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 @ Indians: Lester vs Kluber (Game 173; World Series Game 1)

Indians 6, Cubs 0
W: Kluber (3-1); L: Lester (2-1)
Indians lead series: 1-0PREVIEW
CHC (0-0): LHP Jon Lester (2-0, 0.86)
CLE (0-0): RHP Corey Kluber (2-1, 0.98)
First pitch: 7:08pmCST

Welcome to a little something the rest of baseball calls “The World Series.” Evidently, it’s a big deal

Lester went 7 innings of one-run ball against the Dodgers in Game Six, after doing six innings of the same thing in Game One. It was good enough to earn him the co-MVP with Baez. It’s regular day to pitch, which is a bonus. He’s 1-0 with a 1.10 in starts against the Indians in 2015 and 2014 and 3-0 with a 0.43 in three World Series starts.

The Indians have hit the former American Leaguer really well, 48-157 (.306). Napoli (6-10, 2 HRs) and Davis (14-64, HR) are the biggest threats.
 
Kluber took the loss in Game Four of the ALCS against the Blue Jays, giving up 2 ERs in 5 innings. His other two outings (13.1 total innings) were scoreless wins, against those Jays in Game One and the Red Sox Game Two of the ALDS.

Kluber has done well against these Cubs. They are 4-41 (.098) against him. Rizzo and Ross are 1-3; Zobrist is 1-13.

Game Two features Arrieta (or possibly Lackey, to preserve Jake's bat) versus Bauer or Tomlin, depending on the progress of Bauer’s now-famous pinkie.

Go Cubs!

Comments

It stinks that both of Jake's games are in Cleveland. We lose an advantage with not playing him under NL rules. Considering that Lackey is going better than Arrieta right now, I would be perfectly happy if they line up Lester, Lackey, Hendricks, and Arrieta.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

I disagree that Lackey has been doing better than Arrieta. At least Jake can make it out of the 4th inning. Lackey has a 1.88 WHIP in the playoffs. If the Cubs lose game 1 and start Lackey in game 2, I would lose my shit. I suppose Lackey's stuff has looked ok, especially his velocity. But I don't see any way Joe starts Lackey before game 4.

not sure if the weather has been mentioned, so sorry if a repeat

Cleveland: 50/41 on Tuesday, looks clear, 49/47 on Wed with rain a possibility

Chicago: Fri: 65/53, Sat 58/47, Sun 56/46...clear for now

Arrieta pitched quite well in Giants game I thought, not so much in Dodger game. Would be very Maddon to do something like that and switch them for Game 2 and 4. It's not a completely terrible idea imo. Not like we have any idea which Arrieta we're getting from game to game at this point. Plus I'd rather see him pitching the CG shutout for the sweep than Lackey. :)

AZ PHIL: Was hoping to hear anything today on Schwarbs AFL work. Did you catch him? Or, did your Scouting friends get a look? Anything you can report? Thanks!

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Not AP, but Schwarber currently 1-3 with a full count walk. Hit was a double pulled down first base line - no idea how he looked going into second base. Read he was doing sliding drills and that's encouraging. If he comes out of today's game without swelling etc have to think he's going to get a roster spot. Count me among those jacked about that.

[ ]

In reply to by Eric S

E-MAN: I was at the Mesa Solar Sox v. Surprise Saguaros AFL game this afternoon at Sloan Park, and the place was loaded with Cubs fans. It had to be the loudest AFL game ever. Kyle Schwarber batted 2nd in the order and was the DH for the Solar Sox. He had four Plate Appearances and went 1-3 (4-3, L-4, BB, 2B) Both of the outs hit to the second-baseman were rocket right "at 'em" balls, but the second-baseman was playing in short-RF (extreme pull shift was used against Schwarber) and so he was able to make a play on both balls. The walk was on a close 3-2 pitch (he took a close ball-two on the previous pitch, also, to get to 3-2). The double handcuffed the first-baseman and bounded down the RF line. Schwarber jogged into second base without a play, but then he decided to slide into 2nd base anyway (pop-up slide, and he was smiling after he popped-up). Schwarber was left on the "on deck" circle when Yefri Perez bounced into an inning-ending DP in the bottom of the 8th with the Solar Sox up 7-2 (much to the chagrin of the many Cubs fans in attendance, who booed loudly when the Saguaros completed the twin-killing -- Yefri Perez is now about as well liked as Bartman for Cubs fans who were at the game), and then after hugs & kisses in the Solar Sox dugout, Schwarber walked down the LF line to the bullpen prior to the start of the top of the 9th carrying three bats, and then it was off to a private plane waiting to take him to Cleveland. I don't think there is any question that Schwarber will be on the Cubs 25-man World Series Active List roster, where he will serve as DH for the games in Cleveland and as a LH PH for the games in Chicago, and if his knee swells up to where he can't even hit, he can always be replaced on the roster by another position player. I suspect Chris Coghlan will probably be the "odd-man out."

so the Indians are a team that can actually do more than dance around 1b against Lester and Arrieta...led the AL in SB (4th overall).

