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

Try a Little Tenderness

Today is the day when contracts are tendered to players on MLB Reserve Lists who are unsigned for 2009.

Any player who is "non-tendered" today immediately becomes an unrestricted free-agent, and is free to sign a major league or minor league contract with any MLB club, including the club that non-tendered the player. 

There are two types of unsigned players, so-called "arbitation-eligibles" (players who have accrued at least three years of MLB service time but less than six years, plus a handful of players who have between two and three years of MLB ST who qualify for arbitration as a "Super Two") and so-called "auto-renewals" (players who do not yet qualify for salary arbitration, so that the club can automatically renew the player's contract if an agreement cannot be reached by the first week of March).

"Auto-Renewal" players are almost always tendered contracts. The MLB minimum salary in 2009 will be $400K (up from $390K), and players must be offered at least the MLB minimum salary, and the salary offered must be no less than 80% of the player's 2008 salary.  .

The only time you might see a club non-tender an "auto-renewal" is if the player was injured in winter ball (injured players can't be outrighted after 11/20 or prior to 16 days prior to the start of the next season), or if the player's roster slot is needed to add a free-agent who signs sometime just prior to 12/12, or to clear a roster slot to make room for a player acquired in a trade during the Winter Meetings.

Since the Cubs roster presently stands at 37, there is no reason not to tender contracts to the Cubs 20 auto-renewal guys.

Aribtration-eligible players are a completely different matter, however. A club cannot automatically renew the contract of an arbitration-eligible player. If the player and the club cannot agree on a salary, the player and the club submit a number, and a three-person arbitration panel picks one of the two figures. Since youi never know what the arbitrators are going to do (they base everything on statistics, comparing the player to what other players with similar stats & service time are paid), clubs tend to view a hearing as a "crap shoot," and most GMs usually do not want to take a chance of losing in arbitration.

Jim Hendry has a history of tendering arbitration-eligible players, but he has never gone to arbitration with a player. The normal outcome is that the Cubs and the player will find a middle-ground between the player's request and the club's offer, and so thus a hearing is avoided. Hendry is always more than willing to offer performance bonuses to increase the value of a deal if the player feels the base salary is too low.   .

Arbitration-eligible players cannot be offered a base salary that is less than 80% of the player's previous year's salary, or less than 70% of the player's salary from two seasons ago (but if the player is non-tendered and then is re-signed, the maximum pay cut does NOT apply). So to know the minimum a player can get, you have to know the salary of each arbitration-eligible player from each of the last two seasons .

The Cubs have six players eligible for salary arbitration (2008 salary in parenthesis):

Ronny Cedeno ($407K)

Neal Cotts ($800K)

Chad Gaudin ($1.775M)

Kevin Gregg ($2.5M)

Reed Johnson ($2.07M - combined TOR and CUBS)

Michael Wuertz ($860K)

Reed Johnson made $2.17M in 2008 (a $870K severance when he was released by Toronto at the end of Spring Training and then a $1.3M salary from the Cubs), but he was paid $3.075M in 2007. Therefore, if Johnson is tendered, he cannot be paid less than 70% of his 2007 salary  ($2.07M). So if he is tendered (and he almost certainly will be), I would think the Cubs will offer somewhere around the minimum-allowable $2.1M and Johnson will request something like $3M, with the player and club settling for around $2.5M  And if the Cubs do settle with Johson prior to a hearing, the deal could be maybe $2.25M with up to $500K in incentives related to games played & plate appearances.    

Gregg was a closer for much of 2008 so he should get a bump because of his save numbers. Therefore, the biggest disparity among Cubs aribtration-eligibles will probably be with Kevin Gregg,.The Cubs will likely offer Gregg about $3.5M, and Gregg will probably want about $5.5M, with the player and club perhaps agreeing to a $4.5M pre-hearing figure, although if the Cubs and Gregg do agree prior to getting to arbitration, it will probably involve the Cubs offering a lower base salary ($3.75M) but with maybe $1.5M in incentives related to appearances and games finished. 

Chad Gaudin would probably get a bump up to at least $2.5M if his case were to make it to arbitration, but I would think the Cubs would not want to pay him anywhere near that much (guaranteed). I would bet the Cubs would prefer to offer Gaudin a relatively low base salary (about $1.5M, something close to the maximum allowable 20% cut) plus maybe another $1M in incentives based on appearances and/or games started (should he be moved to the starting rotation at some point). Since it is not clear if Gaudin would accept such a deal, he could get non-tendered, but with the Cubs hoping to re-sign him for less money after he becomes a free-agent (and good luck with that).      

