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 

 



 

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Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

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According the Arlington Daily Herald, LHP Rich Hill will get called up this weekend in time for the Yankees series. The club will probably use him out of the bullpen over the weekend, figuring that a player's first major league start in Yankee Stadium would be a bit much. Chances are he'll get his first start next week versus the Brewers. Talk about rapid ascension through the system, Hill, who hadn't pitched above advanced A ball before this season(and rightfully so), suddenly found his control to go along with all those strikeouts. He began the season quite terribly at AA West Tennesse, before finding his groove and then getting the call to go to Iowa a few weeks ago. His stats so far this season: W. Tenn: 4-3 3.28 ERA; 57.2 IP; 21 BB; 90 K; 9 HR Iowa: 1-1 4.34 ERA; 18.2 IP; 6 BB; 29 K; 5 HR Totals: 5-4 3.54 ERA; 76.1 IP; 27 BB; 119 K; 14 HR Rate Stats: 14.07 K/9; 3.19 BB/9; 4.40 K/BB; 1.65 HR/9 He certainly gives up a few too many home runs, but if you want to dominate big league batters, you do it with the strikeout and he's certainly gotten that part of the game down, leading all of the minor leagues so far this season in that category. I believe a 40 man roster move will need to be made, although I must admit I've lost track of it's current state. If a move does have to be made, Bartosh, Borowski or Koronka lead the way in my opinion. Nothing like a legitimate prospect getting his chance in the show to get me giddy this morning.

Comments

considering no national sites can agree on who exactly really is on the cubs 40 man... is curothers still on the 40 man?

The Chicago Cubs today optioned left-handed pitcher John Koronka to Iowa (AAA) and recalled left-hander Rich Hill from the Triple-A affiliate. In addition, right-handed pitcher David Crouthers was placed on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release.

Some talk of starting Hill Sunday at Yankees. Welcome to the Big Leagues!!

oh yeah crud-thers....problem solved. Well I hope they go with Mitre on Sunday and save Hill for next week. Mitre has obviously proved he's got no problems pitching in tough games....... He's faced Clemens, Eaton, Halladay and Beckett so far.

Hey everyone. Pierre Castillo Cabrera Delgado Lowell Lo Duca Encarnacion Gonzalez Burnett Ne!F! K-Pax Lee Burnitz Ramirez Walker Hollandsworth Barrett Maddux

I have a feeling that the Cubs are really rushing this kid. I still would rather see Williams take Koronka's place in the rotation. However, as far as Yankee Stadium goes, I thought I read somewhere that lefty pitchers have some sort of advantage given the short right field porch and the mammoth valley that is Left-Center. I know that is a small fact compared to the nerves this kid will be feeling making his MLB debut against the Yankee line-up, but I thought I would bring it up for discussion.

for those of you who havent shut up about Huff for months...things just got a bit more dim... R.Baldelli's comeback halted by elbow injury in warmups, expected to have tommy john... ow.

IN MY OPINION, this is a mistake rushing him to the bigs. If people felt it was a mistake that Corey was rushed to the bigs, then this one is a glaring mistake. There is no need to start his clock this year, not with Wood and Prior coming back soon and Willimas pitching good in AAA and on the 40-Man. Mitre can go on Sunday in Koronka's spot since we have an off day Thursday, so Hill would not be needed until next Tuesday. That means he can be used for an inning or two today or Friday, but that's it so he can be ready on Tuesday. June 15 - Maddux June 16 - OFF June 17 - Z June 18 - Rusch June 19 - Mitre June 20 - Maddux June 21 - 5th Starter needed Also, by releasing Crouthers, that almost assures we only get a mediocre prospect from BALT in his place as he won't have room on the 40 man to put him in, so consider this another small step back in the Sosa deal.

When Wood & Prior do return I'd like to see Mitre & Rusch platoon for 5th starter. Mitre @ home (2.45 this year at home) & Rusch on the road (2.30 this year on the road). They can work in the pen in between starts.

