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

A's Pummel Pineiro at Papago Park

Gabriel Santana drove-in four runs with two RBI doubles and an RBI single and Scott Masik doubled twice, walked, scored three runs, and knocked in two more, helping the Athletics thrash Joel Pineiro and the Cubs 10-3 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning on Field #2 (AKA "Connie Mack Field") at the Papago Park Baseball Facility in Phoenix, AZ.
The 35-year old Pineiro was making his third EXST appearance after signing with the Cubs on March 30th, and it was (by far) his worst outing of the three.

After easily retiring the first six hitters he faced (1-3, 4-3, K, K, P-5, 1-3), the roof caved-in on Pineiro in the 3rd & 4th innings, as the veteran right-hander surrendered seven runs (all earned) on nine hits (five doubles and four singles) plus two walks in just two innings, What seemed to be different was his sudden inability to get ground balls in the 3rd & 4th, and his aging fastball just doesn't have enough juice to get outs if he can't keep it at knee-level or lower.     

No question Pineiro got a ton of ground balls in his first two appearances (a combined 15/2 GO/FO), but today was a different story. And his day could have been even worse if not for one A's baserunner being ruled out after getting struck by a rocket grounder headed for RF in the bottom of the 3rd and another being thrown out at the plate trying to score on a line-drive single to left in the bottom of the 4th. 

Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator Derek Johnson and Player Development Assistant Darnell McDonald were at today's game and were watching Pineiro closely, and I would have to think they were not favorably impressed. While it's true that he has thrown a high percentage of strikes (74% over his three EXST outings), it might be better if he didn't. He just doesn't appear to have much left in the tank. Plus even without Pineiro, the Iowa starting rotation is already crowded.

THE PITCHING LINES FROM JOEL PINEIRO'S THREE EXST OUTINGS
4/12 - 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 8/0 GO/FO, 64 pitches (48 strikes)
4/17 - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 PO, 7/2 GO/FO, 66 pitches (43 strikes)
4/22 - 4.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R (7 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, 3/3 GO/FO, 76 pitches (51 strikes)
TOTAL: 12.2 IP, 16 H, 11 R (11 ER), 4 BB, 9 K, 2 WP, 18/5 GO/FO, 74% strikes, 7.80 ERA, 1.58 WHIP

Alberto Mineo provided most of the Cub offense today, contributing an RBI single, a double, and a walk, while also scoring two runs. 

Here is the abridged box score from today's game (Cubs players only):    

CUBS LINEUP:
1. Dalfis Ortiz, 2B: 1-5 (4-3, 1B, K, 3-U, F-7)
2. Varonex Cuevas, 3B: 0-5 (K, 4-6 FC, 6-4-3 DP, K, K)
3. Jeffrey Baez, RF: 1-4 (BB, 5-3, F-8, 1B, K, 2 SB)
4a. Rony Rodriguez, DH: 1-3 (F-9, 6-3, 2B, R)
4b. Eufran Vargas, C: NO AB
4c. Jesse Hodges, PH-DH: 0-1 (4-3) 
5a. Alberto Mineo, C-DH: 2-2 (BB, 2B, 1B, 2 R, RBI, CS)
5b. Justin Marra, C: 0-0 (BB)
6. Bryant Flete, SS: 0-3 (6-3, BB, F-7, F-9)
7. Arnaldo Calero, LF: 2-4 (1B, F-9, F-9, 1B, R)
8. Matt Scioscia, 1B: 1-3 (1B, BB, F-9, F-9, RBI)
9. Rashad Crawford, CF: 0-3 (4-6 FC, SH-E2, L-7, K, RBI)

CUBS PITCHERS:
1. Joel Pineiro: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 7 R (7 ER), 2 BB, 3 K, 3/3 GO/FO, 76 pitches (51 strikes)  
NOTE: Pineiro's fourth inning was stopped with two outs and a runner at 1st base
2. David Garner: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 1/1 GO/FO, 26 pitches (10 strikes)
3. Trevor Clifton: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 GIDP, 2/1 GO/FO, 32 pitches (17 strikes)

CUBS ERRORS: 1
3B Varonex Cuevas - E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely)

CUBS CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Eufran Vargas: 0-1 CS, 1 PB

CUBS OUTFIELD ASSISTS:  
LF Arnaldo Calero - threw out baserunner 7-2 trying to score from 2nd base on single to LF

