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

Jackson Two Really Can Say Goodbye

looney logoThe weather on closing day was as perfect as it had been inclement on Opening Night. A full house was still trickling in at a leisurely holiday pace into the third inning. Enough came to nudge the season turnstile meter past the half million mark for the seventh time in the last eight seasons despite a last-place team that lost more games than it won for the first time since 2005 [for the record, the home slate was well above sea level at 40-31] and the loss of three dates, most recently on the Saturday night of a holiday weekend on the final home stand. Oddly, the franchise ended up setting an attendance record for a three-game series over the weekend, thanks in part to a rainout that nobody wished for.

A fickle breeze that heralded the change in seasons from summer to autumn and had the flags waving goodbye to the sun-splashed crowd also played havoc with airborne balls. Several were dropped including one that glanced off the glove of Lorenzo Cain and reduced the otherwise fine-looking Omaha centerfielder to Alfonsoandso; bopping him on the schnoz and allowing the eventual but still meaningless winning run[s] to score. Earlier, the Storm Chasers’ left-fielder, David Lough, wrestled a routine fly into his glove like he was lassoing a rhinoceros before dropping the equally routine one hit by the next batter. At that point he accepted a pair of shades relayed to him from the dugout. Iowa’s Marquez Smith snagged a pop fly near the stands and dropped one on the infield grass on consecutive plays an inning later.

On the concourse the scent of sunscreen mingled as pleasantly with grill smoke as season-ticket neighbors did with one another for the last time until spring again comes round.

Prospective wunderkind Brett Jackson opened the game with a home run before later drawing a walk and making a sparkling catch that was extra conspicuous in light of the aforementioned atmospheric conditions.

Having been followed out of the park by a foul ball during the first matinee of the year back in mid-April I decided to make a deliberate try to collect one as a bookend to the campaign. I went out to the parking lot behind the third-base side of the ballpark in between the top and bottom of the 2nd inning. The I-Cubs were retired without hitting one out of bounds, but in the top of the 3rd I heard a percussion just before a white speck appeared on the blue metallic roof of Principal Park. I played it perfectly and it bounced to me as obligingly as a room service double play ball does to the shortstop. Omaha DH Clint Robinson banged 23 homers this year to go with the one foul ball he hit my way [on the next pitch he singled in his 100th RBI of the year, tying the game temporarily at two].

Jay Jackson was one inning shy of his seventh consecutive quality start when he was pulled after five solid innings. Cain’s misfortune in the bottom of the 5th, which was in addition to having already been hit by a Jackson pitch, did at least make Jay the winning pitcher.

The I-Cubs began the season with only three players on the roster age 24 or younger. On Monday there were 11 from that demographic in the home dugout up against the division-winning and playoff-bound visitors from the Royals’ fertile system. Reinforcements seem to be spurting from the farm like water from an uncoiling hose, although LeMahieu at 23 was the only one of the 11 among the Cubs quartet of call-ups.  We are left to hope as many will spray all the way from Des Moines to Chicago as from Omaha to Kansas City. Gordon, Duffy, Hosmer and Moustakas? There are more where they came from.

The scoreboard reported that Iowa won, 7-2. But it also posted this grimmer news - next home game: April 5 vs. Round Rock.

BONUS: Bryan LaHair stands to reap an additional $7,600 from the 38 homers he tagged in 2011. Not only did he break the franchise record of 37 set by Joe Hicks in 1984, he will collect $200 per roundtripper as the recipient of the Joe Bauman Award, bestowed annually upon the top homer hitter in the minor leagues. It’s as though each one equates to a lap around the Monopoly board. LaHair is the first I-Cub to win the honor. Bauman, you may or may not know, hit six dozen IFO’s playing for Roswell, N.M. in 1954 [and drove in 228 runs!]. Folklore holds that every time he hit one at home the fans thrust dollar bills at him through the backstop like they were ringsiders at a strip joint. I doubt he raked $7,600, though. Within a couple of years he was pumping gas at a Phillips station on Route 66.

Comments

I just spoke with two GM candidates who both told me they have no prob w/contract to Fleita and probable to Wilken. In fact. they love both.

