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 Range of Scales & Other Things

team logoAnd we thought his range was limited! Sayonara, Bobby, and thanks for the memories.

Again yesterday the Iowa Cubs had a worthy replacement for recently departed fan favorite Bobby Scales in the person of Darwin Barney. Barney, braced for impact by the contraption adorning his injured knee, logged six more full-tilt innings and pronounced himself ready to return to Chicago. He leaves behind a sizzling team that’s now won seven straight. I suppose trappings await to offset the change in barometric pressure he’ll notice as he segues from one clubhouse to the other.

Not far behind him on the road to full recovery will be Marlon Byrd who walked, doubled, homered and made a terrific gap-plugging, running catch that should have resulted in a double play except the first baseman at the other end, Tyler Colvin, failed to catch an accurate relay. No matter, the I-Cubs still advanced to 2-0 when Colvin mans that post.

The Iowa lineup started Byrd, Barney, Colvin. Apparently one of the perks that traveled with the first two to Des Moines was the prerogative to wear their pant legs at their shoetops, pajama style. Colvin, here rehabbing a swing and a psyche instead of a body part, tucks his just beneath the kneecaps like all the Cub farmhands do. Is that how he sees himself or how he is seen?

Barney intrigues me. After reaching on a fielder’s choice in his first at-bat he was doubled off on Colvin’s liner to short despite that he wouldn’t have advanced past 2nd even had the ball landed safely. So where was he off to in such a hurry? In less than three full innings his uniform was clay-caked from multiple dives and slides and as he stood on 3rd awaiting deliverance home he looked down and realized that his blouse had come untucked, something he quickly corrected before trotting home with one of the 10 runs the I-Cubs put up in support of Casey Coleman. No one would accuse Barney of mailing in his rehab assignment, but not all of his instincts are as endearing as his obvious zest for ballplaying.

Speaking of Coleman, he was efficient if not dazzling throughout his seven inning stint. Of his 86 pitches 62 were strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 22 of the 28 hitters he faced. I am also glad to report that his only walk came in his last inning of work and that he turned in two fine defensive plays off the mound, once starting a slick 1-6-3 DP and later rounding out a 3-4-1 that caromed from the chest of Colvin to the gloves of first Barney, then the hustling pitcher.

The shortstop yesterday was Marwin Gonzalez, recently promoted from Tennessee where he was hitting .301. Besides looking fluid defensively he stroked three hits and may bear closer inspection.

Colvin could use more work at 1st. Besides the bobbled relay and the ball he ricocheted to Barney he also short-stretched a slightly elevated pivot throw from Barney that cost Coleman an inning-ending DP. I did see him make a fine running catch in the right field corner Friday night as an outfielder and his bat is warming in concert with the weather. His 32 hits have amounted to 65 total bases, 19 of them being more than mere singles.

The other name that bears mentioning here is Scott Maine. Each of his last two outings have lasted three innings and both of them merit adjectives like dominant and overpowering. Combined they have totaled but two hits allowed against 13 strikeouts. I mean, he may be no John Grabow, but – yeah…

Comments

Fukudome RF, Barney 2B, Castro SS, Peña 1B, DeWitt 3B, Soriano LF, Johnson CF, Soto C, Dempster P vs. Lincecum

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

Submitted by Hagsag on Wed, 06/29/2011 - 3:53pm. According to BA the Cubs have signed Taiwan Easterling and Arturo Maltos-Garcia. ===================================== HAGSAG: Because he is a two-sport athlete (he also plays college football at Florida State), the Cubs could give OF Taiwan Easterling a bonus spread over five years. That would allow the bonus to be "over-slot" without having to run into the face of the Commissioner's edict. Also, RHP Arturo Maltos-Garcia (Lamar CC) supposedly had TJS last month, so he probably won't be making his pro debut until sometime late next year or maybe even in 2013.

