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

My Dad's awesome Phil Cavarretta 1st baseman's mitt

See this glove?
It was my dad's.
I just called him - he told me he wasn't much into little league, but you know, look at that thing.
That's alot of sandlot ball. 
He was a kid in the '40s, and Phil Cavarretta was his favorite player so he got the Cavarretta signature (Hutch brand) glove.

I have a book called "The Complete Chicago Cubs" written by Derek Gentile with "statistical information provided by STATS inc." It's got every player who ever played for the Cubs (up to whenever I bought the book) and their stats and stuff.
And once in awhile there's a little photo and a couple paragraphs about the really memorable ones.

Right between Cassidy, John P. (played EVERY position for the Cubs between 1876 and 1885), and Cey, Ronald Charles (you may remember came from the Dodgers and played 3rd from '83 to '86) is Philip (Phil) Joseph "Philabuck" Cavarretta.

I'll paraphrase from the book: he was born in Chicago in 1916, dropped out of highschool a couple weeks before he was to graduate and signed with the Cubs. Within a year he was the starting first baseman at18 years old (what you think about that, Starlin Castro?). He was a line drive hitter, and didn't hit alot of homers but when he did "they always seemed to make a difference". 
So... a clutch hitter. 
And a "darling" of the fans because he always gave 110%.
Exempted from The War because of an inner ear problem, he was an All-Star from '44 to '47, and in 1945 "his .355 average led the league and he was named the National League MVP as he let the cubs to their last World Series" where he hit .423. 
It also casually mentions that he had a "shaky 1935 World Series" but "shone in the 1938 Fall Classic".

It's so WEIRD to think about a Cub who played in THREE WORLD SERIES!!!

Anyway, the story wraps up with "Cavaretta is 5th all-time with the Cubs in triples (99), 6th in games played (1,953), 9th in both hits (1,927) and at-bats (6,592), 10th in runs scored (968) and RBIs (896) and 11th in doubles (341).

And in today's Trib you'll find that he passed away at the age of 94.

 

What a life he had.
And you never know - maybe 70 some years from now, somebody will write a similar story about Starlin Castro or Tyler Colvin.

Man I love baseball.

 

Comments

Original Cowhide Glove! In those days they left the glove on the field behind their position rather than take them back to the dugout. also look at the 3B field level railing and LF wall at Wrigley as well as the buildings behind the wall, circa 1935 in the Tribune pic of Cavaretta.

Neat stuff, CubbyBlue. I remember my first glove, it was a Mickey Rivers model. Hahaha. I remember the day I got it, I was playing baseball in the back yard with friends when my mom came home from her Saturday grocery shopping trip. She pulled out this glove, it was the greatest gift I had ever gotten.

I always thought Mark Grace was probably a good comparable to Cavarretta. Grace had a 119 career OPS+, Cavarretta had a 118 OPS+. Grace was .303/.383/.442 with 173 HR, Cavarretta was .293/.372/.416 with 95 HR. From what I understand, a solid, hard-nosed baseball player who played in 20 seasons for the Cubs. If there had been more like him on our team over the years, we wouldn't have such a long pennant drought.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Kind of sad.... 'Course, maybe it helped that he put up a 172 OPS+ with 46 HRs in his first year there as a cheap, $800K free agent pick up. He established a lot of good will to draw on during his struggles later. Kind of like people weren't going to boo Andre Dawson after the great first season he had with the Cubs.

