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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We’re Number 15! We’re Number 15!

I’m putting together a look at how some of the online pubs and soothsayers foresee the Cubs season ahead. In the meantime, the Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview edition is on the street. SI has the Cubs pegged for second in the NL Central, behind the Cards and out of the post-season picture. The magazine, which ranks the Cubs as MLB’s 15th strongest club overall, figures the Brewers, Astros, Pirates and Reds will fall in order behind our heroes in the Central. In a sidebar to Albert Chen’s full preview of the Cubs, Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus suggests that the Cubs would be 39 runs better off by the end of the season if Michael Barrett hit leadoff and Alfonso Soriano batted cleanup. The conclusion is based on a computer simulation of the season using BP’s PECOTA projections. I agree with the notion that Soriano could help the team more if he hit further down in the lineup, though Matt Murton would strike me as a better replacement in the top spot than Barrett. Still, it’s kind of a cool idea. I wonder if they’d kick Barrett out of the catchers union if he told them he was batting first.

Comments

evidently edmonds is feeling a little better...their local rag has him maybe even back by this weekend and having a shot at breaking with the team out of ST.

Edmonds takes a little hiatus to Key West and is all better. Like someone gave him a kick in the pants "sort of speak".

# 15 sounds about right. The Cubs are a much better ballclub and no longer have an idiot as manager, but they still do have issues. I'm not convinced Detroit will be great again this year. Interesting to see if Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman regress given heavy workloads of the past. And if Kenny Rogers starts acting his age. Plus their lineup is nothing to write home about. Pudge Rodriquez has caught nearly 2,000 games for his career and is bound to slow down in a big way. So too is Gary Sheffield. My predictions NL Central...Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds, Astros NL East...Mets, Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Nationals NL West...Dodgers, Padres, Giants, D-Backs, Rockies AL East...Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Blue Jayes, D-Rays AL Central...White Sox, Twins, Tigers, Indians, Royals AL West...Angels, Rangers, Mariners, A's

I thought of Jason Kendall after posting the piece. Also, many years ago, the Expos had a catcher named Ron Brand who also played some shortstop. I always thought that was a pretty amazing combination. Of course, he stunk at both, so maybe not.

aaronb- HAHAHAHA. ST- Don't underestimate the Tribe. Brewers are over rated they are counting on Kerry... I mean Ben Sheets.

I think the Giants may be a bit tougher this year than you think. Also, the Padres won't do quite as well. Brewers over the Cubs? That's silly unless you think that all these things will happen: (1) Ben Sheets healthy all season (2) All young Brewers hitters come into their own (3) Billy Hall repeats last years production. I just don't see all that happening. Plus, you're forgetting about the Cubs' secret weapon this year... MILLER! :) Now how can the Brewers beat the Cubs when we've got Miller on our side? There's just something inherantly wrong with that idea. So Sayeth the God of WAR!

The Giants have a dreadful bullpen. That, more than anything, is why I don't like their chances. The Brewers are a very interesting team. This spring Ben Sheets has looked very solid and healthy. If he holds up, then I think they are solid competitor for the NL Central. I also think Rickie Weeks is on the verge of superstardom. But, they are a risky pick in the NL. Central.

braves up mccann 6yrs...dude had 1.something years of service time behind him. no financials ive seen yet.

McCann's annual salary breakdown over the course of the contract is as follows: $500,000 in 2007, $800,000 in '08, $3.5 million in '09, $5.5 million in '10, $6.5 million in '11 and $8.5 million in '12.

Wood got bumped from today until tomorrow, Lou said there just weren't enough inning today....although it doesn't look like the game will get in.

I thought opposite on the Giants - I see Arizona finishing ahead of them this year. The Backs O will likely be streaky but they have a very solid pitching staff.

Barrett batting leadoff?! Wow, those stats guys really think outside the box. I gotta pick up that issue just to read the sidebar.

SI had the Giants at the bottom of the NL West fwiw... They have the potential of an pretty decent starting rotation in Zito, Cain and Lowry...but fuck, Russ Ortiz? One Bonds injury and their lineup is for shit again..... Beware the Rockies!!!!! they're better than people think.... D'Backs are a nice pick too....

Ouch, rotoworld says Furcal was carried off the field after colliding with Repko on a pop-up today.

j.papelbon expected to be named BOS closer according to ESPN. game on ESPN, btw...bos/phi

the dude's got a sense of humor, no doubt, would love to sit near the bullpen and hear them talking it up.

sprained left ankle for Furcal, going in for X-rays though, said he appeared to be in a lot of pain...

"I think the Giants may be a bit tougher this year than you think." I dunno Tehmpus...I suppose if the SP K's every batter they'd be in decent shape but their D(aside from Vizquel, Winn & Alfonzo) and bully are awful. If they start Johnathan Sanchez instead of Morris or Ortiz, and insert Lincecum as closer that would be beneficial too.

"One Bonds injury and their lineup is for shit again….." Even at 100% Bonds is not that great a player anymore. IF he played 162 games this season I would bet he would hit 30 homers. Now don't get me wrong, that's still good, but that is not much of a lineup difference maker.

I think Steve Stone said much the same....damn you Will Carroll and everyone else who proclaimed the mechanics master.

Well a major league pitching coach said so....Stan McNeal just reported it.....a bit of a difference and particularly amusing after your rant in the previous thread about writers and coaches.

Will Carroll isn't a mechanics master. I can promise you that. I wish that guy would have gotten the anonymous pitching coach to at least go on record with the flaw he saw in his pitching motion. I can't see it, but I'm also not a big league pitching coach. I just play one on this blog.

hehe...I meant everyone who proclaimed Prior the mechanics master but my Carroll comment was based off his "saving the pitcher" book where he used Prior as an example of "perfect mechanics" or at least that's how I remember it.....he repeats the same thing everytime (or at least he use to), but obviously there's some flaws there.

Prior repeats the same motion everytime is what I meant..... must start paying attention to what I write...

my anonymous source told me something i cant tell you 3 years ago, but it seems to be true and i still cant tell you, but he's right and i knew it 3 years ago...ya know, the thing i cant tell you. brilliant article.

well fair enough crunch, but honestly this isn't revealing news, we've heard this before from a few sources.

yeah, i was just left with a "why write the article at all?" feeling...it seems to be more of a story you tell at a party with your peers more than something for public consumption.

I will agree that Prior has very repeatable mechanics. Big Willie Style is right about that. That motion is the same every darned time. And I personally share the sentiment that they're pretty fundamentally solid, as well. But I don't know if they're perfect. I'd say they apparently aren't. If they were perfect, HE WOULDNT BE THROWING 84.

Pagan 8 Theriot 4 Lee 3 Ramirez 5 Jones 9 Barrett 2 Murton 7 Izturis 6 Prior 1 Pads sending their A group for the most part: M Giles 4 B Giles 9 A Gonzalez 3 Bard 2 Cameron 8 Greene 6 Kouzmanoff 5 Sledge 7 Maddux 1

'Sweet Lou' will be 'Blue Lou' by the end of the season. He after all is a Cub now.

Former Dodger Mike Marshall (the pitcher) was actually one of the first guys I heard to go on record on criticizing Prior's mechanics. I think he actually said that he had among the worst he'd ever seen. I can't believe Wood's wouldn't be worse, but I can't imagine the Hawpe liner off of his elbow, and getting dumped on his shoulder in the M.Giles collision helped either. I won't even go into the alleged roids rumors or how Baker used him in 2003.

For what it's worth, Baseball America picks the Cubs fifth in the NL Central, just ahead of the Pirates.

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.