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 
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Game 107 Thread / Cubs @ Brewers (2 of 4)

Game Chat | Press Pass | BR Preview

SP Carlos Zambrano
SP
Ben Sheets
  11-4, 2.96, 87 K, 44 BB, 133.2 IP

10-3, 2.87, 115 K, 31 BB, 135 IP
       
LF Alfonso Soriano
2B #Ray Durham
SS Ryan Theriot SS J.J. Hardy
1B
Derrek Lee LF
Ryan Braun
3B
Aramis Ramirez 1B
*Prince Fielder
CF
*Kosuke Fukudome RF Corey Hart
RF Mark DeRosa 3B *Russ Branyan
2B
*Mike Fontenot
CF Mike Cameron
C
Geovany Soto C Jason Kendall
P
#Carlos Zambrano
P Ben Sheets

My apologies for lack of a game thread last night, I was out on a 3-day weekend celebrating seven years of marriage with the Angelfan wife. Many ask what our secret is (okay, no one does), and the answer? Marry a girl who likes baseball and doesn't mind if you check the scores on your cellphone during a sunset dinner at the beach. Lucky in love I am...

I might be a day late, but I'll pony up a few extra bucks. A comparison of the two teams heading into tonight's game:

Category
Cubs
Brewers
Runs Scored
555
498
Runs Allowed
443
470
Strength of Schedule
.492
.499
Team Defensive Efficiency .715
.705
Batting Average .278
.256 
On-Base Perncentage
.355 
.326
Slugging Percentage
.441 
.443
Home Runs
121 140 
Stolen Bases
58
74
Starters' ERA
3.80
4.01
Relievers' ERA
3.98
4.05
Walks Allowed
361
 360
Strikeouts
798
713

Pretty close, but the Cubs definitely look like the better team on paper. A paper you can light on fire because it's not going to mean much with two games separating the clubs and a raucous crowd filling Miller.

As for the lineup, Edmonds sits again which makes me believe the knee injury is worse than what's been reported. Of course, a career .697 OPS against Sheets in 54 AB's might be another reason, along with Fontenot's hot-hitting of late.  

Zambrano vs Sheets, it doesn't get much more fun that.

Comments

great...i just got a raging case of the cooties reading your 1st paragraph. i knew i shouldnt have skipped the shot this year. hopefully WGN can sell me a pill to get rid of this. i could go kayaking or something afterward. maybe high-five some people.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Hey I got you one better cootiemeister- marry a gal who knows nothing about baseball, but turn her into such a fan that not only does she follow the Cubs, but on a pleasant Tuesday evening she suggests we go down to PNC to watch the Pirates play the Rockies. No promotional give-aways, no fireworks, just plain baseball. Usually it's amusing baseball too ("How they gonna blow it tonight?") The $4 grandstand ticket price (not kidding) helps this decision. But last night we were rewarded with the 26th come from behind win out of 50 victories. And my darling wife of 24 years is scoreboard watching the Cubs-Brewers game for updates.

I was at the bar off 1 in Malibu where Mel Gibson got busted for DUI. Good Blue Moon beer and beautiful sunset. Thinking about going to Santa Barbara for 10th anniversary...don't know where wife will go. HIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! GO Cubs!!! Great game take any spirit out of those Brewer bastards and stomp in the ground like an old Pal Mal.

Great to see Rammy and Kosuke clubbing the ball -- Kosuke's 2B vs. Shouse was a beauty. I would love to see Soto hit one ball to right-center. It looked like Z was firing on all cylanders tonight -- pumped up to go against Sheets, but also in control of himself. Very solid baseball by the Cubs so far -- hitting, pitching, fielding, base-running. Keep it up, boys!

Go go gadget run differential. +118. Seriously. Next closest in the NL is Philly at +70. Best in the AL is Boston at +89. For what it's worth (admittedly not much), MKE is at +22 and STL is at +28.

well i like the way the cubs have produced all series ,good to see rami come thru, starters have been good. nice to see braun run around in outfield missing everything. will cubs make any trades? i would consider cedeno the last positon player on team is it worth the upgrade? eyre to the east coast? for a minor leaguer ?

looks like Edmonds has an arthritic knee...his previous knee scope included some microfracture work which means he's missing some articular cartilage and they try to stimulate some formation of scar tissue to fill the defect...so expect it to be cranky from here on out. The cortisone can calm things down for awhile though. from the Sun-Times: Cubs center fielder Jim Edmonds, who got a cortisone shot in his sore left knee after the game Sunday against the Florida Marlins, said he was ready to play Tuesday but was kept out of the lineup for one more day. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1081060,CST-SPT-cubnt30.ar…

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Because of Edmonds's injury issues, Levine is reporting that Jimbo is looking for lefty bat for the OF. Personally I think they need a switch hitter because if they add another lefty they will have issues with LHP. He also confirms Eyre can be had for a reasonable price. He didnt mention any names of the lefty bat, but here is a list of quality CF and Corner of who can play defense enough for Lou "just catch the damn ball" Pinella to play in RF: AL West Milton Bradley AL Central: David DeJesus Mark Teahan AL East: Luke Scott Brad Wilkerson NL West: Randy Winn Dave Roberts Jody Gerut Brian Giles NL Central: Ken Griffey Jr. NL East: Mark Kotsay I would doubt Bradley, Dejesus, Giles, or Scott because of the high price to get them. Griffey is also unlikely as the CIN ownership wont deal him to a NL Central team and I would put Winn that category due to his 09 salary. I think of the remaning guys the top 5 candidates could be 1. Kotsay 2. Teahan 3. Roberts 4. Wilkerson 5. Gerut.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

More important here is the thought that how an outfielder 'looks' or the routes he takes to a ball has an bearing on how good a fielder he is. That's a common misconception. What is important is if he catches balls, how quickly he gets to the ones he doesn't catch, and when he throws are the throws quick, accurate and strong. Soriano screws up some balls out there, this year actually seems worse than last year, but he makes a lot of catches in the gap that the Carlos Lee's and Manny Ramirez's of the world have to pick up from the warning track.

I got tickets to Friday's game for my son for a b-day present (will be his first time at Wrigley). My plan was to drive (from Ft. Wayne) to Chesterton IN and get on the South Shore Line and get off at the Van Buren station then walk to the Red Line station @ State & Jackson and take that to Wrigley. It just dawned on me today that Lolla starts Friday and the Metra stop I'm planning to use is right next to Grant Park. Is this going to be a big headache for us? Especially on the way home after the game? Also, about how long is the Red Line trip from Jackson up to Addison?

[ ]

In reply to by Indiana JJ

I'd suggest picking up the Brown Line at Washington & Wells or Quincy and taking that North up to Fullerton or Belmont and transferring to the Red Line. I find that the Red Line is almost unbearable on Cubs' game days, while the Brown line is mostly work commuters. Between the Cubs and Lolla, the Red line is going to be a zoo. A 95 degree, no seat, people crammed everywhere zoo. The trip should take 35-40 minutes.

[ ]

In reply to by Doug Dascenzo

I usually just take the Brown Line to Belmont and walk 4 blocks north. Don't bother with the Red. For one thing, the Red Line will be crammed with people, especially closer to Wrigley. Further, and more aesthetically, there's a nice sense of anticipation walking up Sheffield into thickening street crowds, hearing, then smelling, then seeing Wrigley loom up in the distance. My 2¢.

Recent comments

  • 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. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...