Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Hernandez Extends Hit Streak to 15, Kim Throws Blanks

Marco Hernandez extended his hitting streak to 15 games and Jin-Young Kim threw five shutout innings, as the AZL Cubs edged the AZL Dodgers 2-1 in Arizona League action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning.  

box score

Hernandez is hitting 426/453/639 with four doubles, three triples, a HR and 16 RBI, with only six strikeouts in 65 PA over the course of the 15-game hit streak, and is hitting 354/391/497 for the season. The 18-year old Dominican leads the AZL in RBI, and is tied for 3rd in the league in doubles. And (not too surprisingly) Hernandez was in the middle of the Cubs two-run 4th today, looping a single to CF that advanced Gioskar Amaya (who is hitting 366/401/486) to 3rd base with no outs. Both Amaya and Hernandez scored later in the inning.  

Kim received a reported $850K bonus (equivalent to "2nd round money") when he signed with the Cubs as a 17-year old out of South Korea last year, and after struggling at AZ Instructs (7.20 ERA & 1.30 WHIP) last fall and at Extended Spring Training (4.91 ERA & 1.68 WHIP) and at Boise (7.66 & 2.15 WHIP) earlier this year, the 19-year old right-hander has (finally) put together a couple of decent outings, throwing 8.1 IP of shutout ball for the AZL Cubs. He allowed five hits and a walk in his five innings (61 pitches - 45 strikes, 3/5 GO/FO) today, and probably could have thrown at least another couple of innings, but there is a limit of 75 pitches or five innings (whichever comes first) for pitchers in the AZL.  

18-year old RHP James Pugliese (Cubs 2011 18th round draft pick out of Mercer CC in New Jersey) piggy-backed with Kim, and threw three shutout innings of one-hit ball with no walks and four strikeouts (48 pitches - 30 strikes). Pugliesse is the guy with the max-effort extreme over-the-top delivery that would seem best-suited for a pitcher working out of the bullpen.  

RHP Yilver Sanchez pitched the 9th and picked up the save. The 21-year old Dominican did allow a two-out RBI double before recording the final out, but only because the Cubs defensively-challenged 2B-SS combo (Brian Inoa & Gioskar Amaya) failed to turn what should have been a game-ending DP on the previous AB. Working as the AZL Cubs primary closer since getting sent-down from Boise, Sanchez now has a 3/22 BB/K in 15.0 IP for the AZL Cubs.

FWIW, the AZL Cubs currently trail the AZL Giants by 4-1/2 games in the AZL East, but have a 1-1/2 game lead over the AZL Athletics, the AZL Indians and the AZL Reds in the Wild Card race. (The three division winners and the 2nd-place team with the best record qualify for the AZL playoffs).

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

If the Cubs sign Jacquez, Scott and Maples, they (along with Maltos-Garcia) are a pretty good draft on starting pitching. Add Zych as closer and we'd have a few good relief prospects as well. Signing Baez, Vogelbach, Dunston and Lockhart, they (along with Shoulders, Devoss, Martin, Easterling and a few of the catchers) are a pretty good hitting draft -- good 1b prospects in V, Rock and Holliman, good speed with Dunston, Easterling, Martin and Devoss, and a great hitting prospect in Baez. Jacquez was the most unrealistic signing (IMO), with Maples probably next. This would be a pretty good draft, and a surprising change with the extensive bonuses, if we pull of these signings.

... makes like a prospect with seven innings of six hit, no walk, 11 K innings against Sacramento for the I-Cubs, which make his AAA numbers very respectable (30.1 innings, 2 HRs, 4 BBs, 27 K's).