I'm sure someone already posted this, but I don't recall seeing it as it was around Winter Meetings time. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=12522 4-Star 1. B. Jackson The Bad: Jackson is more of a player without weaknesses than one with impact potential. He has power, but it's not plus, and he's fast but not a burner. There's a significant amount of swing-and-miss in his game, so he'll likely always have a high strikeout rate. 2. T. McNutt 3. C. Archer 3-Star 4. Vitters, 3B 5. Lee, SS 6. Carpenter, RHP 7. Simpson, RHP 8. Golden, OF 9. J. Jackson, RHP 10. R. Lopez, RHP 11. B. Guyer, OF summary echoes my sentiments of the Cubs system Summary: While the Cubs' system is a deep one that will produce plenty of big-league talents, the team still needs to look outside the organization for the kind of impact talent to turn their fortunes around.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 12/20/2010 - 8:27pm. yeah, i'd call him a 3-4 starter, myself. i just think he'll be a pretty dependable one. he's still finding/figuring the change and/or curve, but he's got a low 90s fastball and a really nice mid-80s slider. i'd also call his slider one heck of an out pitch when he's locating his other stuff...and though his walks were a bit higher than desired last year he's not too wild, imo. ================================================================ CRUNCH: I give Jay Jackson extra-credit points because he is such a good hitter. So I would say his value diminishes if he is not used as a starting pitcher, even if he had the stuff to be a set-up guy or closer. His value is highest if he is a starting pitcher in a league without a DH.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 2:39pm. Would Jason Marquis be a good comp? ==================================== DR AARON B: Marquis throws about 60-25-15% sinker-slider-change-up, while Carmona (circa 2010) was 75-20-5% sinker-slider-change-up. Also, Marquis doesn't throw his two-seamer quite as hard as Carmona does (88-91 MPH range for Marquis versus 91-94 for Carmona). But (when healthy) both are work-horses ("innings-eaters") and their peripheral numbers (ERA, WHIP, BB/K per IP, HR-per-IP, etc) are certainly very similar. But one other thing about Carmona (and this is true for Cliff Lee, Greinke and Marcum, too) is that he should have better overall numbers (like ERA, WHIP, and HR/IP) if he pitches in the N. L. than he did pitching in the A. L.

minor league deal with Blue Jays

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 1:09pm. Carmona better than Garza? The only teams that should trade their top two prospects for that guy would be the Astros and the Brewers ======================================================== REAL NEAL: Greinke>Garza>Carmona>Wells. The Indians have a number of holes. They may be the worst team in MLB baseball. So unlike Tampa Bay or KC, the Tribe might be open to accepting a "care package" (five good but not great prospects), rather than two top prospects (like B. Jackson and Archer or McNutt), for their best SP trading chip (Carmona). EXAMPLE: Chris Carpenter (local kid from Kent State), Casey Coleman, James Russell, Darwin Barney, and either Welington Castillo or Robinson Chirinos.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 1:43pm. 4th in Cy Young in 2007 at age 23, 19-8 with 3.06 ERA and 215 IP arm issues the next 2 years solid albeit unspectacular year last year, 13-14 with a 3.77 ERA in 210.1 IP (more innings and better ERA than Garza fwiw). that being said, extreme groundball pitcher (very heavy sinker), low K rates, lots and lots of walks. Career-wise, 100 OPS better against righties than lefties ============================ ROB G: Carmona had a year from Hell in 2009 (perhaps he sold his soul to the devil?), with a 6.32 ERA and 1.76 WHIP, allowing 16 HR and 70 BB and 79 K in just 125 MLB IP before getting a mid-season demotion to AAA. Then he bounced-back nicely last year to put up a 3.77 ERA and 1.31 WHIP, allowing 17 HR and 72 BB and 124 K in 210 MLB IP. The big difference from 2009 to 2010 was that Carmona threw his slider about 20% of the time in 2010 (he threw his slider only about 5% of the time in 2009), and put his change-up out to pasture, throwing it just five or six times per start. So he became more of a two-seam fastball/slider pitcher (like Carlos Zambrano) rather than a four-seamer/change-up guy (like Rich Harden for example).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 2:05pm. think he's always been a 2-seam/sinkerballer, that was his claim to fame. ============================== ROB G: Right. You are correct. Carmona used to be a sinker/change-up guy, but now he's a sinker/slider guy. His fastball velo is consistently 91-94 with sink and the slider clocks 84-87 (which is pretty high for a breaking ball). Since he no longer throws anything slow or up in the strike zone, it's probably not too surprising that he was able to cut his HR-per-IP rate almost in half from 2009 to 2010. Garza throws a 92-95 MPH fastball with sink and a mid-80's sliider, but he also has a decent slow curve, too, so he gets more strikeouts than Carmona does, although Garza also allowed about 50% more HR per IP than Carmona did last year.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I'd prefer Garza more also. The AL East is much tougher to pitch in than the AL Central. I'm actually falling into the don't do anything mindset though. Save the prospect bullets and money and actually spend some money in the Draft and latin America this summer. I could care less about the difference between 75 and 80 wins. The offense isn't going to be good enough.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Submitted by jacos on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 2:03pm. Are you saying they would not want Ninja or Cubs don't want to trade him. He has NTC, no? ================================================== JACOS: Jeff Samardzija has a NTC, meaning he cannot be traded or even placed on Outright Assignment Waivers without giving his permission in advance. So unless he waives his NTC, the only way the Cubs can remove him from the 40-man roster in 2011 is by Outright Release, and then they would be on the hook for his 2011 $2.8M salary (minus the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary if he signs an MLB contract with another club). The Cubs can decline their 2012 club option on Samardzija post-2011, however, and if they do that (and unless he really turns the corner in 2011, it's very likely they will), Samardzija immediately becomes an auto-renewal player for 2012 (he won't have enough MLB Service Time to be eligible for salary arbitration post-2011, although the Cubs also would not be able to cut his salary more than 20%, either). But if they decline the 2012 club option, the Cubs also could outright Samardzija to the minors after the 2011 season (where he would make about $12,000), and if that happens, he would not be eligible to be a Rule 55 minor league FA until after the 2013 season. So knowing that could happen, Samardzija might opt to waive his NTC sometime in 2011 if the Cubs come to him with a specific trade proposal. The problem is that his 2011 salary ($2.8M) makes his trade value minimal at this time.

