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

Golden Rules at Instructs

Cubs 2010 2nd round draft pick Reggie Golden slugged a two-run HR over the LF scoreboard and onto 8th Street to give the Cubs a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 6th, but the Brew Crew rallied for four in the 8th as the Cubs and Brewers played to a 7-7 tie in the Cubs 2010 AZ Instructional League opener at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this afternoon.

There are 47 Cubs minor leaguers participating in Instructs at Fitch Park (22 pitchers, five catchers, 12 infielders, and eight outfielders), including eight players who are making their U. S. debut after spending the 2010 season playing in the Dominican Summer League, four draft picks and one non-drafted free-agent who signed too late to get into game action in August, and one Korean bonus baby. Also among the 47 is Cubs 3B prospect Josh Vitters, who is at Instructs rehabbing his broken hand and preparing for play in the Arizona Fall League next month.

Two of the newcomers made their pro debut in today's game, as LHP Casey Harman (2010 29th round draft pick out of Clemson) threw 1.1 IP of hitless shutout ball, walking one while striking out two, and catcher Max Kwan (2010 NDFA - U. of Washington) went 1-3 with a single and an RBI.

Harman was Clemson's #1 starter ("Friday night starter") in 2010 and beat #1 ranked Arizona State at the College World Series in June. Although he was selected in the 29th round, Harman received a $150,000 bonus (equivalent to "5th round" money) when he signed with the Cubs at the August 16th deadline.

Kwan suffered through an injury-plagued college career at Tulane and then later at Washington, but he has good size for a catcher (6'3 220), and helps provide depth at the catching position going into the 2011 season.

The Cubs will be playing a 21-game AZ instructional League schedule, with the last game on October 16th (they play every day Monday-Saturday up through 10/16, with no games on Sundays).

Here is today's abridged box score (Cubs players only) 

LINEUP:
1. Evan Crawford, DH-RF: 1-4 (L-5, 2B, 4-3, 1B, HBP)
2a. Pin-Chieh Chen, 2B: 0-3 (6-3, 4-3, E5, CS)
2b. Gioskar Amaya, 2B: 0-2 (4-6-3 GIDP, K)
3. Micah Gibbs, C-DH: 0-3 (K, F-7, BB, BB, K, R)
4a. Justin Bour, 1B: 1-3 (F-9, F-7, 2B, RBI)
4b. Ryan Cuneo, 1B: 1-1 (2B, BB)
4c. Kyung-Min Na, PR
5. Xavier Batista, DH-LF: 1-4 (1B, K, K, F-7, BB)
6a. Jae-Hoon Ha, CF: 2-3 (F-8, 1B, 2B, R, SB)
6b. Oliver Zapata, CF: 1-2 (1B, K, R)
7a. Dustin Geiger, 3B: 0-1 (F-9, HBP, R, SB)
7b. Willson Contreras, 3B: 1-2 (6-3, 2B, RBI, R)
8. Reggie Golden, LF-DH: 2-3 (BB, FC, HR, 1B, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB, CS)
9. Max Kwan, DH-C: 1-3 (1B, 6-3, K, 5-3 SH, RBI)
10. Wes Darvill, SS: 0-4 (4-3 GIDP, L-6, 5-3, 1-3, RBI)
11. Chris Huseby, RF: PLAYED RF FIRST FIVE INNINGS – DID NOT BAT

PITCHERS:
1. Aaron Kurcz: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 27 pitches (13 strikes), 0/1 GO/FO
2. Charles Thomas: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 11 pitches (6 strikes), 0/1 GO/FO
3. Alvaro Sosa: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 41 pitches (26 strikes), 2/2 GO/FO
4. Tarlandus Mitchell: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 35 pitches (21 strikes), 1/1 GO/FO
5. Casey Harman: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 21 pitches (12 strikes), 0/2 GO/FO
6. Brent Ebinger: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 42 pitches (29 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO
7. Amaury Paulino: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 8 pitches (4 strikes), 1/0 GO/FO

ERRORS: (3)
1. 3B Willson Contreras: E-5 (two-base throwing error allowed batter to reach 2nd base – eventually scored unearned run)
2. CF Oliver Zapata: E-8 (bobbled line-drive single to CF, allowing batter to reach 2nd base)
3. CF Oliver Zapata: E-8 (overran ground single to CF, allowing batter to reach 2nd base)

CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Micah Gibbs: 2-3 CS
Max Kwan: 0-3 CS

ATTENDANCE: 23 (mostly scouts)

WEATHER: Hot and sunny, with temperatures in the 90’s

==================================================

Here is the 2010 CUBS INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE ROSTER:

FIELD COORDINATOR:
Dave Bialas

INSTRUCTORS:
Jeff Fassero
Franklin Font
Dave Keller
Greg Maddux
Carmelo Martinez
Marty Pevey
Tom Pratt
Mark Riggins
Min-Kyu Sung

GAME MANAGER:
Juan Cabreja

ACTIVE LIST (47):

* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS (22):
* Hunter Ackerman
* Brent Ebinger
Dustin Fitzgerald
* Cam Greathouse
* Casey Harman
Ryan Hartman
Jin-Yeong Kim
Aaron Kurcz
Luis Liria
Matt Loosen
Robinson Lopez
* Jeff Lorick
Tarlandus Mitchell
Amaury Paulino
Starling Peralta
Austin Reed
Kevin Rhoderick
Jhon Rodriguez
* Brian Smith
Alvaro Sosa (ex-C)
Charles Thomas (ex-3B)
Ben Wells

