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 Arizona Fall League Schedule Released

The 2014 Arizona Fall League schedule has been released and rosters should be announced later this month.

The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an MLB developmental league (approximately equivalent to "AA") that operates for six weeks after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. It features a 32-game "regular season" schedule plus an All-Star Game (formerly called the "Rising Stars Game," but now known as the "Fall Stars Game") at the end of the 4th week, and the AFL Championship Game (pitting the winner of the East Division versus the winner of the West Division) at the end of the 6th and final week. 

There are three games scheduled every day Monday through Saturday during the AFL regular season (there are no games on Sunday), beginning with Opening Day on the second Tuesday following the conclusion of the MLB regular season (which is October 7th in 2014) and extending up through the Thursday of the 6th week. (No regular season games are scheduled the day of the Fall Stars Game).  

The Cubs usually assign some of their better prospects to the AFL. Depending on what positions the Cubs are asked to fill on the Mesa squad, I would not be surprised to see some combination of position players and pitchers such as:
2013 1st round pick 3B Kris Bryant (who was AFL MVP last year), Cubs 2014 1st round pick C-OF Kyle Schwarber (if the Cubs don't think he would be better served going to the AZ Instructional League instead), SS Addison Russell (who played in the AFL last year while a member of the Oakland A's organization), CF Albert Almora (who alao played in the AFL last year), RF Jorge Soler (if the Cubs want to get him more PT post-2014 and he doesn't play in a Latin winter league), 1B Dan Vogelbach, OF Billy McKinney, OF Jake Hannemann, 3B Christian Villanueva (if he doesn't play in the Mexican Pacific League), 2B Stephen Bruno, SS Marco Hernandez (if he doesn't play in the Dominican Winter League), and/or catcher Rafael Lopez (if the Cubs need to supply a catcher and it's not Kyle Schwarber), one starting pitcher (probably either Eric Jokisch, C. J. Edwards, Pierce Johnson, Ivan Pineyro, or Corey Black, the choice influenced by the health of the pitcher and the number of innings each pitcher has accrued by the conclusion of the 2014 minor league season), and relievers like LHP Hunter Cervenka and/or Andrew McKirahan, and RHP Armando Rivero (who pitched in the AFL last year), Blake Cooper (recently acquired from the D'backs for Brett Jackson), P. J. Francescon, Zach Cates, Michael Jensen, and/or Starling Peralta. 

C. J. Edwards is a lock to get added to the Cubs MLB 40-man roster post-2014, but Jokisch, Lopez, McKirahan, Pineyro, Hernandez, Cervenka, and Peralta might have to prove themselves in the AFL first. (Jokisch, Lopez, McKirahan, and Hernandez are Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2014, Peralta can be a minor league 6YFA if he isn't added to the 40-man roster by the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series, and Cervenka will be either Rule 5 Draft eligible or a minor league 6YFA depending on whether he signed a 2008 or 2009 contract with the Red Sox on 8-15-2008). 

Here are the current AFL eligibility rules & restrictions (NOTE: Some of the eligibiility rules & restrictions have been changed over the past couple of years): 

1. There are six AFL teams, and each AFL team is affilated with five MLB clubs. KC (Peoria Javelinas), TEX (Surprise Saguaros), LAD/CHW (Glendale Desert Dogs), AZ/COL (Salt River Rafters), CUBS (Mesa Solar Sox), and SF (Scottsdale Scorpions) are the "host organizations" for the six AFL teams, but the affiliations of the other 22 MLB clubs can vary from year-to-year. Besides the Cubs, the other four MLB organizations affiliated with the Mesa Solar Sox in 2014 will be LAA, OAK, TOR, and WAS. NOTE: The home stadium for the Peoria Javelinas in 2014 will be Surprise Stadium. 

2. Each MLB organization must assign a minimum of seven players to its AFL affiliate, including a minimum of four pitchers (preferably one pitcher capable of starting plus three relievers) and a minimum of three position players (specific positions needed to be filled by each organization TBD by a conference call "position draft" between the Player Development Directors of the five MLB organizations affiliated with that particular AFL team).

3. An MLB organization can assign additional pitchers and/or players to its AFL team's "Taxi Squad" (players assigned to an AFL team's "Taxi Squad" can be activated on Wednesdays and Saturdays only, but a player can be transferred from the Taxi Squad to the 35-man Active Roster to replace an injured player).

4. A player can be selected to play in the AFL more than once, as long as the player continues to meet eligibility for selection.

5. MLB players (including Rule 5 players) with less than one year (1+000) MLB Service Time accrued (not including time spent on a Disabled list) as of September 1st are eligible.

6. Any player on a AA or AAA Active Roster (or Disabled List) on August 15th is eligible.

7. Two players on an organization's Advanced Class-A (A+) affiliate's Active Roster (or Disabled List) on August 15th can be assigned to the AFL.

