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

Billy Petrick - Come on Down!!

The Cubs open audition for their bullpen continues as Billy Petrick is en route to Chicago for tonight's game (I believe the poster "insidetheivy" is the editor Steve Holley so I trust the source). The subsequent roster moves have yet to be announced, speculation has centered on Jacque Jones getting traded (oh please, oh please), Dempster getting put on the DL and a possible demotion of Angel Pagan or Ryan Theriot although either of those seem highly unlikely. Petrick was a third round pick in 2002 who's battled all sorts of injuries throughout his career. He's found his way and his health so far in AA, posting a 2.37 ERA in 30.1 IP, 33 K's and 8 BB's. AZ PHIL: As recently as 2005, Baseball America had Billy Petrick rated as the Cubs #5 prospect (overall), and their #2 pitching prospect (behind only Angel Guzman). However, Petrick suffered a season-ending shoulder injury at Daytona fairly early in the '05 season, and missed the rest of '05 and most of '06 while rehabbing at Fitch Park. Like so many other Cubs pitching prospects who had their careers ended by shoulder problems, Petrick's future looked dim. However, he was moved to the bullpen this past Spring Training, and (somewhat magically) returned to at least somewhere close to his 2004 form. No longer a stud starting pitcher. the 23-year old 6'6 240+ Petrick has evolved into a quality relief pitcher, beginning the 2007 season at Daytona, before receiving a promotion to AA Tennessee. Petrick pounds the strike zone with a "heavy" 90-93 MPH sinker, and he led the MWL in fewest HR allowed per AB in 2004. He has allowed just 13 HR in 375 career minor league innings. In his last seven games at AA Tennessee, Petrick allowed just four hits and four walks in 12.1 IP, with 18 K.

Comments

looks like dempster to the DL is the move, if anyone finds a link on that, let me know though

interesting, someone on northside baseball message board says JJ to the Marlins. No details.... I wouldn't put much into it quite yet...

Yea Rob... that was going to be my next thought. The Cubs would have to trade JJ and a prospect to get one of the Cubs former prospects back.

Jacque Jones, Matt Murton and Ryan Theriot traded for Dontrelle Willis, Scott Olson, Miguel Cabrera and Jeremy Hermida.

JJ to the Marlins for 8 bags of Turface, 3 dozen baseballs, and Top 200 prospect to be named later.

JJ and $7 million to Marlins for used infield rake and a Gatorade cooler to be named later.

The Marlins are thin at CF, so the Jacquestrap would be an improvement for them. B.K. Kim as a reliever wouldn't be a bad haul for JJ.

Seriously, any "bad salaries" on the current Marlin roster? Because unless Hendry is going to swallow a shit sandwich and send a few million down Florida's way, then it's hard to see a deal being consummated.

Raining hard in Chicago right now. Supposed to clear up by this evening, but it certainly looks ugly right now.

olivio and kim are their only salary drags that would be considered fair game in a payroll trade. they got benitez but theyre paying like 350K for him or something small. aaron boone makes a million...dunno if they wanna get rid of him. he's had a hot bat lately and always plays stellar D at 3rd.

Petrick deserves his shot, the kid has battled injuries repeatedly but keeps coming back for more. I think some forget that he was arguably the very BEST performing pitcher in the Cubs system before his labrum tear. I'm pretty sure AZ Phil has seen more of Billy than anyone else here, but from my brief experience, he has a definite big league future if he can just stay healthy. A very Guzman-esque endorsement, I know, but....

fwiw, the guy with the scoop over there has a bit of credibility and history over there, so it might be true.

JJ for to Florida for a single palm tree to be planted in RF at Wrigley. Almost as likely to catch a ball. Or hit a ball hard I suppose.

haha

JJ for to Florida for a single palm tree to be planted in RF at Wrigley. Almost as likely to catch a ball. Or hit a ball hard I suppose. Instead of bouncing balls back to the infield, it can bounce coconuts!

Looks like the deal is Jacque Jones and a crapload of cash to Florida in return for a single A prospect who strikes out a crapload.

Do we just have really bad conditioning coaches in our system? Other teams don't have nearly this problem with injuries to pitchers do they?

I have serious doubts that a random reds fan on a cubs message board would scoop people like Levine. I am listening to ESPN 1000 and haven't heard a thing about it.

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From the MarlinBaseball thread:
It's a single A pitcher from Greensboro...nobody major. ... I heard them announce it on Fat Hank's show, not by Hank. Reported as news.
Interestingly mos of the commenters at the Marlins board are pretty happy about getting JJ.

being picked up by a lot of message boards and at least one radio station in Miami it sounds like.