Cedeno, Wuertz, and Cotts are fairly simple to estimate. Whether it goes to arbitration or is settled prior to that, Cedeno will likely get around $750K, and Wuertz and Cotts will probably end up with something like $1.25M, with Wuertz and Cotts both likely to receive up to $250K in incentives.   

Auto-renewal and aribtration-eligible players do not get guaranteed contracts, so they can get released during Spring Training.(as happened with Reed Johnson when he was with the Blue Jays last year)  A player who is released at least 16 days prior to Opening Day receives 1/6 of his 2009 salary (potential incentives not included) as severance, and if a player is released prior to Opening Day but less than 16 days prior to the start of the season, the player gets 1/4 of his salary as severance (potential incentives not included). So even if they are tendered, any or all of the Cubs six arbitration eligible players could get released during Spring Training and the Cubs could save some 2009 payroll that way (should that become necessary or if that is desirable).

Comments

Nice title, AZ Phil. Chad Guadin's name is funny in the post there. Taveras and Saito are the 'big names' rumored to not be tendered according to the various links compiled at mlbtraderumors. Taveras (I am probably spelling that wrong) is a pretty simliar player to Johnson. Trade a little speed and defense for a little hitting skill. Since his batting average is supported so much by bunts and infield hits, I doubt he'd take much of a hit if any if you move him out of Coors. I think if Guadin wants more than $2.5 million, let him walk.

BTW, just as a point of information, the 20% maximum pay cut for arbitration-eligible players does NOT apply to Article XX free-agents who are offered and accept salary arbitration. The club can offer the FA any amount, regardless of what the player was paid the previous season, as long as it is at least the MLB minimum salary.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/2008/12/trade_fallout_no… as expected, no Felix Pie to O's w/o Peavy coming to the Cubs. morning funnies from rotoworld... Manny Ramirez is growing extremely upset about the lack of suitors for his services, so much so that he has told friends he would contemplate retirement if a suitable offer doesn't arrive soon, a person close to the situation told Newsday. We needed a good laugh at the end of a busy week. We're sure Manny will be receiving a lot of sympathy. To think there aren't dozens of teams willing to pay him $25 million for a one-dimensional 36-year-old known for giving it all only when he feels like it.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

might I add, Manny to the Angels would be fantastic...Dodger fans went nuts over Manny here and rightfully so, to see him go to the Angels would be a great way for Arte to screw with McCourt and the Dodger fans.

Rotoworld: The Orioles will not be able to land Cubs outfielder Felix Pie in a stand-alone trade that doesn't involve Jake Peavy. The O's had dreams of sending Garrett Olson to the Padres and receiving Pie from the Cubs in a three or four-team trade. With talks between the Cubs and Padres falling flat, the Orioles are now out of the mix. Baltimore executives said Thursday that the Cubs won't budge on Pie without Peavy being somehow involved.

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 12:14pm.

Rotoworld: The Orioles will not be able to land Cubs outfielder Felix Pie in a stand-alone trade that doesn't involve Jake Peavy. The O's had dreams of sending Garrett Olson to the Padres and receiving Pie from the Cubs in a three or four-team trade. With talks between the Cubs and Padres falling flat, the Orioles are now out of the mix. Baltimore executives said Thursday that the Cubs won't budge on Pie without Peavy being somehow involved.

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

WISCGRAD: The thing I don't understand about the Cubs unwillingness to trade Felix Pie is that if the Cubs sign Bradley (or Abreu) to play RF, and with Fukedome supposedly the left-handed hitting platoon guy in CF, and with Pie out of minor league options, why wouldn't the Cubs be open to trading Pie, unless Hendry believes the Peavy trade talks aren't dead?

Maybe the Cubs won't trade Pie to Baltimore for Garrett Olson, but unless they are holding onto him until they are able to get Peavy, the Cubs certainly must be thinking about trading Pie somewhere. Otherwise, is Pie going to take the last spot on the bench away from Hoffpauir? Or is Pie going to take Cedeno's slot on the 25, with the Cubs hoping (praying) that Fontenot can play SS if anything happens to Theriot?

I just can't see that happening. Pie would appear to be the odd man out.

[ ]

In reply to by The Joe

I also agree completely. I think you have Soriano, Fukudome, Johnson, New RF, Lee, Hoffpauer, DeRosa, Fonentont, Theriot, Cedeno (or other backup IF), Ramirez, Soto, backup catcher. That leaves a 12-man staff. If Pie is on there something else has to give. I don't like the idea of having Fontenot, Theriot, DeRosa, and Ramirez to cover 3 IF positions. That eliminates double switches, prevents DeRosa from filling-in in RF, and makes it difficult to rest Ramirez.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

I can't imagine the Cubs shedding Pie just to make room for Cedeno. I actually expect Cedeno to be non-tendered today. Cedeno lost me, finally, with his poor fielding in September. He had ten errors, by the way, in winter ball last time I looked. I don't think Lou has much use for him, which is why he keeps talking about trying Fontenot at short.