Well I hope they go with Mitre on Sunday and save Hill for next week. Mitre has obviously proved he's got no problems pitching in tough games....... He's faced Clemens, Eaton, Halladay and Beckett so far. Posted by: Rob G. LOL You're not paying attention. TCR consensus is to trade Mitre.

CUBWINPENNANT- I don't think the consensus is to trade him right now, just before next season as we are basically fully loaded in the starting rotation for next year. If we traded him now, who would be the 5th starter in the rotation??

lol, I forgot about that. Should keep him. Should have kept Willis & Sisco, too.

Ryno, don't forget about Garland and Choi...

...or Sosa

>If people felt it was a mistake that Corey was rushed to the bigs, then this one is a glaring mistake. Corey, drafted out of high school, was promoted to the parent club in his third season as a pro--at age 20. Hill, a former college hurler, is in his fifth season, and he's 25. Hill's a better gamble.

Fergie Jenkins gave up a lot of homers, too, but they were usually solo shots. It's what happens when you throw strikes.

Hill is 25 years old. How would that be considered rushing him?

And be sure to lump them all together in one post, because the Garland, Tavar... er, Willis, Choi, Sosa, and Sisco moves are all more-or-less interchangeable. :)

Saxfax- "Hill, a former college hurler, is in his fifth season, and he's 25." True, but he had not pitched above A ball until this year, that is more my beef. But you are right, his age and college experience make it a little better. Also, Hill will be the 10th different starting pitcher for the Cubs this year. That has to be leading the bigs...

LOL!

And my point is why move Mitre? We need starting pitchers of his caliber. He's got real talent. Get some eyeglasses. Watch the tape of his last two games. Checkout the quality of the opposing pitchers he's been thrown at. Nobody can fluke two shutouts in a row under that kind of pressure. And best of all, he's not hurt, doesn't need Tommy John surgery, his elbow is okay, he doesn't have a blister, his toe isn't turfed, he's not running a temperature, he doesn't need rehab, all his tendons are still attached to his groin and he hasn't cut himself throwing a chair in the dugout. Viva Sergio!

I've been one of MItre's biggest fans, well before his last 2 starts, but since one of the most precious commodities in trade talks is major league ready pitching, I think Mitre could net us something we are in desperate need of....a power hitting corner outfielder who DOES NOT strike out a gazillion times, something we need much more of then a 5th starter. If Mitre sticks with the team, I couldn't be happier and am fairly confident he'll enjoy a very respectable major league career. But we have a lot of those guys in our system and many of them are nearing the show. You're going to have to give up something to get something in return, and if the cost is Mitre and another player for a true stud....Dunn, Huff, Helton, Sheffield or whatever, then you do it. IN MY OPINION, this is a mistake rushing him to the bigs. If people felt it was a mistake that Corey was rushed to the bigs, then this one is a glaring mistake. Say what????? Corey was drafted out of high school and played something like 3 1/2 seasons of minor league ball and first touched the majors at age 20, with his first full season at 22. Rich Hill was drafted out of college, has played about 3 years of minor league ball, and most importanly turned 25 this year. His window of opportunity is right now, you gain nothing by waiting for him. A baseball player's prime years are between 26 and 30. Start his clock now and we still have his rights when he turns 31. Two completely different situations....

out of all those Cubs people have named that got away, I can't think of any move I'd take back. take back the garland move and you have him in the rotation instead of clement in 2003, you probably dont make the playoffs. we got LEE for choi, that was a nice trade. sosa was no loss in production, and sisco is nowhere near big league ready.

