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

Roosevelt Rides Again!

CSN's Patrick Mooney broke the news that Theodore Roosevelt Lilly III is back with the Cubs. No, the 38 year old crafty one, who retired last November isn't being brought back from the netherworld to be another soft tossing lefty to flip at the trade deadline. He's there in a new capacity, per Rotoworld:

Ted Lilly has been hired as a special assistant for the Cubs front office. He will work with young players in Cubs camp during spring training and then help the organization with scouting for the draft.

Then there is this quote from TL upon making the decision to take the Cubs gig:

Ted Lilly: "I want to be around the game and I feel like I have something to offer. This is the organization I would prefer to be with.”

A little more from Gulliver and the Voyage to Lilliput after the jump...

Carrie Muskat at cubs.com says that Lilly, Theo and Jed started discussions about a role with the Cubs during the recent January Cubs Convention.

"His reputation with the Cubs is sterling, which is fantastic, and not only as a person but as a competitor," Hoyer said. "I really liked what he had to say. A lot of guys want to get back in and don't want to work that much, and he made it clear he wants to work and wants to get involved in scouting. I think we'll use him in a variety of ways. He feels he has a pretty good eye and likes to try to evaluate but also was really humble and knows he has to learn how to do it. He was excited to get back involved and I think we'll feel out how to use him."

The terms of this contract have to be less stressful than when Lilly signed on for 4/40 in December 2006. GM Jim Hendry was on the stretcher to get an angioplasty when that deal was closed.

My thought is he's being brought back to teach those who will listen on how to slide into catchers given the new rules that are being invoked. Yadier Molina still aches from this lesson. Of course there are many reasons to love Ted Lilly. The TLFC, the TL Supercomputer, TCR has a long track record of showing some Ted Lilly love. Given that link showing some of Lilly's best Cub outings, maybe Travis Wood will learn a trick or two from the master crafty-sman.


Samardzija had better watch out if he gets too pranky, cause TL is THE master prankster.

Tags

Comments

boni got the start at SS today. they're giving him every chance to be the 2nd/SS "supersub" along with his CF/LF capability. he came up as a middle IF'r and has always gotten shots there with various teams, but he's never been able to stick there because of his D.

Almora rbi single (shortly after Vitters gets picked off 1st), then a 2 run blast by Olt. 6-3 Cubs over A's in the 8th.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Since you are talking about boners, I was at the game today, sitting in the front row maybe 30 feet from 3b. Bryant looks STIFF out there on D. I don't see his glove working at 3b long term. If anyone is interested in two of these seats(face value) for the 3/11 game, let me know. I have 6 but only need 4. They are in the front row right next to the cubs dugout. It's actually a row in front of the dugout. Look to your right and you have a nice view right into the dugout. It's hot as fuck(for a person who has spent this winter in Chicago) until about the 3rd inning.

[ ]

In reply to by Newport

it's early spring arizona sun...get a wide brim hat that has ventilation to breathe and you'll be all good. i haven't been to AZ in a year and 1/2...one of my favorite places to visit and hike (even more than hawaii). i wish they still had full-time spring training games in tucson (one of my favorite places on this planet). i had some fun times at TEP and Hi Corbett Field watching games. i understand why teams left (and why many vets would skip the phoenix-area to tucson bus trip), but i'd rather be in tucson for anything but the games.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"It’s not so much that Baez's approach is overly aggressive. I think that comes off as a pejorative statement at times, and being aggressive isn’t always a bad thing. You want to see hitters take advantage of opportunities and drive the baseball with authority. I think Baez’s biggest problem at the plate is that his confidence with the bat/swing creates an environment where everything thrown in his general direction is considered an opportunity for him to drive the ball out of the park. It’s often hard to distinguish between being aggressive and being overly confident, but in Baez’s case, he’s not a grip-it-and-rip-it hitter; rather, he’s a guy who thinks he can turn around whatever a pitcher has to offer and send it out of the park." I think this is a distinction without a difference. And if this is true, I mean I'm kind of tired of free swingers... meh.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

There is a difference, at least in my mind. To this point Baez's view is that nobody can beat him consistently. To this point his stats suggest he's been proven correct. Moving forward he's surely going to come across guys who can beat him more often than not. What he does in response to that seems to be the key as to whether he's a AAA flameout or a perennial MLB All-star, and why the consensus is he has more space between his ceiling and floor than other high-end prospects. I read into the BP guy's definition of grip it and rip it that he thinks that condition is un-alterable.

