Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus one player is 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 3-28-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# 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 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 1 
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 1 
Caleb Kilian, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Rule 5 Draft Update

The Toronto Blue Jays have designated RHP Randy Wells for assignment.

Wells was selected by the Jays from the Cubs AAA Iowa roster in the Major League phase of the MLB Rule 5 Draft last December, and although he pitched well enough in Spring Training to earn a slot on Toronto's Opening Day 25-man roster, he finally got caught in a numbers game

The Jays now have ten days to either trade or outright Wells, although they actually have to do something with him within eight days because it takes two days for a player to clear waivers.

If the Blue Jays trade Wells to another club, the new club assumes the Rule 5 obligations (player must remain on the club's 25-man roster for the entire 2008 season).

If the Jays can't find a trading partner, they will place him on Outright Assignment Waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, the Cubs will have the opportunity to reacquire Wells for $25,000 (half the Rule 5 Draft price). If the Cubs choose not to reclaim Wells, the Blue Jays get to keep him, and he is automatically outrighted to the minors.

But the Cubs historically always take back Rule 5 players if they get the chance (Dubois, Szuminski, Hagerty, Mateo, Holdzkom, and Campusano), so if they are given the opportunity to reacquire Wells, they almost certainly will.  

Also, RHP Tim Lahey was Designated for Assignment by the Phillies last Saturday, and the Phils will need to trade Lahey by this weekend or else place him on Outright Assignment Waivers.

Lahey was the #1 pick in the 2007 Rule 5 Draft, as the Tampa Bay Rays selected the big right-hander from the Minnesota Twins AAA Rochester club. Then immediately after the draft, the Rays sold the rights to Lahey to the Cubs for $100,000 (twice the Rule 5 Draft price).

The rubber-armed Lahey showed some flashes of upside in Spring Training, but he is still a bit raw (a converted catcher, he's only been pitching for two years), and the Cubs didn't have a spot for him on the 25-man roster. So he was placed on Outright Assignment Waivers two weeks ago, just before the start of the regular season.

Lahey was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia (with the Phillies assuming the Rule 5 obligations), but got into no games with the Phillies before being Designated for Assignment last Saturday to make room on the 25-man roster for Brad Lidge, who was reactivated from the DL at that time.

Just as with Wells and the Jays, the Phillies have 10 days to either trade or outright Lahey, but if they don't trade him, they have to place him on Outright Asignment Waivers within eight days, because it takes two days for a player to clear waivers. If Lahey does clear waivers this time, then he must be offered back to the Twins.

And if Lahey was in fact the tentative PTBNL in the Craig Monroe deal, then the Twins will certainly opt to reclaim Lahey, and if that happens, then he can be traded to the Cubs.

One thing to remember about MLB Rule 6 (the rule that governs the disposition of Rule 5 players who are not retained on a 25-man roster) is that if the player clears waivers and his original club takes him back, he is automatically outrighted back to the AAA club from which he was drafted. He is NOT placed on the club's 40-man roster.  

So if the Cubs do reclaim Wells from TOR and/or reacquire Lahey from MIN, both would initially be assigned outright to AAA Iowa, and would not have to be added to the Cubs 40-man roster. However, both Wells and Lahey (if they were to be reacquired by the Cubs) would be candidates for recall later this season, and both would likely be added to the Cubs 40-man roster by the end of the season.  

It would be nice to have arms like Wells and Lahey at Iowa to provide the Cubs some additional middle-relief depth for later in the season.

Comments

Lahey and Wells should be welcome additions/re-acs to the organ-I-zation at this point. Wood Howry Eyre Lieber Dempster Are all free agents after this season. As the Sox's signings of the immortals Dotel/Linebrink show us. The cost of Relief pitching on the Free Agent market is beyond prohibitive at this point. I do imagine that Dempster and Howry will be Type A free agents at season's end. Wood will probably be a type B free agent. If enough of the Piggy,Ceda,Roquette,Mateo,Lahey,Wells,Petrick could make the jump next year. Then the cubs could theoretically get a HUGE boost of high level talent into the farm system next summer.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Of that list, I only see Howry as leaving against our wishes, to a team that may promise him a closer job. I think Wood will resign, I would not miss Eyre and Lieber much. And lord knows what the valuation for Dempster will be. But you're right on the point--middle relievers are better made, not bought.

It would be good to have both. Both of them have potential. As a converted cacther, Lahey, it seems, is a victim of this rule. Too raw to be on a major league roster but too much minor league experience to be parked in AA or AAA. I hope his travels end soon, it cannot be good for his development to be shuttled around like this. Of the two, however, I think it's possibly Lahey could get claimed off waivers by yet another team.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

looking at the utter nonsense speculative CRAP that came outta both the santana and bedard trade rumors i'm not really surprised. the santana ones got so absurd and out-there that once he finally was traded people were screaming about how the twins got ripped off...then the whole "oh yeah, someone's gotta turn around and pay this guy 1/10th billion dollars to retain him after getting him" sunk in...

