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

2014 Cubs Minor League Camp Rosters

Dillon Maples, Jen-Ho Tseng, Felix Pena, and Ivan Pineyro threw "live" BP this morning, as Cubs minor leaguers had their first full-squad work-out at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.

2014 CUBS MINOR LEAGUE CAMP ROSTERS (last updated 3-6-2014):

These are the four squads that were actually ON THE FIELD at Minor League Camp today. 

However, about 20 players under club control who I would have expected to be at Minor League Camp were not on the field, but most of the MIA are international players, so visa issues may be the reason some of them are absent. I do know that OF Kevin Encarnacion is rehabbing from serious injuries (burns & shoulder injury) sustained in a car crash in the Dominican Republic this past off-season. Encarnacion was reportedly pulled from the wreck just seconds before the vehicle exploded. Also, INF Elliot Soto is on the Restricted List while serving a 50-game "Drug of Abuse" suspension, and he will not be eligible to be reinstated until late May (although players serving drug & substance suspensions are permitted to participate in Spring Training and Extended Spring Training at the discretion of the club).   

NOTE: ROSTERS AT MINOR LEAGUE CAMP ARE FLUID. Minor League players are often initially assigned to a squad one or even two levels above where they will ultimately be assigned once the regular season starts. Minor League Camp roster assignments are based on several factors, including the player's position as it relates to the specific needs of the organization, and the player's age, amount of professional experience, and previous season's performance (including any time spent at a post-season Instructional League). As players are sent to Minor League Camp from the Major League squad during the course of Spring Training, there are corresponding roster moves made at Minor League Camp as players are either moved down a level or released. 

* bats or throws left
# bats both

IOWA
(33)

AAA

PITCHERS (16): 
Frank Batista
Lendy Castillo
* Hunter Cervenka
Casey Coleman  
Paolo Espino
P. J. Francescon
Carlos Gutierrez
* Austin Kirk
Barret Loux (limited activity only)
Matt Loosen
Trey McNutt (limited activity only)
Yoanner Negrin
Dae-Eun Rhee
Ryan Searle
Nick Struck
Tony Zych

CATCHERS (4):
Yaniel Cabezas
* Charlie Cutler
Taylor Davis
Chadd Krist

INFIELDERS (8):
* Lars Anderson
Stephen Bruno (limited activity only - 2013 TJS rehab)
* Wes Darvill
Dustin Geiger
Edgar Gonzalez
* Walter Ibarra
Greg Rohan
Jonathon Mota

OUTFIELDERS (5):
John Andreoli
# Zeke DeVoss
Anthony Giansanti 
Jae-Hoon Ha (limited activity only)
* Rubi Silva


TENNESSEE
(31):

AA

PITCHERS (16):
Corey Black
Tyler Bremer
Zach Cates
* Frank del Valle 
* Nathan Dorris
C. J. Edwards
Pierce Johnson
* Jeff Lorick
* Andrew McKirahan
Alan Oaks
Steve Perakslis
Starling Peralta
Ivan Pineyro
Austin Reed 
Jose Rosario
Ben Wells 

CATCHERS
(3):
* Danny Canela
Carlos Escobar
Lance Rymel

INFIELDERS (7):
Gioskar Amaya
# Jeimer Candelario
* Marco Hernandez
Giuseppe Papaccio
Tim Saunders (limited activity only)
* Dan Vogelbach
Brad Zapenas

OUTFIELDERS (5):
* Pin-Chieh Chen
* Jose Dore
Reggie Golden
* Bijan Rademacher
# Oliver Zapata


DAYTONA
(30)

Hi-A 

PITCHERS (15):
Jose Arias
Justin Amlung
* Gerardo Concepcion
Zack Godley
* Michael Heesch
Michael Jensen 
Trey Masek
Juan Carlos Paniagua
Felix Pena
Orbandy Rodriguez
Tayler Scott
Tyler Skulina
 Michael Wagner
* Al Yevoli
* Rob Zastryzny

