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

Wang Answers the Bell

Yao-Lin Wang threw three innings of one-hit shutout ball with five strikeouts and Dong-Yub Kim capped a three-run third inning with a bases loaded two-out two-run single, but the A’s rallied to tie the game thanks to some shaky Cub defense, as the EXST Cubs and EXST A’s played to a 3-3 tie in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this afternoon

The stocky 20-year old Wang got the start for the Cubs, striking out one batter in the 1st inning and two each in the 2nd and 3rd. He did allow one walk and one single, but one base-runner was erased on a 6-4-3 DP, and the other never made it past 1st base. Wang is a native of Taiwan and was a member of the Taiwan Junior National Team prior to signing with the Cubs for a reported $260K bonus in June 2009.

The Cubs scored all of their runs in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 3-0 lead. Blair Springfield and Wes Darvill opened the inning with singles to put runners on 1st & 3rd, and then Dustin Geiger lofted a sacrifice fly to RF to score Springfield. After Pin Chieh Chen reached base on an error and Wilson Conteras was hit on the knee by a pitch, Dong-Yub Kim came through with his two-out two-run single to CF to score Darvill and Chen.

DY Kim is one of several players signed by the Cubs out of South Korea in the last few years, receiving a reported $550K bonus in February 2009. He made his U. S. debut at AZ Instructs in September 2009 and showed some indication that he could be a five-tool player, but his career was sidetracked at Minor League Camp 2010 when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery. He has yet to play any RF in 2011, and his throws from LF are somewhat weak. He was tried at 1B occasionally in Minor League Camp but struggled there, so now he is most-often used as a DH, although he also does play LF.

Daytona Cubs catcher Luis Flores is now on an Active Rehab Assignment with the EXST Cubs, after suffering a concussion in Minor League Camp. Flores started behind the plate today and played five innings, getting two AB (5-3 and F-9).

Also, Iowa Cubs OF Brad Snyder (strained oblique) has completed his Rehab Assignment with the EXST Cubs and has rejoined the I-Cubs, and RHP Ty’Relle Harris completed his Arm Strengthening Program at Extended Spring Training and was moved up to AA Tennessee.

Here is today’s abridged box scores (Cubs players only):

LINEUP:
1a. Pin-Chieh Chen, 2B: 1-3 (F-7, E-1, 2B, R, CS)
1b. Vismeldy Bieneme, 2B: 0-1 (F-9)
2. Oliver Zapata, CF: 0-4 (K, F-9, 3-1, 4-6-3 DP)
3a. Wilson Contreras, 3B: 1-2 (1B, HBP, 5-3)
3b. Gregori Gonzalez, 3B: 0-1 (K)
4. Dong-Yub Kim, DH #1: 1-4 (6-4 FC, 1B, 5-3, 6-3, 2 RBI)
5a. Luis Flores, C: 0-2 (5-3, F-9)
5b. Yaniel Cabezas, C: 0-2 (6-3, P-3)
6a. Reggie Golden, RF: 0-2 (5-3, BB, F-7, PO)
6b. Jesus Morelli, RF: NO AB
7. Xavier Batista, DH #2: 1-3 (K, 5-3, 2B)
8a. Blair Springfield, LF: 1-3 (1B, F-7, 5-3, R)
8b. Eduardo Gonzalez, LF: NO AB
9. Wes Darvill, SS: 2-3, (1B, 6-3, 1B, R)
10. Dustin Geiger, 1B: 1-2 (F-9 SF, K, 1B, RBI)

PITCHERS:
1. Yao-Lin Wang: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 GIDP, 42 pitches (28 strikes), 3/1 GO/FO
2. Ben Wells: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 28 pitches (22 strikes), 3/0 GO/FO
3. Ryan Hartman: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP, 30 pitches (19 strikes), 2/4 GO/FO
4. Dustin Fitzgerald: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 40 pitches (23 strikes), 2/3 GO/FO

ERRORS: 2
1. 2B Pin-Chieh Chen E4 – fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely and runner to score unearned run
2. 2B Pin-Chieh Chen E4 – fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely and runner to score unearned run
NOTE: The two errors occurred on consecutive plays with two outs in the top of the 4th inning

ATTENDANCE: 9

WEATHER: Sunny & breezy with temperatures in the 80’s

 

Comments

#Cubs haven't decided on 5th starter for Tues. vs #Padres - Russell/Samardzija a possibility, along with Ortiz or Coello getting a call-up. from Patrick Mooney of CSN

Strikeouts are fun...

