Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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

The Week in Quotations

Submitted by Transmission on
If Wishes Were Ponies, Part1
''They are guys that can throw around 200 innings -- they can save your bullpen -- and you can have people win 15 or 16 games no matter what their ERA. If they can win 16 each and I win another 20 or 22, that will be fun.'' -Carlos Zambrano, on new teammates Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis
If Wishes Were Ponies, Part 2
'Boy, we'd be awfully deep and awfully talented.'' -Lou Piniella, on an injury-free pitching staff
Guess Who Said....
"I was embarrassed by the way I threw the ball last year. I want to improve on that." - Answer, Jacques Jones
Uplifted
''Honestly, this offseason, all this stuff was weighing on me. 'But then I woke up one day, and the whole thing was uplifted. I said, 'You know what, turn the page.' I was uncomfortable with some of the things that happened, of course. 'Was I uncomfortable at having a ball thrown at me? Was I uncomfortable being called a nigger? Yes. But wanting to be traded? I never asked to be traded.'' -Jacques Jones, reviewing the off-season
Dumb Headline of the Week: Nominee # 1
"Wood throws 10 pitches, 'really looked good' to Rothschild"
I'm Sure You're Up to the Challenge
''We're going to have a hard time not scoring runs with this lineup." - Derrek Lee, setting us up for an even greater disappointment
Weighty Thoughts
''Like I would also go to the ballpark and get on the bike and ride for 25, 30 minutes. But then it was like the end of the season couldn't get there fast enough. You find yourself not doing a lot of those things. Then when you're going out to Morton's and having a nice steak with those potatoes and all of that kind of stuff afterward and you're not doing the other things, the weight quickly piled up in a hurry.'' - Ryan Dempster, on eating and losing
It's Time To Find Something New to Always Say
''That's why I always say, that's the good part about Dick Clark, he always drops that ball in Times Square -- or Ryan Seacrest or whoever does it now -- and it's a new year; 2006 is over with. For me, that's water under the bridge, and I just focus on going ahead with this year.''
- Ryan Dempster, on something, God only knows what.
Thomson on Floyd
''Just watching the Mets' outfield, if Cliff Floyd is still there, it's not a real good fit for him out there. He can hit the ball, but as far as defense, he's a little shaky.'' - "Pitcher" John Thomson on why he left New York to sign with Toronto
Floyd on Thomson
"I thought to myself, I could have called a couple of people and blasted him back and dissed him. But at this point in my career, the only people he hurt were my mom and dad, which meant a lot to me. As far as retaliating ... let him be him. From what I've seen, he's not one of the greatest pitchers in the game, so it didn't really affect me in terms of my pride or anything. ''People who talk a lot always seem to be on the short end of the stick. So I wish him the best of luck. Hopefully, his luck will change over there in Toronto, but it didn't change much in the National League.'' - "Outfielder" Cliff Floyd in response
Endorsements
''What I discovered was that the guy is a nice guy. 'Just like me, when he crosses those two lines, he has a job to do. I expected anything else, but he came to me and he was a real nice guy. He's [competitive] like me when I'm on the mound. That's the way he knows how to play.''
- Carlos Zambrano on A.J. Pierzynski, when they met at a shoot for a commercial
Fascism
''I liked everything I saw but the hair. We'll get a little trim.'' - Piniella on Samardzija's hair
Modesty
''That's all right. It's probably not that good-looking anyway, so we'll probably cut it off.'' - Samardzija on the ridiculous tyranny of a 1940s Fashionista
Clarification?
''I must go because I will go, if they don't sign me, to free agency after the season -- yes or no? I will become a free agent, and then things are different because I will sign with the Cubs as a free agent."
- The eminently quotable Z
Sense and Sensibility
"You play to your team's [strengths]. Whatever your team is good at, that's how you play. Looking at this team, this is not a small-ball team, so we should throw small ball out the window. Obviously, there are times when you've got to get the guy over and get the bunts down. But for the most part, it looks like we're going to have a power lineup, so you utilize that." - Derrek Lee, voice of reason
Dumb Headline of the Week, Nominee # 2
Lou: Wood Tub Flub No Harm to Cub Club
Incoherent Non-answer of the Year, Nominee # 1
We’re in a sport where the statistical analysis can be construed in a negative way if you’re not winning. You have to have good pitching. You have to get hot at the right time. That’s why we’ve had a lot of wild-card teams win the World Series. When you aren’t successful, it’s right there in front of you, any way you want to spin it, why you lost. We went out to get the best player, which was (Alfonso) Soriano. And if you want to pick holes in him, you can, too. If you strictly go on what everybody feels you should have done, then Billy Beane (the Oakland Athletics GM) doesn’t sign Frank Thomas last year, and you don’t have Comeback Players of the Year. That’s why you have to have a good combination of statistical analysis, which we don’t ignore, and quality scouting. - Cubs GM Jim Hendry, purportedly addressing critics who claim he ignores statistics like On-base Percentage