CATCHERS (5): 
Cael Brockmeyer
Ben Carhart (ex-3B)
* Jordan Hankins (ex-3B)
# Mark Malave
* Justin Marra

INFIELDERS (5):
* Zak Blair (limited activity only)
David Bote
* Danny Lockhart
Carlos Penalver
* Rock Shoulders

OUTFIELDERS (5):
Yasiel Balaguert
* Shawon Dunston Jr 
* Jacob Hannemann
* Trevor Gretzky
Trey Martin 

KANE COUNTY (38):

Lo-A 

PITCHERS (25)
Paul Blackburn
Jesus Castillo (limited activity only)
Trevor Clifton
Josh Conway (limited activity only - 2013 elbow surgery rehab)
Josh Davis
Scott Frazier
David Garner
Trevor Graham
Zak Hermans
Corbin Hoffner
* Tyler Ihrig
Trey Lang
Erick Leal
Dillon Maples
Ryan McNeil (limited activity only - 2013 TJS rehab)
Jefferson Mejia
Hector Perez
* Anthony Prieto
James Pugliese
Jasvir Rakkar
Brad Renner 
Daury Torrez
Jen-Ho Tseng
Duane Underwood
* Sam Wilson

CATCHERS (4):
Tyler Alamo 
* Alberto Mineo
Rony Rodriguez (ex-OF)
Neftali Rosario

INFIELDERS (5):
Kelvin Freeman
Jesse Hodges
* Jacob Rogers
# Alex Sanchez
# Trevor Stevens

OUTFIELDERS (4): 
* Kevin Brown
Charcer Burks 
* Rashad Crawford
Eloy Jimenez

++++++++++++++++++++++++

NOT PRESENT ON FIELD (3/6)
* Jeffry Antigua, P
Jeffrey Baez, OF
Marcelo Carreno, P
# Erick Castillo, C
Willson Contreras, C 
# Frandy de la Rosa, INF
# Kevin Encarnacion, OF (INACTIVE - rehabbing from injuries sustained in off-season car crash)
Eduardo Figueroa, P
Mike Hamann, P
David Henrie, P
Jin-Young Kim, P
Loiger Padron, P 
Amaury Paulino, P
# Wilfredo Petit, C   
* Carlos Rodriguez, P
Francisco Sanchez, INF
* Brian Smith, P
Elliot Soto (RESTRICTED LIST - serving 50-game "Drug of Abuse" suspension) 
Gleyber Torres, INF
Yao-Lin Wang, P 

===================

BOISE/MESA (EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING)

NOTEThe Boise/Mesa (Extended Spring Training) squad will form the week of March 10th, consisting of players who will be left behind in Arizona to provide a replacement cadre in case of an injury to a player at Kane County, Daytona, Tennessee, and/or Iowa during the first two months of the season, inexperienced players who are competing for jobs with one of the "Short Season" teams that begin league play in June, and players (both MLB and minor league) getting into playing shape and/or rehabbing from an injury. 

PITCHERS: 
TBD 

CATCHERS
TBD 

INFIELDERS
TBD 

OUTFIELDERS 
TBD 

REHAB GROUP
TBD  

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Cubnut

CUBNUT: Willson Contreras was MIA today. I expected to see him working with the Tennessee squad, since he is likely ticketed for Daytona, and because the Tennessee squad presently has only three catchers (the other squads have 4-5 catchers each). 

I strongly suspect that several Cubs minor leaguers will be coming to the Under Armour Performance Center in Mesa from the new Cubs Dominican Academy in the near-future, and Contreras, Jeffrey Baez, Francisco Sanchez, et al, will probably be in that group. Then another group will be sent to Arizona from the Dominican Academy once Extended Spring Training starts up in April. 

oh god no...MLB network has given chris russo a TV show. why? why are you doing this to your network? ...to us? why? oh god...why? at least it's a day time 1-hour show. hopefully they won't dare show it as a replay during the evening. ugg.

