Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* 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
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Do the Cubs Have a White Flag in Their Future?

Submitted by Cubnut on

"It's just disappointing, I guess, to think you have a team where everybody in here thinks you can still do it and you can't. You'll never know what could have happened."

So said White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura to Phil Rogers of the Tribune on August 1, 1997, the day after Ventura's bosses completed the so-called "White Flag Trade," in which the Sox shipped three of Ventura's veteran teammates to San Francisco for six minor leaguers, all while Ventura's team—52-53 at the time—sat just 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Indians.

"This team had a chance, and it didn't seize it. It was hard to look at this team and feel very confident. I wasn't interested in finishing second in a poker hand."

So said Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf in defending the deal, which moved pitchers Wilson Alvarez, Roberto Hernandez, and Danny Darwin, and netted shortstop Mike Caruso, outfielder Brian Manning, and pitchers Lorenzo Barcelo, Ken Vining, Keith Foulke, and future Cub Bob Howry.

"I looked at it today and I was thinking all it takes is gaining one game a week for the rest of the year and you can win your division... It's going to take 50 wins or so from here on out to...win this division, and we're capable of doing it."

So said Ryan Dempster on ESPN Radio last week when discussing the Cubs' chances of clawing past the Reds and Cardinals.

I bring this up because, while enjoying almost all of the Cubs' four-game series with the Phillies this past weekend, I couldn't help but wonder if Cubs GM Jim Hendry wasn't at least a little bit conflicted. A week ago, he was (presumably) making plans to shed excess salary and re-arm the Cubs organization with prospects acquired through trade, and he would have had the support of all Cubdom in doing so.

Now, with home-and-home series against the lowly Astros and a three-game set against the division leaders in the Cubs' immediate future, Hendry has to at least ponder the possibility that ten days from now, his team could be within, say, six games of the division lead. At the same time, he (presumably) has teams like the Mets and Tigers and Yankees and who-knows-who-else knocking on his door and calling his office to inquire about possible deals with the third-place Chicago Cubs.

What to do, Jim? What to do?

Historical notes:

 

 

At the time of the "White Flag Trade," Dusty Baker's Giants were in a dead heat with the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West. Following the trade, the Giants went 31-23 and won the West by 2 games over Los Angeles. Alvarez went 4-3, 4.48 for SF down the stretch, while Darwin was 1-3, 4.91, and Hernandez went 5-2, 2.48.

The White Sox finished the season 80-81, six games behind the Indians, who went on to win the AL pennant.

Of the six players the White Sox picked up in the big trade, only Manning failed to reach the majors. A year after the trade, Caruso was the White Sox' starting shortstop and batted .300, Howry saved 49 games for the Sox between '98 and 2002, and Foulke collected 100 saves for the Sox before he was traded to Oakland in a deal for Billy Koch at the end of '02.

Tags
Ryan Dempster
Jim Hendry

Comments

Submitted by Jeff_Pico on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 07:33 pm

This dead ass team needs to be broke apart fast and furious. I will be pissed if Hendry hangs on thinking they can actually be in contention. I would hate to have to root for a team to lose games.

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 07:40 pm

Need to break it apart. One nice weekend doesn't cancel out this team is 9 under .500 No way in hell can you actually be a BUYER at the deadline? This team is too flawed to compete as is. Especially considering everyone else in the race will be looking to add to their rosters.

Submitted by QuietMan on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 07:17 pm

From Rotoworld: AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price reports that the Mets scouted Jeremy Guthrie's start on Sunday against the Blue Jays. Guthrie put on a show, too, allowing only one earned run over six-plus innings in a no-decision at Camden Yards. He struck out six batters, issued only one walk, and now boasts a 4.58 ERA and 1.31 WHIP through 19 starts this season. The Mets are apparently moving on from Cubs starter Ted Lilly, who they were linked to frequently in early July. Source: Ed Price on Twitter http://twitter.com/ed_price/status/18935872096

Submitted by The E-Man on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 07:49 pm

In hearing about Reinsdorf's philosophy (speaking of the Sox) on the radio today, he likes to consistently sign players off horrendous years, who "have something to prove" in their FA years. Scotty Pods, Dye, AJ, et. al. Hendry likes paying the max - and giving max years with all cards held by the player, and he will take a flyer always on a rag-arm pitcher like Wade Miller, Shawn Testes, Rusch, Dempster, Chad, et. al. On the position side, Chad Tracy and Kevin Millar really had nothing left in the tank by the time Hendry signed them. In spite of Kevin Millar saying what a great "clubhouse guy he was", and how he "could've made a difference".

