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

The Broken Unicorn

Our resident doctor, Joseph Hecht takes a look at the plight of one of our Cubs heroes. ---------- I have an idea for a dramatic play. Synopsis: It’s about a dysfunctional family. The father ran off years ago, leaving two children and their mother, except for one postcard of Wrigley Field, the father has not been heard from since. The mother, Louise Penny, is from a genteel southern family and tells tales of her athletic youth and the many Royal and Yankee suitors who once pursued her. She is disappointed in her daughter, Kerry, who once was very athletic but now is fragile beyond recognition from recurring arm injuries and no longer draws any gentleman callers. The mother enrolls Kerry on a local baseball pitching staff hoping that her daughter will make her own and the family’s fortune through a pitching career. Louise discovers that Kerry’s crippling injuries kept her from making the team when she was discovered wandering aimlessly about the disabled list. Meanwhile, Kerry’s older brother, Larry Ro, is trapped in a thankless coaching job to support his mother and sister. During one of the many arguments between mother and son, Larry inadvertently breaks several of the glass trophies that are his sister Kerry’s prized possessions. Louise asks her son to keep an eye out for potential suitors for his sister. Louise gets her son to bring home a gentleman caller, Jim O’Hendry, an acquaintance that works with Larry. Gentleman Jim is kindly and some warm conversation draws Kerry out of her shell. Jim gives Kerry the nickname, “Texas Roses” a subtle twist on the name of Kerry’s medical condition, “Tendomyositis”. Jim reproaches Kerry for her low self-esteem but praises her former athletic uniqueness. They play long toss but Gentleman Jim inadvertently knocks over Kerry’s favorite “Unicorn” trophy, breaking off its horn. Kerry is forgiving, realizing that the unicorn is now a normal horse. Jim explains he has a “prior” commitment with another pitcher. Kerry offers Gentleman Jim the broken unicorn trophy as a souvenir. Mother Louise enters the room full of hope with this gentleman caller but soon turns on son Larry as the caller leaves. They argue with Louise having to protect fragile Kerry while Larry explains he was fired from his coaching job and is leaving his mother and sister behind. Years later, although Larry has traveled to distant ball clubs, he finds he is unable to shake the guilty memories of Kerry. Dr. Joseph Hecht gives his most sincere apologies to Tennessee Williams.

Comments

I would assume this is the brainchild of a night-long drinking binge brought on the recent depressing news? Get help, man. It only takes 12 steps to get beyond the addiction to false hope about our SP rotation.

Jayson Stark said this morning on ESPN2 that there is a good chance, he thinks, that the Cubs will sign Zambrano by opening day but he said he does not think it is a sure thing. Apparently Buster Olney has said on ESPN2 that he thinks it is a sure thing. Stark said he thinks the player's union is pressuring Z not to accept anything less than "market value," in other words, not to give the Cubs a discount of any kind. Stark said he thinks that the commissioner's office is putting some pressure on the Cubs not to get carried away with the amount of money offered to Z. One of the studio hosts asked Stark what he thinks the chances are that, on July 31st, if Z has not been signed, a trade with the Yanks will be announced, with the Cubs getting AROD and Hughes. Stark laughed and said there is no chance of that, that the Yanks will not trade Hughes. I agree. Why would the Yanks give the Cubs much of anything to get a guy for two or three months. Makes no sense. What do you all think? I expect that Z will surely have a new deal by Monday.

Make the guy happy, do it now. Not interested in another autopsy of "what went wrong" a la Maddux. Such failure analysis is supposed to prevent bad things from happening "next time." It's "next time." I'm just sayin (hey, its not my money)

Not sure if this has been mentioned on here yet, but the ESPN bottom line was reporting that Prior will start the year either on the DL or in AAA. Not really news to anyone, but I guess it's official that he won't be on the 25-man to start the year.

Unless they have completely lost their minds (always a possibility), there is no way that MLB is putting pressure on the Cubs not to pay Zambrano big dollars. The legal liability exposure (collusion, etc.) would be too high, not to mention the PR fallout if it were discovered. The owners got into a lot of trouble for their collusive activities in the 80's and 90's, so I doubt that they are putting any pressure on the Cubs to keep salaries down, either. And even if MLB or the owners were pressuring the Cubs not to pay up, I would certainly hope that the Cubs would laugh and ignore it. It's the Trib's money, the Trib's decisions. You don't gain anything by being a team player in that scenario, other than the indirect fruits of collusion.

"Z said he won’t pitch in AL because he wants to bat." -jacos If Z was in the AL he would be a full time DH too.

Is that actually possible within the rules, for a pitcher to pitch and DH on the same day? I can't recall it ever happening.

For those in Chicago, there is a pretty bad fire on the top floor of what appears to me to be the 500 West Monroe building.

Sheffield/Cornelia — March 28, 2007 @ 10:52 am Is that actually possible within the rules, for a pitcher to pitch and DH on the same day? I can’t recall it ever happening. =============================== SHEFFIELD/CORNELIA: An A. L. starting pitcher can hit for himself (Ken Brett did that for the White Sox in 1976), but if he does, his team cannot use the DH in that game, even after the starting pitcher leaves the mound. So an A. L. starting pitcher who hits for himself (in lieu of the DH) can't remain in the game as the DH once he is relieved as a pitcher. If Carlos Zambrano was pitching in the A. L., he could hit, but once he left the game as a pitcher, he's out of the game, and his team can't use the DH for the rest of that game. (The relief pitchers have to bat for themselves, or the manager can use a PH and take the pitcher out of the game, just like in the N. L.). Likewise, if a player who starts a game as the DH later comes into the game as a relief pitcher, the DH is no longer available. Since the relief pitcher is probably a pretty good hitter (which is why he was in the lineup as the DH), that wouldn't matter, but any subsequent pitcher used in that game must also hit for himself (or the manager can use a PH, just like in the N. L.). Anytime a DH is moved to a position in the field during a game, the team loses the DH privilege for the rest of that game, and the pitcher must hit for himself (or a PH can be used, but that takes the pitcher out of the game).

