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, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* 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
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

LeMahieu Shines in Pro Debut

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Cubs 2009 2nd round pick D. J. LeMahieu (LSU) made his professional debut tonight at Fitch Park in Mesa, going 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, leading the AZL Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the AZL Brewers in Arizona League action.   

box score

LeMahieu hit 3rd and was the DH, and in his very first pro AB he slammed an opposite-field triple off the RF fence, using his long-stride speed to make it to third base well in advance of the relay throw from the Brewers 2nd baseman. He then scored on a line-drive RBI single to CF by clean-up hitter (and 2009 10th round pick) Charles Thomas. (BTW, Thomas attended Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, FL, which is the same HBCU baseball legend--and one time Cubs coach--Buck O'Neil attended many years ago) 

LeMahieu struck out (swinging) on a head- high fastball on his next trip to the plate in the third, and he bounced out on a two chopper to the first-baseman (unassisted) in the 6th.

In his final at bat, LeMahieu grounded an RBI single sharply through the box to CF, scoring Wes Darvill (2009 5th round pick out of Langley, BC & the Canadian Junior National Team) from 2nd base ,LeMahieu took 2nd on the throw to the plate and advanced to 3rd on a ground out, before scoring the Cubs 4th and final run on a wild pitch. 

LeMahieu is supposed to either leave for or report to the Boise Hawks on Tuesday, so he won't be staying long in Mesa.  

It's always interesting to watch a player make his pro debut, but especially a player with the relative fame of LeMahieu. He was one of the heroes of 2009 NCAA College World Series Champion LSU, and while I had seen him play on TV (and hitting with an aluminum bat), there is nothing like seeing the kid in-person with a wood bat in his hands. I could see that he was pretty stoked tonight, that's for sure.

LeMahieu went to LSU, but he attended HS in Michigan, and lived for several years before that in Las Vegas. He is quite familiar with the Cubs operation in Mesa, having attended a number of Cubs Spring Training games at HoHoKam Park in years past (his grandmother is a huge Cubs fan, and his father lives in Wisconsin and is also a Cubs fan). . .

2009 3rd round pick LHP Aaron Kirk (Owasso HS - Owasso, OK) has also signed with the Cubs, but he is in Chicago this weekend getting the "high draft pick courtesy tour" at Wrigley Field before reporting to Mesa next week.

Boise Cubs RHP Su-Min Jung got the start for AZL Cubs tonight, and pitched two shutout innings. A 19-year Korean bonus baby signed by the Cubs last September, Jung was making his second rehab start for the AZL Cubs (he was shut-down with a sore shoulder earlier this month in Boise), and he looked very good (he picked it up a notch and struck out the last two hitters he faced, stranding Brewers runners at 2nd & 3rd). He threw all of his pitches for strikes and had good velocity on his fastball. Unless there is some reason why the Cubs want him to remain at Fitch Park, I would think Jung will be back at Boise very soon.   

In other news from Mesa, LHP B. J. Ryan reported to Fitch Park last Sunday, and has spent the past five days working one-on-one with Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator Mark Riggins.They are starting with long toss, and working up from there to delivery, arm slot, and release point. Ryan does his work in the morning, many hours before game-time and out of sight of most fans. 

Same goes for catcher Geovany Soto, who is on the Cubs 15-day DL wiith a strained oblique. He is running and hitting, so I would think that (barring any medical setbacks) he will be back with the Cubs in fairly short order. 

Iowa OF Brad Snyder (broken wrist) is also rehabbing at Fitch Park, and he hopes to be back with the I-Cubs by the end of next week. A one-time #1 draft pick of the Cleveland Indians out of Ball State (he was a college teammate of ex-Cubs LHP prospect Luke Hagerty), Snyder was claimed off waivers last September and spent most of Spring Training with the Cubs before getting outrighted to AAA the last week of March (he was out of minor league options). He was en route to a career year at Iowa before he went on the DL in mid-May (319/353/667, with 12 HR in just 36 games and on a pace for 50 HR over a full-season) and appeared to be finally putting it all together (he was even raking against LHP), so if he can pick up where he left off pre-injury and not show any ill-effects from the broken wrist, he could conceivably get a September call-up to Chicago. (That's presuming the Cubs would be interested in a five-tool left-handed hitting right-fielder). If not, Snyder is a minor league FA post-2009, and I would think some MLB club would be more than willing to give him a shot at winning a big league job in 2010. 

Tags
Geovany Soto
AZL Cubs
Brad Snyder
Su-Min Jung
B J Ryan
D.J. LeMahieu

Comments

Submitted by Raisin101 on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:29 am

Wow...as always, thanks!! I hope Jung and LeMahieu are up in Boise shortly. Arizona Phil, do you have any information on Dae-Eun Rhee's rehab? Thanks.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:15 am

"there is nothing like seeing the kid in-person with a wood bat in his hands" heard that. aluminum is such a developmental crutch (what it does to inside pitching/hitting learning/execution and the bad that comes from it), but it's just fiscally sane in an environment where baseball on the amateur level is far from king. *ting*

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:18 am

Submitted by Raisin101 on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 1:29am.
Wow...as always, thanks!! I hope Jung and LeMahieu are up in Boise shortly.

