Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Sloth Traded To Nats for 3 Baby Ruth Candy Bars

Submitted by Rob G. on

 

 

The Cubs traded Tom Gorzelanny to the Nationals yesterday for 3 minor leaguers. This will make the road to the rotation a little easier for Carlos Silva. Phew. 

The three prospects the Cubs received were 24-right hander A.J. Morris, right fielder Michael Burgess and lefty Graham Hicks. Baseball America has a write-up on each of them.

To the excerpts...

 

 

Morris

Morris pitched effectively enough as a starter for Potomac, going 3-2, 3.16 with 49 strikeouts in 57 innings, but he came down with a sore arm in June and missed nearly a month. The Nationals shifted him to the bullpen upon his return to Carolina League action in mid-July and Morris showed improved velocity, hitting 95 mph, if lesser results—he notched a 12-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 15 innings to go with a 6.60 ERA.

Burgess

Burgess ranked among Washington's top 10 prospects every year from 2008-10, but he had dropped into the 11-20 tier heading into 2011 after a second straight season in high Class A. He's taken 937 at-bats for Potomac in the past three years, batting just .245 but with above-average power output in the form of 37 homers and an isolated power figure of .182. Stocky and strong, Burgess concentrated on making more contact last season, which he did at the expense of a bit of power.

Hicks

Hicks compiled steady strikeout and walk rates for Hagerstown but proved far too hittable because of poor command. A tall, lean lefty, he sits in the high 80s with his fastball, touching 91 mph, and shows the makings of an average curveball and changeup. If it all comes together for Hicks, he could have a future as No. 5 type starter.

Gorzelanny was out of options and the Cubs clearly felt he could net them the best return while still having plenty left to withstand the demands of a 162 game schedule. No big loss or impact in my opinion. The rotation now stands at Dempster, Zambrano, Garza, Wells and Silva with Cashner and Russell trying to force their ways in with a good spring.

Tags
Cubs Roster Moves
Tom Gorzelanny

Comments

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Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:19 pm

rumor was Reds were going to offer around $7M and Votto submitting in the 8.5M to 9.5M range. Considering Howard made $10M his first year, Reds thought they could lose it and that's all that matters. I don't think Jocketty went let's give Votto $38M for the helluva of it. At the low end they probably think he makes $34-35M over the next 3 years or less if he's injured, at the high end, $44 or more and didn't want to risk going that road while keeping their star happy. Gonna guess they put a lot more thought into it then the 5 minutes everyone on here has.

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:34 pm

So.......is it a given that Prince will be the Cubs #1 free agent target for 2012? I guess all bets are off if Pujols doesn't re-up with the Birds, but it sure seems like the Cubs, Jays and Nats would be the likely top 3 bidders for Fielder. Even at $20MM/year.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:02 pm

Likely 2011 Opening Day starting lineup at Tennessee (as things stand right now): 1. Brett Jackson, CF 2. D. J. Lemahieu, 2B 3. Michael Burgess, RF 4. Josh Vitters, 3B 5. Ryan Flaherty, LF 6. Rebel Ridling, 1B 7. Michael Brenly, C 8. Junior Lake, SS 9. Trey McNutt, P I think it's pretty clear that the Tennessee Smokies will be the crown jewel of the Cubs farm system going into the 2011 season. Most of the Cubs best prospects will be rhere. BTW, Burgess is the only one of the players acquired from WAS who will be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft post-2011. So I would say Vitters, J. Jackson, Carpenter, Beliveau, Flaherty, Burgess, Lake, M. Gonzalez, M. Smith, and Campana are (at this time) the ten post-2011 Rule 5 eligibles who are most-likely to be added to the 40 by 11-20-2011 (if not sooner in some cases), with Vitters, J. Jackson, and Carpenter virtual locks to get added, Beliveau and Flaherty likely but not locks, and Burgess, Lake, M. Gonzalez, M. Smith, and/or Campana only if the player has a good year.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:31 pm

