Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are 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 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

No News is Good News...I Guess

Submitted by Rob G. on

It certainly has been a rather drama free first week of camp, which doesn't give me much to react to...but I'll do my best.

- A Dave Kaplan tweet says Dale Sveum would bat Starlin Casto third if the season started today. I have no problem with that. I do have a problem with that leading to Darwin Barney probably batting second. Hopefully the front office can talk some sense into him or he'll set a record for losing the benefit of the doubt by fans like me rather quickly. If that is the case, I presume the lineup could look like this against righties: DeJesus, Barney (gag), Castro, LaHair, Soriano, Stewart, Byrd, Soto.

I'd prefer Castro batting second, but if Sveum insists on him batting third, I'd rather see: DeJesus, Byrd, Castro, LaHair, Soriano, Stewart, Soto, Barney.

- An article on Ryan Flaherty's chances of sticking with the Baltimore Orioles.

- Sveum on what he's looking for in a back-up catcher, "[Handedness] matters, but it’s not the final piece of the puzzle,” Sveum said. “The guy who will work and be able to handle pitchers is the biggest thing when it comes down to it.”

That should be one of the spring training battles which from what I can tell come down to the following:

Back-up Catcher: Steve Clevenger, Welington Castillo and Jason Jaramillo

4th/5th Starter: Figure Garza, Dempster and Maholm are locked in leaving Chris Volstad, Travis Wood, Randy Wells, Andy Sonnastine and Jeff Samardzija fighting for 2 spots.

5th OF: Soriano, Byrd, DeJesus, Johnson take up the first four with Tony Campana, Dave Sappelt and Joe Mather battling for a spot.

Back-up Middle Infielder: LaHair, Barney, Castro, Stewart and Baker seem locked in leaving Adrian Cardenas, Blake DeWitt, Matt Tolbert, Edgar Gonzalez and even Bobby Scales fighting it out.

Bullpen: I suspect Marmol, Wood, Russell and Samardzija are locked in. That leaves 3 spots open for the likes of Scott Maine, Jeff Beliveau, John Gaub, Trever Miller, Marcus Mateo, Manny Corpas, Rodrigo Lopez, Casey Coleman, Lendy Castillo and whomever loses out on the starter jobs if they don't get optioned, traded or released.

Obviously a spot on the 40-man gives a player the edge and then it'll be a mix of how they look in spring training versus what Sveum and his coaches feel the team needs and what the player needs (more development time, major league experience, speed, handedness, etc).

If I had to guess today: Jaramillo, Volstad and T. Wood, Campana, Cardenas and Maine, Corpas and either Lopez, Sonnastine or Wells for the swingman job (in order of likelihood).

- The Cubs are half way through the second round of the bunting tourney, here are the 8 that have advanced with 8 more second round match-ups to go.

(1) Beliveau vs. (12) McNutt
(2) Coleman vs. (14) Rusin
(4) Lalli vs. (9) Cardenas
(3) W. Castillo vs. (10) Clevenger

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Cubs News of the Moment

Comments

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 03:24 pm

5/75 with 6th year $15M mutual option starts in 2013. I was about to complain, but he's 29 this season. Catchers usually drop off a cliff after 32 with the bat, but well he's not getting the money for his bat. Still runs him from age 30 to 34 with the option for age 35.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 03:44 pm

DeJesus, Byrd, Castro, Soriano, LaHair, Soto, Stewart, Barney? I could live with that. or flip Byrd and Barney or god forbid if Lou or Quade's notes are left behind.... DeJesus, Barney, Castro, Soriano, LaHair, Byrd, Stewart, Soto

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 03:01 pm

and there were 20 Samardzija over #1 seed T. Wood, Mather over Barney, Castro over Stewart, R. Wells over Sonnastine Sweet 16 so far....4 2nd round match-ups to go. (1) Beliveau vs. (12) McNutt (2) Coleman vs. (14) Rusin (9) Samardzija vs. (12) Wells (4) Lalli vs. (9) Cardenas (3) W. Castillo vs. (10) Clevenger (1) Mather vs. (5) Castro

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 03:48 pm

cause they got rid of everyone holding the scrappy down. http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/cubs-talk/post/Cubs-believe-they-can-pro… blah, blah, we're gonna win cause we're playing as a team now... Add in the newly bulked up Darwin Barney -- who gained nearly 15 pounds of muscle to help him handle the rigors of a long season -- and the improvement expected from star shortstop Starlin Castro and the optimism is somewhat understandable for an improved season over 2011 when the Cubs lost 91 games.

