Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-23-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 9 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

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

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Sign Reed Johnson to Minor League Deal

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

ESPN's Bruce Levine reports that the Cubs have signed 34-year old free-agent OF Reed Johnson to a minor league contact with an invitation to Spring Training.

The right-handed hitting Johnson played college ball at Cal State - Fullerton, and was a 17th round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999. He made his big league debut in 2003, and is a career 281/340/408 hitter in MLB. He was released by Toronto at the end of Spring Training 2008 (the Jays wanted to avoid paying him the $3.2M salary he won in arbitration), and he was immediately signed by the Cubs. Johnson played for the Cubs in 2008 and 2009 and did a nice job, hitting 303/358/420 with six HR and 20 doubles in 109 games in 2008 while platooning with Jim Edmonds in CF. and 255/330/412 with four HR and ten doubles in just 65 games in 2009. 

Johnson signed with the Dodgers after leaving the Cubs, and hit 262/291366 with two HR and 11 RBI in 45 games last season.

Johnson has a chronic back problem that his landed him on the DL for extended periods over the past two seasons, but when healthy he is a decent 4th OF. Ryan Dempster had lobbied to bring the popular Johnson back to the Cubs when he was a free-agent post-2009, but the Cubs chose to let him look elsewhere.  

Johnson will battle Fernando Perez, Brad Snyder and James Adduci for a back-up OF job in Spring Training. and while he is signed to a minor league contract, Johnson probably has an opt-out clause in his contract allowing him to demand his release if he does not make the Cubs 2011 Opening Day 25-man roster.

The Cubs have also agreed to an $850K 2011 contract with 31-year old back-up catcher Koyie Hill, avoiding arbitration. The switch-hitting Hill has been with the Cubs since 2007, and has been the team's primary back-up catcher for the past two seasons.  

Hill is a career 215/276/302 hitter in the big leagues, and has hit 211/271/299 in 206 games (642 PA) as a Cub. He has thrown out 28% of opposing base-stealers in his career (but only 18% last season). The veteran backstop has good receiving skills and is a smart and savvy game-caller and handler of pitchers, and that has kept him in a Cub uniform despite a weak bat,

Hill played college ball at Wichita State, and was a member of Team USA in 1999. He played 3B at Wichita State and 2B with Team USA, and then was converted to catcher after getting drafted and signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2000. Once a Dodgers Top 10 Prospect, Hill suffered a broken ankle in a home plate collision after being acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a trade for Steve Finley in 2004, and then he sustained a near career-ending hand injury when he cut off his thumb and two of his fingers of his right hand (throwing hand) with a table saw after the 2007 season. Doctors were able to surgically reattach the thumb and fingers in a way that allowed him to continue his baseball career.  

The Cubs originally signed Hill as a Rule 55 minor league FA after the 2006 season.

Tags
Cubs Roster Moves
Reed Johnson
Koyie Hill

Comments

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 01:41 pm

We're putting the BAND back together, man! Can DeRo be far behind? BTW, that gulp you just heard was Brad Snyder thinking about how he'll never get to sniff the $400K ML minimum he was hoping to pull this year.

Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 01:41 pm

AzPhil I haven't combed through the other thread yet, so maybe someone has asked, but I'm curious on your take that James Russell is going to be stretched out with a chance to be in the rotation again (Bruce Miles speculated on this before, and I believe Quade made comments to that effect today, which Bruce notes in his latest blog post). I remember being quite fascinated about James as a starter (plenty of lefties have succeeded with weaker stuff), and his numbers weren't bad, but he just never seemed to take to it too well. The long ball plagued him a bit in AA. Add in his splits last year, and I'm not sure that he's a starter, and feel like he's probably best utilized as a middle relief LOOGY. Of course, stretching a guy out in spring is just fine, particularly since if James is in the pen, he'll likely be in a middle relief, possible long man role.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 01:14 pm

