Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

Game 24 Thread - Samardzija vs. Arroyo

Same lineups that were suppose to play yesteday.

Reds Cubs
Cozart, SS *DeJesus, RF
Stubbs, CF
*Campana, CF
*Votto, 1B
Castro, SS
Phillips, 2B
*LaHair, 1B
*Bruce, RF
Soriano, LF
Rolen, 3B
*Stewart, 3B
Heisey, LF
*DeWitt, 2B
Hanigan, C
Soto, C
Arroyo, P
Samardzija, P

Castro picked off second base after a two-out double in the first, so good to know that some things in life are consistent.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by springs

You absolutely trade LaHair for a legit top prospect, especially at any position of scarcity in the system (starting pitching would be great). Let's say he's just hitting his prime. How much of his prime does he probably have left, especially as much as he K's and as slow as he is. He has legit old man skills and he's bordering on actually being an old man. He's awesome and I love what he's doing, but he'd be much more valuable to a team that needs a super cheap slugger for the next 2-3 years than he is to a big market team that needs long term solutions and/or legit stars, especially at positions like 1B and LF.

When the Cubs want to make a decision on bring up Rizzo then it really comes down to DeJesus or Soriano.....Soriano isn't going any where so DeJesus is either traded or released when that decision is made. I really like Campana and his speed in CF, LaHair in RF and Rizzo at 1b. LaHair has more value to us as a cheap hitter than he does as a trade chip. You trade him your not gonna get anyone remotely close to what his production value is to the current team. And if we play him everyday and he flames out, ohhhh well, no big deal no one can say he was rushed or wasn't given his shot. We can just as easily hand him an everyday gig as we can release him, with 0 consequences for the long term future of the franchise. But before any decisions are made about Rizzo being called up, i want to know what LaHair can do against lefties. For a shitty team, i see no reason why we can't find out now, stop protecting him.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Dude how many times do i have to beat a dead horse? If you can't follow a fucking conversation don't get mad at me. I will just present Tyler Colvin, Felix Pie, Neifi, Macias and on down the line who Cubs fans got infatuated over because of very brief periods of success for very different reasons. Colvin and Pie were both extremly flawed and i took alot of shit for doubting their early success. One thing i have always said is i have endless amounts of time wait out the bandwagon fans who flee like rats when Colvin and Pie fail. But i speak in probabilities, because i wan't to see them be good its just i don't see it happening. I will give Lahair this he has more talent than Colvin and Pie but without the pedigree. But he still has some glaring flaws that the league will expose. The only question is can he adjust and we have not gotten to that point yet in his career.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

You would be surprised at how many commentators were gushing about Neifi and how a change of scenery did him wonder, blah blah blah. I argued back and forth about not trusting 1 month vs his entire career. Cubs fans are predictable in one area......its doesn't matter how crappy a player is, or how at the end of a career a player is, if he flashes 1 good month Cubs fans are falling all over themselves to get a longer look at said player. It it never ends happily. But when your signed to a 3 year deal it only took a few months into that deal and costing DLee an MVP did people start to land on the hate bus for him. Many were just shocked into silence about a sub .300 OBP player returning to be a sub .300 OBP player.

Keith just dropped an F-bomb on WGN that only got partially bleeped. In reference to Arroyo's sidearm action on the 3-1 to DeWitt: "That's what makes him a fuc" ... dead air where they dropped the bleep.

Man. Days like today make me think they could compete next year . . . What's weird is Shark's blossoming culod actually change the whole damn game plan. If he becomes a freakishly dazzling number two, that makes Garza a keeper to me (I know I know), and Maholm is coming around, with Dempster, Volstad, Wells, T. Wood etc. That means that next year they would have to acquire 2 monster bats and a closer. Aaa ah to dream . . . And I don't think they trade LaHair. No way the more I think about it...dude is a crusher, and he looks for real. Even when he comes back t earth, even with a few silly left handed pitcher at bats, and even with his K's. He really looks at home and like aN MLB regular. He's our Josh Hamilton . . . (prays) I mean since we didn't keep the real josh hamilton

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Plus for the record, I believe LaHair could have gone to second for a 3-6-3 double play if he'd thought it through ahead of time and been prepared, then a shutout would have been possible. I don't remember who was batting but I don't believe it was a speedster. If it was I would understand, but it was a one hopper right to LaHair and could have been a 3-6-3 instead of a no-force 3-6-3-6-3-6-3-6-3-3-3-3-3-6-6-3-6 or whatever the fuck it was that let the run in . . .

Things that make me say hmmmmm... from some Brewer sites: The Brewers learned that first baseman Mat Gamel would need surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee. Then, left fielder Ryan Braun left the game in the sixth inning after limping off the field. Ron Roeneke On Ryan Braun: No, he's got a tight Achilles tendon that he felt a little yesterday on his stolen base.