Muskat says Byrd likely to be back Monday, Lopez the favorite to take Davis spot on Sunday. The "top" Cubs scouts now in town to meet with Hendry to presumably discuss potential trades. also Wood threw live BP, could do rehab this weekend

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 06/29/2011 - 3:56pm. Muskat says Byrd likely to be back Monday, Lopez the favorite to take Davis spot on Sunday. ============================================= ROB G: The Cubs will need a 5th starter only three times between now and July 30th, so at least Rodrigo Lopez probably won't get much of an opportunity to lose too many games between now and then, and that's presuming he doesn't get released at the All-Star Break (which could very well happen).

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/5937 "I read some things that people assume," Jim said. "They use the word 'fire sale.' That's not going to happen. We're not interested in trading people at all that will be valuable to us moving forward. People like to float names of your better players, which makes no sense to trade. If we make moves, it will be designed to make us better for the future, and we still want see how we play the next month or so. Everybody thinks there's this big, automatic, 'You have to be a buyer or a seller or it's fire-sale time.' Well, we've got a lot of young people out there pitching and playing or some people who will be very productive for us a year from now that when you get ready to put together a team in the off-season, you certainly don't want to start out without them anyhow...We're certainly going to hold on to the people, no matter what, we feel will be major contributors down the road."

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In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Most of those teams don't have the need, and I have to disagree a bit on his value. There was some murmurs from Boston that they were considering not offering Paplebon arbitration this year. GM's have pretty much figured out that closers aren't all that valuable. Maybe one four star prospect and a reliever. Alonso may fit that bill. But the Cubs are not going to re-build, so they're not going to trade Marmol or Soto, unless they're really convinced that he's now a .230 hitter.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

GM's have pretty much figured out that closers aren't all that valuable. I am not sure that rumors about Boston making a decision is indicative of what all GMs think. And those rumors turned out to not be true, and they are paying him $12M. Boston also has a closer in waiting in Bard, and the same rumors also seemed to indicate that there were questions about whether Papelbon would continue to be effective. I also don't see the Cubs trading Marmol, Soto, or Marshall. And I don't think that they should. But I do think that there would a ton of interest in Marmol, and he would probably bring back a very good package of prospects.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

I can't remember the last time a single big time prospect was traded for a reliever, nevertheless a package of them. When is the last time one of the top closers in baseball got traded at the deadline? Soriano's problems finding a contract are a pretty good indication of what the all the GM's think of "closers". Or they were an indication that most/all of the big market teams were not looking for a closer.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

You didn't answer my question. When is the last time a closer at Marmol's level got traded at the deadline? So who is this mystery team that is going to give us this great package of prospects for Marmol? I already said that I don't think that Marmol gets traded, so this conversation is pretty silly. But I still think that if were to be made available, he would be very valuable. Who needs a closer? The Cardinals for sure. Maybe Cleveland. Maybe the White Sox. Maybe the Angels. Maybe the Reds. Maybe the Diamonbacks. Maybe the Mariners. Hell - if Texas is really interested in moving Felix to the rotation, they could be interested. There are several teams that could be in a race that would like to upgrade the back of their bullpen. But again, I don't think Marmol gets traded, so its a moot point.

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In reply to by big_lowitzki

There were only two current closers who were traded after they were established. Lidge , "Traded by the Houston Astros with Eric Bruntlett to the Philadelphia Phillies for Mike Costanzo (minors), Michael Bourn and Geoff Geary" and Houston Street who came in the Holiday rental package. Lee Smith was traded once for Tom Brunansky and once for Rich Batchelor. Closers don't bring packages of prospects.

lineup...more like a lameup... K. Fukudome rf D. Barney 2b S. Castro ss C. Pena 1b B. DeWitt 3b A. Soriano lf R. Johnson cf G. Soto c i didn't think anyone could be more erratic and stupid with their lineups than lou.

