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

Cotts No Relief for Cubs

Felix Pie hit a solo HR and Andres Torres hit a two-run shot, but it wasn't enough to overcome an atrocious relief outing by Neal Cotts, as the Giants defeated the Cubs 8-6 before a capacity crowd at sunny, cool, and breezy HoHoKam Park in Mesa (otherwise known as the far, FAR southwest side of Chicago) this afternoon.

box score

Ted Lilly got the start for the Cubs, and he pitched OK. Not great, could have been sharper (not enough strikes), but certainly more than good enough for a first Cactus League start in early March.

Lilly worked two innings (31 pitches - 18 strikes), allowing one run on two hits, a walk, a HBP, and two strikeouts. Lilly was also the main cuplrit in allowing the Giants to steal four bases without challenge during his two innings, by essentially totally ignoring the Giants baserunners. 

Juan Mateo worked the 3rd inning for the Cubs, on the heels of his nine pitch 1-2-3 outing on Friday. This time the right-hander surrendered a walk, but otherwise retired the side without a threat on 17 pitches (11 strikes). He still does not appear to be throwing very hard.

Flame-throwing Jose Ceda followed Mateo, working a shutout 4th inning (13 pitches - 9 strikes). Ceda was much better today than he was in his Cactus League debut versus the Giants in Scottsdale on Thursday (when he couldn;t even finish his inning), although he did hit the first batter he faced with his very first pitch today, and then after the runner was thrown out trying to steal second, he allowed a two-out double.

The Cubs came back to tie the score in the bottom of the 4th, capitalizing on a throwing error by Giants third-baseman Eugenio Velez (who stole THREE bases today) on a near-certain 5-4-3 DP ball, after Derrek Lee had walked and Geovany Soto singled to open the frame.

But then Neal Cotts entered the game, and it all went to crap. Unable to finish his assigned inning, Cotts threw 31 pitches (only 17 for strikes) and allowed five runs on three hits and three walks in just 2/3 of an inning. A pop-up bunt to the catcher on his very first pitch likely saved him further destruction.

RHP Jose Ascanio (acquired from the Braves in exchange for Will Ohman and Omar Infante in December, and literally given a black eye during the course of an attempted armed robbery outside a Scottsdale convenience store last week) followed Cotts to the mound, and although he did surrender an RBI single immediately upon entering the game in relief of Cotts in the 5th, he also did throw a 1-2-3 6th inning. For the day over 1.1 IP, Ascanio threw 24 pitches, but only 13 strikes. 

Veteran Japanese RHP (and ex-White Sox closer) Shingo Takatsu pitched the 7th inning, throwing his usual slop (slow, slower, and slowest). And although he did somehow manage to strike out the last two hitters he faced (and they should be embarrassed!), he also once again gave up a towering HR, this time a two-run job to left-center by one Travis Denker, a 21-year old second-baseman who has never played above "A" ball.

Kevin Hart and Carlos Marmol each worked a scoreless inning to close out the pitching line for the Cubs (Hart the 8th and Marmol a 1-2-3 9th), and both threw the ball well. Hart did allow a line-drive double that was misplayed by LF Sam Fuld, however. This is the second time in three days that the usually reliable Fuld has turned a rope line-drive hit to left into two bases for the opposition, and this will not help his cause with Uncle Lou in his effort to beat-out Felix Pie for the starting CF job.

Fuld did better offensively, though, reaching base twice, once on an infield single, and once via a two-out walk (loading the bases during a stillborn 9th inning Cubs rally).

As for Pie, he had an interesting day, striking out swinging against Giants starter Matt Cain in his 1st AB in the 3rd, before slamming a home run in the 5th over the right-centerfield fence off RHP Brad Hennessey, grounding out 3-1 with a runner in scoring position to end the 6th, and drawing a walk off ex-Cub Scott Williamson in the 8th.

