Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Meet the Cubs Managerial Candidates: Pete Mackanin

It appears at the moment that the Cubs are focused on three names to take over for Q-Ball, shockingly three names that the Red Sox are also interested in.

Let's do a little vetting starting with Pete Mackanin.

Pete MackaninMackanin (pronounced muh-CAN-in) started his playing career with the Texas Rangers, well technically the Washington Senators before they moved. A 4th round pick in 1969 out of Brother Rice Catholic High School in Chicago. He ended up playing for four organziations as a utility infielder and accumulating a 226/263/339 career slash line. He played under such notables as Whitey Herzog, Billy Martin, Gene Mauch, Bobby Cox and Dallas Green, among others. He then went into minor league coaching as so many players do, his first gig with the Peoria Chiefs in 1985 leading them to the Finals twice, but losing.  I can't find anything for 1987 (update - appears he was the minor league coordinator for the Cubs that season), but by 1988 he got bumped to Iowa for two more seasons before moving on to the Reds organization. Ultimately he managed 9 winning seasons out of 14, making the playoffs 7 of those times and taking the league championship twice while in the minors. He also led a Venezuelan team to the 1989 Caribbean World Series championship and won.

He earned his first major league gig as third base coach of the 1997 Montreal Expos under Felipe Alou. By 2001 he was back in the minors with the Pittsburgh Pirates, getting his first crack at managing the big league club in 2005 when the Pirates fired Lloyd McClendon. The Pirates went 12-14 to finish the season and Jim Tracy was hired for 2006. He took the demotion in stride and managed their Gulf Coast League in 2006 before moving on to a new organization.

He joined the Reds as an advance scout that year and then took over for for Jerry Narron after the team went 31-51 in 2007. The Reds went 41-39 the rest of the way and then hired Dusty Baker for 2008. He served as pro socut for the Yankees in 2008 and then joined the Phillies coaching staff in 2009 as their bench coach.

Some  quotables...

He said he "loved" statistical analysis, a tool he said he used extensively as a scout, and when asked if he considered himself a "players' manager" or a "disciplinarian," the stock descriptions thrown out about a job too complicated to define by such broad terms, he answered, "Both."

By all accounts, Mackanin has been a steady hand. Known for his intelligence and dry sense of humor...

"I think you have to have an element of both sides of that in order to be a good motivator," he said. "I think there's a juggling act that's involved in that, where you have to have enough discipline but at the same time let the players play easy. You don't want them tense.

(From Ben Cherington): "He can see the game from different perspectives, which I think is a benefit. He's got, as you saw, a good way about him, a good sense of humor, mature, and a good reputation from every clubhouse that he has been a part of.

Comments

Peter Gammons tweets that one team that asked for permission to speak to Oquendo was denied and that he was next in line...doesn't sound like Sandberg has much of a shot. at least he'll get good at interviews....

Mackanin interviews tomorrow, then Mike Maddux, no word on Sveum.

Nice job, ROB G! Like the "Meet the Manager" series, and can't wait for the Maddux-Brothers (you ARE planning a Maddux Bros. episode, right?). Anyway, I knew nothing about Mac, except he replaced McClendon, who I actually liked as a Cub player.

appears he was minor league coordinator for the Cubs in 1987

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

"I have been thouroughly unimpressed with Rudy." There's a code of silence that is imposed on Cub coaches that frustrates me. Either that or the beat reporters just don't ask the right questions of the right people, but I suspect that the coaches are discouraged from responding. For example, I don't recall Larry Rothschild ever being asked, What happened to Rich Hill? It was certainly on Rothschild's watch that Hill's promising one-season career came tumbling down. And by the way, Rudy, what happened to Tyler Colvin? Von Joshua had a refreshing candor but it got him into trouble with Bradley and ultimately with the bosses.

Brewers writer says Cubs haven't asked Brewers for permission yet.

