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

DeRosa to Play in WBC

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, but I am finally feeling somewhere close to normal finally. I know you were all worried. 

A whole lot of nothing going on, but Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Mark DeRosa will play in the WBC. I know we were alll waiting for that shoe to drop. Kosukue Fukudome had already been named to play for Team Japan.

In two-day rumors news, Dave Kaplan on WGN radio reported that Adam Dunn's first choice is to play with the Chicago Cubs at a "fair offer". The Cubs first choice is to have Adam Dunn play somewhere else and sign Milton Bradley. The other rumor is that somehow Tim Redding is possibly holding up Jason Marquis getting traded. It seems whomever "loses out" on signing Tim Redding between the Rockies and Mets may pursue our dear fifth starter.

I'll slowly get back in the flow as the week goes on...otherwise enjoy the holidays.

Comments

When the choice is between Tim Redding and Jason Marquis, can you call anyone a "loser"? The answer is "yes. yes, you can". You could probably call all the teams involved "loser". It becomes tricky, however, when you try to decide the "winner".

Tim Redding: 10-11, 182 IP, 120K/65BB, 4.95 ERA, 1.429 WHIP Jason Marquis:11-9, 167IP, 91K/70BB, 4.53 ERA, 1.449 WHIP Pretty silmilar...Redding's ERA is a bit higher..Of course Redding's was his best seson in 4 years, Marquis has won double digit games the last 5 seasons. For a fifth starter, Marquis is decent. It's not his fault Donut Jim backloaded his contract. We coulda had Carlos Silva: 4-15, 153IP, 69K/32BB, 6.46 ERA, 1.598 WHIP for $8.2 mill...

Well, Carrie Muskat has taken off until Jan 5, so there probably won't be much Cubs news til then.... Seriously, good to hear you're feeling better.

Inebriated Phil Rogers suggest Brewers trading JJ Hardy to Twins for pitching and prospects. Think Brewers would consider trading with Cubs?

By that I mean that Redding has been less than reliable over his career, and missed 2006 with injuries. Last year, his $1 mill was well worth it. A career of 34-51, 4.92 ERA, 1.502 WHIP? Not so much. For all of Marquis' faults, he is at least consistent, and will give you 11-14 wins, n ERA around 4-4.50, and 165-210 Innings, with last year being a low waer mark of 167.

Just putting it back out there... would really love for the Rockies to trade us Jeff Baker for Marquis.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

^ Cubs win! Cubs win! Go Cubs go! Go Cubs go...... ------- I'll give you one better and make it a three-way trade. Who wins? Rockies get Jason Marquis and assume his full salary. White Sox get a humidifier to store their Cubans. Cubs get Barack Obama's campaign manager.

Nah.....JJ Hardy isn't really scrappy enough...hits too many HR's...I'd take him off their hands though..

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

You tell me. The guy mashed lefties last season (926 OPS). He could platoon with our soon-to-be-named LH RF. He can play 2B when DeRosa has to play 3rd. He can play 1st when DLee needs a day off. He can play left when Soriano goes down for a month. I just like him because you rarely see a guy so versatile who can potentially develop power.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

No problems with Marquis. My problem is more to the point about Hendry and management every year. They consistantly overpay guys like Marquis,Neifi,Burnitz,Fukudome,Hank White,Glendon Rusch,Etc. Then they turn around and cry about budget limitations, when a guy like Beltran or Peavy become available. Basic economics should tell you that you pay replacement level guys minimal money. Then you spend real money on proven dependable stars.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Hear hear!! I've been ragging on this very point about Hendry for years, you pegged it to a tee, Aaron. All those "little" contracts to nobodies add up to real money, and then the Cubs can't afford impact players because of "budget" considerations. What crap. Look at just the last couple of weeks. I challenge anyone to justify the $2MM Hendry spent on Neal Cotts and Joey Gathright. In Gathright's case, there isn't even an open roster spot for him! Can someone tell me how there's room on the roster for Gathright when (a) the Cubs will certainly carry 12 pitchers again this year, (b) which leaves room for 4 non-catchers on the bench, (c) of which Fontenot, Johnson/Fukudome, and Cedeno/other backup SS are guaranteed spots. You have to go with Hoffpauir for that last spot as he's your Ward replacement, and the only guy other than DeRosa (in a pinch) that can do backup 1B. And all this assumes Pie is toast. So where is there room for Gathright again? There's not any? Then how can you justify the nearly $1MM Hendry just wasted on him? /close rant/

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

neal cotts is left handed, throws in the mid-90s, and is relatively cheap imo. he showed up mid-season with an improved arsenal, though it's not tight yet. he's always gonna get hit some, probably, but if he can keep his control he should be fine.