Castro SS, Johnson CF, Ramirez 3B,Pena 1B,Soriano LF,LaHair RF,LeMahieu 2B, Hill C, Dempster P vs. Phillips 4, Renteria 6, Votto 3, Bruce 9, Alonso 7, Stubbs 8, Francisco 5, Hernandez 2, Cueto

Crawford-LF, Watty-2B, Cerda-3B, Bour-1B, Opitz-DH, Easterling-RF, Szczur-CF, Soto-SS, Brenly-C LHP Antigua

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Daytona scores first, 1-0 headed to the 3rd Justin Bour singles on a pop up to second baseman Justin Jackson. Jake Opitz walks. Justin Bour to 2nd. Taiwan Easterling ground bunts into a force out, catcher A. J. Jimenez to third baseman Kevin Ahrens. Justin Bour out at 3rd. Jake Opitz to 2nd. Taiwan Easterling to 1st. Matthew Szczur grounds into a force out, fielded by third baseman Kevin Ahrens. Jake Opitz out at 3rd. Taiwan Easterling to 2nd. Matthew Szczur to 1st. Elliot Soto singles on a line drive to center fielder Brad McElroy. Taiwan Easterling scores. Matthew Szczur to 3rd. Michael Brenly flies out to center fielder Brad McElroy.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

2-0 Cubs heading to bottom of 4th Evan Crawford singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brian Van Kirk. Logan Watkins singles on a bunt ground ball to first baseman Jon Talley. Evan Crawford advances to 3rd, on missed catch error by second baseman Justin Jackson. Matthew Cerda walks. Logan Watkins to 2nd. Justin Bour out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Brad Glenn. Evan Crawford scores. Jake Opitz flies out to left fielder Brian Van Kirk. Taiwan Easterling grounds out, second baseman Justin Jackson to first baseman Jon Talley.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

2-1 Daytona after 5... Kevin Ahrens grounds out, shortstop Elliot Soto to first baseman Justin Bour. Justin Jackson walks. Ryan Goins doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Evan Crawford. Justin Jackson scores. Brad McElroy grounds out to first baseman Justin Bour. Ryan Goins to 3rd. A. J. Jimenez flies out to center fielder Matthew Szczur.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Szczur's second half will be regarded as a little bit of a step backwards from what he had been doing when the list makers get to it during the offseason, but one thing he has found since the all-star break is a little bit of a power stroke. Obviously he hasn't turned into a slugger, but he looks like he might have a little pop in the bat. If he can get his K:BB ratio back on track too, he'll just be an even more well-rounded player.

via rotoworld... According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cardinals offered Albert Pujols a nine-year contract extension worth about $195 million last offseason. SI.com's Jon Heyman reported the figure to be around $210 million. Either way, Pujols and his agent rejected the offer, reportedly seeking something worth over $23 million annually.

John Smoltz and Al Leiter on MLB Network giving a tutorial on how Smoltz learned to change his mechanics after surgery and how Strasburg needs to change his. They brought up Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. Smoltz showed he used to stand with his back flat against a wall at home during the offseason and practice taking the ball out of his glove and trying to keep from putting both elbows up and putting additional stress on the joints. It was interesting.

http://www.csnchicago.com/09/07/11/Kap-No-LaMar-for-Cubs-Fleita-contrac… “I have known Oneri for 20-plus years and he is as good as it gets. He is bilingual, which is a huge plus in his role, he put the entire Latin American operation together and that includes a network of scouts that will go with him wherever he goes," one GM candidate told me. "In addition, the Cubs new 50-acre facility in the Dominican Republic is being put together under his direction. So to lose him would be a major blow to the entire organization.” ~snip~ One NL West executive told me this: “I wish I had an owner as committed as Tom Ricketts is. He spent $20 million on amateur signings and he is spending an unbelievable amount of money to build a state of the art academy in the Dominican Republic. We are all a little jealous of the commitment the Cubs have made to rebuild their organization.”

