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

Cub Power and Wood Arm Fry Padres

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Alfonso Soriano laced a two-out line-drive two-run double down the LF line and Dioner Navarro followed with a towering two-run HR over the RF bullpens to rally the Cubs to a 4-2 lead in the 6th, and then Jorge Soler slugged a solo home run to the top of the berm over the LF fence and Christian Villanueva drilled two-run HR over the left-center fence to key a five-run 8th, as the Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres 9-3 in Cactus League action this afternoon at Dwight Paterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.

LHP Travis Wood contributed with both his arm and his bat, throwing four innings of one-hit shutout ball with six strikeouts, and roping a line-drive lead-off single and then scoring on the Soriano double to ignite the four-run 6th. On the negative side, Wood did walk three over the course of the 4.0 IP (63 pitches - 35 strikes).

box score

RHP Scott Feldman got the start for the Cubs and worked three innings (51 pitches - 33 strikes), allowing two runs on four hits (including a Mark Kotsay two-run line-drive double into the RF Corner) with three strikeouts. He was aided by two nearly identical outstanding defensive plays by SS Alberto Gonzalez, as the veteran utility infielder made two diving stops to his right and then righted himself and make a pinpoint throw to 1st base to retire the batters. Before you get too excited, Gonzalez also booted a routine grounder for an E-6 that should have been turned into a 6-4-3 DP.

In addition to Gonzalez's two highlight-reel stops & throws, catcher Dioner Navarro picked a runner off 2nd base and nailed another runner trying to steal 2nd.

Down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the 6th, the Cubs rallied for four runs off SD RHP Tim Stauffer.

Travis Wood ripped a line-drive single to left and David DeJewsus lined a single to RF to start the inning, Then with two outs, Alfonso Soriano laced a line-drive double into the LF corner to drive-in Wood and DeJesus, and Dioner Navarro followed immediately with his two-run HR over the bullpens in RF. 

The Cubs added some insurance, putting-up a five-spot in the 8th against Padres RHRP Dale Thayer.

Jorge Soler slugged a one-out solo HR to the top of the berm in left, and then Dave Sappelt lined a single into left-center and Logan Watkins walked. J. C. Boscan roped an opposite-field line-drive RBI single to RF to score Sappelt, and Steve Clavenger lifted a sacrifice fly to left to plate Watkins. Christian Villanueva then completed the Cubs scoring with a two-run HR over the left-centerfield fence, his team-leading third HR of the Spring.

Carlos Marmol and Michael Bowden followed Feldman and Wood to the mound, each throwing one inning. Marmol had an easy 1-2-3 8th (F-8, 4-3, 6-3), but Bowden allowed a run on two hits in the 9th (one a bloop double that fell between Sappelt, Villanueva, and Edwin Maysonet near the foul line in short left, and the other a line-drive RBI single that glanced off the glove of second-baseman Logan Watkins).

 

Tags
Spring Traning Recap
Travis Wood
Christian Villanueva
Jorge Soler
Alfonso Soriano
Dioner Navarro
Alberto Gonzalez
Scott Feldman

Comments

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:22 am

Today is the first day that Draft-Excluded players can be sent to the minors (a Draft-Excluded player is any player on a minor league reserve list eligible for selection in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft whose contract was selected & who was added to an MLB 40-man roster between last August 15th and the December 2012 Rule 5 Draft), and it's also the first day that a Rule 5 player can be sent to the minors (or reclaimed by the organization from which the player was drafted), so look for lots & lots of transaction activity around MLB today.   

BTW, the Cubs Draft-Excluded players are Chris Rusin, Trey McNutt, Christian Villanueva, Logan Watkins, and Rob Whitenack, which is why McNutt, Villanueva, Watkins, and Whitenack have lasted in Big League Camp this long. (Rusin has pitched very well so far, so he could be one of the last cuts).  

Then next Friday is the last day that an injured player who did not accrue any MLB Service Time in 2012 can be sent to the minors, so Junior Lake (sore shoulder) has to be optioned by that date or else the Cubs would be stuck having to place him on their MLB DL (and pay him at the MLB rate) if he is not ready to play by MLB Opening Day.