Well, Dave, if what they're saying is accurate, they're not giving anything up, may not be on the hook for that much of his contract, and he IS a major league outfielder that could find his stroke again at the plate. NOT that I'm wistful about losing him or anything.

Not a lot of arms to love in Greensboro, from what I can see. Graham Taylor looks like the pitcher to hope for - 5BB/74K in 101.2 innings.

ESPN 1000 Update just now: All they said is that Levine is saying that there is currently a market for JJ. Nothing about a trade to Florida. And random sox news - Kenny Williams has said any "starter" but Garland is available. Not sure if he is only referring to pitchers.

I'm sure the single A player is uber-toolsy and looks good in a uniform. That is the McFail/Hendry MO.

one of the great Internet hoaxes along with Peavy/M. Giles last year if it turns out bogus....

Rodolfo Encarnacion looks like a classic Cubs pick: 25BB/41K in 34.2 innings. But yeah, this smells a bit fishy, pun only slightly intended.

would need major league approval assuming the Cubs are throwing more than a million the marlins way, so won't hear anything from the cubs anytime soon if this is true.

How the heck do two message boards scoop all the cubs and marlins beat reporters? I still have serious doubts...

Rob... we would still hear something from Levine or Miles or someone. We heard about the Barrett deal before it was approved by MLB.

well yeah, just saying you won't hear the official word for a bit. I'm still dubious.

Ha... great quote from someone over at Northside Baseball:
Haha. I've been listening to see if Jones would be traded today. It's like my 3rd time I've ever listened to the Score. I seriously wonder if all these guys are mentally challenged. I've never heard such terrible programming.

do you think if I keep clicking "refresh" it'll make a trade go through sooner?

do you think if I keep clicking “refresh” it’ll make a trade go through sooner? LOL... I am refreshing 4 different sites right now... trying to figure who is the first one to get any kind of real confirmation.

I hope JJ goes, but I wish him well. My 10-year old son and I met him at a team event this year, and, despite all the negative fan feedback (including from me) and media beatings, he was soft-spoken, polite and friendly. He has also kept his mouth shut as he moved down Lou's list. So, farewell (hopefully) Jacque, and good luck.

ESPN 1000 - no new updates... Someone has to know something about this that can confirm it in the media, right?

You know the 2 trades Hendry has made with the Marlins have sucked. If this wasn't JJ we are talking about I would be scared.

choi for lee definately sucked...we could use him right now. and i think we all miss mike nannini. FREE MIKE NANNINI!!!

clement put in some good years for the cubs before his arm self-destructed at least. hell, except for a 2-month period near the end of his tenure with the cubs he was pretty damn good.

Fontenot is MJH right now and according to him its raining hard and the dugout is flooding. BTW I am hearing the trade is for about 5,000 seats.

"We did get Alfonseca in that deal as well. So we got that goin for us." Which is nice.

i think anyone would welcome/love the 02/03 and most of the 04 version of clement. shame he sucked his way out of the lineup then out of town his last few months. guy put in his work and did nice work for a long while, though.

well whatever, the trade was a wash imo. Marlins hit the lottery with a single A prospect with crazy mechanics. Clement was more than useful for us for a few years.

AZ Phil (or someone else): What's the report on Carment Pignatiello? Why hasn't he been included in the Major League clubs minor league reliever merry-go-round? Numbers this season look decent. And at a higher level than Smokies Petrick and Gallagher.

No way Rob. We needed a closer and we traded for a crappy one. We made a knee jerk reaction and traded a future prospect. No, they didn't know what WIllis would turn into, but it was pretty certain that he was regarded as a decent prospect. We were lucky that we got a couple of useful seasons out of Clement. That was the only silver lining to a very dark cloud of a trade.

Fontenot is MJH right now and according to him its raining hard and the dugout is flooding. Yea... but it is supposed to clear up pretty soon, and definitely by 7:00. Not sure if the field will be able to dry out enough by then...