Arizona Phil, do you have any information on Dae-Eun Rhee's rehab? Thanks.

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

RAISIN: Nothing new to report on Dae-Eun Rhee. He's at Fitch Park, and he could be throwing side-sessions in the bullpen "10-PAC" (ten-mound pitch-and-catch) behind the clubhouse, but I can't say that for sure.

It has been more than a year since he had his TJS, and while most pitchers who have a TJS are back throwing in games within a year, the Cubs may just be overly cautious with Rhee, due to his age and the type of "out-pitch" he has (some kind of hard breaking splitter or knuckle-curve).

Even if Rhee doesn't pitch in any AZL games, he still could throw in AZ Instructs games in Sept-Oct, where there is more control over pitch counts (innings can be extended or stopped early). At least that's my hunch. (We'll see).

Something else I've been meaning to mention, and I hate to keep ragging on milb.com for inaccuracies, but they have some of the Cubs minor league rosters screwed up...

1. Marcos Perez is a LEFT-handed pitcher. He is NOT right-handed. He pitched again tonight, and he's definitely LEFT-handed. In fact he has been a lefty since the day he arrived at Fitch Park (and probably even before that). What is troubling is that milb.com did a similar thing with Harol Tolentino (who has since been released, BTW) the previous two seasons, except in Tolentino's case, milb.com continually listed him as a LEFT-handed pitcher when he was (in fact) a RIGHT-handed pitcher.

2. INF Dwayne Kemp (who is on the DL with a right leg injury) is a RIGHT-handed hitter. He is NOT a switch-hitter. Whether he was a switch-hitter before the Cubs signed him, I don't know. But he has hit ONLY right-handed for his entire career with the Cubs (that I've seen).

3. Unless he changed back again when he got to Peoria, INF Jose Made is a switch-hitter, NOT a right-handed hitter (although he just started switch-hitting in Spring Training 2009). And catcher Alvaro Sosa is a switch-hitter, too, and has been for at least two years.

4. 2009 17th round pick RHP B. J. Dail had his contract voided and is a free-agent. Why he is still listed on the AZL Cubs roster as "active", I have no idea.

5. RHP Cedric Redmond was relased last month. Why he is still listed as "reserved" on the Boise roster, I don't know.

6. 2009 15th round pick OF Bryan (Cody) Shields is on the AZL Cubs 60-day DL after undergoing TJS last month, and 41st round pick RHP Jake Schmidt is also on the AZL Cubs 60-day DL, but I don't know why. But they are definitely not "active"...

7. OF Sean Williams was sent back to Australia and is playing in the MLBAAP. He is not at Fitch Park, and hasn't been for about a month.

There may be other problems with the rosters on the two Cubs DSL clubs, too, but I'll let Boca Chica Phil discuss those.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:33 pm

Thanks for the report, Cousin, and especially for the news about Brad Snyder. A few of the Cubs' below-the-radar signings and trades--e.g., Snyder, Blanco, Avery-for-Buchter, Barrett-for-Burke--could work out pretty well and offset some of the smell of the higher profile free-agent signings. I have to ask you, though, with regard to all the confusion about who is righty or lefty or both--is it possible that Milton Bradley was mis-identified as a switch hitter?

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:39 am

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 2:15am.
"there is nothing like seeing the kid in-person with a wood bat in his hands"

heard that. aluminum is such a developmental crutch (what it does to inside pitching/hitting learning/execution and the bad that comes from it), but it's just fiscally sane in an environment where baseball on the amateur level is far from king.

*ting*

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

CRUNCH: I've been hitting 85 MPH fastballs three or four times a week with the same EASTON 34-inch 32-oz carbon composite bat since 1992 (it was supposed to break within a year, but it never did), and while it is not wood, at least it doesn't make that stupid "ting" noise. That sound drives me nuts.

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:03 am

He (Soto) is running and hitting, so I would think that (barring any medical setbacks) he will be back with the Cubs in fairly short order. --- on wgn radio yesterday they said to expect Geo Soto back by the first week in August. This translates to me as: August 1st is next saturday...so sometime during the next road trip to Fla/Cincy/Colorado

Submitted by osagerun on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 07:43 pm

LeMahieu did pretty well in his debut. I'm excited about his potential. It will be very interesting to see how he produces in Boise. Kind of wondering where he will play when he gets there with Lee playing SS and Watkins hitting the ball real well and playing 2nd. Also, Austin Kirk is already in Mesa. He didn't make the trip to Wrigley.

Submitted by Cubbiefan07 on Sun, 07/26/2009 - 07:26 pm

Phil, Can anyone get in to the Cubs workouts (like Soto, BJ Ryan, ect.) in Mesa? Is it free? Are the Mesa Cubs games free to get into? How about Mesa Solar Sox AFL? Thanks for your help!

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I guess I'm not looking for that type of AB 

    Just a difference of opinion

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.

    I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH. 

    He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.

    You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)

  • crunch (view)

    bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.

    the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?

    I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.

  • Charlie (view)

    Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH. 

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.

    The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.

    I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical). 

     

    And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day. 

     

    That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled). 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

Click HERE for the last 50 comments