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

We To Meet Again, Mr 500?

GAME 68 PREVIEW CHICAGO CUBS (34-33) at MILWAUKEE BREWERS (31-37) Miller Park, 7:05pm CT, TV: FSN, CSN
SP Tomo Ohka SP Greg Maddux
SS #Neifi Perez CF Brady Clark
CF *Corey Patterson 3B Jeff Cirillo
1B Derrek Lee 1B *Lyle Overbay
RF *Jeromy Burnitz LF Carlos Lee
3B Aramis Ramirez SS Bill Hall
2B *Todd Walker 2B Rickie Weeks
LF *Todd Hollandsworth RF *Geoff Jenkins
C Henry Blanco C Damien Miller
Pitcher's spot Pitcher's spot
Losing six of seven is a good way to find yourself too close to Mr 500 than is comfortable with a payroll this sizeable. The Cubs now have four against the Brewers to put this right before they head over to US Cellular Field this weekend to wrap up interleague play for the year. Meanwhile, it's becoming quite obvious that Dusty Baker neither reads The Cub Reporter nor thinks along similar lines. It may be the thinking part that's giving him the trouble there. Neifi and Corey continue atop the order, and doubtless they'll do their absolute best to sabotage Derrek Lee's already improbable triple crown bid from there tonight as always. Keep your eyes on the second base prize that is Rickie Weeks. He's a kid that's got a lot of talent but strikes out an unhealthy rate. Sound familiar? Meanwhile, note Lyle Overbay's sub-.300 average! Tomo Ohka was acquired by the Brewers from the Nationals for Junior Spivey. Ohka's peripherals say the only way his current 2.86 ERA is going is up, up, up and away! It'll be nice to see the pitchers batting again. I know I don't fit the traditionalist bill, but I really abhore the designated hitter. Besides missing out on the comedy value of pitchers hitting, it just seems wrong that a player should be allowed to play only half the game. It also makes the game so less tactical. Hey, Dusty, have you considered managing in the AL? Sorry, that's two cheap shots at Dusty in this post already, but I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with him. Don't forget to drop into the Parachat for in-game discussion! And go Cubs!

Comments

Again, I think a lot of the critism of Dusty on TCR is beyond ridiculous (mostly from users, not mods). But then I see Dusty keep those two at the top of the lineup and just shake my head. It just lacks logic to me, when someone is hitting about .000 in his last 6 games or so, give him a little rest, take a little pressure off of him and move him down the order. With Patterson, I think Dusty feels he'll see some good pitches ahead of Lee, so he won't continue to swing at junk...but when the pitcher knows he doesn't need to worry about walking Patterson, he'll give him junk too. I also don't like seeing Blanco in the lineup again...I said I thought he was catching Maddux a lot recently on top of Zambrano, but was told I was crazy...if he is going to catch both, that's 40% of our games where we play a guy batting .150 instead of .300. We can;t afford that. Our 3-7 hitters better do some damage, because 8,9,1,2 is a gaping black hole.

DLEE!! brenly just said "image what kinda numbers lee would have if patterson and neifi would take some walks" is he reading TCR? oh and not to mention, ARAM!!!

Did CPat rob Lee (the bad guy one) of a HR? Gameday had his ball beyond the centerfield wall.

Fun Fact for the Day: Patterson, Perez, Macias and Wilson have a sum total of 586 at bats and a sum total of 24 walks. And two of them bat 1-2 in the lineup. And Dusty wonders why the offense is sputtering.

Beginning with the June 8th game against the Blue Jays, the Neifi/Kpat 1-2 order has netted one walk between them in 10 games. The one time this duo was not penciled into the starting linup as 1-2, Hairston batted 2nd ... and proceded to net his 7th caught stealing attempt.

The Brewers starter on Tuesday, Victor Santos, is 2-6 with a 2.87 ERA. I don't see how that happens. It's happened to Clemen's this season some but heck, he is back up to 5-3. I still feel bad for Clement last year when the offense wouldn't do anything for him (at least before his late season meltdown when he took care of the losing all by himself). Anyway, hopefully we can make Santos ERA look a little uglier after Tuesdays game.