8. Two additional players who were on the Active Roster (or Disabled List) of a minor league affiliate below AA (A+, A, SS-A, R) on August 15th can be assigned to the AFL.

9. Internatiional players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and/or Australia are eligible only if the player is not on the reserve list of a Winter League club from the player's home country. Otherwise, there is no maximum limit on the number of international players an MLB organization can assign to its AFL team.

10. A player on the Restricted List, Military List, Disqualified List, Ineligible List, or Voluntary Retired List is not eligible to participate in the AFL. 

11. A player who was on a minor league or MLB DL at the close of the regular season is eligible to play in the AFL as long as the player has been reinstated, but there can be no special limits or restrictions placed on the player's playing time (other than the automatic restrictions imposed on a player sssigned to an AFL team's "Taxi Squad").

12. A player cannot be assigned to the AFL on a Minor League Injury Rehabilitation Assignment by a club participating in an MLB post-season series (LDS, LCS, and World Series). 

13. Players assigned to the AFL do not accrue MLB or minor league service time, each player receives the same salary, and the salaries are paid out of a special fund managed by MLB. 

Each MLB organization provides either the manager, pitching coach, hitting coach, or athletic trainer to its affiliated AFL club (assignments rotate every year). The Cubs are due to send a pitching coach to the AFL this season, so Daytona Cubs Pitching Coach Ron Villone has been asigned to the Mesa Solar Sox. 


Comments

BREAKING NEWS .... Javier Baez got a walk today, according to the box score. Since I'm not watching the game right now, I cannot confirm this. We now return to our regularly scheduled AZ Phil update thread.

The Javy Strikeout Machine rolls on -- 2 more so far today, against a crap pitcher. This is getting ridiculous.

cubs lose a lead...then regain it on an inning leadoff solo HR only a few minutes later. it's like bizarro cubs 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014.

NYC is REALLY gonna go nuts with Castro acquisition fantasies after this series. My God ... hero shit all weekend.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

Plus I don't wanna see him go, and I totally agree with you O&B that with the current rash of pitching delicacy and injuries, I don't know that I would trade him for anything short of a Kershaw - which is obviously unrealistic. And I think the Cubs are reticent to trade any of these guys for pitching as well.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

I honestly think he WILL go, though, the Hoyer quotes about shortstops being able to play everywhere notwithstanding. I think Russell is going to be at short, and I think they like Bryant at third. Bryant has a lot of value as an outfielder, but they haven't even tried him there, and the reports on his third base play are pretty good. This is one of the reasons I was so bitchy about Olt not getting playing time, since that window is so small. I was hoping he could up his value some and be a nice trade token. That can still happen but the window is close to closed.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I've really grown an appreciation for Castro now that he's developed top-level defense. That said I'm definitely cool with a Castro trade. What people fail to realize is the level of talent a Castro trade could bring to the pitching rotation. He's a legitimate all-star shortstop and he'll haul an all star starting pitcher and maybe a top level reliever.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I would be a bit concerned if the front office gambles heavily on both Baez and Russell staying in the middle INF, staying healthy, and being offensively productive at the MLB level before Russell has hit AAA and before Baez gets a chance to adjust/be adjusted to. Like you say, Castro is clearly a good defensive SS now, and he's also shown he can be a productive (if not fantastic) hitter. The haul for Castro would have to be pretty great, especially considering he is already signed to a nice extension. I would think a trade of Russell/Baez (along with some other minor leaguers--Vogelbach, Candelario, etc.) for pitching might be more likely in the Cubs' future.

Bryant foot/toe MRI reported negative per Kaplan/Hollandsworth in the comcast post game. Kaplan said the diagnosis is "toe bruise (contusion)" Hollandsworth wipes Kaps brow. Nice schtick. Twitterverse is full of confirmation including Wittenmeyer, Rogers, Mooney, Birch and Muskat. Mostly saying he's day-to-day or no timetable for return.

AZ Phil, can Bryant workout and travel with the Cubs without being on the roster? I am thinking about his exposure to MLB in September.