Submitted by toonsterwu on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 3:41pm. AzPhil I haven't combed through the other thread yet, so maybe someone has asked, but I'm curious on your take that James Russell is going to be stretched out with a chance to be in the rotation again (Bruce Miles speculated on this before, and I believe Quade made comments to that effect today, which Bruce notes in his latest blog post). I remember being quite fascinated about James as a starter (plenty of lefties have succeeded with weaker stuff), and his numbers weren't bad, but he just never seemed to take to it too well. The long ball plagued him a bit in AA. Add in his splits last year, and I'm not sure that he's a starter, and feel like he's probably best utilized as a middle relief LOOGY. Of course, stretching a guy out in spring is just fine, particularly since if James is in the pen, he'll likely be in a middle relief, possible long man role. ============================================ TOONSTER: I think the idea of trying James Russell as a starter in Spring Training is further evidence that the Cubs plan to trade Tom Gorzelanny. While they may say that they don't care if the rotation is all right-handed, Quade would probably like to have at least one lefty starter in the rotation, as long as the lefty is effective. And if he doesn't make the Cubs Opening Day roster as a starter, he could be kept stretched-out at Iowa, or he could be moved back to the builpen if he is needed there. Russell is a fly ball pitcher, which tends to not to be good for a lefty reliever unless he has power stuff. Russell generally pitched well out of the Cubs bullpen last year, and when he was not successful, it was usually when he was tagged for a HR. Russell has a nice variety of stuff, and he has the ability to throw strikes and keep his pitch count low. What got him moved to the bullpen was a strong finish as a reliever at Iowa at the end of the 2009 season, and then he was the #1 lefty reliever in the AFL post-2009. That got him noticed. Then Russell had a very good Spring Training last March and made the Cubs Opening Day roster as a reliever, but the ineffectiveness of John Grabow probably kept Russell around Chicago longer than would have otherwise been the case. I actually like the idea of moving Russell to the starting rotation. The long ball isn't as much of a concern for a starting pitcher, and as I said, he has the command and variety of stuff you would want in a starter. He would also have more trade value as a starter. To me, Scott Maine looks more like a LOOGY than Russell, and the Cubs have a couple of younger guys coming up through the system (Jeffrey Beliveau and Jeff Lorick) who are pretty good lefty relief prospects.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 01:04 pm

don't think it was reported that anyone was offering more for Soriano, the report was McDonough and Kenney tacked on another year w/o Hendry's knowing to get the deal done. Angels and other teams were definitely interested, but not at 8 years. Demp I don't recall, thought he signed before he could become a FA, but my memory is fuzzy on that. Anyway, he's been worth his contract easily. Fukudome was allegedly Padres and White Sox with better offers. there was a 2 year offer for Bradley supposedly. Howry, Eyre and Grab-Ass seem to get the top of the set-up market. Why do you bitch about Cubs not acting like a big market team and then bitch when they do? Cause the Yanks, Mets, Red Sox are nothing but pitch perfect with every contract they give out.

[ ]

Submitted by toonsterwu on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 01:50 pm

I wouldn't read too much into the speculation. By most accounts, Wood had an offer from the Yankees (and others), approached Hendry first, then had his discussion with Ricketts. Thing is, most players go for the money they can get now, and particularly if they've got a few more playing years left. At the end of the day, I think Wood came back for 2 reasons a) He wanted to be back. b) Perhaps he thought he could rebuild his value a bit better in the NL and go for a longer deal later. The side note that isn't really being discussed is that there is a decent chance that Wood may be our closer in the future. The Cubs have noticeably not signed Marmol down (and I think Bruce Miles said that was due to concerns over the mechanics, justifiably so). It wouldn't stun me if the Cubs parted ways after 2012.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 01/12/2011 - 01:33 pm

sucks to be the yanks...seems petitte has decided he won't pitch to start the season no matter what (he doesn't have a contract from anyone). that said...when he is slated to take the stand in the clemens perjury trial? i thought that was a mid-season thing. who's the backup plan...duroshshshshsher...c.young?

Submitted by Michaelweaselo on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 01:16 am

Just curious on everyone's thoughts on this...why is it that in basketball, football, soccer and tennis, some of the best athletes in the world perform at their best and are expected to be their best at age 20-24. Baseball seems to always be the exception. Baseball seems to believe that a player, unless an extreme outlier, needs YEARS of development in order to be considered "ready" to play at the major league level. Why does someone like Reed Johnson get a contract to play ball at 34 years old when there have got to be 10 times the number of equally talented players who are in their teens or early 20s who could at least fail as well as Reed Johnson can fail at the major league level? Honestly, why does baseball reward the aging catcher who cant hit a lick or outrun a slow ground ball to first with million dollar contracts? Why bring back a 48 or 49 year old Jamie Moyer to a major league contract to throw the ball 65 mph when there are plenty of younger, more talented players out there? How many young guys never get the chance to prove themselves simply because there is a 30 something Cesar Izturis eating up a roster spot somewhere? Id rather watch a team full of highly talented young players than a veteran team that sucks. Why does baseball think age matters so much? Thanks. Just wanted to vent. Reed Johnson. Oy.

