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

Luis Mops the Flores at Fitch Park

Luis Flores drilled two doubles and scored two runs, leading one squad of EXST Cubs to a 3-0 shutout of the other squad of EXST Cubs in a six-inning Extended Spring Training intrasquad game played at Fitch Park Field #3 this morning.  

One of the better defensive catchers in the Cubs minor league system, Flores is on an injury rehab assignment at Fitch Park after suffering a conscussion at Minor League Camp last month, and he looks to be about ready to rejoin the Daytona Cubs whenever the Cubs decide to move him up. He certainly is a man among boys at Fitch Park.

Today’s intrasquad game featured the U. S. debut of five more Dominican pitchers who were called up to Fitch Park from the Cubs Dominican Academy in Boca Chica, including 20-year old 6’2 lanky LHP Willengton Cruz, 19-year old stocky RHP Rafael Diplan, 21-year old RHP Santo Rodriguez, 22-year old RHP Jean Sandoval, and 20-year old RHP Yilver Sanchez.

The five newbees join RHP Ramon Garcia, LHP Luis Villalba, and RHP Starling Peralta, INF Gregori Gonzalez, and OF Eduardo Gonzalez, who arrived last week, and catchers Johan DeJesus, Brian Inoa, and Hector Suarez who reported to Minor League Camp in March. Peralta, INF Gioskar Amaya, 3B-1B Wilson Contreras, SS Marco Hernandez, and OF Oliver Zapata are back at Fitch Park after making their U. S. debuts at AZ Instructs last year, while all of the others are making their U. S. debuts this year.

Peralta, W. Cruz, Y. Sanchez, Sandoval, and Villalba were the “Big 5” starting rotation for the Dominican Summer League Baseball City Division Champion DSL Cubs #1 last season (the 2010 DSL Cubs #1 had the best record of the 34 teams that play in the DSL, while DSL Cubs #2 AKA "Bad News Cubs" had the worst record), and of the five Dominican hurlers who threw today, W. Cruz really stood out. He has some nasty stuff.

Here is today’s abridged box score:

NOTE: Luis Flores was SQUAD “B” DH #1 and batted 1st in the bottom of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th innings

SQUAD “A” LINEUP:
1. Vismeldy Bieneme, DH #1: 0-2 (K, K)
2. Marco Hernandez, SS: 0-2 (K, P-1)
3. Wilson Contreras, 3B: 1-2 (P-4, 1B)
4. Dong-Yub Kim, 1B: 0-2 (1-3, 5-3)
5. Blair Springfield, LF: 0-1 (K, BB, PO)
6. Johan DeJesus, C: 1-2 (1B, F-8)
7. Oliver Zapata, CF: 0-2 (1-3, P-2)
8. Eduardo Gonzalez, RF: 1-2 (5-3, 1B)
9. Gregori Gonzalez, 2B: 0-2 (L-6, 6-4-3 DP)
10. Hector Suarez, DH #2: 0-1 (K)
11. Max Kwan, DH #3: 0-1 (F-9)

SQUAD “B” LINEUP:
X. Luis Flores, DH #1: 2-3 (2B, 2B, K, 2 R)
1. Kyung-Min Na, CF: 1-2 (1B, 4-3, CS)
2. Pin-Chieh Chen, 2B: 1-2 (1B, K, RBI)
3. Xavier Batista, LF: 0-1 (FC, BB, SB)
4. Reggie Golden, RF: 1-2 (1B, K, SB)
5. Jesus Morelli, DH #2: 0-2 (K, L-4)
6. Yaniel Cabezas, C: 0-2 (5-3, F-8)
7. Wes Darvill, SS: 0-1 (5-3 SH, F-8, RBI)
8. Dustin Harrington, 3B: 0-1 (5-3)
9. Dustin Geiger, 1B: 0-1 (L-7)

