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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Ryan Theriot was bitten by a Vampire Cardinal-Bat!

Submitted by CubbyBlue on

(click on thumbnail for rest of story)

Sometimes, you're Kerry Wood. 
Just walking down the road when you bump into Brian Cashman who says, "Hey, come and play tambourine with Mick and the Boys and be in the most famous Rock n' Roll band in the world."
And suddenly, you're a Yankee. 

Other times, you're Ryan Theriot. 
Just walking down the road when some rancid red bat-thing flies down and bites your neck.
Next thing you know, you're a Cardinal. 

It's all fate, really.

Happenstance. The luck of the draw.
Infection.

Ryan Theriot was traded from the Dodgers to the Cardinals yesterday.

Not the biggest deal in the world - he played a kind of yuppie "Nails" role for the Cubs - a male model-lookin' scrappy overachiever guy at short.
But I liked him and had the Cubs done better in '08 he could have been a Chicago God. 

Instead, he was dumped along with Ted Lilly for some cash and a replacement not much different than he was.

And now, he's a Cardinal.

This doesn't sting like when Mark DeRosa went to the Red Side, but still, it's never good when a Cub becomes a Card. 

But I'll go ahead and say: good luck Ryan.

Just not against the Cubs.

Comments

Submitted by TJ on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:22 pm

It was reported on the radio today that Theriot said that he is now on the right side of the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry. Proof that he was bitten by a bat, a contaminated bat. Surely, no half-way intellegent person would say that otherwise.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:43 pm

playing around with the comment settings to get this back to the way other posts display comments.

Submitted by Paul Noce on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:59 pm

2b/inf Jose Lopez non-tendered by Seattle after a down year. Cubs should jump on him, he would be an upgrade at 2b and can play other inf spots. He has some pop that DeWitt doesn't, although I don't think he's a great glove guy. Regardless, he would be more fun than a year of DeWitt playing everyday. As a starter he's ranged from 10-25 hr's and 58-96 rbi. RH bat. Doesn't walk much, surprisingly doesn't strike out much, either. Low obp. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lopezjo01.shtml

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:52 pm

Submitted by Paul Noce on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:59pm. 2b/inf Jose Lopez non-tendered by Seattle after a down year. Cubs should jump on him, he would be an upgrade at 2b and can play other inf spots. He has some pop that DeWitt doesn't, although I don't think he's a great glove guy. Regardless, he would be more fun than a year of DeWitt playing everyday. As a starter he's ranged from 10-25 hr's and 58-96 rbi. RH bat. Doesn't walk much, surprisingly doesn't strike out much, either. Low obp ====================================== PAUL N: I could see Jose Lopez as an upgrade over Jeff Baker as a RH 3B-2B-1B-RHPH, but he'd also probably cost the Cubs about $2M more in 2011 payroll (likely $3M+ salary for Lopez vs about a $1.25M salary for Baker) if they were to step in and acquire him from the Mariners in a trade prior to Lopez getting non-tendered (as the Cardinals did yesterday when they acquired Ryan Theriot from the Dodgers when he was about to get non-tendered). If he is indeed non-tendered instead of being traded, I would think the Cubs would be very happy to offer Lopez a minor league contract with an NRI to ST, presuming Lopez wants to play for the Cubs and doesn't get a better offer elsewhere. One thing the Mariners dropping Lopez would do is create an opening in Seattle for a new 3B (although Chone Figgins could move there from 2B, with AFL MVP Dustin Ackley taking over 2B). That could add the Mariners to a rather short list of teams (BAL, CLE, and KC being the other ones) who might select Marquez Smith in the Rule 5 Draft and give him a chance to win the starting 3B job in ST.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:21 pm

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101129&content_id=16… Although many fans and even Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano would like to see Adam Dunn's big bat in the lineup, the team will likely lean more toward a more economical and defensive infielder. Shortstop Starlin Castro is coming off a 27-error rookie season. Not only do the Cubs want a left-handed bat, but someone who can catch the ball. Lee, a three-time Gold Glove winner, spoiled them. The Cubs aren't limited to thrift store shopping, but do have to be more cost-concious. They have $103 million committed to players next year, plus Jeff Baker, Koyie Hill, Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall, Tom Gorzelanny, and Geovany Soto are on the arbitration-eligible list. Those six players combined made $6.125 million in 2010. Expect a final '11 payroll around $130 million. (ed note, AZ Phil has around $119M committed so far) First base isn't the only concern. Although the Cubs appear to have plenty of depth pitching-wise, they would like another innings-eating starter and an experienced right-handed reliever. Don't look for Hendry to be waiting in line to court free agent Cliff Lee. Why more pitching? There are too many questions regarding the rotation. Carlos Silva, acquired last December from the Mariners for Bradley, surprised the Cubs with his strong start. Will he do it again? Randy Wells will be entering his third season, which means no more talk about a sophomore jinx. Will he be more consistent? Lefty Tom Gorzelanny wants to start but may be better suited to a relief role, similar to what Sean Marshall has done. Would he accept that?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:10 pm

It's odd that Hendry apparently wants a starting pitcher who can be an "innings eater" while he is also reportedly looking at fragile rehab guys like Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis and Erik Bedard. Innings Eater and Long-Term Surgery Rehab does not really equate. Maybe Hendry is following one track where he hopes to catch lightning in a bottle by signing a guy coming back from an injury (like Webb, Bedard, or Francis) to a minor league deal where it costs the Cubs in payroll only if the pitcher actually comes back and can pitch in the big leagues in 2011, and another completely different track where he hopes to sign a Jon Garland or a Javier Vasquez (both now off the board) to a one-year deal in the $7M range. LHSP Zach Duke will likely get non-tendered by Arizona tomorrow (they acquired him from Pittsburgh just to see if they could sign him without having to offer him arbitration), and Duke sounds like just the kind of pitcher Hendry is looking for. (Not to mention that Duke was a Dave Littlefield guy in Pittsburgh, and Littlefield is now one of Hendry's main consigliere).

