Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs "Hits" Of The Week (For the Week of 4/21 through 4/27)

Quotation marks make their first appearance in the Hits of the Week headline since this week's list includes two walks.

So here they are, the five hits...er, that is, offensive events...that did the most to enhance the Cubs' chance of winning during the past week, as measured by FanGraphs' Win Probability Added (WPA):

#5 Big Hit: Tuesday, v. the Mets, 4th inning-- With the bases loaded and two out and the Cubs already leading 1-0, Reed Johnson drives a single to left field, scoring Ronny Cedeno and Henry Blanco, and the Cubs' margin is three, which, on a day when the Mets can't seem to get an important hit, is more than margin enough. WPA .151

#4 Big Hit: Thursday, v. Colorado, 8th inning-- The Cubs are down a run to Aaron Cook with two men aboard and nobody out, when pinch-hitter Daryle Ward works Cook for a walk to load the bases. (The promising inning will only produce one run and a tie, which the Rox will break in the last of the 8th). WPA .155

#3 Big Hit: Friday, v.Washington, 8th inning -- In the Cubs' first game at new Nationals Park, Matt Murton, suffering from that uncomfortable allergy to base hits, is sent in to bat with the bases loaded, one out, and the Cubs down a run. Murton takes a walk and ties the game...which Washington catcher Wil Nieves will eventually untie with his game-winning home run one inning later. WPA .196

#2 Big Hit: Wednesday, v. Colorado, 10th inning -- This, boys and girls, is what is meant by clutch. After Kerry Wood failed to protect a one-run lead in the last of the ninth inning, and after Reed Johnson failed to bring in the lead runner from second with one out in the top of the tenth, Theriot punches a run-scoring single to right field, scoring Mike Fontenot and giving the Cubs a second one-run lead, a lead which Carlos Marmol does not fail to protect. WPA .351

#1 Big Hit: Wednesay, v. Colorado, 9th inning -- Wednesday's ninth and tenth innings were a swell couple of frames for Win Probabilty Added. Kerry Wood wouldn't have had a one-run lead to not protect and Ryan Theriot wouldn't have had a chance to plate the game-winning run were it not for the fact that in the top of the ninth, with the Cubs trailing 5-4, Aramis Ramirez lofted a two-run homer into the left field stands at Coors Field, scoring Felix Pie, giving the Cubs a brief 6-5 advantage, and knocking the Rockies' Manny Corpas right out of the Colorado closer's job. (This is what is meant by really clutch.) WPA .640


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Comments

Anyone else feel that just maybe Steve Rosenbloom might be blowing things a little out of proportion when he recommends that Lou should start putting the pitcher batting 8th behind Soto in the lineup? He acts as if Soto is some sort of Rob Bowen type.... He has had two bad games in a row. Don't get me wrong - they were pretty ugly, but the guy is still hitting over .300, and is ranked 3rd among rookies...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

the most important thing about these analysises i have issue with is most treat the #8 slot as if its the same as the #9 or #7 or #1 slots... there is probably no greater "generalized" way to go about attacking 1 slot vs. another as there is the pitcher's slot vs. the batter directly before the pitcher. the whole idea of getting the out over with by moving the slot up earlier and giving protection to your former weak hitter by giving him security later doesn't really do it for me. i see the whole thing as a way to correct an issue with certain players, but i believe if you want to give that guy protection you put someone else in the 8 slot and move your troubled guy to the 7 slot if they really need that protection. a big problem for most teams is their 7 and 8 slot hitters are usually interchangle suck. i dont see sticking an even worse player higher up being an efficient way to tackle the issue, though. besides, this is the NL...the double switch league...a pitcher's slot is the most mobile of all lineup slots.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Aren't we talking about a difference of 4 or 5 runs a year at most? I mean, that's half a win and those could be game-winning runs, sure. And I'm all in favor of maximizing runs. But I think this is one time where we don't have enough evidence to convict or acquit. That is, batting your worst hitter 8th may be better on paper, but what about the stigma on the 9th hitter? Does his performance wane by more than the 4 or 5 runs a year in the new lineup? Can psychological factors affect his hitting that way? Or, once everyone is hitting this way, does that stigma simply disappear--and we get his normal production? I'm really not the best person to make this argument, given that I'm mostly a believer in the story the numbers tell. But for whatever reason, I'm curious about the psychological factor on this decision. Probably because I'm biased against it. Probably because I can't stand Tony Larussa.

[ ]

In reply to by Stevens

a lot of criticism points to it being a wash either way... too many loose studies that totally ignore the impact of a hitter batting before a pitcher show a slight edge to batting the pitcher 8th. too many see it as a static that is influenced solely by batting position, not who's before or after you. you pretty much trade off run production from your 5/6/7 hitters in exchange for giving top of the lineup guys more rbi chances. on a cubs-08 specific level there's those that would welcome more rbi chances for soriano...there's also those who question why the guy who hits 30hr/40doubles with low ob% is batting first because he was a 30sb guy 2 seasons and 2 leg injuries ago who some believe has a mental block outside of the 1 slot... all in all its considered a 'wash' by most observers...