[ ]

Submitted by Michaelweaselo on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 01:19 am

And for example, Premier League soccer in England has most of their best players playing by the time they are 20-21. Some as early as 15 or 16. Granted, soccer is a game for young legs, but there is definitely an experience factor as well to play at any high level. Football takes 22-23 year olds and makes stars out of them. Tennis? Teenagers. Basketball? Teenagers and young men. Baseball? 35 year olds at AAA? Three or four levels of minor league ball? Give me a break. Three or four levels of minor leagues. It boggles the mind.

Submitted by DavidP on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 01:25 pm

The answer to me seems rather simple. Baseball, like golf, requires a great deal of skill, and requires relatively little stamina. As the player ages, for quite a while, the improvement in his skill more than compensates for the deteriation in his stamina. The other sports mentioned require both skill and stamina, but as the player ages, the deterioration of his stamina hurts him much more than the improvment of his skill level helps him.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    This is Cubs adjacent but…


    Jordan Walker just was optioned by the deadbirds. For all the talk of the Cardinals development machine, they’ve really missed on a lot of can’t miss superstars lately. Walker has struggled. Gorman has been okay. They’re already trying to push Carlson out the door. Their pitching system has been so bad they had to go out and sign basically a full rotation over the last two offseasons.

    They’ve still developed a few of those pesky solid players, like Donovan, Edman, and Nootbaar. Their two best prospect to MLB players have been Adolis and Arozarena, neither of which is a cardinal.

    I hope they never figure it out again. Cardinal failure brings me such joy.
     

  • Raisin101 (view)

    Thank you so much! I really appreciate not only all your posts but how eager you are to respond to our questions.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Is it just me or does it seem that official scorers are becoming less likely to call a misplay an error? 

     

    Guess I've hit my cranky old-man phase in life.  "I remember back in the day when an error was an error.  Official scorers have gone soft.  Now where did I put my readers?!!??"

     

    Sidenote, maybe Bellinger should be a little more careful against the Astros.  That was the series last year that a play at wall put him on the IL.   

  • crunch (view)

    i hated the almonte pickup, but he's 9-10 out of 12 for good outings, following a great spring.  hope he can keep it up.

    i already miss cooper, but yeah...the thin OF roster backup the team seems to want to carry probably got wisdom preference over cooper.  i could live without seeing wisdom at 3rd unless it's a blowout, though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Things I've been wrong about:

    -Tauchman is fine as a 4th OF. I knew that. I just want a better LH DH option and he was really the DH for us until Seiya got hurt. I'm glad Mervis is getting a chance at it. Caissie is coming for that job for sure. But Tauchman continues to be highly useful as a 4th OF with Seiya being hurt

    -I wanted Yency to go to get guys at Iowa a chance. Guys like Palencia and Sanders or RileyT. Maybe even Hodge! But Yency has been better the last two plus weeks. He did hit 96 the other day. He was 93 in Texas to open the season.

    -Leiter has his split working enough. It just needs to stay there

    -I was surprised Jed picked Wisdom over Cooper. I wonder if this happens if Seiya wasn't hurt. Wisdom has more power. Cooper is the better hitter. Jed picked Wisdom and Wisdom had an option left as well.

    -Palencia just doesn't miss enough bats. Similar to ManRod, just two yrs younger. ManRod is killing AAA for TB right now!

    Things I got right so far:

    -Hendricks. Sorry Kyle. You got paid though!

    Jed, you missed there.

    -Smyly. If Jed could've traded him before or during ST, then he should have and saved some cash.

    -Mastro.  Not a LH DH. Pinch runner. Defensive utility. Maybe he's better than Madrigal but didn't get a legit chance to prove it.

    -Luke Little is good. He's had one bad outing. That's it. Needs to get better entering with guys on base. But he needs to stay in MLB.

    -Oh yeah....Morel is doing fine at 3B! He'll get better as well!!

  • crunch (view)

    bellinger "right rib contusion"

  • Childersb3 (view)

    South Bend just lost the lead in the bottom of the 9th on the weirdest scenario, ever.

    It's absolutely pouring rain....men on 1st and 2nd, 1out....JPatterson asks for a new ball, but no time out was called....he throws the old ball toward the dugout (not sure if it rolled out of play).....the ump declares the runners get two bases each so one run scores. Then a single up the middle ties the game.

    The rain was coming down in buckets at this point.

    Just weird

  • crunch (view)

    ...and bellinger is gone in the 7th because of that 2nd blown chance and the wall he bounced off of...

    hopefully his rib cage/shoulder feels better tomorrow, we just got happ back.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil,

    Any thoughts on Y. Rojas' stuff and Y. Melendez's game (I believe I've asked about him before, sorry)?

  • crunch (view)

    wow, things are moving fast.  hopefully it continues.

Click HERE for the last 50 comments