Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Acquire Coello from Red Sox

The Cubs acquired RHP Robert Coello from the Boston Red Sox yesterday, in exchange for minor league 2B Tony Thomas. Coello had been Designated for Assignment by the Red Sox last Wednesday to make room on their 40-man roster after the Sox signed free-agent RHP Alfredo Aceves

The Red Sox were in a bit of bind with Coello because he is presently a Draft-Excluded Player (was added to an MLB 40-man roster after August 15th) and thus could not be sent to the minors (outrighted or optioned) any earlier than March 11th (20 days prior to MLB Opening Day). So the Red Sox had to either trade Coello or release him, and they had to make the decision within 10 days of placing him on the DFA list.

Like Carlos Marmol and Randy Wells, Coello was orginally a catcher. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 20th round of the 2004 Rule 4 Draft out of Okaloosa-Walton CC, but signed too late to get into game action that season. He then spent the entire 2005 season on the Disabled List with a rib cage injury, before getting released by the Reds at the end Minor League Camp 2006. He then signed with the Los Angeles Angels, and was converted to pitcher at AZ Instructs post-2006. He spent the 2007 season at EXST and with the AZL Angels (1.37 ERA and 1.14 WHIP), before qualifying as a Rule 55 minor league FA post-2007 by virtue of having been released previously in his career.  

Coello moved to independent ball IN 2008, pitching for Calgary and Edmonton in the Golden Baseball League. The Red Sox THEN signed him to a minor league contract, and he spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons pitching in the Red Sox farm system, with the Red Sox Hi-A Carolina League club at Salem in 2009 (2.05 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 83 K in just 66 IP), and at AA Portland and AAA Pawtucket in 2010 (combined 3.86 ERA and 1.17 WHIP while leading all BoSox minor leaguers in strikeouts with 130 K in 107 IP), before getting a September call-up to the big leagues, where he posted a 4.76 ERA and 1.59 WHIP in just six MLB games.

Coello pitched in winter ball post-2010, spending time in both the Domincan Winter League (DWL) with Licey and in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP) with Guasave, going a combined 2-5 with a 5.25 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and a .239 OppBA in 17 games (37.2 IP).   

Although he was a part-time starter at AA and AAA (and in winter ball) in 2010, Coello probably projects as an MLB reliever. He has all three of his minor league options left.

2B Tony Thomas was the Cubs 3rd round draft pick out of Florida State in June 2007, after hitting 430/522/733 (including a 35-game hitting streak) while earning ACC Player of the Year honors. He spent the past two seasons at AA Tennessee, and has hit a combined 269/342/438 with 78 SB (27 CS) in 405 minor league games. He rapped out 29 doubles, 11 triples, and 11 HR last year at Tennessee, in what was his best offensive season so far in pro ball. 

The 24-year old Thomas is a fast runner and a streaky hitter with some pop, but he is also a below-average defensive player without the arm to play anywhere but 2B (or maybe LF). He came into Cubs Minor League Camp at Fitch Park last March as the hands-down favorite to win the AAA #1 2B job, but he played himself right back to AA with poor defensive play and a series of base-running gaffes.  

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

it's not stellar, but tony thomas isn't stellar...or very good...himself. "meh" power, sketchy D, and an alarming K rate for a AA guy without the walks to make up for it. if thomas had the arm to at least cover 3rd/RF/SS he might be more interesting...he's looking like a 2nd/LF bench guy at best. the whole deal is "yawn" to me...i don't expect much out of either guy, but coello should at least be some good AAA insurance for the inevitable pen injury.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

I make this trade for three main reasons. ***TT had his chance to start in Iowa in 2010. His spring relegated him to Tennessee again. ***Coello has shown solid high minors numbers in 2010. With 3 remaining options, he has the next four spring trainings to get it right and produce for the big club. ***Thomas has been passed by Darwin Barney. This spring, he was going to be passed by Junior Lake and Marwin Gonzalez. Shortly thereafter, DJ LeMahieu and Ryan Flaherty would pass him. The above five can play more positions than second, and will be better defensively. Thomas may 'figure it out' in Boston. Likely, neither will be world beaters. But when you get a mid-teens BoSox prospect for a non-factor, you take that gamble.

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

They signed a reliever named Aceves that the Yankees released. The Sawks already had 40 guys on their 40 man. To sign Aceves, they had to move someone else off the 40 man. Coello had been brought onto the 40 Man in August of 2010. League rules stipulate that he couldn't be sent down until a date in late March. Hence, Coello was DFA'd. In short, the Red Sox got caught in a numbers game. He isn't a premiere player, or anything. But the Red Sox have an expectation that if a player is on their 40 Man, he has to have some severe talent. Coello was the least valued of their 40.

You make this trade because you can never have enough pitching prospects and we have an abundance of quality 2B candidates on our roster. I'm kidding about the second part. I'm actually pulling for Barney to win the job because I think he can be everything Theriot was supposed to be and was not. Does anyone know if the high K totals for the new pticher is because of a great fastball, breaking pitch, or some other reason.

SI's Heyman channels his inner Phil Rogers: "Three competing executives say they expect the rival Cubs to make a big push for Pujols and, indeed, they do look like the greatest outside possibility at the moment. Wouldn't that cast him in a new light for Cardinal Nation? The Cubs have the resources and the need, and execs feel they will pursue either Prince Fielder or more likely Pujols. "They'll give him the A-Rod deal," one exec opined. "They'll give him $33 million or $34 million for seven years," guessed another exec." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/02/16/albert.p…

never was a fan of ron santo, the announcer... ...still...there's a void of his optimism and voice missing from this pre-season. in a semi-half-assed-relation-way he was the cubs tommy lasorda...eternal cheerleader.

in a semi-half-assed-relation-way he was the cubs tommy lasorda...eternal cheerleader Not "half-assed" in the least. He bled with all of us. Even worse, in fact. Very unusual for an announcer (and he was challenged as an announcer, to be sure). I could not stand him anymore as an on-air guy. But he was the real deal. My one time meeting him in September, the man could not have been nicer to a complete stranger. Like I said earlier, Zonk was probably the best of a weak draft class.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I live in Austin and listen to Moreland on my way home from work -- he's on the local radio sports talk station out here. He definitely is knowledgeable about Texas sports and I don't think it will take him long to ramp up for baseball since he's an ex player who (I think) most of us liked. He's not gonna send anybody into a laughing fit, and despite his calling Castro Castillo the other day he won't make a lot of mistakes like that once he's been around a couple months. And now a word from our sponsor: If you're a real die hard you can listen to him live at http://www.longhornstation.com/main.html between 3-7. It's not a very good sports talk show overall but not cuz of Moreland. Luckily, it's a short drive home for me.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.