Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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

I Predict...

Submitted by Dr. Joseph Hecht on

Swami Murph will predict tomorrow that Todd Wellemeyer will retire!

OK, so it's just a tired old radio bit. Still, like a bad penny (I said BAD not Brad), Former 1969 Left field Bleacher Bums  mad Bugler (maybe it was a Coronet?),  Mike Murphy has returned to the Chicago airwaves on Sundays at 9AM. He's got a new gig with his old sidekick, Fred Huebner, on ESPN - 1000 (listen live link). ESPN has more WSCR refugees than the Orioles have ex-Cubs...although not by much (Orioles lineup today featured Jake Fox, Felix Pie, Ceasar Izturis, Kevin Gregg and DLee, not to mention almost Cub Brian Roberts).

Murph will host a regular show every Sunday from 9-1, bringing his 20 plus years of radio presence, dating back to the WLS "Fan Talk" days ("just fans talking to fans"). "Never been in a locker room Murph", he was never was afraid to read the tough questions from his yellow pad to Cub GM Jim Hendry or replay some of the great play-by-play calls from Jack Brickhouse or reminisce about his playing prowess in 16-inch softball with Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.

...more after the jump

Murphy was embroiled in a legal despute with CBS and WSCR over a restrictive covenant issue. He has been off the air since June 2009 when his show was replaced by Dan McNeil. To me it was WSCR's final and not so subtle attempt to remove the featured hosts that were Cub fans. Although remaining host, Brian Hanley is a Cub fan, it's not like he wears his Cubness on display. Hanley usually expresses his embarrassment at being a Cub fan which suits WSCR (aka wsux) just  fine.  The catch was that Murphy wasn't fired and was still under contract with CBS Radio thru May 2010 (and apparently he kept getting paid till then). After the contract expired he filed  a class action suit vs CBS radio  which owns WSCR because the contract claimed to block local radio employment vs competitors for 6 months after contract expiration (and 3 months before expiration). The suit has yet to be resolved and as it's a class action suit, I presume there are other CBS radio personnel that were put in employment limbo with similar contracts that date back as far as Jan 2002.

Even though Murph's bits get repetitive and his theories (I like your "angle" sez Murph) are usually off the deep end, I admit I missed his Cub loving presence on Chicago radio. Since Ron Santo is gone, nobody on radio leaves his Cub emotions on his sleeve like Murph.

I'm sure many of the radio bits will be back. I do Hope Reverend Watkins is back too..."The Cubs don't have to be getting better, the other teams just have to get worse". Project .500 couldn't get a better motto.

P.S. Murph... Don't tell anyone this but I was secretly predicting you were going to be Pat Hughes sidekick. I can smell Swami Murph and Swami Fred now {{dons noseplugs}}

Tags
Mike Murphy

Comments

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 05/07/2011 - 05:44 pm

per E-man: CUBSTER: He has been on for two weeks now, IIRC. I listened to him last week. Its just like "old days" though. Good Sunday baseball talk show. --- Miss a little, miss a lot.

Submitted by QuietMan on Sat, 05/07/2011 - 05:14 pm

If the kool-aid is a little too sweet (or sour) on Murph's show... Barry Rozner and Matt Spiegel do a nice baseball show Sunday mornings over at WSCR.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Sat, 05/07/2011 - 05:51 pm

I agree QM. Jessie Rogers, a former co-host of the show is an idiot and infamous for asking the Cubs former reliever Antonio Alfonseca about his six-finger hands, "So, how did you get those? Were you born with them, or what?" Last week, the same moron when talking about the Atlanta Hawks fans quipped, "I don't know about the Hawks fans there, if they are interested or not. I have no idea if they have had a playoff game there before..." Guess he never heard of Dominique Wilkens. This is someone getting PAID at a sports talk radio station in America's #3 market!

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Submitted by The E-Man on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:04 pm

He has only had that gig for one or two years after jumping to WMVP from WSCR. He touts himself as a "Chicago Guy", and as a sports talk show host, to not know that in fact the Bulls crushed HOF's 'Nique's Hawks Playoff team is pretty bad. Its not like he is a 25 year old new on the scene. Not only did they lose to the Bulls in '93 and '97 (Jordan years), Wilkins is a TV analyst for the Hawks. Rogers is in the "media business". He is an idiot and I scratch my head every time he is on the air wondering how he got the job. In thinking about it now, I think it was Mike North. Another imbecile.

