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

The BIG EIGHT-O

Once again my childhood hero's birthday has rolled around and he's turned the calendar on quite a milestone.

Mr. Cub is Eighty Years Old today.

When one's childhood hero hits such a milestone it means that when this Cub fan looks in the mirror, that reflection isn't the young Cubster that used to be, but... well, I still feel like a kid when I think about Ernie Banks unique batting style, fingers wiggling and bat upright. Crack, ball hits bat, fantastic wrist action. Remembering just one more Jack Brickhouse Hey-Hey!  All baseball heros candles fade and real life takes over. But Eighty? That can't be correct.

So Ernie, here's my birthday toast to you: may your birthday cake with 80 candles be as GRAND the impact your Cub greatness had on me.

Comments

saw a headline yesterday about how Ernie took a spill at his bday party. Presumably he's okay.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Submitted by Cubster on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 7:52am. Az Phil: I saw this writeup on Rob Whitenack in the CCO blog. Do we have a Burt Hooton "lite" in our system? =================================================================== CUBSTER: I saw Whitenack throw in a game only once, and that was (briefly) in a game at Minor League Camp last year. Whitenack went directly to Boise when he signed with the Cubs in 2009, and he did not attend AZ Instructs either post-2009 or post-2010, so I haven't seen enough of him to talk about his stuff. He did have a very strong second-half in 2010 that earned him a promotion to Daytona, and then he pitched even better at Daytona than he did at Peoria. Whitenack has a shot at making AA Tennessee coming out of Minor League Camp, but he will more-likely begin the 2011 season back in the Daytona starting rotation (probably with some combination of Lopez, Struck, Searle, Wallach, Antigua, and/or Jung), but he could get moved up to AA at some point during 2011 if he continues to throw as well as he did during the second-half of the 2010 season. .

Mr. Cub was also my childhood hero. To those of you too young to remember, or not born, he was all we had in the late 1950's. Sure we had some journeymen that had a good year here or there, Dale Long, Bobby Thompson, Waly Moryn, Lee Walls, but Ernie was the only star. It wasn't until the early 60's that Santo, Williams and others came along. The late 50's teams were horrible, but Ernie kept hitting 40 HRs and 100+ RBI. He was usually our sole all star representative, when the all star games were exciting. Happy Birthday Mr. Cub, you gave me a lot of joy.

what kind of a shortstop was banks? he had moved to 1B by the time my memories kick in...back-to-back mvp's on an also-ran team will never happen again...banks & aaron were rookies together i believe; not a bad class!

[ ]

In reply to by Mike Wellman

My recollection is gold glove, few errors, not much range, never a web gem. Looking at the fielding stats in BR, I see one Gold Glove in 1960, but 32 errors in 1958, the first MVP year. The distinctive thing about Banks in the field was the extreme (almost submarinish) sidearm throw.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Submitted by jacos on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 12:07pm. Aaron-last Negro league player to play in MLB. ================================================== JACOS: Technically Orestes "Minnie" Minoso was the last former Negro Leaguer to play in an MLB game (October 1980). BTW, I went to high school with Orestes Minoso Jr (known as "Orestes Arrieta" at the time), and he was on our 30-1 Evanston Township HS State Championship basketball team in 1968 with future Marquette University star and New York Nets forward Bob Lackey, point guard Walt Perrin, and wide-body center Farrell Jones. Orestes Jr later was a member of the first class of the Kansas City Royals Baseball Academy in 1971, along with future Royals 2B Frank White and current Rangers manager Ron Washington. While it's fairly well-known that the Boston Red Sox were the last MLB team to integrate (with INF Elijah "Pumpsie" Green in July 1959), did you know that the Kansas City Ahtletics were the last MLB team to go a full season (actually more than a season-and-a-half) with no black players on their Active Roster (starting when they traded IF-OF Hector Lopez to the New York Yankees on 5-26-1959 all the way up until Opening Day 1961), and that the Baltimore Orioles were the last MLB club to play part of a season with no black players on their Active List (during a period of 80+ games in 1962, beginning when they sent INF Earl Robinson to AAA at the end of June up until they they brought C Nate Smith up from the minors in September)?

Where do you place him all-time? I used to default to Banks as the greatest of all Cubs, but some fancy stats tell another story. For example, BR's WAR has him third all time. Cap Anson leads far and away, and Banks closely trails (surprise!) Ron Santo. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/leaders_bat.shtml It's nice to see Ronnie so high on that list. I can't be very proud of Anson, however, given his role in establishing the color line. Also on that link, you can see where Banks has 3 of the top 10 Cubs seasons all time (again by WAR). Even with that peak, I'd be hard to place him above Anson for Cubs career accomplishments. A shame. I'd prefer the good guy on top.

