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

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

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!

Comments

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"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.

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

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.

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.

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

@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!!!

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

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Eric S

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

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.

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.

"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/

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

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.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

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/

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.

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.”

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.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

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.

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

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

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

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.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

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.

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.

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

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    ...and a madrigal "non-error" leads to a sac fly for a tie game.  nice.

    having a ball clank off your glove, but still getting it count as a hit because it was hit hard is a nice stats gift.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    For sure. This lineup isn’t exactly stacked as is, and subbing out a Cooper or even a Tauchman for Madrigal won’t do it any favors.

  • crunch (view)

    the ESPN bottom graphic taking up 1/8th of the screen sucks.

    i only use ESPN during baseball season and i'm forced to watch a baseball broadcast designed to be broadcast in sports bars and betting parlors where the news/scores of other games is as important as what you're actually tuned in to watch.

  • crunch (view)

    morel triple to start the season....yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    LHP Blake Weiman appears to have been the last cut from the AAA Iowa roster. He is with the Tennessee group at Minor League Camp.

     

  • crunch (view)

    bruce bochy is hobbling rather badly for a guy who's had 2 hip replacements.  his gait is extremely wonky taking the lineup card to the ump.

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