behind Tennessee (12-2, 6 wins in a row) and Peoria (10-5, 7 in a row). Burke may be waking up also, and Ridling is due back from Mesa rehab any day. Even asleep, Vitters is hitting .283.

Actually, the Smokies swept a double-header and Castro went a combined 4 for 7 with 2 doubles and a walk. He now has 2 hits in eight out of his last nine games. He's now hitting .404 and slugging ~.650. Robinson Chirinos is also just plain raking in Tennessee (.351/.381/.676). He's 25, so somewhat elderly for the level, but as a catcher who has really caught fire the past year plus, his stock might rise enough to be prime trade bait.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Absolutely Charlie. You made a great point with respect to Chirinos's ability to play multiple infield positions as well as catch. If he continues to hit and does so after promotion to Iowa, he's the type of player who really adds flexibility to a major league roster. I gather he's a pretty decent defensive infielder and has made good strides behind the plate.

[ ]

In reply to by Ross_Barnes

I was thinking that a former ROY would be prime trade bait. The Cubs don't seem to like Soto's defense or his handling of pitchers, and that situation isn't going to improve. The better he hits, the more tradeable he gets. (I know that last sentence confuses many people, who tend to think that playing poorly makes you tradeable.) Not for Chirinos's sake necessarily. I've thought that the catcher of the future for the Cubs is Castillo, ever since I saw him use that cannon in spring training when he picked a runner off second. Never mind how Castillo hits, it's a defensive position. Koyie Hill can't hit and he started 69 games last year for Piniella. I really have no idea what kind of catcher Chirinos is, although the reports have been good. Same with Robinson.

Was reading over at Desipio and this kinda sums up my feelings on the Zambrano situation...
He was good enough to be their opening day starter, and then after three good starts in a row they told him to go sit on a stool in the dugout and help Jeff Samuldjian braid his hair or whatever they do down there while the real players are playing in the game. I can tell you what. If my foreman came to me and told me that four people who aren’t as good at my job as I am are going to do it so I can go do something less important, I’d have shown plenty of maturity. I would have maturely told him to go fuck himself.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

"He is what he is... very high potential but not nearly consistent enough to hang with the top aces." He is NOT an ace. Pure and simple. He has moments when he pitches very well. So do other #3 starting pitchers in the league. Just because he was our opening day pitcher does not make him an ace. At the beginning of the year, Lou thought he was the best of what was available to start. In my opinion, with Lilly back, he is the club's #3 starter, behind Lilly and Dempster.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Call me Real Neal when any Cubs starter has 8 consecutive seasons of pitching with an ERA under 4.00 and has a 60%+ winning % as a starter. Your idiocy of mentioning his ERA two weeks into the season, as if it means anything, is the best you can come up with? Like i said why aren't you dry humping the shit out of Aramis Ramirez and screaming for his removal from the lineup? At least be consistent with your stupidity.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Yes, and Sammy Sosa is going to hit 60 HR's this year. Quit living in the past. Zambrano is a primadonna with back-up dancer prodcutivity. He is about 10 times as likely to be a dominant setup man than his is likely to be a starter worth $18 million. The Cubs #1 pitching need right now is a setup man. They're putting their biggest 'name' in that role, because they think he can do it and the other guys have out pitched him (and don't walk 4 batters per 9 trying to impress everyone with their breaking pitches). You get so fixated on these players, wishcasting that they're going to return to their form of 7 years ago. That happens about as often as a guy comes bak from shoulder surgery to become an effective starter, or one is moved from closer to become a teams #1 starter. P.S. Aramis got benched yesterday.

whatever the 'real' reason[s] for zombie's reassignment, the fact is that he can now impact several games a week, for better or worse, instead of one every five days...I'm surprised @ the level of support for his lackluster record as a starter, let alone a contracted 'ace'...he is an immature & undependable, albeit pysically talented, overpaid veteran who has either plateaued or regressed @ a stage where he should be in his prime - instead of a team leader he is, at best, an enigma...

Meanwhile, down on the farm; from the Smokies website... 'The two wins improve Tennessee's record to 12-2 this season, the best in all of minor league baseball and the fewest losses in any level of baseball.'

