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

Cubs Potential Offseason Targets: Kelvim Escobar

Trying to figure out which relievers the Cubs may try to acquire - if any - to bolster a poor bullpen performance is like trying to find a decent Cubs position player developed by the Cubs farm system over the last 35 years. For all I know the Cubs won't do much but try and resign John Grabow and then see who might stick from the current crop of youngsters plus a few Chad Fox-type reclamation projects that they might hope to stick...and probably Chad Fox himself.

We do know Hendry likes his strikeout pitchers and Escobar has a 7.89 K/9 rate for his career which trends higher when he's worked out of the bullpen as you'd expect. There hasn't been much chatter on Escobar since he went down with a shoulder injury after pitching just 5 innings in 2009 (and he missed all of 2008 as well after labrum surgery), but I think it's a fair bet he'll come back in 2010 as a reliever...that is if he's coming back at all.

Year Age Tm W L W-L% ERA G GS GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO HBP ERA+ WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
1997 21 TOR 3 2 .600 2.90 27 0 23 14 31.0 28 12 10 1 19 36 0 156 1.516 8.1 0.3 5.5 10.5 1.89
1998 22 TOR 7 3 .700 3.73 22 10 2 0 79.2 72 37 33 5 35 72 0 124 1.343 8.1 0.6 4.0 8.1 2.06
1999 23 TOR 14 11 .560 5.69 33 30 2 0 174.0 203 118 110 19 81 129 10 86 1.632 10.5 1.0 4.2 6.7 1.59
2000 24 TOR 10 15 .400 5.35 43 24 8 2 180.0 186 118 107 26 85 142 3 95 1.506 9.3 1.3 4.3 7.1 1.67
2001 25 TOR 6 8 .429 3.50 59 11 15 0 126.0 93 51 49 8 52 121 3 132 1.151 6.6 0.6 3.7 8.6 2.33
2002 26 TOR 5 7 .417 4.27 76 0 68 38 78.0 75 39 37 10 44 85 5 109 1.526 8.7 1.2 5.1 9.8 1.93
2003 27 TOR 13 9 .591 4.29 41 26 12 4 180.1 189 94 86 15 78 159 9 110 1.481 9.4 0.7 3.9 7.9 2.04
2004 28 ANA 11 12 .478 3.93 33 33 0 0 208.1 192 91 91 21 76 191 7 114 1.286 8.3 0.9 3.3 8.3 2.51
2005 29 LAA 3 2 .600 3.02 16 7 2 1 59.2 45 21 20 4 21 63 2 140 1.106 6.8 0.6 3.2 9.5 3.00
2006 30 LAA 11 14 .440 3.61 30 30 0 0 189.1 192 93 76 17 50 147 4 126 1.278 9.1 0.8 2.4 7.0 2.94
2007 31 LAA 18 7 .720 3.40 30 30 0 0 195.2 182 79 74 11 66 160 3 134 1.267 8.4 0.5 3.0 7.4 2.42
                                                   
2009 33 LAA 0 1 .000 3.60 1 1 0 0 5.0 4 2 2 0 4 5 1 127 1.600 7.2 0.0 7.2 9.0 1.25
12 Seasons 101 91 .526 4.15 411 202 132 59 1507.0 1461 755 695 137 611 1310 47 113 1.375 8.7 0.8 3.6 7.8 2.14
162 Game Avg. 11 10 .526 4.15 46 22 15 7 167 162 84 77 15 68 145 5 113 1.375 8.7 0.8 3.6 7.8 2.14
                                               
TOR (7 yrs) 58 55 .513 4.58 301 101 130 58 849.0 846 469 432 84 394 744 30 105 1.461 9.0 0.9 4.2 7.9 1.89
LAA (5 yrs) 43 36 .544 3.60 110 101 2 1 658.0 615 286 263 53 217 566 17 125 1.264 8.4 0.7 3.0 7.7 2.61
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/28/2009.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Photo Day

For his career, he's actually got a better ERA as a starter(4.09 vs. 4.44) than a reliever, but a lot of that relief work was done early in his career. He can throw up to six pitches, but said he scrapped his slider so that takes him down to a 2 and 4-seam fastball, split-fingered fastball, curveball and change-up and that's probably 2-3 more pitches then he needs to be an effective reliever. Obviously the big concern will be how well that shoulder is doing and then what kind of contract he'll be expecting after missing out on two seasons. If he does show to be healthy, at least one other fanbase wouldn't mind getting in on the action.

Any type of serious statistical analysis on Escobar isn't going to have much merit as he hasn't pitched in two years and we don't know what the shoulder injuries may have done to his arm. This signing would be up to the doctors, trainers and scouts and if they feel that something resembling the old Escobar is still out there. Now I realize the Cubs and their fans feel snake-bitten by some of these high risk-high reward type talents the Cubs  have employed over the last decade, but with the expected budget crunch, Hendry's gonna have to roll the dice on a few of these spots. If they can get Escobar on a one year incentive-laden deal, maybe with a 2nd year club option - and the doctors give the all clear signal - it could be a decent risk for the Cubs in 2010. He'd probably start the season as a set-up man but definitely has the ability and experience to step into the closer role if/when "Wild Thing" Marmol isn't getting the job done.

 

Comments

http://www.familybusinessmagazine.com/index.php?/blog/single/cubs_famil…

Joe Ricketts, patriarch of the Roman Catholic family, still lives in his hometown of Omaha, Neb., Goudie reported. His son Tom was a marketmaker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange and a finance executive before starting Incapital LLC, an investment bank, in 1999.As Goudie put it, Tom Ricketts “shunned the family business back in Nebraska to make his own way in Chicago.”

Another son, Pete Ricketts, 45, lives in Omaha and left his post as COO of the family's stock brokerage to run as a Republican for U.S. Senate, spending more than $11 million of his own money to fund the campaign. "He had run on a conservative family values platform and was outspoken against gay marriage," Goudie wrote. "He often said that ‘Nebraska values' include traditional marriage. That put him at odds with his only sister."

Laura Ricketts, 41, who lives in Chicago, serves on the board of directors of Lambda Legal, a national gay and lesbian rights organization, which has fought in court to overturn Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage, Goudie reported. She is a co-founder of Internet travel company Ecotravel along with her youngest brother, Todd Ricketts, 39, who also lives in Chicago.

A 2006 article in the Omaha World-Herald during Pete Ricketts' Senate campaign (no longer available online) quoted Pete Ricketts as saying, "I love my sister. I disagree with her on this issue. What more is there to say?" "

If you thought the Chicago Cubs ownership dynamics were frayed the past 28 years," Goudie wrote in his Daily Herald column, "you ain't seen nothin' yet."

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...