Cubs MLB Roster

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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 

 



 

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Rule 5 Draft 
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Game 35 Thread / Cubs @ Phillies (3 of 3)

Game Chat Ted Lilly vs. Jon Lieber Lineups:
Soriano LF Rollins SS
Theriot 2b Werth RF
Lee 1b Rowand CF
Ramirez 3B Utley 2B
Murton RF Burrell LF
Jones CF Helms 1B
Barrett C Nunez 3b
Izturis SS Ruiz C
Lilly P Lieber P
Update: Lee decided he didn't want the day off I guess, so he's back in the lineup and promptly grounded into a double play.

Comments

Ward?

yeah, Lou said he'd give his regulars some days off, guess today was Derrek's day. I would have picked another day, Lee is 409/417/500(22 Ab's) for his career vs Lieber. Floyd is 352/426/481 (54 Ab's) and he's not playing either. Ward is hitting Lieber pretty well too though 294/36/529 in 15 AB's.

Nice RBI single Murt! If Felix Pie "needs to play every day" so does Matt MURTON!

Very nice outing by Lilly once again. Hopefully Dempster can close it out and get him another win. My favorite moment of the game so far: when Aramis uncorked that wild throw, Brenly groaned very audibly. Which is pretty much what I did at the exact same time.

See, this is what I expected from Izzy from the beginning. If we could get .270 out of him, he would be more than sufficient when you add in his defense.

Man, did we need that. All this talk about the bullpen. It could be much worse. Looking at the Phillies arms out of the pen. Also, I'm frustrated as any Cub fan would be right now with the hitting and the relief pitching but all this talk about the Cubs not being anything more than a .500 club is as premature as the might as well give the Brewers the pennant now talk. There's a long season ahead and there have been some positive things to build on - Ted Lilly being one of those today.

Also, 3 hits in 8 innings for Theodore Roosevelt Lilly. Awesome. The Ted Lilly I remember from years past did not have a curveball as good as it has been so far this year. Maybe I just don't remember correctly, but it's just terrific.

The Cubs are 8th in the league in reliever ERA going into today's action (1 inning no runs). 13th in save percentage though.

Izturis is still the worst fielding % SS in the NL, and ranks 13th in RF and 12th in Zone Rating. He needs to hit about .420 to make up for that.

NEAL: From ESPN this AM: The Cubs bullpen currently is ranked 16th, however they have an OPS of .719 and a save percentage of 54%, making them 3rd worst in all of baseball. Dempster, has 7 saves (now 8), only one blown. The relievers have a Win-Loss record of freaking 2-9! 46 BB in 105 innings. Cubs starters are ranked 7th in baseball, right behind the Sox.

Lilly finally gets a win for his strong effort. I worry about those wasted strong starts leading to a letdown. Izzy offense has picked up, now only if the defense can follow any aftergame word on DLee's Neck spasms? http://tinyurl.com/2atvvl Soriano's 4th OF assist, that was fun. gained that game back on the brewers, about time. Matchups in NY: Marquis vs Glavine, Z vs Mayne, Hill vs Sosa, Guzman vs (? Vargas, would have been Pelfrey but he was just sent to AAA) from mets.com: "Had Pelfrey remained in the rotation, he would have started on Thursday against the Cubs. Though Randolph said no decision involving a Thursday starter had been discussed, he identified left-hander Jason Vargas as an option."

So, what does it mean that the Brew lost 2-3 to the Mets, and we lose 2-3 from the Phillies in the first NL East meetings?

So, Ronny Cedeno gets sent down to Iowa and is handed the starting SS job but the manager has him batting ninth. Fontenot is hitting third and playing third. Still batting in the sixth and Fontenot is 4/5 with 2 RBI and 3 Runs while leading the I-Cubs offense to a 17-6 lead over Sacramento. FREE FONTENOT!

So, what does it mean... E-Man, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, the answer is blowin' in the wind, especially when it's blowing out to centerfield. I do like the pitching matchups vs the mets though.

The Hebrew Hammer lays it down against the Muts tomorrow, CUBSTER! In his hometown...

the entire I-Cub team has gone nuts hitting... Fontenot up to .371 EPat now up to .339 (and a HR) after a slow start with the bat Pie 2-5, at .455 (and a triple today, and I'd have loved to see him motoring on that one)...reminds me of a Rolling Stones song: Can't Ya Hear Me Knocking Hoffpaur at .298 with another HR K. Hill at .329 and a HR Even Ronnie Cedeno has a hit

E-Man, Save percentage can be a tricky thing, particularly when talking about non-closers. One bullpen goes 4 innings and give up one run - blown save. Another goes two innings and gives up two, and they get a save. The Cubs offense ranks 24th in scoring runs 'close and late' - that has more to do with the awful one one record and the bullpen's bad record than the mediocre pen.

'Izturis is still the worst fielding % SS in the NL, and ranks 13th in RF and 12th in Zone Rating." that does little to give support to taking those stats seriously to gauge a player's worth or in small sizes of sample. "So, Ronny Cedeno gets sent down to Iowa and is handed the starting SS job but the manager has him batting ninth." he's just back from a leg/foot injury. right effect, wrong cause.

Neal: While certainly the "close and late" BA is miserable - for a bullpen to be 2-9 this early, sucks ass. It certainly is a combo. But one would have to think the excellent starters so far, are feeling the pressure to win every game with a shutout or the pen will blow it.

"that does little to give support to taking those stats seriously to gauge a player’s worth or in small sizes of sample." No, it actually supports what you actually see if you pay attention. He's got an average arm and range, that makes a slightly below average shorstop. Keep in mind he's run up those stats getting platooned in for groundball pitchers. When Cedeno was up, he was the better shortstop. If you don't think so, you weren't paying attention.

"He’s got an average arm and range" dont agree on either. dont really think its even in grey area, too. i dunno where to go from there on that one.

watch. Or Youtube it when he makes a play on the right hand of second base. I wonder if the A's would be interested in Fontenot. Ellis, not suprisingly, isn't doing much with the bat.

“So, Ronny Cedeno gets sent down to Iowa and is handed the starting SS job but the manager has him batting ninth.” he’s just back from a leg/foot injury. right effect, wrong cause I see, his twisted ankle (the injury I TOLD YOU ABOUT) affects his hitting but not his ability to play shortstop... uh huh

interesting theory of what i might be talking about, then again i did leave it wide f'n open. on his iowa team currently he's not gonna be a 1/2 hitter (pie/epat)...he's not gonna be the 3 guy with fontenot as hot as he is and moore/coats as cold as they are...he's not got be middle power...he's in a DH league...you can stick his recently ungimped ass down at the bottom. he's gonna be a 1/2 (this is AAA, not MLB) hitter or a end-lineup guy as it is. given that he's recently ungimped and been outta action for a little while sticking him down at the end is a pretty ordinary lineup move given where he's at coming from being shut down and what's already here and producing. that's a little less clear as mud, hopefully...

and no, that's not the official word of what's going on..just adding a * to the convo.

Izturis can certainly catch the ball. The problem (as someone on here has said) is that he still has to throw the ball to a teammate...

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.