78 pitches of 8 inning, 2 hit, awesome dumpster... leadoff double in the 9th...only one run of support for dumpster in an 0-1 game sigh

The Real Neal: ...I guess the real question is: What would Hendry have to do to be fired? Outside of something illegal, like harrassment or making death threats, I can't really figure it out...
I believe Hendry is as good as gone- a lame duck, as Wrongway puts it. I also think Hendry will be given the chance to resign to save some face. This coming meeting of the scouts probably has less to do with trade deadline strategy and more to do with Hendry telling his guys to spiffy up their resumes. This is the end of the Hendry era.

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In reply to by jacos

Agreed, but they folded like a tent down the stretch. Not to mention the firing of the broadcast team, and the leaked Sosa tape. You think a Boston or New York GM 100% survives that? It's been excuses city since then. Injuries, Micheal Barret, not enough speed, not enough lefty hitting or pitching, lack of a lefty BP thrower, etc. Really that was the saddest part of Ricketts blaming 2011 on injuries? 18 months here has turned him into an excuse man too.

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In reply to by Ryno

Maybe he meant relatively young...Soriano is young when compared to, say, Ernie Banks. :) You are exactly right, though -- this is just an excuse. Dempster isn't young and the innings pitched makes Z older than his age. Ramirez isn't young, Soriano isn't young, Fukudome isn't young...yes, we have Soto and Castro and Marmol. And minor leaguers like Campana and Lemahieu. But our key players, for the most part, are either at their prime or past it. The Cubs aren't a bunch of young kids...if we were, taking our lumps would be fine. Instead, we are old and bad.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/13031/the-trade-dilemma "Put all of that together, and you can see why the trade deadline gets built up as a big deal, but increasingly yields a paltry payoff to the sellers. Between teams loving their own prospects -- and the value of multiple years of contractual control of those prospects -- and the mediocre veterans available in trade, the "prospects or picks" choice ends up being an increasingly rare decision. It isn't all that unusual for teams looking move players to wind up with neither when trading a veteran on short time before free agency."

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In reply to by The E-Man

Mysteries that aren't: Castro bats third because he's the best Cub hitter. Ask around the league if you don't believe me. Z bats 9th because, while it would be fun for him to hit 5th or 6th and he could probably handle it, a position player would have to bat 9th in his place and would be insulted. The manager has to treat everybody like a professional. Soriano hit leadoff because they paid $18 million/year for a 40-40 player. (He only did 40-40 once, but he came very close two other times when he topped 80 in HRs+SBs.) The minute you admit to yourself and to other teams that Soriano's legs are shot, he loses half his value and more than half of his value-add compared to other slugging LF-DH's.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

Castro's BABIP: Batting 3rd = .263 All Others = .415 FB/GB/LD %'s: Batting 3rd = 30% - 57% - 13% All Others = 26% - 49% - 25% Expected BABIP: Batting 3rd = .250 All Others = .370 Hitting 3rd, Castro has hit 4% more fly balls and 8% more ground balls, at the loss of 12% fewer line drives. That accounts for some of his loss in BABIP when batting third, which accounts for some of his loss of average. But you can also see that the 25% line drive rate he has batting elsewhere is probably not sustainable. League average is 18%. And even with that insanely high LD% his expected BABIP when batting in other slots is still only .370; and Castro's actual BABIP was .415! So he has been a poor hitter this year hitting 3rd, with a low line drive rate, largely because he has been hitting more ground balls. So perhaps some of this is due to a different approach. But it's really impossible to know. And batting elsewhere Castro has been unsustainably good and also extremely lucky on top of that. Looking at the gamelogs, the most likely explanation for the difference in his performance by batting order position is simply timing. Castro starts the season hitting leadoff and gets hot--abnormally hot with lots of luck--and is hitting .408 on April 18th. The next day Quade moves him to 3rd in the order. He was due to cool down, and he does over the next couple of weeks, while hitting 3rd a lot. He then hits .358 over the next 2+ weeks hitting mostly THIRD. He had NO problem hitting third in early to mid-May. But he then hits .250 for 2 weeks hitting almost exclusively 3rd in the order. He has then hit .355 for the last 2 weeks of June hitting mostly 2nd, with a couple games hitting 3rd. He's a very streaky hitter, and those streaks have fall oddly along his batting order positions this season so far, that's probably it. The sample size is too small so far to draw anything meaningful from it. A bad 2-weeks stretch batting in a particular position can throw it all out of whack. But perhaps it's something to keep an eye on over the next couple of years. If he consistently gets hot and cold in particular batting slots, then we might say that something more is going on there with his approach. But right now, there's just not enough to go on.

