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

Cubs @ Dodgers: Quintana vs Kershaw (NLCS Game 1)

CHC (0-0): LHP José Quintana 
LAD (0-0): LHP Clayton Kershaw 
First pitch: 7:08pmCST (TBS)

The Cubs head back to the NLCS for the third year in a row (!?), this time as the underdogs. There are a lot of reasons not to be optimistic, mostly having to do with a bullpen that seems to think that throwing strikes can cause cancer.

There’s also a lot of evidence to suggest that the Cubs are a very good baseball team and a bunch of drama queens, who pull it together only when they have to. 

After a (too-brief!) relief appearance in Game Five on Thursday, Quintana (0-0, 0.00 in the NLCS) gets the start in Game One against the Dodgers. For their careers, the Dodgers are 12-42 (.286) against him. Taylor is 3-3; Forsythe is 5-11 with a HR.

Kershaw had a no-decision in L.A. against the Cubs in May, giving up 4 ER in 4.1 innings on 109 pitches. That’ll do. Overall, the Cubs are 18-76 (.237) against him. Rizzo is 5-14 with 2 HRs, so stick that in your lefty-lefty pipe and smoke it.

For his career, Kershaw (1-0, 5.68 in the NLCS) is 5-7 with a 4.63 in 15 postseason games (11 starts, 10 series). He was 1-1 with a 3.00 against the Cubs in the NLCS last year.

Jon “Blacked Out” Lester and Rich Hill go tomorrow at 6:38pmCST. 

On another note, I had occasion (read: insomnia) to watch Let’s Play Two, which aired on Fox after the Astros-Yanks game last night. It’s more of a documentary than a Pearl Jam concert film. They did a great job of interweaving footage from Eddie Vedder’s younger days and Cubbie history with the story of the 2016 championship season. The direction and editing were masterful. It brought tears to my eyes. Truly a must see.

Go Cubs!
 

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

BOB R: There are a couple of ways Corey Seager could be added to the Dodgers active roster prior to the conclusion of the NLCS:  

1. A post-season eligible player who is placed on the Bereavement/Family Medical Emergency List or on the Paternity List during a post-season series can (with approval of the MLB Commissioner) be replaced by another player on the club's Post-Season Eligibility List (a pitcher must replace a pitcher and a position player must replace a position player, but it is not necessary for a catcher to replace a catcher, an infielder to replace and infielder, or an outfielder to replace an outfielder), as long as the absent player is reinstated after no more than seven days (for a player on the Beareavement/Family Medical Emergency List) or after no more than three days (for a player on the Paternity List). If the series ends before the player is reinstated, he will automatically be reinstated prior to the next series, even if he has not returned to his club. NOTE: The absent player is not eligible to be replaced during a series if the player is a pitcher who has started a game in the series unless he has not pitched in a game for at least three days. 

2. A post-season eligible player who is injured during a post-season series (LDS, LCS, or World Series) can (with the approval of the MLB Commissioner) be replaced during the series by another player on the club's Post-Season Eligibility List, or by a player who was on an Active List, Reserve List, 60-day DL, or Military List of a minor league affiliate from that organization prior to midnight (Eastern) on August 31st, or by a player who was on the club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), MLB 60-day DL, or Military List prior to midnight (Eastern) on August 31st but who was subsequently sent outright to the minors. (In the case of a player who is sent outright to the minors after August 31st, the player must remain on a Reserve List of a minor league affiliate from that organization continuously throughout the remainder of the MLB regular season and post-season in order to be eligible to replace an injured post-season eligible player). An injured player replaced during a post-season series is ineligible to be reinstated to his club's Active List (25-man roster) for the balance of that series and the next series (LCS or World Series). Also, a pitcher must replace a pitcher and a position player must replace a position player. However, it is NOT necessary for a catcher to replace a catcher, an infielder to replace an infielder, or an outfielder to replace an outfielder. NOTE: If the injured player suffered an acute concussion, the injured player is eligible to be reinstated to his club's Active List after seven days even if the next post-season series is still in progress. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

BOB R: I might add that during the regular season, a "doctor's note" from the club physician is enough to put a player on the DL, but in the post-season the MLB Commissioner would almost certainly appoint an independent physician (like Cubster) to review the evidence (MRI, x-ray, or whatever) before an injured player can be replaced.