Is this season worth watching? I'm at a point where I may want to upgrade my Dish Network TV package so I can watch Cub games this summer, but I only want to do it if it will be worth it. I'd easily just pay the MLB.TV fees so I could watch it anywhere, but the stupid f***ing blackout rules put the brakes on that idea.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

What's interesting for me is that the Cubs remind me a bit of the Blackhawks as they emerged and built a core of homegrown talent. The Cubs haven't emerged yet, but it's a lot easier for me to root for these guys than the late Hendry teams that were made of journeymen. This team has too many journeymen, too, but I have a feeling we'll see a kid come up by mid summer. Castro is a perfect example. I root for him instead of being disgusted by last year's efforts. I don't have that bad taste in my mouth by watching a crappy, mid level journeyman. Instead I'm seeing a 24 year old who's already done quite a bit of good stuff, who evidently worked pretty hard over the winter, and who had a bad year. Same with Rizzo, not as bad a year by any stretch. But a kid who didn't come up through the system but is probably gonna be around awhile, and who overcame cancer. Even Baez the other day said his best at bat was a strikeout the other day because he worked the count. Is he saying that kind of stuff because he knows Theo wants to hear it? Maybe. Good. The farm system is getting so packed that they can afford flameouts, whereas before, all our hopes were centered around that year's Gary Scott.

The new colors are pretty. Unless I'm the only one who can see the changes to the site, in which case I will need to alter my dosage.

Friday news & notes from Cubs Minor League Camp... 

16 pitchers threw "live" BP at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park this morning, including Corey Black, Zach Cates, Hunter Cervenka, Gerardo Concepcion, Josh Davis, Scott Frazier, Trevor Graham, Corbin Hoffner, Michael Jensen, Austin Kirk, Erick Leal, Matt Loosen, and Andrew McKirahan (one "inning" each - about 25-30 pitches), and Juan Carlos Paniagua, Tayler Scott, and Daury Torrez (two "innings" a piece - about 50 pitches total). All of the pitchers who threw were able to complete their outings without mishap, and Paniagua's stuff (slider/fastball combo) was absolutely filthy.   

Although he plays 1B when the Daytona pitchers do their morning PFP, Rock Shoulders is assigned to the Outfielder Group during general fielding practice. So expect Shoulders to get some PT in LF at Daytona this season (he has played some LF in previous seasons), since he is blocked at 1B by both Anthony Rizzo and Dan Vogelbach, and it won't be possible to use the DH to get Shoulders and Vogelbach enough ABs between them once they reach AA (presuming they continue to advance together at the same pace). Unlike Vogelbach, Shoulders actually has a decent arm (he played 3B in HS and JC), and he seems to be able to locate fly balls easily and without any drama, although he is a VERY slow runner and so he doesn't cover much ground.  

Prior to the "live" BP sessions, hitters took "traditional" BP to warm up, hitting against coaches throwing from behind a screen in front of the mound. Highlights of the "warm-up" BP were a Vogelbach vs Candelario HR Derby during their final round (they hit in the same group) on Field #5 (no broken car windows in the parking lot, but both hit some long bombs), and then (just like that) Candelario and Vogelbach both got invited to play in the MLB Cactus League game at Cubs Park. And I cannot fail to mention an Eloy Jimenez towering tape-measure HR that landed on the roof of the clubhouse beyond the LF fence in his final "warm-up" BP AB on Field #7. Jimenez is an absolute beast.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

JOHN B: They don't have the diatances marked on the fences at either the Minor League Camp fields or even at the main stadium (known as "Cubs Park"), but I would say the ball landed at a point about equivalent to maybe the top of a building on the north side of Waveland. 

Of course, this was a coach throwing a "BP fastball," but still there is no question that Jimenez has plus-HR power. Hopefully it will translate to games. 

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

CHARLIE: No question Eloy Jimenez will be at Extended Spring Training April-June, but then where he goes will depend on his performance & progress at EXST.

