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

Reading good press about the Cubs makes me kinda goofy

Seriously, this smart phone thing drives me nuts.
People walking around in a complete daze, stepping out in front of busses, blocking doorways, stepping on pets...
The other day I'm having lunch with a guy who gets a text, and it's like he stepped into another room.
Big goofy smile, just...lost in the smart phone.
Stupid Fone Face.
Then yesterday Sutter sends me a text.
It's got a link to a story written by Rany Jazayerli over at Grantland.
Great article.
You read it and suddenly you're the smartest guy in the room just because you're a fan of the Chicago Cubs.
You feel justified... all the crap you've been taking since the wooly mammoth roamed the earth starts to not matter.
You feel elation.
You feel hope.
And you have stupid Fone Face.
Whatever man.
I don't have all the links but I'm sure you've been noticing more good press lately.
Super exciting.

How about young Kyle Hendricks?
Did you see how bad he made Ryan Braun look?
With the buncha low stuff to get two strikes, then throwing one up in his eyes that he couldn't not swing at?
And the other one where he stayed low and made Braun look almost Alfonso-like.
I was rolling on the ground.
If you don't believe Hendricks by now, you should by the end of the season.
The Orioles, Giants, Blue Jays, Reds, Pirates, Cards, Dodgers, Brewers...
All those teams gotta win.
If Hendricks keeps on knocking these big boys down...
More stupid Fone Face.

ps: After I got done with the art, I noticed an unfair ratio of women to men with the Fone Face. I promise it's pretty even. 

Comments

Ben Badler @BenBadler If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, Jorge Soler would lead the minors in OPS. Since he doesn't, it's Kris Bryant.

[ ]

In reply to by QuietMan

Those poor PCL pitchers... They can walk Kris Bryant if they want... And take their chances with Soler, Olt, and Manny f*ing Ramirez. The only reason the I Cubs aren't tearing the rest of the league up is because their pitching has been plundered by the ChiCubs.

The Grantland article just echoes what I've been saying round these parts the last two years - to hell with free agent pitchers, to hell with first round pitching prospects. There was a time when spending big time on free agent pitchers or making a big trade made sense, but these days not so much. I'm probably the only one here who is going to groan when they sign Lester. Didn't know about the ERA to FIP comparison tho, of course. That's kinda neat.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Well, they'll do something, just based on how they're talking. I wanted the team to spend some money on free agents while they sucked, but now that the kids are coming, I'm pretty content with their current game plan. If they pick up a TOR starter, might as well start the odds on when they hit the DL and for how long.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

If the team adds two front line starters this off-season that takes the rotation from competitive to championship caliber. The only thing that needs to fall in place is the continued development of the hitting. Look at the Royals as they took aggressive approaches to fixing their rotation, but their bats have not developed as fast as they hoped. Yet they are still giving the Tigers superstars a run for their money. Consistently good pitching gives you a shot at the playoffs, something the A's have preached for years. The Cubs are a lot closer to competitive baseball than people realize. Most of the gambles in the rotation have turned out great for Theo and the prospects so far are doing outstanding. But I don't expect any of them to be a Scherzer or Lester. It's best to push everyone down in the rotation by getting two outstanding starters that way the final 3 spots get more favorable match ups. This in turn creates better chances to win games and better insulates the team from injuries. Remember we have Straily and Turner working in the minors as insurance.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

I don't necessarily disagree with that - reality is reality and they'll probably need to spend. I just hope they do it through free agency and not waste prospects. The Cubs actually have been playing competitive baseball all season. They're rarely blown out and play good, fundamental baseball for the most part. If I was a contender, out of all the "bad" teams left on my schedule, the Cubs right now would be the one I'd most not be looking forward to. And if they bring up Soler and Olt and actually give Olt an honest 30 day trial, I'd really hate playing that team. With that magician Bosio, though, I'm not sure they need two.

Olt 1-1 with an HR and BB to get Iowa started tonight. Leading Iowa with .325 BA. Back to the Luis Valbuena show ...

Wow.

