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

Tulo Two RBI Too Much for Cubs

Troy Tulowitzki drove-in both Colorado runs with an RBI double and a sacrifice fly, and Jorge de la Rosa and four relievers combined to toss a six-hit shutout, as the Rockies blanked the Cubs 2-0 in Cactus League action this afternoon at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.

box score

The Cubs offense sputtered all day, but they did threaten to score twice.

The Cubs loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 3rd inning but did not score (Luis Valbuena drew a walk, Darwin Barney reached on an infield hit down the third-base line, and Starlin Castro grounded a single to left, but then Alfonso Soriano and Scott Hairston struck out swinging and Dioner Navarro flied out to CF), and the first two Cubs reached base in the bottom of the 9th but were left stranded (Steve Clevenger reached on an infield single that glanced off the pitcher's glove and Johermyn Chavez drew a walk, but Darnell McDonald was called out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch, Jorge Soler popped out to the first-baseman in foul territory, and PH Brad Nelson rolled out 4-3).  

After not pitching in an "A" game since a week ago Sunday, Edwin Jackson got the start for the Cubs today and became the first Cub hurler to go five innings, E-Jax allowed one run on three hits (two infield singles and the Tulo RBI double) and one walk in his 5.0 IP (59 pitches - 38 strikes, 6/5 GO/FO), while striking out two. This was definitely the best Jackson has looked so far this Spring.

Japanese import RHRP Kyuji Fujikawa labored through a 25-pitch 6th, as the Rockies loaded the bases on a single and two walks, followed by the Tulowitzki SF. Although Fujikawa was behind on most every hitter he faced, he did strike out two (one looking and one swinging). 

Both Cory Wade and Carlos Marmol breezed through seven-pitch shutout innings in the 7th & 8th, and Jensen Lewis pitched a scoreless 9th, allowing a lead-off single, but eventually leaving the runner stranded at 2nd.   

Catcher Dioner Navarro had another strong game behind the plate, picking one runner off 1st base, and nailing another runner trying to steal 2nd.

After missing two weeks with a hamstring injury, Starlin Castro returned to the lineup and looked fine. He played shortstop for three innings and handled five chances easily (Eric Young, Jr did beat-out an infield single to deep short, but there was no realistic chance to throw Young out although Castro did make the play close at 1st), and reached base in both of his AB (drawing a walk in the 1st, and grounding a single to LF in the 3rd).   

Comments

AZ Phil: What differences do you see from lefties Chris Rusin and Travis Wood. (A compare and contrast question). I've heard James Russell still has some starter aspirations. Of the three which would be the most likely to have success as a starter based on repertoire, control and pitching IQ? Rusin with another good outing, shutting out the Dodgers through 5 IP.

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In reply to by Cubster

CUBSTER: Chris Rusin throws a 87-89 MPH four-seamer, a 85-87 MPH sinker, a change-up, and a slider, and none of his pitches are what you would call a "strikeout pitch." But at the same time, he does mix up his pitches very well and knows how work hitters, he throws strikes, he's polished, and he can get a lot of ground balls, making him the prototypical "crafty lefty."  He has the stamina to be a starter, and he's an above-average hitter for a pitcher, too (he was the DH at the U.of Kentucky on days he wasn't pitching). I would say he projects as an MLB #4 or #5 starter, with more value on a starting staff that can use a lefty. He gives up a lot of hits so he probably wouldn't be a good late-inning reliever, and he realy doesn't profile as a LOOGY either.   

Travis Wood throws an outstanding  89-91 MPH cutter, a change-up, and a breaking ball, and is more of a fly ball pitcher than Rusin, but he also gets more strikeouts. Wood is the type of pitcher who could get rocked for multiple HR on a windy day at Wrigley, but he also is capable of a 10-strikeout performance. He would project as a #3 starter, and he also is a VERY good hitter (LHP who is a RH hitter). Wood is very effective versus LH hitters so he probably could be a LOOGY, except that would be wasting his talent, plus he's been used exclusively as a starting pitcher throughout his career. 

James Russell's best pitch is his change-up, and he also throws a 87-89 MPH fastball and your basic slider. He uses the slider (which is just average) a lot against LH hitters and the change-up (his best pitch and his "strikeout pitch") against RH hitters. He's really more of a reliever who happens to throw LH than a LH relief specialist. He was tried as a starter a couple of years ago and failed miserably, mainly because he doesn't have the repertoire to go two times through the order. He's fine where he is right now. No reason to try him as a starter again, although I can see why he would want to start, because starters make a lot more money than do relievers.      

Vitter beats Stewart into game action, bottom of 5th, replacing Lilibridge...although Stewart played in a minor league game today.

from the Rangers mlb.com blog...TR Sullivan (the CMuskat equivalent for Texas):
Have you heard the full story on the Barret Loux and Jacob Brigham swap? Brigham just got reassigned and has an opt-out date, so it's likely he never throws a meaningful pitch for the Rangers. It seems like we let the Cubs take advantage of this deal. -- Jeff S., Fort Worth, Texas
The Rangers made the deal with the Cubs for catcher Geovany Soto on the night of July 30. The two teams had talked about both Loux and Brigham. The Cubs agreed to the deal for Brigham but still wanted to review his medical records. While they were doing so, news of the trade leaked out from Chicago. At the same time, the Cubs started expressing reluctance to acquire Brigham because they had concerns about his physical conditioning. By then, Yorvit Torrealba had been told what the situation was and Soto was coming to Texas to replace him. The Rangers, backed into a bad spot, convinced the Cubs to do the deal with the provision that if Brigham wasn't healthy, the Cubs could take Loux instead after the season, plus a player to be named later. That proved to be the case. Brigham came down with an elbow problem, the Cubs asked to redo the deal and the Rangers still owe them one more player.
http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130313&content_id=4…

fwiw...times CST... Saturday, March 16 vs. Kansas City 3:05 PM WGN Sunday, March 17 @Oakland 3:05 PM WGN Friday, March 22 @Milwaukee 3:05 PM WGN Saturday, March 23 vs. LA Angels 3:05 PM WGN Monday, March 25 vs. San Fran 3:05 PM CSN Thursday, March 28 vs. Seattle 2:05 PM CSN

spring training fan weakness... 8800+ in attendance for the game...down to less than 2000 by the time the 9th rolled around. welcome to LA, evidently. yeah, it's 94F outside, but it's dry Phoenix desert heat...that's practically nothing as long as you brought a hat. ...and the cubs are leading big going into the 9th, but who goes to ST games to see who wins/loses? a win for the team you're rooting for is just a nice bonus vs seeing the talent/kids/etc. i guess rush hour being close played a part, too...but c'mon spring training tourists...the hotel pool will still be there. cubs win 8-1...it was 6-0 going into the 9th.

USA vs DR... little delay...RAD doesn't like the mound...rakes and dirt being brought out.

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In reply to by crunch

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In reply to by 10man

i wish they'd move...there's a lot going on aside from the "it's neat/historic/nearly-last-of-it's-kind" perspective about the park...and a lot of it is negative. that said, i kinda respect the ricketts trying to make the park "work." i sure wouldn't shed a tear seeing the cubs move to a new park, though.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    LHP Blake Weiman appears to have been the last cut from the AAA Iowa roster. He is with the Tennessee group at Minor League Camp.

     

  • crunch (view)

    bruce bochy is hobbling rather badly for a guy who's had 2 hip replacements.  his gait is extremely wonky taking the lineup card to the ump.

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.