"Cards don't have any other left-handed hitting in their lineup." From today's chat, talking about Rasmus. Not a big deal, but he knows they signed Berkman, right?

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

Another interesting tidbit. "I don't believe in protecting pitchers. The only way to maintain a strong arm is to throw often and consistently. Mechanics are the key to a guy staying healthy, not overuse." While I tend to agree (I believe in a 4-man rotation), Mark Prior called and would like Dusty to give him his career back.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

I'm having the hardest time figuring what they actually passed. it seems to suggest they have not allowed ISP's to block or slowdown content or at least without telling you they are (in small type on this obscure flyer we dropped in the sewer) but it also seems that wireless providers can do whatever the fuck they want. So if you get us on your iphone, sorry. honestly, I can't tell what the implications are quite yet.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

the implications are mostly for ISPs. they made a deal where wireless (cell phone/satelitte/etc.) content isn't regulated much, but the home/plug-in ISPs can no longer "shape" their traffic in ways that limit how much bandwidth you can use on a site or the type of content a person can access that one would normally expect to access on an open network. however, they also didn't kill the methods (loopholes, woo) that would keep home/plug-in ISPs from letting other sites broker/bid/outright-be-charged for how much of a preference their site gets. netflics, for instance, will most assuredly be paying a lot of ISPs for preferential treatment of the packets of information they send through their systems. a lot of people are also pissed the wireless delivery systems barely got touched and it's still a free-for-all that the industry is going to shape for us.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

absolutely. ░░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░ ░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░░ ░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒██▒▒▒▒▒██▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░▐▌░ ░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒██▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒██▒▒▒▒▒░░░▐▌░ ░░░░▒▒▒██▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒██▒▒▒░░████ ░░░░▒██▒▒▒████▒▒▒████▒▒▒██▒░░░██░ ░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░██░ ░░░░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒████░ ░██▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒█████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░ ██░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░ ██░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░ ██░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░ ██░▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░██░░░██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░██████░░░██████░░░░░░░░░░

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Brandon Webb WAS a superb pitcher. I would be on board with throwing him an incentive ladden deal, but I would say "Dave's not here", if you think that I would be supportive of $8 million to a guy who has not pitched in 2 years. I guess the question is, do you over pay for a reclemation project or give up 3-4 prospects for a Garza or Carmona? Either way I still think the Cubs cannot contend offensively. I think they will struggle again to hit with runners in scoring position.

Rather curious story out of Bucco-land: According to this: http://bucsbits.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/12/contract_information_for_o… the Pirates' contracts with Scott Olsen and Kevin Correia prohibit the team from offering arbitration to either if they finish their contracts as Type A free agents. 1. I've never heard of anything like this before; has anyone else? 2. Perhaps this is now something agents will negotiate for, especially with small-market, poor-record teams like Pittsburgh, but this seems to me to be a major setback to clubs like Pittsburgh to need to stockpile draft picks to be competitive. Off the top of my head, I wonder if it would be in the best interest of MLB parity if this type of clause was banned. Free agents certainly should have the right to ask for this if they can because I can see how it clearly affects their future earning power, especially with non-star players like these two. But for the overall health of the game, my first instinct is that it's bad. If bargained for systematically, it'll strongly disincentivize small-market teams further from participating in the free agent market.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

