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

Don't Underestimate the Cubs: They Can Make a Mess of Anything

After all these years, I should know better than to underestimate the Cubs' ability to screw things up, but each time they do, I am somehow sickened anew. This 10-week, all-expenses-paid farewell tour of the National League granted to Lou Piniella is just the latest example.

For weeks, for as long as the least intelligent fan among us has known that the Cubs had no prayer of reaching the post-season this year, players and management alike have cried out, "There's a ton of talent in this lockerroom. We're not out of this race until there's an 'X' next to our name in the standings!" That sort of drivel.

As of the other day, however, this never-say-die franchise is under the stewardship of a 66-year-old manager ("almost 67," Lou pointed out to us) who has looked disconnected from virtually the start of the season ("Look, fellas, I'm out of answers. I really am."). Jim Hendry explained that after a long, distinguished career as a player and World Series-winning manager, Lou "deserves" to go out on his own terms.

My question is, what do Cub fans deserve? Don't we at least deserve to see what would happen if this comically awful circus troupe might perform better if it sensed some urgency; if it was under the direction of someone driven by his own hunger to turn an interim manager title into something more lasting? 

I'll answer my own question—we absolutely deserve that much.

Regarding the endorsement Jim Hendry received from the Chairman on the day of the Piniella press conference...

As Rob G. wrote in the comments, the fact that Hendry, whose teams have now failed to win a single post-season game in seven years, will now be hiring his third Cubs manager is frankly unbelievable. I have nothing else to add there.

Finally, regarding the Hall of Famer in the room...

I'm already tired of hearing Ryne Sandberg invoke his four years of service at Peoria and Des Moines as proof of his fitness for a job that has crushed managers with much more experience and much more impressive managerial resumés. Sandberg somehow conveys an air of entitlement and embarrassing desperation at the same time. I would love to see him NOT get the Cubs' job if only to learn for certain if the rest of Major League Baseball is as convinced of Sandberg's managerial potential as #23 is.

I suppose there's always that job in Baltimore.

 

 

Comments

disagree that sandberg acts entitled and/or embarrassingly desperate & think he is worthy of admiration for his willingness to go almost directly from cooperstown back to the bush leagues & start over...as for what we cub fans deserve, maybe a team that plays commensurate to its collective salary...

[ ]

In reply to by Mike Wellman

Mike, Appreciate your point of view given that you are watching Sandberg on a daily basis. (Funny that your post and mine went up almost simultaneously and offered such different points of view.) My read on Sandberg is based on the way he is coming across in the Chicago press, which also might explain the relatively tepid reaction his candidacy seems to be getting here. (You said you wondered about that in your post.) I feel like Sandberg has been campaigning for this job for a very long time, and that feels desperate to me. By contrast, Alan Trammel said he is not interested in discussing the job via the press and even Brenly, who interviewed for the position when Piniella got it and has been open about wanting to get back on the field, is tip-toeing around the subject and saying things like, "I would be happy to discuss the job with the Cubs if that makes sense at some point." I will admit to my cynicism. I got sick of the way the John McDonough-era Cubs turned so many of the ex-players (e.g., Santo) into mascots, and I would hate to think the Ricketts regime would follow the same course with this first managerial hire.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubnut

I don't read desperation in Sandberg's statements, but rather determination. This is the job he wants. He said that 4 years ago. He asked what he needed to do to get it. They told him to manage in the minors. He said, fine, I'll do that and will be successful. He has been. Now he wants the job. Is he supposed to say "Well, I would be happy to discuss it with Jim when the time comes." No. That would be stupid. We all know where he stands. He is not bullshitting us. For me, this is refreshing. Sandberg has set a goal, made it public, worked hard, done well, and will likely soon achieve it. This is an attitude that is missing a lot on the Cubs. The Cubs always lack hunger. We always criticize the team and manager for looking flat. We get managers who want to manage the Cubs after the Cubs offer them salaries higher than everyone else and huge payrolls. I bet if you offered him the lowest salary of any major league manager to manage the Cubs next year, he'd probably take it. Think about that. Jeez. I hope he gets the job. I like it. If a player wants to improve his defense, Sandberg can say, "well, show up two hours early tomorrow to work with the coaches." If the player protests, Sandberg can say "I rode buses for 4 years to get this job, if you want something you will have to work too." As with all things Cubs, it could fail colossally for a number of foresee and unforeseen reasons. But I am all for trying it. Hiring some of the best/highest paid managers in baseball hasn't worked. Let's hire the hall of fame player who is dedicated to the franchise and see if he can whip it into shape.

points taken - i just think the essence of sandberg's 'campaign' is grunt work & on the job training @ the minor league level...agree w/ your cynicism re: mascotizing former players for marketing purposes, but also think managerial hires are often crapshoots; recent past w/ celebrity types hasn't gotten us to the promised land...in any case, as i said, i am not unequivocally beating ryno's drum; just suggesting if they go one direction he makes sense; if they stay the course of megadeals for FA's he probably doesn't - either way, i respect & admire his approach to the game & think it is an antidote in some ways to cynicism...

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I don't know much about Wedge, but I am hoping that Brenly gets the job and Sandberg gets a bench coach job. I have two concerns with Sandberg: 1) What kind of in game manager is he? Will he bunt a ton like Baylor? Maybe this is a small issue - not THAT many decisions for a manager to make. 2) How will he be able to deal with the overpaid athletes that he hasn't had to manage yet. I seem to remember him as a Derrek Lee type in the locker-room. Not overly outspoken, lead by example - I was young when he was playing so I have no facts to base this on. But I don't know how that leadership style will play out with guys like Soriano, Zambrano, Ramirez. So far he's only had to handle players who are motivated as hell to get to the next level. These guys already have their money. Vote Brenly!!!

I want nothing more than Ryne Sandberg to lead the Cubs where we all want them to be led to. I fear though he'll fail miserably like every other Cub manager and will do so by doing a lot of things I find stupid when managing a game...and then my childhood will forever be ruined. They already took Transformers, GI Joes and Star Wars away from me...stop at my sports heroes. At least Walter Payton had the good grace to die (Rest in Peace Sweetness) before he got dragged through the mud.

What I don't want is to see them just give the job to Sandberg. I want a thorough examination of candidates. There are a lot of decent candidates out there who would like to be considered, some with major league managing experience (including Trammell and Brenly). They should interview them all, determine which way this team is going to be put together over the next 2-3 years, and determine which guy suits that determination best. If Sandberg is the best candidate after that process, fair enough. If he's not, they need to go with the guy that is the best candidate after they go through the process.

how does a team screw up hiring a manager besides either 1- paying him like he actually plays 2- hiring a guy who can't manage personalities? #1 doesn't even really effect the cubs badly since they're spending so much money... we go through this every time we kick our last "next big thing" out. hell, almost every team does. people think a manager is gonna do something or make grown young men with millions do something. everyone's looking for the f'n winston churchhill of baseball it seems. what are you people basing decent candidates on? can they speak spanish? can they communicate with various types of people in a way they'll understand? how are they going to handle a player going rogue? what's their temper? what's their past experience with the game? seriously? how much does it matter?

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • 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.