Cubs MLB Roster

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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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* 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: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Game 17 Thread / Pirates @ Cubs (2 of 3)

Submitted by Cubnut on

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP *Tom Gorzelanny
 SP
Jason Marquis
  1-1, 6.75, 6 K, 11 BB
0-0, 5.23, 4 K, 6 BB
       
CF *Nate McLouth
CF
 Reed Johnson
2B
 Freddy Sanchez
 SS
 Ryan Theriot
LF
 Jason Bay
1B
Derrek Lee
1B
 *Adam LaRoche
3B
Aramis Ramirez
RF
 Xavier Nady
 RF
*Kosuke Fukudome
C
 #Ryan Doumit LF
 Mark DeRosa
3B
 Jose Bautista
 C Geovany Soto
SS
 Brian Bixler
2B
 Ronny Cedeno
P
 *Tom Gorzelanny
 P *Jason Marquis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No kidding--starting pitchers' combined K:BB ratio this season is 1:1.7.

The Cubs go for five in a row this season against the Pirates and their eighth overall versus the Bucs dating back to last September.

Chicago-area native Gorzelanny was the starter in the game last week at Pittsburgh which the Cubs wound up winning 10-8 in 12 innings. The lefty was charged with the first 7 Cub runs and was gone by the middle of the third inning. He has made three career starts in Wrigley, however, and in two of them, he pitched a combined 15 innings and allowed just one run.

Marquis is coming off a so-so effort last Sunday at Philadelphia (2 runs, 4 hits allowed in 5 IP), though it was his first game back after a strep throat, so maybe it was more Herculean than I'm giving him credit for.

Miserable weather forecast for Chicago this afternoon.

Murton update: The Cubs officially announced the Murton recall and the E-Pat demotion. In addition to the Pirate lefties in the Cubs' immediate future, the Mets, Rockies, and Nats, the Cubs' next three opponents, are all southpaw-rich, which could create opportunities for the Redhead.

If you liked this article, consider supporting us during TCR's April Pledge Drive.

Tags
Jason Marquis
Gameday Open Thread

Comments

Submitted by Little Nate Lewis on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:33 pm

I haven't been able to watch the game, but according to Yahoo's game notes: "CHICAGO FIRST BASEMAN DERREK LEE LEFT THE GAME IN THE TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING WITH AN UNDISCLOSED INJURY."

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:39 pm

I'm watching. Bob and Len don't think so. They said Lou is trying to get D-Ward some at bats in the blowout. Speaking of which - Ward is now on the board with a 2-Run HR. Apparently he got tired of getting ragged on for grounding out to the right side...

Submitted by Jordan on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:26 pm

Would love an update on Lee. Too bad for the blackout. As a west coast denizen, I get to watch the Cubs mainly on the weekend (they play while I'm at work mainly) at a bar w/ DirecTV or Extra Innings. The wife and I went down to our favorite watering hole for bloody marys and breakfast for the 10:05AM game, only to remember it gets blacked out because FOX and MLB suck ass....sweet. Hey Rob, the new get up with the mobile phone redirecting broke something for me. My blackberry w/ OperaMini browser always gets a page not found error, while I can surf to just about anything else I desire. Any ideas? Used to work fine, and I actually liked loading the full main page with OperaMini's zoom features.

Submitted by Green Lantern on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:26 pm

watching the reds lose in 10 innings to the brewers, and the little brennaman plus his color man are pretty baffled as to why dusty would double switch norris hopper into the 4th spot up in the bottom of the 10th when they're already down by two, when hatteberg is still on the bench. would you rather have a lefty with some power facing gagne as the tying (or winning run) or little righty norris hopper? doesn't matter, hopper ends the game in the on deck circle, brewers are now 4-0 in extras, all 10th inning wins. but it's ok, bc CUBS WIN! and marquis looked great.