You've got to remember these are free-agents, not 6 year arb guys that were developed in the Pirate's system. The point of the draft pick compensation is to replace the players that you lose when you loose a 6 year free agent, like Barry Bonds, Drabek and Bonilla leaving the Piratess. This whole "cut a guy because we don't want to pay arbitration" thing wasn't really envisioned when the MLBPA and the owners signed the orignal CBA that put it in place. By allowing them to sign, and then compensating the team with draft picks, as well as excellent production (required to get type A compensation), it's really too good a deal for the Pirates. One thing they do need to do, though, is make sure setup guys are never type A players. No one wants to give up a first round draft pick for a setup guy.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

Submitted by John Beasley on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 7:51am. Rather curious story out of Bucco-land: According to this: http://bucsbits.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/12/... the Pirates' contracts with Scott Olsen and Kevin Correia prohibit the team from offering arbitration to either if they finish their contracts as Type A free agents. 1. I've never heard of anything like this before; has anyone else? 2. Perhaps this is now something agents will negotiate for, especially with small-market, poor-record teams like Pittsburgh, but this seems to me to be a major setback to clubs like Pittsburgh to need to stockpile draft picks to be competitive. Off the top of my head, I wonder if it would be in the best interest of MLB parity if this type of clause was banned. Free agents certainly should have the right to ask for this if they can because I can see how it clearly affects their future earning power, especially with non-star players like these two. But for the overall health of the game, my first instinct is that it's bad. If bargained for systematically, it'll strongly disincentivize small-market teams further from participating in the free agent market. ================================================== JOHN B: There is an easy answer to this, and it could be incorporated into the next CBA. Instead of receiving a draft pick from the club that signed their Type "A" FA, clubs losing a Type "A" FA would receive a pick in the middle of the 1st round, starting with pick #16, until all Type "A" FA losses are compensated. Clubs losing a Type "A" FA would also get a compensation "sandwich" pick between the 1st and 2n round, just as they do now. The point of this would be to compensate the club losing the Type "A" FA with a 1st round pick without punishing the club that signed the Type "A" FA. As it is now, clubs losing a Type "A" FA might get a 2nd round pick if the club signing the player finished in the bottom half in winning percentage the previous season (these clubs have their 1st round pick "protected"), and a club losing a Type "A" FA to a club that finished in the bottom half in winning percentage the previous season might even have to settle for a 3rd round pick if the signing team signed more than one Type "A" FA.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

That was absolutely classic. I love that it's signed general counsel, as in, this is what our lawyer says (not just, like, an intern or something) Beautiful

Let's see.... Dusty Dusty Dusty, BABIP, slash lines are the only true measure of a hitter's ability, Bill James sucks. Oh, and the number of Wins a pitcher gets should automatically determine the Cy Young Award in each league, there should only be a vote if there's a tie. There now, that oughta get somebody on here hot and bothered.... Oh, and ADAM DUNN SUCKS

[ ]

In reply to by ddp33

Nothing has been announced about that. I think Phil said something should have been done by this past Tuesday. Maybe the Cubs were able to delay sending in the Wood contract?? edit - From the last thread: Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 12/17/2010 - 6:17pm. Submitted by QuietMan on Fri, 12/17/2010 - 4:05pm. Any news on who got bumped from the 40 man roster? Is there a bigger window to do such things this time of year? (AZ Phil?) ======================================================= QUIET MAN: The Cubs don't have to make a roster move until they file Wood's contract with the MLB office. But it's also possible that the Cubs have already Designated a Player for Assignment and it just hasn't been reported yet, because the MLB office might have closed early for the weekend. (It takes two business days to get a player through waivers, meaning whoever the Cubs drop from the 40-man roster won't clear waivers until next Tuesday at the earliest, and that's presuming the player was placed on Outright Waivers this afternoon).

I've had Scott Moore confused with somebody else for damn near a week. Just figured out it was Scott McClain. I feel better now.

Merry Christmas to all of you! And if it's not your holiday, Merry Christmas anyway! Cuz it's never a bad thing to wish a good day on someone. Congrats to Rob for creating such a great site. And the comments are amazing. I've never seen so much baseball knowledge in one place. So thanks to all of you, even Real Neal! LOL.

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).