Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs @ Dodgers: Lester vs Maeda (Game 171; NLCS Game 5)

Submitted by CTSteve on

Cubs 8, Dodgers 4
W: Lester (2-0); L: Blanton (0-2)
Cubs lead series: 3-2PREVIEW
CHC (2-2): LHP Jon Lester (1-0, 0.64)
LAD (2-2): RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 9.00)
First pitch: 7:08pmCST

Lester gave up 1 ER in 6 innings of Game One of the NLCS but came away with a no-decision in a game the Cubs would go on to win 8-4. The Dodgers are 23-125 (.184) against him. Hernandez is 3-12 with a HR.

Maeda went 4 innings and gave up 3 ER to the Cubs in NLCS matchup against Lester but didn’t factor in the decision. He was on the mound for Bryant’s RBI scoring Folwer in the 1st, Baez's RBI double of Heyward (after his triple) in the 2nd, and Baez's steal of home. Good times.

It’ll be a fully rested Kershaw vs a fully armed and operational Hendricks at Wrigley on Saturday.

Go Cubs!

Tags
2016 Postseason

Comments

Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:17 am

For what it's worth, one of the commentators last night (was it Rosenthal? - probably because it sounded like it was one of the guys who would walk around the clubhouse chatting it up with people) said that the Cubs worked a lot with Russell in "loosening" the grip on his bat or some such. I have no idea how that might help him but he sure looked like a different hitter out there last night. He's looked absolutely lost all post season and then, just, wow, locked in. Baseball is weird. But if Addy is back, whoah.

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Submitted by Charlie on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:19 am

Russell said in pre-game interviews that Maddon and Mallee worked with him also on "finshing" his swing, which I think means following through completely with both his core and his arms. He certainly stayed through the ball much better in yesterday's game, and he hit all three of his fly balls hard. Maybe today he'll hit a line drive or two. The defense and the depth of the starting rotation have really carried this team through the playoffs so far. Time for the offense to kick into gear, for yesterday's BABIP and umpire luck to continue, and for the Cubs to kick some ass. Would love to go back to Chicago with two chances to clinch.

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Submitted by Ryno on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:33 am

If you are 22 years old, put on one of the largest sports stages in the world, and your team is struggling, it might be expected that he would be gripping the bat a bit too tight. Winning the mental game last night was far more important than the 8 run margin of victory. You could see throughout the entire dugout--the team starting to relax and have some fun.

Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:04 am

I am wondering - it seemed as if there were at least 30% Cubs fans in Chavez Ravine. Any thoughts on this? Congrats to the Indians. Looking forward to seeing our guys match up. Hope it happens.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:54 am

Of the NL playoff teams, only the Cubs and Giants could play D. I loved watching the Dodgers kick the ball around the field yesterday. The Cubs just needed to stop striking out and hit a few balls hard, or just put it in play. It's what they didn't do against the Mets last year, another patched-together team defensively. Toles was having a good series but now people will just remember that bizarre throw. Then he missed Fowler's sinking liner and turned it into a double. Didn't Grandal miss two throws in one sequence? Utley, always an impostor at second, showed it again on that flip from Seager. This is our built-in advantage over most teams, but we have to put the ball in play.

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:42 pm

LEAVE NO DOUBT! (Note: Sabermetrics indicate scoring 10 runs is a lot better than scoring zero. Let's do that agin, please.)

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:11 pm

Dexter Fowler CF, Kris Bryant 3B, Anthony Rizzo 1B, Ben Zobrist LF, Javier Baez 2B, Jason Heyward RF, Addison Russell SS, Ross C, Lester SP

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:12 pm

Dodgers lineup

Hernández 2B Turner 3B Seager SS Ruiz C Kendrick LF González 1B Puig RF Pederson CF Maeda P

$20 Kiki tries to bunt to start the game

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Submitted by crunch on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:48 pm

"we're gonna get huge leads, we're gonna bunt on him, we're gonna try to get in his head." - dave roberts later on... "we have to get on base first." - dave roberts pretty much.

