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

Playoff Predictions

When no clear answer presents itself, go with the most obvious..

LDS:
Cubs over Dodgers in 4
Phils over Brewers in 3
Angels over Red Sox in 5
Rays over White Sox in 5

LCS
Cubs over Phils in 6
Angels over Rays in 7

World Series
Cubs over Angels in 5

Past the time until first pitch by doing some ball hawking.The playoff roster has been announced as well.

C - Blanco, Soto

INF - Lee, Ward, Fontenot, DeRosa, Theriot, Cedeno, Ramirez

OF - Soriano, Edmonds, Johnson, Fukudome, Pie

SP - Demspter, Zambrano, Harden, Lilly

RP - Wood, Marmol, Samardzija, Cotts, Marshall, Howry, Marquis

With DeRosa limping, the Cubs needed someone who could play the outfield when Lou needs to pinch-hit for Fukudome or the couple dozen other late-inning possibilities. Hopefully the only time we see Bob Howry is if the Cubs are nursing a 13-0 lead after Sutcliffe and the Penguin homer.

Comments

It is playoff time--where is the decorative bunting for the TCR website? I demand red, white, and blue bunting!

Howry on the playoff roster is atrocious...As I have said before, let's send him to Mesa with the other guys who didnt make it and have him learn a new grip on that fast ball so that it actually moves a bit...Realistically, I would have been fine with them taking another hitter instead of him.

LDS- Cubs in 4 Phils in 4 Rays in 4 Angels in 5 LCS Cubs in 5 Angels in 7 WS Cubs in 6

He's on the roster and I don't get it. Same goes for Daryl Lard and Lob Howry. yuk

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

You're so clever. You must write these days in advance, right? It's just consistently too good. Pie is not poison, because he's not there to start. He's there for defensive replacement and, perhaps, running the bases.

Predictions: LDS: Cubs over Dodgers in 4 Phils over Brewers in 4 Red Sox over Angels in 5 Rays over White Sox in 4 LCS Cubs over Phils in 5 Red Sox over Rays in 6 World Series Cubs over Red Sox in 6

Predictions: LDS: Cubs over Dodgers in 3 Cubs over Brewers in 3 Cubs over Red Sox in 3 Cubs over White Sox in 3 LCS Cubs over Cubs in 4 Cubs over Cubs in 4 World Series Cubs over Cubs in 4

Prediction*: Dodgers 3 - Cubs 0 * last predictions I made in 2006, I was 0-7 in predicting series winners. Here is to continuing my streak!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=star… The biggest reason to pick the Dodgers would be their improved, Manny-fied offense, right? Well, what does it tell you that the Cubs outscored the Dodgers over the past two months (275-250) even with Manny Ramirez, and outscored L.A. by 155 runs over the course of the season? One NL executive's description of Manny's supporting offensive cast: "Thin." We agree. The Cubs' pitching is rested and recharged. The Dodgers need too much to go right. Cubs in four.

LDS cubs in 4 phils in 4 redsox in 4 w-sux in 5 LCS red sox in 5 cubs in 6 WS cubs in 6 hangover on october 30th and sick from work

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

nuh uh...it only appears to always be open. Sure if you click on it now you can get in, but what actually happens is I get a message that someone wants to get in, run down 8 flights of stairs to a wooden lever hidden in the basement of my job and let you guys in. To the reader, it just looks like Java is opening, in reality it's a portal to the other side of the world.

 

Cubs in 4 Phils in 4 Angels in 5 WSox in 5 Phils in 6 Angels in 7 Angels in 6 I feel dirty.

Cubs 163, Dodgers -4 lets see how the west coast pansies handle 50 degrees, 10+ mph winds and the nastiest crowd they have seen all year. We have a Canadian pitcher (2 actually). p.s. love lilly in dodger stadium if we need it, his downside is the HR and that park is big. good job lou.

"LDS: Cubs over Dodgers in 4" So, everyone thinks Lilly will beat "The Unknown Pitcher" in game 4. But, which game do we lose? Dempster vs Lowe? Zambrano vs Billingsley? Harden vs Kuroda?