"If people felt it was a mistake that Corey was rushed to the bigs, then this one is a glaring mistake." Of course, the major difference here is that Corey was 21 and so still had time for significant development in his career whereas Hill is 25. Also, as AZ Phil eluded to in the last thread, his biological clock is probably more relevant now than his options clock. I think, if management thinks Hill can help this team this year, let's by all means use him. "If we traded [MITRE] now, who would be the 5th starter in the rotation" Well if we are using Hill as our fifth starter now, the obvious answer to this is Williams. I don't see enough of a difference between the expected performance of Mitre and that of Williams over the next couple of starts until Wood comes back to wait until after that to trade him. If the deal is there now then pull the trigger, it might not be there a couple of weeks from now.

>Hill will be the 10th different starting pitcher for the Cubs this year. That has to be leading the bigs... Kasper & Brenly talked about this during the broadcast last night. They said the Cubs were leading the bigs with nine different starters in '05. Hill would, you're right, keep them on top.

mitre/wellemeyer/wuertz/hill/guzman/williams....healthy crop of 05/06 tallent...and 4 starting spots 100% spoken for. if things dont get interesting over the next couple month, it should be a hell of an offseason.

You do have a point Tim. Except maybe Sisco. I wish someone would have had a crystal ball and seen him being as good as he has been this year. Who would have figured.

Tim, that was all in sarcasm of people the Cubs let go/traded. At least mine was pertaining to Sosa We, or at least I know and have great faith in what Hendry has done/is doing and have commended every move. We're just make fun of the cynics on here who wrongfully speculate every move Hendry makes Just as you can't forsee Wood's chronic injuries, you couldn't have saw Garland finally breaking out or Dontrelle being such a consistent force. That's baseball. What Hendry has done in the past was all done to either benefit the team in the present or in the future. '03 with Ramirez, Lofton, Clement, Lee. '04 with Nomar.

I don't make the Karchner move. I don't have problems with the Alfonseca-for-Tavarez trade. We'll see how wise the Lee move was if the Cubs either can't afford him or can't afford somebody else when the full bill comes due. Sisco's an entirely different animal. I haven't been keeping up with the news, what are the Cubs supposed to be looking for in exchange for Mitre?

CUBSPENNAT: "Nobody can fluke two shutouts in a row under that kind of pressure." Mitre has not throw two shutouts. You have to pitch a complete game to get credit for a shutout. Mitre pitched 7 innings two starts ago. Maybe you're the one who needs the eyeglasses.

Happy Anniversary of the Lou Brock trade... woe is us. Let's try and forget the Cubs first round pick trades... (Garland, Willis... ouch) As for who to drop off the staff... oh, I don't know... KORONKA?????

Take back Garland for Karchner. A bad relief pitcher for a #1 draft pick? Even though Garland has only been okay the talent transfer is still off. I didn't realize Rich Hill was 25 either.

Rob G.: "Say what????? Corey was drafted out of high school and played something like 3 1/2 seasons of minor league ball " Corey played only 2 full season in minors. My problem is rushing Hill from A ball to majors in 3 months. Not his age.

Is anyone near the park? Gameday tosses in "Wind: 21 mph, L to R" at the end. Is that accurate?

Billy, Dontrelle was drafted in the 8th round not the first. Also, I don't believe (but could be wrong) that the Clement/Alfonseca/Tavarez/Willis trade was done on Hendry's watch. I think it was beginning of 2002 when McPhail was President AND GM.

I think Dontrelle Willis was actually an eighth round draft pick, Billy.

Adrosen: " I don't believe (but could be wrong) that the Clement/Alfonseca/Tavarez/Willis trade was done on Hendry's watch. I think it was beginning of 2002 when McPhail was President AND GM." I believe you're right. I couldn't remember for sure, and just included it to make an example

8th round... okay, but still.... *cry* Where did I read he was a 1st rounder? I swear I did......... dumb media!

Corey played only 2 full season in minors. My problem is rushing Hill from A ball to majors in 3 months. Not his age. I've got 112 games in Lansing in 1999 (A Ball) 118 games in West Tenn in 2000 (AA) 89 games in Iowa in 2001 (AAA) So we're both wrong, it was 2 1/2.