For those in Chicago, there is a pretty bad fire on the top floor of what appears to me to be the 500 West Monroe building. ----- So that is what all that noise is about.

Dusty is doing the Mets v Braves game on ESPN. if anyone cares to hear how he would prepare for a season.Ihe he had a job!!

baker in the booth for atl/nym on espn...for those that wanna hear dustbag talk about bases balls.

Doug D.: "Not really news to anyone, but I guess it’s official that he (Prior) won’t be on the 25-man to start the year." This will make it four in a row... Perfect mechanics? Meh...

From Rob's link: "And just like that, Wrigley Field has gone from the de facto summer share house of every Chad and Trixie in Wrigleyville to the site of a desperate race against Alfonso Soriano's contract,"

crunch — March 28, 2007 @ 11:24 am baker in the booth for atl/nym on espn…for those that wanna hear dustbag talk about bases balls. =============================== CRUNCH: It was kind of nostalgic hearing Dusty actually use the phrase "you don't want guys at the top of the order clogging up the bases" during the broadscast. I wonder if he will also mention the advantage that players of African descent have over Caucasian players in days games.

Did he really use the "clogging up the bases" line again? I always sort of half thought that was just him saying something for the sake of saying something, perhaps even misspeaking. But if he repeated it, it must be a philosophy. One of the smartest minds, indeed. I'll never forget last season when Joe Morgan called Dusty a "very aggressive" manager. Bleh.

Deadspin article errors: 1. |Cubs' front office in a way that (almost) winning in 2003 couldn't;| Cubs made changes to correct all their flaws in the 2003 off-season, with the loan exception of Gonzales who they corrected during 2004. 2. |Dusty Baker's firing| Dusty wasn't fired, he just wasn't offered a new contract. 3. |unprecedented-in-all-of-sports $300+ million| Unless you count, for example, the Texas Rangers in 2001. Well that's it, just three, because he moves to strictly opinion after that. I would probably have a bone of contention with him saying the team is built to 'win now'. They're built to win over the next three years.

#17 Barry, Why do you think the unofficial nickname for ESPN is the 'Boo-Yah' network........I watch as much as anyone, but they are all a little full of themselves.

Did someone say walks just clog the bases... 'Cedeno, whose game has improved dramatically since a long talk with Piniella earlier this spring about his approach at the plate, hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning Tuesday to send the Cubs past the Kansas City Royals 13-10. "He worked with me on the strike zone," Cedeno said. "Now I try to take more walks and I can see the ball real good. ... It is relaxing for me because they gave me an opportunity and I feel happy for that."' http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap;_ylt=Ag0e7oDJuCKMgcr8VYRzyncV0bYF?gid…

jacos — March 28, 2007 @ 12:17 pm AZ Phil- Did he really say that? ========================== JACOS: Yes he did. It was during a discussion about Willie Randolph's plan to occasionally hit David Wright in the #2 spot in the batting order.

Yes he did. It was during a discussion about Willie Randolph’s plan to occasionally hit David Wright in the #2 spot in the batting order. Oh snap....that's hilarious. Well once a moron always a moron. (And yeah I know Dusty is generally well-read and all, but his baseball acumen is zilch in my humble opinion)

I knew that Dusty said that last year, but I also thought it was just him mis-speaking to fill air time. I didn't really believe that he meant it. Well, now he's on record again saying it. I think a team would be crazy to have someone who believes that as their manager....

and of course Wright has stolen 17 and 20 bases the last 2 years as well.... Bring back Steve Stone!!!!

and for the love of all things holy do not let Dusty do a Cubs game this year

Was Scott Boras Harrington's agent that kept telling him to decline all those offers? Does anyone know what Harrington looked like this spring?

Sigh, The only box of hammers here are the posters who can't understand Dusty's "clogging up the bases" philosophy. No really, you don't understand what the hell he actually means. He means he wants aggressive hitters who are looking to put the ball in play and make things happen. There is nothing wrong with that philosophy. He doesn't want players like J.D. "Perfect Pitch Only" Drew. He wants a guy who will swing at a ball just off the plate knowing that he can make contact with it and tally and RBI rather than just walking.

That's not at all what Dusty is saying Chad. Although he might believe that as well (as moronic as that idea is as well), his "clogging the bases" comment is about guys at the top of the order who aren't all that fast and can't advance more than a base at a time when the sluggers come up and start knocking around XBH's. Either way...a moron.

Yeah, I remember a lot of "putting the ball in play" last year... Clearly we are in the presence of higher intellect here.

Yes, Neifi and his ilk were great at swinging at the first pitch and not taking walks. Great philosphy

I felt like there were a LOT of infield pop-ups, too. JJ and A-Ram seemed to do that A LOT. Is there anything to back that up, or am I just wrong...

And then Dusty would contradict himself by saying that Cub pitchers needed to cut down on walks.

That's classic. Dusty also shared that philosophy in 2004 or 2005, not only in 2006. I love the "it's blown out of proportion" comments and "no one understands what Dusty means".

" He doesn’t want players like J.D. “Perfect Pitch Only” Drew" Maybe a better name for him would be J.D. "Lookee Lookee I am in the Playoffs Again" Drew?

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.