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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Split EXST Games with Giants at Fitch Park

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Ryan Keedy had three hits including two RBI doubles, but the Giants edged the Cubs 4-3 in an eight-inning Extended Spring Training game on Fitch Park Field #3 this morning. Meanwhile, another squad of Cubs blanked a second squad of Giants 11-0 in a seven-inning game on Field #2, as Larry Suarez and Carlos Rojas threw lights-out shutout ball over the seven innings. (The Giants brought their entire EXST squad to Mesa today--which is unusual--so there were enough players for two games).

I could have tried to watch & score both games simultaneously, but I opted to score only the game on Field #3, so here is the abridged box score (Cubs players only) from that game:

LINEUP:
1. Hak-Ju Lee, DH #1: 2-4 (6-3, 2B, 1B, K - 1 R, 1 CS)
2. George Matheus, 2B: 1-3 (2B, K, K, HBP - 1 R)
3. Ryan Keedy, 1B-DH #2: 3-4 (2B, 2B, 1B, GIDP - 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 CS)
4. Kevin Soto, CF: 0-2 (F-9, BB, K)
5. Sean Hoorelbeke, DH #2-1B: 1-3 (1B, P-4, GIDP - 1 RBI)
6. Kurt Calvert, RF: 0-3 (4-3, P-4, K)
7a. Juan Medina, C  1-1 (2B, BB)
7b. Alvaro Sosa, C: 1-1 (1B)
8. Robert Bautista, SS: 0-3 (1-3, 1-3, L-7)
9. Jose Made, 3B: 0-3 (P-5, 3-1, K)
10. Sean Williams, LF: 2-3 (6-3, 2B, 1B)

PITCHERS:
1. Tarlandus Mitchell - 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1/1 GO/FO
2. Yohan Gonzalez - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 2/1 GO/FO
3. Eduardo Figueroa - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 6/0 GO/FO 
4. Dumas Garcia - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 3/1 GO/FO

ERRORS (3):
RF Kurt Calvert misplayed a line single, allowing batter-runner to take an extra base, 1B Ryan Keedy bobbled a grounder allowing batter to reach 1st base, and SS Robert Bautista missed a grounder (went off his glove into short left-center) with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the 5th allowing two runs (including the tying run) to score.

CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Juan Medina - 1-3 CS

BASERUNNING
Sean Williams was thrown out 9-6-5 trying to stretch a double into a triple leading off the bottom of the 5th.

The EXST Cubs lineup for the other game went something like: Francisco Guzman CF, Matt Cerda DH #1, Chris Weimer 1B, Jake Opitz 3B, Logan Watkins SS, Jericho Jones DH #2, Jae-Hoon Ha RF, Jesus Morelli LF,John Contreras/Jose Guevara C, and Dwayne Kemp 2B, with Larry Suarez the SP.    

EXST NOTES: 23-year old utility INF Jose Made (selected by the Cubs in the 20th round of the 2007 Rule 4 draft out of Dominican College) is learning to switch-hit (he used to hit only right-handed).

24-year old RHP Josh Lansford (ex-3B drafted in 6th round out of Cal Poly in 2006 draft), 23-year old LHP Ryan Sontag (drafted as OF out of Arizona State in 23rd round of 2008 draft), and 19-year old Dominican RHP Gian Guzman (ex-SS) are being converted to pitcher. (Lansford's brother is a pitcher in the A's organization, and his father and uncles were MLB 3rd basemen).

2008 4th round pick 18-year old Matt Cerda was moved from catcher to 2B for a while recently when his defensive problems behind the plate were affecting his hitting, but he has apparently been moved back to catcher (at least for the time-being), although he was a DH today. Whether he will end up as a catcher or a second-baseman is still TBD.  

18-year old Korean bonus baby Hak-Ju Lee (2008 Tommy John surgery) is being eased back to SS, although he was a DH today. He has put on some weight since last year and looks a lot stronger, but he also may be outgrowing SS.

Fellow 18-year old Korean Jae-Hoon Ha has been the most-impressive position player so far at EXST, displaying plus-power while playing mostly RF. He is a converted catcher

Also, 20-year old speedy switch-hitting Dominican OF Jose Valdez is out of action with a leg injury, and RHP Cedric Redmond (signed as a Draft & Follow in May 2007 after being selected in the 27th round of the 2006 draft out of Oakton Community College) has a broken finger on his pitching hand.

Tags
EXST Cubs

Comments

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 04:26 pm

Hey AZ Phil, Sounds like you're going to have a full day of baseball, assuming you've got tickets for tonight's game. Any idea why Hoorelbeke isn't in Peoria? Hope that Cerda can stick with catching and Lee can stay at short... When was the last time we had a really good shorstop, DeJesus?