If he struggles at EXST, he will be sent to the DSL Cubs. If he does OK but not great, he'll stay in Mesa and will spend the summer with the AZL Cubs. If he pulls a Baez, he could jump directly to Boise and get fast-tracked. But whatever happens, I'm sure he will be a post-season Instructs to further his baseball education.  

I doubt that Eloy will see Kane County in 2014, but if he shows sufficient progress during the upcoming season he could very well be at KC in 2015.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

CUBSTER: Because of his inability to get a work visa due to birth certificate issues, JCP got a late start on the 2013 season and really didn't get it together until Instructs.

I think he probably projects as a future late-inning power reliever, although he appears to have the stamina to be a starter if he can improve his change-up. 

His stuff is really electric and sometimes he has difficulty with command.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

shame vogel isn't seeing LF time rather than rock...but it's most likely because he's not capable. if he emerges as a legit 1st base candidate he'll make for good trade bait...or maybe even force a.rizzo out in trade if rizzo continues to not have any idea how to handle a LH pitcher. i really hope rizzo figures out lefties at least enough to be respected by lefty pitchers (and the managers who sub them in when rizzo shows up at the plate).

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Phil- I saw Shoulders play LF last year for Kane County in one game, and I agree he looked okay out there. He's a big, strong-looking kid, has had some offensive success, and can draw a walk, but it also seemed to me he has a slow bat. It's be great to see that name in an MLB lineup, but it looks as if a whole lot of people in the Cub organization are ahead of him.

[ ]

In reply to by fullykräusened

I think the key thing for Rock Shoulders (who has a "slider speed" bat that makes it hard for him to do anything with plus-fastballs) or any hitter who has a deficiency is to know what you can't handle, and then learn to recognize those pitches and not swing at them.

For example, it's fairly obvious that Junior Lake murders fastballs and handles breaking balls from LHPs OK, but he can't hit breaking balls thrown by RHPs (unless it's a hanging "spinner"). Unfortunately, he has yet to learn to recognize breaking balls, but if he can do that, he could at least not swing at them and take a chance that the pitch will be out of the strike zone. While he still wouldn't be able to hit RH breaking balls, he would at least be able to cut his strikeouts and increase his walks just by virtue of not swinging at pitches he can't handle. 

That's why "pitch recognition" is just as important as "strike zone recognition" (maybe even moreso). If you know what you can't do and then avoid doing it, that's half the battle. So for Shoulders, it would be a matter of recognizing fastballs he can't handle and then not swing at them. It won't make him a better hitter because he still can't handle what he can't handle, but at least it would cut down his strikeouts and increase his walks by virtue of taking more pitches.

The Oakland A's are one organization that teach "pitch recognition" like a religion, which is why A's prospects take a lot of pitches (probably more than any other organization of the ones based in AZ). Young A's hitters are trying to learn to identify pitches they can't handle and then not swing at them, even if the pitch is in the strike zone. That goes against the conventional approach that teaches "strike zone recogntion." (where you try to swing at strikes but lay off of pitches out of the strike zone).  

Brett Jackson was like that until last season (which is why he always seemed like an oddball in the Cubs organization), taking lots of pitches (including strikes) and drawing lots of walks but also getting called out on strikes a lot. Then he tried to be more aggressive last year and not take so many pitches, which was a total fiasco because there are a couple of types of pitches he just can't handle (LH breaking balls and high-velocity fastballs). That's why I think the A's are one organization that might want to try and "salvage" Brett Jackson (at least the pre-2013 version). 

Zeke DeVoss is another guy like that.

 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Monday news & notes from Minor League Camp...

14 pitchers threw "live" BP this morning at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa:

TWO-INNINGS (50-60 pitches each):   
Matt Loosen
Dillon Maples
Felix Pena

ONE INNING (25-30 pitches each):  
Zach Cates
Hunter Cervenka
Gerardo Concepcion
Josh Davis
Scott Frazier
Trevor Graham
Corbin Hoffner
Michael Jensen
Austin Kirk
Erick Leal
Andrew McKirahan

Generally speaking, pitchers who have been extended to two innings of "live" BP at this point in Minor League Camp are the ones presently being primed as starters.  

