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

Recent comments

  • crunch 3 days 23 hours ago (view)

    i guess at this point the pen is shaping up to be alzolay, neris, merryweather, smyly, leiter jr, almonte, cuas, and little.

    not bad.  kinda alarmed at neris's velocity and results being lower than expected this spring, though.

    on a more positive note, talent like merryweather and little could make counting on neris being an impact end-game guy an afterthought...and leiter if he can stay consistent (and keep the ball in the park).

  • Childersb3 4 days 6 hours ago (view)

    Brown got squeezed badly today. On TV the ump missed several FB strikes. That had to be a rookie ump. That 57% should've been much higher. Oh well.

  • Arizona Phil 2 days 7 hours ago (view)

    Here are the pitcher reports from Saturday's Brewers - Cubs game at Sloan Park in Mesa: 

    BEN BROWN
    FB: 94-97 - T-98
    CV: 84-87
    COMMENT: Got the start and retired the first seven men he faced (4-3 GO, P-4, K-looking, K-swinging, F-7 FO, K-looking, and a 4-3 GO)... eventually threw four innings of two-hit shutout ball (56 pitches - 32 strikes - five K-swinging, all five on CV), allowing a one-out nine-pitch walk and a two-out infield single in the 3rd and a hard-hit ball off the LF fence on pitch # 47 in the top of the 4thj (batter was thrown out by LF Mike Tauchman trying to stretch hit into a double, a brilliant defensive play by Tauchman)... other than throwing only 57% strikes and throwing a first-pitch strike to only half of the hitters he faced, this was about as good as any Cubs SP has looked so far, except Brown will be starting games at AAA Iowa (at least for a while -- command / pitch efficiency still need polish)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 92-93
    SL: 80
    COMMENT: Threw a 10-pitch (8 strikes - two swing & miss) top of the 5th (3-1 GO, 5-3 GO, K-swinging on a 1-2 SL)... once again, Almonte is out of minor league options, and if he isn't sent outright to the minors by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent beginning on that date... 

    KEEGAN THOMPSON
    FB: 90-93 
    CT: 87
    CV: 78 
    COMMENT: Worked a 10-pitch (eight strikes - one swing & miss on a FB) top of the 6th... got two quick outs on a hard-hit L-8 and a 3-1 GO before allowing a monster solo HR to CF by Gary Sanchez on a 0-1 92 MPH FB, then got an inning-ending P-6 on the next pitch... threw strikes but gave up some hard contact... his stuff is still not back to where it was in 2022... he will have a season ticket on the Des Moines - Chicago shuttle in 2024 (if he isn't traded)...  

    DANIEL PALENCIA
    FB: 96-99
    SL/CT: 89-92 
    CH: 88 
    COMMENT: Like K. Thompson, Palencia has already been optioned to AAA Iowa, so he was brought over to the stadium from the basckfields just for the day... entered the game in the top of the 7th with Cubs down 1-0... walked the first man faced and surrendered a single on a 2-2 pitch to start the inning, then induced a soft-contract 1-3 come-backer that advanced the runners to 2nd & 3rd, and a soft-contact 5-2 FC with the runner on third thrown out at the plate by third-baseman Jake Slaughter... then beginning on pitch # 20 he gave up successive hard-contact base hits (an RBI double on a 97 MPH FB, a two-run single on a 89 MPH SL, and a single on a 98 MPH FB)... threw 29 pitches (17 strikes - only one swing & miss, which was on a SL)... at first he couldn't throw strikes, then he couldn't put hitters away, and even with a high velo FB and hard SL on display there was just too much hard contact once he got deeper into the inning... there are a lot of yellow flags with Palencia, especially with respect to what his best role is (certainly NOT a SP, probably not a closer either, so then ????)... despite the high ceiling, I don't think the Cubs would be particularly averse to including him in a prospect package...   

    BLAKE WHITNEY
    FB: 93 
    CT: 88-90 
    CH: 85
    SL: 80-83  
    COMMENT Relieved Palencia with two runners on base and two outs in the top of the 7th and proceeded to surrender a two-run single on an 0-2 pitch... retired the side on a K-looking... threw eight pitches (seven strikes - three swinging)... he was just moved down from AAA to AA at Minor League Camp and he will be a minor league 6YFA post-2024, so his future with the Cubs is a bit murky at this time...  

    RICHARD LOVELADY
    FB: 91-92
    CH: 87-88
    SL: 83-85
    COMMENT: Worked deliberately through a 21-pitch (12 strikes- four swing & miss, three on a SL and one on a FB ) scoreless 8th... allowed a lead-off single and a one-out walk but got out of the inning with a P-5 and a 3-2 K-swinging on a 92 MPH FB... he will be the Opening Day # 3 LHRP at AAA behind Luke Little and Edwin Escobar (or # 2 if Little makes the Cubs Opening Day roster)...   