Submitted by WISCGRAD on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:33 pm

(rotoworld) David Weathers left Saturday's game in the 10th inning with an apparent elbow injury. It didn't look good. Weathers clearly felt something in his elbow go while delivering a pitch that ended up well wide of home plate, and he signaled for the trainer immediately. Expect him to spend some time on the DL.

Submitted by navigator on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:34 pm

he had a "little stiffness in his neck" --Lou Piniella postgame

Submitted by Jordan on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:21 pm

I'm sure most people are still pretty checked-out on Ronny Cedeno, but I've been fairly impressed with him in his admittedly small sample size. I am slightly encouraged by the 3 BB to 2 K he has put up in 15 ABs so far. If the scouts are correct, and his upside really is bigger than TheRiot's, maybe its not a bad time to see what we could get for TheRiot somewhere else...while he is hitting .302 and playing a solid SS. Of course, maybe the reverse is true, dump Ronny while he isn't completely reverting to his 2006 form.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:30 pm

Ronny looks like he's still got a hole in his swing up and in and he often swings at pitches that he shouldn't (and often makes contact), but overall his plate appearances have looked more deliberate and more patient. He certainly has more pop than Theriot and more range and a stronger if not very accurate arm at SS, but his success at the plate will likely depend on his ability to make consistent contact and take more walks. Theriot will have to either hit for a high average or see his walk rate increase dramatically to be valuable offensively. Cedeno, on the other hand, will only have to hit for a moderate average if he can increase his walk rate because he has more doubles power and will occasionally knock one out. Cedeno is also plenty fast enough to steal bases, maybe faster than Theriot, but he hasn't demonstrated the ability to steal often or at a high percentage yet. I like his upside a lot more than Theriot's because of the tools he has, but I'm not sure why he hasn't put it together yet and I've heard some discouraging reports on his attitude and personality--for what that's worth.

Submitted by Jordan on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:42 pm

Ronny is almost 3.5 years younger than TheRiot. He is only 25, and could take some time to develop. He does have a similar number of ABs in the bigs as TheRiot. Not sure about TheRiot's development in comparison to Cedeno, but I recall he played through college (LSU?). Not to compare the two directly, but ARam learned a lot after he developed through his 20's. Took him until he was 26 or so to really cut down on his K rate, he had 100 one year w/ the Pirates. ARam came to the cubs when he was about 25, and it was just then that he really started to consistently take walks and lower his K rate. He turned into a much better player than his previous record, except for his one standout season with the Pirates, which might damage my argument a bit. Either way, I think Cedeno is still *really* young for this game. I'd like to see the Cubs figure out a way to make him useful, or get some serious value for him. Not sure if TheRiot is the answer in the two-spot, but not sure Cedeno fits that bill either.

Submitted by Q-Ball on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:23 pm

Excellent points on Cedeno, and I said before the season started he could be the best SS on the roster. I think we should give him an extended look. I LOVE Theriot on my bench, where his defensive versatiliy, speed, and ability to hit for contact are invaluable. But not in the lineup.

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Sun, 04/20/2008 - 04:13 am

I think Q-Ball is saying that Cedeno could be that "real shortstop" what would push Theriot back into the utility role, though I know many people would disagree. I myself am unsure. I would think, though, that if/when Theriot stops hitting, Cedeno will get at least a little time to show what he can do. I liked the Aramis Ramirez comparison that someone made earlier. A-Ram didn't become a consistent hitter or fielder until 2004, and he was older than Cedeno is now. I'm not saying Cedeno will turn into the type of player A-Ram is--they have completely different bodies, swings, and I'm sure they think about the game differently--but it does show that calling someone a failure when they are so young would be a mistake. Heck, DeRosa didn't turn into a decent everyday player until 2006. Of course, he also wasn't given much of a shot to be a starter until 2006.

Submitted by Jeff_Pico on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 04:42 pm

Anyone want to look into the crystal ball and predict whether Monday's game on ESPN is going to be blacked out in the Cubs blackout territory? Its on WCIU in Chicago so I think there is some hope.

