Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Ninja Jae-Kuk Ryu's Cardinals!

A nice night for the Golden Boy last night as he throws 5.2 shutout innings against the fading Cardinals to further deter their playoffs hopes. Samardzija did give up six hits and four walks against just one strikeout, so he was constantly working out trouble, but he got 8 groundballs and two timely(as if they are never not timely for a pitcher) double plays by Pedro Feliz to help the cause.

Mike Quade and Geovany Soto came away impressed.

"To me -- and I haven't seen him since Spring Training -- he did a lot of damage with his soft game," Quade said. "He threw some good splits, some good sliders. ... He did a good job against a nice club. It's a real good start."

"He looks more aggressive, throws with more conviction and isn't afraid to baby it in the zone," Soto said.

Ninja says he worked on his offspeed pitches while down in Iowa and mastered picking up groupies for a hopeful 2011 run around Wrigleyville.

"Being down there all year, you get a lot of opportunities to throw [offspeed pitches]," he said. "It's not live or die situations all the time. Not only that but [catcher Geovany Soto] calling pitches [Monday], he showed confidence in me to throw those pitches. A lot of times that's what it takes -- throw it two or three times in a row and that gets it going for the rest of the game."

He'll throw again Saturday against the Marlns and the Cubs say Ninja will be considered for a starting spot no matter how he fares the rest of the season.

In draft pick news, the Cubs slightly improved play has them at the 8th spot right now and in danger of catching the Brewers for the 9th spot as they're just 3.5 behind them with 18 to play.

10 pts for catching the title reference.

Comments

Like Samardzija, Ryu was a bird killer, but he kills ospreys, not cardinals, while Jeff kills cardinals but not Memphis redbirds.

as good as the results looked, the guy is gonna struggle to put in 5-6ip the way he was throwing last night. at least he doesn't get all emotional on the mound (positive or negative). he sure as hell doesn't take anything for granted on plays and busts his ass. if he falls out of the bigs thanks to his skills it sure isn't going to be from lack of effort or caring.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

the math of non-quantitative situations...awesome. wonder when they'll call felix in SEA for the CY Young then wonder why he didn't win. actually, they can't be that ignorant to the push/pull of voting to call felix without suspecting it's going to cc.sab or similar anyway.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

you're confusing a statistical argument over who deserves the MVP or Cy Young, which you could have made for Mauer in 2008 or for Felix this year versus an MVP predictor or cy young predictor which are designed to try and guess what the voters like to vote for in their candidates. The Cy Young predictor has Felix at #10 now because of his 11-11 record, although his VORP or WAR are all just as good as Price or Sabathia.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

the intro is awesome and to the point...hehe when you don't have a washed out season with competitors it's hard to give it to a guy with 11-13 wins (or whereever he settles) while also taking 11-13 losses...no matter how awesome his numbers are while doing it. beyond all that the voting is about as scientific as asking a bunch of people who work in ice cream shops what their favorite flavor is and declaring it king of the moment.

Had to tell you guys I talked with Quade at the rooftop bar of one of the nice hotels in Milwaukee where the team stayed this weekend (no, I did not go up for any games). I did not have the balls to ask him why he is not have Colvin playing first, or many pertinent baseball questions. I did ask him if he was enjoying himself, and he said, "I am having a blast!" He was obviously enjoying himself with a cocktail after a nice win. And, he was nice enough to spend a few minutes with myself and my wife.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Indeed. Beautiful place. Sometimes over the last several years we go up there as it is a nice weekend "away", and compared to Chi, the cost of everything is 25% less. EZ. It is easy to get everywhere. Nice restaurants. Lakefront. REAL frozen custard, Decent live music. I also chatted with Santo in the more "stuffy" lobby bar for a couple minutes on Friday. Short and sweet. Enjoyable for me - went back to my wife at our table who could have cared less about Ron Santo (I had to explain how he was their best 3rd baseman ever). Basically, just said hi and wished him well - he was relaxing with I think the "team road manager", whom I excused myself to. Right after that, a typical boorish "fan- couple", drunk, made asses out of themselves forcing the dude to pose for a photo, and spouting off about players loudly. I kinda bad for him. It was 12:30 am, and he just wanted to have his diet Coke or whatever he drinks, and relax with a friend. But he did not get angry or bitch-slap the woman (who deserved it). I could tell it ruined his time there as he took it as a cue to call it a night.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Thanks. I never really collected autographs or anything like that. People would get them for me (I had a Bears football signed by the 1968 team, and I used it for pick-up games), but at a certain point, for the most part I just let "celebs" be. Or - I will just say "hi" or "enjoy your work", etc . If they engage in any meaningful conversation and want to continue, I am happy to oblige, though.

blooping Adam Wainwright to death at the moment

Tenn Smokies lead in bottom of 6th, 5-0 rbi + run scored, double for Brett Jackson 3 run HR, Chirinos solo HR, Guyer Pitching: Captain Archer, 6ip, 4 H, 0 R/ER, 1BB, 8K...does our pitcher really resemble Scott Bakula?

Smiley Caridad's arm may be back, pitched the 9th for the Smokies hitting 96 according to the radio broadcaster. Struck out the first two with a grounder to end the game. Final Tenn Smokies 5, Jacksonville Suns 0. (Game one in a best of five game series) Oddly they play Go Cubs Go...Hey Chicago whaddya say... after the third out. Chris Archer interviewed after the game. Q: "How big is it to take a one run lead (in the series)?" A: "It's Huge". "We gotta take it one game at a time." the team musta just watched Bull Durham to prepare for the playoffs!