Rudiger — June 26, 2007 @ 3:10 pm AZ Phil (or someone else): What’s the report on Carment Pignatiello? Why hasn’t he been included in the Major League clubs minor league reliever merry-go-round? Numbers this season look decent. And at a higher level than Smokies Petrick and Gallagher. ======================== RUDIGER: I think you'll see Carmen Pignatiello get a call-up from the Cubs before the end of the season. Piggy can be a minor league FA after this season if he's not added to the 40-man roster by October 15th, and I don't think the Cubs want to let him get away. He was supposedly one of the pitchers the Cubs considered when they brought up Sean Gallagher earlier this month. Pignatiello's best pitch is a slider that doesn't have a big break, but that he can throw for strikes. When I saw him pitch in the AFL last year, he would often throw slider after slider after slider, even to right-handed hitters. He's nothing special, but I think he could probably be an effective MLB middle-reliever.

ESPN 1000 - "petrick up, no corresponding move yet. but word from miami is that jj is being traded to the marlins."

Petrick #18 on this years BA Top 30 Cubs Prospects. Quoting this year's handbook (if OK, Rob G.?)....."second half of 2006....showed he still had his trademark 91-92 mph heavy sinker. The pitch is so difficult to lift that he has given up just 10 homers in 332 pro innings......threw a curveball early in his pro career before scrapping it in favor of a slider. He's still working on throwing his change-up with the same arm speed as his fastball." Bye, bye Jacque......we hardly knew ya'.....and that's OK.

What's the lastest on Dempster? Does anyone know when he's supposed to be able to pitch again?

Romero- He was supposed to throw off a mound today. If he didn't have pain, he was going to most likely be back by the weekend. If he did, he was headed to the DL

JJ to FLA for low-A pitcher? That is a blatant dump. Even more so than Barrett's trade. Ugh. Has management written off the season already?

Floyd/Pagan, or Pagan plays CF...Pie just isn't hitting in CF and Pagan seems to be capable of producing. If we are going to compete, Pie needs to be able to compete, and that just hasn't been the case. How long can that experiment continue? I know people think he has nothing left to learn in AAA, but he's shown he needs to learn to hit at the ML level.

Wild Thing... JJ hasn't been playing RF for several games. Floyd is the starter, and Pagan or Murton will probably get 2-3 starts a week (specifically against lhp).

Wild Thing — June 26, 2007 @ 3:27 pm So assuming JJ is traded… who will get the call in RF? Floyd/Pagan platoon? =============================== WILD T: Probably a Floyd/DeRosa platoon.

Rynox- Management/Lou haven't given up on the season, but they have given up on Barrett and Jones. Given how much Lou dislikes his game, Jones is a wasted roster spot at this point. Nice to see them eat some salary if that's what is necessary.

AZ Phil: How did EPat look playing LF earlier this year in Iowa? Any chance he'd have the arm (and prowess) to play RF next year for the Cubs? He seems to have decent pop.

Knowing the Cubs organizational mindset when it comes to minor league pitchers, I'd say Rodolfo Encarnacion. 34.2 IP + 41 K + 25 BB = Future Cubs Minor League Pitcher

I think the Cubs are trying to spend more money on other teams' salaries than the Devil Rays spend on their own players!

Sean West does not appear on that Greensboro link you posted, Rob G. Chris Coghlan does not look bad...

you would hope a cheap outfielder who bats left and capable of 25 would get you something

I don't really mind dumping Barrett and Jones, but I sure hope management doesn't think the Cubs can challenge with the roster that's currently assembled. As great as the new guys have been, they're gonna cool off, and if they do, it may be 2006 all over again. We need another bat, bullpen help, and maybe a starter as well.

Scott Cousins if its a hitter, Michael Hyle if its a pitcher. That is my guess?

JJ is only worth a A-ball pitcher because of two reasons: 1) Having a bad year 2) Hendry gave him too big a contract

Another bat isn't going to do any good. The team is loaded with bats other than our catchers & Izzy. We need the bats we have to start hitting more consistantly.

I think it was supposed to be a pitcher, Jace. I'd take Bradley Stone, Blake Jones, or Graham Taylor.

I know everyone wants to absolve him from any sort of criticism. But if Felix Pie isnt going to hit. Wouldnt it make sense to keep Jack Jones around to play CF if need be? Seems really shortsighted to trade him, if you end up having to get someone else to play out there later in the summer.

BillyBucks: Management/Lou haven’t given up on the season, but they have given up on Barrett and Jones. Given how much Lou dislikes his game, Jones is a wasted roster spot at this point. Nice to see them eat some salary if that’s what is necessary. I don't believe in addition by subtraction. The Cardinal's, for example, are currently improving their team and they have more than stayed afloat during the Carpenter injuries. Unless the Cub's actually do something to *improve* they'll be stuck in 2nd this year behind the Cards. Rookies are neat and everything, but they're also very streaky. I'd like to see one more veteran reliever and one more veteran left-handed bat before the trade deadline, even if they are rentals.

my guess is they like Pagan if it comes down to that. Also, I think Torii Hunter or Rowand could be had if needed.

