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

The Tipping Point

Another day, another loss and this season has somehow become even less interesting than last season. Incredible.

The trade deadline won't even give us much to peak our interest, the players that could net anything interesting are paid too much and few teams have the money or the willingness to take on that type of salary. Carlos Pena could make sense for the Rays or Giants and possiby Mariners or Angels, but how willing are they to take on his $5M balloon payment for next year or the remaining $2M or so he's owed this year and then how interesting will the prospects be that the Cubs could get back?  Aramis has warmed up and 3b always seems like a tough position to fill, but he'd have to waive all his options that kick in($1M if he's traded plus his 2012 $16M option) if he's traded along with his no-trade clause. I'm sure he sees the writing on the wall that he won't be back with the Cubs at $16M next year so he may be willing to do that, but that's gonna take a lot finessing to happen and then to find a team to move him to. Some contending teams with black holes at third base include the Mariners, Tigers, Brewers, White Sox and Pirates.

The other options that the Cubs may consider moving would probably be Jeff Baker, Reed Johnson, Kosuke Fukudome and if any dumbass team would want Zambrano or Soriano's contracts, but good look with that. None of those will really net more than minor league filler though. I suppose Kerry Wood as well, but my feeling is that Wood is pretty much committed himself to being a Cub for the rest of his career and Hendry will respect that.

I also just wanted to note that I got through the Cubs 2011 draft on Wiklifield and some guardian angel was helping out with the signings, so thanks for that. I still have to go back and do the 2010 draft and re-do previous years so all that sortable info is useful. Also updated the All-Star page and Futures Games for anyone interested.

Garza vs. Livan Hernandez tonight in an attempt to avoid the 4-game sweep. Cubs currently hold the 2nd worst record in the baseball, 5 games ahead of the Houston Astros for the top draft pick.

Tags

Comments

bad video angles of Austin Kirk's no hitter http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/7/7/2264171/minor-league-notes-july…
in 2009, Kirk was on my pre-season Sleeper Alert! list and it looks like he's waking up. His best pitch is his curveball. I have conflicting reports on his fastball velocity. One source says 86-89, like last year, another source reports a vague velocity increase but with few details. I am working to get that conflict resolved one way or another. In any event, he's having a great year.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Rusin has been pitching well lately. The problems that McNutt, Rusin, Raley, Cabrera and Dolis were having at Tennessee in the earlier part of 2011 caused the influx of 38-year-old pitchers at Iowa. A few of Rusin's cumulative minor-league numbers compared to Sean Marshall's: Marshall (336 innings): 1.133 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 8.6 K/9, 3.26 K/BB. Rusin (222 innings): 1.176 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9, 7.2 K/9, 3.17 K/BB.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

The problems that McNutt, Rusin, Raley, Cabrera and Dolis were having at Tennessee in the earlier part of 2011 caused the influx of 38-year-old pitchers at Iowa. none of that is really true, but I do find Rusin to be an interesting prospect. His K numbers though are way down so far this year.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Wow... Kosuke is making a lot of money. I didn't realize how much. I don't have a problem with Kosuke, per se, just have a problem with how much money he makes.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

I don't have a problem with Kosuke at all, even his bat. He can work a count and isn't afraid to take a walk. If I were starting a team from scratch, I wouldn't mind keeping him at all... at half the salary. When he was signed, he was supposed to be the second-coming of Ichiro. Clearly, that hasn't panned out, but if it had, I might feel differently about his salary.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

"I don't have a problem with Kosuke, per se, just have a problem with how much money he makes." I have a problem with him if he played for Brett Jackson money. Fukudome scores fewer runs per plate appearance than any other Cub starter. That's hard to do if you lead off. Less surprising is that he drives in fewer runs per PA than any other starter. He should only play on the 4th of July: he's a dud.

Anyone else hear Buster Olney on Mike and Mike in the Morning? He was asked if he thinks Sandberg would have been a better hire as manager than Quade. He said that Quade going into this season was like a guy holding one sand bag and looking at a flood. He doesn't believe it would have made any difference who they hired as manager. He feels the Cubs' biggest problem is the lack of veteran leadership. He feels they get the least leadership per dollar of any team in the majors. As little as I usually pay attention to Olney (especially with trade rumors), I thought this was an interesting angle. I would like to know who might be available as a FA this coming offseason, or by trade, that might be able to help with this leadership void. Is the general consensus that he is especially talking about Aram, Zambrano, and Soriano?

[ ]

In reply to by Jace

Hey Jeff Russel, why did you suck today? "Well, because I didn't have Kirk Gibson telling me not to suck." Buster Olney should be fired for implying that veteran leadership counts for 14 games in the standings over half a season. No offense, Jace, but that's Olney comment is remarkably stupid. The Cubs biggest problem was lack of starting pitching depth. Leadership might rank around #6 on their things to fix.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

Olney is saying that, too. I also agree. How does everyone (except TRN) feel about the clubhouse culture? Doesn't part of being a better player also mean that you are a better leader? Saying that we need better players is somewhat synonymous with saying we need more veteran leadership, at least in my mind.