Next Friday is also the deadline to release a player who is signed to a non-guaranteed contract and pay the player 1/6 of his 2013 salary as termination pay. (If a player signed to a non-guarateed contract is released 15 or fewer days prior to Opening Day, he gets 1/4 of his salary as termination pay). This would apply to Ian Stewart, who is signed to a $2M non-guaranteed contract. However. if an injured player is released he must be paid 100% of his salary, so the Cubs would have to wait until Stewart is cleared to play in a game (and probably not until he actually does play in a game) before they can release him (presuming they are inclined to do so). Which is why Stewart would be smart to string the injury out as long as possible, if he thinks he might be a release candidate.   

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:22 pm

Alberto Cabrera was at Minor League Camp today, but the other five had not yet arrived.

Several pitchers threw "live" BP at Minor League Camp today, including Jose Arias, Paul Blackburn, Esmailin Caridad, Lendy Castillo, Corbin Hoffner, Pierce Johnson, Su-Min Jung, Austin Kirk, Ryan McNeil, A. J. Morris, Loiger Padron, Jasvir Rakkar, and Austin Urban.

Urban threw the ball very well, and this was actually the first time I've ever seen him throw to hitters. He's been on the DL for his entire Cub career prior to this season with a back injury (he was drafted out of an Iowa JC in 2011 and got an "overslot" bonus to sign), and has yet to pitch in a game of any kind.  

And Dillon Maples is hurt again. It's either his elbow or his shoulder.

For all you Daury Torrez fans out there (and I know you are there), he has arrived, he is in uniform, and he has been assigned to the Daytona Squad (at least temporarily). Some of you may be aware that Torrez was the only Cub prospect rated in the Baseball America Top 20 DSL/VSL prospects list last month.

BTW, Torrez, RHP Erick Leal (acquired from AZ in the Tony Campana deal), and catcher Erick Castillo are the only DSL players in camp (so far) who have not previously been in the U. S. 

Venezuelan 3B (ex-C) Mark Malave is also in camp, but he was at Instructs post-2011 and at Extended Spring Training last year. (Malave is notewoirthy because he received a $1.6M signing bonus from the Cubs as a 16-year old in 2011).

And FWIW, Dan Vogelbach is assigned to the Kane County squad, and has been taking grounders at 3rd base.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:46 pm

smell the desperation...


Yanks reaching out to Chipper Jones' agent and have asked about Derrek Lee.


Garza passed some tests, may start throwing on Wednesday and hoping to get at least one Cactus League start in...

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:43 pm

"Indians purchased the contract of LHP Rich Hill from Triple-A Columbus." minor league contract hurdle passed...back in the bigs. scoreless 5.2ip with 8Ks so far this spring.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:06 pm

"Ian Stewart (quad) is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut on Thursday."

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:16 pm

josh booty (ARZ) in a b-game vs live batters for the 1st time yesterday. 1ip 1h 2bb 0k...1wp 1pb...faced 6 batters, 2er (50/50 knuckle/fastball)

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:35 pm

Jim D. steps into the booth for the 1st time as a cub...5 seconds later ninja gives up a homer to start the 5th. welcome to the cubs.

Submitted by QuietMan on Mon, 03/11/2013 - 03:57 pm

Monday was a big day for Mark Grace. It's been one month since the former Cubs and D-backs first baseman began serving a four-month jail term after being charged with four counts of aggravated DUI last August. He didn't exactly celebrate the milestone. Grace was busy throwing batting practice to some D-backs Minor Leaguers, which is part of his new gig. He is picked up by a driver at 6 a.m. every day and has to return by 6 p.m. each night, which he spends at Tent City. A four-time Gold Glove first baseman, who starred for the Cubs from 1988-2000, Grace will be a hitting coach for the D-backs' Arizona Rookie League team this summer. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130311&content_id=42…

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 03/12/2013 - 03:47 pm

Italia goes up 4-0 in first over D.R. on a 3-run HR by some dude named Colabello. Rizzo walked and scored a run.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 03/12/2013 - 03:58 pm

i'm about sick of it...this is the last season i want to deal with it. that said, there's not a lot on the expected FA market next season...plus, there's a chance that some of the more attractive options could be re-signed before this season ends. signing...trading...whatever...i want to see a product worth watching next year...and the discussion not focusing on "i wonder what we'll get in trade after spring training and midseason with the current signings." almost every signing this year was followed by "he should be useful in june/july for trade bait."