    BLAKE WEIMAN
    FB: 90-92
    CH: 85 
    SL: 77-79
    COMMENT: Worked the 9th and allowed a run on a one-out triple and a FC RBI... threw 16 pitches (12 strikes - one swing & miss on a SL)... lots of hard contact, because he clearly doesn't fool hitters with his stuff... there is no room for him at Iowa... 

  • Arizona Phil 4 days 12 hours ago (view)

    CRUNCH: If the Cubs add Garrett Cooper to the 40 (which apparently is going to happen) they will be essentially stuck with him (just like Trey Mancini last year). Once added to the 40 Cooper can't be sent to the minors without his consent, so if he gets dropped after Wisdom is reinstated he would have to be released (or traded), and if he is released the Cubs would be on the hook for his 2024 salary (offset by the MLB minimum salary if he subsequently signs an MLB contract with another organization). So it is far more likely that Alexander Canario will be optioned to AAA when Wisdom is reinstated, or even Wisdom himself could be optioned to AAA whenever he is healthy enough to be reinstated from the IL. Keep in mind that both Wisdom and Madrigal (when & if they are healthy enough to play) can be optioned to the minors without restriction. 

  • Arizona Phil 4 days 13 hours ago (view)

    AS THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW... 

    After having a chance to see these guys at MLB and/or Minor League Spring Training, here are the 2024 Rule 5 Draft-eligible players most likely to get added to the 40 either during the season or pre-Rule 5 Draft:  

    POST-2024 RULE 5 DRAFT ELIGIBLE: 
    Owen Caissie, OF (virtual lock) 
    BJ Murray, 3B (likely) 
    Christian Franklin, OF (likely) 
    Hunter Bigge, RHRP (likely) 
    Riley Martin, LHRP (better than 50/50)
    NEXT FIVE ALPHABETICAL: 
    Yohendrick Pinango, OF 
    Walker Powell, RHSP  
    Chase Strumpf, INF 
    Matt Thompson, RHSP  
    Bryce Windham, C-INF 

    Adding a Top 15 Rule 5 Draft-eligible prospect to the 40 is a no brainer, but otherwise a club's decision to add a Rule 5 Draft-eligible player to the 40 has a lot to do with whether a 40-man roster slot is available and if the club believes the slot will not be needed later in the off-season or prior to MLB Opening Day, whether the player actually is projected as being a member of the MLB 26-man roster at some point in the future, whether the player is projected as having future trade value that exceeds the $100,000 Rule 5 Draft price, and whether the player is likely to get selected (near-MLB ready relief pitchers and catchers are the most popular Rule 5 Draft picks, although any Top 15 prospect regardless of position left unprotected is likely to get snatched).  

    And here are the post-2024 minor league 6YFA who are most-likely to be added to the 40, either during the season or after the conclusion of the World Series (In this order): 

    POST-2024 MINOR LEAGUE 6YFA: 
    Cam Sanders, RHRP (likely) 
    Pablo Aliendo, C (better than 50/50) 
    NEXT EIGHT ALPHABETICAL: 
    Luis Devers, RHSP 
    Kohl Franklin, RHSP 
    Eduarniel Nunez, RHRP 
    Ezequiel Pagan, OF
    Jake Reindl, RHRP 
    Cole Roederer, OF  
    Jake Slaughter, INF 
    Riley Thompson, RHRP 

    The likelihood of adding a minor league 6YFA to the 40 increases substantially if the player declines to sign a minor league successor contract. Last year the Cubs signed only one of their post-2023 minor league 6YFA to a 2024 minor league successor contract, and that was Eduarniel Nunez, but there are an unusually high number of quality prospects who are eligible to be minor league free-agents post-2024 who the Cubs will probably not want to lose for nothing.  

  • Childersb3 4 days 13 hours ago (view)

    Smith & Edwards both opt out of their MiLB deals with Cubs.

    Alzolay, JMerry, Neris, Leiter, Almonte, Cuas, Smyly & Wesneski or Little.

  • Arizona Phil 4 days 14 hours ago (view)

    Of the 15 pitchers presently in the REHAB group at Minor League Camp (see full list above), Ben Leeper has now joined Brody McCullough, Sam Thoresen, and Jaxon Wiggins throwing regular bullpen sides (but no "live" BP yet), and Naz Mule will be throwing "live" BP again either today or Monday (TBD), so Mule is very close to being "game ready." 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 4 days 16 hours ago (view)

    Phil Bickford on waivers. A potential guy the Cubs grab, he’d snag CJ’s spot if the team prefers what Bickford could do. Pedigree, some success, past health issues.

  • crunch 5 days 1 hour ago (view)

    i like him over cooper, but after the spring dom's had he shouldn't have trouble latching on with some team with a MLB deal in short order.  it's not like dom/cooper are night and day...i just like dom's lefty bat off the bench and possible DH.

    if cooper turns out to be an early bust, he may be the first to go when p.wisdom returns to the roster.

  • TarzanJoeWallis 5 days 4 hours ago (view)

    I suspect Dom won’t have a problem finding an MLB gig somewhere. He’s never quite found it but any number of teams could take a shot on this being the year he finally puts it together.