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

Echos of Long Toss and Towel Drills Past

Rich Harden was all the news yesterday even though there was nothing new going on. Harden was newsworthy because he's starting the spring camp with long toss rather than work off the mound like the other pitchers. He's been on an off-season strengthening program for an achy-breaky shoulder that everyone in Cubs camp is still struggling to label. It's kind of like having a family member with a psychiatric diagnosis in the 1950's. Nobody wants to label the poor fella because of the stigma and gossip. Sun-Times beat reporter Gordon Wittenmyer, in his blog, was irked that once again there was misinformation delivered this off-season regarding what the diagnosis of Harden's shoulder issues are.

Can anybody tell me what the advantage is in omitting those details and being vague about these things? It's not like the Cubs have to protect the information for the purposes of shopping Harden or for any on-the-field competitive reasons (scouts have eyes).

I've covered three other teams in my career, and the ones that were most up front about these kinds of things had the fewest headaches with the way the information got out. And the fans stayed well informed, without the yo-yo effect.

Bruce Miles, The Daily Herald's Cubs beat writer also chimed in via his blog:

Comment: This issue regarding his shoulder is beginning to sound too much like Prior all over again.. Hopefully not, though.

Bruce Miles: That was my first reaction, having lived through the Prior/prior nightmares. This is a little more nuanced. Kerry Wood made no bones about having a tear in his shoulder and telling us. A Cubs guy said Rich likes to handle it his own way. I'll give him that, respecting his privacy. I've always felt that if a team and/or player just comes out and says what the deal is, we deal with it and move on instead of operating under all this mystery. It's fair to say he's got some sort of tear in there.

As I said, the proof will be in how he throws the ball and how long he lasts.

Harden clearly doesn't use medical terminology but says he'll be fine. He can do what he wants, because it's his shoulder and there are laws that protect patients to their privacy although those rules get bent for celebrities and athletes via the press/paparazzi and the microscopes they put them under.

Carrie Muskat at mlb.com also interviewed Harden (here) generating this info:

He knows the word "tear" makes people skittish. There may be a tear, but it's nothing to fret about. Surgery was not something Harden considered.

To review, Harden had an MRI-Arthrogram in Oct 08, after his  loss in game 3 of the NLDS, which is the best diagnostic exam short of an arthroscopic procedure. The post test information released to the press was that Harden had "subtle laxity" but no rotator cuff or labrum damage. The Cubs subsequently picked up Harden's $7 Million option. Then during the January 09 Cubs Convention, GM Jim Hendry in discussing Harden said the word "tear" in describing Harden's problem. Thus providing Wittenmyer and Miles eye-rolling material as to what is going on.

Having a non-full thickness rotator cuff tear (ala Kerry Wood) can be managed non-surgically and that's what they are doing... including a spring training that will cast echos from the ghosts of springs past:
---
compare and contrast:

Harden:The right-hander did throw long toss and was seen smiling a lot on the first day of workouts.


Wood: "I'm letting it go and throwing all my pitches," Wood said. "It's nice to go on the mound and actually work on stuff instead of worrying if it's going to hurt. It's nice to get up and go."

He'd like to avoid the disabled list. Wood began last season still rehabbing from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, which he had in August 2005. He was able to pitch in four games from May 18 to June 6, but they weren't good outings and his velocity was off.

When the tear was revealed, Wood opted to skip another operation and rehab. That tear may never completely heal.

"Probably not all the way, but it's definitely strong enough to do it's job," he said. (2-14-07)


Prior: "I had some issues," Prior said. "I had some significant things I had to correct. He saw some things [in his shoulder] that weren't as good as he'd like to see in a 26-year-old."

Prior has "looseness" in his shoulder, which is genetic, and which helps his delivery but also means he has to do a lot of shoulder strengthening exercises. His problems began when he collided with Atlanta's Marcus Giles in 2003. (2-16-07)

 Wood: Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood did his long toss drills on Friday, and may be ahead of schedule..."It's pretty amazing," Wood said Friday. "It feels pretty good today, and today's better than yesterday. I expect the same tomorrow." (3-10-06)


Prior: Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior is taking a different approach in an attempt to get through Spring Training injury-free.

"We're doing a lot more endurance," Prior said Tuesday. "I've been on throwing programs before but this is a little bit more structured and we're trying to build up more arm strength, doing extended amounts of sets, if that makes sense. I'm sitting out there throwing 20, 25 at a certain distance, then taking a little break, then going back a little farther.

"It's a lot more structured," he said. "I think I'm responding to it well. We talked about it last year to take it slower, a little more methodical. I don't enjoy not being on the mound right now. But whatever you're dealt with, you deal with it." (2-21-06)

Finally, I've found the link that defines the purpose of the now infamous "towel drill". It's a rehab bonanza article by Carrie Muskat discussing the simultaneous February 22, 2006 rehab status of Wood, Prior, Wade Miller and Angel Guzman, a virtual superfecta!

Mark Prior also did his long-toss drills early as well as some towel drills off the mound. The towel drills are designed to get the pitchers back on the mound, acclimated to the slope and getting their balance.