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In reply to by John Beasley

from wikipedia: One Day at Fenway In September 2004, Neyer used a pseudonym ("Ike Farrell") on Amazon.com to write a negative customer review of One Day at Fenway, a then-new baseball book by Steve Kettmann.[15] Neyer subsequently took offense to positive reviews that he believed Kettmann’s friends and relatives had posted.[16] "How did this project go so terribly wrong?" Farrell/Neyer wrote. "Presumably the author wound up with plenty of source material, and so I can only assume that he [Kettmann] lacked either the talent or the time (or both) to shape the material into a decent piece of non-fiction."

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Matt Garza is really a #3 starter masquerading as a #2 behind a big park and an excellent defense. Chris Archer is likely to win several Cy Young awards pitching with the same advantages.

[ ]

In reply to by Newport

The joke was about making irrelevant posts, like crunch did here, because he did the exact same thing the other day about Garza vs Archer. Tourette's is a disorder that gives people nervous, usually facial, ticks. It's most commonly associated with people shouting out swearwords. You probably meant to say "autism". It wouldn't have been funny either, but it would have made a little more sense. I am just surprised that the PC crowd didn't jump on you. You didn't get the joke, made a joke which was impossible to "get" because you used the wrong word, and then after that you used another "joke" to imply that I wasn't funny. That's the irony, you made two bad jokes, while telling me that my joke, which you didn't get was bad.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

No. If I could pay to make you invisible on here, I would. But then the comments wouldn't make sense as I would only be able to see one side if the idiotic arguments you like to engage in almost daily. Maybe instead of quit your day job, I should have said focus on your day job, you seem to spend way too much time here.

Ernie's career was long and eventful. As a shortstop, and through 1960, he might have been one of the very top players in baseball history. Bill James rated him as a top 100 player (#77, to be exact) ten years ago, not a top 50 player. If he'd been able to continue at short or to have another really good offensive year after 1960, that might have changed things. James regarded Banks as an "adequate" shortstop. He disregarded the Gold Glove, saying that some years, somebody has to win it. He also disregards the fact that Banks led NL shortstops in assists in 1959 and 1960, due to the fact that Cubs had a ground ball staff and Banks played more inninbgs at short than anyone else. I never saw him play short, and my memories of him playing first come from when I was six. In addition to aging, I recall that Banks had a severe illness in 1963, which led to a very bad year.

[ ]

In reply to by dcf

Banks set the MLB record for fielding percentage in 1959 - did James also disregard that? Errors were a lot easier to come by during that era, I guess it was the condition of the fields, but probably a big part of it was a change in scorer habits. Today if you get a bad hop, no error.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

He doesn't mention that. In the prior version of the Historical Baseball Abstract, he rated Banks as the 40th best player of all time. He says he revised his rating based on overrating Banks' defense and underweighting park effects. He found Banks' range, in terms of the percentage of plays made by him as shortstop (in terms of total defensive plays by the team), to be only average. I think James likes Banks. 77th is not up there with Stan Musial, but it's not bad. Ernie really had two careers in one: (i) the first phase as an outstanding offensive shortstop and (ii) the second as a somewhat above average, but declining, first baseman. Had he been able to continue the first phase longer than he did, he could have made it higher on the list. As it is, he's still (deservedly) a hall of famer, and is one of the most famous Cubs of all time.

Az Phil- I know that occasionally you post the "expected" rosters for each of the minor league teams. With the new influx of talent from the Gorz trade, the Garza trade, and the signing of the new Cuban players, what would you say the rosters will look like? I was trying to do it in my head and such, but I couldn't find your last update. Thanks in advance

