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 Organizational Report Week 23

Abbreviated organizational report this week since the minors league seasons are over except for the AA Jaxx. I'll get a post up with the final minor league numbers in the next few weeks. For more info on the Cubs' minor league system, check out Rudy Kamman, writing at Road to Wrigley. Team Records updated through 9/12/05
Organizational Records
TeamW-LGB/Pos.Last 10
Chicago Cubs71-72(Div)19.5/3rd
(WC)5.5/5th
8-2
Iowa Cubs64-758.5/4th3-7
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx*39-31
83-56
0.0/1st5-5
Daytona Cubs34-34
69-66
4.0/5th6-4
Peoria Chiefs33-37
68-72
4.5/6th5-5
Boise Hawks34-423.0/3rd5-5
AZL Cubs9-19
19-37
9.0/9th4-6
Cubs Ex W/L: 72-71; (2003) 76-67; (2004) 79-64 * West Tennessee swept their first round series over the Carolina Mudcats and face the Jacksonville Suns for the Southern League championship starting on Tuesday, September 13th.
TRANSACTIONS
MLB NONE TO REPORT AAA/Iowa SEASON OVER AA/West Tennessee NONE TO REPORT Advanced A/Daytona SEASON OVER A/Peoria SEASON OVER Low A/Boise SEASON OVER Rookie Leauge/Arizona SEASON OVER Southern League Playoffs Game 1: Jaxx 3, Mudcats 0 Game 2: Jaxx 2, Mudcats 1 Game 3: Jaxx 11, Mudcats 2 Jaxx win series 3-0 Championship Series: Game 1 (Sept. 13th): @ Jacksonsville Suns Game 2 (Sept. 14th): @ Jacksonville Suns Game 3 (Sept. 16th): vs. Jacksonsville Suns Game 4 (Sept. 17th): vs. Jacksonville Suns (if necessary) Game 5 (Sept. 18th): vs. Jacksonville Suns (if necessary) GREG MADDUX WINS WATCH Needs 3 wins in 4 starts (possibly 5) to continue his streak of 15 or more wins a season for an 18th year. His projected starts: 09/12 vs. Cincinnati Reds 09/17 vs. St. Louis Cardinals 09/23 vs. Houston Astros 09/29 @ Houston Astros With off-days, they may skip some starts and go with the following: 09/12 vs. Cinicinnati Reds 09/17 vs. St. Louis Cardinals 09/22 @ Milwaukee Brewers 09/27 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 10/02 @ Houston Astros 2005 ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE PARTICIPANTS RHP David Aardsma RHP Angel Guzman SS/OF Buck Coats OF Matt Murton 2B Eric Patterson 1B/OF Brandon Sing

Comments

Is there any reason in any universe that's sane in any way (I realize it's Dusty's world and we're all just living in it) that you wouldn't go with 5 starts for Maddux? Even if you're making the argument that they're pushing for a playoff spot (HA), isn't he still one of your 3 best pitchers? You don't have to skip Prior or Z, so what's to lose? Dusty made some noise today about "well, if he needs another start, we can get him one later", but if he's not rested, that doesn't work.

Is there any reason in any universe that's sane in any way (I realize it's Dusty's world and we're all just living in it) that you wouldn't go with 5 starts for Maddux? Even if you're making the argument that they're pushing for a playoff spot (HA), isn't he still one of your 3 best pitchers? You don't have to skip Prior or Z, so what's to lose? Dusty made some noise today about "well, if he needs another start, we can get him one later", but if he's not rested, that doesn't work.

Oh, and wouldn't the last start be on 10/2?

"09/27 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates" That sure does look familiar.

For the Dusty's fans and detractors on the TCR, here are Joe Sheehan's comments from his baseball notes column on today's baseballpropsectus web page. Joe, who is a real big Dusty fan (NOT!), is not to high on Cedeno who the Cubs are willing to dump Garcippara to make room for. He also does not understand that Dusty expects a rookie to earn his way into and up the line-up. At least that is my SWAG at Dusty's handling of Murton as nothing else makes sense. "Dusty Baker continues to impress. He's finally found it in his heart to work Matt Murton into the lineup once in a while, but when he does, he bats him eighth. Murton is hitting .342/.424/.521, yet hits behind Neifi Perez on those rare occasions when he starts. What's truly hilarious is comparing Murton to Ronny Cedeno. Murton out-hit Cedeno coming into '05, destroyed what Cedeno did at Double-A, and even matched Cedeno's BA-driven fluke season at Triple-A in limited time at that level. He's also out-hit Cedeno in the majors. Matt Murton is, by any reasonable standard, a better hitter than Ronny Cedeno. And when they both start, Cedeno bats second, Murton bats eighth. Look, middle infielders bat second, mmmkay? On the other hand, Baker has added another data point to the argument that any pitcher can be made into a closer. Ryan Dempster will reach 30 saves by the end of the season, the latest in a long line of mediocre pitchers to pick up the scarlet "C" and, likely, make million of dollars for it. His numbers in relief aren't terrible: 2.20 ERA in 49 innings, 40 strikeouts and 22 walks. By the standards of short relievers, those aren't exceptional, and Dempster has a critical flaw for a closer: lefties slap him around (.297/.417/.391 in 2005). This won't end well."