Javy's gone back-to-back with both Castro and Rizzo now. Woohoo! I'm looking forward to Soler as #2 hitter and Baez as 5 or 6, behind the patient Soler, Rizzo, and Bryant. Also, Coghlan is hitting like a sum'bitch.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

No slight intended, O&B. Optimal arrangement may mean 5-10 runs over the course of a season. Next season in might be the difference between 85 and 86 wins, which may matter. Difference between 65 and 66 doesn't strike me as crucial. Last time Cubs and relevant were near each other was 2009. Since I can barely remember what, if anything, I had for breakfast today, 2009 seems eons ago. Looking forward to it.

[ ]

In reply to by Jackstraw

None taken - after listening to Len and JD last night discuss the small amount of opportunities Rizzo has had compared to others (I think their comp was Stanton) it made me remember how nice it would be to have a good OBP guy in front of him. But I still like Baez in the two spot this season while the team is going nowhere. I hope Alcantara can start being that OBP guy, but right now he's having some problems with off speed stuff, especially change ups - although who isn't on this team.

[ ]

In reply to by Jackstraw

ive just been assuming baez is hitting 2nd because they want his swing-at-everything prone self to at least see a crapload of pitchers working him on the MLB level. based on everything we've seen (and mostly expected) so far he's far from an ideal #2 hitter. you can't even count on him in a hit/run as it currently stands...he can miss as spectacularly as he makes hard contact.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Renteria actually said that is the specific reason he wants Baez batting second. He said he hoped Baez would see more fastballs that way. It hasn't turned out that way from what I've seen. Seems like they're giving him a very steady diet of sliders, low and off the plate. He helps pitchers a lot by swinging at those. He's missed a few high fastballs, too, but no big deal, that's a fairly common thing in MLB. All those pitchers are really accomplishing is helping him learn, and when they miss with that low slider by even a touch he just crushes it. He's an astounding hitter in my opinion. Maybe not in the way Rizzo is a "good" hitter, but in how he can hit to all fields on even a low slider. I have a feeling his high strikeouts rate is going to fall considerably and that by the end of next year it won't even be a topic of conversation.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

Of the 4 30+HR guys (very fun to type that!), it seems Rizzo, Bryant and Soler have some plate discipline, will draw walks and have a good OBP. Baez never really has. So, then, do you bat Baez 6th behind the other 3? The Cubs have an odd tendency to tell other teams how to pitch to their hitters. Saying they want Javy to see a lot of fastballs (guess what: he doesn't.) or, last year, saying they wanted Starlin to work deeper in the count (lots of first pitch strikes, because they knew he wasn't going to swing) seems pretty counter-productive to me. Why not say that they want Javy looking for off-speed stuff early in the count, or that they want Starlin to be aggressive early? Use the media to your advantage

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Sori really was the poster boy for "Trouble with the Curve". I guess part of the reason Lou had him leading off for a while. Its going to be interesting as is stated, to see if he can not give in and be selective about his pitches a high percentage of the time. If he can - he could become Super-Star caliber. At least he is finally up with the big Club.

Man, the Brewers must be wondering what the hell just hit them and where the lovable loser Cubbies are...

Brewers manager out there saying, "You're pitching really bad, are you hurt?"

Olt: 21 RBI in 22 games Hit safely in 18/22 AAA games 10 multi hit games (including tonight: 2/3 BB HR RBI) 6 HR 8 Doubles Stolen base still tied for 2nd most HR on cubs behind Rizzo

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

Fun Fact: only player with higher batting average than Olt in the Iowa lineup tonight: Chris Rusin P batting .370

Neifi Valbuena 2-30; 2 bb; 9k's Do we really have to wait until September for Olt?

FFS.....Jackson is just.....He's just terrible....I can't take it anymmore.....jeebus!

Fumata Nera (Dark Smoke) coming from the Commissioner election room. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_conclave per mlbtr...
Manfred was just one vote shy of being selected as commissioner after the first round of voting, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Michael Schmidt of the New York Times offers some interesting vignettes of the still-ongoing proceedings. 1:32pm: After several votes, there is still not a sufficient consensus to name a new commissioner, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The meeting has been adjourned for a break at this point.

JD: If Renteria is looking for a time to get Jacob Turner into a game, today might be a good day.

The problem with cutting EJax is... who takes his place? And when you call this person up, who pitches for the ICubs, because the ICubs actually have something neat happening this year. I say just let him ride out this year.

