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 

 



 

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Dustin X-Ackley What Mariners Need to Throttle Cubs

Dustin Ackley smashed a three-run home run to cap a four-run 5th inning, and Guillermo Quiroz cracked a two-run HR to finish the scoring in the 9th, as the Seattle Mariners drubbed the Cubs 10-3 in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in cool & sunny Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

Chris Volstad (acquired from the Marlins in exchange for Carlos Zambrano during the off-season) got the start for the Cubs and looked very good, retiring the first seven men he faced and throwing three innings of one-hit shutout ball (32 pitches – 18 strikes, 2/4 GO/FO). As was the case with Jeff Samardzija yesterday, Volstad had his scheduled two-inning stint extended by an inning after throwing only 17 pitches (combined) through his first two innings.

Kerry Wood followed Volstad to the mound, making his 2012 Cactus League debut. Woody threw a shutout inning, allowing a two-out Justin Smoak double that was rifled down the RF line. KW is always a fan favorite at HoHoKam.

Meanwhile, Alfonso Soriano gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd, slugging a lead-off solo HR just to the left of the “Green Monster” Batter’s Eye and off the roof of the CF refreshment stand. Sori has been on fire this week, as he appears be in the midst of one of his patented home run binges. The 36-year old Soriano may be just a one-dimensional player at this stage of his career, but that one dimension is an ability to hit gargantuan home runs.

Cub closer Carlos Marmol took the hill in the 5th, and he had a bad outing. He did rack-up a couple of strikeouts (both swinging), but otherwise he couldn’t even retire the side before having to be relieved. For the day, Marmol allowed four runs on four hits plus an HBP in 2/3 of an inning. Among the hits allowed was a Dustin Ackley three-run HR that landed above & beyond the RF bullpens.

RHP Blake Parker (competing for a RH middle-relief job) relieved Marmol and extinguished the fire in the 5th by striking out Justin Smoak, but the Mariners scored a run off Parker in the 6th on consecutive one-out hits before a “strike-‘em-out/throw-‘em-out” (in concert with catcher Welington Castillo) ended the inning.

Down 5-1 going into the bottom of the 6th, the Cubs scored two runs off Seattle RHRP Tom Wilhelmsen to make the score 5-3. Both of the runs were unearned, thanks to a couple of throwing errors, one by Wilhelmsen himself when he overthrew the first-baseman after fielding a strike three pitch that bounced off the catcher’s shin-guard and halfway out to the mound.

LHP Scott Maine did nothing to win the 2nd LH relief job, coming into the game in the top of 7th after the Cubs had scored two in the previous half-inning and promptly giving both runs back. Josh Vitters contributed to the problem with an E-5 throwing error, but the fact is Maine just could not throw strikes. He was all over the place, and ended-up walking the bases loaded and then surrendering a two-run double before getting yanked out of the game with the Cubs down 7-3.

RHP Alberto Cabrera relieved Maine, and although he got the last out in the 7th (leaving two runners stranded), he then gave up three consecutive hits leading off the 8th. 38-year old veteran LHRP Trever Miller came into the game with the bases loaded and nobody out, and did as well as probably could be expected under the circumstances, allowing one of the runners to score on a single, but also inducing a couple of comeback bouncers to the mound (one leading to a 1-2 FC, and the other beginning an inning-ending 1-2-3 DP).

RHRP Casey Weathers (competing with Blake Parker and several others for the RH middle-relief job) pitched the 9th, and he stunk, walking three, throwing two wild pitches, and allowing a two-run HR. (Weathers was the pitcher the Cubs got from the Rockies in the trade involving Ian Stewart, Tyler Colvin, and D. J. LeMahieu).

Cubs dead-head brain-fart Play of the Day was by Twins castoff infielder Matt Tolbert, who, with runners at 1st & 2nd and no outs, dived to stop a ball behind 2nd base, and then instead of tossing the ball six feet to a waiting Junior Lake (who was STANDING ON 2ND BASE) for an easy 4-6 force-out (the runner would have been out at 2nd by three or four steps), inexplicably decided to get to his feet and try to throw out the runner at 1st base (who had crossed the bag by the time the throw arrived). Not exactly Chris Webber calling timeout when his team had no timeouts left in an NCAA National Championship basketball game, but it was still a stupid decision.

The Cubs travel to the west-side tomorrow, where they will play the White Sox at Camelback Ranch.

Comments

Phil - you mentioned yesterday that there were a lot of Cuban refugees at camp but they were missing several DR players. Is there some sort of VISA limit that could prevent them from bringing too many foreign players into camp?

[ ]

In reply to by DavidP

Thu, 03/08/2012 - 9:18pm — DavidP Phil - you mentioned yesterday that there were a lot of Cuban refugees at camp but they were missing several DR players. Is there some sort of VISA limit that could prevent them from bringing too many foreign players into camp? ========================================= DAVID P: There used to be a limit of 26 H-2B work visas available for each MLB club each season. Sometimes a Cubs minor league player would get sent back to the Cubs Dominican Academy just so a different player could get a visa and come to the U. S. But there is no longer any limit, because about five years ago the U. S. immigartion law was changed to allow minor league players to apply for and receive P-1 work visas (the same ones MLB players use). Foreign minor league players can still have a problem getting a P-1 visa, though. For one thing there is a waiting period, and also there has been increased scrutiny of individuals applying for work visas post-9/11, so any mistake or discrepancy on the application can cause a delay in the issuance of the visa.