[ ]

In reply to by Jace

you're commenting on a sports blog on the Internet... I'm attempting to point out the fallacy of Olney's statement and anyone who may for one second buy it. cause #1, it's pretty much bullshit (see 2007 and 2008 with the same guys that are the problems now) and #2, the Cubs brought in Wood and Pena at least to attempt to combat that perceived problem. The problem with the team is their defense sucks, as has their starting pitching(somewhat surprising) and their offense hasn't been too great either. Other than that, they're well on their way to a championship.

[ ]

In reply to by Jace

"Saying that we need better players is somewhat synonymous with saying we need more veteran leadership, at least in my mind." It is not synonymous in my mind at all. Baseball teams don't win because of leadership. They win because they out hit, out field and/or out pitch the other team. Baseball is not football.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

I am firmly in the camp that the manager doesn't matter much. ---- Unless you have a manager who can't make out a lineup, can't manage a pitching staff, and appears overmatched in all aspects of in-game moves.

[ ]

In reply to by Paul Noce

"Unless you have a manager who can't make out a lineup, can't manage a pitching staff, and appears overmatched in all aspects of in-game moves." The same was said about Baker, Lou and I bet pretty much every manager the Cubs have had in my life time. I just don't think even the best manager make much of a difference. Just get a cheap one that the players respect.

I see Steve Rosenbloom is trying to fill the Jay Mariotti void of write something that will piss people off just to write it... http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/07/columnist-bashes-carlos-za… Now get a load of this: Zambrano plans to fly to Guatemala over the All-Star break to prepare for the adoption of his son. Can you say “utter disrespect,’’ boys and girls? apparently the Cubs and Z are idiots for allowing him to fly to Guatemala to prepare for adopting a son over the ASB because he didn't fly to Washington or something.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

szczur fever...surprised he's "only" 48 with all the love he's getting from all over. "50 Paul Goldschmidt, 1b, Diamondbacks" cold... yeah, there's lingering concerns about whether he's exclusively a "mistake hitter," but meh...i think a bit higher of him in 2011.

former manager Dick Williams passes away at age 82, manager of the '84 Padres. Z to rehab in Peoria on Friday.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I have no proof at all, but I get a weird feeling about Curt Schilling. The way he rails against steroids gives me a George Rekers feeling. I wouldn't be surprised if like 5 years from now someone will find evidence that he did steroids too. Prior to age 30 he was 52-52, 7.3 K/9, a WAR of 15, and couldn't stay healthy at all. He then goes 164-94 after age 30, with nearly 2 more K's per 9 IP, a WAR of over 50, and he starts stacking up 35 GS seasons. His best seasons were ages 34, 35, and 37. Maybe it just took him a long time to get his groove, to play for the right teams, to get healthy. He wouldn't be the first player in major league history to put it together late. But wouldn't shock me if he had some help either.

[ ]

In reply to by Paul Noce

But does he float? I got the chance to talk to him a little bit, and though he's really into the "cool cache" of being a MLB player, he just didn't strke me as a hypocrite. He was one of the guys encouraging players not to take the test, if memory serves.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=6746765 "As long as I feel good tomorrow, I don't see a reason why I can't pitch on Saturday," Dempster said after his side session on Thursday. "I got a bunch of fluids in me, and I feel good. Just loosen it up and get some stretching in there and hydrate as much as possible. "It feels good, and I think I'll just miss the one start."

from sullivan's twitter: Quade on Cubs: “I believe we can turn this thing around, and I think it can start today, and I believe that everyday."

Small, happy children holding up a sign on TV saying, "First Cubs Game!" I feel sorry for those kids. Someone should call DCFS on their parents.

So is Livan Hernandez going to throw 80 mph slop up there all night and we won't do squat? That's rhetorical, I already know the answer.

that escalated quickly Q-Ball will have to wait until tomorrow for things to start to turnaround.

If I was getting this kind of stuff out of my people at work the software my customers use would be broken and I'd be fired. I can't imagine upper management scratching their heads while things are going down in flames around them and saying that they believe in me and that I'll turn things around.

All we can hope for right now is that Ricketts wakes up near the all-star break and realizes nobody can watch this stuff as-is. I know changing managers and GM's isn't going to right the ship overnight, nor is it going to fix the complete lack of talent on this team, but it would be nice to know the captain is awake at the wheel.

at least Garza's off the hook for the loss now... there's gotta be some team that wants Pena's power for the playoffs

Crazy game, great win. This was looking like the lowest point of the season.

Does anyone know how to dig out old Cubs videos on mlb.com or do they go into some black archive hole and are never seen or heard from again? I was interested in going back and checking out the 2003 playoff highlights, the Aramis walk-off against the Brewers from June a few years back, the Reed Johnson catch vs. the Nationals, and other stuff and couldn't find it anywhere. Can I pay some sort of subscription fee to get more access to old highlight videos?

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In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

I've tried to watch that Reed catch before and could never find it. MLB is annoying. If they won't archive it, they should at least let people put it on youtube.

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In reply to by WISCGRAD

Thanks for doing some digging. I agree they do suck because in the information era, we should be able to find that stuff with a couple of clicks on the net. I know everything can't be saved forever, but when you are constantly cock-blocking every person who uploads a MLB video on the web, the least you can do is have the playoff games and highlights available... TERRIBLE!

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • Arizona Phil (view)

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

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

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

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

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