Come on now. Those walks are evil. Do nothing but clog the bases.

anyone else stoked...even though he may be a bit "not in peak condition"...that jerome f'n williams is playing tonite in a cubs uniform? sure..he's not all that..he's not the next clemens or koufax or even close..but, he's a very servicable 2/3 spot rotation pitcher on a lotta teams when he's clicking. we know he's overweight, his velocity is still gaining (and has gained since he was traded to the cubs just 3 or so starts), and his sinker is working. cubs sucked up loot taking on most of hawkin's tab, but hey...williams, and a bonus of mr. aardvark... mitre's coming of age, williams on board...rusch with a contract-out clause if he's not a starter in 06. should be a fun few weeks while hendry runs around figuring out how many of those he can keep around while getting what he needs.

I am definitely looking forward to watching Williams work. I hope he lives up to his potential for us. THAT IS ALL. GO CUBS.

I went up to MIL for the game last night. Couple of notes: - I would estimate that over 50% of the fans there were Cubs fans. - Maddux was pretty good and more than kept us in the game. Of course the one long ball was really his only problem last night. Win #311...hello to Mr. Seaver. - Everytime Lee steps to the plate you expect him to get on. As Yost showed last night, I think teams are going to start to IBB him more. The new Mr. Bonds? - Neifi and Corey both got 2 hits....finally!!! - The bullpen is the most unreliable bunch of crap I have ever seen. Everytime a new releiver came in, it seemed like I was more worried than the last. - Weurtz looked HORRIBLE, Remmmy did a GREAT job striking out Overbay and Lee to get out of the jam in the 7th, but they looked bad in the 8th. - Great move (no brainer I guess though as everyone else sucked and he had no other choice)by Dusty to bring in Dempster in the 8th in that jam. I HATE when closers come in the 8th, but Dempster had not pitched in forever and this was a game that the Cubs really needed to win. - Saving the best for last....What a play by Neifi Perez in the 8th inning. The Defensive play of the year so far for the Cubs. Very, very possibly saved the game. It was amazing he got to it, then amazing he got the ball to Walker so fast and even more amazing they were able to turn the DP. If Neifi doesn't get to that ball it is 5-5, with 1 out men on 1st and 2nd. Hopefully we can look back on that play as a start of another good streak. Don't look now but JB was almost at .300 last night. He was in the dumps just 2 weeks ago, good comeback. Like I said yesterday, I am no where as worried about the offense as I am the pitching (mostly relief pitching). If the starters go their 7 IP and give up nore more than 3-4 runs and the bullpen can hold their own, the offense will score enough runs to win lots of games. With Wood and Prior coming back in the next week or so, hopefully they can pitch well and take inning away from the bullpen.

the bullpen has been muddled and ineffective for the last few years...when is Rothschild's contract up? I tremble to think of what Mike Maddux would do with the talent of this Cubs' staff...

Wuertz is definitely getting cooked. Hats off to Dempster for looking so sharp last night after not pitching in a game for over a week.

Fanzone: "Wuertz is becoming over used." How so?? In June (20 days old), he has a total of 8 IP in 9 appearences. He is "supposedly" our 2nd best bullpen guy, so he should be used more than others. But that is not a lot of work. Now his last 4 appearences he has looked very bad, even if he hasn't given up many runs. Here is his line: 3.0 IP, 6.00 ERA, 8 hits, 2 ER, 5 BB His WHIP is now 1.50 on the year. That is a VERY dangersous number and has been lucky to only have his ERA at 3.58 (example is Remmy bailing him out last night). Him being our setup man shows how dangerously flammable this bullpen really is. Like I stated before, hopefull Wood and Prior can help the starting pitching go deeper in games, so we can use the bullpen less and less. They seem to do better when they only have to be used for no more than 6 outs.

Interesting to see someone blame Rothschild for the bullpen problems. Seems to me he's working with what's he's given. Plus, if you want to blame him, then how about giving him some credit for Rusch, Weurtz, Mitre, Wellemyer and how well they've done?

Out of Wuertz' 9 appearances this month, 4 have come in the last 5 games. During this stretch, he did not appear on two straight days as Friday was an offday and he did not pitch in Sat's blowout.

