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

Gameday Open Thread / Cubs @ Padres

Happy Easter to all!

Jason Marquis hopes for a few goose eggs in his basket in his last opportunity to impress the coaches before the rotation is announced Monday. Everyone's favorite Mad Dog goes for the Padres in Peoria.

Comments

Pie and Fuld were not both going to make the team anyway. They've said several times this spring that the loser of the battle will play everyday at AAA. I'd nab Johnson if he's open to coming here because he can play all 3 outfield spots, is a righty bat, and he mashes lefties over his career. Plus he won't cost anything other than cash, unlike Coco Crisp. My guess for the final 25 man is something like this: Soto Blanco DLee DeRosa Theriot ARam Fontenot Soriano Pie Fukudome Murton Ward Zambrano Lilly Dempster Hill or Marshall Marquis (if they don't deal him I think he starts over Lieber because he pitches well early, he could be showcased, and he might cause trouble if he's in the bullpen) Lieber (pretty much useless to have him in the pen, but he's not going to be cut. He's probably edged out Marquis for the rotation but politics might cost him the job for now) Hart Weurtz Eyre Marmol Howry Wood That's a 24 man roster, leaving room for Reed Johnson or, god forbid, Cedeno. Johnson would give the team three righty bats on the bench when Pie starts - Murton, Johnson, Blanco and two lefty bats - Ward, Fontenot If Cedeno made the team the bench sucks, only Murton is a righty pinch hitter of any real value. I can't picture Cedeno making the team. Maybe the Roberts deal finally goes down soon, if so, and they pick up a righty OF like Johnson or someone else, Fontenot probably goes to the minors to start the year and Roberts takes his roster spot. I wouldn't expect Hill to be sent down, but who knows. And unless Marquis and/or Marshall are traded, I don't see Marshall starting the season in the majors, just too many pieces and knock on wood, everyone is healthy right now.

Chris Capuano has been diagnosed with a torn UCL. May need TJ surgery and will definitely miss some extended time. Per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

wsox/royals (oh joy) on WGN...cubs on the interwebs radio

I have a question, probably for Ariz Phil, but if anyone knows the answer, great. I know a player on a one year contract gets a prorated portion of the contract if they are released before a given date. I think once the season begins they get the entire contract once they are released. But my question is, what about multiyear contracts. For example, ARod. He's signed for something like $275 million over 900 years. If a team wanted to cut a player with a long term deal, is only the first season pro-rated if they are cut before the season begins, and the additional years are all guaranteed? I'm just curious because the NFL draft is coming up and free agency has me looking at salary cap figures, and also thinking about which sports have 100% guaranteed contracts.

cubs hitting mad ducks early...2 runs, 0 outs. -edit- yow...6 runs in (theriot with a 3 run double in the 8 slot...madducks served up a 80-something mph fastball down the middle). marquis knocks in theriot with a single. ha.

btw...tcr chat exists. only 2 people in there right now and we're both randomly in/out it seems. see most of you regular season...

"and has steroids/HGH rumors surrounding him?" Yeah, and also false-birth certificate concerns? Gime me a break, Cabrera has never been linked, and I stress, never been linked to steroids and/or HGH.

[ ]

In reply to by carlosrubi

That is true; he has never been linked to HGH. Yes, he is not the best fielding third baseman in baseball (acutually he may be the worst) but I would still take him over every other third baseman in the bigs (with the exception of A-Rod, obviously, and maybe David Wright, but probably not). He has played in at least 157 games in the last 4 years and had at least 114 RBIs each year in that time, while hitting .319 over that span. He has been one of the most consistent players of the last 4 years. He was incredibly underrated playing in FL and he is only 24. I think this is one of the best signings in the last couple years. If the Tigers get smart they'll move him to LF to reduce his defensive liability; but how can you question this signing given his amazing offensive numbers over the last 4 years? There is no way the Tigers will regret this in the coming years. The only person that will is Miggy, wishing he held out for more money after he has an amazing '08 campaign.

also from Crunch's tribune link: The Cubs are also looking at adding a right-handed hitting outfielder, and Piniella said that either Reed Johnson or Jeff DaVanon could draw the Cubs interest. DaVanon, 34, was released by San Diego on Saturday, and has a .295 career average in 528 games. Johnson, 31, was released by Toronto on Saturday and is a .298 career hitter. =========== interesting the both EPat and Hoffpauir are in the lineup when Lou has said he wanted to get all his veterans more at bats. Showcase time outweighs veteran hitting in the game of rock, paper, showcase, veteran hitting and scissors.

Reed Johnson did have back surgery last April.

 Here's a link to the Bluejays mlb.com site

The Reed Johnson before a bad back was a very useful player but it appears this is not the same player. 

