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

2013 Cubs Minor League Camp - Last Day

2013 Chicago Cubs Minor League Camp drew to a close this morning, as the Iowa Cubs completed their final Spring Training work-out before flying to Albuquerque this afternnon. They willl open their PCL season versus the Isotopes Thursday night.

Most of the I-Cubs participated in traditional Spring Training drills and B-P on Field #2, while rotation-starter Drew Carpenter threw a bullpen session. (Matt Garza participated in the PFPs).

Meanwhile, three members of the Iowa bullpen threw in the 11-inning intrasquad-"sim" game on Field #3.

The game cannot be box scored because players sometimes traded places in the field mid-inning, players hit for both "teams," and a pitcher's "inning" was sometimes stopped mid-AB when the pitcher reached the 15-pitch mark. It was really more of a hybrid scrimmage than either a "sim" game or an intrasquad game.

Each of the pitchers who worked on Field #3 threw 15 pitches per inning, and each pitcher threw anywhere from one to four innings (depending on the pitcher): The pitchers themselves were a Motley Crew, some being Iowa relievers getting work, some were pitchers from the Boise/Mesa (Extended Spring Training) squad, and others were rehab guys.  

FOUR INNINGS: Josh Conway

THREE INNINGS: Jose Rosario

TWO INNINGS: Hunter Cervenka, Loiger Padron, and Larry Suarez

ONE INNING: Daniel Adrian, Kyler Burke, David Cales, Esmailin Caridad, Casey Coleman, Carlos Guerrero, Matt Iannazzo, and Cory Wade,     

Rosario and Conway (Cubs 2012 4th round draft pick out of Coastal Carolina) were especially good, both cruising effortlessly through their mulitple innings with minimum stress. Conway has made a remarkable recovery from 2012 TJS and almost made the Kane County starting rotation, throwing a 92-94 MPH fastball, a hard slider, and a decent change-up.

David Cales (2011 shoulder surgery) was the most-impressive pitcher today, striking out all four hitters he faced (all four swinging) in his 15-pitch inning. Cales has a nasty slider, and he almost made the Tennessee bullpen, but was left behind at Extended Spring Training to get innings.

The Boise/Mesa position players traded places with their "mirror" periodically, switching back & forth between defense and offense. (The five catchers alternated between warming up pitchers in the bullpen, catching in the game, and hitting).

C: Erick Castillo, Justin Marra, Wilfredo Petit, Neftali Rosario, and Lance Rymel  

1B: Xavier Batista and Jose Dore

2B: Roni Torreyes and Danny Lockhart

3B: Mark Malave and Jacob Rogers

SS: Carlos Penalver and Danny Lockhart

LF: Trevor Gretzky, Dong-Yub Kim, and Garrett Schlecht

CF: Rashad Crawford and Shawon Dunston Jr

RF: Reggie Golden and Jeffrey Baez

There wasn't much hitting in the game (the pitchers mostly dominated), although Reggie Golden did rip a triple off lefty side-armer Matt Iannazzo, and looked just fine hustling around the bases (he had surgery for torn knee ligaments just about this time last year).

RHP Larry Suarez hit Jeffrey Baez with a pitch on the upper left shoulder (almost hit him in the head), as Suarez continues to battle "Steve Blass Disease."

 

 

Comments

I'm not exactly the biggest Torreyes fan ... but boy it still seems weird as to why he's in extended spring training.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Roni Torreyes reported to Fitch Park on 3/18, about a week after the other position players.

He started playing in games for Tennessee about ten days ago, and he was the regular 2B for the Tennessee squad all last week, until he was moved down. 