[ ]

In reply to by videographer

VIDEOGRAPHER: As much as such an arragement might be beneficial to the future of both the Cubs and Kris Bryant, Bryant's agent (Scott Boras) would almost certainly object and the MLBPA would almost certainly file a grievance claiming that the Cubs were trying to do avoid adding Kris Bryant to their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) and MLB Active List while still gaining the benefit of a player getting MLB exposure.

a couple of cub related links found in mlbtr... AZ take on BJax including some info on their interest coming from Dave McKay's time in Chicago http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2014/08/17/diamo…
Jackson did not get off to a great start with his new organization, going 0 for 5 with four strikeouts on Saturday in his debut with Triple-A Reno.
and a Joel Sherman article on the Cub-Mets trade matchup of SS for TOR pitching... http://nypost.com/2014/08/17/mets-have-pitching-cubs-hitting-so-why-has…
An NL executive described the Mets this way: “They don’t make a lot of trades and that is because they really don’t like to give up what they perceive as their big talent, unless they can convince you to give them $2 for their 35 cents.”
And the general tenor of the sport this year has shown just how fragile pitchers are. Which, by the way, is why the Mets would have to give up more than just a pitcher — no matter how talented Wheeler or Syndergaard is — to get a Cubs shortstop.

It's so inspiring to see such patience with Valbuena and Alcantara - all good young players should be able to play every day on a rebuilding team and work through their difficulties.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Well that's my point Dr. Why wasn't Olt given the standard rookie shot and patience. As has clearly been documented all season he was platooned against rare lefties and played very rarely. Alcantara has almost as many at bats in 1 month as Olt had in 4 months. I'm just wondering why? It's not performance based. Olt was actually more productive. And also go fuck yourself.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

"And also go fuck yourself" Dude, if you are allowed to have your fun and post sarcastic rants about Olt, like you did above, all the time, then I can have some fun too and post sarcastic replies. Lighten up! Also, I have documented this clearly before--he was not platooned early on. He was given a fair amount of playing time to start the season. Through June 1st he played in 46 of the Cubs 62 games, and started 35 of those. He was hitting .162 on June 1st. Over the last 22 games, from May 7 to June 1, he started 18 of them (and played in another 2). That is not platooning. He hit .161 over that stretch. They gave the guy a good chunk of playing time over the first 3rd of the season. He was hitting terribly and striking out a ton. It probably wasn't good for his confidence and development to keep sending him out there everyday--and others were playing better and there was a need to build trade value with some of them, like Barney. So they worked with him on the side and tried to find him favorable matchups to gain some success to build on. But he continued to struggle, until finally they sent him down to get more work with coaches and some regular at-bats against a lower level of pitching. That seems to have worked very well so far. They probably should have done that a month or two earlier than they did. That's my main complaint. I definitely don't think they failed to give him enough at-bats early on. I watch virtually every game and at some point it was embarrassing to see him go up to the plate. He looked lost.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

m.olt practically quit playing once june rolled around...and it took until mid-april before they decided to play him regularly at the start of the season. this is a guy who's missed notable chunks of seasons for a few years and after the month of may he was riding pine a whole lot. the guy should have gone down to AAA in early june...or at least by mid-june when it was evident that coming in cold off the bench in the majors wasn't helping things.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Look I challenge you to find a post where I directly mock someone else in the manner you just did. I do get pissed about the Cubs but I don't think I have ever just decided to attack someone's personality when they were making a baseball point. If you don't like my posts ignore them. What is so hard about that? deciding my personality is such that I am inserting myself into the narrative is just being a jerk. I mean I could easily do a psychological mockery of you based on your posts. I won't and I don't. Your summary of Olt tells its own tale. Starting 35 of 62 games through June 1 seems pretty definitive that he didn't get the Alcantara treatment and you are conveniently ignoring the fact that he was routinely pulled from games early and benched after good games and good weeks for no reason. You want me to lay it out for you game by game? If the guy was handed the 3B position out of spring training and left alone then he would have been treated like other cub rookies (and rookies of his caliber around the league) and probably would be in the bidding for rookie of the year. I don't see how anybody could watch the games and not see he was NOT given patience, votes of confidence, and allowed to grow and adapt. If I knew why he was treated with kid gloves I wouldn't be posting about it. Alcantara is worse and is playing every day carte blanche, and so far Baez is Olt but maybe a little worse.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

TCR, for the calm rational fanatic!! Look, for some reason as a Cub fan I think it's important. I'm sorry it's crossed a line (in your opinion), I'll try and find a way that is more suitable to express my opinions. Your tastes greatly guide this forum and I'll try and respect that. Also my guess is that Watergate had far less sophisticated daily analysis than baseball. It's kinda rough being told to be rational about my fandom. The whole love of sport is fairly illogical.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

I'm not particularly interested in dictating the conversation and I doubt I said much about it when Olt was actually up with the team, that's all fair game. But he got sent down, so let the past live there. If there's something interesting happening in the minors with him, certainly worth posting about, but whatever line there is between interesting and informative vs annoying and useless got crossed on the "Why is Mike Olt Not Playing" topic. Granted, it's a bit subjective, but I feel I'm not the only one that thinks we're just retreading something that isn't worth talking about anymore. You seem like a good dude with some interesting things to say, so don't take it as an attack on you, just trying to steer it to something more interesting at this point.