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In reply to by W Flag

This is very much subject to change (surprise perfomances in Spring Training and injuries being the main causes of alteration), but here is what I would project the Cubs full-sesonteams minor league rosters to look like on Opening Day 2011 -- AS THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW: * bats or throws left # bats both IOWA (24-man roster) PITCHERS: Justin Berg Esmailin Caridad Chris Carpenter Casey Coleman Thomas Diamond * John Gaub Jay Jackson * Scott Maine Marcos Mateo * James Russell Jeff Stevens * Luke Sommer CATCHERS: Welington Castillo * Steve Clevenger INFIELDERS: * Matt Camp * Bryan Lahair * Scott Moore # Augie Ojeda # Bobby Scales (inactive player-coach) Marquez Smith Tony Thomas OUTFIELDERS: * James Adduci * Tony Campana * Brad Snyder Ty Wright TENNESSEE (24-man roster) PITCHERS: * Jeffrey Beliveau * Ryan Buchter Alberto Cabrera David Cales Rafael Dolis Ty'Relle Harris Trey McNutt A. J. Morris * Brooks Raley * Chris Rusin Aaron Shafer Kyle Smit CATCHERS: Michael Brenly * Blake Lalli (inactive player-coach) Chris Robinson INFIELDERS: * Ryan Flaherty # Marwin Gonzalez D. J. Lemahieu Rebel Ridling Nate Samson Josh Vitters OUTFIELDERS: * Michael Burgess Evan Crawford * Brett Jackson * Matt Spencer DAYTONA (25-man roster) PITCHERS: * Jeffry Antigua Yohan Gonzalez Su-Min Jung Robinson Lopez Aaron Kurcz * James Leverton * Jeff Lorick Oswaldo Martinez Dae-Eun Rhee Ryan Searle Nick Struck Brett Wallach Rob Whitenack CATCHERS: Luis Flores Jose Guevara INFIELDERS: * Justin Bour * Matt Cerda Junior Lake Jonathan Mota Greg Rohan * Logan Watkins OUTFIELDERS: * Kyler Burke D. J. Fitzgerald Jae-Hoon Ha * Nelson Perez PEORIA (25-man roster) PITCHERS: Frank Batista * Cam Greathouse * Graham Hicks Jin-Yeong Kim * Austin Kirk Matt Loosen * Marcos Perez Austin Reed Kevin Rhoderick * Zac Rosscup Juan Yasser Serrano Hayden Simpson Ben Wells CATCHERS: # Micah Gibbs Chad Noble INFIELDERS: # Arismendy Alcantara * Ryan Cuneo * Richard Jones Pierre LePage Brandon May Elliot Soto OUTFIELDERS: Reggie Golden Jesus Morelli * Rubi Silva Matt Szczur

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

AZ PHIL: IS Scott Maine the heir-apparent lefty to Gorzo? Or, if he makes the MLB squad will his time be spent primarily in the pen? How is his pitch repertoire, anyway? What say ye PHIL?

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Submitted by The E-Man on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 6:36pm. AZ PHIL: IS Scott Maine the heir-apparent lefty to Gorzo? Or, if he makes the MLB squad will his time be spent primarily in the pen? How is his pitch repertoire, anyway? What say ye PHIL? ====================================== E-MAN: Scott Maine throws a 93-95 MPH fastball and a hard slider, and he really improved a lot the second half of 2010. I don't think there is much chance of Maine ever being a starting pitcher (he's a two-pitch pitcher who has never started a game in pro ball), but he is the heir-apparent to John Grabow as the #2 lefty in the Cubs bullpen, and in fact he could be the #1 lefty in the pen at some piont if the Cubs were to decide to move Sean Marshall to the starting rotation. Otherwise, James Russell will apparently be stretched-out as a starter at Spring Training and will likely be in the starting rotation at Iowa (where he will be the I-Cubs only lefty starter), in case the Cubs need or want a lefty starter at some point in 2011 (again, that's if they want to keep Marshall in the pen). And then LHPs Chris Rusin and Brooks Raley will very likely be in the starting rotation at AA Tennessee, and either could get called up if they are pitching well and the Cubs want or need a lefty starter and they don't want to call up Russell from AAA or move Marshall to the starting rotation from the bullpen.

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

Nice job of distributing the talent, Phil. I particularly like that outfield at Peoria, with Szczur, Golden and Silva. Could use a little more shortstop talent at the upper levels. Matt Camp, a doubtful prospect, should not be the only Iowa SS. Maybe Marwin Gonzalez, after his strong showing in the Venezuelan Winter League, can go to Iowa. Then Junior Lake can play shortstop for Tennessee. Lake has already done Daytona, and should not be held back. Watkins and Mota at Daytona, as you say, etc. David Cales finished the season at Iowa and did okay, then performed well in the AFL. I don't see him dropping back, either. I understand that you (and the Cubs) have a lot of bodies to accommodate at Iowa, but we still have to keep the conveyor belt moving for real prospects like Lake and Cales.