Odd for the Marlins to pick up JJ. All they talk about is improving their defense.

Wild Thing — June 26, 2007 @ 3:34 pm AZ Phil: How did EPat look playing LF earlier this year in Iowa? Any chance he’d have the arm (and prowess) to play RF next year for the Cubs? He seems to have decent pop. ======================== WILD T: According to Mike Wellman over at Road to Wrigley, Eric Patterson really struggled in the outfield at Iowa. So if the Cubs do move Eric Patterson to the OF, they probably would need to do it in Spring Training 2008, to maximize the time required to make the transition. I would feel better about the move if it was to LF or CF, but RF has a smaller margin for error because mistakes often cost three bases where the same mistake in LF might cost only two, and throws need to be more accurate and stronger in order to get across the diamond to 3B and home. That said, E-Pat's best defensive attribute is range, and although he lacks the "ball-handling skills" needed of a middle-infielder, that isn't really much of a factor for an outfielder. But Eric Patterson is an ideal lead-off or #2 hitter. (And he can hit LHP, too). He needs to play somewhere, hopefully wherever he would do the least damage.

We need Gagne. An oblique strain could make Dempty miss more than 2 weeks. We need Gagne. When Dempty comes back, make Gagne the set up man. 7th Howry 8th Gagne 9th Dempty. AWESOME!

Rob… do I get a “credit?” :) hehe... nah, we're not quite to the point of gimmicks to keep up readership.

cwtp... jj plays very solid defense. he has very good range, and actually reads balls pretty well. his only real defensive problem is the accuracy of his arm.

Gagne isn't going to be cheap and the Rangers aren't dying to move him quite yet. Your talking someone like Marshall AND Marmol to get Gagne. That's steep in my opinion for a huge injury risk.

Your talking someone like Marshall AND Marmol to get Gagne. That’s steep in my opinion for a huge injury risk. No way would I trade those two for a guy who is not only an injury risk, but also a rental.

Rob, I agree, that is too steep. But they will come to their senses as they and realize that they are in last place. And an aging closer with arm problems who (IIRC) is a free agent at the end of the year, may not fit into future plans.

Gagne wont move until the deadline. Unless you overpay of course. Compensation picks and possibly resigning him will force the price up more than most people realize.

Rangers can be patient with Gagne. He's not making a ton of money and there's no good reason for the Rangers to try and not to keep him for next year. I'm not sure what kind of compensation pick they'd get for him since he essentially missed 2006 and the rankings are based off of 2 years, but I don't envision it as a scenario where they have to deal him or they get nothing. It's not like the Rangers don't have the money to resign him.

#62 Chad..I call BS! Alfonseca sucked for the Cubs..no doubt!! But his stats the previous season? 4-4, 3.06 ERA, 28 saves, 40K/15 BB. Yup...pretty crappy.

Billy Petrick is local, from Morris, IL. Was offered a football scholarship, apparently as a long snapper.

Dusty, I don't know if you are still reading this but it was still a knee jerk reaction. Tom Gordon got hurt and we freaked out. Rather than go nuts we should have let someone else close for a while until a better deal came through. Worked in 01 when Jeff Fassero helped out.

Dontrelle was a Lo-A ball pitcher...he had a good season at Boise, but he was 19, and you never know what you're going to get with a 19 year old pitcher drafted in the 8th round. In hindsight, the deal didn't work out. Clement gave 2 1/2 solid years in the rotation, and Alfonseca didn't pan out. Who would've stepped in? A 39-year old Fassero? Captain Tightpants? The Francis Beltran Experience?

Billy is a gamer! I coached him at Morris, IL (where he graduated from, not Kankakee like on many roster descriptions). He does not get flustered, stays very focused and is a very hard worker. He has the stuff to succeed, as long as there are no further injuries. Typical Cubs organization-- Billy NEVER got hurt in school including starring on the football team and a good basketball player. Straight A student that is a student of the game. His dad played in the minors. Too bad the injury moved him to the bullpen. He definitely had the opportunity to be an old school Nolan Ryan type that could go deep into games with no fatigue and even add a couple mph on the fastball in later innings. He was throwing about 98 as a senior in HS. Then, he gets to class A Lansing Lugnuts and they started messing with his delivery- I think that was a prime cause of the injury.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.