Comments

Submitted by 433 on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:29 pm

I read that last Hendry quote three times, and not only do I not understand it, I think part of my brain melted

Submitted by Transmission on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:41 pm

Best guess at his meaning: Stats are only good for finding fault with players and GMs. Stats say that you shouldn't sign Frank Thomas. That said, we still use stats, really we do.

Submitted by Transmission on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:46 pm

And since it's a late sunday night, and this is my own darn post, let me use it for open-thread purposes: there're still a few spots left in my yahoo league. Info: 1. It’s a Head to Head league 2. You have to be able to go a season without being a contentious jerk to others 3. We re-draft any teams that have been innactive for over a month. The redrafts will be done at three pre-set dates, on the 1st of June, July and August 4. We use lots of stat categories, with a somewhat sabrmetric bent 5. We’ve been doing this for several years. It generally works quite well in terms of having active and friendly players It’s yahoo league ID 6464 and password of “the riot” (minus the quotation marks) Anyone who has a league that they'd like to promote should follow this approach, and promote it either in a general/open thread, or at the end of a thread that is no longer current. Just don't hi-jack threads that are supposed to be about original content from TCR authors.

Submitted by 10man on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:47 pm

Let me translate Hendry's quote to common English: "Uh what's OBP? Let's go get some donuts!"

Submitted by Ryno on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:56 pm

Count me in... Fort Wayne Wizards The Cliff Floyd quote was funny... (and I'm paraphrasing) "I'm not going to retaliate... but the guy sucks..."

Submitted by Chad on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:01 pm

Let me translate: Stats don't win games. And cause you own a calculator or abacus doesn't make you a GM. There is way more to baseball than numbers.

Submitted by Transmission on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:03 pm

The John Thomson/Cliff Floyd fight is one of the funnier wars of words that I've seen.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:08 pm

how about eyre's quote on rothschild from ye olde chicago tribune... "They have the right to boo," Eyre said of fans. "But to me, you're talking about a frustrating season. People have the right to boo, but [Rothschild] can't go out and pitch for us. "If the scouting report says Ken Griffey Jr. can't hit a slider down and away, and I throw a hanging slider and he hits a home run, that's not [Rothschild's] fault. It's my fault."

Submitted by Transmission on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:10 pm

yeah, I saw that one. Eyre made sense, which was one strike against him in his efforts to make my compilation.

Submitted by 433 on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:47 pm

It's funny how the old "it's the players' fault, the coach can't pitch/hit/shoot/tackle/catch for them" defense is only trotted out when the team is underperforming. I want to see someone in the media use it when a team is on a 10 game winning streak or something. Something like, "you know, Manager XX is doing an OK job during this 10 game winning streak and all, but ya know, he hasn't hit a single home run or caught a single fly ball. It's really up to the players to do their jobs on the field, an they are doing them, so the manager really shouldn't get the credit."