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In reply to by VirginiaPhil

I had thought for most of the off-season that Junior Lake would be the #1 SS at Tenmnessee, but that was because I figured Hak-Ju Lee was a lock to be the #1 SS at Daytona and that the Cubs wouldn't have wanted both Lake and Lee on the same team. Also, there was an empty hole for a #1 SS at Iowa (figuring that Matt Camp would be used as a utiluity IF-OF) that I thought would have to be filled by either Nate Samson or Marwin Gonzalez, but with the Cubs signing Augie Ojeda, I now believe either Ojeda or Darwin Barney (most-likely Ojeda) will be the #1 SS at Iowa. These two developments (trading Lee and signing Ojeda) should push Samson and M. Gonzalez back to Tennessee and open up the #1 SS job at Daytona for Lake. There really isn't any pressure from below (Elliot Soto and Arismendy Alcanatara will both likely be assigned to Peoria, and Wes Darvill will probably be at EXST in April-May and then at Boise), and while Lake could probably play at AA in 2011 (and he still might), he doesn't turn 21 until March, and so repeating Daytona (at least to start the season) wouldn't be out of line. I know what you are saying about David Cales, but it's just a matter of not having enough slots available at Iowa. It's possible that the Cubs could put Cales at Iowa and drop either Gaub or Sommers to AA, but the fact that the Cubs did not give Cales an NRI to ST might be an indication that he is still fairly low on the bullpen depth chart. A lot of the tentative assignments I projected will change if any Cubs MLB or AAA pitcher or player starts the season on the DL, and/or if the Cubs trade or release a player and/or pitcher or two presently ticketed for Chicago or Iowa during or at the end of ST.

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

Phil, not as a prognosticator but as a fan, I really don't like the idea of non-prospects like Ojeda, Camp and Samson getting significant starts at the shortstop position. There are three teams at high-A and above, and there must be more than three viable shortstop prospects in this organization who can fill those positions. Here are four names: Watkins, Lake, LeMahieu and Gonzalez. Watkins played second last year, but there was no choice, he was Lee's teammate. Maybe this year he plays shortstop at Daytona. That would push Lake up to Tennessee, where he belongs anyway. Last year, Lake played 107 games at short, but LeMahieu played 25, and both played some third. That's good: anybody who still projects as a major-league shortstop (whether with the Cubs or not) should get opportunities there, because it enhances his value. Shortstop at Tennessee could go to Lake and LeMahieu. That still leaves Marwin Gonzalez, who is a month shy of 22 but just had a very solid season as shortstop and number-two hitter for a good Caracas team. He had 86 games at Tennessee last year (81 at short) and could be promotable. Makes more sense to me than squandering starts at a key position on marginal players.

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In reply to by VirginiaPhil

You've also got to factor in that Barney may well be the I-Cubs SS this year. His bat is worse than the Cubs three middle infield starters, but there may be some hope that it will improve with more seasoning. You're not going to PH him unless he's the last option and Ojeda will probably be a similar defensive player. Organizationally it would be better to try and make like Barney is a real prospect who is blocked by Castro, than to just slot him into the last slot on the bench.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

I just don't see this Baker-DeWitt thing at all. Neither one of them is really a middle infielder. Both were third basemen in the minors. Whereas Barney is a natural shortstop who hits about as well as DeWitt. If Baker has more pop than Barney, that's true of most third basemen in relation to most shortstops. But we're talking about second base, and also backing up Castro at shortstop. I don't like this second-base situation right now, especially if it's DeWitt-Baker-Ojeda.

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In reply to by Arizona Phil

Won't Max Ramirez be at Iowa to catch with Castillo? The last I heard, Ryan Flaherty was going to be moved to the OF, that would seem to be the case with Rebel Ridling moved up to AA now. And speaking of AA, don't you think one of Watkins or Lake will be put at starting SS for Tennessee? You have both listed at Daytona right now.

