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

Game 38 Recap: Cubs 1, Mets 8

 

All Wet GameCenter, Recap, Photos, Box Score, Play by Play W - Sosa (3-0) L - Hill (4-3), Mother Nature, every Cubs fan who stayed up to watch, everybody who now goes out and picks up Sosa in their fantasy league. Things to take from this game 1. It got played.

Three hours and seven minutes delayed by weather, the game finally started around 10 eastern time. Maybe 2000 people stayed for the start of the game.
2. Jorge Sosa
We got one-hit through 7+ innings by Jorge Sosa.
I will let that set in for awhile.
3. Did I mention that Jorge Sosa one-hit us? 4. Reyes tweaked something.
Running out of the box in the bottom of the eighth, Jose Reyes came up limping. Not sure why, yet.
5. Hill's start
Hill was a bit wild, with four walks, but really only looked bad on the HR to Easley. Still got a lot of strikes with the big bad curveball. Certainly not his best performance, but also probably not as bad as his line might indicate. In a game of Hill against Jorge Sosa, you really expect to win, even if Hill is having a bit of an off night. Tough game to lose so thoroughly.
The full run-down follows. I can't believe I stayed up for this.
  • Game begins THREE HOURS (and seven minutes) later than regularly scheduled. But it does indeed begin.
  • and once more, we have these attrocious Mets announcers on mlb.tv
  • That doesn't take long, Sosa walks the second batter he faces, Floyd
  • The announcers tell us Soriano has gotten on base in every game he's played in this year. And, that the Mets are starting three Carloses tonight (Beltran, Delgado, Gomez)
  • Top of the first, the Mets announcers explain that the ump is a rookie announcer, so who knows what you'll get. (Uhh, it's not like he doesn't know how to call balls and strikes). Bottom of the first, they immediately start razzing him for a changing strike zone. They gripe that he's calling too many balls for a game that has been delayed due to rain. (What's with these guys, two games in a row complaining about how they just want to leave? They're not even joking about it, they're dead serious.) These guys are, by far, the most annoying broadcasters I've ever listened to. Who the heck are they? No, don't tell me, I don't want to know
  • Back to back strikeouts for Hill to start the bottom of the first. Looks like the hook is working.
  • Mets broadcasters don't bother to cover the Cubs half of the second. Nothing much happened, anyway.
  • With two (easy) outs in the bottom of the second, the Mets string together three straight hits - two soft singles to left, and a blooper to right. Just a matter of random dumb luck. The run is real, but not one of the three hits was impressive.
  • Parachat almost has as many people in it as Shea does, at this point. At least the Mets are going to offer tix to a game from their series with the Twins, to paid customers who didn't use their tix tonight.
  • Top of the third, Izturis singles, and Hill moves him over on a nicely done sac bunt up the first base line. Theriot up with a man on second and one out. A bouncer up the middle moves Izturis to third, now two outs. Floyd grounds out to end the modest threat.
  • Bottom of the third is kind of ugly. Walk, single, walk, bases loaded with one out. David Wright then hits a popup to short right-center, and Theriot backpedals to get it. Granted, neither Jones or Floyd was going to get to the ball, but by backpeddaling most of the way, Theriot winds up being in a very poor throwing position, and the runner at third tags and scores, easily. Following that, Beltran and Delgado (!) double-steal, and Barret tries to throw out Beltran at third instead of Delgado at second. (!) Happily, we get out of the inning with just a run scored against us.
  • Don't look now, but Sosa is handling the Cubs, quite easily. Shutout through four.
  • Aramis makes another terrific play, this time diving to catch a liner hit down the line by Carlos Gomez. (Huh, evidently, I didn't mention his first great play, a diving stop and one-hop throw to get Reyes out on a lined shot down the third base line, earlier in the game.)
  • Floyd is both very slow, and playing very deep in right. Another blooper he can't get to, this one drops in for a hit as it's over Theriot's head. We need that fourth rover OF guy from softball, to help Floyd.