I was reading over at Desipio and came across this info, prob old news by now... A lot of us couldn’t figure out why Lou would pinch run for Derrek Lee with one out in a one run game on Wednesday night in Denver. Felix didn’t try to steal second, so why was he in? Hell, Lee could have jogged around the bases on E-ramis’ homer as well as Felix did. Lou explained that Rockies pitcher Manny Corpas tries to pitch with a slide step when there’s a basestealer on, and not only does Manny struggle with it, but he can’t throw his slider very well without his normal stride. Felix went in, Manny went to the slide step, E-ramis sat on the fastball and homered. How cool is that? I think that is pretty cool. A manager who knows what the hell is going on. Also Pie is hitting like .400 since Lou benched him and started working on his swing. Just more things Dusty's fat ass couldnt be bothered to deal with or even know. Dusty managed on "instincts" damn it.

http://cubs.scout.com/2/750911.html Berg, 23, struck out 10 batters and walked 11 in 28 1/3 innings, going six innings or more in three of his five starts this season. Opponents batted .264 against Berg. “His record is not indicative of how he’s pitched here,” Tennessee pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn said of Berg. “He’s throwing the ball well and he has matured a lot as a person.”

AAA Jake Fox hitting 176/195/400 Fuld has only played in 6 games all year Josh Kroeger hitting 292/363/473 in AAA Gallagher with a 1.93 ERA, 25 K, 23.1 IP, 5 BB Ascanio 2.03 ERA, Cotts 2.08 ERA, Holliman 4.12 ERA with 14 K, 9 BB and 19.2 IP AA Doug Deeds 298/355/561 (new guy in the Monroe deal) Colvin 250/317/424 24 K, 7 BB in 92 AB Ryan Harvey 169/236/323 (start working on your breaking pitches) Samardzija 3.12 ERA, 14 K, 12 BB, 26 IP Veal 2.38 ERA, 17 K, 14 BB, 22.2 IP Greg Reinhard 1.32 ERA, 16 K, 3 BB, 13.1 IP Hi-A Tony Thomas 274/337/386 Welington Castillo 286/314/347 Alessandro Maestri 1.31 ERA, 15 K, 6 BB, 20.2 IP Jose Ceda 4.05 ERA, 24 K, 10 BB, 20 IP A Vitters 214/214/429 (been out 5 days w/ a hand injury though) Kyler Burke 227/292/303 Records Iowa 11-11 Tennessee 9-15 Daytona 14-10 Peoria 8-15 hasn't been pretty so far in the minors

Zito's strongest selling point was that he hadn't missed a single start since he broke into the league. Not taking advantage of his health and moving him to the bullpen where he's not nearly as likely to work out his struggles as if he stayed in the rotation, is idiotic. There's a reason why a team like the Giants has the luxury to keep sending struggling pitchers to the mound every five days: they're not contenders.

Well, Sabean can cheer up, they'll only have $102 mil left by the end of the season, and that even includes the $7 mil buyout for 2014 (assuming Zito doesn't opt out of that year; who knows, he has 5 years in the Giants pen to turn it around). This could be the worst FA signing ever. Even Hampton, you can chalk it up to injury, and he did have a couple decent years in there.

I'm embarassed to say I was in favor of the Cubs signing Zito (although knowing he would stay on the west coast in all likelihood). Free agency is a crapshoot at best, and if you get 2 out of 3, or 3 out of 4 decent years you're lucky. Trades and farm system development is a safer bet if you can.

by the waiver deadline. The Mets need another arm and dont have the prospects to get a top guy, so they will just buy half of his contract and give up a marginal prospect or two and hope Peterson can rebulid him like he did once before.

Whatever Zito's problems are, they haven't just cropped up recently. Here's his ERA+ for his career: 2001: 125 2002: 158 <-- Cy Young year 2003: 134 2004: 101 2005: 113 2006: 116 2007: 98 2008: 54 Strikeout totals for the same period: 2001: 205 2002: 182 2003: 146 2004: 163 2005: 171 2006: 151 2007: 131 He's been on a steady decline for his entire career. The fact that he started from such a high spot has masked it somewhat, but he's been league-average or just over for the last four years.

[ ]

In reply to by ruz

zito's main issue is a loss in velocity and his "table dropping" curve has straightened out. guy's never been a fireballer, but he's struggling to his mid-80s much less consistant high-80s/low-90s. he has a change, but when you're throwing a 85mph fastball a crappy change isn't gonna fool too many (as if his change ever was good). lefties are seeing him well and his stuff is more junk than deception. so he's basically a soft tossing lefty without deception or control. ow.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).