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In reply to by WISCGRAD

You ignored the issues of his K rates going up and his HR rate being 0 when batting third. One K per 7.5 PA's batting 3rd, one per about 12 in other places. It could be vagaries of sample size, but it sure looks like he is expanding his zone and swinging harder in that three slot. That also jives with the batted ball data, since "sluggers" tend to hit more fly balls and be more succeptible to doing what the pitchers wants them to do, i.e. pull grounders to short.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

His HR rate is 0 batting 3rd? LOL. You ignored the issue of him having TWO homeruns. He has 157 at-bats hitting 3rd, and 184 hitting elsewhere. It is statistically meaningless that he has hit both when not hitting 3rd--which is nearly 55% of his total ABs. And you know this, so I don't even know why you would try to argue that. And you can find a dozen other stats like K-rates to show what I have already shown, he has hit much worse in the 3-hole. But no stats will somehow increase the sample size. We simply can't tell anything yet, and you know this too. You are the one constantly preaching sample size on here (when convenient). This discussion is done, at least for my part.

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In reply to by Ryno

Not sure what this means, though I'm guessing it's some kind of slam. I was really just asking a question. People seemed to be implying that Castro's poor perfomance batting third is based solely on that, and if he'd continued in a spot other than third, he'd never have gone through a slump. I was just wondering if he was in the third slot for an extended period, which is what it seemed like to me. Obviously, I could be wrong.

The Cubs have signed 23-year old 6'8 FA RHP Dan Berlind and assigned him to Peoria. The Cubs drafted Berlind out of Calabasas HS in the 44th round of the 2006 Rule 4 Draft (June Draft), but he was considered a tough sign (he had signed an NLI with Cal Poly) and so he didn't sign with the Cubs that summer (which is why he fell to the 44th round). But then he changed his mind about going to a four-year school, and opted to attend Pierce JC instead of Cal Poly, making him eligible for the 2007 June Draft, and also making him a prime "Draft & Follow" (DNF) guy for the Cubs in 2007 while he was attending Pierce. (Prior to the 2007 draft, MLB clubs retained the rights to a drafted player until one week prior to the next June draft, as long as the player was eligible for selection in the next draft). I remember hearing his name at Fitch Park back in April-May 2007 as a pitcher the Cubs were hoping to sign before the old DNF deadline (one week before the next year's Rule 4 Draft), but they couldn't come to an agreement (Berlind was Pitcher of the Year in his JC conference). He had a good repertoire of pitches at the time (92 MPH sinker, hard slider, and a change-up). The Cubs did spend about $325K to sign three other DNFs before the 2007 June Draft (Marcus Hatley, Jordan Latham, and Jovan Rosa), but they couldn't get Berlind. As it turned out, Berlind got selected in the 7th round of the 2007 draft by the Minnesota Twins and signed for $80,000 (while J. Rosa signed for $180K and Latham got $100K as DNFs), but stalled out in "A" ball, and then was released by the Twins at the end of Minor League Camp 2010. He pitched (poorly) for Sussex in the CanAm League (indy ball) last year, and was released by Worcester (CanAm) this past April. Because he has been previously released by an MLB organization, Berlind is eligible to be a Rule 55 minor league FA after every season, but a club can (if the player agrees) sign a previously-released Rule 55 minor league FA to a multi-year minor league contract for as many seasons as the player has left before he would otherwise have been a 6YFA (which the player reaches after he has spent all or parts of seven separate seasons on a minor league Active List and/or DL). So because Berlind spent three seasons (2007-09) on minor league rosters in the Twins organization, the Cubs could have signed Berlind to a minor league contract covering either one season (2011), two seasons (2011-12), three seasons (2011-13), or four seasons (2011-14).

it's been a great yet crappy game...be nice to turn it great with a bottom 9th win...or a tie...something...keep it going or end it nice.

