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

Release the Hounds! Friday Night Foxhunt...

Ahh, opening night at the ballpark. The aromas of the stadium grills. The energy of the gathering crowd. The intense greenness of the diamond. The excitement in the PA announcer's voice. The flowers in the restrooms!?

Even the national anthem singer last night at Principal Park in Des Moines couldn't wait to get the Iowa Cubs' home season started. She zipped through a snappy rendition in a minute or so and away we went.

Alas, once the game was put in the hands of professional ballplayers it ground nearly to a halt right out of the blocks.

A nearly 40-minute first inning saw both starting pitchers walk in a run and get paid a visit from their respective dugouts on the mound.

When the I-Cubs finally got to hit, leadoff man Sam Fuld popped one foul down the third baseline and headed for first. A hustling batboy sprinted from the home team's dugout and grabbed at Fuld's bat, by then in the grip of Round Rock's catcher. Only the catcher wouldn't let go. The confused batboy looked up at him pleadingly and the catcher pointed his attention to the stands where the ball had landed. Fuld was on his way back to the batter's box and wasn't yet done with his bat.

The first inning might never have ended had the sizzling Jake Fox not swung at the first pitch he saw and grounded into a fielder's choice that broke up an otherwise monotonous, if profitable, stretch of four straight walks by Round Rock's impostorous southpaw hurler.

Later on Fox would fire a run scoring single and launch a towering solo homer to maintain his per game RBI average at precisely two and the I-Cubs eased to an 8-3 win in front of an unusually large and comfortable opening night crowd of nearly ten grand.

By the second inning the renewed joy of baseball had already worn off for many and the scoreboard was inviting children to the playground under the first base grandstands. Such are the times we live in.

First game kinks were fairly minimal. There were a few pitches clocking in on the scoreboard radar screen at 50 mph, but the whole operation was otherwise in mid-season form.

I'll be back there tonight to have a look at the Notre Dame receiver turned thrower. If, that is, I can keep myself out of the playground. Tonight's promo is an earmuff giveaway; they shouldn't be necessary if the weather holds. Tomorrow afternoon is Samardzija jersey-shirt day. I'll check to see if they spell it right...MW

Comments

A little elaboration [had to hurry this morning to my son's ballgame; he knocked in the gamewinner in a seesaw 18-17 comedy of errors]: Fuld had a hustling triple to the right-field corner & is the kind of ballplayer I enjoy watching & rooting for...Bobby Scales stroked three doubles, is a switch-hitter and seems prospective...Randy Wells shrugged off his uneven first inning and lasted another four during which he fanned six and walked no more...Fox wears #50, tucks his pants @ Ruthian length & really looks menacing @ the plate right now - his manager [Bobby Dickerson] says, "there isn't a fastball he can't turn around..."

Ok, I'm in Seattle. I can't expect Fox to show the Cubs game out here...of course it's also blacked out so I can't watch it online either. That makes total fucking sense. But, what pisses me off is that there's also a Dodgers/Rockies game and a D-Bags/Giants game. But wait, which game are they broadcasting here? Yankees/Indians. What the mother fuck? I hate MLB, I hate Fox and I hate fucking Joe Buck. Fuck all. [EDIT] Yes, Joe Buck, thanks for that analysis: "No one likes to see their ERA at over 28". Nothing like mailing in your knowledge of baseball.

...at least temporarily, in a tie with 15 after hitting his second home run today in a record setting 20-2 romp (and still playing) vs the NY Yankees. (insert second guessing Hendry here)

[ ]

In reply to by navigator

I know it's early and some guys (MB, Soto) haven't gotten going yet, but it really seems like this team is nowhere near as good as last year's. We really miss DeRosa's power/versatility. The bullpen has been pretty brutal so far. The starting pitching has been very inconsistent, and for as much depth as we supposedly had I have no idea who our 6th starter will be when Harden gets injured. Give them credit for winning more often than they're losing so far, but unless the bullpen starts throwing strikes and Bradley starts hitting (and stays on the field) I'm really nervous that we'll be looking up at STL at the end of the year.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

