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

PCL Honors to Cashner; Dodgers to Wrigley

-- The I-Cubs' Andrew Cashner was named PCL Pitcher of the Week. That's what winning two starts while allowing one run and just eight hits over 13 innings will do for you. And let's not forget: he won the second of those games while dealing with the pressure of having TCR's very own Mike Wellman in the stands.

-- The Giants fan site, 22gigantes, pointed me to an mlb.com article in which the 30 MLB clubs were ranked for drafting success, based on All-Star appearances, Cy Young Awards, etc., won by their draftees in recent years. Cub draftees earned six such awards—four All-Star appearances plus ROY Awards for Kerry Wood and Geovany Soto—which tied the team for 11th place with the Giants, Marlins, and Cardinals.

(I'm a bit confused here since the article says the numbers are based on "awards won by players drafted by teams over the past decade." Wood was drafted in 1995 and won the ROY in 1998. ???)

The Nationals and Red Sox (17 player awards) led the way. Among other NL Central teams, the Brewers (10) were tied for 4th place. The Pirates, Astros, and Reds were all down near the bottom.

The same article offers a different calculation of drafting success based on a variety of individual player stats accumulated by draftees. By that figuring, the Athletics, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox lead the way. The Cubs are not in the top 10.

--By all accounts, Carlos Zambrano's simulated game, consisting of 73 pitches Monday at Wrigley Field, went well, and the plan is for him to return to the rotation on the road, i.e., sometime on or after next Monday, when the Cubs begin a nine-game trip in Pittsburgh. 

-- After taking three of five against two first-place clubs on the road, the Cubs continue to match up with the big boys, as the red-hot Dodgers, winners of 12 of 14 and owners of an MLB-best record of 16-5 in May, come to Wrigley for a three-game series beginning tonight.

Aramis Ramirez will be rested for a few days because of a bone bruise on his left hand. (An MRI and x-rays concluded there was no fracture.) Lou says that moving Ramirez to the DL is not currently a consideration. (Had the link and lost it, but that's what he said.)

Comments

-By all accounts, Carlos Zambrano's simulated game, consisting of 73 pitches Monday at Wrigley Field, went well... So did he get out of the 3rd inning? ("went well" is relative but it's gotta be better than his 49 pitches on opening day)

I vote for a 6-man rotation with Z, Dempster, maybe Wells going every 5 days regardless and the others getting an extra day or two of rest. Silva seems to have some aches and pains, Lilly could probably use a day off on occasion and Gorz could go 120 to get through 6 innings and be less worried about his arm. Or trade Silva while his value his high.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Cubs aren't actually on the hook for that much and they probably wouldn't get much in return, but you never know. problem is most teams are still figuring how far they want to go for it this season. the other problem is he's Carlos Silva. I suppose Wells or Lilly could be traded easier. I'd like to keep Wells cause he's gonna be cheap for another 2 seasons, but you'd get teams that are already out of it interested as he's more of a long-term investment. Teams are always looking for lefty starters and I can't imagine Lilly is going to be resigned. Dempster or Wells to the pen is the other desperate option I guess. The one time the Cubs need pitchers to get hurt, they all stay healthy.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

yeah, his numbers look a lot worse than his play, f'sure. a guy like him should be able to put in more than 5-6ip, though. speaking of...the guy seems to be just fine so far through his first couple innings...a trip to the pen for him might not be that radical of an idea even though it seems lou/hendry don't have that as an option last time they were asked about it. "Hasn't topped 100 pitches yet this year, should be in the 4-4.5 ERA range when it's all said and done." i'd be a little careful with that one...he's showing signs of being hit like he was when he was having "problems."

(I'm a bit confused here since the article says the numbers are based on "awards won by players drafted by teams over the past decade." Wood was drafted in 1995 and won the ROY in 1998. ???)
I think it's Jonathan Mayo who's confused, not you. That article is kind of a mash. Besides Willis, Prior (who did not play) and Soto, who is the 4th Cub drafted between 2000-2009 who was an All Star? Is he mistakenly including Kerry Wood again? And, although they didn't sign him, the Cubs drafted Khalil Greene who later was ROY in 2004.

yeah, cashner got my vote! as for zorro's sim-game yesterday, 'the heckler' says... Zambrano kicked out of simulated game for arguing balls and strikes with pitching coach Rothschild loses patience with fiery slugger

#cubs lineup tue nite 2b riot, ss castro, 1b lee, cf byrd, lf sori, rf nady, 3b baker, c soto, p dempster vs. Furcal 6, Martin 2, Kemp 8, Ramirez 7, Loney 3, Blake 5, Paul 9, DeWitt 4, Kershaw 1

So what happens if Dempster goes into Lous office and tells him that he would go to the pen. There is no way the cubs stick with 4 lefties in pen if Gorzelany is the chosen one.

Demp's 10th start on the season - glad to see him kick into 5th gear. Cubs only 2-7 in his starts prior to tonights gem, with the 2 wins coming with Silva-like run support (8 and 9 runs).

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.