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In reply to by The Real Neal

Good teams and bad teams both go through good streaks and bad streaks. Good teams have so-so bad streaks and really rake in the good streaks. Bad teams look like dirt in a bad streak and only so-so in a good streak. Cubs fall under the latter category. Sure, it's a crappy division... but c'mon. This team is going nowhere. I'm just being a negative nelly, I know, but I don't want anyone getting their hopes up. :)

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In reply to by Ryno

Exactly...when a team is bad, they should rebuild. If rebuilding means shedding contracts and receiving non-major league prospects, fine -- it provides an opening for other prospects in the system to see how they perform at major league level. If rebuilding means getting any prospect who performs at the majors, great! Either way, the veterans aren't making you a contender, so if you are planning for the future, it will often be beneficial to trade vets for youth and some extra cash.

late to the closer party discussion... deadline trades I can think of... Jeff Shaw to Dodgers for Konerko/Reyes, of course Dodgers thought Konerko was a failed prospect at age 22. Matt Capps last year, got the Nats Joe Testa and Wilson Ramos Testa has nice numbers: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=testa-001joe Ramos was a pretty big prospect I believe. Jon Rauch from Nats to DBacks in 2008 although he got demoted from the closer roler with the tradde. DBacks got Emilio Bonificio in the deal. Wood last year to Yanks, once again demoted after the trade, but got Matt Cusick and Andrew Shive, whom I assume are nobodies. Dotel in 2004 was part of the 3-team deal that sent Beltran to Astros, prospects to Royals. Francisco Cordero in 2006 traded to Brewers along with Nix, Mench, some minor leaguer for Carlos Lee and Nelson Cruz. Gagne in 2007 to Red Sox from Rangers for K. Gabbard, David Murphy and E. Beltre personally I think Marmol is too expensive a reliever at this point for the Cubs to get something of value back.

Marmol can bring back a chip (and probably should be used in such a way). Soto is the bigger get and should be shopped. He can command a strong package of young talent. This organization has never properly valued him imo. Time to cut ties and assist in the rebuild. By the time the Cubs are ready to compete he'll be a high-7-figure player with oldish knees.

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In reply to by John Beasley

I'm a pretty big Soto fan, and I think he probably has a fair number of fans, and I would want a solid return for him, probably some good cheap pitching. How many more years of control of him do the Cubs have? Seems like he could be the starting catcher or the starting first baseman for a few more years. 2013 looks like the earliest the Cubs ought, realistically, to hope to compete, and I could see Soto still in his prime at that point. I agree that the organization undervalues him, though.

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In reply to by Mike Wellman

Not sure about what? Why we value Soto? Probably because he is one of the better hitting catchers in baseball. This year he has has an abnormally low babip despite hitting line drives at a higher % than he has in his career. He has a slightly higher GB/FB rate, but definitely doesn't explain the drastic drop in BABIP. In other words - he's been unlucky this year, and it still one of the better hitting catchers in baseball.

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In reply to by Mike Wellman

Since 2008 Soto has been the 3rd best hitter (based on wOBA) on the Cubs (behind Lee and Ramirez). I didn't count Edmonds or DeRosa because of the low number of at-bats, but they would also be higher. If you go by wRC+, Pena would move above Soto as well. Soto is a damn good hitter who has had bad luck this year. He also has looked much better behind the plate this year. And if he were to be made available, I think that there would be many teams interested and willing to give up a lot for me. In terms of trade value, I would say that Castro would be highest, and after that would be Soto, Marshall, and Marmol.

r.wells is relying heavily on the changeup today...mostly hitting location, too. i havent seen him use the change this much in memory.

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?