SQUAD “A” PITCHERS:
1. Santo Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 19 pitches (12 strikes), 1/0 GO/FO
2. Rafael Diplan: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 20 pitches (13 strikes), 4/1 GO/FO
3. Jean Sandoval: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 24 pitches (14 strikes), 0/3 GO/FO

SQUAD “B” PITCHERS:
1. Luis Liria: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 28 pitches (21 strikes), 3/2 GO/FO
2. Willengton Cruz: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 19 pitches (12 strikes), 0/2 GO/FO
3. Yilver Sanchez: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 GIDP, 1 PO, 22 pitches (13 strikes), 3/2 GO/FO

ERRORS: NONE

SQUAD “A” CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Johan DeJesus: 1-3 CS

ATTENDANCE: 5

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

 

Comments

Brian Schlitter has been returned to Cubs by commissioners office. Waiver claims voided because of past injury. no, you pay for his surgery and rehab.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 3:30pm. Brian Schlitter has been returned to Cubs by commissioners office. Waiver claims voided because of past injury. no, you pay for his surgery and rehab. ======================================= ROB G: But on the bright side, now the Cubs can use Schlitter's roster slot for a post-season roster exemption. I can see it now... Trey McNutt is added to the Cubs 2011 post-season roster, taking Sclitter's slot.... McNutt wins three games to help beat the Phillies (one of the two MLB clubs that claimed Schlitter off waivers) in the NLCS, and then wins two more games to beat the Yankees (the other MLB team that claimed Schlitter before the Phils got him) in the World Series. Now THAT would be justice. THAT would be righteous. THAT would be very unlikely.

Iowa: won 5-2 over Memphis. T. Diamond goes 6 IP, 7 K, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB J. Gaub seems to be pitching decent enough to this point, 2 IP, 3 K today, 2.16 ERA overall Smokies: Rusin pitching Daytona: Watkins 2B, Cerda 3B, Ha CF, Bour DH, Castillo CF, Burgess RF, Opitz 1B, Lake SS, Macias LF, RHP Struck vs RHP Pettibone Peoria: Szczur CF, Silva RF, Rohan 1B, Borges DH, Gibbs C, Fitzgerald LF, Alcantara SS, Soto 3B, LePage 2B, Simpson RHP followed by LHP Eric Jokisch

Hey Phil, I'd love to hear your take on two young prospects, one of whom I know you've already written about a number of times. I wonder what you think of Jae-Hoon Ha so far, what his potential seems to be and what he'll need to do to continue to advance and eventually see the majors. I also wonder what you think of Arismendy Alcantara, a very young shortstop prospect I don't remember reading much of anything about.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Submitted by Charlie on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 9:11pm. Hey Phil, I'd love to hear your take on two young prospects, one of whom I know you've already written about a number of times. I wonder what you think of Jae-Hoon Ha so far, what his potential seems to be and what he'll need to do to continue to advance and eventually see the majors. I also wonder what you think of Arismendy Alcantara, a very young shortstop prospect I don't remember reading much of anything about. ======================================================== CHARLIE: Arismendy Alcantara is an acrobatic and athletic shortstop with a plus-arm and plus-range. Although he has the versatility to play 2B and 3B, he is one of the few Cubs minor leaguers currently playing shortstop who actually projects to stay there. He also has above-average speed and above-average pop for a guy his size. Alcantara was DSL Cubs #1 MVP in 2009 at age 17, when he hit 283/315/402 with 11 doubles, eight triples, and three HR in 65 games. I saw him quite a bit this time last year at Extended Spring Training, when he hit 197/266/299 with two doubles, two triples, two HR, 6/5 SB/CS, and 9/20 BB/K in 37 games (137 PA). Although he struggled at the plate at EXST (mainly because he kept trying to hit HR), he was assigned to Boise and ended up hitting 275/349/415 as an 18-year old surrounded by a lot of college draft picks. He beat-out Elliot Soto and Wes Darvill for the Opening Day starting SS gig at Peoria with a strong 2011 Minor League Camp, but he has struggled so far with the Chiefs. Given his age (he turned 19 last October), he could end-up back at Boise once the short-season leagues begin play in June. As for Jae-Hoon Ha, he was the last cut the last week of Minor League Camp from the AA Tennessee Smokies roster. I had him at #11 on my post-2010 Cubs Top 15 Prospects list (with an automatic move up to #8 after the Garza trade), but after seeing him in Minor League Camp, I would now rate him at #5. Here is what I wrote about Jae-Hoon Ha last fall in my Top 15 Prospects post (and I wouldn't change anything): AZ PHIL: Ha was a catcher in HS, but was moved to the outfield after he signed with the Cubs in 2008 ($225K bonus). Then the Cubs moved him back to catcher at Instructs post-2009 and the experiment continued at Minor League Camp and Extended Spring Training (EXST) 2010, but it just didn’t work. Ha was moved back to OF and was promoted to Peoria at mid-season 2010 after hitting 350/376/575 at EXST. Moving from behind the plate to the outfield was like getting out of jail for Ha, as the Korean teenager hit 317/334/468 for the Chiefs while playing a stellar RF. He has a plus-arm and plus-bat speed with HR power, he has above-average speed and is a good base stealer, and (like Brett Jackson and Brandon Guyer) he plays an athletic outfield with absolutely no fear. He was moved to CF at Instructs post-2010 and made several outstanding catches as he displayed the range and defensive skills necessary to man the position. One area of concern with Ha is a tendency to double-clutch throws from the outfield (he had the same problem as a catcher), and the other is that he is a “hacker“ (a hyper-aggressive hitter who rarely walks). Ha will probably play CF at Daytona in 2011 and hit somewhere in the middle of the D-Cubs order.

