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

Barry Rozner Plays With the Hearts of Cubs Fans

Submitted by Rob G. on

The Padres called, the Cubs said they're interested, and it's a possibility.

According to a West Coast source, the Cubs are the Padres' best option for a trade partner if for no other reason than they're not the Dodgers, who are Peavy's first choice, and they're not the Braves, who at this point are saying they won't deal their best prospects.

That's the latest from Barry Rozner of The Daily Herald and I'd probably put a lot more stock into it if it was from Bruce Miles, but it should make the offseason rather interesting. Rozner doesn't believe the Cubs have the pitching prospects that the Padres are looking for, and if you consider Jeff Samardzija and Carlos Marmol as untouchable, I'd have to agree. He then goes batshit crazy by suggesting Sean Marshall and Felix Pie to the Padres and then dumping Jason Marquis and another prospect or two to a third team that would land the Padres the elite pitching prospect that they so crave.

While I agree that dumping the bulk of Jason Marquis' contract for next year would be crucial in trying to acquire Peavy and resigning Ryan Dempster, there will be no good player being exchanged for Jason Marquis and the near $10M he's owed.

Tags
Cubs rumors
Jake Peavy

Comments

Submitted by John Beasley on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:15 am

When I first heard this a few weeks ago, I was quite stoked. The more I think about Peavy on the Cubs, the more I question the wisdom. - big money commitment for several years - coughing up top prospects for the privilege - not realistically being able to expect anything better than a SP with an ERA in the mid 3s, which is good but not elite - another damn NTC and possibly demands for an extension - losing the luxury of having one of my best fantasy keeper league pitchers leaving Petco Once you consider all the factors, is he worth all the money? My vote comes down to, "Depends on the prospects we have to give."

[ ]

Submitted by Andrew on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:24 am

Well, allow me to retort: Although the Pads keep saying nothing's for sure, it seems pretty likely Peavy's gonna get traded, to the Dodgers if nothing else. So you're gonna lose the fantasy edge, I'm afraid. I understand it's big money, a NTC, but this is Jake Peavy we're talking about. He had a down year last year, but he's entering his prime (okay, entered) and he's relatively cheap for what he could bring. A low-to-mid 3.00s ERA these days is Cy-Young-discussion-worthy. And I don't know about you but I haven't seen any studs in our minor leagues in a while. Unless we're trading Soto, Marmol, and Ceda, this is a guy you sell the farm for.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:46 pm

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2008/10/23/2008-10-23_no_swe… Piniella, 65, said he's watching this World Series, but his primary focus remains the Cubs, whom he has taken to the postseason in each of his first two seasons, only to get knocked out in the first round both times. While the Cubs had the National League's best record this season, their flaws - not enough lefthanded hitters, Alfonso Soriano's inconsistency out of the leadoff spot, shaky middle relief - all showed up in the playoffs. Piniella said the Cubs' main agenda these next few weeks will be to re-sign pending free agents Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood and explore trade options for lefthanded hitting and bullpen help. He also said he plans to move Kosuke Fukudome, the Cubs' $48 million Japanese import whose second-half slump exasperated the manager, to center field as part of a platoon with Reed Johnson. "We don't know if the team is going to get sold this winter," Piniella said, "and I don't see us getting into any big spending in the free agent market. We need to get more athletic and younger and we're probably going to have to fill our needs through trades." doesn't sound like the Cubs like much of the FA crop, does it?

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:32 pm

how in the hell does one "move" k-fuk? it seems pretty much impossible unless the team takes on some other team's payroll crap...and if the cubs are taking on someone's payroll crap what's to be done about RF and what payroll is gonna cover it? there's no RF in the system that's starter quality unless they want dero in RF. i mean, it can be done...but the logistics of it seem like a nightmare. i couldn't imagine trying to "sell" k-fuk's 2 years left to anyone after looking so damn lost with his flunky swing on the inside and doing nothing much with the stuff over the outside. ...and when did lou clue into soriano not being a consistant leadoff hitter? buy the guy a pack of bubblegum cards.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:42 pm

ah, that was the reporter musing. oh well...as long as the #7/8 hitters are .300 hitters it shouldn't hurt too much. it's nice to have a true power hitter in the #1 slot and it's a luxury you can have with 3-4 guys in the middle with 20+HR power (and doubles), but damn he's a hell of a power hitter who's best speed game took a back seat to his power hitting a few leg injuries ago.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:49 pm

soriano had 12 sb's over the last 61 games when he came back from his broken wrist and finally did look healed from his leg injuries.

that would be about 32 SB's over a full season...

if they get furcal or roberts, great, plus a new RFer...I'd love to see.

Furcal, Lee, Soriano, Ramirez, Hermida, Soto, DeRosa, Fukudome

the only guy on the roster currently who could belong there is Theriot and well I have my doubts on his continued success.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:21 pm

soriano is just a lot more timid and he doesn't take the leads he used to. that said, theriot's lead shunk a ton, too, as the year went on. coaching philosophy or personal...i dunno. im not saying soriano isn't capable of 20-30sb, but i'm not really impressed by that compared to what he can do with his bat power. he'll still get a chance to steal...and some rbis to go with the doubles/homers. -edit- btw, soriano batting 1st really doesn't bug me that much, though it'd be one of the first changes i'd make on the team as-given on the crunch-is-in-charge-fantasy-planet-o-coolness. as long as there's 4 guys in the middle who can hit 20-30+ homers with some doubles i don't consider it a huge issue no matter how much i hate it.