I-Cubs being three hit through the top of the 8th, Memphis ahead 2-1. Valbuena with a solo HR in the 8th. Earlier, Cardenas with a single and Rizzo with a double. Nobody has a walk. That's it so far for offense. Casey Coleman only pitched 3.1 innings, 49 pitches, 2 runs. Not sure why he left.

At the beginning of the season my hopes for 80 wins or so were based on a few things. One, Samardzija actually looking like he did in spring, with a nice -- whatever that is, a split finger or something that drops off the table a bit, and some kind of handle on his control issues. Two, LaHair keeping up the hitting. Three, Castro getting his errors under control and hitting for some power. Two out of three so far, but it's early, and it's hard to know what things will look like as the season progresses. As for the rest of the pitching staff, ehhh, even Volstad looks okay to me as a fifth starter. Garza, Dempster, and a good Samardzija could get us to 80, especially if Campana somehow keeps hitting. The trade debate on LaHair is interesting. I don't trade him unless I get something rock solid back, like a prime prospect. I can see teams knocking on the door at about half time, and I would hope the Cubs will hold out for something really, really good. The whole question about whether LaHair is an outlier to me has been answered pretty much for me by his approach to the plate and the way he can hit some stuff that pitchers are clearly trying to fool him with. I've seen him reach down and swat low inside curve balls and fastballs and sliders and reach out and swat low outside stuff, and lay off stuff that the Sorianos of the world swing at every time. When I've seen him strike out, and I have to say I haven't watched anywhere near as many games as a lot of you have, I'm not seeing what I consider "bad" strikeouts. He'll sometimes take a called third strike. I'm okay with that with a power hitter with his capacity. He also often just swings at a tempting pitch, and just misses it. That's pretty normal for a good hitter. I love this guy's approach at the plate. I don't think he's an outlier at all. He's got tremendous batting skills. If he's traded, he should command a good return, or it shouldn't be done. Campana, on the other hand, I don't even get, but he is, without a doubt, the only meek hitting player I've ever seen that I go out of my way to watch. He is actually getting some solid contact, too, which is weird because he really looked awful up there last year, and even when I saw him play against Round Rock this year. But now he's talking about stealing 100 bases (which means he needs to get on at least 101 times, assuming he'll get caught stealing once), and if he's that much of a believer, fuck it, so am I. Maybe I haven't quite given up on this season yet after all. I'm not expecting a playoff appearance, but it would be nice to at least challenge for a .480-.500 record.

[ ]

In reply to by Newport

Actually, that's the standard I am holding the TheoCorp to. I'm not going to just mindlessly assume these guys are gonna be saviors, not after watching McFail bring his Twins reputation to the Cubs and killing us with Ed Lynch. Theo and Co sound great, I have a lot of hope, but from a commenting perspective, not that they give a damn, I'm gonna hold their feet to the fire. NEXT year is not a rebuilding year, not for a top market team. I'm giving them a pass this year, but only because of extenuating circumstances.

Heisey CF, Harris 3B, Votto 1B, Phillips 2B, Bruce RF, Ludwick LF, Mesoraco C, Valdez SS, Bailey P vs. DeJesus RF, Barney 2B, Castro SS, LaHair 1B, Soriano LF, Stewart 3B, Johnson CF, Soto C, Dempster P awaiting roster move for Dempster

When should we start calling LaHair the savior?

Nine hits so far, but only three runs -- all on solo HRs. Only one walk. The new Cubs Way looks awfully familiar.

What is the point of keepig marmol as closer? He's going to suddenly learn how to throw strikes? Teams will go up and start swinging at bad pitches? Some MLB team will lose their collective mind and trade for him? Other, younger relievers cannot possibly be worse than Marmol. Cut him loose, pay him the money and let some kid earning next to nothing try to close.

can Sveum honestly trot Marmol out again in the 9th inning? Just say no. or tell the woodsman to put snow white's heart in a box and bring it back to the queen

to be fair to Marmol and he certainly deserves plenty of the blame, but Stewart whiffed on a sure-thing double play. whole different scenario with man on 2nd and 2 outs and 0 runs.

I'm glad the Cubs are realizing Marmol is too wild to be a legit closer during a rebuilding year. It would be maddening to see games that matter frittered away while Marmol threw ball after ball putting guys on base for free.

@dschoenfield @jonahkeri I know you're not completely unbiased here, but how many wins do you think Maddon is worth per season? @jonahkeri @dschoenfield Impossible Q to answer since Maddon gets data from the smart behind the scenes guys. Of course he's willing (eager!) to use it @dschoenfield If the question is, how many wins do the Rays get from doing "Rays things"...at least 3-4 IMO, and that might be conservative.

at what point does bryce harper having calls he's involved with going "not his way" become the umps letting a kid with a history of authority/seniority issues know who runs the game out there?

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).