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

Tunney Vision

This story is already so old and stupid I apologize for putting it up.
But Tom Tunney suggesting the Wrigley Field scroreboard be replaced with a jumbotron "as big as you want" is, well, I kinda drew Tunney's Vision here.
Really, I just care about making a better baseball team, and usually Chicago politics are just fun to watch.
But this thing gets under my skin.
Did you see "Django Unchained"?
If not, this'll go over your head so I apologize:
Tunney is an ouchebag.
The D is silent.

Now please go back to watching Phil's far more insightful post about Travis Wood!

ps: thanks for the suggestions, guys.

Comments

Don't know what happened on my first attempt, and Rob I couldn't find a "delete post" button.

"Cubs manager Dale Sveum confirmed Thursday that right-hander Michael Bowden will have a bullpen spot." also... "Cubs manager Dale Sveum said Thursday that Matt Garza (lat) is a week or so away from throwing off a mound."

Az Phil, Have you seen Vizcaino throw at all?

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

HAGSAG: I have not seen Arodys Vizcaino throw yet.

BTW, today is the first day that a player on an MLB 40-man roster can be placed on the 15-day Disabled List, and it's also the earliest date that a 15-day DL assignment can be backdated if the player is placed on the 15-day DL between today and the start of the MLB regular season. Players on the 15-day and 60-day DL cannot play in MLB Grapefruit League or Cactus League games, and if the DL assignment is backdated, the player cannot have played in an MLB Grapefruit League or Cactus League game during the backdated period, but the player can play in minor league Spring Training games.

It seems very likely that the Cubs will place Arodys Vizcaino, Scott Baker, Matt Garza, and Ian Stewart on the Disabled List prior to MLB Opening Day, and Vizcaino and Baker will either be placed on the 60-day DL directly or wlll be transferred to the 60-day DL from the 15-day DL (a player can be placed on the 60-day DL or transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL only if the club's 40-man roster is full) to make room on the 40-man roster for IF-OF Brent Lillibridge and whichever NRI pitcher gets the last slot in the bullpen (at this point, probably LHP Hisanori Takahashi).

If for some reason the Cubs don't want to place Baker on the 60-day DL (and I don't see why they wouldn't, since he is now back at "square one"), they could recall Junior Lake from his minor league Optional Assignment prior to Opening Day and place him on the 60-day DL (Lake has a stress fracture in his rib-cage and probably won't be ready to play until May), except Lake would both accrue MLB Service Time and be paid at the major league salary rate (rather than the minor league split salary) while he is on the Cubs MLB 60-day DL, so I doubt that the Cubs would want to do that unless they were really stuck for a 40-man roster slot. 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Can't say I've paid a ton of attention, the roster will change within a week of the season starting anyway..but is this right?

C: Castillo, Navarro

INF: Rizzo, Barney, Castro, Valbuena, Lillibridge, one bench spot open

OF: Soriano, DeJeus, Schierholtz, Hairston, Sappelt

SP: Samardzija, Jackson, Wood, Feldman, Villanueva

BP: Marmol, Fujikawa, Camp, Russell, Rondon, Bowden, one bullpen spot open

Still Competing for Bench: Clevenger, Gonzalez

Still Competing Bullpen: Wade, Takahashi, Dolis, Putnam

DL: Garza, Baker, Stewart, Vizcaino

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

speaking of...

the new LB

With word that the Bears have reached terms with D.J. Williams to fill one of those vacancies presents more questions. Cheaper and younger (30)? Yes. But Williams' best season was six years ago, and he's gone down a slippery slope since. There have been driving-while-impaired issues. Urine sample swapping issues. Is Williams the better choice than the stability of Urlacher and/or Roach, even if it required some financial juggling? Williams no doubt has something to prove after Denver decided he wasn't worth $6 million. Can he prove it positively? And how will he fit into a group that swore by Urlacher, and to a lesser extent, Roach?

hopefully him and Marshall room together on road trips...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Urlacher had something to prove, too. I haven't paid much attention to the Bears upper management structure since they switched McCaskeys, but that sure smelled like Ted Phillips still to me.

Today's lineup will be the starting 8 for opening day. DeJesus, Castro, Rizzo, Sori, Schierholtz, Castillo, Valbuena, Barney

Apologies if someone else has posted this link. If you did, I missed it. http://www.csnne.com/blog/red-sox-talk/lessons-boston-guide-theo-his-ne… I liked: "Forbidden fruit," Epstein says of free agency and he shrugs. "We just didn't have the patience to make it across the gap without giving into temptation . . . Free agency is where you get your worst return on investment. It's really that simple. The draft and the international market, that's where you get your best return, dollar for dollar. And free agency is the worst return on investment." Epstein shrugs again. "We knew that but we did it anyway. It was a negative lesson." There was a time where I really looked forward to the free agency period of the hot stove league, but today free agency mostly means bad signings. There will come a time, hopefully soon, where the Cubs will need to add a big time free agent to get them over the hump. But that free agent signing is almost certain to become an albatross at some point because of today's free agent system.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

He slaps "The Cubs Way" again and admits he's counting on some of that optimism in Chicago because he and Hoyer and Sveum and the rest will not take any short cuts. Last year, when they were going through the 101-loss season, they kept reminding each other to stay together and to remember that it's a long term plan.

that should go over well with some

 

cubs score 4 in the bottom 7th for a 1 run lead...give marmol the top 8th...alarming lack of control today...mid-season form...sigh. walk, hpb, ground out, ground out (play at home), passed ball scoring run, walk, ground out. marmol was throwing a ton of sliders today...most missing, even the ones swung at...lot of movement/action on them, though. tie game...6-6 going to middle 8th.

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.