Cubs MLB Roster

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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

Professor Pentland and the Homer's Odyssey

Jeff Pentland played with Reggie Jackson and has tutored Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Carlos Beltran and Matt Kemp, to name-drop just a few. He has advanced degrees in biomechanics. His playing days were on both sides of the chessboard; pitcher and hitter. What he doesn't know about the art/science of hitting may not be worth knowing.

No wonder the Dodgers fired him as their hitting coach last year.

It's not like there wasn't a precedent. But gurus like Pentland are never out of work any longer than they care to be. This year he signed on with the Seattle Mariners (again) as the hitting coach for their Triple A affiliate, Tacoma of the Pacific Çoast League. The Rainiers hit only .235 in April but this month they're banging away at a better than .300 clip and carrying a 13-game homer streak as Pentland settles in. He stepped away from the batting cage while the Rainiers are in Des Moines taking on the Iowa Cubs and talked with TCR.Pentland said he's still occasionally in touch with Bonds but has no contact with Sosa. In fact, he parlayed his history with Bonds, dating to Arizona State where he coached while Bonds played, into a breakthrough with Kemp when Pentland was trying to establish a rapport after joining the Dodgers.

"I just mentioned something I'd once worked on with Barry," Pentland said. "Matt's eyes lit up. He said, 'You worked with him?' I had instant credibility." With Kemp maybe, but not enough with the Dodgers when the brass went looking for a scapegoat despite the breakout success of the latest Pentland protege.

Ask Pentland if any of his former star pupils got carried away with experiments in home remedies for slumps like brainiacs who cheat on exams without needing to and he gets circumspect. Inasmuch as he didn't blow any whistles when investigators interviewed him for a couple of hours during the compilation of the Mitchell Report it's no surprise that Pentland didn't confide anything while he sat and spat there in the confessional of the visitors' dugout at Sec Taylor Field. Whatever personal suspicions he may harbor are kept to himself.

"I didn't make judgments one way or another," he said when asked specifically about Sosa's power surge. "He was a grown man and I treated him that way." Read into that what you will.

Pentland joined the Cubs midseason in 1997. Over the following winter he had a heart-to-heart with Sosa, convincing him to swing easier to make more contact. The following summer Sosa and McGwire mugged Ruth and Maris in what's since become a dark alley of the record book.

"Sammy had very big, very strong hands," Pentland recalled. "He liked to use a bat that was thicker-handled than sluggers usually use." And lighter-barreled?

Pentland was gone from Chicago by the time Sosa's infamous corked bat incident occurred but he seems sympathetic about it, recalling that equipment used to come at Sosa in bunches during his seasons in the sixties.

"I used to check out his bats because he got 'em all the time from manufacturers and I never found one that was altered. You can tell a corked bat just by the sound the ball makes coming off of it," Pentland said, adding that if he'd found a suspicious weapon in Sosa's arsenal he would have pointed it out to him.

He brought up the juiced balls conspiracy theory during the discussion of enhanced performance.

"I remember George Brett at that time saying how the balls bounced twice as high as they used to," he said.

Pentland's been in the game for decades now. He says the same approach doesn't work for everybody and believes players are generally more sensitive than formerly due to the increased pressures that come along with increased paychecks. Besides PEDs and turbocharged gear, Pentland notes the modern player has tools at his disposal that are completely legit and equally accessible to pitchers and hitter alike.

"All of the videotape and the computerized spray charts and tendency data are so sophisticated now," he said. "You really have to take advantage of that stuff. I tell the guys here about guys I know in the big leagues that got there and stayed for 10-12 years, more by working hard than raw talent."

He may look and sound like just an ol' country batting coach spouting his accumulated wisdom like tobacco juice but it's more complicated than that. He's a biomechanic who tinkers under the hoods of living, breathing machines. Just picture him talking applied physics to Sammy Sosa and try to imagine how many bombs Einstein might have hit with a database, juiced balls, weight training and a good video tech backing him up.

Baseball might have been very, very good to him, too! 

Comments

I seem to remember Sosa hitting a lot more singles past the second basemen when Pentland was around. Hitting a bit more to all fields. I've given up on Rudy. This team would get out hit by the EXST team.

Nice write-up Mike, I'll take in my first Iowa Cubs action of the season. When they stroll into Memphis for a weekend series. What is Gerald Perry up to these days? I liked the offense when he was the Hitting Coach in Chicago. And he has shown OBP improvement at every stop he has made.

"Armando Benitez has agreed to a contract with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League." wow, he still exists. he's 39, btw...i would have guessed older.

RE: the twitter in the twitter box:
TomLoxas profile TomLoxas Speaking of #Cubs rebuilding have always agreed with @dan_bernstein when he says watching your team get good is the most fun in sports.
That may be true. Watching it get bad, however, is the least fun.

The early returns on Vogelbach are anything but positive. Does anyone have any insight into what is going on? Seems like he should be stuck at Fitch until he shows SOMETHING.