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Submitted by Paul Noce on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:44 pm

I was never a Mike North fan. Guys who blow their own horn have always pissed me off, hence, I dislike North, Coppock, etc. Murphy might be a goofball but he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously. I can see people not liking him, but I can't see anyone hating him. He's like a fly, sometimes annoying but basically harmless. Speaking of Chet Coppock, Garry Meier, who is on WGN now, told a funny story a while back about how when he was at The LOOP and Coppock would come on after Meier (and Dahl), one day Meier and Dahl screwed with Coppock's microphone, I think they said they rigged it to the light came on like it was on the air, but it wasn't. So Coppock started his show, talking into the mic for several mins, and nothing was heard. They had to go to a commercial, figured out what was wrong, and Coppock started the show again, repeating everything he had said word-for-word, because, as Meier said, he scripted most of his show.

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Submitted by Paul Noce on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:23 pm

I'm already shocked the Giants haven't added a real shortstop to the roster, even if it's just one of the many good gloves on AAA rosters who barely hit.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 05/07/2011 - 05:49 pm

watching the sf/col game..."i wonder what ben petrick is up to" (former COL catcher) popped into my mind. last i heard he retired years ago after being diagnosed with parkinson's disease. i was wonder how he's doing, etc... it turns out it was a misdiagnosis and he actually has lyme disease. what's even freakier is he's about to be on a PBS documentary about lyme disease. http://www.underourskin.com/tv i guess it's better than parkinson's, but that's a hell of a swerve on diagnosis.

Submitted by Confucius Jackson on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:30 am

I don't think that WSCR got rid of him because he was a Cub fan. More likely that he happened to be a Cub fan who was also unfortunately a whiney moronic twit who drove listeners like me away. BTW, who's wife did Coppock sleep with (alriiiight, everybody) such that a washed up has been like Murph gets a show before him? I mean, Coppock is washed up too, but once upon a time he did have something approximating talent.

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Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:40 am

No shit. I still can't hear the name McPhail without also hearing the clown noises in my head. Murph had his moments, like when he was asking Hendry if it would be a good idea to 'back up the truck' and they got into a heated exchange. I think this is about when Murph stopped getting good interviews. There is a delicate nuance to journalistic probing and Murph just doesn't have it.

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Submitted by QuietMan on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:21 pm

Coppock did Talkin' Baseball with Bruce Levine about two years ago or so. Couldn't stand him so I understand why espn radio got rid of him. I thought Coppock and North were doing the internet radio/telecast thing that went bankrupt after that.

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Submitted by Paul Noce on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:22 pm

Yeah, I think they both were with that company, and the owner had some financial issues and they were raided by the IRS or FBI, if I recall the story correctly. Last I heard, North had popped up on Comcast Sports Net in the mornings, and I think has moved to CBS. Dan Jiggets is/was with him. That might have been before the internet radio thing, I'm not sure.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:26 am

Coello has been starting and improving gradually. Yesterday he pitched a beaut--8 innings, no runs, 4 hits, no walks, 7 strikeouts. He looks like the only pitcher at Iowa who wants that fifth-starter gig, and he may give Doug Davis an argument. I-Cubs won Coello's game 1-0 in the 10th on a home run by Brad Snyder. All five Cub teams, from Peoria up, won yesterday.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 05/08/2011 - 05:29 pm

great outing by dumpster...crappy one for the bats. 2 runs given up by dumpster. he was taken out of the game for a bat in the bottom 7th. 81 pitches, 7ip 5h 0bb 3k...2er

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Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:48 am

Nice. Ninja gets dogged a lot when he does poorly, but nobody has really said anything (until now) about his recent work. He's been doing a helluva job. Understandably, it will probably take some time for him to build up some fan confidence. The Ninja jersey's probably aren't yet flying off the shelves.

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:53 am

all i see out of ninja is a guy that shows up in shape to play, works, doesn't bitch, and doesn't seem to have "baggage." he's just overpaid and not very good. his lack of upper level development is unfortunate, but it doesn't seem to be a result of laziness or lack of focus.

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Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:07 pm

He's obviously been pitching better, but his xFIP is still essentially 5. No HR's allowed and a BABIP of .182 aren't sustainable trends. I haven't seen any of the games where he's done well, but his problem has been that he didn't have a swing an miss pitch and poor control. He is getting some strikeouts lately, so I have to wonder if something is changed, or if it's just a case of a blind squirrel.