A couple of milestone homers tonight: LaHair #30 and Richard Jones (Peoria) #20. That's four organizational first basemen with 20 or more home runs. The other two are Pena and Bour, both with 21. Jones also has 79 RBI. Bats left, throws right. 2009 9th round out of The Citadel.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Yeah. His second half has been extremely disappointing after he found his power stroke to begin the season and seemed to be combining it with an already acceptable ability to hit for average and take a walk. But at his age and with his lack of defensive ability, he needs to consistently put up big offensive numbers. Too bad. I was really hoping the Cubs had a decent offensive 1B prospect. Maybe Vogelbach or "Rock" Shoulders will be that guy. Paul Hoilman's overall production is nice so far, but it's really hard to get excited about him when he's hitting .251 and K-ing 34% of the time in A- as a 22-year old. For comparison, Adam Dunn (someone we might hope would be a good comparison for Hoilman) hit .304 in 4 seasons in the minors--never less than .281 for a season--and K'd something like 20% of the time, never more than 101 in a full season, and he was in the majors by the time he was 22.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 8:54am. In jones' case, too many walks, too many k's and a high babip, bad combo for sustained success. In bour's case, his peripherals aren't bad at all, it was just 2 hot months and a huge dropoff. Had he kept up something close to his first 2 months, he was going to easily be a top 10 prospect ==================================== ROB G: Actually the big problem with Richard Jones throughout his pro career has been too few walks, not too many. He is a true "hacker," in that he strikes out too much without balancing that with walks. He has sometimes gone over a month with only one walk (he had one walk in 37 games at Peoria the first two months of the 2010 season, and a grand total of two walks over his first 185 PA at Peoria 2010-11), and he's also had periods where he has struck out every-other or every-third PA over an extended period of time. He is an extreme LH pull-hitter with a long swing. He does have plus-power, though. (He hit seven HR in his first 12 games in pro ball). It's great that he has finally figured-out Basic "A" ball, but if you give a college kid like Jones enough time, he probably will. (He was at Peoria the first two months of last season, too, before getting demoted back to Boise). The idea is to master a level within one season or less and then move up to the next level and do it again. That said, no question Jones has been absolutely on fire at Peoria. But next season he will have to prove himself all over again at Daytona in the pitcher-friendly FSL, and this time the Cubs will not give him two seasons to do it.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 9:44am. Agreed...or at least to get some value for Byrd. Well is Byrd in the team's plan for next season? God Hendry....don't you even know who's in your own system? =============================== DUSTY B: While lack of TOR starting pitching is the Cubs #1 deficiency, I believe the Cubs also need to "exchange" (either directly or indirectly) Marlon Byrd for a slugger who can play average to (preferably) above-average RF and hit 4th or 5th in the order, somebody like Morse, Quentin, Willingham, Swisher, Francoeur, or Cuddyer. Of that group, I see Francouer as the one on the come, because he's just entering what are normally the best years of a player's career (he's only 27), he will be a FA this coming off-season, and he has won a Gold Glove previously in his career. If Brett Jackson and Starlin Castro hit 1-2, and if the Cubs bring Aramis Ramirez back in 2012 (and I now think they will), and if they can sign Fielder, Pujols, or Berkman (or even re-sign Pena), the one thing missing would be a slugger who can play RF and hit 4th or 5th.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Submitted by Dr. aaron b on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 10:25am. Jim Hendry is a HUGE FAN of the Francouer approach to hitting. =================================== DR AARON: Actually Hendry (and the Cubs organization in general) is agnostic when it comes to that. That's why the Cubs signed Carlos Pena, and why they haven't traded Brett Jackson. There are basically two different types of hitters (patient & aggressive), and there are dangers associated with both when it gets extreme (like Adam Dunn on one hand or Alfonso Soriano on the other, that is, when a patient hitter becomes too passive, or when an aggressive hitter becomes overly anxious).

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 9:30am. One more reason to have traded Byrd... Hendry "we don't have an immediate replacement for Byrd, so I held onto him", if we had good reporters one of them would have asked "Well, what about your supposed #1 prospect who is at Iowa, or Slappy Campana?" But Jackson is going to strike out a lot and struggle when he reaches the majors, so a little platooning with Byrd may be good to get him going. =========================================== TRN: One thing Brett Jackson will do anywhere he plays is walk a lot. He takes a lot of pitches, and doesn't consider it to be a defeat if he gets called out on strikes. In terms of patience, I would compare Jackson to Carlos Pena, except Pena has more pure HR power, while B-Jax is more of a slash hitter with lift, is MUCH faster, can steal bases, can score from 2nd base on a single to the OF or from 1st base on a double, can advance from 1st to 3rd on a single to the OF, and can play CF. But while he is extremely patient at the plate, he is not a passive player. He plays OF defense and runs the bases with the abandon of a Reed Johnson or an Eric Byrnes. He is a gambler, whether it be gambling that he won't get called out on strikes, or gambling that he can get from 1st to 3rd on a bloop single to CF, or gambling that he can catch a ball in the gap by diving for it. Brett Jackson is probably not going to hit for a high batting average in MLB, but I could see him having an OBP 100-125 points higher than his BA, but with lots of XBH (20-10-25 HR-3B-2B) and 20 SB.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

".256 this year in AA" Some context is useful here. Jackson was hitting .295 when he injured his pinkie badly on May 11. Remember when he flew to Chicago to have the injury diagnosed? He returned to the lineup on May 30. I think he played hurt for the next month, for a few reasons: he was 13 for 79 (.165) between 5/30 and 6/29, to lower his season average to .246; he missed four games in a row beginning June 8th; and he didn't steal a base between May 11th and July 3rd. I'm guessing that he slides head first into bases and was protecting his hand. He started hitting in July and got the BA up to .273 before he slumped to .256, going 1 for 19 in his last four games before getting the call to Iowa on about July 12.