Comments

Given that Jimbo had to trade off or let go guys of like DeRosa and Woody to fit in a tight payroll limit, I doubt he would have picked up Harden's option if he did not feel like he could make atleast 2/3rds of his starts, which is 22 for a top of the rotation type guy that you would expect 34 starts from. With this weak division all we need Harden for is October anyway, we should just try the first 6-man rotation in MLB history with Z-Harden-Lilly-Dempster-Marshall-Heilman.

I'm tired of the Prior/Wood saga...they are gone....it's sickening to have to deal with this again with Harden....i don't care! As long as we stay healthy the division should be easy....therefore as long as he's ready to pitch the second half of the year...i'm fine with it! We knew what we got when we picked him up...so let's just deal with it. Why there isn't more worry with Zambrano is what bothers me...nobody thinks his eye infection is a problem, there aren't any details on what type of infection, is it corneal ulcer or conjunctivitis? Then the whole issue of Lasix, what doctor is going to operate on a guy with an infection. I think this depth (Marshall, Heilman, Guadin, Shark) that Hendry has picked up may be of considerable importance in the upcoming months...4 man rotation for most of the first month is great (limited Harden). Nice to hear this peavy nonsense go away...don't want to hear about it again...unless we are actually getting him and back ups for catastrophic injurys are still on the team. Looks like the back up third basemen is going to be a reed johnson like acquisition which is great, however it may be the end of Hoffpower. Go Cubs!

ah the towel drill... it helps you get your mechanics straight by not putting a familiar weight/balance load on your hand. it's natural to grip and rip, but when you take the grip out of the equation someone can concentrate on "other" pitching mechanics by taking the familiar feel out of pitching while providing enough of a balance/load/resistance on the end of the arm so the shoulder doesn't feel like it's going to fly off. ...but it's more fun to just make 10,000 stupid jokes about towels, doughnuts, and infield rakes. i wonder what some would think of the rubberbands-on-a-fence shoulder rehab tool...it looks just about as stupid as the towels.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

beginning to hate twitter already... "Gaudin looks like he's starting his own clubhouse Amish clique with a supergoat. 1 day ago" ...along with other vague as all hell micro-statements hope it pays well...brings a new definition to "McNews"...watch out USA Today.

"If Kurt Warner can disappear for five years, I can disappear for three." — Mark Prior, who hopes he's healthy enough to get a job in San Diego's starting rotation. Not getting the comparison Mark.

What do you guys think the chances are that we'll bring Harden back beyond 2009? Assuming he makes his 20-25 starts and does OK, what would he command in the market? $15-20 million a year? I just think we have about a 2-3 year window left with our current core group of players (Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, Soriano) before we need to move to the next phase, and I don't really see where we are going long-term. We have a LOT of backloaded contracts due over the next few years, so what then?

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

I believe Harden will be the only Cubs starter coming off of the books after 2009. I don't know what other pitchers will be free agents around the majors, but I would think another offseason like this one is on it's way next year--meaning that if the American economy rebounds later, long-term contracts signed in the 2009-2010 offseason will look favorable to clubs 2012-ish. Harden isn't the sort of guy you sign when it's a buyers market. He's the sort of guy you gamble on when it's a seller's market because you can't afford the other guys who don't have tears in their rotator cuffs. That's how I've come to think of him at least. Harden seems like a bad gamble going forth. Actually, right now picking up his option for 2009 seems like it was probably a bad gamble, but I'm not sure what other way I would've used that money (well, if I were a GM).

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

IF Harden is healthy by the end of the year and his agent is worth anything, he'll sell himself to the highest bidder. Not like he can really count on a bunch of mult-year deals for the rest of his career. He's still young enough that people will bank somewhat on his potential as well as past performance.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

He's probably going to find some good offers if he is healthy, too. Pretty thin market on quality FA's: Beckett with a club option, Webb with a club option, Cliff Lee with a club option, Hudson with a mutual option, John Lackey, Brett Myers, and Justin Duchscerer. Then you get to the Bedard's and Brad Penny's of the world. Going to be thin on front line guys next year.

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

Long term I am sure the Cubs' intention is to develop their core. They just haven't done a good job of that in recent times, maybe with Vitters and Co. coming up (if they aren't traded) that will change. Next season the backloads really start to hit. So this year's economic conditions at Wrigley Field will dictate where they go with a lot of players. I am certain the recession is going to hit MLB, and I don't think anyone is going to be shielded from it. Then there's new ownership, which at this point is yet another variable.

I do think Hendry deserves some credit for stockpiling starting pitchers; Z, Dempster, Lilly, Harden, Heilman, Gaudin, Marshall, and Samarddzjia. That's 8 legit starting pitchers, and I can remember Cubs' teams in the not-too-distant past that were scraping their 5th (and sometimes 4th) starters togerther from a bunch of suspects and retreads in the last week of ST. In those years, we would have been putting our hopes on a guy like Atkins to fill out the ML rotation, while this year he can take his time to shop for a nice apartment in Des Moines.

[ ]

In reply to by OakLawnGuy

In years past, if a Harden had gone down with an injury, we would have been left with the Derek Botelho's of the world as our only recourse. Now, we do have pitchers like Gaudin who have been successful starters in the past. And while Heilman and Samardzjia may not have the same credentials, they have been successful ML pitchers who have shown the capacity to be successful starters. Would another solid starter be an asset? Of course. Would Peavy be a great addition to this team? I would love to see him acquired. But for once, even if we simply stand pat, we are in a position to succeed nicely with what we have on hand.

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).