 Toronto also announced that Johnson elected to have surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back -- an operation that will sideline the left fielder until at least July, but possibly longer. Dr. Thomas Tolli, a spine specialist, will perform Johnson's surgery on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.The Blue Jays placed Johnson on the 15-day disabled list last week after the outfielder complained of pain in his lower back. An MRI exam revealed the problem stemmed from a herniated disc. It's a similar issue to one Johnson dealt with during Spring Training, when he sat out for more than two weeks.During the spring, Johnson indicated that he felt the most discomfort when running out of the batter's box. That issue also led to mild pain in his right oblique muscle. After resting the injury, Johnson was able to make his first spring appearance in a game on March 8.The 30-year-old outfielder then played in seven games this season, posting a .265 average with one home run and seven RBIs before the back pain flared up again. With Johnson on the DL, Toronto lost its everyday left fielder and leadoff hitter."Reed's our spark plug," Toronto manager John Gibbons said on Friday. "He's our leadoff guy. He makes things happen. When he's rolling, we're good. He's one of the better outfielders in baseball. Naturally, no matter who you put out there, you're going to have a drop off."Johnson led the Blue Jays with a career-best .319 batting average last season and ranked first among American League leadoff hitters with a .390 on-base percentage. He also set career highs in home runs (12), doubles (34), runs (86), hits (147) and walks (33). Johnson was also hit by 21 pitches to lead the Majors.

Submitted by Paul Noce on Sun, 03/23/2008 - 2:10pm.

I have a question, probably for Ariz Phil, but if anyone knows the answer, great.

I know a player on a one year contract gets a prorated portion of the contract if they are released before a given date. I think once the season begins they get the entire contract once they are released.

But my question is, what about multiyear contracts. For example, ARod. He's signed for something like $275 million over 900 years. If a team wanted to cut a player with a long term deal, is only the first season pro-rated if they are cut before the season begins, and the additional years are all guaranteed?

I'm just curious because the NFL draft is coming up and free agency has me looking at salary cap figures, and also thinking about which sports have 100% guaranteed contracts.

=================================

PAUL N: For players signed to "Major League" contracts (40-man roster players), auto-renewal players and players who receive one-year contracts through the salary arbitration process are the only ones with "non-guaranteed" contracts.

If a player signed to a non-guaranteed Major League contract was released (this season) by Friday March 14th, the club would only have had to pay the player 30 days salary (which is 1/6 of his 2008 salary), and if such a player is releaseed by Friday March 28th, his club has to pay the player only 45 days salary (1/4 of his 2008 salary).

However, if a player signed to a guaranteed Major League contract is released prior to the expiration of the contract, the player's original club is on the hook for 100% of the contract, minus the prorated MLB minimum salary ($390K in 2008, and $400K starting in 2009) each season until the original contract runs out (that's if the player signs a Major League contract with another club).

Also, if a player with at least three years of MLB service time is placed on Outright Assignment Waivers and clears the waivers without being claimed and then his club tries to outright him to the minors, the player can either accept the outright assignment (which never happens), or refuse the outright assignment and elect to remain on his club's 25-man roster, or refuse the outright assignment and become a FA (and then his former club is on the hook for the entire balance of the contract, minus the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary if he signs a Major League contract with another club, just as would happen if the player was given his outright release).

One other thing. If a players is placed on Outright Release Waivers (as happened with Reed Johnson, for example), the player can be claimed by another club for $1 (that's right, a single dollar bill), but then the claiming club assumes 100% of the player's contract.

However, the player has the option to refuse a claim off Outright Release Waivers and can become a FA instead. That's why even though it only costs a club $1 to make the claim you never see clubs claim players off Release Waivers. Interested clubs just wait until the player clears Release Waivers, and then any of the other MLB clubs are free to sign the released player for the MLB minimum salary, and the player's former club is responsible for whatever is left to be paid from the original contract.

A released player is also free to negotiate a new contract for an amount above and beyond what was on his previous contract with his former club, but his previous club still must pay whatever salary or salaries were left on the player's contract at the time he was released, and then the new club just pays the difference (but that's only if the player signs for an amount above the amount remaining on his previous contract).

SEAMHEAD: Nope. I don't see any indication of that.

Pie looks like the Cubs starting (or at least platoon) CF to me. He plays terrific defense and he hits right-handed pitching very well. He just needs to work on his approach versus LHP (where he is sometimes clearly overmatched), and on reading pitchers's moves when he is on 1st base.

The Cubs do need a right-handed hitting CF who can play CF versus LHP until Pie can develop the ability to hit lefties. I understand Pie has to hit against lefties in order to improve, but the Cubs probably can't afford to have him hit .150 versus LHP in 2008 if they fancy themselves as a contender.

Pie will just have to learn to hit lefties when he gets occasional opportunities to do so in the big leagues, and then really work on it next off-season in Winter Ball. Then maybe he can be the "everyday" CF for the Cubs in 2009.

 

I'd expect a similar deal between the Cubs/Twins regarding Tim Lahey shortly. The Cubs are due a ptbnl for Craig Monroe. ====================== Bowden did make one move yesterday, however: He swung a deal with the Minnesota Twins to keep outfielder Garrett Guzman, a Rule 5 pick, in the Nationals' system. Washington will give the Twins a player to be named or cash by July 15. Had the Nationals not kept Guzman on their 25-man roster for the entire season, he would have been transferred back to Minnesota. Instead, he will start the year with Class AAA Columbus. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/SPOR…

Well, I was shocked to find out Glendon Rusch's spring line: In ten innings - 0.87 era, 5 hits

Re Pie: The Dodgers used to start their most promising starting pitchers in the bullpen as rookies in order to ease them into the big leagues, but no one got labeled a "reliever". Pie is only 23 years old, and if the Cubs put some training wheels on him for his rookie season, no one is going to care (unless they stay on for his whole career).

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.