Cubs still in it? Stranger things have happened. Take it game by game. Win tonight and then see what happens. If by some stroke of luck we gain two games this week, then we are 3.5 out with two weeks to go. At that point, I would say we are definitely back in it.

Ron Galt asked me a couple of Chats back about the 2003 Prospectus Article that talked up Dusty's ability to get the most out of veterans. They had two tables in the article. One consisted of the veterans on the 2002 World Series team and second, bigger, table of players who had a least 350 plate appearances with Dusty and who had pre Dusty and Post Dusty careers. The vast majority were definetly better performers under Dusty. I am not at home, but will copy the smaller table in a follow-up Post.

is there any real heat behind this rumor that the cubs would let nomar walk to play cedeno instead? that would be an atrocious move...

only sportswriters selling papers... depending on what week it is, garciappara's coming back to start, neifi's coming back to start, furcal's coming to start, cedeno's ready to take over at SS, cedeno's gonna be the backup, or he's moving to 2nd when walker is traded while one of the other 3 starts at SS. wee! ps- adam dunn.

Did anyone read the articles about the possibility of Nomar playing left field?...Imagine....Barrett/Blanco at Catcher, DLEE, Walker, Cedeno, Ramirez from 1st to 3rd, Nomah in Left, Damon in Center and Burnie in Right....Cedeno would be practically free, and Damon would come from the "Sammy Savings"...resign burnie for your third outfielder, bench of Blanco, Perez, Hairston, Murton, and Grieve/McClain/whomever....Bullpen filled from within with Prior, Z, Wood, Maddux, and Williams filling the rotation. If Ramirez pulls a groin, put Nomar there and Murton in left...if Walker gets hurt or Cedeno, play Neifi...or move Nomar in and put Murton in left...I don't know the odds of Nomar playing left, but, boy do I like our lineup: 1.Damon 2.Cedeno 3.DLee 4.Nomar 5.Ramirez 6.Burnie 7.Walker 8.Barrett 9.Pitcher Doesn't sound too bad to me at all...

Damon's not coming. Get over your boner for that guy.

Jon at Work, Wouldn't it make more sense to leave Nomar at short and let Murton start in left?

Blue, I suppose...I guess I figured this would plug two gaps at once...our need for a leftfielder and a decent SS(although the jury may still be out on Cedeno). And Cedeno would be really cheap...but I suppose Murton and Nomar would give us the same savings Murton's salary versus Cedeno's and Murton would fill the left field spot...so, either way, I suppose

I am glad to see I am not the only one Big John Stud harasses on here and adds nothing to the conversation but classless attacks.

ROB G: John Koronka has been added to the Cubs contingent that will be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox in the AFL starting next month. So it was a lefty, but not the lefty I thought it would be (I figured Ryan O'Malley).

Joe Sheehan--"Matt Murton is, by any reasonable standard, a better hitter than Ronny Cedeno."
Of course, and so he's right that Murton should bat higher up the order, but I really don't appreciate his tone towards Cedeno. Writing off Cedeno's spell at Triple-A as a "BA-driven fluke" misses the point given that knocking off 80 points of average on balls in play leaves Cedeno's line at around .290/.340/.440, still extremely respectable for a 22-year old shortstop having his first go at a league, even if it is a hitter-friendly one. Furthermore, Cedeno is a good defensive shortstop, and while that doesn't mean Cedeno should bat second, it does mean you should try to avoid sounding like you think absolutely nothing of Cedeno. It's also interesting that Sheehan doesn't see fit to point out that merely adequate left-field defender Murton's stint at Double-A (and everywhere else this year) also has "BA-driven fluke" written all over it in that Murton is no natural .340 hitter now, and he doesn't ever project as one either. Right now, until Murton's eye starts resulting in more walks and his power comes through, and I expect that it will, he's not so much superior a hitter relative to Cedeno that you need to have a massive go at Dusty over which way around they're batting. Rather you just have to be grateful they're in the lineup at all, and take the fact that they're the wrong way around as a slight inconvenience as opposed to something that's ruining our season. It's not as though Cedeno has a .304 OBP or anything. I don't read Sheehan, I'm not a subscriber, but whenever he's quoted he seems to know an awful lot about what he's talking about. I'm just not sure what his problem is here. Dusty probably. Anyway, it's a moot point now, Cedeno's injured and Mr .304 is batting second again now. Now that's something I don't mind Sheehan vociferously complaining about.

its doubtful he's got a huge problem with cedeno, but cedeno's not exactly a guy who projects well with a bat. he'll swing at a lotta stuff, make contact (mostly weak), and has an extremely straight swing. if he had more power it would lead to line-drive gappers, but most of the time it leads to solid smacks and bloopers that dont go further than 200ft. cedeno's not a guy who you have to pitch around...you just pitch somewhere off/near the plate and eventually he'll swing at it and make contact somewhere. he's not gonna wait for his pitch cuz everything is his pitch. he's not vlad-like in plate selection (bad) but he's not gonna sit around and wait for his ideal pitch for his stregnths.

Thanks for another repetition of your scouting report, Crunch. I still don't agree with it, and I probably still won't if you run it by me another hundred times.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • crunch (view)

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

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.