Yes, excuse me. You are right. Sergio hasn't shut out the opposition two starts in a row. Trade Mitre. That's the ticket. What was I thinking... It's too bad Dusty was forced to start Mitre at all. He must be showcasing him for the upcoming trade that will solve all our problems.

I got the impression from the Sun-Times article that Hill would be in the bullpen and then when June 21 rolls around, Williams might get the call to start. Basically, Hill is just a fill-in to help the pen through the time a fifth starter is needed.

Rob- Baseball Cube shows the first two, but him NEVER playing in AAA. That is what I was going off of.

Fellas, stop tossing around "bad" trades that preceded Hendry -- especially Koronka/Garland. Indeed, that trade was one of the precipating factors in bringing Hendry (read that, "responsible stewardship") into the GM position. Since Hendry took over, no GM in baseball has done a better job with mid-season trades! That is indisputable -- Bobby Hill/Matt Brubak for Aramis Ramirez and Kenny Lofton? Brendan Harris, A-Gonz and F Beltran for Nomar? Heck, even Randall "The Sausage" Simon for Ray Sadler worked out in its own twisted way. In addition to those mentioned above, here are some of the players Hendry has traded away: David Noyce, Ryan Gripp, Jason Fransz, Emmanuel Ramirez, Mike Nannini, Steve Smyth, Felix Sanchez, Todd Hundley (remember him?). The fact is, young pitchers carry significant risk, much more so than position players with a year or two experience. If Mitre was a huge strikeout guy (more like Brandon Webb, less like Jamie Moyer), I would be more relucant to trade him. But for now, his upside seems to be a 50% chance to be a No. 3 starter. Not only that, but a trade would be more fair to Mitre. He deserves a shot to be a rotation regular for a team. He will always be pressed in Chicago by virtue of our strong system. In Pittsburgh or Kansas City or Seattle, he can be a rotation fixture for years.

Why is it polarized into Trade Mitre now! and HOW DARE YOU TRADE MITRE! camps here? Mitre is at a very high value now. You are overstuffed with pitchers - but Mitre is also good. Consider trading Mitre - for the right deal. Of course that's almost always my philosophy - if I was GM the only untradable commoidites would be Lee, Prior, Zambrano, and Ramirez. Anybody else might be traded, but that all depends on the deal.

The Willis-- Clement trade was Hendry's. Hendry has said so repeatedly. Why is this still a matter of debate here?

b/c certain posters are not considering the timing of the trade in accordance with the experience of the players. It was a splendid trade for us in '03. I still hold that.

Baseball Cube shows the first two, but him NEVER playing in AAA. That is what I was going off of. yeah I know, that's why I said 3 1/2 originally cause I knew they missed his Iowa season and then did some guessing to fill in the blanks. I checked sportsline though and got the correct info...

The Willis-- Clement trade was Hendry's. Hendry has said so repeatedly. Can you please provide a source for that? The trade happenned on March 27, 2002. Hendry was named the Cubs GM on 7/5/02. Read this article from this very site. You're right, I wonder how this is still debated.

"Hendry was named the Cubs GM on 7/5/02." So what, PDaddy? "Can you please provide a source for that?" Of course, but since the source is Hendry himself I bet you won't believe it----> Miami Herald 10-12-2003 "Hendry said his desire to acquire Antonio Alfonseca was the motivation for last year's trade that sent pitchers Alfonseca and Matt Clement to Chicago for pitchers Julian Tavarez and three minor leaguers: Willis, pitcher Jose Cueto and catcher Ryan Jorgensen. ..Hendry said of Willis. 'Do I regret putting him in the deal? Certainly.'"

My memory is VERY fuzzy, but wasn't Hendry in some unofficial capacity before he was officially named GM...a position where he would have been directly responsible for the trade even if he wasn't GM in title?

he was assistant to the GM (possibly a fancier title), but nonetheless he was the man right below McPhail and being groomed to take over.

