Cubs MLB Roster

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40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Trade Ronny Cedeno; Get Living, Breathing Pitcher in Return

The Cubs moved yet another once-upon-a-time prospect in Ronny Cedeno today, along with left-handed pitcher Garrett Olson to the Seattle Mariners for Aaron Heilman. You'll remember Olson as the pitcher the Cubs received along with Hank Williamson for Felix Pie about a week and a half ago. That makes the net trade:

Cubs get: Hank Williamson, Aaron Heilman

Cubs lose: Ronny Cedeno, Felix Pie

Cedeno's fate was likely sealed when the Cubs acquired Aaron Miles and I'll shed no tears on this loss. Cedeno might be more talented than Ryan Theriot, but he's shown all the baseball intelligence of a junior high dropout. I also find it a bit amusing that the one rookie that Dusty Baker ever gave much of a legitimate shot of playing time to - besides maybe Matt Murton - was Cedeno in 2006. Dusty Baker's eye for talent strikes yet again.

Heilman has been on the Cubs radar for awhile, always known to be a Hendry favorite. The Notre Dame alum had a brutal 2008 season, with a 5.21 ERA for the Mets and was part of the three-team deal for J.J. Putz earlier this offseason. His K/9 rate went up to a nice 9.47 last year, but it went along with a skyrocketing BB/9 rate of 5.45. Fangraphs (using Pitch F/x data) says he throws mostly a fastball and change-up with the occassional slider, while Sportsnet says it's a splitter and fastball with the occasional fastball and change. He has also made it clear on many occasions that he would prefer to be a starter, which is probably why he got shipped out of New York.

Heilman signed a one year, $1.625M deal to avoid arbitration with the Mariners and  is set to be a free agent after the 2010 season and the deal cleared a spot on the 40-man roster.

I assume many are worried that moving Garrett Olson means the end of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes for the Cubs, as the Padres made it clear he was a pitcher they desired. I, of course, have no idea if that is true or not. To play devil's advocate, it could mean the Cubs are now willing to move Sean Marshall and covet Aaron Heilman more for that swing-man role. I think that's less likely of a scenario, but it is possible.

In the end, the Cubs moved a useless part (Cedeno) and a promising player with no roster flexibility (Pie) for a pitcher I think is a pretty good bet to bounce back next season. From 2005-2007, Heilman put up ERA's of 3.17, 3.62, and 3.03 with anywhere from 76 to 108 IP. Considering the volatility of relief pitchers, there's certainly a good chance that he can rebound to those levels.

Comments

He seems like Jason Marquis with a lower salary and acquired for relatively useless parts. Gives more depth to the starting rotation which is always needed, esp with Harden. I choose not to look at it versus a possible Peavy trade because we don't know, but suspect that it was going to be an arm and a leg to get him.

It's been my dream for awhile to be the first commenter on one of these posts. It seems, somehow, unfulfilling now. Kinda like the Cubs' offseason moves so far.

As was mentioned in the previous thread, Heilman was putting up with some tendonitis problems in his knee last season which may have been why he struggled. If I can dig up some more info later today I'll add to this. To get traded (twice) somebody must have been reviewing these medical records and signing off on them.

Ok..who Juan Uribe? And add that to the pile of $$ the Cubs are spending. What would that cost? Rich Aurillia?? Yikes...

dug this up from the NY Daily News, circa 9-11-08 http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/09/10/2008-09-10_j… ------------------------ Jerry Manuel: Knee problem has hampered Aaron Heilman all year BY Adam Rubin DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER Thursday, September 11th 2008, 4:00 AM Jerry Manuel offered an alibi for Aaron Heilman's miserable string of outings. The interim manager revealed, and Heilman confirmed, the righty has been dealing with left knee tendinitis since spring training. Manuel said the problem affects Heilman's landing during his delivery and therefore his location. Heilman surrendered a game-tying two-run homer to Cristian Guzman in the sixth Wednesday night in a 13-10 win over the Nationals. For his part, Heilman tried to minimize how much it has accounted for his 5.38 ERA. "There were probably a handful of games where I felt it affected me," said Heilman, who has appeared in just two games this month.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Isn't tendinitis a recurring problem that never really goes away? And did we really just pick up another injured pitcher? This would be a fine strategy if MLB made an exception and allowed the Cubs to carry another 10 pitchers without it counting towards the 25 man roster limit.