The Nov. 20 game was such a financial and marketing success that Cubs and Northwestern officials have talked about putting an annual Wrigley Field game on the calendar, sources told the Tribune. But that won't happen until the Cubs renovate their ballpark. Once it secures funding, the team hopes to create space for a regulation 100-yard field by manipulating walls in at least one dugout area. The field could meet regulations if the Cubs knock down the wall by the third-base dugout and shift the field 10 feet to the west. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-0417-wrigley-northw…

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Read post #33. Also Hill won the Cashner start, which had nothing to do with Wells going down and Cashner's xFIP for the game was 4.18, so not only does he add 5 MPH's to catcher's fastballs (by calling more fastballs), he also helps the pitcher get the ball hit right at players. He's also made an error, allowed a 100% success rate by opposing base runners while slugging .125, so based on your own logic (post #30), he should be released or sent down.

Thanks PHIL as always. Can someone please remind me why Sammy Fuld, as a lefty, was not allowed to compete for a job against the likes of Reed "I'm Done" Johnson, and Fernando "Pinch Runner Only" Perez? Was him being "thrown in" to the Garza the key to the deal happening as Bruce Levine stated on his show (as Carl Crawford left)? I mean if Garza was a #1 I'd be ok with it. But 5 guys, most of whom will be major leaguers to varying degrees, plus one potential impact pitcher? Who is this Jim Hendry guy anyway?

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I agree that Garza has ace-like stuff at times. But I don't think his production over his career made him almost ace quality...if he had the same production and was 31, he wouldn't be nearly as valuable. Garza's value, IMO, is based on a projection of future ace performance, based on his stuff and his development over the last few years. I do agree with you that this is a good trade for a team that was a good starting pitcher away from being a WS contender. Unfortunately, the trade was made by the Cubs. One update on my dislike for the trade: Other than Fuld, nobody is performing overly well. Guyer has fallen from a good start to .267/.327/.422 in avg/obp/slg with 14 K in 45 AB. Chirinos is 4 for 35 with 10 K. Archer is 0-1 with a 4.15, with 11 hits and 6 BB (and 7 K) in 8.2 ip. Lee is doing well, but he has only played in 2 games (3 for 7, with a BB, K, and SB). At least with respect to Guyer and Chirinos, it is possible that Hendry traded them at the height of their value. Of course, it is April 19th, so judging any stats right now as long term projections is rather short-sighted.