  • Blast. That extends the fourth inning, and Easley takes advantage with it, hitting a 2-run homer. 4-0 Mets through 4. Easley had to really get the hands in, and snap the wrists quickly to deal with the pitch. An impressive HR.
  • Considering he's given up 4 runs, Hill hasn't pitched all that bad. That first run was just some weak ground balls, the second run was on a popup to second, and the third and fourth were on a HR that came after the inning should have ended, for want of a better RFer. Hill's big curve (there has GOT to be a Hill pun we can use, to describe his big curve) is working well enough, 5 Ks through 5
  • Jorge Sosa is one-hitting us through 6.
  • Jorge Sosa.
  • Hill walks Jorge Sosa with one out and no one on in the sixth. Jorge Sosa.
  • Proof that Cubs fans are better than Mets fans: It's 4-0 against us in the seventh, it's midnight eastern, and the TCR Parachat has about as many people in it as Shea does. And we're making more noise. Nothing interesting to report from the game. Sosa owns us.
  • The roving reporter for the Mets broadcast team finds a couple of people sitting in the Uecker seats in the upper deck. Looks sort of fun to me. A ballgame going on, with an entire deck to theirselves.
  • Cotts relieves Hill for the seventh: Walk, Single, Double, and it's now 5-0, no outs. Sac fly, 6-0. Cotts might be the sacrificial lamb to ride out this game.... another double, 7-0. not really paying too much attn. at this point.
  • We finally "chase" Sosa in the Eighth.
  • Izturis walks to leadoff the 8th. He's been on base twice. Rest of the team has ben on four times, by my count. Eventually, he comes around to score on a Floyd broken-bat single. At least we're not shut out.
  • Reyes leaves the game after aggrevating some leg injury, probably a hamstring, in the eighth inning. Was limping running out of the box.
  • The Mets' broadcasters might not like it, but I do: Lou has Howry appeal to second base, claiming Reyes' pinch-runner, Ruben Gotay, left the bag early on a sac fly. The appeal is declined, but from Lou's reaction, he looks annoyed as if the umpire wasn't paying attention to it. Go Lou.
Parachat recap Rain Delay: Vegan eating and eating vegans, Denis Kucinich, Realigning the divisions, the relationship of Science and Religion, Jerry Falwell, Trucker/Construction Worker fights over Jerry Falwell, Mythbusters, the alien-rural hybrid language, Eureka Springs, TV series, weird pronunciations, Ideal Jobs, Gilbert and Sullivan stylings of "I Like Big Butts," jinx-reversing requirements and Bob Evans restaurants, and god knows what. It was a long delay, and I now know more about the parachat die-hards than I could ever need, or want, to know. Inning 1: Three hours later, we begin. Good and bad graduation ceremony venues. Mace Windu and a Dick's sporting goods commercial. Plinko and communists. Inning 2: Limp-wristed curve balls. Songs about butts. Mindless college rivalries. How many people are still at Shea? Gambling. Just what is it about Keith Hernandez that makes him so creepy? And why is Ned Yost keeping his hands under his armpits, in the brewers game? Inning 3: MLB June Draft prospects. Why a sacrifice bunt from Fontenot would be good for 50 wins and likely end world hunger. Jon Leiber and Sal Fasano's hair and mustache. Staring at Chad's crest. A very long discussion on influential and generally good/bad sitcoms. Inning 4: Quality of Ward's defense at first (consensus: surprisingly good), Suns/Spurs game, the weird commercials on MLB.TV, people giving up on this game even though it's Jorge flippin' Sosa pitching. Inning 5: Ricardo Montalban. American car commercials. Those pesky Mets announcers. People who are barely alive. People who are interesting. People who are interesting, and barely alive. Batting mechanics and dating. Inning 6: Staring into pencil sharpeners, Rich Hill, Daddy Lou, Izturis's fielding. Beer. Inning 7: An useful. Pronouncing it. Terry Lane Felton and other losing pitchers. Sodomizing: something that sounds like something you'd do to your car? (WTF?!?!?!?!) Futurama. Using parachat sounds to make up stories. Inning 8: Did Keith Hernandez just say "shit" on the broadcast? Trying to fire Keith Hernandez. Keith Hernandez saying "reeeeeejected!" What in the WORLD is going on with the between-innings shot that mlb.tv now is showing? Inning 9: Neil Diamond in various celebrity death matches. An unending stream of parachat sounds. Will Billy Wagner light his farts?