Like "Sharknado 2", we must appreciate EJax's pitching for its epic badness. He has a legit shot at finishing with an ERA over 6.00. Why the hell not?

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Speaking of bad ex-Cub pitchers, I heard a report on the Score about LaTroy Hawkins and a group of ball players who have been contributing to help pay travel expenses for families of players in the little league world series so they can have mom & dad there cheering them on. Awesome. I felt bad for all the jeering I gave Hawkins over the years.

Brewers implement mercy rule before Jackie Robinson West Fiers out, Duke in. 6 ip/3 hit/1 bb/14k

McKinney starts his day with a bases loaded Double - 3 RBI. He's Cubs' A+ DH today. (In honor of his appearances in the sidebar).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I still really don't "get" Almora -- no power, no speed, no BB to boost his OBP --he had a .308 OBP at Daytona before getting promoted (and really struggling at Tenn) -- but, obviously Theo and team are very high on him.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

wRC+ by stop

  • 119 (AZL Cubs in 80 PA)
  • 106 (Boise in 65 PA)
  • 123 (AFL in 79 PA)
  • 137 (Kane County in 272 PA)
  • 101 (Daytona in 385 PA)
  • 40 (Tennessee in 70 PA)

Daytona isn't a fun place to hit and he has a low K rate which will keep his BA up and his OBP respectable, doubles power can often turn into home run power as a player gets older. Also, defense.

[ ]

In reply to by Jackstraw

Almora's calling card is his defense. He is one of the best defensive centerfielders I have ever seen. If he does develop as hoped, he would probably be the #7 or #8 hitter in a Cub lineup that should feature the likes of Russell, Soler, Bryant, Rizzo, Castro, and Baez, even though he does have some offensive upside. He has (at best) average speed, but he gets great reads & jumps on balls off the bat. It's like he has a nose for the ball. 

He is a smart baserunner, but he doesn't steal bases much. He's more of a "go from 1st to 3rd or score from 2nd on a single, and score from 1st on a double" guy. He was MVP of the Team USA Junior National Team in 2011.

He's a real team leader, too. His teammates tend to look up to him, even though he is very young.

I remember a couple of years ago at an AZL game at the Papago Park Baseball Facility in Phoenix, AZL Cubs manager Bobby Mitchell came up into the stands and yelled at a couple of the Latin players (in front of everybody) for talking to some young female fans sitting neaby. Almora (who was sitting behind home plate with the pitchers who were charting the game) immediately got up out of his seat and walked over to Mitchell and told him that the players were there before the fams arrived, that they weren't talkng to anybody (which I can absolutely verify as true) because they don't speak Engilsh, and that Mitchell was being unfair. Mitchell then returned to the bench without saying anything to Almora, and both the Latin players and the Cubs pitchers sitting behind home plate gave Almora fist bumps.  

BTW, Jorge Soler lives at the Almora residence in Miami during the off-season. The Almora family has sort of adopted Soler, and Soler and Almora (who is bi-lingual) are best buddies.  



Per Wittenmeyer...Cubs announced that Straily will get a start on Saturday vs Mets in NYC. Roster move prior to his call up to be announced. T. Wood will start Friday, then Sunday Arrieta and Monday Hendricks. https://twitter.com/GDubCub

Bryant Soler and Olt strike out back to back to back against Dallas Beeler - in solidarity with the K infected big league Cubs.

Olt 2/3 tonight with a HR Double and 2 RBI Hit safely in 19/23 games 11 multi hit games Tied with Baez for most org HR last 10 days (6) Leads org in RBI (16) last 10 games Batting .341 for the season at Iowa 7 HR 9 2B Currently 2nd in HR for ML Cubs behind Rizzo Olt (187 AB) Tied with Castro (478 AB) our cleanup hitter. Blocked by Luis Valbuena (see Jacos stats above). Lifetime .224 hitter batting 5th Has something ridiculous like a walk and a hit in his last 30 AB

Carlos Villanueva last 10 games going back five weeks:

14.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 17 K

As a post-2014 Article XX-B FA to be and with the flexibility to start or relieve, Villanueva would be a very likely trade candidate before the 8/31 post-reason roster eligibility deadline.

The other shitty Jackson traded to the Dbacks. Brett for Blake Cooper 26 y/o AAA RP.

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.