Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 





Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Hendry Cleansing Continues

The folks in the fine city of Park Ridge (Maine East, represent!) have found their window to try and remove the "Jim Hendry Way" signs that Cub fan and all-around criminal Rod Blagojevich put up on Northwest Highway. 

Schmidt said the request is nothing personal against Hendry, a Park Ridge resident, but the city never wanted the signs mounted in the first place.

Schmidt later added that he can't believe Hendry signed Milton Bradley while putting on his White Sox hat.

Speaking of Park Ridge, back around 2005, Jim Hendry walked into my Dad's bicycle shop in Park Ridge on Devon Avenue. My Dad, never a shy fella, immediately let it be known that his son writes for some website on the Internet about the Cubs. For whatever reason, Hendry didn't immediately bolt out of the place, but made some joke about how he hopes I write nothing but nice things. I can't be sure if my Dad would have even known the name of the website. As anyone who has met my father over the years would expect, he sold two kids bikes to Hendry (no, Hendry did not overpay) and scored Hendry's cell phone number out of it with the promise that if I ever wanted tickets, just ring him up. I think I went to the well about two times over the years, a game in San Francisco in late 2005 that I wrote about here and another in L.A. in 2006, which I believe was the infamous Derrek Lee wrist break game, although I went to two games that series and can't recall which one I paid for and which I didn't.

There's not much I can relate about my two brief phone calls with Hendry, the first was more enjoyable than the second as the meeting with my Dad was fresher in Hendry's mind. I just recall both times the cell reception being poor on his end and the sense of a man that had more important things to do. By the second call, the rules changed where you were taxed on giving away free tickets and he made it clear to me that was a bit of an issue if I wanted more than one game. Being a man that just prefers to pay his own way, I decided it best not to trouble him anymore after that point. There were many times that I considered how I'd approach him about doing an interview for TCR, but for various reasons that never happened and as time passed, I just presumed he wouldn't know who I am, nor can I be sure where the phone number is in my house.

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Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

He's riding that .775 fielding percentage, through the 2nd and 15% of his runs allowed this year are unearned. He's like the anti Jay Jackson - great pitcher, can't hit or field his position for shit... It may be time to convert Jackson back to the outfield, .253 .270 .425 batting line, without trying is pretty good. For comparison Zambrano hit .186 .205 .326 and Ankiel .240 .269 .400 (during his time in AA, much better in the rookie league playing DH the year before). D Willis: 250 .286 .350 C Sabathia: Not listed at BR.

Colvin hit a ball into the rf corner, Braves' RF looked like he figured it was a routine double and didn't appear to hustle after it. Colvin did hustle and got himself a triple. Len and Bob didn't say anything about the Braves OF not hustling though. Just looked like he thought it was routine and went to get it at a somewhat leisurely pace.

ye gods, what is the record for errors in a season by a pitcher & can garza get there? this 'hendry cleansing' is reminiscent of the toppling of the saddam statue in baghdad...

[ ]

In reply to by Mike Wellman

ESPN goes back to 2002... R. Wells and 4 others had 5 in 2010 Lilly, De La Rosa, D. Davis had 5 in 2009 Burnett had 7 in Toronto in 2008 Contreras 6 in 2007 Willis, Gold Glove Rogers and Byrd with 5 in 2006 Ramon Ortiz had 7 in 2005 N. Robertson, B. Webb with 5 in 2004 A. Petitte with 6 in 2003 Joe Kennedy with 10 in 2002 for Rays

@CarrieMuskat: RT @injuryexpert: "Cubs Could Target Theo Epstein". In other news, I could target Heidi Klum. --- Muskat, Seal & Heidi, ménage a troix? (brain explodes)

Len: What again is your standard gift to your wife after a road trip? Bob: Wrapped soap, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and sometimes even the ever-popular shower cap. Len: What about the garment bag, you know, the laundry bag? Bob: Sure, that's what you carry it all home in. That's the wrapping paper.

on prospects with 2nd half surges http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=14866 Jackson, like Choice, is one of the better outfield prospects in the game, but the amount of swing-and-miss in his game has always kept him from elite status. After hitting just .256 at Double-A, a mid-July move to Triple-A has ignited a fire; he’s hitting .315/.391/.577 in 38 games for Iowa and is lining himself up for a September callup and a long look this spring. While 55 strikeouts in 149 at-bats leave the high average unsustainable, Jackson projects as a 20/20 center fielder with plus defense and one of the Cubs’ few upper-level prospects who projects as an important part of the team's future.

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

he won't in the majors his K rate has essentially gone up each level (he did knock it to a respectable 20.2% in Daytona last year for a half a season), while his BA goes down with each promotion (Taking out the 175 PA's with Iowa right now, where he's managing an Adam Dunn K rate and .444 BABIP). Adam Dunn had a BA over .300 in the minors, except he had 40-50 HR potential. Jackson is maybe a 25-HR guy at best. Just hope no one is expecting Granderson, Beltran or pre-injury Sizemore here. An .800 OPS is probably the best he'll get to, maybe .850 if everything breaks wonderfully and a few career seasons. If his defense is truly CF worthy, then that should be fine, but elite player he will never be. 250/340/450 lines is what I'm expecting, maybe in his prime he can get that to mid to upper .800 OPS, but he got work to do to get there.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Agreed, that the K rate needs to be better if Jackson is going be more than a decent CF. He is not a finished prospect. I guess, since it's the Cubs...if he puts up .250/.340/.450...and plays a good CF...we'd probably build a statue of him. I'm going to hope for something like....270/.360/.450...15 HR...25 steals.. Note that I said hope. I'd be ecstatic with that. Again, we'll see...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

"his K rate has essentially gone up each level . . . while his BA goes down" His K rate has gone up while his home runs have gone up. 18 HRs this year, 50% more than last year, and many more at Iowa (per game) than at Tennessee. I've heard you say that Ks are OK if you hit home runs. (In fact you imply it in #51 above.) Jackson is not a giant like Dunn but, despite what Mike W. says, he's bigger than Sizemore and much bigger than Granderson, and runs as fast as they do. I don't think you realize what you have here. I expect 25/25 at least, maybe not the first year but soon after. I like the Dunn comparison because his approach is like Dunn's, but Dunn is of course bigger while Jackson is a three-way player who will do a better job of cashing those walks in at the plate.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

I've heard you say that Ks are OK if you hit home runs. (In fact you imply it in #51 above.) they certainly can be, depends how many on each end though. I don't think you realize what you have here. an okay prospect that will hopefully put in a few slightly above average years in his prime...possibly a complete bust though too. I expect 25/25 at least, maybe not the first year but soon after. that would certainly be awesome, I expect a World Series win for the Cubs in 2012. Both of us are probably gonna be disappointed.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

There will be a lot of hats eaten around the prospect evaluation world if Jackson hits 25 HR's by 2013. It wouldn't shock me, but he would have to change his swing plane, and then he's not going to get those high BABIP's. It's still a lot better than what I thought when we drafted him, which was a guy who would never get it done past A+. So a tip of the hat to the Cubs development team on that one.

It's probably a good thing Hendry didn't know which blog you wrote for. You would've been "Dodger'd" in the parking lot after the game. "Hi Jim, my name is Al, and ..."

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    happ, right hamstring tightness, day-to-day (hopefully 0 days).

    he will be reevaluated tomorrow.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I guess I'm not looking for that type of AB 

    Just a difference of opinion

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.

    I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH. 

    He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.

    You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)

  • crunch (view)

    bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.

    the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?

    I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.

  • Charlie (view)

    Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH. 

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.

    The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.

    I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day. 

     

    That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled). 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.