http://mets.scout.com/2/47903.html Repertoire. 4-seam fastball (FB), slider (SL) and split-fingered fastball (spl FB). Heilman also throws a circle change (CU) and curveball (CB). The Mets will allow Heilman to work on whatever he likes at the instructional league and hopefully Bobby Ojeda will have an opportunity to work with him. Scouting Report: Pitcher, Aaron HeilmanFastball. Heilman's fastball sat at 92-93 mph which was better than the expected 90-92 mph. He showed an ability to occasionally reach 94-95 mph. He is not expected to add much if any velocity to his fastball. Heilman's fastball has excellent movement that he can make move left, right and sink. His fastball is in general very difficult to elevate. Other pitches: Heilman threw what was regarded as one of the top 5 sliders in college baseball in 2001. Heilman taught himself his spl. FB in January 2001 and it was a very effective pitch for him that he was able to throw for strikes. Pitching: Heilman is extremely durable and understands how to pitch. The only concern regarding Heilman is his ability to get left-handed hitters. He really only needs to better utilize the lateral movement of his fastball and add a quality change up to get lefties out. Projection: Heilman projects to a #1 or #2 starter. He has the make up of an ace. ETA: 2003. If he adds a quality 4th pitch, Heilman could be ready before the end of 2002. didn't quite work out that way...

also saw this history on Heilman from 2006: Mets | Heilman has elbow operation Mon, 23 Oct 2006 23:56:21 -0700 The Associated Press reports New York Mets SP Aaron Heilman (elbow) had surgery Oct. 23 for tennis elbow on his throwing arm. The KFFL link has a boatload of stuff on Heilman with years of him being involved in trade rumors, one dates back to him being possibly acquired to compete vs Wade Miller for the Cubs 5th starter spot. Also, it looks like he was getting the LaTroy Hawkins treatment from Met fans last year http://www.kffl.com/player/6812/MLB

Heilman was getting racist letters too? --- No, anti-Dome hate mail. Most were booing LaTroy just because he sucked as a Cub. The racist stuff was coming from the beyond, probably Commish Kenesaw Mountain Landis' grave.

in case that was missed 1yr deal with a mutual option...$6-$8M range

There was lots of angry in the last thread about this, but thanks to Rob for summing it up. Those of us who want Peavy want to be upset because of Olson's name being linked to that trade. Understandable. But I highly doubt Garrett Olson will or won't be the deciding factor in whether or not we get Peavy. Having said that, did we pay a semi-high price for Heilman? Probably. But again, Jim's running out of time and (literally) options. I wanted badly to see Cedeno succeed, and it never happened, and wasn't going to. Good riddance.

[ ]

In reply to by Tony S.

I don't even know that the price is that high, when you aren't taking Peavy into account. Assuming he gets over the tendonitis, Heilman's a decent pitcher, and Cedeno probably wasn't ever going to get much in return. Olson, well... NOOOO! COME BACK, JAKE! Another thing that's important is to avoid thinking of this as Pie and Cedeno for Heilman, because then the wrists start bleeding and that's just too messy.

I just keep envisioning Hendry on the deck of the Starship Enterprise being suffocated by some devious Klingon weapon..crawling to the command console...just reaching up to press the life saving button..."Must spend money on middle relievers..." I would have preferred a prospect and Olson. Seattle got a starting spot for Ronny?

I've said this several times - but in the fall of 2006, I was THRILLED that Dusty played this speedy, strong-armed, SS with some pop. "We FINALLY have a shortstop!" Then 2007 came - he was given the gig - and blew it. Like Rob, and the Dr. Aaron said, we got a living, breathing body for him. I'm fine with it. Who knows what will happen with Garrett Olson. There are quite a few "If's" on the Cubs 2009 version - add Heilman to the mix. Just wish he was a lefty. Lou kept the wrong one.

I do worry that Jim has really thinned this roster out quite a bit. I know its a stretch, but imagine if something along the lines of -Bradley injury -Harden injury -Soriano injury -Aramis injury -Theriot/Miles/Fontenot either Don't repeat career year/Continue to suck/Doesn't turn into Micky Morandini 2.0? I don't know that we have the depth to recover like we've had before. Backloaded deals almost always come home to roost. And Jim's aversion to confrontation may end up being his undoing.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

I'd say more than 50% of that list is a foregone conclusion, E-Man It harkens back to the good old days of peciling in Wood and Prior at the front of the rotation. I can't wait until the "When Milton Bradley comes off the DL. It will be like making a deadline trade" routine. As of today, without Peavy. This club could be anywhere from a 92-75 win Club.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