Yeah, it's way too early, bro. This team has thunder unmatched in the league besides maybe the Cards or Dodgers. I was a huge Derosa fan and I'm totally with you on that, but if you look at his numbers year to year '08 is way out of whack. I don't think he'll be able to repeat. The bullpen definitely is troubling and as long as you have the likes of Neil Cotts out there, it will continue to be troubling; Neil Cotts is not a good pitcher. The team needs a LOOGY that can throw strikes in a bad way. Give Cotts another week or so, but if he doesn't start nailing things down I'm cool with seeing if Waddell or Papelbon can step up. It's not like they'll be able to do much worse.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I agree that DeRo probably won't quite get to his numbers from 2008, but I'd say he's very likely to hit 12-18 homers with a .350+ OBP. Not an elite slugger by any stretch, but a good bat with decent power who can play a lot of different positions well. Fontenot might be able to put up similar numbers, but the problem is Aaron Miles. When Rammy goes down with his annual 15-20 game injury we're replacing his bat with Miles. Last year, DeRo just slid over and Fonty came in put up good offensive numbers. It just feels like our bench is incredibly weak this year. I love the Hoffpauir addition, but with Miles and Gathright we're really struggling to come up with decent pinch hitters late in the game. I also think we need a much more versatile 25th man than Gathright. He's way too one-dimensional to take up a roster spot. And the point I made in my original post about not knowing who our 6th starter would be is a legitimate concern, I think. Last year, Marshall was a very capable 6th man. This year, he's in the rotation and our 6th man is who? Kevin Hart? Please no.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

Yes, well, the Fox guys were handing the Indians their 2009 rings already after 12 games. Give the AL hurlers some time to adjust to DeRo, just as KC did to Hamilton last night. Looks like Josh already misses MB. As far as Hendry, have you looked at what Pie and Isturis are doing in Baltimore? Kudos, JH! BTW, Brian Roberts is still tearing it up at leadoff. Let's start some trade talk rumors! Miles hit with 2 outs, RISP was a big lift. Miles is moving in. Sorry, Font. Bullpen: If they Start throwing strikes, the "out of option" guys will be switching to Padres uni's. Not that we can't take it all WITH these guys. Gooozzz has experience but doesn't, if you know what I mean. And Marmol clunking Pujols was, to me, in the Spirit of Championship Baseball. Carlos The Matador standing tall in front of the menacing horns! Great wins last 2! Don't let them get up today!

Lou is handling the bullpen like it consists of Marmol, Marmol, Marmol and maybe Gregg.

BTW.... Soriano takes a lot of shit on here (and other places) for his D, but he deserves some credit for turning that double play late in the game today. That was a huge play.

[ ]

In reply to by Little Nate Lewis

Sori doesn't have a particularly strong arm, but it's deadly accurate, he's been at the top of the league in outfield assists (adjusted for games missed due to injury) ever since he was moved to the OF. If only he knew how to go back on a ball hit over his head, he'd actually be a pretty damn good defensive OF. Mini-rant: when Gathright came up, both Pujols and Barden were playing back, behind the bags. Why doesn't Lou have Joey drop a drag bunt in that situation down one of the lines? If he keeps it fair, he'd definitely beat it out and the Cubs win. Mini-rant 2: Neal Cotts. Go away. Yeah, there'd be no lefty in the pen, but I'd rather have a RH reliever that can throw strikes than a deadbeat who keeps his job just because he's LH. Send him to Iowa, recall Chad Fox, and have Hendry start looking for a lefty middle reliever via trade.

I hadn't seen it mentioned, but nice clutch performance by Gregg in bailing out Marmol, and not a bad job by Marmol in the previous inning against the heart of the lineup.

Agreed, Gregg looked great out there. Nice to see him finally look dominant instead of average. If he can pitch like that 9 times out of 10, I think he'll be perfectly fine.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • 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.