This time last year the Arizona Diamondbacks were 46-69 (the Cubs are presently 49-66), and this year the Diamondbacks are 62-53 (16 game improvement) and a half-game behind the 1st place Giants, where the changes from last year to this year were essentially a matter of subtracting Mark Reynolds and Adam LaRoche and replacing them with lesser players who don't strike out as much, improved starting pitching thanks to Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson getting better with age and experience and the emergence of rookie Josh Collmenter, and upgrading an atrocious 2010 bullpen (headed by Qualls-Gutierrez-Boyer-Heilman) with closer J. J. Putz (signed as FA), set-up man & back-up closer Daniel Hernandez (acquired from BAL in trade for Mark Reynolds), #1 lefty Joe Paterson (Rule 5 Draft pick), and Micah Owings (minor league FA), all of which had the overall effect of increasing the team's number of total bases (runners advancing on outs instead of being stranded with strikeouts), starting pitchers going deeper into games, and the bullpen converting a higher percentage of save opportunities. Not to mention replacing a moron GM (Josh Byrnes) and an incompetent manager (A. J. Hinch) with new a GM (Kevin Towers) and a manager who actually knows how baseball is supposed to be played on the field (Kirk Gibson).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 08/09/2011 - 11:22am. their Runs scored per game is nearly identical, the only real upgrade has been Justin Upton, Raburn having a little better year than Reynolds, but then Kelly Johnson and their 1b mess has kept them in neutral. =========================================================== ROB G: Something else Towers & Gibson preach is the value of additional total bases by advancing runners an extra base once they reach base, by having more players in the lineup who have the speed to score from 2nd base or advance from 1st to 3rd on a single to the outfield, and score from 1st base on a double. The difference between playing "station-to-station" baseball versus having the speed necessary to advance extra bases adds up over the course of the season. Towers & Gibson also dismiss the theory that a strikeout is no different from any other out. EXAMPLE #1 (2010 Diamondbacks): lead-off double, then one or both of the next two hitters strike out, leaving the runner stranded at 2nd or 3rd... versus EXAMPLE 2: (2011 Diamondbacks): lead-off double, next hitter intentionally goes to right-field (not to try and make an out, but if he does make an out, the runner moves up to 3rd), and then a ground ball (if infield is playing back) or fly ball to score the run. It's little changes in offensive philosophy like that that add up to scoring runs more consistently from game-to-game, instead of playing for the three-run HR at the expense of more strikeouts which too often resulted in too many one-run losses (and too many LOB).

I'm trying to find some comps for Jackson, especially some that strike out as much as Brett Jackson has in the minors and it's been difficult. BP has their top 10 comps, but not sure how current it is...number in parenthesis is their minor league K rate. Jackson is at 23.3% Felix Pie (19%), Michael Saunders(24.1%), Jordan Schafer(21.6%), Colby Rasmus (19.5%), Adam Jones(20.4%), Lastings Milledge (17%), Jay Bruce (22.6%), BJ Upton(19.73), Barry Bonds(17.2%), Matt Kemp (18.5) Michael Saunders has to worry you.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Mike Stanton was a little younger, but 371 Ks divided by 1394 PAs yields 26.6%. Joey Votto, 665/3016 = 22.0% Jackson likes to take pitches, so you don't really know how many swings and misses are involved in a given strikeout, just that it's a number between zero and three. Jackson looks particularly good when you add his total bases, walks and stolen bases and divide by games or plate appearances. You will probably object to my building stolen bases into a general hitting stat, so for the moment just use TBs + BBs / PAs. Jackson's number is .546. Pie stands at .496, Votto at .538. Stanton is .606. These are all minor-league numbers. One of the questions about prospects is whether they have skills that will keep them in the lineup when they're not hitting. You keep Votto in there because you never know when he's going to hit a bomb. (That's how Soriano stays in the lineup even when a month has gone by since the last HR.) Jackson will draw walks and steal bases even when the bat is cold. Pie can flash leather and throw but he doesn't walk and steal, or hit bombs, so he can't get in the regular lineup. We may never find out whether he could do anything worthwhile in the majors.

2 days in a row with no day/afternoon games...and I'm in a WAS blackout area on a cable package that shows -0- WAS games a year (awesome)...so the cubs game is a no-go for me anyway unless it's a WGN/Fox/ESPN game.

Wilken hopeful #Cubs can come to terms with top pick Baez: "I guess we just have to find out if we’re still on the same page as we get close to the buzzer. comes from this guy @KevinCapie: Sportswriter covering the Peoria Chiefs and FCS football, poker player without a bankroll.

Saw a quote from Castro saying he's been working with Jaramillo on his approach the other day. Has he added a power stroke to his game? That's 3 in something like the last 6 games.

After losing most of its big guns to Iowa, Tennessee has been winning lately and is 1.5 games out of first in the second-half standings. Just took four of five from Huntsville (Brewers) on the road. Jae-Hoon Ha is 18 for his last 36 and has raised his average from .231 on 7/30 to .300 today. Ha and Vitters have been carrying the offense, with help from Adduci, Wright, Ridling, Lake.

Recent comments

  • 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?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).