I don't see why the Cubs don't just make a Felix Pie for Garrett Olson trade, even if the Peavy talks have been suspended. At the very least, even if there isn't room for him in the starting rotation and he gets optioned to Iowa, Olson becomes the Cubs #1 pitching prospect and could be a fall-back option if a starter goes down during the season. And Olson could be the key to a deadline deal (as happened with Sean Gallagher last year), maybe even eventually for Jake Peavy!

My cracked crystal ball says that Bradley will be a Cub by this time next week. He is simply the best fit for RF of all of the available options, and he offers the added versatility of being a switch-hitter and being able to play all three OF positions if needed. Since this is THE critical off-season move, Hendry will get it done.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 12:59pm.

with a guy who can get a bat through the zone as fast as pie what's the use in giving up on him now?

he's not polished or 09 ready, but the team seems to be just fine working around it.

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

CRUNCH: I like Felix Pie as much as anyone, but Pie has to be on the trading block because he is out of minor league options and would appear to be blocked by Kosuke Fukudome. So if the Cubs can get a quality young pitching prospect like Garrett Olson back for Pie, that's a good thing.

An even better alternative would be if Fukudome decides he isn't happy and wants to return to Japan, and the Cubs can convince the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants to acquire Kosuke, even if it means the Cubs would have to pay half his remaining salary. Then there would be room on the 25-man roster for Pie plus $6M in suddenly available 2009 payroll to spend.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Also the fact that we've heard various rumors that he's a malcontent and likes to party instead of working on his game. I have to think most "can't miss" prospects who end up missing, do so more for mental reasons than physical reasons. Sure, he has the tools, but he's a mental midget. Trade him while he still has some sort of value.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

When you're a Cy Young pitcher, you're allowed to party as much as you want in the offseason. When you're a former hot prospect who strikes out every third time at bat, you're not allowed to party until 2AM the night before a day game. Before all you journalism majors get all over me about not providing a link, I don't have one, but I remember reading those rumors. Whether or not they're true, I have no idea, but the reasons Pie hasn't succeeded in the majors have nothing to do with his physical talent.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

Az Phil himself reported this here at TCR last summer>> But I have heard whispers that he sulked big-time after being optioned to AAA by the Cubs in May, and that part of the reason behind the Cubs decision to option the Pie man to Iowa in the first place was related to his becoming a bit of a "party animal" in Chicago, staying out until all hours of the night and then showing up at the ballpark not necessarily "ready to play" the next day. As a further tidbit of bizarro information, Pie had what sounded like an argument with someone from the Cubs brass (I couldn't see exactly who it was, but I could probably guess) who was sitting up in the Fitch Park Tower that overlooks the four fields as Pie was walking to the clubhouse after he left the game in the 6th inning. I didn't understand the complete nature of the "discussion," but I believe it had something to do with Pie expecting to leave town immediately (like "who is driving me to the airport?"), but being told instead that he would be staying in Arizona for at least one more day. Pie did not look happy, that's for sure.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, you'll be classy. If you win 20 in the show, you can let the fungus grow back and the press'll think you're colorful. Until you win 20 in the show, however, it means you are a slob.

FWIW Pie hasn't been playing for Licey lately, which is what you would expect if he's on the block.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Nav's right, he hasn't been playing. He did hit .320 in 50 at bats. I thought he stopped playing about the time that he was mentioned in connection with Peavy. Jake Fox hasn't been playing either. He went a little cold, and the Licey player-conveyor belt seems to have moved on. Maybe Pie and Fox finished their tour of duty and left the team.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

-edit- for some screwed reason i reposted my initial comment...instead of quoting part of it. -edit- pie's been playing, DEC is when things slow down a bit in the dominican leagues...he's not played every game or all over every game, but he's been playing. the team has played 6 games this month (7th tonight). he may not be 100% healthy (dunno), but he's not MIA or being hidden. you can find out in 30-90 minutes if he's playing tonight.

Rob Bowen surprisingly given a contract by the A's - most had him being non-tendered. Clement deal with Blue Jays is complete - minor league with invite Jason Smith of Rule 5 fame was DFAed and will likely be non-tendered tonight.

Sam Fuld is having a good season in Venezuela (329/446/538). He currently is tied for the VWL lead in triples and walks, is 6th in OBP, tied for 6th in runs scored, is 7th in OPS, 10th in BA, 11th in slugging, and is tied for 11th in doubles, and he passed Josh Kroeger this week in OPS.

