Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus one player is on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 3-28-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# 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 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 1 
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 1 
Caleb Kilian, 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

  • crunch (view)

    a recently converted 2-pitch guy with repeatable command is very promising.  having good stuff is one thing, but command of it is key.

    it will be nice to get him in some age-appropriate competition asap to see if it plays well.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    RHRP Hunter Bigge was sent back to Minor League Camp in Mesa from AAA Iowa and has been assigned to the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp to make room for recently signed free-agent C Curt Casali on the Iowa Cubs active roster. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    21-year old 6'5 RHP (ex-1B) Francis Reynoso continues to impress with his high velo FB / hard SL combo. He just arrived from the Cubs Dominican Academy a couple of weeks ago and is presently assigned to the Mesa (ACL Cubs) group at Minor League Camp, but given his stuff and his ability to command it, he could end up at South Bend by the end of the season (he also is Rule 5 Draft-eligible post-2024).    

    As I have mentioned here previously, Reynoso was a first-baseman in the Cardinals organization 2021-22, and he struck out 83 times in just 213 PA between the DSL and the FCL before getting released in December 2022. Then the Cubs signed him last June and converted him to a RHP at their Dominican Academy, just like they did in 2021 with ex-SS Michael Arias after he was released by the Blue Jays. 

  • crunch (view)

    that's moneyballs as hell.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In case you are wondering if Casali can be called up more than once in 2024 and still return back to AAA each time, an Article XIX-A player (that is, player has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time) can choose to sign a 45-day waiver each time he is called up whereby the player promises not to elect free-agency if he is sent back to the minors (optioned or outrighted) within 45 days of the call-up. However, the player would have to be placed on Outright Assignment waivers (and so he could get claimed off waivers) each time he is outrighted back to the minors (if the player is out of minor league options, which Casali is). Obviously a player does not have to agree to sign the waiver, but I suspect the Cubs asked Casali if he would be willing to do it (and he probanly said he would) before he was signed.

     

  • Jackstraw (view)

    On the bright side, Counsell's daily rate is only $21,857.92 this year, rather than the usual $21,917.81, due to it being Leap Year and all.  So, a much cheaper questionable decision.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    As I mentioned here last Monday when I posted the Iowa Cubs Opening Day roster (see above), the Cubs would be looking for a catcher to replace Jorge Alfaro as the primary catcher at AAA after Alfaro somewhat surprisingly opted out. And so the Cubs have signed veteran catcher Curt Casali to a 2024 Minor League contract and he will be the # 1 catcher at Iowa and will be available to get called up in case anything happens to Gomes or Amaya.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    If Steele's MRI is bad enough to warrant an IL stint (and that would appear to be the case), the Cubs could bring up an extra bullpen arm (K. Thompson or Palencia) until Steele's next scheduled start next Wednesday when a replacement SP can be called up (Wesneski or Brown), at which point the temporary RP can be sent back to AAA.

  • Charlie (view)

    I'd like to see the Cubs use that DH spot to get another impact bat into the lineup. This year they are more likely to use it to get a bench quality player more ABs and to take starters out of their defensive roles because they don't yet have another impact bat to put in there.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I think ideally the DH is a fourth OF or backup corner IF (or both) who is a good hitter and can rotate into the spot vacated when a starter needs a day off from the field.