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 04:36 pm

Submitted by The Real Neal on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 3:26pm.
Hey AZ Phil,

Sounds like you're going to have a full day of baseball, assuming you've got tickets for tonight's game.

Any idea why Hoorelbeke isn't in Peoria?

Hope that Cerda can stick with catching and Lee can stay at short... When was the last time we had a really good shorstop, DeJesus?

=================================

REAL NEAL: I'm in heaven today, because I get baseball all day and all night long (we are going to the Cubs-D'backs game, too).

There was a five-way battle for the 1B job at Peoria in Spring Training, and Rebel Ridling won, Sean Hoorelbeke and Ryan Keedy were assigned to EXST, and Bryan Jost and Luis Bautista were released. Personally, I like Hoorelbeke better than Ridling or Keedy.

I also hope Lee can stay at SS. He was really scrawny looking last year and was an opposite field singles hitter, but he has apparently been spending a lot of time in the weight room (or at Muscle Beach) while rehabbing from the TJS. He still has plus-speed, but he is hitting the ball with a lot more authority this year. I can't say much about his arm strength (yet) at this point, although it should be OK eventually.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 04:39 pm

Submitted by Jace on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 3:27pm.
Wow, great. Thanks Phil! I've been wondering about a few of these guys. So, if Lee outgrows SS, where would he be moved? 2B? or 3b?

================================

JACE: I would think 2B, although with his speed, CF is another possibility.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 04:12 pm

Vasgersian is the "new bob costas"...for those that don't remember him 'back in the day' he was *the* hottest young talent in announcing. vag-bag is a guy every network wants a piece of, but yeah...his brand of humor sometimes goes so far beyond "miss" on hit/miss that you wonder where the hell a joke he's telling is coming from. he picks some weird "starting points" occasionally.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 04:40 pm

er, I mean Scott McClain sold to a team in Japan from the SF Giants...

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 04:51 pm

sori, riot, fuky (cf), hoff, bradley (rf), font, hill, miles, z. Lee though still might play according to Wittenmyer.

Submitted by Hook on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 04:40 am

Great update on EXST, Phil. Ques-T-O-nay. Do Sean Williams and Ja-Hoon Ha bat left or right-handed? It would be nice to have some right hand hitting power outfielders for a change. Follow-up q: Is Ha still also trying catching?

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 04:13 pm

I'm not positive where you get your power ratings, nor do I know where Baseball Cube gets there's, but they have Nelson Perez with a 95 power rating. Obviously, Jones's 97 is higher, but how the heck do they get those anyway? Anyway, the Cubs clearly have a few guys in the system who can put on shows in batting practice. The Baseball Cube, however, gives Tony Thomas an 86 power rating, so I take all of these with a big grain of salt. I'm not saying Thomas doesn't have any power, but for a frame of reference--they give Milton Bradley a 78 and Geovany Soto an 81. How do you give a Tony Thomas a higher rating than either of those guys? Do they just make some kind of measurement on bat speed when hitting off of a tee, or do they actually look at in-game results? Do they figure in a guy's frame? That could make the difference between Perez and Jones--Jones is 2 inches taller.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 04:55 am

Submitted by Hook on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 11:40pm.
Do Sean Williams and Ja-Hoon Ha bat left or right-handed?
It would be nice to have some right hand hitting power outfielders for a change. Follow-up q: Is Ha still also trying catching?

===============================================

HOOK: 18-year old Australian OF Sean Williams throws & bats left-handed and has a smooth line-drive stroke, and 18-year old Jae-Hoon Ha bats right-handed with much more of a power stroke. And Ha is being used exclusively in the outfield at this time. Cubs Player Development Director Oberi Fleita is something of an expert when it comes to spotting catchers (he was a catcher himself, playing for Jim Hendry at Creighton and then later in the Orioles organization), so if Oneri saw any potential for Ha to advance as a catcher, he would not have been moved to the outfield so quickly.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 04:15 am

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 04/29/2009 - 7:10am.
Great recap Az Phil. What's your take on Rebel Ridling? I know he's big..6'4", 230 or so. It's only 54 at bats, but he's off to a good start at Peoria: .315/.400/.556...7 doubles, 2 HR, 18 RBI.

==================================

DUSTY B: Of the five guys who batled for the 1B job at Peoria last month at Minor League Camp (Bautista, Hoorelbeke, Jost, Keedy, and Ridling), Ridling has the most pure power, and for a classic "Big Lug" first-baseman, hitting home runs is the #1 most-important thing he can do. That's why Ridling won the job, because otherwise Keedy and Hoorelbeke are better hitters, and Jost is (was) the best fielder.

Ridling reminds me a bit of Brian Dopirak, who had a great year the season he was at Peoria, but then could not duplicate it once he got to higher levels.

Recent comments

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

Click HERE for the last 50 comments