The 20 "MIA" from last week are still absent, and the rosters of the four squads are all exactly the same as they were at the first full squad workout last week, with two exceptions:

RHP Pierce Johnson (Tennessee) and RHP Brad Renner (KC) have been shut-down and are restricted to "Limited Activity Only." (That is, they are cleared to participate in Pitchers Fielding Practice only). 

So Johnson and Renner join pitchers Josh Conway, Jesus Castillo, Barret Loux, Ryan McNeil, and Trey McNutt, Infielders Zak Blair, Stephen Bruno, and Tim Saunders, and outfielder Jae-Hoon Ha on the "Limited Activity Only" list (which is essentially the Minor League Camp Disabled/Rehab Group).

 

Thanks Phil. Can't wait to get down there and see the young talent. What is your take on Giansanti?

[ ]

In reply to by bigsky33

BIG SKY: Anthony Giansanti can play 3B-2B-1B-LF-RF and he also learned to catch a couple of years ago to add to his versatilty (although he does not have the skills to be a  frontline catcher). 

He is the prototypical minor league "supersub," and he will probably have that role at either Daytona or Tennessee (wherever he is needed) in 2014.  

Minor league "full season" teams have 25-man rosters (AA and AAA rosters were expanded from 24 to 25 a couple of years ago), but almost all of them have 13-man pitching staffs. meaning they can carry only four bench guys. That makes a player like Giansanti especially valuable to a minor league team with a "short bench."

FWIW, the exact same 20 players who were MIA at Minor League Camp on Thursday were also MIA on Friday.

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

HAGSAG: I saw quite a but of Gerardo Concepcion at EXST in 2012, a little bit late last season in Mesa while he was rehabbing from back surgery, and one "live" BP session at Riverview yesterday.

What I know is that hitters make consistent hard contact (lots of line drives) against him, he has no true "strikeout" pitch, and he has difficulty throwing strikes. 

For him to be successful, he will have to develop a reliable sinker or a cutter, be able to throw a change-up he can command, and throw strikes. And stay healthy.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

AZ Phil said: "What I know is that hitters make consistent hard contact (lots of line drives) against him, he has no true "strikeout" pitch, and he has difficulty throwing strikes." Carlito: what it sounds like to me is he needs to learn how to throw a knuckler.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

For me, the comment headings are blue text, and there is a light blue background on some parts, but the rest is black text and white background. I think it looks nice this way. When I LOAD/REFRESH the page, the background is a dark blue, but then once the page finishes loading it ends up white.

HR sureholds, triple boni (playing SS), r.shoulders appears in his 1st ST game of the year and goes 1-1 (single) another great outing for jokisch in relief (3ip 3h 0bb 4k - through 2 outings 6ip 3h 2bb 5k 0r/er) n.ramirez throws another solid inning (1ip 0h 0bb 1k) j.hammels spring debut 3ip 2h 3bb 4k (0r)

for those who have BP subscriptions, they reposted a longer article that is a hybrid of a 2004 writeup plus a 2009 interview with the Tommy John surgery originator, Dr. Jobe (in honor of the recent passing of Dr. Frank Jobe). Some interesting stuff about Hendry and Dempster from when Demp was recovering from TJ surgery.
All throughout Dempster's rehab, Dr. Kremchek was in constant communication both with Dempster and with Larry Rothschild, the Cubs pitching coach who was helping to manage Dempster's progress. Available by cell phone, Kremchek could help the team make quick decisions about advancing the hard-tossing righty. Dempster was throwing in extended Spring Training and Class A ball in May; he was in Triple-A in June and July; and on August 1, exactly a year to the day from when was first put on the DL, he was called up to the Cubs' 25-man roster.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=22988 and the audio broadcast of the interview with Tommy John and Dr. Frank Jobe: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/radio/audio/bpr_090614.mp3 plus the LA Times article on Jobe's passing: http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-frank-jobe-20140307,0,7968857.s…

per Roto... Twins option former Cub, Brooks Raley, to AAA Rochester

We have a keeper league with mainly TCR readers and we're down a few members. If you want to get into a league send me an email.