Torreyes is not injured, and while I guess he might have been sent to Extended Spring Training because he reported late, it's not like he wasn't hitting well in AA games (because he was). His defense was not too good, however. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Hey, Do you think he's out of shape? Just wondering, because your critique of his defense the other day stood out. It didn't sound/look that bad last year. I'm just trying to think of reasons why he might get demoted all the way to XST. It's the most interesting move this spring, IMO. I've run through the other standard possibilities to get dumped to XST, and none of them seem all that realistic (switching positions, making a swing adjustment, teaching him something about 2nd defensively ... ). I guess he could simply be passed by Amaya/Bruno, but that seems unlikely. Perhaps some sort of "punishment" (I guess if he wasn't in shape, that dropping him to XST would be a "punishment")? Anyhow, curious how you thought he looked physically.

[ ]

In reply to by toonsterwu

TOONSTER: Torreyes could be out of shape (at least defensively). His defense at Minor League Camp looked sluggish, and while that might have to do with his reporting a week late, he is hitting & running fine. So I can't say for sure why he's at EXST.

It will be interesting to see how long Torreyes stays down here.   

E-MAN: I had thought that after trading Tony Campana, that Matt Szczur was the fastest player in left in the organizatoin, but after watching him a lot at Minor League Camp, I now believe it's Tim Saunders.

Saunders has plus-speed and is an outstanding base-stealer, he has the athleticism and versatility to play anywhere on the field, and he's a really good hitter.

I suspect he will play all over the place at Daytona, and he has a good chance to finishg the 2013 season at Tennessee. 

He is a definite MLB prospect.

Phil: Michael Jensen isn't listed on any of the Daytona, Tennessee, or Kane rosters. Have you seen him in camp and do you have any idea what's wrong with him?

CRAIG: Matt Loosen and Michael Jensen are both missing from full-season rosters, and I don't know why.

One thing that happens at Minor League Camp (and it doesn't happen at big league camp because it's two weeks longer) is that sometime a starting pitcher can't build up his arm strength suficiently to break with his team as a starting pitcher, so he is placed on the DL and left behind at EXST to build up arm strength (which typically takes maybe a week or two). It's not a problem with relievers. 

Hopefully that's all that's up with Loosen & Jensen.

 

BOB: If the Cubs do with Albert Almora what they did with Dustin Geiger last year after he broke his hamate bone the last day of Minor League Camp,I would think Almora will be brought along slowly at EXST, and then get assigned to Kane County after the conclusion of Extended Spring Training the first week of June (presuming there are no medical setbacks along the way).  

There are usually a lot of roster adjustments made around the end of Extended Spring Training, because the June draft takes place the same week that EXST ends, and then Boise and Mesa begin play a week or two after that. So (for example) Almora could be moved up to KC at or near the end of EXST, and then one of the outfielders at KC could be moved down to Boise. 

Last year, Javier Baez started the season at EXST, and then was moved up to Peoria at the end of May and Marco Hernandez was moved down to Boise, even though Hernandez had just started to hit a Peoria.  

 

3 passed balls for jp arincibiabiababia through 2 innings...josh thole is in AAA because hank white made the team over him, even though he was dickey's personal catcher last season during his cy young run.

cubs pick up nate's mid-season replacement... "Cubs signed OF Ryan Sweeney to a minor league contract."

yu darvish is perfect through 6ip (vs HOU, of course)...but he's thrown 82 pitches (11 Ks) and this is April 2nd...might get interesting.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

HOLY CRAP! PERFECT GAME -RUINED- AFTER 8.2ip! ...single up the middle by m.gonzalez. clean single...only darvish had a chance to make the play and it would have been snap/woah snag as it shot down the middle of the field into the OF.

Marginally off-topic, but can you step-by-step an International Spending trade for us? To make it easy, if not accurate, have the trade be Shawn Camp going to Philly, with the Cubs at $5 million, and Philly at $2 million. Thanks for everything.

[ ]

In reply to by tim815

TIM: If you're talking about a trade involving a club's International Signing Bonus Pool (ISBP), in the hypothetical example you gave the Phillies can trade $500K of their ISBP to the Cubs.

Clubs can trade their ISBP, but it must be traded in quarters. In other words, if the Phillies have a $2M ISBP, they would have to trade $500K (no more & no less) anytime they trade their ISBP, and they could do it four times.  