In other words, while it is enough for a player to say his back aches or for a pitcher to say his arm hurts to warrant a DL stint in the regular season, some kind of hard medical evidence reviewed by a third party would probably be required before a pitcher or a position player can be replaced on the active roster during a post-season series. 

Also, while a flare-up of a pre-exisisting condition (like bone chips in Hector Rondon's right elbow) can lead to a DL stint (or even multiple stints) during the regular season, it has to be a "new" injury incurred by the player during a post-season series before the player can be replaced on the active roster by another player prior to the conclusion of the series.  

The only exception might be a concussion, where all a physican has to work with is the video of the incident and the symptoms presented by the patient, and in theory concussion symptoms can be faked. But because MLB (like all professional sports organizations these days) is very sensitive to concussions, it would be difficult to question a concussion diagnosis even if it's only based on symptoms the player is presenting.  

But if it was later found that a Dodger player faked a concussion in order to allow Corey Seager to be activated prior to the conclusion of the NLCS, the player, the owner, the team president, and the GM (and anyone else involved) could be banned from MLB for life. 

The other area where it could get dicey is if a player leaves the club during a post-season series and is replaced on the active roster by another player as the result of a family medical emergency. It might be difficult to determine how severe a family member's illness or injury must be (measles? - a bad case of the flu? - an injury sustained in a Pop Warner football game?) before a player can be replaced on the club's active roster during a post-season series. 

RHRP Hector Rondon (who has been dealing with bone chips in right elbow) replaces LHRP Justin Wilson on Cubs NLCS active roster, and SS Corey Seager (back strain) and RHRP Pedro "Dial-Up Internet" Baez have been replaced on the Dodgers NLCS active roster by utility INF Charlie Culberson and OF Joc Pederson. 

Supersub and lead-off hitter Chris Taylor will apparently move to SS from CF and will Pederson will play CF. Enrique "Kike" Hernandez will also be available to play SS-CF. 

Rondon does give the Cubs a pitcher with closer experience in case Wade Davis is unavailable on Saturday. (That's actually what Justin Wilson was supposed to do when the Cubs acquired him from the Tigers at the Trade Deadline, but, oh, well...). 

Jay RF Bryant 3B Rizzo 1B Contreras C Almora CF Russell SS Schwarber LF Baez 2B Quintana P

If we're going to get beat, let's not let their biggest asshole beat us, please. What a turd.

I feel bad for Joe -- other than Davis, he doesn't have a single reliable reliever. Pretty amazing they got to the NLCS with that bullpen.

Kershaw out after 5IP!! And, the Cubs never get another baserunner. Wow. Go get some sleep, boys -- a split awaits you tomorrow!

[ ]

In reply to by Eric S

Everyone in the bullpen has lost command of their pitches to a lesser (Davis, Montgomer, Edwards) or greater degree (Wilson, Rondon). Unfortunately, Lackey's no solution to that problem. On the one hand, I would've been tempted to let Quintana try to escape his own jam. On the other, he had just pitched a short relief appearance not long ago. If the Cubs bullpen doesn't right itself immediately, I don't see how this team can get past the Dodgers. With the Dodgers' pitching, night games at Dodger stadium, and October weather in Chicago, riding the offense isn't going to be an option. It's tough to point fingers at anyone here. There's little more the front office could have done, as it doesn't seem to be a personnel problem. Davis, Wilson, Rondon, and Strop all have solid histories. And Edwards and Montgomery had looked like they were reaching their potentials in the bullpen. Who's to blame when (inherently volatile) relief pitchers all lose it around the same time? The playoffs have changed such that you can't compete if you have to compensate for a weak bullpen.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

@Charlie- Great post... all true! We’ve seen this kind of play from the Cubs, even last year, where we kinda get all or nothing. Unfortunately we’ve gotten a whole lot of nothing from our offense and bullpen (with exception to some timely hitting early by Rizzo). I don’t get why Maddon isn’t riding the starters harder, while he seems to think that the much overused and underperformed bullpen will help us squeak out a game. We need one really strong performance from Lester tonight! If he can give us 8 solid, that can give our pen two good days off that might just help them hit the reset button a little bit. Of course, he’s pitching on short rest too, so I’m not gonna get my hopes up. The one other way we may have a fighters chance is for the bats to break out from their slumber and carry us into the World Series. If we have 4 or 5 really great offensive days to balance out all the bad ones, I can see that carrying us to the next round. And at some point, you gotta expect their luck to turn... Regardless of what happens, my cup is still pretty full from the 2016 World Series. And I’d love for them to repeat, but even if they dont get back to the World Series this year, I’m very proud of the Cubs 3 NLCS in a row...