Submitted by Stevens on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 2:35pm. AZP, what's the story on Rebel Ridling & Junior Lake. I'm not familiar. Love the names, but I imagine there's nothing special about a 1B who hits 6th in AA. And I haven't heard Lake's name pop up in the many middle-infielder conversations in the last couple years. Thanks. ========================================== STEVENS: Rebel Ridling played college ball at Oklahome State and was drafted by the Cubs in June 2008 (25th round). He had a very strong second-half at Peoria in 2009 (finishing at 310/347/466) and an impressive AZ Instructs post-2009, but then he had an appendectomy with complications (he almost died) last March, and he missed the first month of season while rehabbing at Fitch Park. When he returned (to Daytona), he was not quite the same player he had been at Peoria in 2009, and struggled a bit at the plate (hitting 267/312/426). Junior Lake and Starlin Castro were born three days apart, both signed with the Cubs as 16-year olds out of the Dominican Republic, and both played for the DSL Cubs in 2007 and for the AZL Cubs in 2008. When I first saw them at Fitch Park in 2008, I thought Lake had the most upside. While Castro was definitely the better hitter of the two (311/364/464 for Castro and 286/335/417 for Lake in AZL in 2008), Lake had the stronger arm, a bit more range at SS, more power, and was a faster runner. Both Lake and Castro attended AZ Instructs at Fitch Park post-2008, and Castro really took advantage of the instruction from the organization's coaches (fielding, baserunning, and hitting), while Lake did not. For instance, on the advice of organizatinal hitting coordinator Dave Keller, Castro kept a "hitting diary" and studied pitchers for weaknesses. Lake did not. The thing about Junior Lake is that he is kind of a "street kid," sort of a Dominican Oliver Twist. I'm not even sure he attended school. So it might be harder for him to understand coaching, because he doesn't know how to accept instruction. So while Castro rocketed through the Cubs system (surprisingly starting the 2009 season at Daytona before getting a mid-season promotion to Tennessee and a slot in the AFL, and then receiving an NRI to Spring Training in 2010 and an April call-up to the big leagues), Lake has moved more steadilily through the system, playing at Peoria in 2009 and at Daytona in 2010. His big negatives over the past couple of years were a scatter-gun arm, brain farts on the bases, and a hyper-aggressive approach at the plate. But if it wasn't for Starlin Castro, you would probably have heard a lot more about Junior Lake. Lake looked like he might finally have made some improvements to his game at mid-season 2010 at Daytona, hitting home runs, starting to show more patience at the plate, and cutting down on his throwing errors and baserunning gaffes. The Cubs trading Hak-Ju Lee makes Junior Lake the Cubs new #1 shortstop prospect (at least going into 2011), but I would not be surprised if he eventually morphs into a Bill Hall-type IF-OF multi-postional super-sub, with plus power, above-average speed, and the athleticism needed to play both infield and outfield positions. I don't know if Lake will ever be a good hitter, but even if he doesn't hit a whole lot for average, his other tools (power, arm, range, and athleticism) should make him a decent MLB supersub.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:05 pm

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 3:48pm. PHIL: You have always liked Flaherty. Do you still feel the same way about his prospects? =================================== E-MAN: I had Ryan "Flash" Flaherty at #10 in my post-2010 Cubs Top 15 Prospects list. I have always projected Flaherty as a LH corner IF-OF who can also play 2B, and SS in a pinch (he played SS at Vanderbilt and with Team USA), and nothing has changed my mind about him eventually doing that. A left-handed hitting version of Mark DeRosa is a reasonable projection. Flaherty is a big guy and a growing boy (6'5 230), and he has the potential to be a big-time HR hitter (he hit 20 at Peoria in 2009). He is a fairly patient hitter and he runs OK for a big guy. One thing about him is that throughout his career he has struggled against LHP while murdering RHP, so I see him as a platoon guy playing 1B-2B-3B-LF-RF at the MLB level. Flaherty is the son of a college baseball coach (Southern Maine) and he has a lot of baseball smarts and is a student of the game. He knows how to play each of the positions in his kit the right way, he knows how to run the bases, and he can work a pitcher. He was the first-base coach for Mesa Solar Sox (AFL) when he wasn't playing in a game.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:36 pm

