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

Tuesday Cubs Hot Stove Round-Up

- Kevin Towers did a radio interview and basically said the Cubs are the only team the Padres are talking to right now. The Braves are out, he hasn't spoken to the Angels at all and has barely spoken to the Yankees. That's the good news. The bad news is the Cubs do have some interesting pieces but not exactly what the Padres want, so a third or possibly fourth team will be needed to finish the deal. There's also an online version of the story from Tom Krasovic.

- I didn't hear it myself, but some folks claim to have heard a report from Bruce Levine that Ryan Dempster will decide in the next 48 hours on the Cubs offer...whatever it may be. Supposedy in this BP article from yesterday, it says he turned down a 4/52 offer already. Rosenthal mentions "the next day or two" as a potential time frame as well.

- Speaking of Dempster, on an XM radio update either Gary Hughes or Randy Bush said signing Dempster is still their top priority but that Randy Johnson would be a great fallback.

- Beyond the rumors...the folks who ran Thunder Matt's Saloon have rebranded to Pomp Culture - less Cubs, more pop culture, no Matt Murton on the Cubs.

I also wanted to mention one of our new advertisers that you may have noticed at the top of the site. Bob Horsch has been taking pictures of Chicago for over 30 years including a huge collection of Chicago Cubs photos. A rather pleasant fella I might add, so if you're looking for some gift ideas with the holidays approaching, be sure to visit his website.

Comments

"It's really come down to one club now –- the Cubs," he (Towers) said. "It's going to take awhile. They have a couple of players to pick from that we are interested in but anything with them is going to potentially involve a third team or fourth team. We're focusing only on them." neat.

Bob Horsch has been taking pictures of Chicago for over 30 years including a huge collection of Chicago Cubs photos. A rather pleasant fella I might add, so if you're looking for some gift ideas with the holidays approaching, be sure to visit his website. You mean the mutant creatures from POXNORA? Is this Horsch character someone you've actually met or does he fall into the Trans, Ruz category?

I really hope Dempster goes somewhere else...at 32 years old, surgical history paying him 4/52 or more is ridiculous. He's bound to break down or revert back to the mean. This past year was a statistical anomally. Someone please outbid us....I would rather spend money on a proven guy who can win in the playoffs. Lowe for 2 years or trade the kitchen bare for Peavy. On another note...unless we can get a proven CF lead off man why not put Pie in the 8th/9th slot in the line up and put him out there...instead of kicking him to the curb. Ibanez, Dunn can't field in right. I'll pass on the aging Furcal as well. It should be interesting....now that Cuban is gone....what are we going to talk about regarding our future owner?

[ ]

In reply to by spongebob

Agree with both your points, about Dempster and about Pie. But Piniella is famously impatient. He won't play a guy who is still learning how to hit. I was hoping Pie would turn the corner in the Dominican this winter, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Pie has been out of the lineup the past couple of games. They get impatient down there, too. Meanwhile Jake Fox is leading the league in BA. Last night he had a home run and 4 more RBI. At least he's restoring Licey's confidence in Cub prospects.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

I agree on Dempster. 4/52 is WAY TOO MUCH for that guy. Take the draft picks and move along. As for Pie. I don't think we should be penciling him into anything. His defense and left-handedness will be useful on the roster. But he needs to win the job from Kfuk or Johnson before he is given the starting gig. Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen would look really good on this roster about right now.FWIW

Towers says "there are a couple of their (Cubs) prospects that we like..." I've gotta think those couple are likely Vitters and Castillo. If he also wants an ML-now pitcher and hitter, as he was reported to be after during the Braves reports, I guess that's where the 3rd team comes into play. He doesn't think Marshall is enough of a pitcher nor Pie or Cedeno enough of a now-hitter. Guess I can't blame him. So basically, Hendry would need to find a third team that DOES put some value on Marshall and friends, and turn them into two younger players that are more to Towers' liking. How likely is that? Answer=not very. Maybe you could get Hermida from Florida and send him along to SD, but you're still a pitcher short. And that assumes the Marlins would find Marshall + Pie worth Hermida in the first place. Meh.

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

I'm not so sure. I'd bet Towers would like Marshall and Pie, if nothing else because both should play well to Petco (a flyball lefty and a speedy, gap-hitting ace OF). If Hendry were to throw in Vitters, I think this deal would be done right now. In my mind, Hendry has said that Vitters is the only untouchable and that's why the deal's clearly unacceptable. A package of Vitters, Marshall, and Pie (plus another player or two, like Hart or Castillo) should be good enough to get it done. I agree though that the likelihood including another team and somehow not trading Vitters or at least Veal is highly highly unlikely.

from Rotoworld... Jose Ascanio recorded his sixth save in the VWL with a hitless inning on Sunday. After struggling early, Ascanio has given up three hits and one walk in seven scoreless innings this month. The Cubs gave the former Braves prospect a couple of quick looks in the first half of last season, but never promoted him in September with his ERA right around 5.00 at Triple-A Iowa. The 23-year-old has the talent to become a quality setup man or maybe even something more, but he's probably not going to be in the Cubs' plans for the beginning of 2009.