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

That's very cool. If that's really the general consensus, fuck it, let him make a few minor personnel decisions while Bush is holding down the fort. Besides, the discussion probably went like this: Oneri: I think we should not bring up Jackson and let him play for Team USA Ricketts: Cool So my earlier griping was probably a waste of valuable bandwidth (we need to preserve as much of that as possible for the lame ad network servers)

dj leM and castro flashing some glove early...great play by leM and a saved bad throw from hill by castro. lahair made a throw from deep RF...a bit wide and bounced in...not totally weak, but not strong.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

One thing I noticed watching the archived game yesterday was how young The Hair looks. He of no hair. I matured really slowly both physically and mentally so I know of what I speak when I say I don't think we should discount that happening to him. He worked the count, then displayed some serious power yesterday. I want to see more of this "kid". I also liked how the Cubs fans cheered when he came out of the dugout as a pinch hitter. Talk about a fan base desperate for a prospect to emerge (Castro not withstanding).

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

Yeah that, the link just said "hey, these teams played in the playoffs, there's a rivalry." People in Houston don't get jazzed up when Dallas comes to town. Astros average attendance (headed south daily)- 25958 Attendance vs natural rivals, Rangers (who actually brought a lot of fans because the people of Texas are bandwagon fans, aside from football) 26514 Attendance the prior week day series versus the Pirates: 28264 People in Houston go to see the team when they're good, and their main rivalries are with the Cubs and the Cardinals, because they were good at the same time.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

I know this has not been considered, but if the idea is to get rid of one team from the six-team N. L. Central and add a fifth team to the playoffs, I would suggest this: A. L.: Keep 14-team league with the divisions the same but add a second Wild Card team (so that three teams from A. L. East can qualify for the playoffs), with the two Wild Card teams playing the play-in games(s). N. L. Go to four four-team divisions with one Wild Card team, with the Wild Card team and the division winner with the worst record playing the "play-in" game(s) N. L. EAST: NYM, PHI, PIT, and WAS N. L. NORTH: CUBS, COL, MIL, and STL N. L. SOUTH: ATL, CIN, FLA, and HOU N. L. WEST: AZ, LAD, SD, and SF

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Here's my ambitious realignment plan: AL East NY Boston Baltimore Detroit AL Central Minnesota Chicago Cleveland KC AL West Seattle Oakland California (yeah, the California Angels) Vancouver (formerly Toronto) AL Southwest Texas Houston Arizona Mexico City (expansion) NL East NY Washington Philly Pittsburgh NL Central Chicago Stl Milwaukee Cincy NL West LA Colorado SD SF NL Southeast Atlanta Florida Tampa Louisville (expansion) No wildcards, just 4 division champs. 1 in 4 odds of winning your division, makes things more competitive. No interleague play. And while we are changing rules, no f-ing dh.

Just tried to access Bruce Miles' blog and it's now officially locked. Too bad, he's probably my favorite local beat writer (his braindead commenters notwithstanding). If you're reading this, Bruce. we'll miss you.

[ ]

In reply to by garsky

I concur. There's a few people from this forum who became regs there. And he ran a pretty good ship when it wasn't inundated with multiple link comments directing people to malware. Which we don't get here, I'd like to add. I actually even made a comment on Bruce's blog: Dude: Akismet. Probably, the DH found the overhead on blog maintenance, as well as the rest of their online presence, too much. They are not familiar, apparently, with open source stuff like Drupal or even Concrete5. A smart guy could probably create a decent major league city news site these days with open source and a few east european programmers to keep the spammers at bay. But the DH is in the mode of, oh dear, this costs a lot to maintain and are charging 20 bucks a month to access their content. A better model would be to set up access to individual columnists like bruce and take micropayments, but hey, what do i know.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

Marmol threw 4 sliders and then 2 fastballs to Phillips last night, producing an off-balance 3rd-strike swing on a fastball high and tight. Then he threw 2 fastball strikes before getting Renteria to go fishing for a low outside slider. He threw 2 fastballs to Votto before getting a ground out on a slider. This is an unusual pattern for Marmol, and an unusual balance: 6 sliders, 6 fastballs. An easy, efficient inning! I think Koyie Hill has something to do with an inning like that. I think he tends to encourage pitchers to throw fastballs. With a couple of recent blown saves fresh in his mind, Marmol is less inclined than usual to shake off his catcher. Even if you don't agree that there is a difference in game-calling between Hill and Soto, you might acknowledge that a Marmol who is not slider-happy is a good thing, and that a catcher could make a difference. I also associate the fastball-shyness that we have seen in relievers like Marmol, Wuertz and Dempster with Larry Rothschild. Guys like Wood and Cashner were never going to go overboard with their offspeed stuff, but many pitchers seem to have that temptation.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