Fuld suffered a thumb injury while attempting to make a diving catch in Spring Training (a game I was at, BTW) last March and then made the mistake of trying to "play through it," leading to a poor start at Iowa and a demotion back to AA. But he's apparently healthy now, at least until he suffers some new season-ending injury.

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Fuld may be better than we give him credit for. He's certainly better than Pie right now, except that he's not out of options. In 143 at bats, Fuld has 30 walks, 14 strikeouts. With 10 doubles, 4 triples and 4 home runs, his SLG is .538. He's the best Cub performer in winter ball. (Fox cooled off and Kroeger fell into a prolonged slump--although I guess he's not a Cub anyway.) A year ago, Fuld had that great AFL season.

Chris Burke just got non-tendered by the D'backs. I wonder if Jimbo tries to pick him up as insurance in case of a Cedeno and/or Derosa trade.

Al Yellon: I'd be perfectly happy if Fukudome became the player he was in Japan (or a reasonable facsimile) Sure, do you want world peace with that?

You guys are really down on Fukudome. Is it really outside the realm of possibility that he straightens himself out?

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I think a lot of us are looking at that swing and thinking it must be the problem, then thinking that there is now way you fix that without Fuki having to rebuild his game. But dominated in Japan with that swing, so maybe it really isn't the problem. Maybe he had injury issues, or he just went into the ever-mysterious "slump." Maybe he'll come back and be the .280/.380/.400 player many of us expected him to be. If it's the swing, though, he's cooked. If it's the swing, I have no idea how he succeeded in Japan.

[ ]

In reply to by carlosrubi

I'd accept that as evidence if someone could show me that Fukudome hit guys with high 80s fastballs well in 2008. As far as I can tell he didn't hit any category of pitchers well after May. Edit: Granted, they don't use a measure of velocity or "stuff" but instead use Ks and BBs, according to Baseball Reference Fuki posted a .378 OBP and .370 slugging against Power pitchers, a .331 OBP and .373 slugging against Finesse pitchers, a .388 OBP and .404 slugging against guys in between those two categories.

Lets just hope the Cubs steer clear of Bradley. For Bradley to even be worth anything to an NL team he needs to play the OF and there are serious questions if he can still even play in the OF anymore. Then on top of that he needs to stay healthy while doing it. It's basically like signing Nomar to a big free agent deal. If a player can't stay healthy when he is younger that isn't going to change as they get older. It is going to get worse as they age. I would rather have Abreu for more money or take Juan Rivera or Rocco Baldelli on cheaper contracts who have the chance for a high reward.

Well that probably means the Braves enter the Peavy talks again! Damn Yanks...also want Lowe or Sheets! Wow... I guess everyone will want Marquis then!

Submitted by MikeC on Fri, 12/12/2008 - 4:12pm.

Lets just hope the Cubs steer clear of Bradley. For Bradley to even be worth anything to an NL team he needs to play the OF and there are serious questions if he can still even play in the OF anymore.

Then on top of that he needs to stay healthy while doing it. It's basically like signing Nomar to a big free agent deal.

If a player can't stay healthy when he is younger that isn't going to change as they get older. It is going to get worse as they age. I would rather have Abreu for more money or take Juan Rivera or Rocco Baldelli on cheaper contracts who have the chance for a high reward.

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

MIKE C: I'm with you on this one. Given a choice between Bradley and Abreu as the Cubs everyday RF, I'd take Abreu no question, even though he's four years older than Bradley.

Abreu runs well, he knows how to stays healthy, he plays 150+ games per year EVERY YEAR (he's an "iron man"), and he doesn't have bad knees.

Bradley is a DH (and a good one) who can play RF in a pinch, but he just can't seem to avoid injuries. And he has creaky knees. He's just too much like Cliff Floyd for my taste.

Abreu is a young 35, while Bradley is an old 31.

"...but I remember reading those rumors." I don't believe those were just rumors regarding Pie's late - night activities; you heard them too often if you lived near the ballpark. If I'm not mistaken, there were pics on Deadspin of him with two attractive women on his arm, replete with a bottle of whiskey in the other. Not good. " would rather have Abreu for more money or take Juan Rivera or Rocco Baldelli on cheaper contracts who have the chance for a high reward." Doesn't Baldelli's current medical condition preclude him from becoming an everyday player again? He can't even take warm - ups anymore, due to his need to conserve every available unit of energy in his body. While still an amazing comeback last year, I don't see him being able to play the OF on a daily basis at Wrigley.

[ ]

In reply to by Dmac

I'm not mistaken, there were pics on Deadspin of him with two attractive women on his arm, replete with a bottle of whiskey in the other. Not good. Wait... he had attractive women around him?!?! And drank alcohol?!?! Oh no!!! You could say the same thing about the vast majority of professional athletes.

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).