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, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024

* 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
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12
Kevin Alcantara, OF
Michael Arias, P
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF
Jose Cuas, P
Brennen Davis, OF
Porter Hodge, P
* Luke Little, P
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B
Daniel Palencia, P
Luis Vazquez, INF
Hayden Wesneski, P

10-DAY IL: 1
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL:
* Justin Steele, P

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

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft
Minor League Free-Agents

Room for One More: The Rule 29 Draft

No time like the holiday season to be grateful for what we have... and to keep in mind that there is always... Room for One More...

Most of you are familar with the Rule 5 Draft, held the last day of the MLB Winter Meetings every year, where MLB clubs can select players off minor league rosters. The Cubs lost Donald Veal in the Major League Phase of the draft just last week.

And then there's the Rule 4 Draft (formerly known as the "Amateur Draft" and now known as the "1st Year Player Draft") held in June, where MLB clubs select high school and college players. RHP Andrew Cashner (TCU) was the Cubs #1 pick in last June's Rule 4 Draft.

Less well-known and more rarely held is the MLB Expansion Draft, used in 1960-61, 1968, 1976, 1992, and 1997 to distribute major league talent to expansion teams like the New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Florida Marlins, as they joined the American League or National League Over the years, the Cubs have lost guys like Don Zimmer, Dick Drott, John Boccabella, Bill Stoneman, Joe Girardi, and Miguel Cairo in various expansion drafts.

But there is one MLB draft that has never been held.

In the event that an incident occurs where at least five players from the same MLB club are killed, dismembered, or permanently disabled during the season, MLB has a "Rehabilitation Plan" in place under Rule 29 that includes financial support and a "Restocking Draft" for the stricken club. The plan has existed in basically the same form since 1965, so the method for allocating talent to the affected team essentially follows the mechanism used to distribute players to MLB expansion teams in 1960-61.

Under this plan, after a reasonable period of mourning, and presuming that the Commissioner and MLBPA jointly agree that the club's season should continue, each of the other 29 clubs would be required to contribute five players (including at least one pitcher, one infielder, and one outfielder, and one catcher if the club is carrying at least three catchers) from its Active List (25-man roster) into a pool of players, and from this pool, the club that suffered the loss would be allowed to select replacements for the players lost in the disaster. .

No club would lose more than one player, and any player with a "no trade" right would be exempt from inclusion in the pool. The five players made available by each club would have to include as many players with a minimum of 60+ days of MLB service time as were lost in the disaster. Players on the Disabled List can't be included in the pool unless the club certifies that the player is healthy enough to be immediately reactivated if selected.

So if a disaster had occurred sometime last season and Rule 29 had been invoked, the Cubs probably would have placed the likes of Ronny Cedeno, Daryle Ward, Jon Lieber, Scott Eyre, and Bob Howry in the pool. Fortunately, the MLB Rehabilitation Plan (and the Restocking Draft) has never been needed, but considering the number of airplane flights taken by clubs every year, MLB has been lucky (so far).

Some fans might recall the tragic losses over the years of several members (or even entire squads) of various sports teams, including the U. S. Olympic Figure Skating team, the Cal Poly, Marshall University and Wichita State football teams, the University of Evansville basketball team, the U. S. Amateur Boxing team, and various international soccer teams, in plane crashes, and certainly there is also always the possibility of a hotel fire or bus crash or terrorist attack that could kill or maim scores (including members of a sports team).

While individual major leaguers have died during the season in a car crash (Josh Hancock) or a plane crash (Thurman Munson), or have been shot to death (Lyman Bostock), or fell off a bridge at Niagara Falls (Ed Delahanty), an entire team has never been lost.

Eight members of the minor league Spokane Indians were killed and one was critically injured in a fiery bus crash in 1946, but the only time more than one MLB player has been killed in the same incident was during Spring Training 1993, when two members of the Cleveland Indians (pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews) were killed in a boating accident in Florida (a third player--veteran LHP Bob Ojeda--was seriously injured).

The NFL (if 15 or more players from the same club are killed or permanently disabled in a single incident during the season), the NBA (if five or more players from the same team are killed or permanently disabled in an incident during the season), and the NHL (also if five or more players from the same team are killed or permanently disabled) also have plans in place for restocking affected clubs in the event of a common disaster, but hopefully the plans will continue to remain just theoretical contingencies.

Comments

Recent comments

Dolorous Jon Lester 04/19/2024 - 04:25 pm (view)

Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?
I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.
Charlie 04/19/2024 - 04:19 pm (view)

Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH.
TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:06 pm (view)

Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.
The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.
I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.
Arizona Phil 04/19/2024 - 04:43 pm (view)

Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical).

And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical).

And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day.

That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled).
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/19/2024 - 04:51 am (view)

Indeed they do TJW!
For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.
That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.
Childersb3 04/19/2024 - 04:45 am (view)

The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18. We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!
TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:21 am (view)

Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.
If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.
Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.
Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/19/2024 - 04:57 am (view)

That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.
When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.
Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.
TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:46 am (view)

Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?
But I digress…
Sonicwind75 04/19/2024 - 04:00 am (view)

Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.

At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.