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 Sign Reed Johnson

Bruce Levine on ESPN1000 is reporting that the Cubs have come to terms with recently released Blue Jay Reed Johnson. Johnson was a 17th round pick of the Blue Jays in 1999, back when Tim Wilkin was running things over there and I'm sure the connection helped his cause with the Cubs. He's mostly played the corner outfield spots in his career, but has played 64 games in center in the majors. He had a great 2006, hitting 319/390/479, but has a career line of 281/342/410 with little ability to steal a base. He's also coming off a back injury that derailed his 2007 season. His scouting report on TSN.ca says:

Hustle is his strongest suit. He makes consistent contact and hits well with runners in scoring position--especially against lefties.

Hustle? Mix that with a little grit and you've got yourself a ballpayer.

BP projected him at 262/324/387 this year which certainly isn't encouraging. On the other hand, he's hit 308/371/462 versus lefties over his career, and that'll likely be his primary role with the Cubs. It's a low-risk, high reward deal for the Cubs to fill out the need for a right-handed hitting center field option. If he stinks up the joint, he'll be easy to cut, and if he hits and plays "good enough" center field defense, it'll be a wise, low-cost move that didn't cost us any trade chips.

Comments

it'll be interesting to see what this does for the Cubs bench...

Epat got sent down today, but will this cost Murton his job?

Blanco, Ward, Johnson seem set

Two spots for

Murton, Fontenot, Cedeno and Cintron 

Cedeno is out of options, so he seems like a no-brainer and that means one spot for Murton, Fontenot or Cintron. It'll depend if they want an extra infielder or outfielder. 

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Gotta think that Murton and Cedeno are the two there, unless Cedeno gets shipped out for Roberts. In that case, of course, the bench gets much better. Murton's of no value in the minors and the Cubs probably want him up in case Fuku has trouble with lefties. Cintron's had a few injuries - might he start the year on the DL?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

A Very Cubby comment -- but, right now, this is a fun team to root for. From an outsider's perspective (and having briefly met the players/coaches with my 10-year old son at a "meet the team" function at Wrigley last year): - Ward, Theriot, DeRosa and Dempster seem like very good guys who you enjoy rooting for - Kerry Wood represents everything Chicagoans want to see in themselves - talented, tough and resilient - It will be fun to watch Pie and Fukudome play the OF and gun down runners - Zambrano could be great - Lee and Ramirez bring stability to the lineup and have been fixtures for a while - Marmol coming into a game is an electric event - Rich Hill's curve can be a thing of beauty Never sure about the "chemistry" thing, but this would be a fun bunch to get behind.

Also, quote of the day, which I saw on Yahoo. "Apparently, J.D. Drew is in midseason form." Brilliant.

While I mocked the idea of Johnson losing his spot to Eckstein in the previous thread, I do like this deal. It does seem like a very low risk, moderate reward deal. And if he can just be decent against LHP, he will be able to fill his needed role.

but I kinda hope we don't just run Johnson out there to start the year. It's time that we give Pie a decent shot, and hurting his confidence by platooning him is not the way to go. Hopefully Johnson is a bench player that can become a platoon (or, ugh, regular) player if needed.

Unless Pie does some really bad playing in the next couple of games or gets hurt, I think he will be playing the majority of the games

Hey..until Pie can hit at leat .670 in ST, he has no business in the majors... After all, the Cubs have soured on him.....I bet we can get Juan Pierre for Pie, Murton, and Gallagher? (please note sarcasm)

Murton's OBP, nice average (even though ST), and the fact that he gets his uniform soiled often, should be the guy getting the gig. Fonty is...well, Fonty. With Ward, Dome, and Pie, its probably gonna be enough. DeRosa and Dumb-ass Ronny should be sufficient to cover IF replacement needs, I'd think.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

That wasn't the only oversight. There was this: Add Fuko to the mix, and the Cubs now have four .300 hitters capable of 40-45 home runs and 100-125 RBIs. I will tell you this... if the Cubs have 4 guys who hit 40+ homeruns, they will be in the World Series. And although Soriano will probably insist on leading off, with Barrett finally gone, this year he should get more chances to knock in hitters from the bottom of the order. Umm... what? I have no idea how Barrett being gone will have anything to do with Soriano have more to knock in. Oh yea... and they are going to "sign" Roberts?

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

the Cubs now have four .300 hitters capable of 40-45 home runs and 100-125 RBIs. I would be willing to bet we don't have one guy who hits 40 HR's, let alone bats .300 AND gets 100 RBI's. But we do have 3 that are capable (Alf, ARam and Lee), but there is no way in the world K-Fuk puts up those kind of numbers, not even close.

$1.3 MM? I mean, who were they bidding against? It's not a ton of money, but it looks like he's already getting 750K from the Jays. They couldn't have offered him league min or 500K?

Roster has really shaken itself out. Soto Lee DeRosa Theriot Ramirez Sori Pie KFuk Blanco Ward Reed Johnson Murton Cedeno With Fontenot in Iowa if an infielder goes down and Fuld/EPatt there if an outfielder goes down.

