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

Cubs Fire Sveum...Act Surprised Everyone

In a move that everyone should have expected, Dale Sveum was removed of his duties as the Cubs lineup filler-outer. Some new lucky schlub will now get that honor with a very nice paycheck, posssibly $3M or more if their name is Joe Girardi.

In the official statement, TheJedi were their normal political correct selves, wishing Dale good luck in his future endeavors and taking the blame for the record the last 2 years...while not really taking the blame though. Because if they were really upset about it, they'd Samurai Futaba themselves like any honorable G.M.

It's all just P.R. rhetoric, but if there's a statement of hope to hang our hats on, it would probably be this paragraph.

Soon, our organization will transition from a phase in which we have been primarily acquiring young talent to a phase in which we will promote many of our best prospects and actually field a very young, very talented club at the major league level. The losing has been hard on all of us, but we now have one of the top farm systems in baseball, some of the very best prospects in the game, and a clear path forward. In order for us to win with this group - and win consistently - we must have the best possible environment for young players to learn, develop and thrive at the major league level. We must have clear and cohesive communication with our players about the most important parts of the game. And - even while the organization takes a patient, long view - we must somehow establish and maintain a galvanized, winning culture around the major league club.

So far Girardi and Brad Ausmus have been the only names mentioned, certainly more will follow. TheJedi says they'll start the formal process tomorrow morning asking for permissions and so forth. Girardi is technically under contract until November 1st with the Yankees, so they'll certainly get first crack to retain him. The press release says they plan to have a manager in place by the GM meetings in early November, if not sooner, and will be stressing the development of young talent in any hire.

Comments

Davey Johnson retires...Gardenhire re-ups for 2 years.

So far open jobs are:

Yankees, Cubs, Mariners and Nationals.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"31. St. Louis Cardinals — Kodi Medeiros, LHP, Waiakea HS (HI)" every time a list gets made he moves more and more up those lists. if he actually played in a more competitive HS field he would probably be a top-15 pick...and may end up cracking at/near that depending on how many people pay attention to him and how he does next season. deception + velocity and good control. i was hoping he'd fly under the radar and perhaps make it to the 2nd round, but that seems to be less likely as time goes on. hoffman linked to the cubs on that list... from an earlier post (which involved medeiros/hoffman/rondon that i made a few weeks ago about another list... "kodi medeiros is on his list and he's been absent or very deep on a lot of lists even though he's got great stuff. very interesting guy with extremely good fastball + slider combo and unusual mound delivery. he throws between 3/4 and sidearm...very deceptive...especially for a guy who's stuff, alone, doesn't need deception. the biggest hangup for him is it's been hard to gauge how good he is in competition because he plays weak competition in hawaii. it's hard to tell what kinda loot he's gonna want...he's not committed to any college (and it's thought that he doesn't want to go to college), but if he falls too far in the 1st he may go the community college route to raise his value. btw...i still don't like jeff hoffman as much as some people. he's getting a lot of positive buzz since he's one of an extremely small list of guys who had "sit up and notice" performances with summer ball exhibitions/leagues. still, it's one big crapshoot after c.rondon anyway...who's control/command doesn't excite me very much. killer tools on rondon, though...he's got the parts (fb, cutter, slider, curve, change, kitchen sink, etc)...he just needs to make it repeatable."

...we must somehow establish and maintain a galvanized, winning culture around the major league club. Really??? Somehow? I think Ryne Sandberg could have done just as badly (or, even better) and he had built solid relationships with many of the former AAA players. They brought in "their guy" and I really do not see positive progression from any youngsters, save Travis Wood and maybe Castillo. Yet TheoJed brought in career minor leaguers, waiver claims, and cuts. The mess continues.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

It doesn't inspire confidence, but at least they cut their losses and, by swallowing a year of the contract, are admitting their mistake. The bigger problem is that just as Hendry staked it all on the Soriano gamble, TheoCorp has really thrown it down on Castro and Rizzo. If they pedal backwards next year, that's 14 years of bad contract. So if nothing else, they really didn't have a choice here.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

that's 14 years of bad contract.

They're both gonna be playing their age 24 seasons next year, I have a hard time imagining someone getting paid this

13:$5M, 14:$5M, 15:$6M, 16:$7M, 17:$9M, 18:$10M, 19:$11M, 20:$16M club option ($1M buyout)

and this

13:$0.75M, 14:$1.25M, 15:$5M, 16:$5M, 17:$7M, 18:$7M, 19:$11M, 20:$14.5M

is really going to sink the ship...that's kind of the point of those contracts, you can move on a lot easier and someone will always take a chance on 24-25 year olds with previous major league success.

And if by chance the two really are disasters going forward, most people around here already think the Cubs should trade Castro and finding a 1b-men shouldn't be all that hard. Obviously the media would have a field day with it, but I really don't think it would kill the organization at all.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I actually didn't mean to make it sound like it was a direct comparison to the Soriano contract, more like Soriano-lite. It definitely came out that way cuz I said they are "really" throwing it down but it wasn't quite what was in my head. I didn't object to the contracts at the time - well, the Rizzo one seemed a little hasty to me but I was still pretty ok with it. I still don't, but I also didn't object to the Soriano contract. I saw it for what it was, a huge roll of the dice. Cubbery won. I also think the Rizzo and Castro contracts are big dice rolls. Not as big, but it's still a pain in the ass if they don't perform. Cubbery usually wins gambles. They own the house.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

hire mike maddux...replaces manager + pitching coach issues all in one... actually, i wouldn't mind seeing mike maddux as manager...though it would probably take $1-$1.5m to get it done. i still hope they find some sub-$1m guy, ultimately, and puts the loot "saved" back into the product on the field. rob deer's role was "assistant hitting coach"...for some reason...i guess if anyone has had to hear various people trying to coach various methods of trying to correct hitting, it is him. corey patterson for assistant hitting coach!

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.