Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Cubs Go Solar

This all seems still seems a little less than 100%, but there was a report early in the evening from the Tribune and Dave van Dyck saying the Cubs are "expected" to sign Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler according to "multiple reports" from the Dominican (it's more fun if you read that with air quote hand gestures).  The folks at Cub Hub seemed to have heard from the Score confirming the deal. Kevin Goldstein has no reason not to believe the reports, saying Soler's agent made similar agreements with other players he's represented before they offiicially became available to sign. Soler of course has yet to complete the legal gymnastics that Cespedes had to go through, so any confirmation from the Cubs is probably not going to come anytime in the near future. One report is suggesting a 3-4 year deal in the $27.5M range. The difference in that deal to Cespedes is that Soler would not get the clause in his contract where the club would not offer arbitration or auto-renew him once the deal is completed, meaning he'd be under the Cubs control for 6 full years of major league service time which doesn't start until he makes his major league debut. Once the initial contract runs out, he'd either sign a new one or just default to either pre-arbitration or arbitration depending on where he's at with his service time, similar to what Jeff Samardzija is going through right now.

Presuming it's all true, the Cubs added two blue chip prospects to their stable of minor leaguers this offseason. Most agree that Soler would easily be a top 5 pick in the draft. He plays center now, but most think he'll outgrow the position and will end up in right field. He's got a plus arm and good speed so it doesn't sound like defense will be much of an issue. Soler stands at 6-3" and 205 pounds at the moment  and BA compared him favorably to recent Royals draft pick Bubba Starling saying Soler has "explosive bat speed and power potential" with "five-tool potential".

Goldstein said he'd jump to #1 on his Cubs prospect list, Keith Law would put him second behind Brett Jackson. Goldstein earlier said he'd be around #38/#39 on his top 101 of major league prospects.

And for what it's worth, it's allegedly pronounced So-Lair, but that's not so good for the puns and renewable power jokes.

Tags

Comments

no mlb contract...woo. lot of loot and faith in investment, though.

Seems like a very fair deal especially considering future spending caps. I'm happy.

Seems the Cubs have addressed the lack of power in the system-- in the past year they've added/will add Soler, Rizzo, Vogelbach, Shoulders, and Baez. What legit power prospects did they have before that? Golden? Vitters?

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

I heard Brooks Kieschnick on the radio the other day saying, "This is lifetime Longhorn Brooks Kieschnick and you're listening to ..." whatever the hell the sports radio station is out here in the Austin area.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I never understood the handling of Kieschnick...he hits .295/.370/.495 in AAA in 1995...he gets 100 PA's in 1997...and that's it? From your #1 draft pick? Ugh.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

"Golden? Vitters?" At 23, Richard Jones was a little old for the Midwest League, but he was the second-best slugger (.538 SLG, .900 OPS) in the Cub minors, after LaHair.

Theo has done more in the last few months to strengthen the farm system than all the years of McPhail and Hendry combined. Finally someone gets it in the front office. That and I believe they are much better talent evaluators than anyone else before them.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Agreed. The combination of little hope for this season but enormous hope for the future is something I haven't experienced since the players Dallas Green drafted were moving through the system. Of course, at that point, Green was already gone and Jim Frey was going about a destruction of the farm system from which it has never fully recovered.

[ ]

In reply to by tbone

I concur. Little by little, the farm system is being resurrected and they are clearly going to continue acquiring young talent which will give us a perennial playoff contender.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