ATTENDANCE: 8

WEATHER: Sunny with temperatures in the 90's


   

Comments

Alex Wood with 8 IP/11 K vs. Marlins and outdueled by Jose Fernandez with 8 IP/14 K, neither give up a walk, but Marlins up 1-0 heading into the 9th.

does anyone on the team work a count better than valbuena so far this season? short sample size and all (as well as a somewhat disappointing average), but he's had some long ABs all april with a good amount of walks. no HRs yet...surprising...but given last season and especially this spring, he's got it in him.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

get rid of barney, put valbuena (and his 2 years of club control after this season) in at 2nd...let boni play more CF...tell renteria that r.sweeney really doesn't need as many ABs as he's getting...problem solved as far as i'm concerned. seriously though...it's either valbuena or rizzo that sees more pitches per PA so far this season just guessing off the cuff.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Len n JD said he saw 40+ pitches last night. Valbuena's winning me over. Time to dump Barney and park Valbuena at second, maybe Bonifacio at CF and make them 1-2 in the lineup. Definitely move Barney out of the lineup permanently.

I haven't been able to take in a whole game all season and that was a good one to watch. If they played like that every day they'd win the division. Castro was great - he seems like a different guy this year, more confident or something. Rizzo was good too, did a nice job on some tough throws from Olt and Castro. Captain Happy (thanks Jacos), your third baseman is ready. Please play him everyday. Thanks. Len and JD were looking for a nickname for Olt last night. I'm thinking Insane Bolt if he keeps up this HR pace.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

castro's D is really nice so far this year...even with the scattering of non-error plays and 2 errors he has to his name in 19 games he's looking sharp. his glovework is strongly improved so far. he's always been good at ranging on popups...now he's looking a lot better on stuff hit on the ground (so far). he may never achieve a gold glove quality D, but as long as someone like rizzo is playing 1st with stellar range/defense, it can help bridge the gap on some of castro's throw accuracy at the very least. as far as olt goes...he's not impressing anywhere except the power. his D is good, but not awesome. he can range/react a lot quicker than valbuena for sure...and his arm is more powerful. that said, even if he's "only" a .250/.330-ish type guy with 25+ HR power, that's still some good production at 3rd as long as the D remains steady. i'm ready to see him get more regular playing time. i see him as a similar batter to m.trumbo...which doesn't excite many people, but given that trumbo is a painfully slow + weak armed LF'r and olt is an adequate 3rd baseman, i can live with that kind of bat. that said, i expect a touch less power and a bit better average/ob% compared to trumbo even if it's not skewed too much in either direction on either point.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I was thinking the same thing about Castro. He seems like an actual big league shortstop this year. He's still not Omar Vizquel, but if he continues to improve like he has, who knows. I feel like I've been one of the more critical of Castro, but with his on-the-field improvement, I'll have to change my tune a bit.

JD/Len mentioned that tony campana hit for the cycle last night, campana style...GO 5, GO 6, GO 4, GO 3.

Nice offense last night: Cubs won 9-2, Iowa won 10-3, and Daytona won 18-5. Bryant went 3-5 and is up to .311 BA now, with a 1.030 OPS.

my god...bases loaded 0 out... sure, a castro error helped do this...but p.strop walking 2 guys also helped do this.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I am sorry - YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT PLAY! You cannot give 4/5 outs and expect to win in key situations. Yes, he walked a couple guys, but there were two outs that Castro just fucking blew. Castro still is a work in progress as a Major League shortstop. I am hoping that Baez can take over his spot - but he seems to be a work in progress as well.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

He is another guy that I am sick of seeing in key spots. He pitched too many innings last year and this year not done well when called upon. This team is made up of way too many "last guys on the bench". If you are going to have that - at least let them eliminate the sloppy play constantly.

[ ]

In reply to by Sonicwind75

a bit better than him actually wanting to sign a long term deal with the team unless they pay him out the ass or become competitive really quickly. so far he's handled pitching well (even if not as an ace) and having the pen/bats let him down quite respectfully. given the youthful swagger he came in with after he was drafted...he "grew up" to be one hell of a respectful and professional ballplayer quite quickly.

pineda vs pine tar in a game vs BOS part 2 going on...he's got it all over his neck this time. ump checking the ball. ump checking his neck. ejected. drama.

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.