Fwiw, Johnson is still 2 years from free agency, so the Cubs have his rights for next year if they want them. He'll be arbitration eligible of course, but relatively cheap.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I have a question...Johnson had a relatively large contract with the Blue Jays, no? And since he was released, they're on the hook for most of it, correct? So if the Cubs go to arbitration, are they responsible for offering him 80% of his Blue Jays salary at minimum? If so, then he wouldn't be that cheap. Or am I missing something?

[ ]

In reply to by djchi

you could be right on that one djchi, but I'll defer to AZ Phil if he wants to answer it. Not exactly sure what the rules are in this situation. He signed for $3.275 MM in January, $750K was guaranteed. But only signed for $1.3MM with the Cubs. It would seem a bit unfair to use the $3.275MM as a barometer for next year since the most he'll make is $2.05MM this year.

Plus he kind of looks like the Drowning Pool guitarist. So that's a good thing I suppose. ... just sayin'.

Like this pickup. And did anybody catch Mariotti's column today? Mindless snarkiness for snarkiness' sake.

While I am not expecting much out of Johnson until he can prove he is healthy, this move is fine IMO. Now paying him $1.3 million is a little much, but fairly low risk. Murton might be the odd man out, which should anger many Cubs fans but oh well, if things go well that spot should get like 200-250 AB's all year. Now Reed has barely played CF the past few years, so that along with his bat could be a problem, but shouldn't be a disaster.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

Of course... that number is a bit distorted by his huge '06 outlier. 03: .313 .365 .475 .840 (198 PAs) 04: .277 .332 .397 .729 (357 PAs) 05: .267 .339 .443 .782 (233 PAs) 06: .365 .451 .507 .958 (235 PAs) 07: .244 .320 .378 .698 (51 PAs) Of course... also had a .409 BABIP in the first half of 06. So in other words... he was really lucky. Don't get me wrong - he has been in first half than the second half, but his numbers appear to be pretty distorted because of one very good half of a season. Again... I don't hate the signing, and believe he will be a solid RH bench player who will see playing time against RHP. But that is about it.

I wouldn't be so quick to punch Fontenot's ticket to Iowa. With Fukudome and Pie starting, the only LH bat on the bench is Ward. I'd be looking for a Cedeno waiver deal, or Murton goes to AAA instead of Fontenot.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

First, Felipe Lopez sucks, both offensively and defensively. His splits don't even show any kind of platoon advantage...forget him.
Second, I'd rather keep Murton, but keeping Fontenot gives Lou more flexibility and it's ultimately his decision. Let's say, I would understand the logic, even though I wouldn't necessarily approve. As long as it's not Cintron making the team...

Aaron B, Once again, you're love for all things Murton cloud your baseball talent judgement. My point is that Ward is the only LH bat on the bench when Pie/Fukudome start. As already pointed out, DeRosa can play RF when a RH bat is needed there a helluva lot better than Murton (an absolute butcher in the OF). Fontenot and Ward give Lou 2 LH bats for PH duties. Without another deal (which very likely will happen before Opening Day), the bench will likely be: Blanco, c Ward, 1b/LH PH Fontenot, 2b/LH PH (SS in absolute emergency) Cedeno, ss/2b R. Johnson, CF/RF/LF DeRosa is still the 'super-sub' for 3B and RF with capable options at 2B when he isn't playing there.

Submitted by djchi on Tue, 03/25/2008 - 5:14pm.

I have a question...Johnson had a relatively large contract with the Blue Jays, no? And since he was released, they're on the hook for most of it, correct?

So if the Cubs go to arbitration, are they responsible for offering him 80% of his Blue Jays salary at minimum? If so, then he wouldn't be that cheap. Or am I missing something?

 ================================

DJCHI: Because Reed Johnson's contract was not guaranteed and because the Blue Jays released him prior to March 28th, they only owed him 45 days pay (1/4 of his 2008 salary, or just a bit over $800K). So it's not surprising that Johnson wanted more than the MLB minumim to sign with the Cubs.

In fact, he PROBABLY thought he deserved $2.4M (the remainder left on the table from his $3.25M 2008 contract with TOR), but after considering his options, he apparently decided to settle for half a loaf.

As far as what the minimum the Cubs would have to offer Johnson after the season if they tender him a contract (with a salary arbitration option), it would be 80% of his Cubs salary from 2008. Once he was released by Toronto, that contract became incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial for salary arbitration purposes post '08. He was a free-agent when he signed with the Cubs, and the fact that the Blue Jays had to pay him a severance when they released him doesn't apply to post-2008 . 

And the Cubs could non-tender him on 12/12 and then try to sign him for less money where the 20% maximum cut rule would not apply. 

haven't seen it mentioned in here so someone might as well say it... he's got a legit arm. he's not ichiro...he's definately not juan pierre... then again even as a late-inning replacement he's not replacing any arm in the OF that's weak (unless there's murton/d.ward out there). still...the cubs got their marlon byrd/jay payton/whatever and didn't have to give up anything anyone cares about except (maybe) a roster spot.

Recent comments

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  • crunch (view)

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  • Childersb3 (view)

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  • crunch (view)

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  • 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...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

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