Submitted by Jumbo on Sun, 04/20/2008 - 04:00 am

The wife and I are going to be in town on Friday, May 16 and are hoping to take in the Pirates game. We're hoping to score some pretty close seats, but I thought I would check here before forking over to StubHub. Please write to markhaab at hotmail.com if you have seats you want to sell. Thanks

Submitted by Jordan on Sun, 04/20/2008 - 04:13 pm

Charlie, I made the ARam comparison, and I think its equally applicable to the situation Pie is in. Pie and Cedeno are VERY young, and still raw. We need to think about these kids who are on the cusp of the big leagues and understand that we aren't witnessing the zenith of their baseball ability right here. Its pretty easy to pan a lot of these guys for their "unintelligent" play, or the various holes in their swings. They are still a work in progress. Not everyone comes in like Pujols (still don't believe his age is real). Pie is 23, Cedeno is 25, and Ramirez is almost 29. Ramirez was given almost 600 ABs of suckitude with the Pirates before his first really decent season in '01, with a huge regression in '02 before getting shipped mid-season to the Cubs in '03. We would all have given up on him here in the TCR threads well before he actually hit 36 HRs with a .951 OPS in '04.

Submitted by Timmer on Sun, 04/20/2008 - 04:20 pm

A-Ram didn't become a consistent hitter or fielder until 2004 Ramirez came into his own as a hitter at age 23 in 2001, his first full year in the majors (158 games, 603 ABs). He hit .300/.350/.536 with 34 HRs and 112 RBI. His stats were way down in 2002, but that was because of the ankle injury he suffered in April that year.

Submitted by Jordan on Sun, 04/20/2008 - 04:27 pm

We may quibble over the definition of 'consistent,' but I wouldn't say he followed up his poor 2002 with a return in 2003, the year he came over to the Cubs. He hit an ominous .666 OPS in 375 ABs before the Pirates shipped him to the North Side. I would wager my car that people were bitching that '01 was an aberration at that point. I would also argue that few people, if any, were calling him a "consistent hitter." I welcome your point of view, but I'd have to disagree with his emergence taking place anywhere other than the North Side.

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: I think there was an issue with Luke Little coming into a game with men on base. He seems to need a "clean" inning to be dominant. So he is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AAA. Same goes for Michael Arias. He needs to come into a "clean" inning, and is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AA. Porter Hodge is a more versatile pitcher, a better version of Keegan Thompson (multi-inning RP). But Little, Arias, and Hodge (probably in that order) are the Cubs top three RP prospects (all three are Cubs Top 15 prospects).

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    So, let’s do a little war gaming. Taillon is back for tonight’s game. He pitched two rehab games, just a few innings each, and not especially sharp. Let’s face it, he hasn’t been lights out since the Cubs gave him the big contract. In other words, as flat out bad as Hendricks has been, the chances of Taillon being the savior don’t look exactly promising.

    If Taillon is equally ineffective or perhaps even worse, what’s the next move? Winning teams can often find a way to work around a dud fifth starter - kinda. Two dud starters make things much more difficult.

    I believe the biggest reason for the recent bullpen moves was dissatisfaction with the recent blowing of big leads and the recognition that the bullpen wasn’t all it was thought to be. In other words, they are exploring alternate options and configurations. If similar juggling becomes necessary (even more so than it already is), what kind of reasonable maneuvering do we think could be explored?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Cubdom needs to prepare themselves for Wicks to be sent to Iowa for Taillon to come up.
    Ben Brown has 4 appearances. Wicks has 4 appearances.
    Ben has 16.1 IP.  Wicks has 17 IP
    Ben was a 1.1 WHIP.  Wicks has a 1.7 WHIP. Wicks does have significantly more SOs. 
    Ben has been better, though.
    I love Wicks. I think he's a fighter and his stuff has improved.
    But, Jed isn't ditching Hendricks just yet. He should. But he won't.
    Hendricks should go to the IL and Taillon-Imanaga-Assad-Wicks-Brown should be the rotation.
    Wont' happen though.

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