[ ]

Submitted by jacos on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:37 pm

"We need to get more athletic" Fuck that! That's shit we didn't take from Dusty why should we take from Lou. Soriano is athletic, Fukudome is athletic, get some goddamn ball players with a brain between their ears would be better. Pitchers getting 0-2 counts and working it full because they nibble, clowns sliding into first base, not getting sure and no situation hitting. Having a bad day, but cut that shit and get some baseball players.

[ ]

Submitted by RowdyYates on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:15 pm

I like the option of moving Fukudome to center and keeping Reed Johnson. Since we need a lefthanded hitter it's best that we are not limited to center but have both center and right open. (Not to mention short and second.) Also, I want to go on record of being 100% against resigning Dempster and 100% for resigning Wood.

[ ]

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 10:41 pm

Moving Fukudome to CF is probably necessary, but then we need to get someone with power to replace him in right. This year, Edmonds was probably one of the most valuable players on the team because he provided the pop that should have been coming from RF. Without that power in the lineup next year, we're basically doing what we did in 2005 by replacing DLee with Neifi (although on a smaller scale).

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:23 pm

really, I thought Lou ran everything. thanks for the clarification...

they just had organizational meetings and that interview was just done during the World Series. Lou and Jim are usually on the same page, especially with the offseason moves.

so if Lou says the plans are to get younger, more athletic and find some lefty bats and bullpen arms, I'm guessing that's the organizational plans as well.

Doesn't mean they'll nail them all, but that's probably what they're looking for...

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:32 pm

i can't believe they're playing for this long in these conditions. that's some miserable stuff with a pathetic playing field condition. wonder who's calling the shots for delays...it sure as hell isn't the umps.

[ ]

Submitted by Chifan on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 10:46 pm

They just went into rain delay. Radar is just saying bascially no baseball the rest of tonight and likely tomorrow according to the forecast.

Submitted by big_lowitzki on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 10:43 am

Heh... line of the day, from BCB: [DeRosa's] increased HR and BB totals account for the difference in OBA and SLG. That, my friends, is called brilliant analysis. Who would have thought that an increase in HR and BB would increase OBA and SLUG?

Submitted by Pat Kane on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 10:19 pm

http://www.cubshub.com/?p=982 Very interesting article on the idea of stretching out Marmol to be a starter. Similiar approach to what the Yanks did with Chamberlain. Point being that his cheap years of being under club control are being burned while he is a set up guy, better bang for your buck if he is a front end starter. Most relievers became releivers because they could not cut it as a starter....Marmol has never been given a fair chance. Look at his numbers.

[ ]

Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 10:50 pm

I basically agree with this. I'm firmly in the camp that the Cubs should use their good prospects as relievers early in their careers rather than spending millions of dollars on guys like Howry, Eyre, Remlinger, Hawkins, etc. Once the prospects cut their teeth in the bullpen, gradually stretch them out and put them in the rotation. Here's why: 1) You probably end up with a better bullpen since you're using good pitchers rather than guys who just couldn't cut it as starters 2) Your best prospects get to face major league hitters instead of minor league chumps 3) You might end up saving your best prospects' arms because theyre pitching fewer innings while still facing good hitters. Once they move up to the starting rotation they have less milage on their arms than if they were throwing 200 innings a year in the minors.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 10:42 pm

Actually, I think one of the biggest differences between Joba and Marmol is that one has been involved in a highly-publicized debate over whether he should be a starter or not, and the other has succeeded almost exclusively as a reliever and that role has been relatively unquestioned. As a starter, Marmol threw a changeup and a curve in addition to his fastball and slider. The quality of these pitches can be debated, and, basically, I can't say how good they were. As a starter, Marmol's fastball and slider weren't nearly as good as they are now. Is that because of the limited workload or is it because he's had more time pitching? I don't know. Probably Marmol would not have nearly as much success as he's had as a reliever. His tendency to throw a lot of pitches and to throw the ball out of the zone quite a bit would probably hurt him. I was very much in favor of giving Marmol a real chance as a starter at this time last year. I don't know what exactly has changed now, but I'm a little less optimistic, though I guess I wouldn't object a whole lot to him getting a shot. Then again, maybe it's his importance to our bullpen that makes me wonder whether the off chance that he turns into a top 3 starter is worth the sacrifice.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 10:54 pm

"He is eventually going to be this team's closer and he's going to be damn good at it." I won't argue with you on that. The niche part I'm not sure about, though it's possible. I'm not sure Marmol needs a "niche," but I do think he'll continue to be damn good as a reliever, and I really have very little idea what kind of starter he would be. One more thing to add to the Joba-Marmol comparison. The Yanks need Joba to start more than the Cubs need Marmol to--the yanks have a pretty rough rotation. The Cubs have a good one and a few starter candidates who won't even have a spot in it.