However, a club that receives a quarter of the other club's ISBP must have an ISBP of their own that is (in aggregate) at least twice the value of the ISBP received.

So, while the Cubs could receive $500K of the Phillies ISBP in a trade for Camp (because the Cubs ISBP in your example is $5M), the Cubs could not trade a quarter of their ISBP ($1.25M) to the Phils, because $1.25M is more than half of the Philies ISBP ($2M).

Also, something to keep in mind about the ISBP limit is that exceeding the limit does not cause a draft pick to be forfeited. However, there is a penalty-tax for exceeding the ISBP by 5% or more, and exceeding the limit by 5% or more triggers restrictions on how much a club can spend on individual players during the next International Signing Period (ISP). NOTE: The ISP runs July 2nd though the following June 15th, and no players covered by the ISBP restrictions may be signed June 16th through July 1st.  

A club that exceeds its ISBP by 5-10% in a given ISP would be permitted to sign only one international first-year player to a bonus of $500K or more in the next ISP, a club that exceeds its ISBP by 10-15% in a given ISP would be prohibited from paying a bonus in excess of $500K to any international first-year player during the next ISP, and a club that exceeds its ISBP by 15%+ in a given ISP is prohibited from paying a bonus in excess of $250K to any international first-year player signed during the next ISP.

One strategy to consider is to spend like there is no limit every-other-year and take the punishment (tax plus restrictions), and then basically sit out the next year. I doubt that any organization would do that, but if one year in particular has a group of "once-in-a-generation"-type talent that would cost (let's say) $10M to sign, it might be worth it. 

Also note that this system will probably be significantly changed if an international draft is implemented.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Thanks, as always. I thought that was how the ISP worked. But, since none of the major media types will bother until it happens, that's why I asked. Toronto put themselves on probation for the class that starts on July 2, as I recall, by spending heavily last year. So the Cubs only have 28 opponents for the 2014 IS period. Linked to a solid sounding SS from Venezuela for early July, as I remember.

I liked a Bruce Miles comment in comparing Shark to a certain past opening day starter: "I couldn’t help but wonder how Zambrano would have reacted to Monday’s first inning, both with the walk and with Lillibridge’s error. It might not have been a pretty."

My internal conflict on Marmol Heart: Cut this guy now. Head: No, no. Leave him as closer to increase his trade value. Wins do not matter this season. Heart: Wins always matter, and Marmol has no trade value. Head: Now he doesn't, but with a couple of months of good appearances who knows. Heart: No one is going to be fooled by a couple of good month, if he is lucky enough to have them. Etc. Etc. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/15800/cubs-need-to-pull-…

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

I think the whole business about having catchers call the pitches was to make him work faster and not think about stuff so much, if I remember right, and I may not be remembering right. But if he's not locating his fastball it just gives credence to Sveum's feeling that he just didn't have it.

Lineup v LHP: Sappelt, Castro, Rizzo, Soriano, Hairston, Castillo, Lillibridge, Gonzalez, Jackson. Here's to a winning streak.

oft-injured ex-cub semi-prospect darin downs (now 28) just threw some filthy stuff in relief for the tigers...had a great spring, too. he took an earned run off a walk that was knocked in off a double given up by villareal...but he threw a nice 1.1ip (3k). unless the gun was off, he was bringing it 93mph (last year it was close to 90mph with decent results in a limited look)...nice mid-80s slider.

soriano still sucks at playing the ball off the wall...giving away extra bases...fun stuff when someone is on base. waiting for a bounce is one thing...waiting for it 30-40ft away on a slow paced jog is another.

castro *facepalm* sigh... footwork confuses him yet again...handcuffs him trying to make a play before he gets the ball...backhanded "ole" catch fails badly...ball trickles into the OF.

h.rondon is throwing 88-90mph fastballs...badly. 4 pitch walk to start his big league career. ...follows it up with a K of alvarez...hit 91mph on one of his fastballs. his pickoff move to 1st is nearly non-existent. he can check a runner with a toss, but that's about it.

rizzo takes a fastball to the shoulder and he goes down like he took a fastball to the helmet...that was odd. he seems to be fine, fwiw.