Unfortunately, Pie's propensity to make mistakes attempting to steal a base reared it's ugly head again this afternoon, as the speedy youngster was picked-off 1st base by Williamson at a key moment in the 8th (one run in, Cubs down 8-6, runners at 1st & 3rd, only one out, Eric Patterson at the plate). He tried to get to second, but was tagged out.

Offensively the Cubs came back rather nicely after finding themselves Cotts-down 6-1, scoring two runs in the 5th on Pie's homer and back-to-back doubles by Alex Cintron (1-2, with a double, a run scored, and a sac-fly) and Eric Patterson (2-5 with an RBI double and a bunt single, plus two strikeouts, one swinging and one called).

E-Pat played second-base again today (possibly as a showcase for the Orioles scout said to be in town "bird-dogging" the Cubs in preparation for a possible Brian Roberts deal), and was originally supposed to hit 6th, before being moved into the lead-off slot after Alfonso Soriano was a late-scratch. (Matt Murton replaced Soriano in LF and hit 6th, going 0-2 with a walk).

The Cubs also scored two in the 7th on a two-run opposite-field dinger by Andres Torres (hitting right-handed) following a single by Andres Blanco, and another run in the 8th on a single by Fuld, walks to PH Mike Fontenot and Pie, and a sac fly to right by Alex Cintron.

Down 8-6, the Cubs mounted a last-ditch rally in the bottom of the 9th (Torres reaching 1st on a throwing error, a single by J. D. Closser, and a walk to Fuld), but with the fans on their feet screaming for a big bomb, PH Jake Fox (who hit a HR at Tempe yesterday) popped up to short to end the game with the bases loaded.

After both got a day off yesterday, Kosuke Fukudome got the start in RF and Derrek Lee got the start at 1B for the Cubs today.

Kosuke went 0-3 (reached base on an error by the shortstop, took a called third strike, and grounded out 4-3). He also made a strong throw trying to cut down a runner at 3rd base, although it was not successful.

D-Lee went 0-2 with a walk and a run scored, and a strikeout (swinging). 

It was also (possibly) noteworthy that the Giants started Rajai Davis in CF and hit him in the lead-off spot. Davis is one of a select few of right-handed hitting MLB "4th OF" candidates the Cubs might possibly be looking at right now, and it could have been a matter of the Giants "showcasing" Davis for the Cubs for future reference. If that was the case (and I don't know if it was), Davis went 0-4 with a HBP and a "K" and played an errorless game in CF.

The Cubs travel out to the west-side tomorrow, where they will be facing the Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex (a megaplex baseball facility shared by the Mariners & Padres).

Comments

Thanks AZ Phil. Reading your reports helps ease the pain of not being there... One of these days. What do you think the story is with Cotts? Has he completely lost it? He was solid not so long ago. Does he show any signs of regaining his form?

It's still early enough to give everyone a flyer for a bad performance. But if Cotts still looks like that after a couple more outings, then I would be concerned.

My god was Cotts bad. What has happened to him since he was with the Sox? I just can't see how he could have become this bad.

Yeah View From The Bleachers, Cotts was really good that year and bad the rest. If you look at that roster, you will see a few others that fall into that same category. The White Sox in 2005 was one of the flukiest teams to win a WS in the recent past. So many had career years, or at least well above normal years, along with no pitching injuries, that got them that title. And yeah, I am jealous...:)

2006 Cardinals winning WS on the strength of 83 regular season wins was pretty flukie as well.

Actually if you look most of the 2005 White Sox players did not have career years. Their starting pitching and most of their bullpen had normal years. The offense was below normal for most of the players. Hermanson, Cotts, and Politte were the only ones that truly had career years on the team. But having that backend of the bullpen and their top 4 starters make 33, 33, 32, and 32 starts repsectively played a big role in the championship.

az phil- thanks as always. how is it that fuld is auditioning for cf by playing rf? or lf either? seems counter-productive to me...

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.