baez double...scores on a RBI single by lake. get ready for another "bring him up now" twitter/online freakout. rugs is 3/3 with a HR and 2 singles. rizzo hit a triple. r.sweeney pulled from the game with a sore right knee, day-to-day.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

The Rizzo triple should have been scored a double and an E-8 (the CF executed a kick-save while sliding to stop it). 

Also Kris Bryant looked bad at 3B again, not being able to reach down and field a routine grounder that was scored an E-5 (maybe he is just too tall & stiff?), and then not being able to come in and field a swinging-bunt-bouncer and make a throw (a play most third-basemen make). 

Also RF Casper Wells lost a ball in the sun in the top of the 9th (Grimm gave up a walk, a swinging-bunt infield hit, and a the Wells sun single), and Ryan Roberts ranged way too far to his right while trying to field a bouncer, allowing the ball to tip off his glove into right-center. If Roberts had stopped before going that far toward second-base, Barney would have made the play and Roberts could have had time to get back to first-base to receive the throw from Barney. 

This is exactly the problem you often will see when a player (especially a guy who has played a lot of 3B) plays 1B the first time in his career. He thinks he has to range as far as he can toward second-base (which is what you are supposed to do at 3B), but a first-baseman just can't do that. He has to stop his pursuit after a step and let the second-baseman make the play. 

 

AZ PHIL: Thanks as always. Another year has passed, and the Cubs will be bringing up the rear once more in the Central. Consistency! Wondering why the hell TheCorp is keeping Lendy Garcia still? Secoondly, I have read some positive, pre-TJS stuff on Stephen Bruno from scouts. I recall you have been on-board with him early on. How is he doing in-camp? Would he get assigned to AA out of the box, or stay in AZ for ExtST? Thanks and best.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

E-MAN: Stephen Bruno is wearing a wrap & pressure sleeve on his right elbow, and he isn't throwing overhand at all. He takes fielding practive with everybody else and he either flips the ball with his glove or tosses the ball underhand. 

I think he almost certainly will begin the season at Extended Spring training and DH while he continues to rehab the elbow, and he'll probably move up to Tennessee in May or June (presuming there are no setbacks). 

The pre-TJS Bruno was a versatile athlete with a plus-bat who was seemingly ticketed to be a multi-positional super-sub with the added possibility that he might even learn to catch, but now he could be limited to playing only 2B or LF for a while. He might even turn into an every-day 2B. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

INF Tim Saunders is also wearing a wrap & pressure sleeve on his right elbow (same as Bruno), and he isn't throwing overhand, either. I don't know what his injury was last season that landed him on the Daytona 60-day DL, but it's pretty obvious that he is rehabbing some kind of significant elbow or triceps injury. 

BTW, both Bruno and Saunders can hit just fine. They just can't throw. So I would expect both of them to start the 2014 season at Extended Spring Training. 

  

Today is the first day that Draft-Excluded players can be sent to the minors (by outright or optional assignment), and it's also the first day that players selected in the Major League Phase of the December 2013 Rule 5 Draft can be returned to the minor league club from which the player was drafted (presuming Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured) or sent to the minors or released by the drafting club (if Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured and the club from which the player was drafted declines to re-claim the player).

A Draft-Excluded Player is any minor league player eligible for selection in the next Rule 5 Draft whose contract is selected and who is added to an MLB 40-man roster anytime between August 15th and the Rule 5 Draft. The Cubs have three Draft-Excluded players on their 40-man roster (Zac Rosscup, Arismendy Alcantara, and Dallas Beeler), but they have no Rule 5 players on their 40-man roster this season (they had Hector Rondon last season). But the organization did lose one player in the Major League Phase of the December 2013 Rule 5 Draft. RHP Marcos Mateo (selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks off the AAA Iowa roster). 


