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

2015 Draft Pick Update

 

Team.PCTGB
1. D'Backs.395--
3. Rangers.4000.5
4. Rockies.4053.0
5. Twins.4264.5
6. Red Sox.4366.0
7. Astros.4427.0
8. Cubs.4427.0
9. Phillies.4589.0
10. White Sox.4589.5
11. Reds.46210.0
12. Marlins.47712.5
13. Padres.47712.5

Updated through 9/21/14 - 6 games left for Cubs.

It's been quite a run by the D'Backs and Rangers over the last week and now the D'Backs hold the top spot in next year's draft with a week of games left. As for the Cubs, they're currently tied for the 6th worst record, but Astros own the tiebreaker there, so pushes the Cubs back to 7th and pushed back another spot with the Astros owning the 2nd pick in the draft for failing to sign Brady Aiken. 

It seems the most reasonable options for Cubs in terms of a draft pick next year, is either falling to the 5th worst record (6th pick) and overcoming the World Champs, whom they trail by one game and own the tiebreaker over. Or staying where they are and picking at #8, although they have less teams between them if they go on a win streak and the Phillies, White Sox or Reds go on a losing streak.

They're pretty close to clinching a protected pick with a 5.5 game lead there over Miami and San Diego. Miami has the tiebreaker over the Cubs, while the Cubs have the tiebreaker over the Padres. The Cubs have 6 games left, Miami and San Diego have 7 each. A Cubs loss or Padres win would clinch no worse than a tie between those two clubs and the aforementioned tiebreaker going the Cubs way, the Cubs couldn't do better than them this season. The Cubs need to lose tonight and the Marlins win or some magic number combination of the two before the season runs out and a protected pick will be the Cubs.

Comments

Cubs loss or Marlins win will lock in a protected pick for Cubs.

Red Sox, Astros, Cubs jockeying for the 6-8 picks, separated by a half game.

Cubs: 2 vs. St. Louis, 3 @ Brewers

Red Sox: 3 vs. Rays, 3 vs Yankees

Astros: 2 @ Rangers, 3 @ Mets

Rangers have been playing well lately which is unfortunate for them and Cubs draft pick.

fwiw, last year difference between 6th pick and 8th pick in slotted bonus value was a little less than $400K. Not sure the overall difference and some of that is determined by free agent signings and the goofy draft lottery, but guesstimating, it could be close to $750K difference overall.

"Arrieta has a 2.31 FIP that would rank second in the National League to Clayton Kershaw’s 1.87 if he had enough innings to qualify for the leaders." does arrieta have 1 more year of club control or 2?

Draft Pick Updates don't quite bring the same traffic as Mike Olt posts.

I'm gonna bring back the Milton Bradley tag if I have to.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Blast from the past posters! Wes, Carlos, Johan, JP, Dave, Brick, Manny, Jordan, Robr, CA Phil (along with the surviving AZ and VA varieties), Jace, Vorare, Manny, Horatio, Andrew, Ron Galt, Real Neal, Chad, Garsky, Vegas Brian, Joe C, Dave in Pittsburgh, Jessica, 433 ... it felt like going to Old Timers' Day.

m.olt not playing again tonight because dusty hates kids...or hendry made him not play him...or something like that. i wonder who he'll be playing for next season.

A Miami win clinches a protected pick for Cubs, so that's good, otherwise Cubs a game and a half from 6th pick and a game and half from dropping to 9th pick (although they have tiebreak over Phillies).

AZ Phil, have you seen a complete roster of the Instructional League players? Thanks.

Hot Take! Jeter plays anywhere but NY, he's Craig Biggio.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

eh, Jeter has the titles and playoff highlights, Biggio generally shit his pants in the playoffs. Overall, WAR numbers are close 73 to 65, but Jeter gets a lot more on offense which is gonna be more appreciated. And yeah, New York, duh. Andre Dawson isn't a Hall of Famer if he stayed in Montreal, ask Tim Raines.