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:22 pm

Carrie Muskat ‏@CarrieMuskat #Cubs Edwards, who was pulled from last night's game because of tightness in his hamstring, is fine. Just cramps. Day to day

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:23 pm

through 5ip...number of times showing bunt for the dodgers = 13....number of times bunting = 0 they even cut the grass lower between last night and tonight. i don't know what their plan is...especially with the .190 hitting leadoff guy who's been swinging away rather than bunting.

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:57 pm

Javy!! We got the right Baez! Heyward's swing looks like he is playing golf. He is more of a mess than ever at the plate.

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:36 pm

What was that bit between Willson and the umps at the end? I wasn't really paying attention.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 10/20/2016 - 10:46 pm

@TheBlogfines So... Jon allowed 4 total runs in 4 starts against the Dodgers this year I believe? Like 31 innings? ‏

@DGoforth918 you just wait till they figure out that he can't field or throw to first!!!

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:13 am

Will Joe stubbornly start Heyward against Kershaw? Or, Hill if it comes to that? Do ya'll think we can get one more game??

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Submitted by Eric S on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:28 pm

J-Hey didn't start against Bumgarner or Kershaw so I don't see it happening Saturday night either. More a question of whether he starts Soler or Almora. I'm leaning Almora over Soler at this point for the defense + greater contact skills at the plate that can force the action of the Dodgers less than stellar defense. Edit: J-Hey did start against Kershaw last Sunday. Can't believe I forgot that (wishcasting) - I'm sure Maddon has not.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:04 am

I don't know that I think either of them will do anything offensively against Kershaw. Soler generally has better discipline, but Almora might be quick enough to stay out of double plays or leg out an infield hit. I guess I'm leaning Almora at this point, because some other Cubs bats have woken up.

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:18 pm

I like that a lot. If not, I'd rather see Soler than Almora. If you are subbing out Heyward for offense, and runs will be tough to come by, Soler can bust open a game. I'm not sure Almora is ready for this as a hitter. Plus, it's Wrigley, not Coors Field or SF. But, I'd still rather your lineup.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:42 am

i'm ready to get this series over just so the hack-as-hell weak "psychological warfare" LA is pulling can end. they keep trying new things and failing at every step. name calling, conspiracy creating, trying to "get in the head" of the cubs players...all executed very poorly so far.

Submitted by Tito on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:15 am

"Greg Maddux never held baserunners, either. He allowed 547 steals in his career, and up to as many as 37 in a single season. He just didn’t give a shit, because he was good. Over the last three years, Lester’s allowed one of the lowest rates of baserunners in the game. He and Ross are exceptionally quick in their deliveries and exchanges, making it difficult for even above-average baserunners with gigantic leads to steal successfully. Hesitate on the steal, and Ross might nab you at first. Try to challenge Lester with a bunt, and, well, bunting is hard, and he might field it in a position to just underhand it to first, anyway. The thing about trying to get into Jon Lester’s head is, you spend too much time trying to do it, and you might wind up getting in your own." http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/jon-lesters-oddities-all-on-display/

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:25 am

it's still not all about the steals...though a run scored last night because of one combined with the sick leads he gives up. 2017 is going to be interesting without ross. will the team go find another ross or will they throw the kid catcher to the wolves to control the game? someone has to do it for lester.

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Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:03 pm

I think Contreras will relish the chance to show if his arm and his quickness, and Rizzo seems to love charging down attempting-bunters like a rhino. I think your "interesting" is going to be that maybe a handful more runs score over the course of the season and not that Lester's game collapses. I also think the extra runs will mostly be Contreras's receiving and not how he controls or does not control the running game.