[ ]

In reply to by Jackstraw

some guys can get away with it...we'll find out if he can when he's exposed at higher levels. we may have to live with his high-K tradeoff, though. unlike some load-and-release hitters, he at least has the "unteachable skill" of extremely quick hands/wrists through the batting zone...just like soriano was so quick for many years with his hands/wrists he could stand in the front of the box hoping to feast on breaking stuff that was breaking late as well as being able to respond to fastballs. age caught up with soriano...but so did the learning curve of adapting and he's tweaked his approach a little bit. i'm not trying to say soriano and baez hit the same, but they're both aggressive swingers with extremely quick hands/wrists (at least soriano in his youth, anyway). no one's ever called soriano's swing nice/pretty/etc...baez at least has better praise in that department.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

And if you only had one guy like that in your lineup, you can get away with it. For several years now we've had a lineup chock full of free swingers and the results are dozens of 5-10 pitch innings from opposing pitchers. If you don't have the other 90% of your lineup working the count, you will never realize the benefit of a free swinger.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

cross your fingers and hope d.vogelbach can play LF in the future with the drop in weight. soler and almora seem to be guys heavily prone to swing even if they don't K much. bryant might be patient...hard to tell at this point. a.alcantara showed great improvement with his walk rate last year even though he still K'd a lot. that's at least a bit promising (especially for a 21 year old playing in AA).

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I'm not sure the quote is particularly clear, but I would draw a distinction between the Javier Baez aggressive approach and the Starlin Castro aggressive approach. Castro gets into trouble when he swings at a pitch out of the zone just because he knows he can dump it into RF just beyond the 2B. Baez gets into trouble because he thinks he can drive anything. I'd call Baez's approach aggressive and in need of refinement. I'd taking Baez's aggressiveness of the type we see in Castro at times. But, obviously, they'd both be better off if they were a bit more selective and put themselves in situations to take aggressive swings on good hitters pitches/counts. It'll be interesting to see how badly and how long Baez struggles against polished pitchers who can locate their breaking balls, which he hasn't faced yet. That part of his game might not become apparent until he spends a while in the majors, and that'll be when we see how his "aggressiveness" plays or gets adjusted.

[ ]

In reply to by Sonicwind75

heh...he turned that "hole away" weakness into "whatever, i'll swing at that, too...just make better contact off the bat" he was the best bad-ball hitter i've ever seen. even when you pitched him correctly he would swing at something stupid to swing at and do something with it.

b.brenly calling the KC/ARZ game...spots henry blanco in the dugout...calls him "hank white" ...now he's calling KC pitcher francisley bueno "frank good" i miss brenly.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Agreed. I think JD might be a bust, but gotta give him a couple more years I guess. I remember being skeptical of Brenly early on too. But JD and Kasper were two ships passing in the night as far as chemistry last year ... I hope they learn each other's sense of humor because so far it's just been awkward.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

JD was rather awesome with the astros...but he knew the team rather well and that helped a lot in his banter. it really seems like he came on board with the cubs without doing a lot of homework. i hope it gets better as he spends more time around the team (and i hope he's getting exposure to the kids in spring training). bob not only came on board having done his homework, he dove head-first into getting to know what's going on in the minors (beyond what his kid was doing) as well as the major league team. i totally agree on the point about jd and len not matching wits well even though they were both trying to joke around...it was painfully awkward too many times for far too long. len/bob were great at setting each other up for jokes and playing off each other's commentary. len/bob had great chemistry and bob was a strong color guy for the cubs.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • 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.