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 03/12/2013 - 03:15 pm

that's a bit extreme. we got kids in the 2014/2015 pipeline...we got a major market team. this isn't KC/TB/etc. nothing says that if you spend money you're automatically going to suffer on the farm. hell, look at the kids traded away during the hendry era...the cubs didn't lose many gems in order to take on helpful players or bloated trash. nothing (except a no-trade or a 10/5) says if you get a bunch of bloated payroll players you can't get rid of them (BOS and MIA recently). it's not either/or...you can have both. the team isn't competing this season and they signed e.jackson + fuji in preparation for something in the near future.

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Submitted by Doug Dascenzo on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 03:59 am

I'm with you, Crunch. I completely understand that rebuilding is necessary and often painful, but this team should be spending a helluva lot more than they are. There's no reason they can't put together a competitive team while developing talent. This is probably my last summer living within earshot of Wrigley Field, and it fucking sucks that it's going to be another complete waste. I've lived in Wrigleyville for the past 10 years and was really hoping for one more good run before I have to move to the burbs. I know many have been waiting much, much longer, but it still blows that my last years in the city have been marred by unwatchable teams with sky-high ticket prices.

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Submitted by Newport on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 03:52 pm

I just moved to Naperville after a decade in wrigleyville. I'll be driving in this year, the train takes too long. Also, if anyone wants tickets, let me know. They are often available for dirt cheap. It took me three years to finally get seats where I can see the whole scoreboard.

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Submitted by Carlito on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 03:45 pm

I know we keep repeating ourselves here on both sides of this argument, but it's not as simple as spending money and competing. Obviously you need to not commit to bad contracts which run a couple years longer than optimal, a lot of teams will do this to get prime talent for a title run. When rebuilding that is suicide. Also you can't sign anyone who costs you a draft pick. Some prime talent will not come to your org because they know you are not gonna compete at an elite level for a couple years. Also it IS possible that winning 79 games or 83 games is counterproductive especially if it costs a lot of money just to be competitive. It seems clear that they are upgrading tons of aspects of the structural integrity of the whole Cubs organization, stockpiling some amazing talent in lower minors, already in many people's eyes have a top 10 farm system... Etc. I just think it is not as easy as saying 'they should be doing this and that.'

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Submitted by Ryno on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 03:01 pm

It's important to home-grow talent, I get that. When you're picking up mid-pile free agents, you're just getting a guy some other team didn't feel like re-signing. And the top talent, if you feel like trying to outbid the Yanks, will cost you oodles and will probably not pay off in the long run.

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 03:48 pm

i understand them walking away from a.sanchez, but i was thrilled to see they were in the hunt for him. i'm a little disappointed that it seems m.garza wants to test the FA market vs getting locked up in a $13-15m a year multi-year deal. given what a.sanchez got, garza should get $15m+ if he's the pitcher he has been for the past many years.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 03/12/2013 - 03:10 pm

Rizzo 0/3 with a a BB, K and run through 7.2 IP, just popped up off Casilla to leadoff 8th inning and Italia down one.

Submitted by Ryno on Tue, 03/12/2013 - 03:32 pm

Has anyone used unblock or unotelly with MLB.TV? I'm interested to know if it works or not and if you are happy with the service. I'm not located in Canada, so I'm not sure if that matters in regards to unotelly. And there's always the risk that MLB breaks it somehow mid-season, so I would want to go with the month-to-month subscription.

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

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