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 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Unleash the Wood at Diablo Park

Trey Martin laced a bases-loaded triple to key a six-run 2nd inning, and Javier Baez and Jeimer Candelario each blasted a two-run home run to highlight a five-run 9th, as the Cubs rode a 21-hit attack en route to a 14-5 thrashing of the Angels in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Diablo Park Field #3 in Tempe, AZ.

The game was extended an extra inning so that all of the pitchers who were scheduled to throw could get their work.

The Cubs offense was on full display today.

Besides hitting his 6th HR in 22 EXST games, Javier Baez singled and walked (his first walk in 110+ professional PA), Trey Martin added a double to his bases-clearing triple, Jeimer Candelario singled twice and walked in addition to his two-run HR, Kevin Encarnacion had four hits including two RBI singles, and Neftali Rosario singled twice and doubled and scored two runs.

Recently-signed catcher Brian Esposito made his Cub debut in today’s game, catching the first five innings before moving to DH.

Now 33 years old, Esposito was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2000 draft out of the U. of Connecticut, and had spent the previous 12 seasons playing for a half-dozen different organizations, mostly at the AA level. He also saw a little bit of MLB action with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007 and with the Houston Astros in 2010. He is a career 216/254/304 hitter in 724 minor league games.

Here is the abridged box score from today’s game (Cubs players only):

CUBS LINEUP:
1a. Trey Martin, CF-DH: 2-4 (F-8, 3B, 2B, E-5, R, 3 RBI)
1b. Wilson Contreras, PH: 1-1 (1B, R)
2a. Brian Inoa, 2B: 0-2 (4-3, F-9 SF, F-9, RBI)
2b. Danny Lockhart, 2B: 0-2 (6-3, 4-3)
3. Javier Baez, SS: 2-4 (1B, K, BB, P-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)
4. Brian Esposito, C-DH: 0-4 (5-3, P-6, P-4, 4-3, BB, R)
5. Dan Vogelbach, 1B: 2-5 (K, P-6, 2B, P-5, 1B, 2 R)
6. Xavier Batista, LF-DH: 1-3 (1B, K, F-7 SF, K, F-8 SF, R, 2 RBI)
7. Jeimer Candelario, 3B: 3-4 (1B, 4-3, BB, 1B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)
8. Neftali Rosario, DH-C: 3-5 (1B, 2B, 1B, F-9, F-8, 2 R)
9. Kevin Encarnacion, RF: 4-5 (1B, 1B, 3-U, 1B, 1B, R, 2 RBI)
10a. Dong-Yub Kim, DH #2: 2-3 (1B, F-7, 1B, R, RBI)
10b. Garrett Schlecht, CF: 0-2 (4-3, E-5)
11a. SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TIME THRU BATTING ORDER
11b. Trevor Gretzky, DH-LF: 1-3 (1B, K, P-6)

CUBS PITCHERS:
1. Tayler Scott: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, 54 pitches (34 strikes), 2/4 GO/FO
2. Felix Pena: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 1 WP, 33 pitches (23 strikes), 3/3 GO/FO
3. Pete Levitt: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 26 pitches (17 strikes), 2/1 GO/FO
4. Roderik Pichardo: 1.2 IP, 1 H 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 29 pitches (18 strikes), 1/3 GO/FO
5. Alvido Jimenez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 14 pitches (8 strikes), 1/1 GO/FO

CUBS ERRORS: 1
1B Dan Vogelbach - E-3 (missed catch on what should have been 1-3 GO allowed batter to reach base safely)

CUBS OUTFIELD ASSISTS:
LF Trevor Gretzky - threw out batter 7-4 trying to stretch a single into a double