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Submitted by Charlie on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:43 pm

When they called him up in 2008, his K pitch was an unpredictable splitter. The problem with that was that he had absolutely no control of it, and that showed in 2009 and 2010.

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Submitted by navigator on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:01 pm

Well, I was just looking at his 2008 appearances this morning and if Gameday can be believed, he wasn't throwing splitfingers in 2008. He was relying on his four seamer almost exclusively by the end of the year and hitting 97-98 on the gun. He added a cutter last year and this. And, maybe as a result of that, his fastball has lost 2-3 MPH. But in his last appearance they have him mixing a 4 seam 93 MPH fastball, cutter, slider and changeup and doing it effectively. Has anyone? mentioned that back in 2008 Samardzija was used as a bridge between the SP and the tandem of Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood and now that Wood is back he's been recast in the same role. Maybe Wood (who also is using a cutter more often) has something to do with his success this year. I wish our braindead media would ask him.

Submitted by Tito on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:23 am

Murph was one reason (the other being Mike North) that I couldn't stand listening to the Score for years. Now I'd much rather listen to Spiegel and Rozner (despite him constantly interrupting Spiegel) than dealing with Murph.

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Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:43 am

The score is almost always respectful of their Cub listeners. I like listening to them. The afternoon show... the 'by cracky' thing is decidedly annoying, however.

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Submitted by Jumbo on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:11 pm

Boers and Bernstein used to bug the fuck out of me - similar to Bob and Tom who always seem to be laughing - but they're generally better than Mac/Carmen,Jurko & Harry. I find myself laughing while listening to them, so I guess they're growing on me. Kinda like tallest midget to be the best afternoon show

Submitted by Paul Noce on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:41 pm

Milton Bradley DFA'd. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/05/mariners-designate-milton-bradley… MLBTR also says Rosenthal thinks the Cubs are in position to be contenders the next couple of years and should extend Hendry. I think they should extend Hendry a plank to walk into Lake Michigan with. This is not going to be a contending team the next couple of years unless they do something insane like sign Pujols or Fielder, AND add additional very good players beyond that, and have some kids develop fast and contribute.

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Submitted by Paul Noce on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:13 pm

Hmm. This offseason we lose ARam, Pena, Fukudome, Wood. Dempster will most certainly exercise his option because he's not likely to get $14 mil on the open market. So we need a 1b, 3b, possibly a RF if they haven't let Colvin or Jackson get some regular AB's by the end of this year, plus we need to either resign Wood or replace him. I don't see any in house candidate ready to be a rh late inning rp. Regardless, even if they sign Fielder or Pujols, they still need to plug someone in at 3b who can drive in runs, and the free agent market doesn't exist, other than ARam. Whoever replaces ARam is most certainly going to drop off in run production, perhaps a big dropoff. We still have old players in LF, CF, a huge question mark at 2b, and fun but inconsistent SS play. Oh, and a good hitting catcher who is stuck batting 8th. Not to mention no starting pitching depth. I'm not seeing this team compete for the division.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:27 pm

you mean .700 OPS Ramirez? (.745 last year) yeah, how will they ever find that replacement? Not to sound too VA Phil, but I think Marquez Smith could do that now.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:14 pm

Did someone ring? Smith is one possibility, though he's off to a slow start (again?) at Iowa. He looked great in a few at bats in ST but I can't say I ever saw him hit a ball to center or right. He may have a pull-ish tendency that doesn't play in the majors, especially for a small guy. Tennessee has Vitters at third plus two other guys, Flaherty and LeMahieu, who play third occasionally. Of the three, LeMahieu hits consistently. LeMahieu leads that team in doubles, by the way. Wait and see if Vitters can get himself straightened out this season. I'm not making predictions, but I'm hopeful.

Submitted by The E-Man on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:19 pm

Quade recently stated how he was struggling w/PT for Colvin. Wondering who is the next AA or AAA lefty in line to take his place if /when he gets sent down? Jackson?

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Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:21 pm

Well, they're not going to send Colvin down and call up Jackson, who would have the same problem Colvin does. More likely one of the AAA retreads or Aducci.

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:18 pm

I-Cubs, no thanks, but I'd gladly watch the Smokies or the D-Cubs over the Cubs. In fact, I drove a long way to see Tennessee play recently.

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Submitted by Eric S on Mon, 05/09/2011 - 05:13 pm

Hits from the correct side of the plate too, yes? Sign him up - i think the bleacherites would appreciate his passion for the game and he'd keep the locker room motivated.

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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