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 

 



 

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Game 51 Thread / Dodgers @ Cubs (1 of 3)

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP Chad Billingsley
SP
Ryan Dempster

4-5, 3.76, 60 K, 29 BB, 52.2 IP
5-2, 2.70, 53 K, 26 BB, 63.1 IP




LF
*Juan Pierre
LF
Alfonso Soriano
RF
*Andre Ethier
SS
Ryan Theriot
C
Russ Martin 1B
Derrek Lee
2B
Jeff Kent
3B
Aramis Ramirez
1B
*Mark Sweeney RF
*Kosuke Fukudome
CF
Matt Kemp C
Geovany Soto
3B
*Blake DeWitt
CF
*Jim Edmonds
SS
Luis Maza
2B
Mark DeRosa
P
Chad Billingsley
P
Ryan Dempster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Wood just gave up a single to Ethier. What I've observed so far this outing (this may be 3/44): 1) Only fastballs to Pierre. By the fourth one, Pierre took him for a ride. 2) Threw a curveball (missed outside) and a slider (missed inside) to Ethier before he finally got a single on a fastball. Continuing on: 3) Four straight fastballs to strikeout Martin 4) Three straight fastballs and then a slider way out of the zone to strikeout Hu. Wood earned the save, but he clearly didn't have command over any other pitch besides the fastball. Has that been the case with previous outings? He throws a mean fastball, but it really leaves him open to get hammered if that's the only pitch he can throw for a strike. Woo! Cubs win. Nobody in Parachat in the 8th and 9th. How sad.

Wood had 2 decent breaking balls in the at bat vs Either. I think he's still getting comfortable as a 9th inning guy. Not quite mastered it yet. He almost hit Pierre again. This game was a nail biter but a nice one to win after the last 2 days.

The Cubs should have lost this game, but it's fortunate that they pulled it out. They clearly lost two games they should have won over the weekend. The Cubs are still 3 games under their 33-18 xW-L record, whereas every other team in the Central is over or at their records. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad.

Lou says he won't defensive sub for Soriano. Very, very bizarre -- the guy has trouble catching the ball, and, even if he could catch, he can't (or won't) run. I really don't understand Lou's thinking here. Having an immobile LF who has difficulty catching the ball is bound to cost the Cubs more games. I wonder if LH batters will be more likely to hit to LF off Wood/Marmol, since there is a much better chance the ball will drop in.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

Opposing hitters are more likely to do that anyway, since they throw 96. All hitters are more likely to hit the ball the other way against flamethrowers. Just hard to get around on it unless they hang a breaking ball. Not that it never happens, but it's just considerably less likely to pull those fastballs. I don't understand why this is an issue now when this team has had such slow runners as Matt Murton, Moises Alou, Jeromy Burnitz, and Daryle Ward playing games for us in the outfield. Can't tell me that in his current state that he's worse than Burnitz. Soriano in his current state isn't moving all that much better than Burny ever did, and both guys have strong, accurate arms. I fail to see the issue here.

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

As maligned as B urnitz's, Murt's, and Alou's defense were, they almost always caught the ball when they got to it, and I'd say all of those guys were better at reading fly balls and using what speed they had to run a better route than Soriano does. Not only does Soriano run slowly these days, he runs bad routes and occasionally drops the ball even when he finds its landing zone. Daryle Ward, on the other, has 0 range and everyone knows it. He's out of place in any defensive position, much less one that would require him to run. Soriano is only a star player offensively, and then only when he is hot. He needs to start shagging more fly balls and he needs to get his leg healthy. Burnitz and Alou had the excuses of being old, and people got on Murt's case for being a weak defender before he gave them any reason to; Soriano can take the criticism and if he doesn't want to hear/read about people asking for a defensive replacement for him, then he can practice like the professional he is supposed to be. Learning to read and catch fly balls is a skill you learn through repetition, just ask anyone who learned to play the outfield as a kid--and we didn't get paid to do it.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

That's a fair point. Feel free to criticize him for playing poorly, but you really didn't differentiate him from the other players who couldn't run and didn't get to balls that good fielders did.... or even any other poor LF in the game with a great bat such as Dunn, Manny, Braun, or Carlos Lee. You're right. Not a great fielder right now. OK. Never been seen as the greatest defensive outfielder as far as taking the correct route to the ball. That's not breaking news. You know, that happens when you play infield for the first 25 years of your life. But he's still got an 870 OPS this year. Still very, very respectable. I still don't see how that can be ignored because of defensive struggles. Is it OK if he performs the same every day instead of being so streaky? Does it make a difference at the end of the year?

[ ]

In reply to by Wes

I did a poor job of responding directly to the comments made. Basically, I agree that left handed hitters are no more likely to try to take our closers to left field with Soriano out there than they were with Alou or Murton or Ward or Dubois on the mound; I've rarely seen major league hitters adjust their approach at the plate to who is playing defense where. But I do think that Soriano's defense is an issue and at least two things should be discussed internally: 1. Late inning replacements for Soriano when the Cubs have a lead and Soriano isn't due to come up in the bottom of the 9th, especially Edmonds to CF and Johnson to LF. Why not put your best defense out there when you're trying to put the game away? It's not like Soriano is Pujols with the bat. He's a good power hitter, not potentially the best hitter in the game. So when you get a chance to put away the game, you do it. You don't start planning around the off chance that your closer blows it and your offense has to come back out and take the lead again. 2. Soriano needs to get a lot of practice in the outfield. With the speed he has when healthy, there is little reason for him to be as a bad left fielder as he's been. I don't think Soriano needs to be benched or anything like that, and, like you say, I don't think his .870 OPS should be ignored just because of streakiness, though I also don't think it should be overblown--especially since it's a slugging-heavy OPS that doesn't come with lots of RBIs. I think that you take the streakiness at the plate and you ask for consistency in the field and on the bases, where a player should be fairly consistent. Like I failed to make clear, the streakiness at the plate is mostly just frustrating, not necessarily bad. But a guy who is earning $16 million this year can take some extra fly balls in left, and he can keep his wits about him when he's on second with no outs late in a game that's very close. He didn't come advertised as a great defender, but he did come advertised as an improving defender and as a strong baserunner.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Agree with most of that, I guess. I do think that the conclusion that he just isn't a great fielder may need to be considered. He was one of the worst fielders in baseball at 2B. He makes mistakes in the OF on misreads and the like. Just part of his package, perhaps. You may have to live with a dropped ball or two every year. One or two every couple of weeks that he doesn't get to that a Gold Glover does. But, in the long run, I still think a net positive in a big, big way as a total player. I even think he is right now when he can't steal bases.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

I don't necessarily disagree with replacing Soriano in the 9th, but I don't think Felix Pie is the answer. He needs to be hitting somewhere. If can he can turn this thing around and force his way back into the big league lineup, then you can put Reed in LF for the 9th with no issue. If not, he needs to stay in Iowa and keep hitting. Having him on the big league roster for the lone purpose of pinch running/half inning of defense is not the answer. You're wasting his service time. I would even be OK with pulling Soriano in the 9th and putting Edmonds in CF and Johnson in LF. Since the "Cedeno in the OF" experiment was apparently scrapped, that's about the only way you're going to improve our outfield defense with our current roster. I'm not sure the improvement is all that drastic, but I do think it's still an improvement overall.

Sat in left field today. I can't believe the amount of time Sori spends looking at the bleachers, gesturing and smiling back and forth with fans, waving at girls who are calling his name, etc. Next time I sit there, I need some signage: "The Game Is The Other Way!!!!"

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.

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  • 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...