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

All-star "Game" Break

There are a lot of things than could be said about this team--the good, the bad, the Castro. But we are 7 over and currently holding a play-off spot 87 games into the season. Since every one of us would have signed up for that in a second during Spring Training, I guess we have to be pleased. 

The AS Game itself is marginally interesting to see how the managers squeeze everyone in, I suppose--even though it's at odds with the new format. And I am curious to see whether Rizzo is hit by a pitch during the Derby. Mostly, I'll be working on my book.

Enjoy the recess!

Comments

Weird.....His brother was my neighbor up until 2 weeks ago. Jason seems like a decent guy. Released with a 1.54 ERA?

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Cameron and Fuld were both speed guys (especially Cameron) and on-base guys (especially Fuld). A comparable for Almora would, at 21, have a slash line like this in 400 PAs at double A: .243/.278/.361(/.639). Almora fell off rather steeply at Daytona (A+), but they promoted him to Tennessee after just 89 games. Maybe that was too soon. But they hoped he would advance quickly, like the other high schoolers I mentioned. So this year they draft Happ and Dewees #1 and #2. Happ plays CF for Eugene, while Dewees could probably play there. So I think Almora has lost his "core" designation and will have to gain it back.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

There is a LOT of room between those two. Cameron had a career 782 OPS, had 10 seasons of 3.0 bWAR or higher, was an All-Star, won multiple gold gloves, and according to JAWS is the 33rd best CFer in history. Fuld has a .643 career OPS, has a carer total of 4.7 war, and is a primarily a back-up LFer. So there is a good chance he ends up somewhere between the two, and the closer to the Cameron end of that spectrum the better. But of course with all guys that young struggling the minors, there is also a very good chance he never even becomes a Fuld. Most prospects don't make it at all. 

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Yes, I am aware of the fact that there is a lot of room between the two. Again, main point, ...if he can discover any bat at all he should be a MLB player. I did not state, "A can't-miss prospect", or anything of the sort. He is young, and has elicited comments such as this one from scouts: "Almora is an excellent outfielder who gets excellent jumps on the ball (lending to his plus range). Everything he does in the outfield is fundamentally sound, and he takes aggressive routes to the ball. He’s not a particularly fast runner, but his all-out hustle and footwork should allow him to stick in center field. A right-handed hitter, Almora has a quick bat and surprising power that allows him to go yard to all fields. He has a controlled swing with a consistent path that allows him to jump on the best of velocities while still keeping enough weight back to drive offspeed pitches. A veteran of the showcase circuit, Almora has drawn comparisons to Carlos Beltran for his all-around athleticism and skill set. Considered as a high first-round draft pick for the last two years, Almora is more advanced than most of the prep players in the 2012 draft class, and therefore has a shot to reach the major leagues by 2015." 6/4/2012, M.Rosenbaum Its three years later, and while he may be a bust-out, he may be a contributing MLB player as good as Denorfria or Coghlan. Still too early to tell. If he can hit somewhere in-between the two examples I gave, it becomes more promising. Its a pretty big "IF". But again, what were we all doing at age 21? And, let me say, regarding the now-worthless "All-Star" label. I heard a stat on WSCR yesterday that due to today's voting procedures, about 17% of MLB players have been voted or selected to be an "All-Star". Doesn't seem so exclusive by any stretch these days.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Well, just mathematically in forming two full teams from 30 about 7% of players have to be all-stars in a given year. Then taking into consideration that players age and decline so there are always active players who used to be all-stars in their prime but aren't anymore. Then of course there are injuries and career-years, etc. So yeah, 15%-ish seems about right. I'd rather have that than the same guys getting selected every year based on reputation rather than performance.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

If you are talking about starters, I am not sure what the difference is. Fans have been voting in questionable players for a long time. As for reserves, I feel like the player ballots create teams that are better representative of yearly performances than managers picking them all.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Fuld's OBP in the minors was .371--.372 when he was at Tennessee for a season. Granted, he was 25, so it's apples and oranges when you try to compare guys coming out of college and high school. But I'm not the one who brought up Fuld. But before I drop him: Fuld's walks/strikeouts in the minors was 309/261. Almora's is 48/139. Fuld was a borderline major leaguer for a while because teams were willing to send him to the plate to get a walk. Why send Almora to the plate? He did lead the Cub organization last year in one offensive category: GDP. I just haven't seen any touted Cub prospect in the last ten years having so much trouble getting out of AA. Vitters had a .770 OPS at Tennessee at age 21, with 14 home runs. Almora is .659. Lake had a tough time at Tenn at 21 but then raked at 22. So maybe Almora will succeed in his THIRD season there? So he can be as good an offensive player as Junior Lake?--who by the way has some power and some speed. I just don't see the "somewhere between Fuld and Cameron." I would say somewhere below Fuld and Cameron. There may a flashy center fielder who struggled at the AA level in 400 PAs at a young age and became a major league hitter. I just know he didn't come up with the Cubs. [7/15. I might have found one. Jake Marisnick, 200 at bats with the Astros this season. He's not hitting, but he's mostly been in the majors since last year, when he was 23. He struggled at AA at 21, after which the Jays traded him to Miami, who traded him to Houston the following year. Drafted in the 3rd round in 2009. Big kid, 6-4, 220, must be a good athlete because he always plays center. Almora is somewhere between Marisnick and Cameron (or Mays or DiMaggio). I like that better than Fuld, because Fuld is in the majors at 33, and Marisnick might not be there at 26. The lesson here might be that Almora will be gone pretty soon. I think the Cubs have moved on, with Zagunis, Happ, Dewees, etc.]