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Submitted by Cubster on Tue, 09/14/2010 - 7:44pm. Smiley Caridad's arm may be back, pitched the 9th for the Smokies hitting 96 according to the radio broadcaster. Struck out the first two with a grounder to end the game. ======================================= CUBSTER: Esmailin Caridad's 30-day minor league rehab assignment conveniently (for Tennessee) expires on Saturday, so expect to see him in Chicago next Tuesday when the Cubs start their final homestand. Most likely to get dropped from Cubs 40-man roster when Cardidad is reactivated from the 60-day DL?... Jeff Gray

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

because it's pointless. hoff isn't the 1st of the future and nady isn't a distraction. nady's trying to prove himself to someone for 2011. even if it's not the cubs (which it may be if they dump $$ into pitching) it's only a few weeks left and not worth the future headaches dealing with potential "on the cheap" risk signings who's agents would be skiddish about a GM dumping a guy with a few weeks left of play. oakland can't sign all of them.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 09/15/2010 - 10:36am. because it's pointless. hoff isn't the 1st of the future and nady isn't a distraction. nady's trying to prove himself to someone for 2011. even if it's not the cubs (which it may be if they dump $$ into pitching) it's only a few weeks left and not worth the future headaches dealing with potential "on the cheap" risk signings who's agents would be skiddish about a GM dumping a guy with a few weeks left of play. oakland can't sign all of them. =========================================== CRUNCH: Using the excuse that they wanted Tyler Colvin, Micah Hoffpauir, and Jeff Baker to play 1B the rest of the 2010 season, and even if none of the contenders had an interest in making a trade for him at the end of August, the "nice guy" Cubs could have released Xavier Nady prior to the 8/31 post-season roster deadline just so he could be free to sign at least a minor league contract with a contender (any player on an organization's minor league roster as of midnight 8/31 are eligible to play in the post-season, as long as the club has a post-season DL roster exemption available). That would have been a plausible excuse to justify releasing Nady, and would have saved the Cubs at least $225K (or possibly as much as $475K) in 2010 payroll that they will be spending if Nady earns some of his attainable perfomance bonuses. It's not like Nady will be classified as a Type "A" or Type "B" FA post-2010, either (not that it would matter even if he was, because the Cubs wouldn't offer him salary arbitration anyway), so what's the point in blowing $225K-$475K when the team is out of contention and isn't going anywhere? Of course, it's very possible that Nady made it clear to Hendry that he values the money he can make in reaching some of his performance bonuses by getting regular playing time with the Cubs in September more than having an opportunity to play in the post-season by getting released prior to the 8/31 roster deadline and signing a minor league deal with a contender, so that if he had been released prior to the end of August he would have made a big deal out of the Cubs releasing him just to avoid having to give him a chance to earn some of his performance bonuses. And as I've said before, Hendry isn't averse to having players make more money by earning performance bonuses, even if it means increasing the payroll on a team that isn't going anywhere.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 09/15/2010 - 11:39am. So its better to release a young pitcher with some upside, over risking Xavier Nady having his feelings hurt? Very Hendry-esque ============================= DR AARON B: As far as releasing Xavier Nady instead of outrighting Jeff Gray (or any other player on the 40-man roster) to make room for Esmailin Caridad, it really isn't about keeping Gray or Nady, because both will be off the 40-man roster by the end of November. Whether Nady is released now and Gray (or another player) gets outrighted later, or Gray (or another player) gets outrighted now and Nady files for free-agency after the World Series, really isn't the point. Rather, it's much more about the Cubs keeping Nady around through to the end of the season and risk having to pay him as much as $225K-$475K in performance bonuses when the team isn't going anywhere, when they could have released Nady prior to 8/31 (it would look REALLY bad to do it now) with the stated explanation that they wanted to give playing time to Colvin, Hoffpauir, and/or Baker at 1B, and that they wanted to do the "right thing" by giving Nady a chance to sign at least a minor league contract with a contender so that he might have a chance to play in the post-season (even though Nady obviously doesn't care). The bigger question (I think) is what Ricketts thinks about all of this (presuming he does think about it). Because $225K-$475K is a sizable chunk 'o change.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

probably more about keeping Nady's agent happy and getting word out that Hendry looks out for the players he signs. I don't know Nady's agent is, but I assume he has other clients and Hendry might be looking at them. Also, Nady I believe allegedly took less guaranteed money to sign with Cubs (could be misremembering that), just a little payback for that since Cubs saved some on Lee, Lilly and Theriot. DeRosa, Byrd, Ramirez (at the time) didn't come cheap by accident. Hell, even if Fukudome allegedly took less to sign with Cubs and I'm sure there are other examples. /cue Hendry bashing

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Xavier Nady's BOWLING FOR DOLLARS update: 10 more PA and he gets $125K 10 more GAMES STARTED and he gets $100K And if he can get to 350 PA (that would mean he would need to accrue 60 PA over the final 16 games, an average of 3.75 PA per game), he gets $250K more. $475K is about 50% more than what Nady would have received if he had been traded to a contender on 8/31, hit off the bench in September, and then played in the post-season on the team that eventually won the 2010 World Series. If Nady doesn't get to 350 PA but does get $250K for reaching 300 PA and 70 GS, that is about equivalent to what he would have received if he had been traded on 8/31 to the MLB club that eventually was the losing team in the World Series.

According to WGN Freddie Gonzalez has decline to interview for Cubs. Cubs 2011 schedule hilites- At Fenway may 20-22 (first time since Ruth pitched) Yanks at wrigley in June

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).