5th inning, Reds have just tied the game 1-1 on a Paul Bako double. Runners on 2nd and 3rd (Hatteburg) with one out. The pitcher (Harang) at the plate with hot hitting (4 HR) Corey Patterson due up next. Dusty Baker calls for a squeeze bunt/double steal. What was he thinking? 0-1, Harang misses the 83 mph slider down and away (0-2) and Hatteburg is a dead duck. Bako safe at third. Harang then strikes out to end the inning. duh

Dusty's greatest managerial success came at the same time, in the same city as Billy Beane was rising to prominence. You know it had to really dig at Dusty personally that some "schmuck" that wasn’t half the ballplayer he was. Was all the sudden stealing his Bay Area limelight. I always suspected that this is why Dusty did/does try so hard to go against the modern baseball grain so vigorously. I imagine Dusty was probably a better manager in the late 90's before he had such an old school baseball way of doing, axe to grind.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

i still believe its players that make a team and the overpaid babysitter is just a guy. i dont think dusty tried hard to go against the grain, its just that the limelight in the media of the "new kinda baseball" goes against what dustbag's always done. for all the talk of pitchers he ruined...he sent 1 to surgery his tenure in SF, a reliever. for all the talk of kids he didnt play...you dont hear much about the ones he did play and the ones that didnt that went on to play regularly...well, you dont hear much about them either cuz most never did. for all the talk about elderly men in suits who dont even pick up a bat or ball...meh...

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

In San Fran you may have a point. Sabean has never really gotten around to building a farm system. In Chicago though. It seemed like Hendry/McFail were always building teams around "Dusty guys". Fast,versitile,good bunting middling vets. Maybe if Dusty were a little more open to playing kids. We would have a better idea of what kind of future was in store for the Cedeno's, Theriot's,Murton's of the world.

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In reply to by Dr. aaron b

dusty's the guy who actually played murton. he got 1/2 the AB's last year and is in AAA this year. dusty's the guy who "let theriot in" at the end of his tenure and besides, its theriot...he hits singles, he occasionally walks, he plays average D...he's "good enough" and cedeno...dusty played him a full season. i just don't get all the piling on dustbag that don't hold up to history. his career is full of criticism that just don't add up looking at results. hell, i'm glad he's gone, but he don't deserve most of the hell he gets.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

hendry put those guys in the equation. hell, hairston was actually a bright spot on the club compared to the production of the rest aside from some baserunning. if todd "ow" walker could have managed to not miss 2 months a year that would helped. when you got a choice between neifi, bynum, and cedeno you're never gonna win as a manger. he played "the kid" and still "lost". he could play a vet and still lose the mental game of the fans, too. its flavors of suck...

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

If Hairston was a bright spot then Walker was a star. Virtually same nubmer of at-bats in 2005 and Walker's OPS+ was 112, compared to Hairston's 82. And what I remember most about Hairston was that he thought he was fast but wasn't. 8 SB with 9 CS is atrocious.

Cubs fans still talkin' about Dusty, funny shit!!! Hey guys move on, you got the next greatest old school manager at the helm right now...:)

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In reply to by mannytrillo

I agree with you, at least on the Dusty part. Dusty was the Cubs' manage 2 years ago. I am not really sure how he is relevant to the Cubs now, unless the Cubs are actually playing the Reds. Getting updates of Dusty's boneheadedness is getting old.

God, I'm sick of hearing about Dusty f'ing Baker. I dislike him as much as the next Cubs fan, but I'm going to stab myself in the eye with a spork if I keep reading analysis of every move he makes. Can we at least save that for when we're actually playing his team?

Maybe we can all agree that Dusty did the monster managerial suck of all time during the playoffs vs. the Marlins. My wife still remembers me screaming at the TV screen, pleading with Dusty to please go out to the farkin' mound and calm Prior down (not to mention telling Alou to keep his panties from twisting into a knot as well). You know, do something of value in that situation, which is what would usually be expected from a decent manager in a critical moment. But Dusty's ass stayed planted to the bench - unreal. His apologists came out in droves after that game, intimating that hey, you can only go with the players you have, and they're professionals and should be able to figure it out for themselves - but what the heck is a manager's job in the end?

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In reply to by Dmac

I personally can never forgive batting Neifi 2nd becasue he was a "contact guy" --- a contact guy who had one of the worst OBPs in baseball.. However -- Dusty did manage a team that had Simon/Karros at first base (neither did anything afterwards), was mediocre at 2B, SS and catcher and had a nothing bullpen to within 5 outs of the WS. Best anyone has done in a long time.

Recent comments

  • hellfrozeover (view)

    I would say also in the bright side column is Busch looked pretty good overall at the plate. Alzolay…man, that hurts but most of the time he’s not giving up a homer to that guy. To me the worst was almonte hanging that pitch to Garcia. He hung another one to the next hitter too and got away with it on an 0-1. 

  • crunch (view)

    amaya blocked like 6-8 of smyly's pitches in the dirt very cleanly...not even an exaggeration, smyly threw a ton of pitches bouncing in tonight.

    neris looking like his old self was a relief (no pun), too.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    In looking for bright spots the defense was outstanding tonight. The “stars” are going to need to shine quite a bit brighter than they did tonight offensively though for this to be a successful season.

  • Eric S (view)

    Good baseball game. Hopefully Steele is pitching again in April (but I’m not counting on it). 

  • crunch (view)

    boo.

  • crunch (view)

    smyly to face the 2/3/4 hitters with a man on 2nd in extras.

    this doesn't seem like a 8 million dollar managerial decision.

  • crunch (view)

    i 100% agree with you, but i dunno how jed wants to run things.  the default is delay.  i would choose brown.

    like hellfrozeover says, could be smyly since he's technically fresh and stretched.

    anyway, on a pure talent basis....brown is the best option.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Use pitchers when you believe they're good. Don't plan their clock.

    I'm sorry. I'm simply anti-clock/contract management. Play guys when they show real MLB potential talent.

    If Brown hadn't been hurt with the Lat Strain he would've gotten the call, and not Wick.

    Give him a chance. 

    But Wesneski probably gets it

  • crunch (view)

    alzolay...bro...

  • crunch (view)

    wow.  what a blown call.  go cubs, i guess.