[ ]

Submitted by John Beasley on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 10:39 am

Defensively, Furcal is way better defensively at SS than Theriot. Comparing DeRosa to Fukudome's defense is a little misleading, since Fukudome absolutely won't be the starting day RFer. But you meant a better-hitting team. The Cubs don't need to be a better-hitting team in that they need to score more runs per se. They need to be better-hitting in that the lineup needs more balance with left-handers and preferably needs more guys whose loopy swings aren't affected by the long layoffs that now come with playoff baseball. Furcal does on a regular basis what Fukudome did for the Cubs' lineup early last year - except Rafael hits from both sides of the plate. For the record, I'm not advocating Furcal simply on a cost-return basis, unless the payroll is going to $160 million or something like that. A starter, a pair of relievers and left-handed power in right field are much more pressing, IMO. If the money is there after all that, then yeah, go get him. Theriot becomes the utility guy he can aptly be and fills in when Furcal or DeRo goes down, so fills in for DeRo at 2B when Soriano, Ramirez or the right fielder goes down. (Sounds to me like quite a few ABs, actually.)

[ ]

Submitted by big_lowitzki on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 10:39 am

Well... basically it would be replacing Fukudome with Furcal. You gain defense at SS, probably stay about the same at 2b, and lose defense in RF.

[ ]

Submitted by garsky on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 10:09 am

Actually you probably gain a bit at 2B as well; the knock on Theriot has always been more about his arm, which would be a non-issue throwing from closer to 1st. And, thinking a bit more on this, if you consider the number of balls hit to SS/2B versus those hit to RF, it may not be a wash at all. A Furcal/Theriot 1-2 punch at the top of the order would be an OBP machine, but can you imagine the number of DPs Lee hits into then?

[ ]

Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 10:34 pm

Fukudome's career OBP is higher than Furcal's. In Furcal's last full year he had an OBP of .333 and an OPS+ of 76, may as well bring back Juan Pierre. Also, Theriot hits into a ton of double plays.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 10:37 am

The Cubs projected Carlos Marmol as a reliever a year or two before they moved him from the starting rotation to the bullpen.

The Cubs discovered that when Marmol works out of the pen, he adds 3 MPH to his fastball when he doesn't have to pace himself, he can junk his below-average secondary stuff and use his slider more often, and he has much better control of his fastball and slider.

As long as he remains a Cub, Marmol will absolutely, positively NOT be moved to the starting rotation. His eventual future will be as the Cubs closer, although there is no rush unless the Cubs do not re-sign Kerry Wood. Marmol excels as a set-up guy because he's so good at stranding runners when he comes into a game with men on base.

Recent comments

  • 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. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: I think there was an issue with Luke Little coming into a game with men on base. He seems to need a "clean" inning to be dominant. So he is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AAA. Same goes for Michael Arias. He needs to come into a "clean" inning, and is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AA. Porter Hodge is a more versatile pitcher, a better version of Keegan Thompson (multi-inning RP). But Little, Arias, and Hodge (probably in that order) are the Cubs top three RP prospects (all three are Cubs Top 15 prospects).

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    So, let’s do a little war gaming. Taillon is back for tonight’s game. He pitched two rehab games, just a few innings each, and not especially sharp. Let’s face it, he hasn’t been lights out since the Cubs gave him the big contract. In other words, as flat out bad as Hendricks has been, the chances of Taillon being the savior don’t look exactly promising.

    If Taillon is equally ineffective or perhaps even worse, what’s the next move? Winning teams can often find a way to work around a dud fifth starter - kinda. Two dud starters make things much more difficult.

    I believe the biggest reason for the recent bullpen moves was dissatisfaction with the recent blowing of big leads and the recognition that the bullpen wasn’t all it was thought to be. In other words, they are exploring alternate options and configurations. If similar juggling becomes necessary (even more so than it already is), what kind of reasonable maneuvering do we think could be explored?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Cubdom needs to prepare themselves for Wicks to be sent to Iowa for Taillon to come up.
    Ben Brown has 4 appearances. Wicks has 4 appearances.
    Ben has 16.1 IP.  Wicks has 17 IP
    Ben was a 1.1 WHIP.  Wicks has a 1.7 WHIP. Wicks does have significantly more SOs. 
    Ben has been better, though.
    I love Wicks. I think he's a fighter and his stuff has improved.
    But, Jed isn't ditching Hendricks just yet. He should. But he won't.
    Hendricks should go to the IL and Taillon-Imanaga-Assad-Wicks-Brown should be the rotation.
    Wont' happen though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil,
    Did you agree with the demotion of Luke Little? He'd been pretty good up until the AZ/wild pitch appearance. I know that can't jettison Smyly (just yet) so they didn't need another LHRP. Especially with Leiter effectively being a LHRP. I still thought he deserved to stay. It's not permanent. He'll be back. Lots of moves to come with Taillon, Steele and other guys coming and going.

    Also, do you see Hodge being able to "control/command" his stuff to get a chance this year?
    Is Arias better than Hodge?   Thanks

Click HERE for the last 50 comments