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

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.

[ ]

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...:)

[ ]

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?

[ ]

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

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.