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

Cubs Complete Trade for Nevin

The Cubs acquired AA pitcher Adam Harben from the Minnesota Twins to complete the Phil Nevin deal from last week. They also called up pitcher Jae-kuk Ryu and catcher Jose Reyes. To make room on the 40-man roster for Harben, the Cubs also put Jerome Williams on waivers and he was claimed by the Oakland Athletics. Sayonara Sir Williams! Harben was a 15th round pick of the Twins back in 2002 out of community college in Arkansas. Scout.com had him at #11 in their pre-season Twins prospect ranking but dropped him down to #38 when they revisited the list mid-season. Harben recently turned 23 and finished his AA season going 4-9 with a 3.96 ERA with 74K/67 BB/5 HR in 122.2 IP. I believe he's been shuttled between the pen and the rotation. Judging from his splits this year, he's pretty decent at getting righties out (.197 BA against) and keeps the ball on the ground (2.03 GO/FO ratio). Harben once threw in the high 90's, but his velocity starting taking a dip in 2005 and he throws in the low to mid 90's. He also features a slider and a change, both of which he seems to have trouble commanding. Sounds like he's about what you'd expect for an aging, one-month rental. A kid with some upside and tools, but all kinds of trouble putting them together. He was expected to go to the AFL for the Twins, so we'll see if the Cubs do some switching around. This will probably have to suffice for today's preview. Stupid job getting in the way. It's Juan Mateo versus Victor Santos. A loss and the Cubs take over last place in the division. Yeah 2006!

Comments

yes

No he was in the minors. I am just glad that we kept John Mabry around to help with the pennant drive. Jerome Williams was obviously not going to help this team. Only a stupid franchise like Oakland would waste their time on a guy like that.

alright fine, I'll clarify. He would have been out of options next year and with the minor league season over, it's a moot point. Nobody wanted to give up anything for him, so it was either release him now or or release him later. I doubt we'll see any great days from Jerome Williams. There's also about 10-15 guys in front of him on the depth chart here.

Bah... Williams. Who cares. I know, I know, he was a feel good story and everyone liked him. I'm more concerned with how they are going to dump Rusch. They can't leave him on the roster if they plan on doing any sort of winning next year.

Harben has only touched high 90s. He's always been 89-94 iirc. Anyways, look at his K:BB pre/post all star splits. It was sub 1.00 the first half and over 2.00 the second half.

in the literal battle for last place (division and entire NL)... J. Pierre cf R. Theriot 2b A. Ramirez 3b D. Lee 1b J. Jones rf M. Murton lf H. Blanco c R. Cedeno ss

With Barrett down, you would think we would at leas some Soto. We know what we have in Blanco. We need to know if Soto will be a worthwhile #2 catcher.

if anyone cares... LHP Scott Koerber and 3B Josh Lansford are going to the Hawaii winter league. So far, that's all I've heard. Koerber was supposed to go to instructs in Arizona and was a non-drafted FA in 2004. Was last in Peoria. Lansford was a 2006 draftee, round 6, played in Boise.

I am concerned about what offense the Cubs will be able to muster next year even if everyone is healthy. I don't think that there is any way the Cubs can afford to start Pierre, Izturis and Cedeno next year without suffering greatly on offense. Of the positions that they play, the one to upgrade offensively is probably second base. The problem is worsened if you figure that Barrett catches 130 games a year, tops, and sits the rest of the time. Possible ways around this would include the following: 1. Sign Ray Durham (preferable) or Mark Loretta or Adam Kennedy as a second baseman and get rid of Cedeno. 2. Try to get Barrett in the lineup when he doesn't catch. 3. See if Pie can replace Pierre. 4. Obtain a righty bat to platoon with Jones and/or replace Jones with an OF that can hit lefties. Can Barrett play the OF?

For MLB to award the waiver claim to Oakland today, because of Sunday being a day when the MLB office is closed and with yesterday being a National Holiday, Jerome Williams had to have been placed on waivers last Friday, and it would have been unrelated to the acquisition of Adam Harben. Once Harben was acquired and if the Cubs needed a spot on the 40-man roster for him (which was the case), Mark Prior could have been transferred to the 60-day DL (and having already spent close to 60 days on the DL, he would be eligible to be reactivated on September 12th, if he were in a position to return to action). So it was not necessary to drop Jerome Williams to make room for Harben. The two transactions appear to be related, but were just coincidental.