This is an unusual pattern for Marmol, and an unusual balance: 6 sliders, 6 fastballs. An easy, efficient inning! I think Koyie Hill has something to do with an inning like that. I think he tends to encourage pitchers to throw fastballs. The unusual pattern was throwing the fastball where he wanted it. It's just sample size. Had he gone 2-0 on Renteria with fastballs, something he has been prone to do, he would have had to revert to the slider to try to throw some strikes.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

"he has even more trouble controlling his fastball" Perhaps, but if you have trouble controlling both pitches, it's safer to throw the slider, for two reasons: one, hitters will take a 2-0 slider right down the middle, where they would be sitting on a fastball; and two, hitters will sometimes swing at a slider out of the zone whereas a fastball has to be a strike to be any use. A third reason might be that if they hit the fastball, people might second-guess him since the slider is considered his best pitch. None of these reasons impresses me. If he could command two pitches, he would be great. Instead he's lazy and sloppy. I watched Soto catching Marshall recently against the Phillies and he made excellent strategic use of the fastball. (Marshall's fastball, by the way, registers higher on the gun these days than Marmol's.) So, yes, it's mostly to do with the pitcher, not the catcher.

Mike, another great article. Side note to your bonus: I'm living in NM (Clovis, not Albuquerque, don't ever come here, you're not missing much), and went to an Amarillo (TX) Sox game earlier this year. The fans went to the backstop and thrust their singles through after every homer the home team hit, apparently for the 'privilege' of dropping them into the batter's waiting helmet. I thought it was the strangest thing I'd ever seen, and so did a few folks sitting around me. One guy turns to us and says something to the effect of, "These boys don't make too much playin' independent ball, so the fans tip 'em when they hit one out. It's brought in some better hitters over the years, you'd be surprised." ........At which point, I wondered, "Would actually frigging TIPPING the Cubs help the lineup???"

Calling Arizona Phil: I've been away from here for some time, and have missed your farm system updates. Does Brenley's kid have a realistic chance at advancing much higher?

[ ]

In reply to by samclyatt

Submitted by samclyatt on Thu, 09/08/2011 - 12:27pm. Calling Arizona Phil: Does Brenley's kid have a realistic chance at advancing much higher? ================================================ SAM: With Luis Flores spending the first month of the 2012 regular season on the Restricted List while serving out the balance of his 50-game PED suspension, Michael Brenly should at least start the 2012 season as the #1 catcher at AA Tennessee. But he is going to have to show a lot more with the bat at AA than he did this season at Daytona to get regular playing time after Flores is reinstated. At the very least Brenly has the defensive skills needed to be a AA back-up catcher, but whether he will ever rise above that depends on his bat. While he did a fine job behind the plate at Daytona this season, he regressed (significantly) offensively, and that was while repeating a level. And that is never good.

[ ]

In reply to by samclyatt

While he did a fine job behind the plate at Daytona this season, he regressed (significantly) offensively, and that was while repeating a level. And that is never good. To me, he's been the single most disapointing Cubs farmhand this year. He looked like a guy who would just inch up the ladder and eventually make it to the bigs as a backup, maybe a poor hitting second divisional starter, and he just crapped his pants, for whatever reason this year. His dad was a much better hitter than he was, but didn't hit the bigs until he turned 27.

[ ]

In reply to by samclyatt

Bob Brenly was a decent hitting catcher at the time, although a tad inconsistent, and really only had 4 seasons as a true starting catcher. Now that most of the MLB players appear to be off steroids and/or HGH, catcher (and middle inf) stats have dropped back to normal levels and making a direct comparison to the early 80's stats for those positions is a little easier. A good comparison for Brenly's bat with today's players is probably actually Geo Soto, although Soto I think has more talent as a hitter, his actual production has been very inconsistent. Another thing to note is that Brenly didn't become a starting MLB catcher until he was 30. Still, because Brenly/Soto could hit 15 hr's and drive in 55-60 or more rbi in a year, in a decent year, they were far better choices than most other catchers at their time.