That and I believe they are much better talent evaluators than anyone else before them.
Although that's a little like saying vacations are more pleasant in California than in Antarctica. I have to give Ricketts a little credit here. When he bought the team he emphasized building the team from the ground up. You hear that a lot, so skepticism was understandable. Then, last off season, he dumped all kinds of coin on the draft, even spending wads of money on Dillon Maples, who I guess everyone else thought was unsignable. Then he hired The TheoCorp, who do seem much better at player evaluation than Hendry was, especially with position players (Hendry was actually pretty good with pitching). Now, he's given the go ahead to TheoCorp to spend heavily on Soler, which is good because the window for that kind of activity is closing fast. He hasn't made a big splash in free agency, but I pretty much felt decade long contracts to first basemen isn't a very good idea, so I don't blame him there, and other than those two, there really isn't much out there that I'm thinking, "damn, I wish they'd sign that guy". This is all good stuff. I doubt Soler will make his way to Triple A right away but I hope he does, since I live near Round Rock in Texas and they'll be playing the Iowa Cubs at home a few times this year.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

I know it is easy to just bag on Hendry, but this isn't a true statement. Look at some of the early 2000 top 100 lists. They have a bunch of Cubs on them. There were 6 in 2001 and 7 in 2002 and 5 in 2003 and 6 in 2004. Where you really saw a decline is after Hendry became GM. After his drafted and signed guys were gone and stockilledthesystem took over.

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In reply to by ced landrum

I was probably more excited about Green's minor leaguers than those of the early 2000s because I saw a lot of them play in Peoria and Iowa. Also, overall, they were just better players.

Okay, I guess I am happy with this outcome. Now what? Anyone see anything else happening before the last couple weeks of spring training?

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In reply to by Jace

I'm keeping my eye on Byrd and Soriano. Given any chance to unload these guys before Opening Day, I think they will take what they can get. I also think they will extend Garza, which will make him easier to trade and more valuable at the Deadline.

Levine on Espn Jackson & Rizzo could be up in June Theo comp prospect and cash, no one big Garza- if yanks, BoSox, angels lose pitcher to injury in ST cubs would want big package . Otherwise 5/65 like Danks

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In reply to by jacos

Levine's right. Jackson and Rizzo could be up in June. Or they could be up sooner. Or later. Barring any situations arising which don't allow them to be up in June. Or sooner. Or later.

What was the final outcome of Blake DeWitt? Is he a FA now?

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In reply to by artskoe

likely no one put a waiver claim in (believe AZ Phil said they have 3 days to do so). From there, they have 10 days total to decide on outrighting him or releasing him. Considering DeWitt probably wants to keep his $1.1M, he'll probably accept the outright.

Now twitter is all aflutter about Soler not being close to being a done deal. The Tribune is getting really good at pushing out scoops before they happen. I'm beginning to trust it like I trust the National Enquirer.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

that's true, about the paperwork, but I still don't trust the Trib much these days. Van Dyke usually is ok though. It's really hard to know. Does Soler have a twitter account?

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In reply to by Old and Blue

Carrie Muskat @CarrieMuskat Reply Retweet Favorite · Open #Cubs are interested in Jorge Soler but rumors that team has contract set ** not true**. Lots of teams with interest in Cuban OF

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In reply to by The E-Man

Soler's agent is Barry Paver-- also Z's agent. FWIW-- Kap says that reported 4/$27.5 deal is "ludicrous." So add 4/27.5 (=ridiculous - laughable - absurd - funny - comical) to the TCR lexicon. Or if, as I suspect, Kaplan is diametrically wrong as usual, then 4/27.5 means ridiculous but true.

@jorgearangure: On Soler/Cubs. Both sides may have a deal, but would now have to give impression they don't because it's against US and MLB rules Shared via TweetCaster

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In reply to by Vegas Brian

There it is. I was awaiting Az Phil's input, but I figured there would be at least smoke there

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In reply to by Rob G.

...would be potentially subject to an OFAC fine and, in theory, disciplinary action from MLB. Even if there is proof on this count, this might just be a slap on the wrist. I have a feeling this shit would be hard to prove definitively.

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In reply to by Jace

i'm a ron paul fan. you can't trust LAMEstream media. i get my news from ContrailsKill98 and EndTheFedSchoolSucks at youtube like all sane people. wake up sheeple! (tm)

this might just be a slap on the wrist. --- Theo under house arrest or just ankle bracelets?

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).