If the Diamondbacks decide not to keep Mateo on their MLB 25-man roster (or place him on an MLB DL), he must be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers, where he can be claimed by any other MLB club for the $25,000 Rule 5 player waiver price (the waiver price is $25,000 for Rule 5 and Draft-Excluded players, and it's $20,000 for all others), with the claiming club assuming the Rule 5 obligations. 

If Outright Assignment Waivers are secured, the D-backs would next have to offer Mateo back to the minor league club from which he was drafted for half the Rule 5 Draft price ($25,000). If Iowa declines to re-claim the player, Arizona can outright Mateo to the minors or release him.

The problem with the Cubs re-claming Mateo (if they are given the opportunity) is that he has been outrighted previously in his career, so he has the right to elect free-agency if he is outrighted. And a Rule 5 player who is re-claimed MUST be sent outright to the minor league club from which he was drafted. So if the Cubs were to re-claim Mateo for $25,000, he MUST be sent outright to Iowa, and then he can elect free-agency (because has been outrighted previously in his career). And the Cubs would be out the $25,000 they spent to re-claim him.

 

'Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro will begin fielding and hitting drills Tuesday as he recovers from a right hamstring strain that has kept him out of spring games. "Let's see this weekend," Castro said Monday morning. "Maybe I can get into a game." Cubs manager Rick Renteria, however, said later Monday that Castro's return to game action may not occur until next week.' http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/10582580/starlin-castro-chica… Any news on when Olt can play third

cain pitches 5 perfect vs cubs...cubs still win all the offense was singles and walks...no one got multiple hits, no one got a hit and a walk. ninja pitched 3 great innings, 2 run 4th...4ip 5h 0bb 5k rusin picked up the win with 3 innings of no hit, no walk, no K pitching

zach petrick making his second spring training appearance with the cards...he's already trumped his brother's career everywhere but the wallet =p ...throws an inning of no hit, no walk, 2K ball... billy...drafted in 2002...not even 30 years old yet. sigh. he was pretty good when his arm wasn't falling off. he kept the ball in the park, didn't walk many, got Ks... he couldn't stay healthy as a starter or reliever, though.

unless the box score is screwed up (mlb.com), g.kottaras is playing CF and leading off today. not much about that sounds right...i dunno if i trust that box score. i'm inclined to believe it's really j.lake...or boni. -edit- updated boxscore shows j.lake...phew. barney playing SS. t.wood not having a good day. 2.2ip 9h 5er 1bb 0k rondon also got smacked around 1.1ip 5h 6er 1bb 0k

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In reply to by crunch

I was at the game, the box score pretty well tells the story. They got rocked and couldn't hit anything. I sat really close to the dugout and it seems there is never a coach more than 2 feet from Soler. Just by looking in the dugout during the game, on the field pregame, and during the national anthem, he seems to be on a short leash on a personal level. He must have some Puigness to him. He stood right in front of us during the anthem in just his under armor.....that's a strong kid.

Cubs v. Mariners on MLB Network tonight at 9 central.

m.garza (MIL) destroyed today...adding to an already crappy spring. the 2 errors didn't help, but he didn't really help himself aside from that. 1.2ip 9h 1bb 1k 10r/6er, 46pitches wish they were showing pitch velocity. he's been hit to hell and back this spring. 5.2ip 19h 3bb 4k 17r/12er on the spring.

With Bryant not looking over his shoulder...Olt, whammo. Bomb to CF on a highish fastball. 1-1

Back to the Future: J. Baez called up June 20th, 2014 M. Cabrerra called up June 20th, 2003 Travis Wood hits a 3 run HR in the bottom of the 2nd, Game 7, NLCS.

Nice to see Olt with a great game. Couldn't try parachat, was on an ipad watching the game. The Surface ads are good - iPad needs to learn multitasking. So if Olt comes back online, and it looks promising so far, that was one helluva trade.

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).