CATCHERS (5):
* Sergio Burruel
# Micah Gibbs
Max Kwan
Chad Noble
# Engel Santana

INFIELDERS (12):
Gioskar Amaya
* Justin Bour
* Pin-Chieh Chen
Willson Contreras
* Ryan Cuneo
* Wes Darvill
Dustin Geiger
* Marco Hernandez
* Hak-Ju Lee
D. J. Lemahieu
Josh Vitters
* Logan Watkins

OUTFIELDERS (8):
* Delbis Arcila
Xavier Batista
Evan Crawford
Reggie Golden
Jae-Hoon Ha
Chris Huseby (ex-P)
* Kyung-Min Na
# Oliver Zapata

Comments

Phil - I heard at one time that Simpson would be playing in the Fall instructional league, but he is not on the roster. Do you know if he is recovered from his mono? Also, how does Thomas look as a pitcher? What kind of stuff does he have? Finally, do you have any opinion on Crawford?

[ ]

In reply to by DavidP

DAVID P: Hayden Simpson was hoping to participate in the AZ Instructional League if he could get medical clearance to play, which he apparently has not (yet). Charles Thomas looks a bit like Lee Smith and throws 93-95 but with command issues, and his breaking ball & off-speed pitches are works in progress. He projects as a set-up man or closer if he can master a second pitch and improve his command. He was a combination 3B & closer in college, so he isn't exactly a stranger to the mound. He said once last year that he actually preferred pitching, so I think right now he is where he wants to be and where he needs to be. I saw Evan Crawford quite a bit back when he was with the Giants. He is VERY fast (may be the fastest player in the Cubs organization), he covers a lot of ground in the outfield, and he has good base-stealing technique & instincts. He has a line-drive stroke and can put the ball into the gaps, but he is a bit hyper-aggresive and/or anxious at the plate, he has no concept of the strike zone, and he swings & misses too much. He reminds me of Doug Glanville.

Phil, some of these players had full, productive seasons at Peoria: Bour, Lee, Watkins. What is the thinking behind bringing them to Instructs? And what is LeMahieu doing there? He finished the season in the Southern League (AA) championship series.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Thu, 09/23/2010 - 8:52pm. Phil, some of these players had full, productive seasons at Peoria: Bour, Lee, Watkins. What is the thinking behind bringing them to Instructs? And what is LeMahieu doing there? He finished the season in the Southern League (AA) championship series. ================================================ VA PHIL: Players at Instructs are there for various & different reasons. Sometimes it's just a matter of a player selected in the previous draft making his pro debut, or getting a chance to pitch a few more innings or get some additional ABs. Or giving a promising Dominican kid a chance to play in the U. S. and get some instruction from the Cubs roving instructors. But other players at Instructs are there to work on a specific aspect of their his game. HJ Lee is working on his footwork and his defensive play around SS, while Bour is trying to develop a more consistent HR stroke (he hit one double off the fence and two fly ball outs to the warning track in today's game). Lemahieu needs to smooth-out his play at 2B (he is a much more confident fielder at SS, but he projects as a 2B at the higher levels), and he also is trying to learn to drop the bat-head and turn on balls more consistently, like he did the last week of Instructs last year when ghe spent a lot of time working with Barbaro Garbey. (He natural approach is an extreme opposite-field line-drive stroke). Another thing to remember about Lemahiieu is that he was a draft eligible sophomore when the Cubs drafted & signed him out of LSU last season, and so he has only two years of college ball and one full year of pro ball under his belt. He is still very raw. BTW, it's interesting to note that both Brandon Guyer and Chris Archer were at Instructs a year ago (Guyer working on his strength & conditioning and Archer working on command), and then Guyer ended up being named the Cubs 2010 Minor League Player of the Year, while Archer was the Cubs 2010 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Rafael Dolis came into Instructs a year ago as a near-forgotten man, but by his laat outing he was hitting 100 MPH in front of a dozen MLB scouts and being projected as the #1 pick in last December's Rule 5 Draft, which is why the Cubs added him to their 40-man roster last November. And Starlin Castro made his Giant Leap Forward at Instructs post-2008. As for why some minor leaguer prospects are at Instructs and some aren't, sometimes it might be a matter of a pitcher having thrown too many innings during the season, or a pitcher has a tired arm or a position-player is nursing a minor injury, or sometimes a player declines an invitation to Instructs in order to return to college (Charles Thomas did that last year), And then again, sometimes a pitcher or a position player just doesn't project much, or is considered "uncoachable."

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

AZ Phil- Two names I see missing that I certainly would have thought would show are Arismendy Alcantara and Junior Lake. As two players that you had described as raw, I certainly figured they would be there. Both players seemed like they were hitting their strides at the end of the year and I assumed they would also continue it on into the fall. Do you have any idea why these two would not be here, especially considering what instructs has done for some many latin american kids careers? Also, where is Pierre Lepage? I feel like he should be a candidate to move to Daytona or even Tennessee this year. He seems like one of those players that really needs to be challenged as he is a college guy and could probably stand to be a little more challenged. Any thoughts? Also, where is Dong Yub Kim? I got excited about him then he fell off the face of the earth.

I remember Fleita saying in an interview that they bring young players to instructional camp with the intention of their skipping one level of the minors. Also, they bring in some older players to work on specific things, ie pitchers working on a new pitch, catcher working on blocking balls, outfielder working on hitting breaking balls, etc. They may have LeMehieu there to work on pulling the ball with power.

byrd day-to-day after fouling one off his face. it wasn't too bad because his helmet and sunglasses deflected the brunt of it, but he had some obvious swelling going on near his temple/eye area.

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).