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Submitted by jacos on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 03:09 pm

Kaplan was on WGN today and you could here the orgasmic groans over the phone -Smarninja throwing easy and "topping 97" blowing away Sveum, could "easily be in rotation" -Darwin "Camp Colvin" Barney -And BRYAN LAHAIR smashing the ball all over the park He made Hawk sound like Pat Sumerall on Ash Wednesday.

Submitted by Vegas Brian on Thu, 03/01/2012 - 03:15 pm

This really makes no sense. So they sign Beltran and Molina for $28M total, but let Pujols--the face of your franchise--for $25M? Wouldn't most teams want Pujols + any catcher vs. Molina + Beltran? I realize the difference in years; and it's certainly possible Pujols does not live up to $25M/year in 5+ years; but honestly, if I'm the Cardinals Org, I would've taken my chances knowing what they did today.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:11 am

BP's roundtable on the NL Central is out... (this is part one including Reds and Astros) http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16078 here's the first question they discuss.
​1. What kind of effect will the new front office have on the team? What will be most affected by the switch? Larry Granillo: I think any Cubs fans expecting immediate returns on the new front office are probably expecting too much. That said, I do think Epstein and Hoyer will have an effect. Epstein has already shown that he can envision something and make the moves necessary to create it. That shouldn't change in Chicago, even if he's no longer the actual GM. I'd expect the team to be more willing to take risks that might be hard to explain in talk radio, but ones that could help the team in the long run. ​Stephani Bee: Excellent points. I also think that the new front office represents a change in philosophy, from a team that threw money at problems and wound up making ill-advised deals (Soriano being the last remaining major mistake), to a team that, as you suggest, is willing to take risks and wait patiently for prospects to develop. And speaking of their farm system, bringing Jason McLeod over to work with scouting and player development will be huge. The Cubs haven't exactly raised the roof in the draft in recent years. ​LG: Very true. If I were a Cubs fan, I'd take this as a great sign from the Ricketts family. People have been content with being good enough in Wrigley for far too long. Hiring Epstein makes me feel like the Ricketts want to be better than that. ​SB: It helps that the Ricketts family has a deep pocketbook and should be willing to spend money when Epstein and Hoyer ask for it. In the short term, I don't see the Cubs signing many free agents. They'll probably shell out the dough to lock up key players like Starlin Castro, but I think this is going to be a steadier, patient front office than the North Side has seen recently.
they also discuss: 2. Speaking of Castro, he'll be entering his third season as the Cubs' starting shortstop at the ripe young age of 22. Just how good do you think he'll be? (brief answer, very good) 3. Will the Cubs continue playing salary munchers and deal Alfonso Soriano? If so, who are the likely takers? (brief answer, no and nobody) 4. Will the Cubs deal Matt Garza at the trade deadline? What kind of return might they get for him? (brief answer, maybe...speculation about the Rangers included) 5. Aramis Ramirez was the team's best offensive player in 2011, and he signed with the Brewers over the winter. Can the Cubs make up the offense they lost? (brief answer, no)

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:15 am

and BP has an article on 14 breakout candidates...LaHair in at #10: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=16112
10. Bryan LaHair In my early teenage years, I did some writing for a couple of High-A ballclubs in Southern California: the Lake Elsinore Storm (still a Padres affiliate) and the Inland Empire 66ers (then a Seattle Mariners affiliate). One of my first interviews was with Bryan LaHair, and when he hit a game-winning homer later that evening, my prospect crush was born. I swore that he was going to make the majors. As Steve Goldman can attest, I've remained vigilant in that conviction, despite scouts and teams branding LaHair as an organizational soldier. And really, his stats haven't been all that eye-popping. Scouts started paying more attention to the first baseman in 2010, when he hit .308/.385/.557 at Triple-A Iowa and showed increased patience at the dish. LaHair kicked up his slugging in 2011, knocking 38 homers and 38 doubles, and beefed up his OBP to .405, helping him to a 1.070 OPS in 129 games. The Cubs gave him a cup of coffee at the end of the year, and he held his own with a .288/.377/.508 performance in 20 games. Carlos Pena skipped town over the winter to soak up some Rays, leaving the first-base job to LaHair... until the Cubs traded for Anthony Rizzo. But Rizzo still needs some seasoning in Triple-A, meaning that LaHair is clear for takeoff in April. I don't think he's going to put up huge numbers—I can be realistic when I have to be—but I do think he'll be able to hold his own in extended playing time. For a guy who has played minor-league journeyman for eight years, I think that's good enough to be considered a breakout. —Stephani Bee