If LaRussa had this team, wouldn't Pie already have gone through a year at lead off, having him bunt every 3-4 times up? If Randy Johnson goes to the Cubs, wouldn't opp's bunt to make him move his aged bones? In short, Lou doesn't use the tools the players have. Reed tried a few times last season and got benched mostly. D. Ward and Cliff Floyd? Whoa, there's the answer! Let's get a hitting coach who can teach how to lay off the major league slider Lowe (pun intended) and outside.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

HAHA! Good one! Re: Dempster - aren't a high-percentage of starters going to have surgery at some point in their careers? So - I am reading many that say - "Why give him the money when he [Demp] is one injury away from having surgery again?" CC and Maddux are really the extreme exceptions it would seem. So, what is the best way to limit the risk? Does Hendry feel with a "successful" surgery under his belt - will Demp be "surgery-free" for the next 3-4 years? And, re: Woody - I have read on a couple boards that, "...he would have accepted a one year deal, but Hendry passed." If that is true - why?

I'm back! I've missed you guys-I still haven't gotten over the way the year ended-oh well, the life of a Cubs fan... Here's a couple trade ideas: 1. Dlee and Marquis for JD Drew and Coco Crisp 2. Marquis and Wuertz for Hank Blaylock 3. Marquis and Felix Pie for Brad Hawpe

One thing we are of course ignoring is the fact that no GM is going to come on air at this stage of the negotiations and say "yeah, a deal is almost done, we are absolutely happy with what they are offering us, we would like nothing more." They are both acting within a simple bargaining model and both GMs have incentives to get the most and give up the least in the deal. So Towers says we need a 3rd team, this isn't enough, to try to sweeten the deal. Hendry says they are going to resign Dempster and that Johnson is on the radar, hoping to demonstrate that he has outside options besides Peavy and that if he fills his needs elsewhere Towers will be SOL. This is really how it has to play out at this stage. So we don't know if A) Towers really will insist on a 3rd/4th team or he will keep Peavy; or B) he is willing to wait a couple of weeks to see if this tactic will get Hendry to improve the deal either by adding more players himself or giving up something to get someone from a 3rd team, and if it doesn't improve he will pull the trigger with the current players offerred anyway. Based just on his comments, both A and B are equally likely at this stage.

How sweet would it be to sign Demp & trade for Peavy also? At first glance, you might stay we would have to trade Marquis for nothing to clear out $$. I would advocate trading Z instead to fill the right field hole. What would be a good deal for Z? Does he have a ntc? What are the odds that at some point during this 4 yr contract, Demp returns to closing? I give it 50-50.

Feel free to chuck me in with the lot that believes 4/52 (or thereabouts) is absolute madness for a 32-year-old's career year. I'm not going to deny the man his money. Quality starters are in short supply and Dempster had a great year. Just let his new contract be some other team's inevitable albatross. As others have pointed out, you have health concerns, aging issues, and the niggling sense of regression to the norm. Not to mention that the evolution from mediocre, injury-plagued starter to mediocre reliever to $50 million starter is, to my knowledge, unprecedented. Who are his comparables? The only guy I can think of who had sustained success navigating those roles was Smoltz. The difference there, of course, is that Smoltz has had about 20 years of sustained greatness to Dempster's one. And speaking of Dempster's career year, one thing that gnaws at me is the pub he received for "rededicating" himself to conditioning during the past off-season. So what was he doing during the other off-seasons? And what will he be doing during this off-season while he waits to get paid? Will he act like various Bulls and Bears defensive players and see the payday as the finish line? Many starters have obviously had success in their mid-30s, but it requires a lot of commitment and luck. I dunno. Signing Dempster to this deal just seems too familiar, too Cub to me. The flipside of course is dealing for Peavy. Actually acquiring a top-flight starter still in his 20s? Talk about unprecedented.

[ ]

In reply to by Tarzan Joe

Dempster played in his second All-Star game this year. He has the pitches, he seems to have the health, and he also works out pretty hard. Dave Stewart is one guy that you can look at as a comp I guess. I hope that Hendry kicked the tires on Lowe and found that he wanted significantly more money. I thought $50 million would get Dempster done for the Cubs. If it's much north of $52, well.. you have to pay to play I guess. I'd prefer a one year deal on Wood at $10 million than a 4 year $55 million Dempster deal.

Maybe 3/44, but did Woody truly say he'd come back on a one-year K and Hendry passed?

[ ]

In reply to by Little Nate Lewis

From what I took from it, Hendry is very fond of Kerry, sees him more as a son then another player. And he knew he couldn't in his right mind give Wood a multi year contract so rather than tie up Kerry for one year he did Wood the favor and told him to go get a multi year contract from another team. Which I'm sure some one will give him. It's his last chance at a fat contract, so mama bird kicked baby bird out.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

if that is the truth then Jim Hendry is a stupid f@$@ing motherf@*$er. It's not his business to worry about Kerry Wood's financial future. His job is to improve the Cubs. If there was a 1 year deal that made sense it is his fiduciary obligation to get it done. He is there to protect the Cubs and not Kerry Wood. that being said, if fully believe that Hendry wanted to save the 10 million or so dollars for something else. Which in that case is his right.

furcal and soto have same agent he is in chicago today for soto hmmmmmm and furcals name wont come up right furcal would be nice but not at the price being discussed with the giants.

Sign Johnson to a one year Johnson.

This'd be a big relief for me. I like Dempster (personally and as a ballplayer), and we have one less piece to worry about. This also puts us in a much better bargaining position with SD, because now we really don't 'need' Peavy. He'd be nice, but I'd be really happy with Z,Demp,Lilly,Randy, Harden.

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.