I am starting to agree with this point of view. For the money, and cost in talent, I don't think Peavy improves us enough to justify the 5 useful bodies it would take, particularly Vitters and Castillo. Two way catchers are too hard to come by, and while you can debate the Cubs dubious record on developing front end talent, we really have not had a prospect like Vitters since I don't know when. And we won't be drafting #3 again any time soon. Marshall is a good #5, and cheap, and left handed, so has a lot of value. But there are no teams in competition with us to land him, due to his no trade clause. They are stuck with him unless we agree to a trade. Hendry should apply the full leverage of this negotiating position if a deal is to be struck.

found this ironic tidbit in a Will Carroll (Baseball Prospectus) column from 7/30/06: The Mets haven't made the most of Aaron Heilman. Once expected to be a rotation fixture, the pitcher has instead found a home in the bullpen. He could find a home closer to his midwest roots if the information I got from a Mets official pans out. I'm told that the Mets are discussing shipping Heilman to the Cardinals in return for free-agent-to-be Jason Marquis.

Unfortunately I can't find anything more specific on Heilman's tendonitis other than it was his left knee. http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2008/09/new_york_mets_limiting_heilman… Tendonitis means inflammation of a tendon and there are several around the knee. The largest two are the quadriceps tendon (which inserts into the patella/kneecap) and the patellar tendon (which goes from the patella to the tibia below the knee) both are common. There are also hamstrings (medial or lateral) and even the gastrocnemius which is more of a calf muscle but the tendons go behind and above the knee attaching to the femur. My guess is it was a patellar tendonitis as it's probably the most common of these conditions. In a pitcher, this would a significant problem for both push off and landing from a mound. Heilman played through it most of the season meaning it was nagging but not incapacitating . It wasn't disclosed to the press until the 2nd week in September where there are multiple articles (see the link above for one of these) explaining why they hadn't used him as much in early September. Of course blowing 5 of 8 save opportunities might just be a better excuse to skip calling him from the pen. I'm sure they had MRI imaging on him as that would be useful to rule additional conditions inside the knee that might make the tendonitis a secondary problem (like a torn meniscus). The treatment is the usual rest and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, better shock absorption in shoes. Therapy includes stretching and controlled exercises also various heat modalities to the inflammed area. In a pitcher it's unlikely to resolve until enough rest can occur, which means the off-season. He didn't have this in 2007 so I'd expect him to be OK in 2009. I saw that he did have right (his pitching elbow) tennis elbow surgery immediately after the season on 10-23-06 by Dr. David Altchek (he's quite famous in Sports Ortho, who did similar surgery on Carlos Delgado that same week) and although it's obviously unrelated to his knee issues it is an example of a chronic tendonitis that rarely needs surgery but ultimately he needed it (and presumably got better from the surgery). His stats in 2006 (74 games, 3.62 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) were better than 2008 (78G, 5.21 ERA, 1.59 WHIP) so I guess it was the same nagging thing but he put up with it pretty well. He probably had a bunch of therapy, ultrasound/deep heat rxs and a few cortisone shots for it before the elbow surgery. Patellar tendonitis can be chronic (which isn't all that common) and then the tendon can be surgically explored or consideration to ultrasonic shockwave rx, which is more often used to treat resistant plantar fascitis (arch inflammation). A variant on such an example of surgical treatment of a chronic tendonitis was the chronic achilles tendonitis in Cliff Floyd who had surgery (also at the same hospital/same week that Heilman had surgery, but a different surgeon) on it the offseason before he signed with the Cubs. Of course if you have HMO insurance like Neal, they just tell you to change shoes. http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/blog/2006/10/under_the_…

Does anyone feel that Orlando Hudson would significantly improve our middle inf? Miles/Theriot/Fontenot just doesnt do it for me. Theriot played well everyday last year, but we could use more D and Offense out of that spot. And Miles and Fonty have never played everyday. At this point Hudson is getting screwed with the #1 Pick compensation which I cringe at giving up, but it is pick 29. Its possible Hudson could be had for 6m/yr? Switch hitter, gold glove D? Our farm system is so thin, I just don't see any other options.

I'm satisfied with Pie + Cedeno for Heilman, because I don't think anything of Ron Ce. Heilman has a track record of ML success, he had a bad year, looks like the Cubs buy low on someone for once. A 4th OF (Pie) with no plate discipline for a better version of Jason Marquis? I'll take that. Now if Hendry can just eat a million bucks and dump Vizcaino off on someone, he'll be doing much better here. We have more pitching depth than just about any team in baseball. I like the talk about Orlando Hudson BTW, push Fonty into a reserve role with Miles, that would make the bench look a lot better. And Hudson could leadoff, no? A slightly inferior version of Brian Roberts at the cost of a single draft choice and 8 million bucks? Do it.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).