ATTENDANCE: 18

WEATHER: Sunny & VERY breezy with temperatures in the 90’s

Comments

As with Randy Wells last month, Optional Assignment Waivers had to be secured before Chris Volstad could be optioned to the minors (that's because Volstad made his debut on an MLB 25-man roster more than three years ago). Optional Assignment Waivers are revocable the first time they are requested in a given waiver period, and can be requested at any time in a given waiver period starting on 2/16 up through the conclusion of the MLB regular season. Once secured, the waivers are good for the balance of that waiver period. (EXCEPTION: A player cannot be optioned to the minors and Optional Assignment Waivers cannot be requested or secured during the off-season beginning with the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season, and all players on Optional Assignment must be recalled no later than the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season). The easiest way for a GM to navigate Optional Assignment Waivers is to place all players on the club's MLB Active List (25-man roster) who require Optional Waivers before they can be optioned to the minors on Optional Waivers at the beginning of each waiver period. (Clubs will often do this with Trade Assignment Waivers after the July 31st trade deadline, too). Seven players can be placed on Assignment Waivers (Trade, Optional, and/or Outright) every day, so the process can be done very quickly. And because Optional Waivers are revocable the first time they are requested in a given waiver period, if a player were to be claimed (which is unlikely), the waiver request can be withdrawn, and the club would know that if that player were to be placed on Optional Assignment Waivers again later in that same waiver period, the waivers would then become irrevocable and could not be withdrawn if a claim was made. The current waiver period commenced on the 31st day of the MLB regular season (which was May 4th), so the Cubs requested Optional Assignment Waivers on Volstad sometime earlier in the waiver period. If it had not been done this way, the Cubs would have had to DFA Volstad today and wait two days for him to clear waivers before he could have been optioned to Iowa. The current waiver period runs through July 31st, so if the Cubs were to recall Volstad sometime later in the waiver period, they could option him back to the minors again prior to August 1st without having to secure Optional Assignment Waivers again.

[ ]

In reply to by Koyies Bansaw

Yes, Frank Batista should be on the list. ELIGIBLE FOR SELECTION IN DECEMBER 2012 RULE 5 DRAFT: Jeffry Antigua, LHP Frank Batista, RHP Justin Bour, 1B Michael Brenly, C Michael Burgess, OF David Cales, RHP Esmailin Caridad, RHP Matt Cerda, INF Hunter Cervenka, LHP Evan Crawford, OF Willengton Cruz, LHP Antonio Encarnacion, RHP Eduardo Figueroa, RHP Luis Flores, C Ramon Garcia, RHP Gregori Gonzalez, IF-OF Marcus Hatley, RHP Ty’Relle Harris, RHP Graham Hicks, LHP Brett Jackson, OF Jay Jackson, RHP Alvido Jimenez, RHP Richard Jones,1B Austin Kirk, LHP Luis Liria, RHP Jeff Lorick, LHP David Macias, IF-OF Nate Maldonado, C Trey McNutt, RHP Pedro Medina, RHP (ex-OF) Jose Montesino, INF A. J. Morris, RHP Enyelberth Pena, RHP Felix Pena, RHP Starling Peralta, RHP Nelson Perez, OF Roderik Pichardo, RHP Brooks Raley, LHP Dae-Eun Rhee, RHP Rebel Ridling, 1B Greg Rohan, IF-OF Melvin Rosa, RHP Jose Rosario, RHP Zac Rosscup, LHP Chris Rusin, LHP Julio Sanchez, RHP Brian Schlitter, RHP Ryan Searle, RHP Matt Spencer, LHP (ex-OF) Nick Struck, RHP Larry Suarez, RHP Francisco Turbi, RHP Brett Wallach, RHP Logan Watkins, INF Casey Weathers, RHP Rob Whitenack, RHP Ty Wright, OF NOTE: Player not eligible for selection if added to MLB 40-man roster by 11/20. ================================= ARTICLE XX-D MINOR LEAGUE FREE-AGENT POST-2012: Manny Corpas, RHP Frankie de la Cruz, RHP Blake DeWitt, INF Rodrigo Lopez, RHP MLB RULE 55 MINOR LEAGUE FREE-AGENT POST-2012: SIX-YEAR MINOR LEAGUE FA: Jim Adduci, OF Alfredo Amezaga, IF-OF Juan Apodaca, C Justin Berg, RHP Kyler Burke, LHP Brian Esposito, C Mike MacDougal, RHP Jonathon Mota, INF Nate Robertson, LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith, LHP Nate Samson, INF Matt Tolbert, INF Luis Valbuena, INF SECOND-CONTRACT/PREVIOUSLY-RELEASED MINOR LEAGUE FA: Adrian Aviles, LHP (previously released by LAD) Michael de la Cruz, RHP (previously released by TEX) ++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTES: 1. A minor league player eligible to be an ARTICLE XX-D FREE-AGENT is not eligible to be a free-agent if the player is added back to MLB 40-man roster by the end of the MLB regular season. A player eligible to be an Article XX-D minor league free-agent can file for free-agency beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up through October 15th. 2. A minor league player eligible to be an MLB RULE 55 FREE-AGENT is not eligible to be a FA if the player is added to his club’s 40-man roster by 5 PM (EDT) on the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