DeJesus CF Castro SS Rizzo 1B Soriano LF Schierholtz RF Navarro C Valbuena 3B Lillibridge 2B Wood P

The Cubs have loaned catcher Sergio Burruel to Tabasco (Mexican League) so that he can get regular playing time. They did the same thing last year with RHP Yoanner Negrin, and in years past with others.

Burruel was born in Mexico but attended HS in Phoenix (Trevor Browne HS).

BTW, although the Mexican League is designated AAA by Minor League Baseball, it actually is equivalent to Hi-A (like Daytona).  The reason it is designated AAA is so that players on the reserve lists of Mexican League clubs cannot be selected in a Minor League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

t.wood pulled after 6ip (85 pitches) of 1 hit, 2bb, 4K ball...alright, then. cubs have a 1 run lead (1-0).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

based on early returns and this spring...i think this is his good stuff. his stuff actually doesn't look that bad today...he's not missing by much when he misses. unfortunately, he's not missing bats today. ...and now another run is in on a single...tieing run at 3rd. neat.

Let's hope Marmol doesn't waste the insurance runs provided by Schierholtz.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

He tried mightily. Really made his best effort to lose that lead. It was almost heroic, that effort. On a more positive note, that was some good baseball with Rizzo taking that walk like a good *veteran* hitter might, and then Sheirwhatever really doing a nice job working the count. I had to slap my cheek to make sure I wasn't dreaming about watching a real baseball team.

Marmol wasn't bad today. The Pitt announcers admitted that the ump blew strike three on Martin. And Rizzo could have gotten more glove on the Gaby Sanchez grounder. (But I don't want to criticize Rizzo after that beautiful SB.) Marmol morphs into a decent closer when he's angry--as when the tying run (a fast guy like McCutchen) gets to third with one out.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I've also been reading him since kid-hood -- which is starting to feel like a real long time ago now. In years, if not behavior. I had always gravitated towards him over Siskel, even before they first had their TV show. Now I'll have to figure who to read to avoid the unforgivable sin of picking a bad movie to watch. I'm sorry -- that seems too flip for how I feel about him and his writing. I liked reading his opinions even about movies I didn't care about seeing or other topics. He had a real feel for being able to express the human experience. That doesn't come along often.

Cubs bang out 11 hits in 3 games. I know it was cold, but...yikes. Has anyone in the history of baseball swung at more 0-2 sliders in the dirt than Sori? CPat might have, if given the chance, although there are/were fewer LH pitchers to feast on him. Has any hitting coach mentioned to Fonzi that virtually every 0-2 pitch to him is a slider low & away? Very annoying to watch...over and over and over...

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

sori's always had a "hole" in his swing that he can't tell a fastball from a slider...it's why he used to stand at the very front of the box and try to catch them before the hard break. now that he's had to move a little back in the box to compensate for slower bat speed he's lost a bit of the "cheating edge" he used to take with his approach.

So this team started the season with a road series team against a team many like to finish above .500 despite getting terrible situational hitting and atrocious infield defense? Baseball be weird.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

kerry wood threw more than a few 150+ pitch outings in highschool...and threw a few games on 2-3 days rest, to boot. it seems every year since the late 90s, someone finds a kid's boxscore where he throws 150+ pitches in a game and it gets blown up as if it isn't happening rather regularly all over the country. what's happening to this kid in japan, though...wtf? ...almost 800 pitches in 9 days...damn.

Patrick Mooney‏@CSNMooney Garza threw a 25-pitch bullpen session today in Arizona and is scheduled to do so again Sunday in Atlanta.