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Me: "See what he did, kids? That's kind of an unwritten rule in baseball, you shouldn't do that." Kid: "But isn't that the guy that did steroids?" Me: "Yeah, that's okay, though, you do your suspension and collect your paycheck. Just don't walk across the mound."

I look at this situation with Zambrano differently than a lot of people. I don't look at it as a demotion or a punishment. The bullpen is way underperforming and the Cubs feel that Zambrano can help by taking on the 8th inning duties. I don't think he's going to the pen because he can't handle it as starter. He hasn't had a good start to the year, but regardless, he has the stuff to help in the pen. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing important about the move is, does it help the Cubs win. I think it does. I also think that Zambrano can be moved out of the rotation, at least in the short term, and not hurt the rotation much. I also think the move will significantly improve the bullpen.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

Not really. Z pitched in a high leverage situation for all six of his innings on Tuesday night. Pitching well is pitching well. If you have a 3 ERA, it doesn't really make much difference how you get that 3 ERA - unless you're being brought in in the middle of the inning with runners on. I'd rather have Z walk in a guy than Silva give up a grand slam with the bases loaded after they try to cleanup a Grabow mess. You want your best relievers to pitch with 1 and 2 run leads. How many guys they walk to become a best reliever, shouldn't really play a big role in it.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

No, I am just explaining that thinking that there are certain components of allowing runs (like walks) that are more damaging in later innings than other components (hits and home runs) is incorrect. We need a setup man, we have no setup man. Do you really think that Silva or Gorzellany is going to be a better setup man than Zambrano?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

I don't think Gorzelanny makes sense because he's left handed. The bullpen is kind of left handed heavy already with Marshall, Russell, and Grabow. Silva doesn't make sense because he's throwing really well in a starting role right now. True, he could fall apart at any minute, but then is that the guy you want in the set-up role. Zambrano has not had a good start to the year, but there's a good chance he'll at least be decent. Finally, I don't think it makes sense to move either Gorz or Silva to the bullpen because they are currently being used as trade bait. You want to keep showcasing them in the hopes of finding a trade partner willing to part with a good set-up man. At least I think that's the plan.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

That already has been answered. You move Gorzelanny to the pen, send Russell to the minors, activate Lilly, send Sharkface to the minors and call up a RH reliever, or now just sign Juan Cruz since he won't cost much. Either Gorz can get big league hitters out or he can't. He seems to do fine in innings 1-5, which includes getting right handed hitters out. But he seems to run out of gas, which makes him a perfect relief candidate. Z can throw 120 pitches. And he's the opening day starter, supposed ace of the staff, making $18 mil per year. He's not truly an ace, but he does eat innings. You don't move your opening day starter to the pen as as a setup guy, period, especially after only two weeks. And when Z struggles, it's generally early, which makes putting him in the pen not a genius move. It's poor managing.

Curious about the no-fly on Cruz's personality issue comment, because he seems like a fit. Though would we even get first crack? Would the O's get first crack? What a nightmare. Wuertz would be a fit. Maybe Hendry will send Vitters for him.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 04/25/2010 - 2:20pm. he'd have to go through the AL first and then the NL by reverse standings. =============================================== ROB G: In the case of Release Waivers and Outright Waivers, the waiver procedure does not require teams in the player's own league to pass on the player before a team in the other league can be awarded a claim. Getting "waived out of your own league" before clubs in the other league can win a claim only applies to Trade Waivers (August-September). Also, through the first 30 days of the MLB regular season, the previous season's standings are used to determine waiver claimm priority. After that, the standings as they are the morning the player clears waivers apply. And in the case of Release Waivers, if a club makes a claim it is responsible for 100% of the players remaining salary. But if a club waits until the player clears waivers before signing the player, the player's former club is responsible for most of the player's remaining salary, while the new club USUALLY only has to pay the MLB pro-rated mininum salary (the exception being if the player gets a new contract that exceeds the value of his termination pay, as happened with Reed Johnson in 2008). And in the case of Release Waivers, a player can refuse a waiver claim and become a free-agent, and if he does that, his former team still owes him 100% of his remaining salary. So there really is no point in claiming a player off Release Waivers. You just wait until he becomes a FA, and then sign him (as the Cubs did with Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds in 2008). The only problem is that you might have to compete with other clubs for the released player's services, and if that is the case, you might have to offer the released player a contract extention. But that is pretty rare.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.