He is versatile...he'll be 28 in June...kinda like DeRosa, but 4 years younger?

There is nothing wrong with Jason Marquis as a 5th starter. He is probably the best 5th starter in the league. If we do not trade him, however, we would probably be the only team in the league paying our 5th starter close to 10 Mil. per year.

[ ]

In reply to by Chifan

No, why not just dump Marquis after eating $4MM, and give the job to Sean Marshall? Now you have equally as effective performance at a cost of negative $5MM. I like that a lot better than old man Unit at positive $3MM. Or do you think Unit would be $8MM better than Sean Marshall?

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

With Rich Harden you still need 6 good starters. Given that Shark or Gaudin is going to be 7th inning guy it takes one of them out of the mix for spot starting duty and Guzman is too injury prone to be jumping roles, Hart doesnt have a 3rd pitch and Atkins has no MLB expirence. So I think the real question Unit 8 milion dollars better than Gaudin or Shark as a SP? I would say yes on Shark and no on Gaudin, but you dont know if you need Gaudin for the pen if Shark and other young guys cant make it in the 7th. Honestly if we trade Marquis I would like to get a LOOGY better than Cotts so the need for a 7th inning guy is decreased, but the scenerio I laid out in my last post is a good alternative.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Exactly, TRN. This is why I don't understand the mad rush to get rid of Marquis. For a fifth starter, he does a good job and can be counted on for 200 innings a year. The Cubs may pay him too much, but that contract is a done deal. If the Cubs trade him, assume 50% of his salary and sign someone else (like Randy Johnson), it's going to cost more and the likelihood of getting 200 innings out of the fifth starter will have declined. Not a good trade off in my mind.

I have noticed that Marwin Gonzalez is putting up some nice numbers in Winter ball. Anyone know what kind of prospect he is? (Caracas): 43/122, 14 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 13 BB, 11 K, 1 HBP, 15/20 SB, 8 E - .352/.423/.574/.997

[ ]

In reply to by soonercub

I've been having trouble tracking this item down--trying to find a trace of Marwin Gonzalez on Kroeger's Caracas team (or any team) in the league where Rich Hill, Sam Fuld and Ronny Cedeno have been playing. Apparently there's a Venezuela winter minor leagues called Liga Paralela, where Gonzalez has been registering these numbers. Good find, if a bit puzzling.

I think Hendry has had a man crush on Clint Barmes, I wouldn't mind seeing him come back in a Marquis deal. He might be able to beat out Theriot if given a legit shot. At least he has some pop.

[ ]

In reply to by soonercub

Bastard. You stole my great idea, albeit it was in two parts. lol (1) If the rumors are true that Colorado might be a home for Marquis, then Barmes makes perfect sense for the Cubs as the RH utility infielder counterpart to Mike Fontenot, assuming Cedeno is not around. Barmes can play both 2B and SS. (2) The Cubs could then package Cedeno and one of their extra #5-type starters/long relievers (e.g., Hart, Guzman, Wuertz) to the Royals for Ron Mahay? Would solve the Cubs' need for a quality veteran LH guy in the bullpen, the replacement basically for Scott Eyre and Will Ohman. Royals need to shed a good $5MM salary according to the KC Star, and an expensive lefty in the bullpen is a luxury they probably don't need. Cedeno would make sense for them, as he MIGHT earn a starting job at SS, which would allow Aviles to move to 2B. Even if he doesn't win the job, he'd certainly be an improvement over Tony Pena Jr., so I think the Royals might be interested.