[ ]

In reply to by Newport

I can totally agree it would seem. I live in Evanston so will either ride my bike, take the El, or park (in a secret location) on the street and enjoy about a mile walk to and from. But for the folks that live in the WAY burbs have a tougher time. Other than building a garage on this site for them (and those not ambulatory), what other solutions, including remote lots, are there? The Bears have run buses from Monroe and Grant Park for 35+ years. I Only know of the DeVry lot for the Cubs for remote parking.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

For the first time, the alderman publicly said he has agreed to allow the team to put up a large video scoreboard in left field despite the objections of rooftop club owners surrounding the stadium. But he cautioned that the size still is being worked out. Tunney also said there’s agreement on another sign in right field... ...While the size and exact location in left field of a Jumbotron-like screen have not been resolved, it will block some of the rooftop views, Tunney said. He also said any dispute between the rooftop owners and the team would have to be resolved privately. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-wrigley-alderman-…

"ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that Dontrelle Willis has signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League." ...ducks also have vlad. i hope they have Aflac. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. etc.

"Angels minor league catcher Carlos Ramirez was suspended 50 games for his second violation for a drug of abuse." adderall strikes again. at some point, baseball (and this entire nation) is going to have to face up to the fact that there's a lot of people getting addicted to and strung out on this crap amphetamine...or at least acknowledge that the 1000000000000000000000000 pills per year in circulation don't match the amount of people needing proper treatment for it's production levels. he's a non-prospect catcher, btw.

s.feldman vs m.minor...this should be fun...or not... feldman vs K-heavy and HR-heavy lineup...which way will the scales tip tonight? D. Sappelt cf S. Castro ss A. Rizzo 1b A. Soriano lf S. Hairston rf W. Castillo c B. Lillibridge 3b A. Gonzalez 2b S. Feldman p

Stolen base against Feldman and Castillo. Runner should have been out. Alberto Gonzalez took the throw about 7 feet in front of secondbase and reached back for the tag - which he missed on. Wild pitch. Sac fly. 2 - 0.

they're doing "the wave"...complete with yelling while they do it...in ATL. along with the "tommy hawk chawp" it's one of the most annoying places in baseball to watch a game. ...also, s.harriston hit a solo homer. 1-2, top 5th.

feldman with 2 wild pitches, 1 HBP, and 4bb...that's not his style even when he sucks. odd lack of command tonight.

AZ Phil: Brad Nelson is playing 3B for Iowa, and the big team obviously needs some pop. Can he hang there defensively, at least on par with the sub-par performances we've seen already this year from Valbuena and Lillibridge?

JOHN B: While he played a few games at 3B in AAA 2009-11, Brad Nelson playing 3B for Iowa is strictly "in a pinch."

stupid Fox saturday blackouts...i wanna watch STL/SF, not yet another NYY game. East Coast Fox...NYY/NYM/BOS/ATL games 99.9% of the time. meh. cubs on WGN later this evening, btw.

a.simmons late scratch for ATL after spraining his thumb on a heads-first slide last night...he missed a few months injuring himself on a heads-first slide last season.

So len is talking "not easy to move to a new closer this early, you can put fujikawa in but what do you do with marmol..." Upton homers game over. I know what you can do with Marmol.

"I had my pitches working," Marmol said. "I just missed my pitch. I didn't do anything bad." That's the problem. His pitches don't have the movement they once had. I remember, it seems like a long time ago now, when the stuff he threw really seemed unhittable. Unfair. That stuff isn't there anymore. Once in awhile he'll throw a nasty slider but it's almost like he went into the way back machine to grab one just to show us what he once used to be like. He was fun to watch. Now, he's fun for the other team. Their eyes must light up when he gets on the mound. It's too bad, but it is what it is. Time for Sveum and TheoCorp to close this chapter of Cubsdom. Gad, what a horrible game. The only thing worse than the lack of clutch hitting by the two kids, Castro and Rizzo, to break the game open, was Marmol's embarrassment.

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).