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

NL Central Smackdown: Shortstops

2nd Basemen | Poll
1st Basemen | Poll

We march on around the diamond. Today it's the double play partner of yesterday's vote. The Cubs so far have the 2nd best first basemen and second basemen in the division. Can Ryan Theriot keep the streak going? Answer - no!

Your scrap-tastic contenders after the jump....

UPDATE: Thanks to you wonderful readers, it was brought to my attention to check Tejada's projections since he revealed his true age. His WARP-3 three year projection is updated in the chart and went down from 4.13 to 3.2. I'd still rate him first though even though he now drops behind Hardy and Wilson in the WARP-3 projections.

Player 3-Year Warp-3 Average
3 Year Warp-3 Projection
Rob's Ranking
Ryan Theriot 2.6 (2 years)
2.47
5
J.J. Hardy
3.5 4.2 2
Cesar Izturis 1.53 1.07
6
Miguel Tejada
7.03 3.2
1
Alex Gonzalez
3.03
1.77 3
Jeff Keppinger
1.9 (2 years)
4
3
Jack Wilson
5.83
3.23
4


 

 

 

 

 

 


The Justification: This one gets a bit difficult as the Reds muck up my little chart. They're going to do that a few times in this series. Alex Gonzalez is signed through 2009 with about $11 million owed to him between this year and next, plus a 2010 mutual option for $6 million. He also has a fractured left knee and a player currently playing in his place who is probably better than him. I'd dismiss Gonzalez altogether if it wasn't for the fact that he's got a contract to justify and has Dusty Baker as his manager. So what to do? Well I included them both in the chart above and if it was just Keppinger, I'd easily rank him third ahead of Jack Wilson and possibly second ahead of JJ Hardy.If it was just Gonzalez, I'd push him behind Jack Wilson for fourth (who's brilliant glovework makes up a lot for his deficient bat). Overall though, I'm guessing they share the playing time and I think the composite of the two is a just a bit better than Wilson for the three spot.

As for the rest of the rankings, Tejada still gets the nod as the top spot. He probably won't stay at shortstop for much longer or with the Astros, but stanozolol rises to the top with this weak competition. Hardy's twenty-plus homer potential and 26 years of age give him the two spot in my rankings. You can flip the three/four spots between Wilson and the Reds shortstops however you wish. I don't expect Ryan Theriot to last the season as the Cubs shortstop, either because of a trade or Ronny Cedeno taking over the job. He's only saved by the presence of Cesar's ghost in the division from being a bottom, which seems like a place Cesar is very comfortable occupying.

There's another poll for you guys to fill out below this and I'll leave the old polls open until we finish this.

Please note, you do have to register to vote. This isn't some scheme to solicit registrations, it's just an anomaly of the site and the poll software that's built in. Trust me, I'd love to fix it, but I haven't found another piece of integrated software that does these ranking polls which I really like. Plus if you register, you get a better user experience as I tend to test everything as a registered user and you get an uncached version of the site. You can also view the results of the poll after you vote, instead of having to wait until I close it. It takes all of two minutes to register and unlikes some sites, I'll be more than happy to cancel your account if you wish. You'll never receive any spam from us either...promise.


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Comments

j/k....

moved some stuff around on the sidebars and doubled up info with tabs now to make things a little neater and take up less sidebar space so we can add 3-D ads and porn. :)

Here's the list:

Moved the weather together with the Cubs Schedule on the right sidebar

Put together the site search and BR search into one box 

Moved the "TCR on the web" to the left sidebar below the text ads and added some publicity we've gotten.

and of course, added the Featured Post and Recent Posts in the upper left 

 

So where do we see the poll results without waiting? Maybe I'm an idiot (let me restate that. I AM an idiot. Maybe this is attributable to me being an idiot,) but I can't find it.

How long before we see the "Theriot Shift"? - 3 Infielders on the right side of the infield - RF guards the line, in close - CF plays short right-center - LF plays CF This would compeletely negate The Riot as an offensive factor. Last night -- brutal hitting conditions -- and the teams combined for 17 runs and bucketful of hits. Pretty impressive.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

Riot does occasionally pull the ball. Also, since he's a singles hitter, he's more likely to try to hit the ball where they ain't than the lefty sluggers who usually get a shift (or Andruw Jones). So if they shifted on him, he'd probably try to pull one, even if that meant hitting a lot of Murton Choppers. The bunting would be a factor too. Okay, I get that you're not being serious; you're pointing out the fact that Riot hits the ball to the right side a lot, and not always very hard. When it ceases to be the best approach for him I'll start criticizing him too. As of right now, with his career homeruns in single digits, I'd tell him to keep swinging for short right.