General rule of thumb for comments is that they should either be informative or humorous, if they're neither and if they're particularly repetitive or nasty, you should keep them to yourself or try Bleed Cubbie Blue.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

I wasn't attacking your personality or playing psychological warfare. LOL. Presumably you post comments because you want people to read them and react to them and respond to them, right? And I hope not just the people who agree with you. My reaction to your comment was: "you have made this comment a lot, we get it" and I tried to find a funnier/wittier way to say that. Apparently it didn't come off that way. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings dude.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

"you have made this comment a lot, we get it" ...which is seemingly okay if one is talking about jose macias, dusty baker, jim hendry, positive prospect-du-jour, neifi perez, sureouts, ejax, etc etc...but not some other things for some reason. baez strikes out. we all know he strikes out. we hear a lot about it lately...we hear a lot about it from the same people...we don't hear "dude, we get it...get over it and stfu." that's not calling you out (seriously, there's a whole lot of "we get it" types that don't want to hear something again that act in different manners)...that's calling out the whole "we get it" crowd. things are going to be repeated here...especially if it doesn't get "fixed" or otherwise addressed. besides, there's been some good additional insight from stuff like this. sure, something gets brought up for the 10th time (or whatever), but new people paying more attention to it and putting fresh eyes on the situation occasionally brings new material to the table that's apt. tl;dr - we "get" that some of you "get it"...it's usually always venting/joking/etc rather than bringing groundbreaking news and insight after it's initially fleshed out.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

wow. i know you don't like me, but i'm a lightning rod for you today. this happens every once in a while. "unfairly persecuted" "healthier, albeit delusional way to go through life" "non-self aware" we're taking some serious leaps from what was written...or is my "non-self awareness" not understanding what was written. woaaaaaaaaaah. deep.

Baez Bash #5

4-1 Cubs in the 9th

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

an excuse to make new merchandising, especially jerseys, that was innovated most recently by SD (who had like 1000 different jerseys depending on what "day" it is). ...i mean, a celebration of freedom.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

The club is saluting military members each home Monday this season by offering complimentary tickets, retail discounts and community outreach events. And what Crunch said.

So which tweet in the tweet box is correct? The Kevin Roberson comp or the Carmelo Martinez. Either way, it shows how fleeting rookie fame can be.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

Baez first since Roberson to do it in '93, but Carmelo Martinez is (apparently) the only other Cub to do it (Martinez hit 5 in his first 11 games).

Roberson after 14 games: 204/278/510 with 5 HR, 11 RBI

Martinez after 14 games: 288/309/577 with 5 HR, 11 RBI

Baez 233/258/517 with 5 HR, 9 RBI

totally meaningless comps, but there they are anyway

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

That's one of the good things about his being up for the rest of the year. Right away the other teams started their "adjustment" - since the book was already out there, now hopefully he can make some adjustments of his own. I don't expect he'll ever reach a point where he doesn't swing at low sliders way out of the zone, but I do think he'll adjust to high fastballs and *some* of those low sliders, and that's really all he needs to do.

Ugh -- Soler in a nasty funk. 2-for-his-last-27 with no BBs. C'mon Jorge -- we need more excitement for Sept.!

Whew - Bryant back in the lineup today, playing third, 1-2 with a 2B and a BB so far.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Also Rob, for all the talk here about how 'dead' the subject is, the article you have in the twitter feed seems to think it is a current event. It does touch on direct quotes from Olt and coaches about how hard it was to hit with intermittent playing time and it also touches on the other reason it irked some of us so much - which is that Bryant of course will be arriving next year so we may have missed our opportunity to give him some time an evaluate him. Of course it also adds plenty of objectivity regarding the fact that he wasn't able to make these adjustments at the MLB level (supporting the idea that maybe he wasn't ready anyway). But that also makes me wonder what Mueller was doing if anything: http://thegamechicago.com/2014/08/19/sahadev-sharma-mike-olt-adjusting-…

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

Mike Olt is still a relevant topic, why didn't Mike Olt get penciled into the lineup on June 17th...not so much.

It's not a cold case that really needs to be solved.

He should of played more. He kind of sucked when he did play with brief moments of excitement. He should have been sent down earlier.

Summed up in 3 sentences.

Oh look, Anthony Rizzo homered again.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

MLB Network is nearly unwatchable with their choices of on-air talent at this point, other than to see what lovely dress they put Heidi Watney in.

Russo thinks deGrom for Castro is a fair trade. Holy shit.

Wheeler and Montero I would think would be a fair deal for Castro to offset his age, friendly contract and the depreciation value of pitchers. (Maybe Harvey or Syndegaard could be swapped in). Syndegaard and Montero for Baez or Russell might be fair depending on what Cubs think of those guys.

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).