Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

2019 Gameday Thread

Cubs @ Colorado: Darvish vs. Márquez (Game 65)

CHC (37-27): RHP Yu Darvish (2-3, 4.88 ERA)
COL (33-31): RHP German Márquez (6-3, 4.07 ERA)
First pitch 7:40pmCDT

Coming off the home sweep of the Cardinals, the Cubs fly west for a three-game set at altitude. Yu Darvish is set to be the first potential victim of Coors. Yu's had a solid stretch marred only by that Cincinnati game that came apart in the 8th inning. His last start came against the Rockies at home. He surrendered three runs, two earned, on three walks and three hits in 5.1 innings pitched. The Rockies did all that damage in the 6th before Kintzler managed to strand two runners belonging to Yu. Darvish has pitched one game in Colorado in his career and he allowed five runs on five hits and four walks. The Rockies have better stats at home, but they are right around league average with the park factored in (101 wRC+). That's still a marked improvement, as they are 29th in the majors on the road by the same measure (73 wRC+).

Cubs vs. Cardinals: Series Thread (Games 62-64)

The third place Cardinals (31-29) roll into Chicago looking to knock the Cubs (34-27) out of first place for the second time in a week. Cubs fans meanwhile will be hoping for another round of turnabout, the Cardinals having answered an earlier sweep in the last faceoff. Since last weekend, the Cards went 1-1 against the Reds and the Cubs went 3-1 against the Angels and Rockies. While three wins is always better than one, the Cardinals should now have the advantage of rest.

Cubs vs. Rockies: Quintana vs. Lambert (Game 61)

CHC (34-26): LHP José Quintana (4-4, 3.78 ERA)
COL (31-29): RHP Peter Lambert (0-0, -.-- ERA)
First pitch 1:20pmCDT

The Cubs are back in first and rely on Quintana to push them toward the sweep this afternoon. José pitched only 4 innings his last start due to rain. He was getting somewhat mixed results up to that point, allowing 2 earned runs but also striking out six. A few current Rockies have enjoyed their few opportunities against him. Arenado has a pair of homeruns in 9 at bats. Mark Reynolds has four extra base hits but also six strikeouts in 17 at bats. Story is 3-5 with a double and a triple.

Cubs vs. Rockies: Darvish vs. Marquez (Game 60)

CHC (33-26): RHP Yu Darvish (2-3, 5.02 ERA)
COL (31-28): RHP German Marquez (6-2, 3.48 ERA)
First pitch 7:05pmCDT

Yu Darvish goes to the hill against the Rockies for game two of the series. He's had a string of four OK starts besmirched only by a bad beginning of the 8th on May 25. Last time out, he pitched six one-run innings striking out six and walking three against the Cardinals. The Rockies have seen little of him. Arenado is 3-8 and Trevor Story is 2-6, each with a homerun.

Cubs vs. Rockies: Hendricks vs. Hoffman (Game 59)

CHC (32-26): RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-4, 3.09 ERA)
COL (31-27): RHP Jeff Hoffman (1-1, 7.20 ERA)
First pitch 7:05pmCDT

Hendricks held off the Astros for eight innings last time out, allowing only one run and earning the lone Cubs' win of the series. He won't have to face the injured Blackmon, who is 5-16 with 4 walks against him. Former Cub Daniel Murphy is 6-16 with two homeruns. Nolan Arenado is 6-22 with two homeruns. The Rockies are fifth in the majors in runs scored but have a team wRC+ of 89, good for 21st in the majors. Their offense has been lively lately. Since May 1st, they've posted an .883 OPS and 114 wRC+. That's on the back of a .359 BABIP. Their team OPS on the road is only .679.

Cubs vs. Angels: Lester vs. Bedrosian/Cahill (Game 58)

CHC (31-26): LHP Jon Lester (3-4, 3.59 ERA)
LAA (29-30): RHP Cam Bedrosian (2-3, 3.08 ERA) / RHP Trevor Cahill (2-5, 6.92 ERA)
First pitch 3:05pmCDT

The Cubs just finished a series which I seem to have blacked out. Weird. Instead of the scheduled off-day, they play a make-up game against the Angels back at Wrigley. Jon Lester takes the mound with an ERA inflated following three rough starts. Last time out he allowed a season-high seven earned runs to the Astros. He allowed three walks and eight hits in 5.1 innings pitched. I don't think anyone expected him to go undefeated with a sub-2 ERA on the season, but the three-game implosion has been hard to explain. He's held Mike Trout to 2-14 with five strikeouts.

Cubs @ Cards: Series Thread (Games 55-57)

The Cubs swoop into St. Louis to pick off a few Cardinals this weekend. Kris Bryant and I hope every Cubs player gets boo'd this weekend!

The Cubs have dropped six out of their last ten games, but they remain atop the NL central and 4.5 games ahead of the Cards. Bryant returned to the lineup on Wednesday as DH, after taking some time off to recover from an outfield collision with Heyward. Javy played the field on Wednesday, but he played 3rd base after DH-ing a few games to rest his injured heel. The Cubs have been on a heck of a homerun streak, but have only occasionally translated that into a win. On Wednesday, Kyle Hendricks's strong performance helped the Cubs take advantage of early homeruns by Schwarber and Bryant.

Cubs @ Astros: Hendricks vs. Miley (Game 53)

CHC (30-23): RHP Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.34 ERA)
HOU (37-19): LHP Wade Miley (5-2, 3.32 ERA)
First pitch 7:10pmCDT

Kyle Hendricks starts and plays the role of stopper in the series finale against the former division rivals. After three dominant starts, Hendricks has gone 1-0 in his last two, allowing 7 earned runs but also striking out 13 in 11.2 innings pitched against the Nationals and the Reds. Only Chirinos and Diaz (currently on the IL) have faced him. Chirinos is 0-2. These replacement Astros have been more than the Cubs could handle in the first two games. So, watch out for Some Dude.

Cubs @ Astros: Lester vs. Martin (Game 53)

CHC (30-22): LHP Jon Lester (3-3, 2.68 ERA)
HOU (36-19): RHP Corbin Martin (1-1, 4.97 ERA)
First pitch 7:10pmCDT

The Cubs mounted a comeback bid yesterday, but it wasn't enough to overcome Hamels' rough start in the series opener. Jon Lester heads to the mound to even things out tonight. He's looked very hittable in his last two starts, allowing nine earned runs on 17 hits (three homers) in 8.1 innings pitched. Michael Brantley is 8-24 off of him with 9 strikeouts. Josh Reddick it 2-10 with 4 whiffs. No other active Astro has more than 3 at bats against him.

Cubs @ Astros: Hamels vs. Cole (Game 52)

CHC (30-21): LHP Cole Hamels (4-0, 3.38 ERA)
HOU (35-19): RHP Gerrit Cole (4-5, 4.11 ERA)
First pitch 1:10pmCDT

The Cubs leave behind the frustrating Reds' series and take their first trip to Houston since 2016. There they will face a tough Astros team that they haven't dueled since their rebuild took full effect.

Cole Hamels will lead the way for the Cubs. He was held to four innings in his last start against the Phillies as he allowed nine hits and two walks, along with six strikeouts. He still escaped his first loss of 2019 thanks to Albert Almora's grand slam and four strong relief innings from Tyler Chatwood. The match-up stats are a bit of a mixed bag. He's held Carlos Correa to 2-21 with 7 strikeouts. George Springer is 4-23 with 7 strikeouts, but he also has 3 homeruns and 7 walks.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).