If we're looking at this from a who has the most value to a GM over the next 3 years stand point, then I think I rank it this way: JJ Hardy Jeff Keppinger Miguel Tejada Ryan Theriot Alex Gonzalez Jack Wilson Cesar Izturis Izturis just has no value at this point. He doesn't even have the range he used to. Tejada, I think, is going to see his production continue to drop off, though Houston's park may help him a bit, and he's very, very expensive. Wilson and Gonzalez may both be better than Theriot to varying degrees, but they are both really overpaid, too. JJ Hardy takes the cake for best combination of talent, potential, and cheapness (or did he get a long term deal this winter?). Keppinger looks like a quality hitter, though we'll see whether he's a legit shortstop. Theriot goes ahead of the expensive mediocre players in my book simply because his salary doesn't prevent you from improving the club elsewhere and he provides acceptable defense, and, who knows, maybe he'll hit a little and steal some bases. If we're not looking much at price or age, then the list goes pretty much how Rob G. has it.

Question: Were those 3-year future projection done for Tejada when we thought he was 31, or now that we know he is at least 33? Just curious if that was factored in...

There is alot of Homer voting, so far on the poll Theriot ranks ahead of Wilson, and almost at Hardy. Or maybe everyone thinks Theriot plays better defense than he really does. Wilson and Hardy are much better defensively. Thinking of the other rankings, this is probably our weakest position (maybe CF is weaker, but I think another Cub ghost saves us from the bottom on that one.........)

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080430&content_id=2614235&vke… "We are working on a proposal to present to Tribune Co. that will allow ISFA to acquire and fully restore Wrigley Field, as well as add parking and neighborhood improvements without using any public tax money, either state or local," Thompson told the Chicago Tribune. In the revised plan, Thompson said financing would be obtained in the private sector and there would be no issuance of bonds by the state. Team lease payments and the sale of partial naming rights would cover the cost of purchasing the ballpark, Thompson said. He did not say how ISFA would pay for the proposed renovation.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

Touche. And at least Rollins is a legit SS, whereas Ramirez has yet to play decent defense. In additionally, the above average defense from Rollins at short surely helped the Phils more than Holliday's average defense in left field. Still, I think Utley outperformed him, since Utley's not so shabby a defender at second base. Too bad for Chase he missed that time with the hand injury, or he would've been a shoe-in. Then again, he looks to be on-pace to make an even better bid at the award this year. Especially since I really believe the Cards will eventually suck badly enough to take Pujols out of consideration.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I can see where you wouldn't have Rollins winning it, but I don't see how Hanley had a much better season. They were pretty much even in most all categories. Ramirez had the edge in Doubles, BA, OBP, and SB. Rollins had the edge in Runs, Triples, RBI, SLG, and SB%. I wouldn't have put either of them first. But around the 3-5 area I would have put Rollins ahead of Ramirez because he a) played on a winning team, and b) plays much better defense. Rollins was 3rd in fielding percentage behind Vizquel and Tulowitski; Ramirez was 20th in MLB. The only SS who had a lower zone rating than Ramirez was Jeter. There was talk of moving him to center for good reason, he is awful out there.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

yeah maybe Rollins ahead of Ramirez, I took a look at the WARP-3 numbers and Rollins is ahead. But I still think he was the third best player on his team last year and didn't really have all that great of a September push to justify his selection.

 

owings...the pitcher...pinch hit homer. .421 on the year (8 for 19) with his first homer. lucky guy... ...wait...not so lucky...so skilled. last year: 60ab 20h 4hr 7 doubles (.333 avg) awesome.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

http://cubs.scout.com/2/751503.html Mateo story...likely retiring or thinking about it. But clears a 40-man roster spot. He began the year at Triple-A Iowa before being demoted to Double-A Tennessee after just four appearances with the team. With Tennessee, Mateo made two appearances before being demoted another level – to Daytona. A Cubs source said Wednesday that Mateo was upset with the club’s decision to send him to Single-A ball. The source added that Mateo left the Tennessee club en route to Mesa, Ariz., site of the Cubs’ minor league offices, rather than Daytona. “He purposefully skipped his plane,” the source said.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

interesting to say the least. i'd be upset, too, if i was mateo. it seems like they dont have a plan for him if they're shuffling him that much this early. it's obvious he has things to work on, but he needs to actually work with someone steady rather than making 3 adjustments and 3 new sets of faces all within a month. he's got a career to think about and its in the cub's hands. if they dont spell out something for him that he buys i imagine he could be traded for peanuts pretty damn soon. its not like hendry is known for being a career wrecker dealing with fringe guys who are on the downside of their value and blocked legitimately by others.

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).