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 07:48 pm

via CM: #Cubs lineup for Mon night vs #Astros RF Colvin, SS Castro, 1B Lee, 3B Ramirez, CF Byrd, LF Soriano, C Soto, 2B Baker, P Silva Expect #Cubs Carlos Zambrano to pitch for Triple-A Iowa Wed or Thu; he also will pitch in Round Rock this weekend before rejoining team

Submitted by dc60124 on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 07:59 pm

i s'pose i'm in the minority...i want to ride it out just like things are. let the expiring contracts expire (lee, lilly, piniella). prevent hendry from under-selling on marketable players (soto, marmol, silva maybe, gorzelanny, byrd maybe). and keep fingers crossed that hendry cannot schmooze ricketts into adding on at the deadline. the fewer transactions left to hendry during the balance of his tenure the better. and above all hope that ricketts has a plan for a successor to hendry effective 10-1-10. who would then hire the new manager, and deal with the carnage.

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Submitted by Jumbo on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 07:03 am

I wouldn't be too upset if Lilly got a one year extension. It's better than letting Hendry negotiate another contract with him - you know he wouldn't give Lilly a one year deal. If they're not going to offer arbitration then I agree they should trade him. If Hendry trades him, we'll get a prospect or two, and the other team will get Lilly plus two picks. If Hendry trades him then resigns him as a FA then the other team gets the Cubs pick. (I think Lilly is Type A - first round would be protected at this point). The whole thing reminds me of not trading or offering arbitration to Harden last year. Maybe I'm full of shit about this, but I guess I feel like we're going to lose out on the handling of Lilly.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 07:37 am

Submitted by Jumbo on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 6:44pm. What would you guys think of Josh Byrnes? Also, I was hearing rumors that Hendry was going to trade Lilly then re-sign him as a free agent. I think I would rather keep him and offer arbitration then give away the draft picks. It would make it much harder to get a fair return for Lilly. Same with Lee if he manages to bring any pcks in return. ====================================================== JUMBO: Josh Byrnes was fired because he ran the Diamondbacks into the ground, giving young players multi-year contracts before they were even eligible for salary arbitration, giving big bucks contracts to stiffs while trading other more-talented players away, and preaching some double-speak he called "organizational advocacy" as the reason for promoting farm director A. J. Hinch to manager after firing Bob Melvin. Josh Byrnes is a joke.

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Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 07:48 am

A lot of people were high on Byrnes when he was a candidate. Can everybody be wrong? From what I've read. The Eric Byrnes contract (killer) extension was direct from management. If that is the case, then Byrnes has been operating with a 65 Million dollar payroll. That's bottom 10 territory there. Not saying the guy is great. But it seems like management really interfered with what the guy was trying to do. Also keep in mind that Drew,Upton,Reynolds,Young,Montero and Scherzer all developed out of that org. Not since the Dallas Green Heyday have the Cubs approached that level of Player development.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 07:01 am

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 8:48am. A lot of people were high on Byrnes when he was a candidate. Can everybody be wrong? From what I've read. The Eric Byrnes contract (killer) extension was direct from management. If that is the case, then Byrnes has been operating with a 65 Million dollar payroll. That's bottom 10 territory there. Not saying the guy is great. But it seems like management really interfered with what the guy was trying to do. Also keep in mind that Drew,Upton,Reynolds,Young,Montero and Scherzer all developed out of that org. Not since the Dallas Green Heyday have the Cubs approached that level of Player development. ================================================= DR AARON B: Chicago native Mike Rizzo (now Washington Nationals GM) was the D'backs Scouting Director through the 2006 draft, and he is the one who drafted and/or signed Quentin, Drew, Upton, Reynolds, S. Hairston, Montero, Scherzer, et al. Many people out here believe Rizzo was the actual Brains of the Outfit (or Man Behind the Curtain), and that Rizzo should have been promoted to GM back in 2005 instead of Byrnes.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.

    When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.

    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

    On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?

    But I digress…

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.  

     

    At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.

    That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.

    Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Wesneski and Mastrobuoni to Iowa

    Taillon and Wisdom up

    Wesneski can't pitch for a couple of days after the 4 IP from last night. But Jed picked Wicks over Wesneski.

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