CCO is also reporting AZ Phil's numbers from EXST. Unfortunately they need to be paddled because he's not getting credit for "unofficial numbers". http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2012/05/cubsminors52412.php#more
Javier Baez (IF) - Extended Spring Training: Unofficial numbers - .329, five doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 26 RBI, 10 stolen bases Jeimer Candelario (3B) - Extended Spring Training: Unofficial numbers - .315, eight doubles, three triples, home run, 14 RBI, two stolen bases Dan Vogelbach (1B) - Extended Spring Training: Unofficial numbers - .183, three doubles, triple, two home runs, eight RBI

good news, Castro in his rightful #2 spot bad news, Joe Mather batting 3rd. DeJesus9/Starlin6/Mather8/LaHair3/Soriano7/Stewart5/Barney4/Hill2/Demp1 vs. Burnett not that it makes a heap of any real difference

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Carrie Muskat‏@CarrieMuskat ‪#Cubs‬ Ian Stewart sidelined because of soreness in left wrist. Nothing new, just same discomfort he's dealt with all season

Baseball America chat: Itto (Aguadilla, PR): Is it time to start worrying about Brett Jackson SO rate and recent slump? Ben Badler: The strikeouts are a concern, but we've always known that's just part of who he's going to be. The swing and miss is going to keep his AVG down, but he does take his walks, he hits for power, he has speed and can be a quality defender in center field, so I think we're talking more about small adjustments than any radical overhauls that need to be made here. Navin (Pasadena, CA): What are your thoughts on the slow start in Peoria for SS Marco Hernandez? Ben Badler: Concerning. It's not time to panic, but I'm very surprised he's struggled so badly at the plate. Itto (Aguadilla, PR): What kind of numbers Anthony Rizzo is capable to have once he reach the majors? Ben Badler: A .290/.360/.480 type guy with good defense in his prime years is certainly possible. I'd chop some off those numbers at first though as he adjusts to major league pitching. http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1337964862

Signed: C Brian Esposito (released by Reds), SS Diory Hernandez (released by Astros) Released: RHP Charles Thomas, 1B Ryan Durrence Acquired: LHP Hunter Cervenka from Red Sox as player to be named for OF Marlon Byrd Acquired: C Koyie Hill from Reds for cash considerations Recalled: RHP Randy Wells, LHP Scott Maine, LHP Travis Wood Added to 40-man roster: RHP Blake Parker, C Koyie Hill, C Blake Lalli Removed from 40-man: 2B Blake Dewitt (outrighted to Triple-A) Optioned to Triple-A: RHP Chris Volstad, LHP Scott Maine Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Zach Cates, RHP Casey Weathers, LHP Jeff Beliveau, C Chad Noble Reinstated from DL: RHP Starling Peralta, LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith, C Micah Gibbs http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/05/minor-league-tran…

via cm's twitter, via rotowurld: "Steve Clevenger (oblique) is slated to play nine innings with Triple-A Iowa on Monday and Wednesday before being reevaluated." ...also, marmol is slated to throw today/tomorrow for AAA, evaluated, then back to the bigs if it's all good. ...and in garza-trade news, bad news for a good dude "Rays manager Joe Maddon said Friday that Brandon Guyer needs surgery on his left shoulder."

Miguel Montero 5/60. Yikes. Also, why wasn't Koyieieieieieieie sac bunting in his first ab after Barney stole second? He ended up grounding out to the right side, but shit, if you have an opportunity to take the bat out of his hands you fucking do it, dammit!

Rod Lopez taken out with some sort of injury after starting and throwing one pitch. Jay Jax takes over. No Rizzo in the lineup tonight. Clevenger is batting 3rd and catching. Lined out to SS in his first at bat (and Sappelt gets doubled off of 2nd).

The I-Cubs actually won last night, 2-1 over the Memphis Redbirds. Sac fly by BJax in the 7th scoring Clevenger who started the inning with a double and a top of the 9th HR by Valbuena. Maine gets out of a bases loaded jam on the bottom of the 9th. Marmol had a scoreless 7th (BB, single) RLopez came out in the 1st after one pitch with a tight groin and is so far day to day per a Muskat tweet. Jay Jax had his best outing pitching 5 innings of one run ball. Rizzo didnt start, pinch hit in the 8th and grounded out.

I hate the phrase, "rebuilding year" ------- More of a deconstructing year? --More hits than runs --Good starting pitching without wins
At heart, any deconstructed dish (ball club) should contain all the classic components found in the “original.” The difference is in the preparation. When creating a dish (ball club) utilizing deconstructive techniques, the ingredients are essentially prepared and treated on their own. It is during the plating and presentation stages that everything is brought together.
Problem is we're not at the plating stage. You can choose what seems more appealing... For example, just make sure you add enough vodka: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jt3_11/2506733701/

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.