5 runs given up in innings 6-8, the soft underbelly of the Cubs is that bullpen. Well it was sort of a match for the Nats series game 2, giving up 5 in the 8th.

Upon further reflection -- maybe Maddon went to argue, and receive an automatic ejection, to prevent Contreras from getting tossed and/or suspended again? Otherwise, I can't understand what he was thinking. You can't argue a replay, and knows that.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

I think it was probably a little of this and a lot of what CTSteve notes below. If he actually thought the call was incorrect, he's obviously wrong. And I found the various complaints about the rule itself obnoxious, Ron Darling's in particular. It doesn't help that I don't share Maddon's distaste for the soda tax.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Yep -- if you don't like the rule, too bad. It's the rule. And the soda tax was a great example horrible execution. They called it a "soda tax", ran ads that evil Big Soda is targeting kids and making them obese...then applied the tax to me when I buy flavored water to drink after my runs. Then they come out and say it was really all about the money anyway, and the health stuff wasn't a big factor, despite Blomberg's heart-tug ads. If they had said ' Hey, we need the revenue to provide these services, and we're going to tax full-calorie sodas to do so, instead of dumping another property tax on you", I would have been OK with it. Instead, people got pissed off that they were being lied to. Whatever...it's Chicago.

Or maybe he was just trying to fire up a lifeless team. That's what I would have done.

Actually, I would have done the old rosin-bag-as-a-grenade move, using the mound as a bunker. That never fails...

[ ]

In reply to by CTSteve

One of the all-time greats. I have wondered about firing-up a baseball team with a manager rant. It's not like basketball or football, where you can run harder or hit harder and a burst of effort can mean better results. And, I wonder if players roll their eyes when their old-guy manager goes off.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

Maybe Joe is doing it out of pure self-interest....vent on something rather than having all the frustration about other things (lack of production from reigning MVP, inability of RPs to throw strikes, inconsistent strike zone, etc, etc) cloud his head. Seems to me Piniella admitted as much on a couple of occasions.

Recent comments

  • hellfrozeover (view)

    I really am not interested in the wesneski head case experience again any time soon. Give me smyly over wesneski. Hell give me keegan Thompson over wesneski every day of the week. His stuff isn’t as good but at least he doesn’t melt down mentally every time something goes mildly awry. 

  • crunch (view)

    they might not want to start the clock on brown and give us wesn.  hopefully it won't come to that.

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal ground rule double!

    he blows a play and hits a double.  we're getting bizarro madrigal.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Close up video shows Steele saying to the Trainer "no it just cramped up"

    Hope so

    Ben Brown and not Smyly please

  • crunch (view)

    agreed and agreed.

    he walked off on his own, but we may not find out for a few days how this will impact the club.

  • hellfrozeover (view)

    Looked like a hamstring rather than a knee, not sure if that’s better or worse. 

  • crunch (view)

    steele leaves the game with a hamstring or knee injury.  sigh.

  • crunch (view)

    ...and a madrigal "non-error" leads to a sac fly for a tie game.  nice.

    having a ball clank off your glove, but still getting it count as a hit because it was hit hard is a nice stats gift.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    For sure. This lineup isn’t exactly stacked as is, and subbing out a Cooper or even a Tauchman for Madrigal won’t do it any favors.

  • crunch (view)

    the ESPN bottom graphic taking up 1/8th of the screen sucks.

    i only use ESPN during baseball season and i'm forced to watch a baseball broadcast designed to be broadcast in sports bars and betting parlors where the news/scores of other games is as important as what you're actually tuned in to watch.