R. Davis, J. Ramirez, Lindor, Kipnis and probably even C. Crisp if they get on could be troublesome.

My World Series prediction is Cubs in 5. Lester wins game 1 as expected, but I think we will see the 2015 Jake Arrieta come to life in game 2 with the stage so big (think back to his CG shutout in the 2015 WC game). Indians are toast if the Cubs come to Wrigley with a 2-0 lead. I think the Cubs will take a 3-0 lead in the series, but Andrew Miller leads the Indians to victory in game 4 only to lose to Lester in game 5. I really want the series to end at Wrigley. I also wouldn't be surprised if Almora starts over Heyward at some point. Bauer and Tomlin have reverse splits, especially Tomlin (.299 against righties, .229 against lefties, Bauer: .257 against righties, .239 against lefties). Tomlin's allowed a whopping 36 HRs in the regular season (22 to righties, 14 to lefties). He's currently scheduled to start game 3 at Wrigley, so if the wind blows out, he's screwed.

the options are Tommy LaStella or Kyle Schwaber, this seems like a no-brainer if Schwarber is deemed healthy (I'm presuming they're taking Zastryzny's spot).

Indians weren't nearly as inept vs. lefties as Dodgers (middle of the road actually) and with AL games, the pitching changes may be a little less.

Schwarber it is...

‏@jonmorosi Kyle Schwarber en route to Cleveland now on a private jet. He's expected to DH for the #Cubs in Game 1.

[ ]

In reply to by Eric S

heyward RF schwarber C coghlan 2nd soler 1st lastella 3rd almora CF zobrist LF russell SS ross DH

[ ]

In reply to by Eric S

I'm guessing Russell or Heyward end up batting 9th with Ross at #8, Maddon seems to like that second lead-off (for lack of a better term) batting 9th. Although with the way Russell is hitting, more likely Heyward.

Before they were stars:

Jed Hoyer made this trade

Traded [Corey Kluber] as part of a 3-team trade by the San Diego Padres to the Cleveland Indians. The San Diego Padres sent Nick Greenwood to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cleveland Indians sent Jake Westbrook to the St. Louis Cardinals. The St. Louis Cardinals sent Ryan Ludwick to the San Diego Padres.

Padres were up 1.5 games at moment of trade, got up to a 6-game lead by Aug 22nd and lost division by 2 games to Giants and wild card by 1 game to Braves. And Ludwick was terrible for them rest of season and next season.

random thoughts: 1. World Series was all I wanted or needed from this team. Changing 71 years of history is astounding and something I'll never forget. Anything more is gravy. (Unless Cubs are up 3 games to 1 and lose it) 2. The Schwarber thing seems awfully rushed to me. Just have trouble seeing him catch up to a mid 90s fastball or a major league change up. 3. Anyone got an extra ticket?

By the way, the very drunk Scottie Pippen 7th-inning stretch was hilarious and will rank among the top cringe-worthy Take Me Outs... along side Warren G and Kelly Pickler. If you haven't seen it because you were watching the FS1 coverage, you should look it up on youtube.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I can't imagine that he'll be a Cub again, that's for sure. Which means the Cubs are probably looking for a bat-to-ball bench player for key PH opportunities. Unless they think Almora is that guy next year, but I suspect he's more likely to be a platoon starter if Fowler actually leaves this time.

Per Joe Maddon on the Score today, Schwarber officially DH'ing tonight,and one more "surprise" to come. Maybe Heyward to the bench and Contreras in left?