Submitted by CUBBY on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:35 pm

hopefully wood will only need to throw 10 or so pitches in games, so I don’t see the need to have him doing lengthy sessions anyway. the guy should be put in a protective case during the night…as long as its got a good stiff mattress that is.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sun, 02/18/2007 - 02:38 pm

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070218&content_id=18…
Communication can be an issue with the Latin players. For instance, Pie said Sunday he hurt his shoulder while playing winter ball, which is why his season ended after 32 games. He tweaked it on a swing. Cubs Triple-A Iowa hitting coach Von Joshua was on the Licey coaching staff and working with Pie, but the injury was more soreness from fatigue. There's a difference between pain and soreness, and players have to learn that, too.
the more you know....

Submitted by The Real Neal on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:22 am

I am pretty sure soreness is a type of pain. What she really meant to say, 'in American baseball reporter lingo, there is a difference between pain and soreness, we're too lazy to ask you to differentiate, so please use these seperate words'. I would have liked the follow up question: Did Joshua help you develop an exercise so that when you swing and miss, there will be less soreness? On the Hendry quote it was confusing, what I think he should have said was this: Vintage Rickey Henderson and Joe Morgan weren't available this off-season, so we got the best players we could for OF and 2nd base. Last year our On Base Percentage stunk, but that was mostly due to injuries to Lee, time missed by Barrett and a disapointing season from Pierre. OBP could use to describe the problem, but the real problem is we were injured and underperformed. Admittedly, if those two guys were available, Hendry probably would have still gone after Soriano and Derosa.

Submitted by cubswinthepennant on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:11 am

Pie said Sunday he hurt his shoulder while playing winter ball, which is why his season ended after 32 games This isn't news.

Submitted by Horatio on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:48 am

"There is way more to baseball than numbers." Actually, there isn't. At the end of the game, the only way to figure out who won is who scored the greater number of runs. And at the end of the season, the only way you figure out who goes to the playoffs is by counting up the number of wins.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:12 am

horatio...that's like saying Twinkies exist cuz they're there. nevermind the factory that produced them, the quality of the workers making the Twinkie, and what goes into the ingredients to make it. the end result isnt the process, nor is it automatic across the board without a standardization of all factories, workers, and quality amongst them all. the reason people track these stats in the first place is to gauge the worth of the sum parts that go into making the final product and even that is far from a science cuz we're involving humans in the whole thing.

Submitted by Ryno on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:51 am

Depending on how manager Lou Piniella makes out his lineup, the Cubs could start five players who have hit 25 or more home runs at least once in the last two years: Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Cliff Floyd and Jacques Jones. Piniella said Sunday he's considering using Jones in the No. 2 slot, which would mean the lineup could begin with Soriano, followed by Jones, Lee, Ramirez and Floyd. That's a power-hitting quintet that compares favorably with some of the best American League lineups, even without a designated hitter.
Click here for the full story (found on Ben Maller.com) Sweet.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:16 am

given that either floyd or murton are gonna be riding pine at any given time it'll be interesting to see how pinhead uses that 1 "strong" bat and when. dust liked to save his slammers for 'last shot' type stuff more often than not.

Submitted by jacos on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:01 am

I like those spring training hats. It looks like Prior has lost some speed on his pitches in that one picture his ball has stop in mid air.

Submitted by Transmission on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:07 am

wow, wood and hendry have lost a lot of weight.

Submitted by Chad on Mon, 02/19/2007 - 02:31 am

"Horatio — February 19, 2007 @ 8:48 am “There is way more to baseball than numbers.” Actually, there isn’t. At the end of the game, the only way to figure out who won is who scored the greater number of runs. And at the end of the season, the only way you figure out who goes to the playoffs is by counting up the number of wins." Are you trying to make my point for me? That is my point. My point is that Sabremetrics NOTHING. The only stats that count are runs and wins. And you don't need to be an egg head with a slide rule to figure that out. Hendry was saying that there is more to winning games than sabermetrics.

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • 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. 

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