Submitted by TJ on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:49 am

Barney added 15 - 20 punds of muscle. This is certainly a misguided attempt to improve his game. Now he will hit .260 with 12 hrs and more stirkeouts. What he needs to do is to add about 40-50 walks per season. This does not require lifting weights. Two teams are looking for center fielders. Washington and Cleveland. Hello Marvin Byrd.

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:53 am

Soriano at leadoff not out of the realm of possibilities... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-soriano-to-leado… “The one thing about Soriano is that his numbers as a leadoff hitter are pretty good in his career whether he’s leading off a game or leading off an inning, his numbers are pretty incredible over his career,” Sveum said. “ If you want to get into the details of why you might come up with something like that it could be as simple as that. “We don’t have the bona fide guys at any position in the order. We don’t have any guys that drive in runs in the big leagues. (Starlin) Castro is obviously probably the most sound hitter we have to hit third. Do we have that base stealer, leadoff and on-base guy? (David) DeJesus probably fills that as much as anything. But we don’t have a lot of cut and dried spots to say ‘This guy is this’ and ‘This guy is that.’ It’s not that easy with that lineup right now.”

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:01 pm

Fangraphs Howard Bender goes on a bender with his top 10 Bold predictions:
Bryan LaHair hits at least 30 HR — This late-bloomer will have Cubs fans saying, “better late than never!” Though the PCL is notoriously hitter friendly, something clicked for LaHair last season and his power really took off. Look for him to start hot right out of the gate and lead the Cubbies in home runs this season.
he also picks Matt Cain for NL Cy Young. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/howard-benders-10-bold-predi…

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:18 pm

official... for this year only, Division series will be 2-3 format with lower seed (including WC) getting first two home games to eliminate a travel day. back to 2-2-1 format next year.

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:27 pm

and there were 16.... Sveum over Dempster, Maholm over Marmol, DeJesus over Byrd, Baker over Soto Sweet 16 (1) Beliveau vs. (12) McNutt (2) Coleman vs. (14) Rusin (9) Samardzija vs. (12) Wells (3) Maholm vs. (15) Sveum (4) Lalli vs. (9) Cardenas (3) W. Castillo vs. (10) Clevenger (1) Mather vs. (5) Castro (2) DeJesus vs. (3) Baker

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:18 pm

B. Jackson leads off with a HR off lefty T. Wood Szczur singles, manages to score from 2nd on a sac fly to RF (believe DeJesus was in RF).

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Submitted by johann on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:13 pm

"The process to me is something a lot of the guys in the clubhouse really trust," Johnson said. "Obviously, you don't want your sample going to somebody's house and sitting around for a couple of days, but you know that that process of them taking your sample and sealing it inside a case, stickers over it and that's inside a bag, stickers over that and that's inside a sealed box, stickers over that. The more I read stuff like that the more ridiculous it seems to me that anyone would think the sample was possibly screwed with.

Submitted by John Beasley on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:24 pm

Jayson Stark: "If you can build an 89-win team under this system, you can just about bank on playing in October. Under the old wild-card format, 20 teams have won 89 games or more and still missed the playoffs. If there had been a second wild card, just four teams with that many wins would have had to watch the October action on their flat-screens."

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Submitted by Craig A. on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:58 pm

89 wins gets you one more game. If you advance, you'll probably won't be able to use your best pitcher in the first three games of the first series. I don't think anyone wants to be a wild card team in this system.

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 03/02/2012 - 03:44 pm

If the guy could take some walks and improve his OBP overall, I don't think we would have a problem with it. But, based on recent Soriano revisionist history - blech!

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.

    When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.

    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

    On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?

    But I digress…

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.  

     

    At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.

    That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.

    Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Wesneski and Mastrobuoni to Iowa

    Taillon and Wisdom up

    Wesneski can't pitch for a couple of days after the 4 IP from last night. But Jed picked Wicks over Wesneski.

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