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Contreras has the best OPS on the Cubs this post season at .979 and he hits righties almost as well as lefties. He should never be out of the lineup right now and I would have preferred him over Coghlan or Schwarber. I am not a huge fan of the Schwarber DHing thing especially with it pushing Contreras to the bench.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

Coghlan in RF is safer than Contreras defensively (because he's a catcher who learned how to play outfield while he was up here and that didn't go so well with Schwarber in the NLCS last season, although Contreras is better defensively than Schwarber). Also, the lineup alternates left and right handed batters. I can see Contreras pinch hitting later in the game. Maybe for Schwarber or Coghlan when Andrew Miller is in the game. Benching Heyward was definitely the right choice. He needs to work on his swing in the offseason. Also, I like the idea of Schwarber being in the lineup. His bat is special and he made his ML debut in Clevland and was very successful. He hit the ball hard in the AFL (one of them was 110 MPH!). If he's clearly getting beat easily and struggling, he can be pinch hit for. Better to try this now than later in the series.

[ ]

In reply to by chitownmvp01

The whole trip is kind of strange. Contreras was a catcher in Venezuela before he signed with the Cubs, but he was immediately moved to 3B after he signed. He struggled defensively at 3B for a couple of years, so he began to play 1B, LF, and RF (and occasionally 2B), as the Cubs tried to morph him into an athletic super-sub. But he just didn't hit enough to play "four corners" (3B-1B-LF-RF), so as a last gasp might-as-well why-not?, the Cubs moved him back to catcher (the position he played as a teenager in Venezuela) in 2012, and it was only AFTER he was moved back to catcher that he began to play inspired high-energy defense and started to hit. And the rest is history. But he is a very good corner outfielder.

not much into previews, but this was an interesting tidbit http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/how-the-cubs-can-win-the-world-series/ Baserunning will always be secondary to hitting. It’s a peripheral skill. I split the Cubs’ games this year by steals allowed. In the very low-steal games, opponents averaged one run per 3.17 baserunners. In the high-steal games — where the Cubs averaged three steals against — opponents averaged one run per 3.02 baserunners. That’s better, but it’s only slightly better. The value is a small fraction of one run. The Indians can run and still lose. I’d say that might even be likely.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

now if we could just get 5-10ft of extra leads by runners taken away when a certain pitcher pitches and the ability to not have bryant play in so much to attempt to protect against the bunt when that same pitcher pitches...and a few other quirks a certain pitcher has to have others cover for him... then we'd only have arrieta and base stealing to worry about...or we could pair arrieta up with d.ross, too.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

actually, im not...the problem is you're stuck on one view of where i'm coming from (probably wrong again based on the angst) and it enables you to act like you already get what i'm saying and more importantly -why- i'm saying it. finding the "path" im on with this discussion when you're looking on another "path" is a big issue, but that one is really hard to coordinate. that said, i wouldn't bother. long story short...talk about baserunning some more and i may reply. you've made more than a few posts about it lately and i chimed in on this one. big deal. that's how all this works. you don't even need to be an idiot on the internet or fucking dense to get that. swerving, side-points, counter-points, we may not move linearly here. internet message boards. woo.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

Of course winning is a good thing and the Cubs should win as much as they can. That said, I think it's a fair question- a big part of the Cubs Fan's psyche is the pain of lifelong disappointment and the reality of a decades-old world series drought. This will no longer be an aspect of being a Cub fan. I think it's interesting and notable.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

it's going to stress the baseball word on whole. there's a lot on the line. STL and WSOX fans, especially, have been working with the same comebacks for decades focused on the cubs post-season failure. there's an entire new world of cubs-vulnerable jokes that would need to be produced. a lot of people could lose their arsenal of material in a matter of weeks and they've been crutching on it for generations.

Carrie Muskat ‏@CarrieMuskat #Cubs Schwarber says he ran at 50 percent during AFL games. Still has blisters from all the hitting Carrie Muskat ‏@CarrieMuskat #Cubs Maddon says obvious Heyward struggling, which is why he went with Coghlan. Hoping for more offense. Heyward could start later Carrie Muskat ‏@CarrieMuskat #Cubs Maddon says considering starting Contreras in Game 2 because of Indians running game --- btw, according to j.morosi, schwarb has at least 8 blisters he's dealing with.

I have five zillion things that must be done by tomorrow morning, but blast it all, recapping Game 1 of the World Series is more important.  See you in parachat.

HERE WE GO! And the insufferable Joe Buck...UGH! LET'S GO CUBS!!!!!!!

Pretty sure I could have hit that Rondon hanger for a HR. That was one terrible pitch. As has been said, when you change pitchers every few hitters, somebody is going to have a bad night. Well, win tomorrow then sweep at home. It would be good if Magic Jake shows up.

Rondon - the Manchurian Indian? "Sure Cubs, by all means, take him in the Rule 5 draft" (followed by sinister laughter).

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    steele leaves the game with a hamstring or knee injury.  sigh.

  • 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.