"The five-minute time limit per batter per round was shortened to four minutes, a previously announced pause of the clock for home runs in the final minute was eliminated and a previously announced time extension for home runs exceeding 475 feet was eliminated and shortened to 425." ...because of possible bad weather in CIN.

[ ]

In reply to by QuietMan

I am very confused as to what the Cubs are doing with Schwarber. His bat will be ready for MLB next year (it looks ready now), but he won't catch for the Cubs next year, since Montero and Ross will still be around. Maybe they are seeing what kind of catcher he can become over the next 2 months, then move him to LF next spring? I don't know of any notable catchers who played another position for a season, then went back to catching. Very confusing.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

unless they trade away montero i dunno how shwarb's going to avoid seeing most of his playing time in LF. unless there's injuries, i imagine we'll be seeing a good amount of him in LF when he gets called up again while taking the occasional turn behind the plate. it'll be interesting in 2017, especially if he's not getting much work at C in 2016. if they're really committed to having him C, montero could become trade bait. they kinda suck at trading C, though. =p

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I think you're right, crunch. The bat is there, and because he's really working on the catching he probably will do that a little bit, but overall I predict a mid-August callup for LF. Maybe that ripples to a platoon of Coghlan and Fowler in CF, and maybe Schwarber and Denorfia in left. Next year, who knows? One last year of non-offense from Ross, some C by Schwarber, mostly Montero. 2017? We're getting into very unpredictable territory here, but maybe we have the DH and Schwarber gets the gig over Vogelbach, and dudes like McKinney, Zagunis, and Almora push into the picture. Bottom line, Schwarber in the big leagues sooner then later, but not behind the plate. Good times.

[ ]

In reply to by fullykräusened

...and then there's the Castro conundrum. Other than a few walk-off hits, he has been dreadful this year -- 2nd most errors of NL SS, next to last in OPS among "qualified" NL SS, last in slugging. An OBP of .283 and a negative WAR. Lousy in the field, lousy at the plate. The numbers are brutal, the "eye test" is as well -- the mental lapses, the lack of a clue of situations and always, always trying to pull outside pitches. The Javy injury has made this more complicated -- but, if he (or La Stella) hits at all the last month of the season, I assume Theo will sell low and move Russell to SS. But, I can't imagine they will get much of anything in a trade for him.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

Ross can play at Iowa next year for $2.25 million. Schwarber can be backup catcher, and play left on days Montero is catching. Or they can carry three catchers: not a big deal if one of them (Schwarber) plays left field most days. The key is that you're continuing Schwarber's catcher training at the ML level, under two skilled tutors. Two years like that, and Montero can give up his starting gig in his final year with the Cubs.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

problem is, ross exists because the team has a certain SP who refuses to check runners so the C has to -attempt- to keep guys from taking 3+ bases a game as well as trying to control the crazy leads runners take off bases...something ross has a hard enough time with already. montero doesn't hold runners well and schwarb doesn't hold runners at all.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

"SP who refuses to check runners" Lester is lefthanded, so he looks at the runner on first before every pitch. Isn't that checking the runner? He just doesn't throw over, which allows the runner a slightly bigger lead. Not much Ross or anyone else can do about that.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

the leads runners take off lester are insane. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd base. ross has "molina-style" thrown to 1st a bit more than usual after receiving the ball in order to attempt to catch runners returning to 1st who are 1/2 way to 2nd by the time ross receives the ball. it's practically a joke that he's had to do this at 2nd and 3rd, too (especially 2nd). whoever catches lester has to help control the running game the best they can because lester isn't doing it. we're beyond the point of people making excuses for him...from "it hasn't hurt him in the past" to "he'll adjust if it's an issue that's different from the past" (based on little more than wishful thinking rather than anything he's actually done). it seems lester's going to do nothing about it and the team is going to need a great-arm, good-D catcher going forward just to make up for lester's shortcomings. it's like some hidden "tax" on the roster and team that 1 player is so dependent on a specific type of another player. all-in-all, ross barely covers lester as it is, but watching montero cover lester was cringe-worthy compared to ross.

breaking news: the HR derby is still a slow crawl of limited interest content with a lot of waiting around for something to happen. also, donaldson beats rizzo.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

fraizer beats fielder 13-14...that was a fun one given the hometown crowd love. also, this 4m format is killing these guys. they're tiring out rather noticeably after 3m, even if they take a "time out." i can't imagine how sad it's going to look if they keep the 5m round setup going forward.

Through their first 47 games on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, the Cubs have averaged a 3.0 household rating, or more than 104,000 Chicago-area TV households tuning in per game. That's double the average viewership for all Cubs games on the regional network last year, when the team's broadcasts had the fifth-lowest local ratings among all 30 Major League Baseball teams. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150713/BLOGS04/150719968

the new format for the HR derby works really well when the hometown guy bats last in each round and ends up winning it all. it was a kinda fun watch given the outcome.

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.