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Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:16 pm

This is also fun from Jeff Sullivan's article on the same subject: "This might sound insane to you. After all, you know Lester has the yips, yes? Imagine you’re an actual runner, though. Especially a runner in an important game. Or, actually, imagine you’re just a person. You’re behind a door, and in the next room, there’s a sandwich, and there’s a grizzly bear. I’ve already told you that the grizzly bear won’t attack you. I’ve assured you the bear isn’t aggressive, and you aren’t going to be hurt, and you can just go have the sandwich. It’s a delicious hot sandwich. I’ve shown you a few videos of other people going in and getting sandwiches. Sometimes the bear roars. It certainly looks menacing. Acts like a mean bear. Hasn’t hurt anybody. How confident are you going to be about getting that sandwich? You know all about grizzly bears. You know about attacks by average grizzly bears. How much are you willing to believe that this particular bear is unusual? How much are you willing to believe this bear will remain unusual for however long it takes you to go retrieve a sandwich?" http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/why-they-dont-run-like-mad-on-jon-lester/

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:25 am

I wish I could take all of you with me Saturday. I really, honestly, do. I cant take Joe Buck anymore, so I am hoping he is NOT on the World Series broadcast should they make it.

Submitted by Rob G. on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:31 pm

Rosenthal jumps in as well...it seems everyone gets it by this point except for some idiots on the Internet...

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/jon-lester-chicago-cubs-los-angeles-…

“What he does best is he throws pitches very well, up to 94 miles an hour where he wants to, and then he has a great cutter and a curveball. So why would I want him to get mentally infiltrated with trying to hold runners if he's not comfortable? We have other things in place to take care of that.”

Those things include communication between infielders, communication between Rizzo and catcher David Ross for back picks and alternate fielding plans for balls bunted at the pitcher.

Lester, too, plays a role, holding the ball to disrupt the timing of potential base stealers and delivering the ball quickly to home plate. One Cubs official refers to him as the “best slide-step pitcher in the game.”

The Dodgers, if anything, needed to run more in Game 5; a steal of third led to their only run off Lester, and they also had a steal of second against him. But manager Dave Roberts noted that Lester often was 1.15-1.2 seconds to the plate, and that some of his players — Corey Seager, Joc Pederson — were not prototypical base stealers.

“They have a game plan going in that they want to bunt, they want to show bunt, get big leads, do all that stuff,” Lester said. “That’s fine. I’d rather have Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson and all these guys bunt than hit it out of the ballpark. “As much as they think it gets me off my game, I’d rather have those guys try to keep the ball in the infield. Our infielders are really good.”

Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:27 pm

Nice ROB G. Speaking of "holding the ball", I'm fed up with :60+ seconds it takes for pitchers such as Baez to fucking finally throw a gotdamn pitch. Looking forward to changes in speed of play. Sooner than later would be great.

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Submitted by billybucks on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:14 pm

4 hours and 16 minutes to play last night's game. 3:58 to play a 10-2 game blowout game. On the East Coast, these games are ending after midnight. This is nuts. There is a reason baseball has a local, not national following. If the Cubs weren't in it, I'm not spending 4 hours waiting for Pedro Baez to throw a pitch. Change is needed.

Submitted by QuietMan on Fri, 10/21/2016 - 10:05 pm

ExCub news.... Bob Nightengale ‏@BNightengale The #Tigers hire Lloyd McClendon as their hitting coach and Leon Durham as assistant hitting coach

Submitted by jacos on Sat, 10/22/2016 - 10:02 am

Wow Lot are of talk on web amongst experts on if Heyward would be left off of WS roster

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Submitted by johann on Sat, 10/22/2016 - 10:57 am

I think there is 0 change he'll be left off. At the very least he'll be a late inning D replacement and he'll still probably get some starts vs righties. But yes we gotta get there first.

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Submitted by CTSteve on Sat, 10/22/2016 - 10:21 pm

I'm sure they could find someone to throw live pitching at him on Sunday and Monday. I doubt they would send him away from the team at such an exciting time, if they weren't seriously considering it. He is, after all, the Cubs all-time post-season HR leader, with 5. That's amazing and sad, at the same time.