I'm guessing that Rhee would sort of fall into that next tier for you? ____ A lot will depend on how the rest of the season goes. If Rhee gets stronger as the year progresses, as he did last year, I think there's a higher chance that a team might take him this time around. With the shoddy shape of the bullpen, if Marcus Hatley finishes strong, I'd want to protect him because I view him as one of the few current pen guys (thus excluding McNutt) with late inning potential (Alberto Cabrera is another). That said, with the shoddy shape of the pen, wouldn't surprise if Hatley saw the bigs this year. A notch below that, I would wonder about a guy like Logan Watkins. The new regime thinned out the upper level positional depth and lucked into Cardenas/Valbuena to replace the departed. Assuming one or both of Adrian and Luis are in the bigs, having a versatile up-the-middle guy like Logan Watkins could prove nice as depth. I think Watkins would have to show some better offensive consistency, though, to get consideration. AzPhil, what do you think about the chances of the raw arms figuring into the mix, guys like Peralta and Rosario? I just wonder if a team might Lendy Castillo one of those guys, take a raw arm, see if you can hide him, and then send him to the minors next year.

[ ]

In reply to by toonsterwu

The Cubs like to use the AFL for "bubble" guys like Dae-Eun Rhee and Logan Watkins, and I would expect both to be there. Either could get added to the 40-man roster by the 11/20 deadline with a strong showing in the AFL. You take a chance by leaving raw arms like Rosario and Peralta off the 40-man roster, and the fact that the Cubs selected Lendy Castillo in last year's Rule 5 Draft means they value that type of pitcher, but yet I would be surprised if either Rosario or Peralta end up on the 40 post-2012.

AZ Phil's popularity is exploding, got an email from Keith Lockhart looking for Daniel's stats. Has a cubs.com email, looks like he's an area scout for them. I've gotten quite a few requests from family members of other players over the last couple of months. So be nice to Rock Shoulders (for example) :)

Welington Castillo out with a leg issue. Cubs trade cash considerations to CIN for Koyie Hill to plug the gap. I can't imagine for the life of me why we would want Koyie back. CIN undoubtedly made the trade knowing it would make us worse as a team.

*waiting for the "have faith in theocorp" post that tells us k.hill is an obvious smart gamble* hopefully he'll avoid 200pa...or 150pa...or 100pa. reality check - what soto was doing k.hill would have a hard time doing worse...sigh...

Recent comments

  • Eric S (view)

    Holy shit this umpire sucks

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Neris must have been sand-baging spring training. He's a veteran, so he knew what he was doing. Had me fooled to be honest. Glad I was wrong.

  • hellfrozeover (view)

    Looks like he might the cliche veteran pitcher in spring not really ramping it up and just “forking on stuff” in spring. If he gets to 94 on the regular he’ll do just fine. 

  • crunch (view)

    topped out a 94mph, threw 4 of those.  feeling a lot better about neris.

  • crunch (view)

    neris has thrown 2 pitches at 93mph out of his first 5 pitches.  that's a positive turn.

  • hellfrozeover (view)

    I really am not interested in the wesneski head case experience again any time soon. Give me smyly over wesneski. Hell give me keegan Thompson over wesneski every day of the week. His stuff isn’t as good but at least he doesn’t melt down mentally every time something goes mildly awry. 

  • crunch (view)

    they might not want to start the clock on brown and give us wesn.  hopefully it won't come to that.

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal ground rule double!

    he blows a play and hits a double.  we're getting bizarro madrigal.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Close up video shows Steele saying to the Trainer "no it just cramped up"

    Hope so

    Ben Brown and not Smyly please

  • crunch (view)

    agreed and agreed.

    he walked off on his own, but we may not find out for a few days how this will impact the club.