Baseball America has Brett Jackson on this weeks Prospect Hot Sheet http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2011/… Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .480/.563/.720 (12-for-25), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 6 BB, 6 SO, 4-for-5 SB The Scoop: Jackson's well-rounded skill set helps him do a bit of everything. The Cubs' No. 1 prospect has a solid swing, works the count and can drive the ball, while his plus speed is a weapon on the basepaths and in the outfield. He's been an on-base machine early for Tennessee, including a 3-for-3 showing with a walk to help chase Rays lefty Matt Moore from the game early on Wednesday. Baseball America Prospect chat: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2011/… Lorne (Toronto): Biggest suprise (Good and Bad) you've noticed this season, even though its still very early. Ben Badler: Starting with the bad, it would have to be Wimmers. Hopefully he can put things together, because everything we've heard from his first start was that he was all over the place, with more pitches going to the backstop than landing for strikes. JOSH VITTERS' start has been a pleasant surprise, and he's done it against some good arms. Joe Savery who we hit on in Blast From The Past this week, certainly wasn't a guy anyone here was expecting to be leading the minors in hitting right now. On the mound, I think Trevor Rosenthal with the Cardinals is opening some eyes with his fastball in Low-A and Keyvius Sampson is starting to show why the Padres liked him so much a couple years ago as well. And for crunch: eastin (Louisiana): Is Goldschmidt for real? He's killed the ball throughout his minor league career and had a very nice(though small sample size) spring training this year. Ben Badler: I saw him his first series at Carolina when he was on that tear, and there's some thing to like, but he's still going to have to shake the "mistake hitter" tag from scouts. He sets up wide, stays back well and he can drive the ball to all fields. No questions about the power. He struggled some though when pitchers elevated stuff up on him and they got him to chase some offspeed stuff out of the zone, so I think he's still going to have to prove he can make more contact against advanced pitchers. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B Diamondbacks Team: Double-A Mobile (Southern) Age: 23 Why He's Here: .381/.536/1.143 (8-for-21) 5 HR, 1 2B, 10 RBIs, 6 R, 7 BB, 4 SO The Scoop: In a September Prospect Hot Sheet last year we wrote that "Double-A will be the true test to see if Goldschmidt can sink or swim against advanced pitching in a more neutral environment." The early results are in, and they sure look good. Goldschmidt belted two home runs on Opening Day, then added two more in the opening series at Carolina before hitting his fifth of the year yesterday off Braves lefty Brett Oberholtzer to push his way into a tie for the minor league lead in home runs. Carolina pitchers seemed to want little to do with Goldschmidt, pitching around him and putting him on base via the walk rather than allow him to inflict more pain with the bat with his power to all fields. "He's just got a combination of strength and bat speed and being able to use his lower half, that's what I see with him," Mobile manager Turner Ward said. "Any guy who's got good power potential, they really use their lower half, and that's what he does—he really uses his lower half to get himself through the ball."

Az. Phil, how does Angel Guzman look? Is there any chance that he can make it back this season? Thanks.

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

Submitted by Hagsag on Sat, 04/16/2011 - 5:05am. Az. Phil, how does Angel Guzman look? Is there any chance that he can make it back this season? Thanks =========================================== HAGSAG: Right now Angel Guzman is throwing one inning (20 pitches) in a "sim game" at Fitch Park (where pitch counts can be controlled to an exact number) every 5th day, and he has his fastball velocity up to 92 MPH. Once he begins to throw more often and starts to mix in his breaking ball he could move up in a hurry. It's just a question of when that will be. So far he has had no medical setbacks. I would bet that Gooz will be pitching in Chicago by September (at the latest).

Three Cubs minor league pitchers released during Minor League Camp have found homes in Independent baseball leagues. RHP Steve Grife signed with Washington (PA) in the Frontier League, RHP Alessandro Maestri signed with Lincoln (NE) of the American Association, and LHP Scott Rice signed with York (PA) in the Atlantic League. A Rule 55 minor league free-agent (6YFA) post-2010, Rice was signed by the Cubs after spending 12 seasons in the minors, and he even got an NRI to Spring Training with the big club. He was released by the Cubs soon after he was assigned to Minor League Camp. Despite having been releaed by the Cubs and never pitching above AA, Alessandro Maestri probably has a very good chance to be a starting pitcher (perhaps even the #1 starter) with Team Italy in next year's World Baseball Classic, and getting regular work in indy ball will help him keep in pitching shape and stay visible. Maestri was a member of Team Italy in both 2006 and 2009, but he has a lot more experience now than he did then. A 26th round Cubs draft pick in 2009, Grife was released by the Cubs despite having a decent year working out of the Peoria bullpen in 2010. But 24-year old RH middle relievers have to keep moving upward or they disappear, and that's what happened with Grife. He was caught in a numbers game at Daytona and the Cubs apparently felt he was too old to repeat Peoria again, where he would have blocked younger arms with more upside.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s a fantastic deal for SF

  • 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?