Submitted by The E-Man on Sat, 10/22/2016 - 10:19 am

1. Series is not over. Who are these experts? 2. If they were "experts", they would know he is still a valuable player but will not start against tough lefties.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sat, 10/22/2016 - 10:26 pm

Fowler, Bryant, Rizzo, Zobrist, Baez, Contreras, Russell, Almora, Hendricks

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    So, let’s do a little war gaming. Taillon is back for tonight’s game. He pitched two rehab games, just a few innings each, and not especially sharp. Let’s face it, he hasn’t been lights out since the Cubs gave him the big contract. In other words, as flat out bad as Hendricks has been, the chances of Taillon being the savior don’t look exactly promising.

    If Taillon is equally ineffective or perhaps even worse, what’s the next move? Winning teams can often find a way to work around a dud fifth starter - kinda. Two dud starters make things much more difficult.

    I believe the biggest reason for the recent bullpen moves was dissatisfaction with the recent blowing of big leads and the recognition that the bullpen wasn’t all it was thought to be. In other words, they are exploring alternate options and configurations. If similar juggling becomes necessary (even more so than it already is), what kind of reasonable maneuvering do we think could be explored?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Cubdom needs to prepare themselves for Wicks to be sent to Iowa for Taillon to come up.
    Ben Brown has 4 appearances. Wicks has 4 appearances.
    Ben has 16.1 IP.  Wicks has 17 IP
    Ben was a 1.1 WHIP.  Wicks has a 1.7 WHIP. Wicks does have significantly more SOs. 
    Ben has been better, though.
    I love Wicks. I think he's a fighter and his stuff has improved.
    But, Jed isn't ditching Hendricks just yet. He should. But he won't.
    Hendricks should go to the IL and Taillon-Imanaga-Assad-Wicks-Brown should be the rotation.
    Wont' happen though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil,
    Did you agree with the demotion of Luke Little? He'd been pretty good up until the AZ/wild pitch appearance. I know that can't jettison Smyly (just yet) so they didn't need another LHRP. Especially with Leiter effectively being a LHRP. I still thought he deserved to stay. It's not permanent. He'll be back. Lots of moves to come with Taillon, Steele and other guys coming and going.

    Also, do you see Hodge being able to "control/command" his stuff to get a chance this year?
    Is Arias better than Hodge?   Thanks

  • crunch (view)

    just waiting to hear patrick wisdom and masterboney are spotted at the airport going in opposite directions...

    aj puk going for the marlins (lefty)...gotta imagine we'll see wisdom in the lineup.

    someone has to make room for taillon, too.

  • crunch (view)

    he's a low-level cubs star in the modern history of the cubs (c.zambrano, k.wood, r.dempster, etc), but that star has dimmed...and has been dimming since 2021.

    2024 has been ugly the whole way and we're only in mid-april.  homers aside (even though there's been 7 in 17ip) he gave up 29 hits in 20 spring innings and 31 in 17 regular season innings.

    he's pretty much only got 2 pitches at this point in his career and the mix isn't fooling anyone.  he threw a noticable amount more curves in his last start to add to the mix and it didn't help his issues.  he don't have many moves left to break out.

  • Eric S (view)

    Definitely needs a 10 day stint for the hangnail - have to nip those things in the bud or suffer the consequences (ie, more opponent home run derby, etc)

  • Eric S (view)

    Thanks for checking and yeah, that’s a double ouch

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Believe you are correct, checked and appears Cubs have a $2.51 million obligation to Barnhart this season per Cot's Contracts.  Also paying Trey Mancini $7mil this season.  Ouch.  

  • crunch (view)

    m.busch had 0hr and 2 doubles when he was last at wrigley.

    we'll probably see a few more of his jerseys in the seats when they return tomorrow.

    wonder who will go down for taillon.  hey hendricks, you got a hangnail or something?

  • Eric S (view)

    Nice work by Wesneski with some solid defense behind him and the late tack on runs were welcome. Gladly take a 5-4 West Coast swing, particularly down two key starting pitchers … Now just don’t get swept by the Marlins for Pete’s sake. 

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