Ian Stewart for Tyler Colvin, OK, I'm on board with that. Makes sense for both teams. But DJ LeMahieu for Casey Freaking Weathers? Wow. I think the Cubs finally found a reliever that is less successful at throwing strikes than the previous champion, Felix Heredia. Prediction: Marmol doesn't make it to June 1 as the closer.

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

at the risk of the retarded "i think theo knows better than you" crowd popping up about weathers again...i dunno a single scout that likes anything he brings to the table. the fact he's on the 40-man roster is useless, imo. he was probably just a toss-in on a list of unattractive options. if he was actually targeted then...sigh. he wasn't good before he was injured and he's been worse since then. he's never had it...probably never will. blah blah 1st round pick...he sucked in college (for a 1st round pick projection) and wasn't even a starter. he was supposed to be one of those guys that spends a part-to-one season in the minors before contributing in the bigs. all stuff and no idea what to do with it. keeping the ball in the park is about the only thing he can do. when he was doing it vs. alluminum bats in college some people's eyes glossed over about a guy that needs 20+ pitches to get through an inning pitching on an elite NCAA team. fwiw, given the lack of 3rd base availabilty anywhere it would have probably taken more than colvin to get i.stewart...but then again they got him from a team that wanted colvin for a bench spot and felt more comfortable with a nearly 40 year old FA manning 3rd over stewart.

"I think Soriano had his best year as a Cub last year" (face palm) Did say Soriano has lowered his leg kick and has so far done a better job of not swinging at breaking balls in the dirt.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Moved Ian's hands down, and changing his weight distribution. Says he was leaning back too much to start.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Brewers look good enough to compete. But if they get out of the gate slow and get in a hole and are several games back after 1/3 of the season, there'll be a lot of pressure to trade Greinke and Marcum and re-plenish that decimated farm system. Signing Weeks and Ramirez notwithstanding, their window sure looks like it's about to close.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Even if they're 4 games back of a playoff spot, with 3-4 teams in the mix. Obviously, that's not even close to "out of it" mathematically speaking, but I doubt they want to bet the whole decade on a team who might be 43-41 in early July. If it was my decision, I'd sure be nervous about not getting some return from contenders looking at Greinke, Marcum, and KRod. Their farm doesn't have a lot of impact talent to produce. Even with the core of Braun, Weeks, Gallardo, Ramirez, Axford, and Gamel, and with the $25M or or so they'd have to spend, it seems unlikely they could turn around and re-construct a pennant winner for 2013. So the point is, with the window closing after this year, a franchise like Milwaukee with a $90M or so payroll ceiling has to make a calculated bet.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Fri, 03/09/2012 - 11:21am — The E-Man Re: Dustin X-Ackley What Mariners Need to Throttle Cubs AZ PHIL: Any sightings on Robert Whitenack? Is he still rehabbing? Thx. ================================= E-MAN: Rob Whitenack is at Minor League Camp and he is assigned to the AA Tennessee squad. While he is running and participating in most of the fielding drills, he is restricted as far as throwing is concerned. I have not seen him throw off a mound yet. I would think he will almost certainly open the regular season at Extended Spring Training, and then maybe (hopefully) he will be back in the starting rotation at Tennesse by mid-season, or at least by next season.

Four non-roster invitees have been assigned to minor league camp: right-handed pitchers Marco Carrillo and Trey McNutt; infielder Jonathan Mota; and outfielder Jae-Hoon Ha. Chicago’s spring roster of 59 players consists of 28 pitchers (eight non-roster invitees), seven catchers (four non-roster invitees), 14 infielders (five non-roster invitees) and 10 outfielders (three non-roster invitees). http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120309&content_id=27…

[ ]

In reply to by Seamhead

Fri, 03/09/2012 - 1:43pm — Seamhead AZ Phil: How's the Manny Corpas Reclamation Project going? If Shark indeed moves to the rotation, Corpas is about the only veteran pen guy who can replace him. Thanks in advance for the knowledge. ==================================== SEAMHEAD: I saw Manny Corpas throw "live" BP twice at Fitch Park and one inning-plus in one Cactus League game, and based on that limited amount of information, I have not been impressed. He is throwing from various arm angles, kind of like he is trying to trick the hitters. But he hasn't fooled too many so far. As to who might be the frontrunners to win RH relief jobs coming out of Spring Training, I would say Rafael Dolis and either Marcos Mateo or Blake Parker (Mateo is out of minor league options). Or perhaps Rodrigo Lopez , Andy Sonnanstine, and/or Casey Coleman could pitch effectively in middle relief, although I really like Lopez better as the "12th man" (long-man & spot starter) Actually, the best RH relief arms (talking about guys who throw hard stuff) are probably down the street at Minor League Camp... Kevin Rhoderick, Aaron Kurcz, and Tony Zych. The Cubs decided not to give any of three an NRI (inviting Marco Carrillo instead), although both Rhoderick and Zych were called up from Minor League Camp and threw an inning a piece in a Cactus League game earlier this week. We might be seeing more of them in Cactus League games during the course of Spring Training if the others who were invited to big league camp are found wanting.

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.