Before they do anyhting outside the organization to bolster the bullpen, the Cubs should give Jermaine Van Buren a shot. Yes, I know he's not on the 40-man rosyer, but there are several DFA candidates: 1. Richard Lewis (who couldn't even hit .200 in AAA, before being sent back to AA for the third year in a row, so he should be able to pass through waivers without being claimed, and it's no great loss if he does get claimed by another club); 2. Cliff Bartosh (who has little value--even as a LOOGY, such that there is a good chance he also would clear waivers if the Cubs tried to send him to AAA outright); 3. John Koronka (who obviously does not have the talent to pitch in the majors); and 4. Joe Borowski (who is still owed about $1.3 mil this year, but who is also pretty clearly washed-up and is too dangerous to be used in a meaningful situation). So there are plenty of candidates to be removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Jermaine Van Buren. And should it be necessary to option Van Buren back to Iowa for some reason before September 1st, it's no big deal that his option clock will have started, since he's no "spring chicken" (he turns 25 next week). For those of you not familiar with Jermaine Van Buren, he was signed by the Colorado Rockies after the Rockies drafted him in the 2nd Round of the 1998 Draft out of a Mississippi high school, but he struggled in "Lo-A" ball for five seasons (1998-2002) before getting released. He then signed with an independent club in Texas (the Fort Worth Cats of the Central League) in 2003, and it was there that he turned his career around. The Cubs purchased his contract from Ft. Worth prior to the 2004 season, and he has pitched well at various stops (Lansing, West Tenn, and Iowa) in the Cubs system over the past year and a half. He is currently the closer at Iowa. Like Brandon Sing and David Kelton, Jermaine Van Buren will be a six-year minor league free-agent after this season if he is not added to the Cubs 40-man roster within ten days after the end of the regular MLB season, so the Cubs might as well bring him up right now.

I have always felt that instead of going around looking for proven veterans for bare minimum salary (people like Macias and Wilson), it is better to get your AAA and AA guys on the 40 man rosters more time in the majors. I don't mean they should be brought up and get their clocks started without USING them; but to get them in and start getting them meaningful playing time. Same with the relief pitchers. Most relievers are failed starters anyway. They have 1-2 out pitches that can be utilised for 1 inning. Get people who have high K/BB ratio from the minors and put them in spots that are now being used by people like Bartosh and Borowski. It is unfathomable that these two stiffs are getting more use than a better pitcher like Wellemeyer. Dusty's insistence on 'proven veterans' will doom us again if he canot recognise what is in front of his face. Bartosh and Borowski are cooked. Remlinger cannot get out lefties. Corey is not a front of the order batter. Neifi is regressing to his career mean. I would rather have Walker and Barrett bat 1 and 2 than the black hole that is Neifi and Corey.

J Burnitz is quietly having season where he is on pace to hit roughly: J Burnitz .300 30 100 A Ramirez .300 36 100 D Lee .400 45 160 M Barrett .290 20 80 N Perez .285 15 60 Maddux is just about on pace to win 15 games. 15-9

Reds just fired manager Dave Miley. He was 125-164 since he took over in July of 2003. Interin manager will be Jerry Narron.

Bluewater Boats, are you suggesting that statistics can give us a ballpark idea of how certain players will be doing at the end of the year? Cause I'm quite certain that you've told us before that stats can't tell us anything about the future.

Let's face it. Corey Patterson will never see another good pitch again until he stops swinging at the really bad ones.

10 man- Has anybody thought about checking Cpat's eyes? I know its the song of the truly desperate, but I've seen him get good pitches and he takes them for strikes. Maybe a pair of those evil looking red contact lenses might help? Otherwise everyone who's ever seen this kid's potential is completely whacked.

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (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 (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 (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 (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.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.

    That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.

    Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Wesneski and Mastrobuoni to Iowa

    Taillon and Wisdom up

    Wesneski can't pitch for a couple of days after the 4 IP from last night. But Jed picked Wicks over Wesneski.

  • crunch (view)

    booooooooooo

    also, wisdom and taillon are both in chicago.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Tonight’s game postponed. Split games on Saturday.