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

Submitted by Jim Hickmans Bat on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 2:41pm. Won't Max Ramirez be at Iowa to catch with Castillo? The last I heard, Ryan Flaherty was going to be moved to the OF, that would seem to be the case with Rebel Ridling moved up to AA now. And speaking of AA, don't you think one of Watkins or Lake will be put at starting SS for Tennessee? You have both listed at Daytona right now. ======================================== JIM H: Max Ramirez is out of minor league options, and I don't think he will get through waivers if he does not make the Cubs 25-man Opening Day roster. If Ramirez does not make the Cubs 25-man Opening Day roster and then gets through waivers, I would project him to be the #2 catcher at Iowa (behind W. Castillo), with Clevenger nmoving down to Tennessee, and Brenly moving back to Daytona. Ryan Flaherty will be an "everyday" player at Tennessee, but he will be moved around, playing 1B-2B-3B-LF-RF. Unless Junior Lake forces his way onto the Tennesssee roster, I think Marwin Gonzalez and Nate Samson will be the two shortstops at Tennessee (with Samson also playing some 2B and M. Gonzalez also playing 1B-2B-3B-LF-CF-RF), and Lake would be the #1 SS at Daytona with Logan Watkins the #1 2B, although Watkins and Mota can also play some SS, and Cerda and Mota can play 2B. (Mota would also be used as a catcher from time-to-time).

Well this is boring... what are everyone's thoughts on Michael Barrett's defense?

http://deadspin.com/5748972/the-worst-men-in-sports God, it was inevitable that George Will and Tony La Russa would find each other, wasn't it?
Situations are shaped in innumerable ways by managers, by what they do to prepare for a game and what they do during a game. La Russa says, with a fine sense of semantic tidiness, that what are called baseball "instincts" involve much more than instinctual behavior. These instincts are actually the result, he says, "of an accumulation of baseball information." [...]
The accumulated information is evident when La Russa examines elements of strategy, such as playing for the big inning. It is an old baseball joke that big-inning baseball is affirmed in the Book of Genesis: "In the big inning, God created...." La Russa knows well the key to creating big innings: "First and third, nobody out—you're talking about a big inning," he says. "To me, the secret of scoring a lot of runs is getting guys into scoring position as many times as you can."
That's stupid. Shit, Tim McCarver thinks that's stupid. That's like saying, "The secret of scoring touchdowns in getting close to the end zone." It isn't the slightest bit profound, and yet George Will starts humping that quote as if Disraeli had said it. There are few things in baseball worse than the cult of the manager, and there no manager cults more head-slappingly pretentious than the one that has sprung up around Tony La Russa. I have a theory that La Russa is so exalted by the George Wills of the world because he is more or less one of them — an observer who has little to no impact on what's transpiring in front of him, who spends his nine innings investing tiny fluke moments with galactic significance and stamping them with the mark of his own genius. Will and La Russa are perfect for one another — where Will has a bow tie to evoke a sort of out-of-step erudition, La Russa has a ballet t-shirt — and it was only natural that they'd spend a few happy days wiggling their toy intellect at each other:
A wit once said it was not true that Gladstone lacked a sense of humor, Gladstone just was not often in a mood to be amused. La Russa is no stranger to laughter, but he does not often laugh when he is within a fly ball's distance of a ballpark. He has ample dark hair and thick eyebrows and wears his cap with the bill pulled low, keeping his eyes in perpetual shadow. His watchfulness has an aspect of brooding. La Russa spends the hours of each game giving signs in response to what he sees on the field, and in response to what he sees—or thinks he sees or thinks he would see if he could decipher the evidence—in the dugout across the field.
La Russa is a guy playing Chutes and Ladders who thinks it's actually chess. He is a manager, nothing more, and he has been blessed with a lot of great players over the years, and he has been smart enough and sober enough not to fuck them up too horribly. That's it. That's his genius. This constant need on La Russa's part to prove it's somehow more than that is entirely a function of baseball's epic self-mythologizing. And it is with a fine sense of semantic tidiness that I say, "Fuck that." (Tommy Craggs)

Piniella to join Giants front office as Tampa-based buddah. Apparently Giants GM Sabean and Lou have been buddies since their Yankee days. I thought Lou would be brought in by the Yankees in similar capacity but it seems they spent their last dollar on Bartolo Colon. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/giants/detail?entry_id=82243
Piniella, 67, is joining the Giants' front office to consult in a variety of ways, whether it's evaluating or advising on player movement or scouting or . . . well, whatever a baseball lifer of 48 years can provide.

Warm thoughts from Snowmageddon.... Pitchers and Catchers report: 19 days Cactus League Opener: 25 days (Oakland vs Cubs at Mesa on 2-27)

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In reply to by Cubster

I thought we were down to 11 days on pitchers and catchers. "2011 Spring Training, beginning on Feb. 13, when pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz. Their first workout comes on Feb. 14, with position players reporting to camp on Feb. 18 and the first full workout of the Mike Quade era taking place on Feb. 19."

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).