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

Friday Funnies: Anthony Rizzo, Devin Mesoraco, and the play at the plate.

 

It's always been my favorite play, the play at the plate.
When Starlin Castro blasted one off the wall with Darwin Barney on 2nd and Anthony Rizzo on first, you knew it was gonna happen.
Not really that big an explosion, but if I'm Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco I'd be thinking about lots of stuff including Rizzo's size, the collision that's about to happen, holding onto the ball, and...my health.

Rizzo slid.
Safe.
Cubs end up winning on Alfonso Soriano's 2-run blast in the 8th.
Victory over the first place Reds.
Not that I'm supposed to care about wins this year, but it just makes for a better evening, don't you think?

Comments

Vogelbach and Peralta on Baseball America's Hot Sheet. Starling Peralta Team: low Class A Peoria (Midwest) Age: 21 Why He's Here: 1-0, 1.29, 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 14 SO The Scoop: It took Peralta three years in the Dominican Summer League to show the Cubs enough to earn a visa to the States. It's taken him another two years to establish himself as a legitimate prospect, but these days Peralta has proven he's one to keep an eye on. He's still somewhat inconsistent, but what was once an 89-92 mph fastball is now a 92-94 heater that tops out near 96. His slider comes and goes, but on days like Tuesday it's a plus pitch. Clinton sure couldn't hit it, and Peralta put together one of the biggest strikeout nights (14) we've seen this year. His previous career high was eight. Dan Vogelbach Team: short-season Boise (Northwest) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .333/.429/1.000 (8-for-24), 6 R, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 7 SO The Scoop: Scouts said Vogelbach's bat would have to carry him, and so far it has—and in a big way. The ultra-stout Vogelbach went deep in four straight games, including a pair of solo blasts last night against Everett to run his yearly total to 13 in just 39 games. (Note that he spent his first 24 games in the Rookie-level Arizona League.) He also has 32 extra-base hits in 161 at-bats this year, good for a rate of one every five at-bats. Possessing plus-plus raw power to all fields, Vogelbach has shred 30 pounds since high school and has proven he's ready to handle full-season ball next year. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2012/…

And from the Hot Sheet chat: Will Don Vogelbach be a BA top 100 player at the end of the year? J.J. Cooper: Probably not. He's a power-hitting first baseman who has yet to play full-season ball. The margin for error on those kind of guys is pretty small because of the lack of position versatility. I like Vogelbach as a prospect, but he's likely to have to do it at higher levels to crack the Top 100. It was a pleasent surprise to see Starling Peralta put together a nice game, especially with the cubs lack of pitching depth, I know he doesn't have Ace stuff, but could he be a mid rotation type guy? and how does he rank compared to other Cubs pitching prospects? J.J. Cooper: He still has a long ways to go with consistency, but the stuff is there that when he has his slider, he can be a solid prospect. I think he's more of a 20-30 guy in the system right now, but he's taken some nice strides. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2012/…

Can anyone run down the 5 error circumstances? Rizzo with 2?! And, "Sure-Hands-Vitters"? Jackson? Castro's I would expect.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

i can't, but i can tell you the wind was really crazy today...dunno what that has to do with the IF errors, though. i was only partially "checked in"...messy game all around. errors aside, chapman's velocity made rizzo's hitting setup look extremely foolish. he couldn't get through his long-setup/timing mechanism quick enough to swing with enough time to do anything with the ball being pitched.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Rizzo caught a tough hop on a sharp low-sinking liner that bounced six inches in front of him. I thought it was a tough error. Ditto Vitters,except he should have made the play. Castro was just a mental gaffe, good timing on a grounder but just raised his glove a moment too soon, too worried about getting the runner. Didn't catch the last two.

Jorge Soler hit a two out Grand Slam HR in the 3rd. Chiefs ahead of Beloit 4-3 in the 6th. http://peoria.chiefs.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t443&t=g_box&gid… --- Peoria Top of the 3rd Bijan Rademacher reaches E6. Zeke DeVoss grounds out. Pin-Chieh Chen reaches on a fielder's choice out. Bijan Rademacher out at 3rd. Dustin Geiger reaches on a fielding error by third baseman Miguel Sano. Pin-Chieh Chen to 2nd. With Paul Hoilman batting, wild pitch by Taylor Rogers, Pin-Chieh Chen to 3rd. Dustin Geiger to 2nd. Paul Hoilman walks. Jorge Soler hits a grand slam (1) to center field. Pin-Chieh Chen scores. Dustin Geiger scores. Paul Hoilman scores. Wes Darvill doubles (14) Sergio Burruel grounds out. 3-1.

Looking at the Iowa Cubs game in Las Vegas... Casey Coleman was removed in the bottom of the 2nd with 2 outs. Gameday says injury delay but not sure what happened. Smiley Caridad relieved. The game was suspended in the 5th because of rain (in Vegas). Greg Rohan played 3B. Anyone have an opinion about his abilities at third? Certainly he can hit. ...also, Almora had 3 hits in the AZ Cubs game. Hopefully, we'll get an AZ Phil recap.

from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Bob O'Brien:
Maholm’s night: Just a couple of notes to follow up on Maholm’s three-hit shutout, which included five strikeouts and no walks. He did it in 95 pitches (64 strikes), the fewest by a Braves pitcher in a shutout since future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux threw back-to-back four-hitters in September 2000, in 90 pitches against Arizona and 89 pitches against Florida.
...and some crowing about how cheaply Wren has fixed the Braves rotation (getting Sheets and Maholm for $4M) plus moving Medlin from the pen and having 6 starters once Hanson comes of the DL. Apparently the cubs threw in come cash in the Maholm/Johnson deal. This offseason they are more likely to do a Maholm II deal for July flipping into more pitching prospects. I guess Thedstein eventually can do this (Braves) kind of deal if the club were in contention. All you need is waves of prospects. http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2012/08/11/braves-gm-wren-did-…

Coleman was taken out from his last Iowa start after 1.2 IP...
The Cubs will likely use their roster exemption to add a reliever. That additional bullpen piece isn’t expected to be Casey Coleman, though, after the right-hander left Saturday’s start at Iowa early because of discomfort in the back of his right shoulder.
Apparently there is a new MLB rule where the roster can go to 26 for makeup DH's. --- @ESPNChiCubs: Cubs blog: Cubs' to put new MLB rule to the test http://t.co/zSMNFFgI

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).