Hendry had...maybe still has...the title of Vice President of Player Personnel in 2002.

Bluewater Boats, you changed your name! You must have gotten sick of being caught repeatedly contradicting yourself from post to post. Hendry was VP of Player Personell before being named GM. Hendry has repeatedly said he was involved in the Tavaras,Willis/Clement,Alfonseca deal, but I've never seen anything indicating Hendry was allowed to make that deal or any other moves without having McPhail sign off.

additionally, Hendry was already Asst. General Manager by 2000. He was promoted to Vice President of the Cubs in 2001 and does indeed have both the title of Vice President and General Manager today. Hope that helps those who are interested.

Of course PDaddy and the rest of the gasbags suddenly have zero interest in who engineered the Willis trade. ********FLASH******* The consensus at TCR has been completely wrong about who was responsible for the trade of future Hall of Famer, Dontrelle Willis. I've done my best to correct the DISINFORMATION here but to no avail. That doesn't change the fact that-> IT WAS HENDRY!! as today's Chicago Tribune AGAIN confirms: While Cubs President Andy MacPhail also was the general manager at the time of the Willis trade, **it was current Cubs GM Jim Hendry who engineered the deal with his former team.** Though the Willis trade is the one major blot on Hendry's rÈsumÈ, Willis said Wednesday he hopes Cubs fans cut Hendry some slack. Don't worry about the fans cutting Hendry some slack Dontrelle, some of them will die insisting he didn't make the trade.

Of course PDaddy and the rest of the gasbags suddenly have zero interest in who engineered the Willis trade. Gasbag? I'm not sure how I get lumped in with everyone. And sometimes I wonder why I don't post here anymore... I saw this article this morning and decided to drop in and update my post. My apologies for never having heard this before. I was simply asking for you to link to something (which you did in 49), and I appreaciate. I didn't mean to sound accusatory in my post (which is appearantly how you read it).

About six weeks ago I made a comment on the web site that the Cubs made a mistake not protecting Sisto and protecting Koronka among others instead. A couple of people jumped down my throat. I objected at the time and continue to object. We'll never see Koronka again. The only reason he wasn't released was because Caruthers retired. We threw away 3 games in bringing him up and satring him (even thought they did win one of the games). Success in the minors isn't necessarily an indication of success in the majors, but failure in the minors is an indication of failure in the majors. i blame Hendry for protecting him in the first place and bringing him up.

Any body remember Andy Sisco...i'm sure we could use him now in our meager bullpen...i think he'd be better than the Bartosh, Ohman, Novoa combo...SIsco...is putting together a great first year in the majors...and he isn't coming back, the Royals have no reason to send him down...we lost him for nothing...he's going to be a good one...just like Wilis. Why is that we keep the garbage Lefty Pitchers...and get rid of Wilis and SIsco? I've suppported hendry on many of times...from my alma...but I'm starting to wonder.

Any body remember Andy Sisco...i'm sure we could use him now in our meager bullpen...i think he'd be better than the Bartosh, Ohman, Novoa combo...SIsco...is putting together a great first year in the majors...and he isn't coming back, the Royals have no reason to send him down...we lost him for nothing...he's going to be a good one...just like Wilis. Why is that we keep the garbage Lefty Pitchers...and get rid of Wilis and SIsco? I've suppported hendry on many of times...from my alma...but I'm starting to wonder.

Any body remember Andy Sisco...i'm sure we could use him now in our meager bullpen...i think he'd be better than the Bartosh, Ohman, Novoa combo...SIsco...is putting together a great first year in the majors...and he isn't coming back, the Royals have no reason to send him down...we lost him for nothing...he's going to be a good one...just like Wilis. Why is that we keep the garbage Lefty Pitchers...and get rid of Wilis and SIsco? I've suppported hendry on many of times...from my alma...but I'm starting to wonder.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.