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

based on pitching matchups alone, I think the Cubs could lose all 3 of those games.... or win all 3 of those games. But if I went for percentages, chances are probably best the Cubs win 2 of the 3. Here is my game by game prediction. 1: W (low scoring game that scares the hell out of us all) 2: L (Z sucks) 3: W (game goes to bullpen early, Cubs almost give up lead, but hold it) 4: W (Lowe on 3 days rest, pitches well, but Dodgers offense is bad) Anyway, let's just get this done in 3, and move on to the fun stuff.

12 of 18 ESPN folk pick the Cubs to win the NL, 6 of 18 pick them to win the WS.

Angels > RSox in 5 Rays > WSox in 3 Cubs > Dodgers in 4 Phils > Brewers in 4 Rays > Angels in 6 Cubs > Phils in 7 Cubs > Rays in 5

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I'm guessing that some writer noticed that Soriano finished the season in a pretty significant slump and is seeing a good "told you so" opportunity. Sounds like some of the posters here, actually.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

in terms of Soriano's playoff performance last year...can't say I disagree with him. I thought Sori was tight and nervous and it showed, and it set the tempo for the team on offense. I really do think he is the top key to this series from an offensive stand point. He doesn't do anything, we are in trouble. He has a good series, we should be in great shape.

[ ]

In reply to by blockhead25

Here are the three players who need to absolutely need to take at least the first goddamned pitch: Ronnie Cedeno, Soriano, and Felix Pie. Those three remind of Corey -0 and 2 -Patterson. It's going to be cold, so it will probably be small ball that wins the game. Trying to rip one out, is probably not going to work. I hope these games go longer only if we're working the pitch counts. Who wants it more, Cubs?

[ ]

In reply to by Mike Vail

Not only cold, but lots of wind blowing in from the north (basically straight in from left field). Hopefully a good day to be Ryan Dempster.

What's the over/under on Derek Lee ground ball double plays in the NLDS? Cubs in 5 Phils in 4 Rays in 4 Angels in 4 Cubs in 7 Angels in 6 Angels in 7 (The billy goat curse is replaced by the Uggla curse.)

I generally don't like Couch, but aside from the article's snide tone, he has a point about Fonzie. At least try to take some pitches tonight vs. Lowe, don't make it easy on the guy. Sounds like basic advice, but we all know that sometimes Fonzie gets homer - happy up there. OTOH, what do I know? When he gets hot, it doesn't matter what his plate discipline is at the time, he hits everything anyway.

Couch grudgingly admits that Soriano has drawn more walks this season. Actually, his BB/K is much better than last year, .417 (43/103) to .238 (31/130). He seems much more disciplined to me. He takes a lot of close pitches. I wonder how many of his strikeouts were called-strike-threes compared to last year, but I don't know where to find that. Soriano got a huge contract specifically for October games this year and the next couple of years. Okay, Sori, you've got the spotlight.

[ ]

In reply to by blockhead25

Well, Rich Harden is one who was certainly acquired (at a high cost) for a single season that was not expected to end in the first playoff round. And they didn't care how few innings he pitched along the way--just keep babying him and try to get him to Game 3. Lilly was their best pitcher in September but won't pitch till after Zambrano and Harden get a turn. Did Zamabrano get them to October more than Lilly did? No, but he's a star, and this is when the stars come out. Fukudome is in the lineup tonight and batting second, not because they hope he continues to do what he's been doing. He was a star in Japan and in the World Baseball Classic, so you put him in the spotlight and expect him to perform. Soriano is a high-maintenance guy who may or may not get you to October, but he can carry you for a week or two when a championship is at stake. I think that's why they got him.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

You like to be wrong, don't you. - Harden was not acquired for a single season. - Fukudome is not playing because he is a "star." He is playing because, as Lou said, he wanted to focus on defense. - Lilly was not the best pitcher in September. Both Dempster and Harden had better ERA's, though Lilly did have a better WHIP.

I'm at work and, once again, am really happy to be able to watch the game online. And, once again, screw you MLB.

Late to party, but: Red Sox lose to Angels in 4 White sox lose to Rays in 3 Angels beat Rays in 7 Cubs beat Dodgers in 3 Phillies beat Brewers in 3 Cubs beat Phillies in 6 Cubs beat Angels in 7

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.