Not saying anything however Player A through age 29 1998 23 ATL NL 5 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333 .333 .333 77 1 0 0 0 0 0 1999 24 ATL NL 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 .000 -100 0 0 0 0 0 0 2000 25 ATL NL 22 13 9 4 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 1 .308 .400 .385 99 5 0 0 0 0 0 2001 26 ATL NL 66 164 27 47 8 0 3 20 2 1 12 19 .287 .350 .390 89 64 1 2 6 5 3 2002 27 ATL NL 72 212 24 63 9 2 5 23 2 3 12 24 .297 .339 .429 100 91 2 3 3 3 5 2003 28 ATL NL 103 266 40 70 14 0 6 22 1 0 16 49 .263 .316 .383 81 102 0 1 0 5 6 2004 29 ATL NL 118 309 33 74 16 0 3 31 1 3 23 53 .239 .293 .320 59 99 4 6 3 3 6 Player B through 29 Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG *OPS+ TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP +--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+ 2003 24 COL NL 12 25 2 8 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 10 .320 .357 .400 87 10 0 1 0 2 0 2004 25 COL NL 20 71 14 20 3 1 2 10 0 1 3 10 .282 .320 .437 84 31 2 0 0 1 2 2005 26 COL NL 81 350 55 101 19 1 10 46 6 4 16 36 .289 .330 .434 90 152 4 1 1 6 4 RoY-8 2006 27 COL NL 131 478 57 105 26 4 7 56 5 4 22 72 .220 .264 .335 47 160 19 7 6 9 2 2007 28 COL NL 27 37 5 8 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 13 .216 .237 .297 33 11 1 0 1 0 1 2008 29 COL NL 107 393 47 114 25 6 11 44 13 4 17 69 .290 .322 .468 99 184 4 1 0 2 9 +--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+ 6 Seasons 378 1354 180 356 78 12 30 159 24 13 59 210 .263 .301 .405 75 548 30 10 8 20 18

Well, let's see.......so far, this is the 2008 Cubs team with Marmol/Gregg replacing Wood/8th Inning setup; Gathright platooning with Reed Johnson in CF; and Koyie Hill as the backup catcher. This reeks of waiting for new ownership to approve a payroll budget and/or waiting for the Tier 1 FA's to slot out. Despite how sucky this team looks right now, I haven't seen any moves by the NL Central that would lead me to believe this team doesn't win its 3rd straight Division title. I know he's making almost $10M next year, but how does trading Marquis and eating at least half his salary improve the rotation? Assuming Hendry can get a budget around $145M approved, here's what I would do as GM: 1. Trade for Brian Roberts (any combinaton of R. Hill, Wuertz, Guzman, Cedeno, Pie, Colvin, Atkins) 2. Sign Bobby Abreu to play RF That's it. If the Padres want to come back to the real world (and Peavy wants to re-negotiate his $20M option in 2013), then by all means, make the Peavy deal. If not you've got the following team: Roberts, 2b Theriot, ss Abreu, rf A. Ramirez, 3b Soriano, lf D. Lee, 1b Soto, c Fukudome, cf (he learns to hit .280 or better or send him back to Japan) Rotation -- Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Harden, Marquis - Marshall fills in for Harden Closer -- Marmol or Gregg Setup -- Samardzija, Gaudin, Cotts, Marshall Bench -- K. Hill (can Bako be worth double Hill's salary?), Hoffpauir, Fontenot, Gathright, Johnson. If some team wants to pay all of Marquis' salary (and I thought Marshall could start 30 games), then fine, trade him. If not, wait till the July 31st trade deadline -- who knows what might be available by then.

[ ]

In reply to by George Altman

This is a slow market right now. You have to keep in mind that right now the only NL clubs that have actually improved themselves are the Mets and Braves. In the Braves case it makes them just a .500 team. Hendry will make 3 or 4 more moves this off-season: 1. Get a LH RF 2. Upgrade the 5th statrer spot 3 and 4. Trade off spare parts (Cedeno, Marquis, Pie) for needed parts (one more lefty in the pen and a backup C)

[ ]

In reply to by George Altman

You've traded Marquis to free up money for Roberts and then included him in the rotation. If you were Andy McPhail, which of those players would you take for Roberts, especially while you've got the contract offer out for Texieira. Once again Tex's signing is creating a log jam in the off-season market.

Good point Dr. Aaron. Of course...Barmes away from Colorado over his career? .228/.267/.340.....Positively craptastic...in 2008: Home: .330/.362/.570 Away: .249/.281/.363 So at Colorado, he's Superman, on the road, he's Jimmy Olson. Sorry for seeming like I'm picking on your point today. Not my intent.

True....Theriot is what he is....but I sure wish Ronny Ce would "get it" at some point...

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...