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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* 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: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Game 26 Thread - Maholm vs. Billingsley

Submitted by Rob G. on

Right now, the Cubs have 14 Home Runs on the year, Matt Kemp 12...the race is on. If you're in the area, apparently there are some $4 tickets available thanks to the wonders of dynamic pricing. I'd certainly pay that to see Kemp and Castro play.

Dodgers Cubs
Gordon, SS *DeJesus, RF
M. Ellis, 2B
 *Campana, CF
Kemp, CF
 Castro, SS
*Ethier, RF
 *LaHair, 1B
Rivera, LF
 Soriano, LF
*Loney, 1B
 *Stewart, 3B
Hairston, 3B
 Barney, 2B
A.J. Ellis, C
 Soto, C
Billingsley, P
 *Maholm, P

The big news I suppose is that Carlos Marmol is out as closer for the time being, with Rafael Dolis and James Russell set to share duties depending on matchups. Kerry Wood could be a possibility down the road. This drastic move should easily put about 10-15 extra wins in the Cubs column the rest of the way as they'll undoubtedly never blow a game. Fun fact, Rafael Dolis walk rate is 4.7 BB/9 and he gives up a lot of groundballs for Ian Stewart to butcher, much like he did yesterday to cost Marmol his job. Between Soriano and Marmol, the Ricketts are going to have to hire Kobayashi to eat all that contract money.

The Dodgers, for what little it's worth, have signed Bobby Abreu and optioned a former Cub in Justin Sellers to make room for him.

May the fourth be with you.

Tags
Carlos Marmol
Cubs game thread

Comments

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:15 pm

I guess I could just care less who is closing for the Cubs right now or next year. More important to find 2-3 decent relievers than one dominant closer. It's also more important for the Cubs to figure out where they are going to get a couple of top of the rotation pitchers and legitimate major league position players at 2B, LF, and potentially 3B and C. There really isn't all that much reason to worry about who is pitching in the 9th until you know who your 1 and 2 pitchers are, who is actually going to drive in runs, and who are going to be the 2-3 reliable pitchers to bridge the gap between rotation and pen. People worry too much about saves.

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:09 pm

You don't think Dolis can improve those numbers? That's a question, not a challenge to the assumption. The way he throws seems okay, he doesn't have the scary arm motion Marmol had when he was good, and his slider, although not as wicked as Marmol's, can be effective. If he improves his ratio just a bit, he could close. There are very few great closers, like it was mentioned. And, as you say, most of the time they have some killer pitch (which I think Dolis may lack from my limited views of him - but I've heard Brenley say that he has great stuff and I like his opinions). At the same time, playoff advancing teams always find a closer for at least that one season. For us, you would think it doesn't matter, but it kind of does because it is tough on young players to see leads vanish quickly. That takes a toll. I asked my friend Frank the Baseball psychologist and he tells me that is so.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:11 pm

if you can go 2-3 days in a row, your arm rebounds well, and you have an out pitch vs lefties and righties you're good to go. there's a lot (well, not a ton) of guys who get passed over on closing roles even though they got the stuff because they can't work the load without endangering their arms (SF believes this about s.romo). a guy like s.marshall makes for a rare-ish non-power-pitching lefty closer, but he's got pitches for both lefties and righties that's effective. after the marmol thing ends i hope the cubs never look further than 4-7m for paying for a closer. i know marmol technically fits that bill, but i'd also rather not see them trying to save such a small amount of potential millions on his kind of risk/reward possibility.

Submitted by QuietMan on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:09 pm

From BA's Hot Sheet. Not so Hot Sheet to be more exact: •Ronald Torreyes, 2b, Cubs: Torreyes has shown some good things and some bad early in the high Class A Florida State League season. The pint-sized second baseman is hitting just .205/.274/.289 in 23 games, including a 1-for-25 (.040) stretch over the past week. The good news is that Torreyes' terrific hand-eye coordination and bat control have not deserted him. Even this past week, he has not struck out once, and he only has seven strikeouts all season. His early performance has been underwhelming, but as a 19-year-old in the FSL, there's no need to panic here. • Gerardo Concepcion, lhp, Cubs: The Cubs gave Concepcion a rather stunning five-year major league deal worth $6 million in March, a move that was widely derided throughout the international scouting community. While the deal was seen as a significant overpay, Concepcion at least figured to be able to handle the low minors without much issue due to his success in Cuba's Serie Nacional at a young age. Instead, the 20-year-old's first two low Class A Peoria starts have resulted in 12 rus in 5 2/3 innings, including a start this week in which he couldn't even get out of the first. Concepcion is throwing strikes, but he's also struck out just two of the 32 batters he's faced, a pattern consistent with his middling strikeout rate in Cuba with a very hittable fastball that sits in the high 80s. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2012/…

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:26 pm

among qualified hitters Bourn, Span, Sweeney, Tejada, Ellis, Scutaro, Polanco, Walker, Carroll, Rollins, Bloomquist, Suzuki,Bonifacio (no XBH's), Brantley, DeJesus, Pennington, Reyes, Murphy, Peralta, Morel, Aybar, Byrd those aren't all that surprising, these are: McCutchen, Soriano, Francouer, Y. Alonso, Choo, Pujols

Submitted by TJ on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:21 pm

Why was Maholm taken out after 88 pitches and breezing along? Can our bullpen hold this lead for 3 innings? I don't like the odds. I would have kept him in unless there is something I don't know. Hopefully we can score a few more runs.

Submitted by Newport on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:11 pm

This dynamic pricing can suck my dick. Pretty sure I won't be able to keep my season tickets at this rate. Can't even give them away if Joe Schmoe can get them directly from the Cubs for $4 on a beautiful Friday afternoon. They really are ass fucking their best cu$tomers with this......at least they could use some lube. --------sits on ice pack--------------

Submitted by garsky on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:15 pm

Big Kerry Wood fan from way back, but you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em. I can't help but think he's done.

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:24 pm

I am only guessing but it seems as if the Cubs have been in the lead into late innings in more than 50% of their games. With any modicum of a decent bullpen, they would be right near the .500 mark. Kerry Wood can kiss my ass.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:44 pm

Yahoo says 4 blown saves 2 by Marmol, 1 by Dolis and 1 by Wood 1 of Marmol's and Dolis's came on Thursday, so that's just 3 losses. The other Marmol blown save was against the Cardinals and Cubs came back to win. Wood's came against the Nats on Opening Day and they lost, so it's cost them 2 games I believe. I hope you're not expecting perfection from the bullpen. they're probably a few tie games that the bullpen blew as well but I'm not looking that up and wasn't your main point.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Sat, 05/05/2012 - 05:10 am

ESPN shows 2-7 as relievers and 8-9 for starters, I think you're missing a Randy Wells loss. but we were talking about blowing leads and closing out victories, weren't we? 2 of those 7 reliever losses I believe are covered by the blown saves I mentioned. I don't know the numbers but I would guess that teams generally float to .500 in games tied from the 7th inning on, but I can't say for sure. I'm certainly not defending that it's a good crop of relievers, for god's sake they have Camp, R. Lopez at one point and Marmol. But it's hardly been this rash of blowing games lates. It's pretty much a bad team all around with some decent starting pitching at times. I personally think they can play around the .500 mark give or take a few games the rest of the way, but probably can't make up that hole they already dug themselves into.

Submitted by superjimmer on Fri, 05/04/2012 - 05:16 pm

From Van Dyck's tribune article on Cub victory: "James Russell relieved Maholm in the seventh and gave up in a while getting two outs." So I didn't see the game, did Russell pitch for a while, then he kinda gave up... or something?

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

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