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

The Future History of Cub Managers, 2010–2013

(Apologies in advance if the readings from my crystal ball prove faulty. It's something about the neighborhood. Even the cable reception is erratic around here.)

 

by Paul Sullivan, Tribune Reporter
2:17 p.m., CDT, May 6, 2010

PITTSBURGH – If you thought that watching his team lose to the perennial doormat Pirates, 9-3, on Wednesday night and plummet into the NL Central basement was the toughest thing Jim Hendry has ever had to do as a baseball man, an hour after the game you were proven wrong.

Hendry informed the assembled media and all of Cub Nation that he was firing his good friend and Cub manager for the past 4+ years and 526 games, Lou Piniella.

"There's no two ways about it. This stinks," said an emotional Hendry, "but after a very disappointing season last year and the awful start we've had this year, we're going to have to take the team in a different direction. Alan Trammell will be taking over the ballclub for the rest of the year, and I know that he and the other coaches are going to do everything humanly possible to turn this thing around.

"There's still time to make this a special season, but the ballplayers have to start doing the things they're capable of. I know that, Alan knows that, and the ballplayers know that."

 

 

By Bryan Hoch/MLB.com
11/08/10 11:10 AM ET

NEW YORK — To the surprise of few, the New York Yankees, still basking in the glow of their second consecutive World Championship, have signed manager Joe Girardi to a new, three-year contract.

The former catcher had been rumored to be a candidate for the Chicago Cubs managerial position, which opened up when the team chose not to retain interim manager Alan Trammell. But Girardi said the Yankees post was the only one he wanted.

"This is where I want to be, for as long as the Yankees will have me," Girardi said.

 

 

by Dave Van Dyck, Tribune Reporter
9:13 p.m., CST, November 16, 2010

Lou Boudreau did it. Jerry Coleman did it. And now Bob Brenly has done it.

The now ex-Cubs announcer will be stepping out of the broadcast booth and stepping back onto the field as the new manager of the Chicago Cubs. Brenly's hiring was announced Tuesday by General Manager Jim Hendry, whose own future with the Cubs has been the source of endless debate for many months in light of the team's failure to win a single post-season game during Lou Piniella's tenure and the Cubs' dismal fifth-place finish in the National League Central this past year.

Brenly, who led the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 92-70 record and a World Series title in just the team's fourth season, is undaunted by the challenge in front of him.

"I've watched these players," said Brenly. "I know these players. There are some champions on this roster. With the personnel moves that I know Jim is planning to make and by readjusting the way this team approaches its job, I have no doubt we're going to get where we want to go."

If the Brenly Plan should run seriously off-course at some point, the 56-year-old Iowa native won't have to look very far over his shoulder to see his presumptive successor: Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, fresh off his first season managing the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa club, was named Brenly's bench coach.

"Threatened? Not at all," Brenly responded when asked how he'd feel with an obvious future managerial candidate alongside him. "I feel like the luckiest manager on earth knowing I'll have a guy like Ryne Sandberg on the bench next to me. With his baseball smarts and his experience from having worked with some of these young men up as they came up through the system, he's going to be a tremendous asset to me and to the Chicago Cubs."

 

 

 

By Carrie Muskat/MLB.com
01/07/2013 4:46 PM CT

When he patrolled the Cub infield and stood in the batter's box at Wrigley Field, the thought of managing couldn't have been further from his mind. But on Tuesday afternoon, when the Cubs' newest manager was introduced to the media, it was clear that the job offered him the possibility of satisfaction in ways that all of those thousands of Major League at-bats never could.

"I'm honored, really, really honored. That's all I can say," new Cub skipper Neifi Perez said to the assembled reporters and cameras. "Now I'll turn it over to Jim."

"Jim," of course was Cub GM Jim Hendry, who was left to explain one of the most surprising hirings in the history of an organization that has made more than its share.

"Neifi was always on our radar," Hendry said. "There was a misperception—and to be honest, it was really about you folks in the media—that Ryne (Sandberg) was going to be our guy. Obviously, when Ryno took that job in San Diego, that took him out of the picture here. But regardless, we have always liked Neifi. He has a great baseball mind. And I know that he and his coaches are going to do everything humanly possible to turn this thing around."

Comments

I guess I am the only one who likes Lou and hope he stays. Don't worry though, he'll be gone at the end of the season. The club will cite his "health." (diabetes). He will not get fired. Meanwhile, you can all dream about Sandberg, Brenly, Giraudi, etc., None of them will make a difference at this point. The new ownership does not inspire confidence with their emphasis on marketing to the more mindless element of our fanbase. I just want a bullpen that can THROW STRIKES.

I love you guys but this actually pissed me off. I've been working non stop for two days and I actually thought this was real. Fuckers. But really, does the manager even matter in this mess of a team? We need a real GM. Maybe McFail is available.

Jim Hendry is still the GM in 2013 and gets to hire 3 new managers? unpossible. Neifi! - bold move Cotten, let's see how it plays out.

heyman tweets: rough week for reds: first volquez ban, now morgan hiring. Reds to introduce Joe Morgan as special advisor  (via @Cincinnati Reds). rofl...and Greg Maddux plunks Morgan where most of his creative thoughts come from ( in the butt)

Considering that John Smoltz went back and forth from starter to reliever - and back (sort of) - it is not unheard of. The Braves however, for the most part, were a much better all-around team during Smoltz' 'pen days than this Cubs team is now. In fact, 2002, when he had like 45 saves, the Braves were loaded with the Jones', Javy Lopez, Marcus Giles, Sheff, Furcal, Castilla, DeRosa, Surhoff... A little "cut above"what the Cubs throw out there these days as their everyday dudes. However, let the record show that in 2003, with his 55 SAVES, our Cubbies beat their asses! [tomahawk chop - whoa---whoa--whoa...] I am just saying it would be possible under the right circumstances for Demp to say, "OK". I just don't know if these are them. Is it the right circumstance that his GM is a moron?

Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Bay, Francoeur, Davis, Barajas, Pagan, Perez.

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...