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Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:15 pm

btw, what's the big difference between Dunn and Pena to you? 2 absurdly patient sluggers that K a ton and strand a ton on base. One is generally regarded as good defensively, the other not and one has obviously been more consistent, but their career wOBA and OPS+ numbers aren't that drastically different from each other. 133 OPS+ for Dunn, .384 wOBA 123 OPS+ for Pena, .363 wOBA Pena is a year older but I'm presuming they're looking at him for a one year deal at less money, rather than 3-4 that Dunn wants. personally I like Berkman on a rebound season, but I understand if the doctors and scouts think he's done physically.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:02 pm

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 4:02pm. To me it seems like you can catch lighting in a bottle cheaply. The part I don't get is the need to go cheaply on First Base? Either Dunn or Berkman would instantly be our best hitter the day they signed. Unless Hendry is TRYING to get fired? How can he even dance around not making an impact on that front? =================================== DR AARON B: Last summer prior to trading Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers for Blake DeWitt, Kyle Smit, and Brett Wallach (and a few million $$$ in payroll relief), the report here in Phoenix was that the D'backs had offered Kelly Johnson to the Cubs for Theriot and James Russell, but the Cubs turned it down because they didn't want to trade Russell. If the Cubs can't find the LH power-hitting 1B they want (or if they finally realize that Soto might have to play a lot of 1B in 2011), perhaps they will revisit the Kelly Johnson deal and offer DeWitt and Russell for a LH power-hitting 2B (and perhaps a third player for Zach Duke) and see if the D'backs bite. It would save the D'backs about $10M+ in 2011 salary (Johnson and Duke are both eligible for salary arbitration post-2010), and would give the Cubs what they believe are two of their three primary needs going into 2011 (a LH power-hitter who can hit 3-4-5 in the lineup and a mediocre veteran SP innings-eater).

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 12:41 pm

who must burn $100 bills to stay warm in the winter have apparently offered Konerko a contract for some ungodly reason.

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: I think there was an issue with Luke Little coming into a game with men on base. He seems to need a "clean" inning to be dominant. So he is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AAA. Same goes for Michael Arias. He needs to come into a "clean" inning, and is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AA. Porter Hodge is a more versatile pitcher, a better version of Keegan Thompson (multi-inning RP). But Little, Arias, and Hodge (probably in that order) are the Cubs top three RP prospects (all three are Cubs Top 15 prospects).

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    So, let’s do a little war gaming. Taillon is back for tonight’s game. He pitched two rehab games, just a few innings each, and not especially sharp. Let’s face it, he hasn’t been lights out since the Cubs gave him the big contract. In other words, as flat out bad as Hendricks has been, the chances of Taillon being the savior don’t look exactly promising.

    If Taillon is equally ineffective or perhaps even worse, what’s the next move? Winning teams can often find a way to work around a dud fifth starter - kinda. Two dud starters make things much more difficult.

    I believe the biggest reason for the recent bullpen moves was dissatisfaction with the recent blowing of big leads and the recognition that the bullpen wasn’t all it was thought to be. In other words, they are exploring alternate options and configurations. If similar juggling becomes necessary (even more so than it already is), what kind of reasonable maneuvering do we think could be explored?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Cubdom needs to prepare themselves for Wicks to be sent to Iowa for Taillon to come up.
    Ben Brown has 4 appearances. Wicks has 4 appearances.
    Ben has 16.1 IP.  Wicks has 17 IP
    Ben was a 1.1 WHIP.  Wicks has a 1.7 WHIP. Wicks does have significantly more SOs. 
    Ben has been better, though.
    I love Wicks. I think he's a fighter and his stuff has improved.
    But, Jed isn't ditching Hendricks just yet. He should. But he won't.
    Hendricks should go to the IL and Taillon-Imanaga-Assad-Wicks-Brown should be the rotation.
    Wont' happen though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil,
    Did you agree with the demotion of Luke Little? He'd been pretty good up until the AZ/wild pitch appearance. I know that can't jettison Smyly (just yet) so they didn't need another LHRP. Especially with Leiter effectively being a LHRP. I still thought he deserved to stay. It's not permanent. He'll be back. Lots of moves to come with Taillon, Steele and other guys coming and going.

    Also, do you see Hodge being able to "control/command" his stuff to get a chance this year?
    Is Arias better than Hodge?   Thanks

  • crunch (view)

    just waiting to hear patrick wisdom and masterboney are spotted at the airport going in opposite directions...

    aj puk going for the marlins (lefty)...gotta imagine we'll see wisdom in the lineup.

    someone has to make room for taillon, too.

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