Crawford CF, Watkins 2B, Cerda 3B, Bour 1B, Opitz DH, Abreu RF, Szczur CF, Soto SS, Brenly C Matt Loosen pitches. Smokies Game 1 lineup Adduci, Ha, Lalli, Ridling, Vitters, Clevenger, Lake, Mota, Raley

Daytona Bottom of the 8th Michael Brenly singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Frank Gailey. Evan Crawford singles on a ground ball to right fielder Justin Jackson. Michael Brenly to 2nd. Logan Watkins walks. Michael Brenly to 3rd. Evan Crawford to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Aaron Loup replaces Frank Gailey. Matthew Cerda singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brad Glenn. Michael Brenly scores. Evan Crawford to 3rd. Logan Watkins to 2nd. Justin Bour singles on a line drive to center fielder Brad McElroy. Evan Crawford scores. Logan Watkins to 3rd. Matthew Cerda to 2nd. Greg Rohan out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Brad Glenn. Logan Watkins scores. Abner Abreu singles on a line drive to right fielder Justin Jackson. Matthew Cerda to 3rd. Justin Bour to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Vince Bongiovanni replaces Aaron Loup. Matthew Szczur singles on a line drive to right fielder Justin Jackson. Matthew Cerda scores. Justin Bour to 3rd. Abner Abreu to 2nd. Elliot Soto flies into double play, right fielder Justin Jackson to catcher A. Jimenez. Justin Bour out at home on the throw.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0909-haugh-cu… Understand that even if the next GM comes from another organization, teams granting permission to speak with a candidate often do so under the condition that he can't bring more than a couple of key employees to his new job. That makes the institutional knowledge and continuity a guy such as Fleita offers an asset more than a liability, particularly given his reputation. The Tigers weren't the only team to tempt Fleita since Jim Hendry was fired, a source said. --- What some viewed as a naïve move by a novice owner others considered a good sign that Ricketts can be decisive when identifying a smart baseball man. Fleita, 44, qualifies. The move also reinforced Ricketts' commitment to increasing the size of the baseball operations staff that has been a priority since he took over.

[ ]

In reply to by Jumbo

unpossible!!!! Ricketts is destroying everything...EVERYTHING!!! so when the Trib has Rosenbloom write his article and then has Haugh write his, does some editor even bring up the question how stupid it makes Rosenbloom look?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

beane's only a part owner of the A's...i could see him selling low on his investment in order for cali kid to move to chicago and deal with all that. totally sounds legit.

"Umpires show ethnic bias in ball/strike calls—unless they're feeling watched" http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/09/umpires-show-ethnic-bias-in… when an umpire was from the same ethnic group as the pitcher, they were more likely to call a pitch a strike, at least at a ball park that was not equipped with a QuesTec monitor. When the same analysis was performed at a QuesTec game, the probability that a pitch would be called a strike when there was matching pitcher/ump ethnicity dropped by a full percent—"more than offsetting the favoritism shown by umpires when QuesTec does not monitor them." This was specific to pitchers, as running the same analysis with the catcher and the batter showed no statistically significant differences. It wasn't just the presence of the automated system, though, as the authors found that any situation that would lead to heightened attention on the umpire changed the ball/strike calls. These included having more fans in the stands, and pitches that were more likely to be decisive (the pitcher had thrown three balls or two strikes, meaning the next pitch could end the at-bat). Most of the effects were very small, but the authors note that, in rare edge cases, they could add up. "One can construct specific examples where the estimated direct effect is fairly large," they write. "A black pitcher throwing a nonterminal pitch in the early innings of poorly attended games in a non-QuesTec ballpark gains over 6 percentage points by matching [the umpire's ethnicity] (41.4 versus 35.2 percent called strikes)."

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

The Chicago Cubs will draw 3 million fans for the eighth straight season, according to a team source, yet the team will lower prices on bleacher seats in 2012. And when I say "Draw 3 million fans" I really mean "sell 3 million tickets while actually drawing 2 million people and 1 million fans". Good to see the death of the English language is progressing on schedule. God, that link is so bad it makes me weep for America.

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).