Being a great player in a major media market tends to lead to some deification.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Certainly without NY he would be remembered very differently. Smaller market and he wouldn't have the post-season heroics and would certainly have done far worse in award voting, etc. But short stop is a premium position and his cumulative stats are way up there. Jeter: 310/377/440, 3461 H, 543 2B, 260 HR, 1922 R, 1307 RBI, 358 SB, 71.8 WAR Biggio: 281/363/433, 3060 H, 668 2B, 291 HR, 1844 R, 1175 RBI, 414 SB, 65.1 WAR Alomar: 300/371/443, 2724 H, 504 2B, 210 HR, 1508 R, 1134 RBI, 474 SB, 66.8 WAR Molitor: 306/369/448, 3319 H, 605 2B, 234 HR, 1782 R, 1307 RBI, 504 SB, 75.4 WAR Yount: 285/342/430, 3142 H, 583 2B, 251 HR, 1632 R, 1406 RBI, 271 SB, 77.0 WAR Brett: 305/369/487, 3154 H, 665 2B, 317 HR, 1583 R, 1596 RBI, 201 SB, 88.4 WAR Ripken: 276/340/447, 3184 H, 603 2B, 431 HR, 1647 R, 1695 RBI, 36 SB, 95.5 WAR His career is better than Biggio's or Alomar's and short stop gives him a clear edge. Ripken and Brett were obviously better, but it's not like playing in Baltimore or Kansas City held them back. And Yount and Molitor (who is a good offensive comp to Jeter but played DH) went into Cooperstown on the first ballot and played in Milwaukee. So my sense is that his legacy would lie somewhere below Ripken but above Biggio, along the lines of Brett or Molitor or Yount, depending on how particular events and awards and post-season stuff played out in his career in this other hypothetical non-NYC market.

"When I saw this guy swing [in December] I knew he was going to be a big-leaguer for them soon," Sheffield told ESPNChicago.com on Tuesday. "Right now when I watch his swing, he has something in his swing that can be fixed real easy. He collapses his back leg. And anytime you do that a pitcher is going to have a field day on you.

"When you collapse your back leg, anything over the belt line you have to upper cut. You can't stay on top of it."

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/27640/sheffield-javier-b…

rest of the article is about not striking out while walking in snow uphill, both ways, or something like that, Sheffield lost me at some point.

It would have been good to see Baez come up in April, if only to see the first player with 400 strikeouts.

Logan Watkins intentionally walked Jake Arrieta tripled to right center, Luis Valbuena and Logan Watkins scored ...lulz

after 7ip arrieta's WHIP drops below 1.00 neat. the way he's thrown all season he would be in the CY discussion if he didn't miss april. note: discussion...even if kershaw has it locked up...which he does.

1.) Arrieta is just filthy nasty. 2.) Soler is a beast. 3.) Baez is REALLY bad at hitting right now. Maybe the worst stretch I've ever seen.

Also Olt (wherever Renteria has him locked up) is now batting the same as Baez at .161. Oh the dark damp doghouse of captain happy. The cruel twisted chamber ... deep in the crusted shards of death a monster does push-ups just waiting to go to the cardinals or Brewers.

as the season winds down i keep hoping that MLB Network finally decides to show winter league games and some AFL action... they've dabbled in showing games from both in years past, but it's been very few games. some more off-season game content would be nice. also, i hope this off-season is one that matters for cubs fans. also, i want a pony.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I suspect that Arietta's emergence will make TheoCorp more interested in Lester than they might have otherwise been. You may see some kind of deal with the Mets that the NYC media seems so interested, too, if the Cubs are willing to give up one of their shortstops. It would have been helpful if Baez had not looked like a winged dreidel up there most of his at bats. I'm surprised there's no interest in Yasmany Tomas from the Cubs. I guess they feel like they got a great bargain in that fellow in right so why bother. You can't collect too many power bats though, especially if your philosophy is collecting young power bats. Either way I think it will be a very interesting off season for Cubs fans that will matter quite a bit. Even if they stood pat, and they won't, they'll have two significant bats they didn't at the beginning of the year in Bryant and Soler, and an ace pitcher in Arietta. They've already got a solid bullpen. Now they need to get lucky on a starter or two and maybe (gulp - I hate free agency when it comes to this) a Lester type.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I'm curious to see some projections, but I think without making any additions this is already a 75-80 win team in 2015. If 88 wins is a wild card, this team should have the financial assets to try to make that type of push. And that's prior to even thinking about trading anyone from the existing roster. Whether they use money, trades, or a combination of both, I expect this team to be good enough on paper to compete next year.

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).