#1 of 11: By Ryno (September 5, 2006 04:54 PM) Can anyone tell me, was J. Williams out of options? -- RYNO: And Adam Harben has two options left. Also, the only two players currently on the Cubs roster who will be out of minor league options next Spring Training are Freddie Bynum and Les Walrond, although it's likely that Walrond will be dropped from the 40-man roster after the close of the regular season to make room on the 40 for prospects like Jake Fox, Ryan Harvey, Chris Shaver, and Randy Wells, and Bynum could be dropped from the 40 as well, although that's a little less likely. And I still don't know if Angel Guzman will get a 4th minor league option next season or not. If he doesn't get a 4th option year, he will be out of options next Spring Training. However, if Guzman has accumulated less than five "full seasons" (at least 60 days on an active MLB or minor league roster in a given season) by the end of this season, he gets a 4th option year. I know 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2006 will be considered "full seasons" and 2004 and 2005 will not be. So it all depends on how many days Guzman spent on the active roster with the Cubs now defunct Venezuelan Summer League club in 2000. (And don't go by how many innings he pitched there... VSL clubs have 30-man rosters, and players are not removed from the roster if they are deactivated or placed on the DL unless there are more than 30 players needing spots, which was never the case in the VSL).

As ROB G said, the Twins had originally assigned Adam Harben to the Mesa Solar Sox in the AFL, but now that he has been traded, Harben's AFL assignment is canceled. However, the Cubs could assign him there, if one of the pitchers they originally assigned to the AFL (Grant Johnson, Lincoln Holdzkom, Clay Rapada, or Carmen Pignatiello) can't pitch for some reason. The trade also means the Twins will need to assign another pitcher to the Solar Sox to replace Harben. BTW, the Mets still owe the Solar Sox two AA or AAA pitchers (perhaps RHP Matt Lindstrom and LHP Eddie Camacho?) and one AA or AAA outfielder. I suspect Lastings Milledge was originally going to be the outfielder, but now that he has been recalled and is playing with the Mets and could be part of their post-season roster, the Mets will probably have to find somebody else.

Cubs could have known by Friday that they were targeting Harben and needed to make a move. They also might have been trying to sneak Williams through hoping no one would notice in the middle of the pennant chase compared to the off-season. They knew they were going to have to make a move with him in the very near future.

ROB G: You could be right. It's possible that Hendry had decided last Friday to outright Williams to make room on the 40-man roster for Harben. But he also could just as easily have transferred Mark Prior to the 60-day DL. But I doubt very much that Hendry was trying to sneak Jerome Williams through waivers during a pennant chase, because even if Williams had cleared waivers and had ben assigned outright to Iowa, he would have ben a six-year minor league FA on October 15th anyway. On the positive side, the Cubs got $20,000 out of the deal when otherwise they would have lost him for nothing if he had cleared waivers and became a 6Y MLFA next month.

Adam Harben's last seven starts at AA: 2-3 3.97 ERA 40.1 IP 41 H 20 R (16 ER) 18 BB 36 K 2 HR 5 HBP 3 WP 1.46 WHIP Not great, but his control was greatly improved from where it was in April-June. I have not seen Harben pitch, but he would seem to project along the lines of Justin Berg (the RHP the Cubs got about a year ago from the Yankees for Matt Lawton) or Todd Blackford (the RHP the Cubs got from the Braves about a year ago for Todd Hollandsworth), except Harben is slightly more advanced.

I agree, our lineup is gonna be mighty soft next year. Let's bring in Soriano baby. Pierre Murton Aram D-Lee Soriano Barrett Jones Izturis or Cedeno and opening day Barry Zito starting opening day...now we are talking...of course the Cubs will probably pick up someone like Cliff Floyd instead...oh well

The Cubs fired Jerome Williams, plain and simmple. They apparently felt that they had tried everything with him, that nothing had worked, and it was time to move on. And with Williams being out of options in 2007, his trade value was nil.

Maybe Williams doesnt amount to anything from here on out. But he is still only 25. has won double diget games in a season. And was still cheap. My point is why roster trash like Blanco,Mabry,Waldrond that has no future in the organization? Williams is the type of player you should be taking a chance on.

"I doubt we'll see any great days from Jerome Williams. There's also about 10-15 guys in front of him on the depth chart here." That may be true Rob, but this still qualifies as one of the dumbest moves of Hendry's tenure. Sure, I know it's more important see a month of Mabry or Miller. Or that Les Walrond or Glendon Rusch have a brighter future than Williams. Or that it's more important to get Prior back to the majors this year rather than transfer him to the 60 day DL to make room for the stiff from Minnesota. The mgmt of this team is devoid of rational thought. Shit the A's stated they've been after Williams since he was with the Giants. Ya think Hendry could have gotten something rather than just set Williams adrift on the wiaver wire.

I would venture a solid guess that Hendry did try and get something for Williams and he's been trying all season. For whatever reason, he fell far out of the Cubs favor very quickly.

"I would venture a solid guess that Hendry did try and get something for Williams and he's been trying all season." So why not keep trying until the end of ST next year? Giving up now seems short sighted and totally silly. Typical Cubs managment, I guess.

If he was a minor league free agent after this year as AZ Phil says, they had until October I believe to move him. You don't get put on waivers before being floated to other teams usually. This is nothing more than JVB part 2, no one is going to miss him.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • 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.