Comments

Er, ah, I mean.... It's time for all of us who are up, late, to go to our separate beds in are separate locations.

Trans, you da man. I hate this team. BTW, the Brewers are staring the Crest of Chad dead in the eye. The death spiral is in full effect. If this Cubs team could get its collective head out of its collective ass, we can win the Central, easily. I see some symmetry here and I predict that the Cubs win 4-3. And considering that the Brewers will lose at least 3 of 4, I'll take a split.

I am always the eternal optimist but the best I can see for this team is .500 Weak as the Central Division is, that still will not get us into first. Probably second and certainly an improvement after last year.

You think the Mets announcers are bad? have you ever listened to the Braves on TBS....they practically root for the Braves during the game. Awful!

Don't the Braves for the Carey's in the booth? If only Harry were here to drink another one and slam their heads together. That would make for good television.

Jake Fox is emerging in AA as a pretty good hitter. His BB/K ratio is a dismal 2/28, with the result that his OBP is only slightly higher than his BA; but he's hitting .353 with 8 HR (two yesterday) and 28 RBI. Still, what to do with him. He's a prime example of why, with a high draft pick, you want a guy with major-league defensive skills.

The league has a game plan aganst HIll -- walk, then run. Ooof! Cedeno 1-for-12 at Iowa with 5 K's. Bummer.

Still, what to do with him. Re:Jake Fox The Smokies are primarily playing him at 1B and LF now, rather than catcher. The switch seems to have helped his batting average.

I read this site often, but don't post much. Thanks for the great game recaps! I stayed up and watched the game last night, and agree that Hill looked decent despite giving up four runs. What amazes me is that the beat writers sometimes seem like they watched a different game. The Sun Times guy said that the Mets pounded Hill for 6 innings - ridiculous. One thing about last night's game that should have been obvious before - Floyd CANNOT play right field more than once or twice a week. He was just about standing on the warning track last night to make sure he kept everything in front of him.

Just for the record, the Mets' announcers are Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling, and are three of the best in all of baseball.

Jace — May 17, 2007 @ 8:48 am TJ - And you probably think that the Sox announcers are brillant…. right… ....................................................................... You can put it on the board...YYYYyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!

I can't stand to listen to those Sox announcers. Their team is always the best team in baseball and Ozzie is a genius yadda yadda yadda Brian Anderson looks like the second coming of Griffey. Last I checked, this guy was carrying a .216/.279/.353 career batting line! I would put him more in the line of the second coming of a CF playing Neifi Perez and you can put it on the boooooooaaaaaaarrrrrrrrdddddddd!

Jace - I am the first to admit when one of my own team's broadcasters is bad. Hell, we had to live with Fran Healy (who actually was "atrocious") for nearly 20 freakin' years. Not to mention that blowhard Tim McCarver (who I actually liked as a kid until I realized all he did was say the same thing over and over). But Gary, Keith and Ron are superb, and any baseball fan worth his salt would agree.

I knew it! I knew that you were going to mention Tim McCarver in your rebuttal. At least I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that you called him a blowhard... By the way, I think that being worth your salt is pretty overrated anyway. So I can't say that your implication that I am not worth mine is exactly eating at me.... Oooohh... Toasty Joe, who loves the Mets announcers thinks that I'm not worth my salt... How do I go on?

just heard a sneak preview of the mets lineup (no word about what the cubs have on wfan ny): no reyes no wright (julio franco at 3B!) no easley (newhan at 2B) let's get the split and get home.

Jace - I know it's tough, but you're going to have to find a way to pick up the pieces and carry on. Maybe Ron Darling will let you polish his 2006 Emmy Award for best Sports Analyst.

julio franco at 3B! Seriously? That has to be a mistake...

Julio Franco is the ageless wonder. If he can play well into his 90s, why not third base? Is it considered an error if the ball ricochets off his walker into short left?

Believe it or not, the Old Man has played a few games in the field this season and has done a bang-up job. Granted, they were at first base, not third, but still, ya gotta hand it to him. We'll see what happens today.

They'd be better off with Francisco Franco ... he'd at least execute anyone trying to move past third base. Julio these days is to fielding what Shea is to ballparks.

Believe it or not, the Old Man has played a few games in the field this season and has done a bang-up job. Granted, they were at first base, not third, but still, ya gotta hand it to him. There is a big difference between first base and third base, don't you think?

Yeah, anyone still in MLB at his age should be given a LOT of credit. I mean, coming up through the minors with Rogers Hornsby, learning the ropes with Maris and Mantle has really gotta rub off on a guy...

True, but I believe he played a handful of games at third last year without incident. So I'm not shaking in my boots. (Not having Reyes, on the other hand, gives me the shivers).

According to baseball-reference, Franco appeared in 3 games at third, collecting six assists, in 2006. IT was the first time he had played 3rd, since his rookie season in 1982, when he appeared in 2 games and had 2 assists.

Not to mention the invaluable advice he received from Jimmy Dugan to "avoid the clap"...

Thanks Transmission. That's what I recalled. The issue is the Mets don't have a real back-up at 3rd for D. Wright, so I guess Julio will have to do.

I have been a baseball fan since the days of Gabby Hartnett and even I don't remember when Franco was a rookie. I do remember that he came up as a shortstop.

Wow, I can't believe you think the Met announcers are bad? Have the Cubs played away games in Atlanta or Washington yet? Or anywhere else?

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.