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

Bobby Tips the Scales for I-Cubs

Thanks to a 33 year-old journeyman who's probably had all he's likely to get of the big leagues, what remains of the Iowa Cubs took another big step toward a division pennant and the PCL playoffs with an 8-5 win over the Memphis Redbirds last night in Des Moines. Jeff Samardzija will take the mound this afternoon and try to toss the clincher.

Iowa broke on top in the first inning for the second night in a row, again courtesy of Jason Dubois who banged a two-run double off of the center field wall to score Jim Adduci and Brad Snyder. Mitch Atkins, who never touched 90 on the radar gun all night, made the lead stand up until Memphis got to him for a three spot in the top of the 4th. Coasting to that point, Atkins was rocked with two outs and nobody on by a tape measure home run, two singles, an error that Marquez Smith played off of his chest and another sharp base hit that plated two runs and put the Redbirds ahead. They added another run in the top of the 6th to lead 4-2 on a run scoring single by Ruben Gotay. Atkins then tried to pick Gotay off and twice came very close, so close on the 2nd attempt that Atkins and the crowd took exception and, forgive me, a Ryno came charging from the Cubs' dugout to argue the point, to no immediate avail.

In the bottom of the frame  Dubois led off and beat out, I swear, an infield hit on a close play at first. He doesn't get many of those. Did he get the nod on the call because of a seed planted by his hall of fame manager in the mind of a young minor league umpire? With Bryan LaHair at the plate and the count 3-1, Sandberg had the ponderous Dubois running. The pitch was ball four but the throw drawn by Dubois sailed into center and he scooted, so to speak, into 3rd. The official scorer originally credited him with a stolen base that was erased in this morning's version of the box score, but the play was reminiscent of the time Ronny Cedeno stole second on a fourth ball and was called out when he overslid the bag; the only time I recall seeing a runner on first thrown out stealing second on the same pitch that walked the batter.

Up came the patient, choosy Scales who worked the count full before sending his 10th homer of the year in his 1,200th professional game over the wall in right-center to put the I-Cubs back in front. A two-run double by Snyder highlighted a three-run seventh that padded the lead and cemented the win that ensures Iowa of no worse than a dead heat for the title in the American North branch of the far-flung PCL. The other run was delivered by a Scales single.

Memphis pitchers walked five hitters, three of whom scored. Atkins and his successors walked no one. Halfway through the four game showdown the first three hitters in the Memphis lineup are a collective 1-23.

Another observation having nothing to do with the outcomes of the games concerns the demise of the good ol' American baseball bat. Last night five of them shattered and Dubois cracked another the old fashioned way. That makes a total of seven compound fractures and one hairline in two nights. Something's rotten, or there are termites, in Louisville...

Comments

That makes a total of seven compound fractures and one hairline in two nights. --- Sounds like someone needs to start an orthopedic bat trauma fellowship to fix this.

via CM... 2B Baker, SS Castro, CF Byrd, 3B Ramy, 1B Nady, LF Soriano, RF Colvin, C Soto, P Dempster also, silva to start tuesday

Per Muskat tweet...not sure what happened. CarrieMuskat: Ryne Sandberg ejected in 1st inning Sunday of Iowa Cubs game vs Memphis #Cubs. I-Cubs trail 4-0 after 1st

weird... why isn't soriano hititng 8th? he hit a HR yesterday. that's usually an automatic bump down in the lineup. if he gets 2-3 hits today he'll get that coveted 8 slot in the lineup, maybe. soto's little 1 for 3 day with a walk and RBI is hardly the stuff of #8 hitters compared to a HR by soriano.

colvin is getting used to playing balls off the wall/ivy. wonder what his future role is... nady keeps getting 1st and it seems like there's no end in sight...byrd/soriano own CF/LF...the "fukudome issue" looms...1st might be a FA option at this point (yes, adam dunn blah blah etc whatever)... i wonder if colvin is still seeing pre-game at 1st...or if fuku is seeing any pre-game at 1st, himself...

"Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has confirmed that Colby Rasmus did ask for a trade earlier this season and also added that the outfielder asked to be traded during his rookie season, as well." colby rasmus's dad...i mean colby rasmus...no, i mean his dad...is one hell of a helicopter parent. time to let the man join the working world dad...you're not that f'n special you can disrupt a team.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

pujols chimes in...which is amazing because the guy barely speaks 10 words in a row to anyone ever (not a dick, just not much of a talker).... ----- “If he doesn’t want to be here next year, we need to figure out a way to get him out of here and find somebody that wants to be here and play,” Pujols told Yahoo! Sports before Sunday’s game against the Reds. “That’s a reality. “That’ll show you right there a young player that doesn’t respect what he’s got,” he added. “He needs to find out the talent and ability that he has and pretty much keep his mouth shut and play the game. Let the organization make those decisions, not himself.”

Blofish hired by SPECTRE (hendry's master plan to sabotage Sandberg?) I Cubs get one back, Marquis Smith double and Dubois RBI single 7-3, end 3

Shark settles down to toss zero's in 4, 5th innings Bottom 5, Snyder double, Dubois RBI single and LaHair 2 run blast to left... 7-6 Memphis, still no outs

Memphis Redbirds Manager Chris Maloney ejected by 1B umpire Jason Arends. Again not sure why. 7-7, Adduci steals 2nd and Snyder singles him home with 2 outs. end 6. Top 7, Shark out, Luke Sommer now pitching...use the force Luke.

ruben tejada (mets) just got his first career homer...bounced back on the field...he JETS to 3rd and slides in...everyone is telling him it's a homer but it takes the 2nd base ump walking toward him with the HR hand sign until he gets up off the ground and actually walks home. ha.

another castro brainfart...nice one...he was actually tagged out on the seldom-seen "made a move toward 2nd" after going down the line at 1st.

I saw this over at CCO (thanks Neil!): Bruce Levine discussed all things Cubs during Talkin' Baseball Saturday morning (ESPN 1000). While the off-season is still two months away from kicking into high gear, Levine changed his stance on the Cubs' payroll for 2011 and mentioned the likelihood of Adam Dunn being in a Cubs' uniform next season ... and beyond. As for the payroll, Levine thinks the Cubs will operate in 2011 near the same $140+ million mark they did this season. Levine pointed out the Cubs must spend wisely ... then brought up Adam Dunn. Levine feels Jim Hendry will do all he can do to bring Adam Dunn to the North Side of Chicago to play first base. Levine pointed out how defensively challenged Dunn is but reminded those listening how well he hits at Wrigley Field.

[ ]

In reply to by QuietMan

Reality Check Good hitter at Wrigley?? Over the last four years Dunn has hit .225 at Wrigley Field. His home runs are usually solo shots. The last three years all of them have been and they've accounted for all his RBIs. 5 HR 5 RBI Next year he'll be 31, over the hill physically, and his terrible play in the field should cement the Cubs defense to the bottom where they are right now. You'd think that stats guy Ricketty hired would know this stuff but maybe he doesn't talk to Hendry.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Why look at batting average? Maybe because Hendry and Levine claim Dunn hits well at Wrigley. They're talking hitting not walking. HITTING. On the other hand, what IS the point of looking at his OBP or OPS in a small sample size like this? They're inflated by the Cubs penchant for issuing him bases on balls, not the park. Wrigley Field doesn't walk him. The last two years at Wrigley, Dunn is 6/24 .250 with an OBP around .300 . He has hit 1 double, two home runs and has 2 RBI. Good? And as I pointed out, he has 5 HR and 5 RBI at Wrigley the last three years. In other words, the last time he drove in a baserunner at Wrigley was 2007!! So here's Dunn's OBI at Wrigley: 2010 0% 2009 0% 2008 0% If I ever accomplish anything with this blog, it will be making this stat more widely accepted and known. The best in the league will be in the low 20's and anything in the 15-17% range is acceptable to good and just like BABIP or many of the rate stats out there, it does fluxuate widely from year to year, but the power hitters who can put the ball in play will tend to be more consistent from year-to-year.

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In reply to by navigator

are you making a point other than a how-to on manipulating small sample sizes? but yes, Dunn is not a particularly strong hitter when it comes into driving runners already on base, although slightly better the last couple of years. I'm not sure the point of just mentioning Wrigley Field is...if some retard associated with the Cubs is using that as a sell point, they should be gagged with a Jeff Blauser jersey. I'm not 100% against signing him myself, maybe 50-50, just depends on the contract and what else the Cubs plan to put around him.

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...