Michael Burgess played high school ball at Hillsborough HS in Tampa, FL, the same school that produced Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield, Carl Eveett and Elijah Dukes. The Nationals selected Burgess in the Supplemental 1st round (overall pick #49) in the 2007 Rule 4 Draft, one slot below the Cubs, who selected Auburn C Josh Donaldson (compensation pick for the Cubs losing Juan Pierre to LAD) at #48. Burgess had signed an NLI with Central Florida, but gave up a chance to play college ball at UCF when he signed with the Nats ($630K signing bonus). Like Josh Vitters (who had signed an NLI with Arizona State), Burgess would have just finished his junior year in college last Spring (and would have been eligible for selection in the 2010 June draft) if he had not opted to turn pro out of HS. Burgess has one of the top OF arms in the minor leagues, so if he flames out at the plate, the Cubs could always make him a pitcher.

[ ]

Submitted by DavidP on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:02 pm

There was another one that came from the same group. In 1981 the Cubs drafted a left handed pitcher out of the same HS that was said to be a close friend (and perhaps relative) of Scheffield. His name was Vance Lovelace, and had just about the best stuff I ever saw in a prospect. Fantastic fastball (no gun used in those days) and a slider to equal Marmols. Unfortunately, his control on his best day was worse than that of Marmol on his worst day. He was traded to the Dodgers for Ron Cey, but floundered in their system also. I believe he finally made it to the majors for a cup of coffee. There were all sorts of rumors about his being a drug abuser, but I sort of wrote them off when he was appointed a very high level scout with the Dodgers about 10 years ago. His fastball was better than that of Carl Hamilton, another lefty in the Cubs system that looked outstanding until injury knocked him out of baseball.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:13 pm

The Cubs have signed 29-year old former 1st round draft pick (2000 #3 overall) OF Luis "Lou" Montanez to a minor league contract with an NRI to Spring Training. Montanez was one of biggest busts among Cubs 1st round draft picks over the years, especially if you consider the fact that he was the 3rd overall pick the year he was drafted. 1st overall pick Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley, and Adam Wainwright turned out to be the best players picked in the 1st round of the 2000 draft, but in the Cubs defense, Gonzalez was gone when the Cubs picked 3rd, and a number of teams passed on Utley and Wainwright. Montanez spent seven seasons (2000-06) in the Cubs minor league system before becoming a Rule 55 minor league FA post-2006 and signing a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent the past four seasons bouncing back & forth between AA Bowie, AAA Norfolk and Baltimore, hitting 223/251/323 with four HR and 11 doubles in 93 MLB games (266 PA). A right-handed hitter, Montanez can play all three OF positions. Montanez was signed by the Cubs as a SS out of a Miami HS in 2000, but was moved to the outfield in 2004. He has not played one inning in the infield since the move. He hit a career-high 26 HR for Bowie in 2008, but has only hit six dingers in the past two seasons.

[ ]

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:34 pm

Sounds to me like Montanez has Jose Macias' skill-set covered just fine. Guaranteed Chicago roster spot! /snark In reality, unless I'm missing something with Phil's earlier depth chart, it seems there is no one at Iowa to play in LF with Guyer traded away. So Montanez is organizational filler to cover LF there, that is unless Bobby Scales plans on playing some LF for the I-Cubs this year (and I thought Phil said he was going to start coaching? Or maybe that was Doobie). I'm not sure who plays SS for Iowa, either. Also, some good news: just saw a Twitter that Matt Szczur has picked the Cubs over the NFL. Woot! I'm guessing he'd be targeted for Peoria's OF, right Phil? Too much college experience to go to Boise.

Submitted by H_Vaughn on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 01:19 pm

I'll miss Gorz. By WAR, he's already the Nats third best pitcher. He'll never be more than a decent fourth starter on a good team, but he has nice stuff and competes. Hard to project any of those suspects is ever gonna be able to contribute nearly as much as Gorz has. Meh.

Recent comments

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • 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?

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