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

Good News and a Mid-Day Buzz-Kill

Tonight when the Braves visit the Mets, former Cub Rick Sutcliffe will be in the ESPN broadcast booth for the first time since he was diagnosed with colon cancer during spring training. Sutcliffe, who has been receiving chemotherapy and radiation, is scheduled for surgery on June 16th, which he hopes will lead to a clean bill of health.

On an infinitely more mundate note, Dayn Perry at foxsports.com argues that the Cub Express must be seen as wobbly, given that Ryan Dempster appears to be pitching with a rabbit's foot or similar in his pocket--Dempster's .211 batting average against on Balls in Play is way below the normal .290-.300 range--Carlos Marmol is on pace for an ungodly number of innings pitched, and Jason Marquis is just not very good.

Perry does, however, end on this semi-upbeat note:

If they do get to the postseason, then they'll have the kind of team that's built to succeed in that environment. Teams with good defenses, high-strikeout pitching staffs, and dominating closers tend to do well in the playoffs, and all of that describes this year's Cubs model.

...the team defense has been exceptional, and the pitching staff ranks third in the NL in whiffs. As for the closer thing, Kerry Wood has looked strong save for two isolated bad outings. If he continues to grow into the role, then the Cubs will have a real shot at ending their comically long title drought.

Of course, unless the pitching holds up, they won't get the chance.

Comments

Jason Marquis is just not very good. Wait... you mean our 5th starter is not very good? Shocking. How many teams have "very good" 5th starters? And of course Perry ignores the fact that Hill (who WILL probably get better) and Marshall are in AAA and can step in to the rotation, and Kevin Hart isn't far behind.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

I don't think the issue is that we need a Cy Young candidate pitching in the fifth spot.

The issue is that, if one assumes Zambrano and Lilly are solid, then you have: the control-challenged and arguably very lucky Dempster; the unproven Gallagher and Hart: Hill, who, by his manager's own acknowledgement, is so messed up that he could benefit from a stress break on the Disabled List; and Sean Marshall.

That's why I think at least a little anxiety is warranted.

[ ]

In reply to by 10man

Yeah, and Dempster has thrown 63 innings, that's 189 outs. It's a large enough sample size that no statistician is going to easliy conclude that mere luck is involved. Put differently, at this point in the season it seems more reasonable to conclude that something has improved in Dempster's game than to conclude that he's simply been lucky for 2 months. And while we're at it, going into the 2008 season, the odds of Dempster being this good/hot were probably about the same as Hill crapping the bed and being dumped down to AAA. Similarly, the odds of Howry sucking and Eyre being injured were probably about the same as Wood staying healthy and Marmol continuing to be excellent. This stuff tends to even out -- it's not like the Cubs have caught nothing but good breaks this year.

[ ]

In reply to by 433

a .211 BABIP is virtually impossible....

The league leader the last two years was Chris Young (Welcome to Petco) and he had a .237 in 2006 and .265 in 2008. Most pitchers are around the .300 mark.  Even if he bucks the trend to something like a .270 to .280 BABIP, that'll do considerable damage to his ERA.

 

 

I wonder how many more "not very good" outings we will have to wait until Marshall is added to the rotation. I have been a fan of Marshall for a while, and I believe that he has more upside than does Rich Hill. Maybe it wont be too much longer and the Cubs will be willing to eat that terrible contract of Marquis.

Who in the division has better overall pitching? Astros have Oswalt, Valverde and nothing else, Brewers have Sheets and nothing else, Cards seem to be doing it with mirrors and Izzy is a mess. Maybe the Reds -- if Arroyo gets turned around and the kids keep pitching well, plus they've got Cordero in the pen.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

Heh. I came up with some of those names. I was quick to drop Prior and Trachsel from consideration, though. ;) Burnett seems possible. Others in the maybe pile are Jason Jennings (really doing badly this year, but so are the Rangers), Odalis Perez (ditto, s/Rangers/Nats/), and if the White Sox put away their division, perhaps we'll see Livan Hernandez (actually doing pretty well this year) or CC Sabathia (change to the NL might do him good). More... Randy Wolf, Kip Wells, Brett Tomko... All of a sudden, our Iowa crew is looking pretty competitive. :-)

Well, I would argue with Dayn about the pace the Cubs are on. It seems to me that if we keep the present winning percentages (19-8, 9-10) up we would win ~57 at home and ~38 on the road and that adds up to a more reasonable 94-95 not 100+.

Yesterday the winning percentage was .622, which equates to 100 wins. The Cubs won't be able to sustain that, but it's a nice dream.

the biggest & brightest of the red flags waved in the article is Marmol's workload; he is money that can't just be spent; some of it [him] must be saved for later, but how do you NOT use him?

Understood Doc! After three days rest- Apr 22 NYM W 8-1 - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 14.1 1.88 Apr 21 NYM W 7-1 - 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 13.1 2.02 After 4 days rest- Apr 30 MIL W 19-5

So to finish my thought, Lou needs to plan that the Cubs will finish big in games and there for does not need Marmol in some close games. GOT IT!?!!? I just hope the kid's arm doesn 't fall off.

Me, too - I worry that his overuse in the early part of this season may reap bad dividends if someone else doesn't step up soon. It'd be nice if our veterans like Weurtz and Eyre could start to show something - Weurtz has almost as many innings as Marmol at this point, but his performance has been kind of fugly.

[ ]

In reply to by Chad

I think this is a very fair question. If I remember correctly, PAP is not a Chadball™ approved stat; nonetheless, I would be interested in some sort of PAP-like stat that looked at relief pitchers. PAP relies heavily on pitch count which for a relief pitcher is obviously not a reliable thing to measure when attempting to gauge potential for injury. Any of you freakin' geniuses have any ideas on how this could be assessed?

[ ]

In reply to by Mister Whipple

you gotta use a LOT of special characters and some real basement rocking algorithms. seriously, though...best way to know what you got is to use it and see how it reacts. its not an exact science, then again neither is treating every pitcher like they have the same body/genetics/build. long story short...there is no sure thing, just guidelines to feel out what you got...rest is pushing it to find the dude's ceiling and stamina.

WTMF? Cubs Theriot, SS Fukudome, RF Lee, 1B Ramirez, 3B Hoffpauir, LF Soto, C Edmonds, CF DeRosa, 2B Gallagher, P is this abomination true?

[ ]

In reply to by Chad

it's may...there's nothing important about today's game.

Left Field in Houston is pretty easy, I mean Carlos Lee almost looks good out there and the Pirates throw 3 lefties verse us this weekend. If they wanted to give him a day off, today was the day. You definitely don't want Hoffpauir out there in PNC Park.

Lou keeps trying to give Derrek one I heard, but I'm guessing Derrek keeps telling him to put him in.

 

[ ]

In reply to by Chad

theriot/fukudome/dlee/aram.... lou does read TCR... now if he could only apply that when soriano is back. the 2hr .400 ob% guy batting 2nd...a 10hr .300 ob% guy not leading off... fuku has more SB than soriano, fwiw...which is just about nothing since its only 1. still... and yeah, i could care less who's sick of soriano-batting-1st or not...and yes, i know he's probably still gonna be leading off...maybe this year he'll get more RBIs than extra base hits.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • 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...