[ ]

In reply to by springs

Yeah, you are probably right about that. Still, I would say, despite being 0-2 6.27, that Garza has probably been the Cubs best starter- right up there with Z -so far this season. Why? Because: Exhibit A: 25 strikeouts in just under 19 IP Exhibit B: .474 When opposing batters aren't striking out against him, they are hitting .474 BABIP... which is just ridiculous. Higher than even Starlin Castro's or Sam Fuld's BABIP this year. So, I don't mean to bicker senselessly about the degree to which Garza does not suck, but I do think it's fair to say Garza has 'looked good' this year the way he is spotting his fastballs & sliders and it's fair to say opposing batters might have been really lucky so far.

fwiw, Fuld was on XM this morning and the GM there told him (and very well could have been blowing smoke up his ass) that he had been trying to acquire him for awhile. Fuld - unlike Theriot for example - had nothing but good things to say about the Cubs organization, but is obviously happy that he's somewhere that he can get some playing time.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Mike Wellman has been hawking Fuld's wares for a while, and should be the least surprised of any of us to see Fuld succeeding somewhere else. Here are a couple of examples from MW's posts last season. The first is from a 6/25 piece entitled "The I [for Invisible] Cub."
Maybe Jim Hendry just came to Des Moines to escape the heat of the Chicago media. Maybe he dropped in to chat behind closed doors with the trim and ambitious Ryne Sandberg, though if/when Chicago comes calling Ryno back, the call probably won't come in the person of Hendry. In any case, big Jim's reason for being here almost certainly isn't to get a closer look at Sam Fuld, the scrappy leadoff hitter and center fielder. Hendry's mind is made up about Fuld, I imagine, which is tough luck for Sam. He'd run into, if not through, a brick wall for the chance to stick in the big leagues. The problem is he's about the same height as Hack Wilson [listed at 5' 10" which means Eddie Gaedel wasn't a dwarf after all] without the pipes and the power. Two nights ago he ended consecutive innings by throwing a tagging runner out at the plate and making a circus catch. Both times he trotted in to standing ovations. Last night he went 4-4. Did you see that, Jim? Plus he's smart. The guy holds an economics degree from Stanford. Maybe he could help the front office out with some payroll reduction strategies and cost-benefit analyses. I want there to be a spot for players like Fuld. He plays at full tilt, like a winner. He's Fukudome without the bloated contract and personal hitting coach in many respects, except that he would have been hustling on the bobbled grounder that Kosuke trotted out yesterday. Any team can use what Fuld supplies. Especially the one that flew over Des Moines on its way from Seattle to Chicago last night.
This one is dated 7/22:
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you watch Sam Fuld on a regular basis you'd want him on your side. Tuesday night he had two doubles in game one of a twinbill. In game two he homered before making spectacular catches for the first and third outs in the 7th and last inning to nail down the I-Cubs' sweep. His sidekick is Darwin Barney who is very near the PCL lead in both hits and at-bats and has nudged his BA just north of .300 again. Fuld is the much faster of the pair. The other night Barney stole 2nd when he, or Sandberg, picked a good off-speed pitch to run on, and got up and kept right on going to 3rd before another pitch was thrown when he noticed the 3rd baseman was playing back and the pitcher wasn't paying him any attention whatsoever. But then he was thrown out at home after tagging up on a fly ball to fairly deep CF. He wasn't dogging it and I can't believe he was winded after his dashes around the middle bases. I know they both project as bench players but a good bench is a good thing. My guess is that both of them are Sandberg's type of player and would have a spot on a roster he put together in Chicago next year...
I just thought the timing was odd. The Cubs keep Fuld for six years until he's 29, and then when they've let Nady go to open up a roster spot for an outfielder, and when they need a leadoff hitter, that's when they let him go. In the Cubs' defense, they were counting on Brett Jackson, and, shorter term, Perez (not so defensible).

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.