Interesting that the Cubs have scheduled a news conference for Mackanin after his interview on Friday, and promise to do the same with the other candidates. (See Rob's Tito-related Trib link above.) Managers talk to the media after every game, so this is a clever sort of tryout. If Theo intends to improve the fan experience, it's working already.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Thu, 11/03/2011 - 5:17pm — VirginiaPhilNew Re: Meet the Cubs Managerial Candidates: Pete Mackanin Junior Lake hit a walkoff double this afternoon in Mesa. Too bad the game ended, he could have stolen another base. ======================================= VA PHIL: Junior Lake's triple was lined into the right-center alley, the walk-off double was lined into the left-center alley, and the single was lined to CF. He also flied out to CF and grounded out 4-3 (close play at 1st), and he stole a base, too. After Lake hit his walk-off double, he was mobbed by his Solar Sox teammates at the pitcher's mound, and they played "Go Cubs Go" over the P A. BTW, Lake is now tied for 4th in the AFL in triples, is 5th in HR, is tied for 6th in doubles, is 8th in SLG %, and is 10th in RBI. He also has 16 SB (0 CS) which leads the AFL by a wide margin over D. J. LeMahieu (who is 2nd). On the negative side, Lake is 7th in the AFL in strikeouts.

From the embedded tweets:
BruceMiles2112 #Cubs will interview managerial candidates and then have them do interviews with the media. This is a departure from the past.
Why stop there? If they really want to see what someone is made of, send them to Parachat.

I dont agree with all of Theo Epstein's moves so far but from what I have seen in the brief 2 weeks he has been Cubs president, I am very excited for the future of this team: 1) The man has a plan Such a refreshing departure from the fly-off-the-seat-of-his-pants style of Hendry. The guy is deliberate, thinks things through well and executes his moves boldly. Who else would write a manual on "The Cubs Way" and distribute it to the entire organization like they did in Boston? 2) The guy is a team player He knows how to bring in good people and he listens to them as equals. So instead of one smart young exec, Ricketts was able to bag a 3-in-1. GO Team Theo! 3) He thinks out of the box And not just for the sake of being different, but he tries to find better ways of accomplishing the same goal. I like this idea of including press conferences as part of the manager interviews. 4) He communicates with class Every leadership guru will tell you how essential it is to communicate well (especially your vision) with the people around you. So far he's acquitted himself well w/ the Chicago media w/o ass-kissing and that phone call to Sandberg was pretty classy. Theo is obviously not flawless (no one is) but it's impressive to see that he's learned to be an effective leader at a relatively young age.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Yeah, he hires extremely well-qualified "buddies", including those who have assisted in demonstrated success, and those that buy in to the plan he subscribes to which he laid out, in detail, to the fan-base and employees in the organization. I'd have to disagree that he's laid on his plan in detail to the fan base. If you take that phrase out, he's done nothing different than Jim Hendry. Hey, I am excited too, but let's call a spade a spade. So far he's done what every other person in his position would have done, namely bring in "his guys" and fire or demote his predecessor's guys. That's not outside of the box thinking, that's what everyone does.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I get that NEAL, and your concern is noted. Bringing in people who are of like mind is not specifically "thinking outside the box", but if they are very qualified, you would have to agree - based on excellent track records and philosophical alignment and comfort zone - that this is sound business practice. Until proven otherwise, I find this approach refreshing due to the caliber of people, and when compared to the predecessors, having three people of high caliber making reasoned, thouroughly evaluated decisions, more "thinking outside the box" than has been demonstrated on the North Side.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

I don't think it matters much how out of the box he thinks. In Hendry's later years, I would have been completely content with someone who thought within the box of improved scouting, and a bigger and better staff, with a substantial investment in computer resources and stats. These are all the makings of a modern organization, and if Theo simply gets us into the box of a modern ballclub, we at least have a fighting chance to compete. So it's all good. I'm impressed that Ricketts has committed not only to boosting the resources needed to do the things Theo has done in the past, but in his approach to the draft and international amateur free agent signings. Overall these are all great trends. They may seem out of the box because it's so non-Cubs-like. But it's really just a template for running a major league ballclub in the 21st century.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

It was one of the reasons it was so hard for me to get too involved as a fan last year. It finally got to the point of, hey, I really have better things to do, than follow a team that has buried itself into some really stone age thinking. I look at how Theo is doing things -- building a large staff of high-level personnel, and look at how it was just a few months ago - it was all really just on Wilken and one guy with a an old PC that was probably using Windows 98. Wilken may be very good at his job - but it sounds like he was doing the job that several do in a Theoregime. Last year, I had no hope that things would get better. We were saddled with these horrific contracts, and a GM who, although he did have a few decent years, had really fallen behind the times. It'll be interesting to see how Wilken fits into all this. Either way, I'm looking forward to my annual spring training visit, and maybe I'll even catch a few games this year.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • 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.