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

Good Times with Ted

Submitted by Cubnut on

By all accounts, Ted Lilly will be an ex-Cub by Saturday's trading deadline, in which case tonight's start at Houston will be his last for the team. Signed in December, 2006 after finalizing a deal with Cubs GM Jim Hendry moments before Hendry underwent an angioplasty, Lilly will go down as one of the GM's savvier acquisitions.

Coming into tonight's game, the lefty's four-year record with the Cubs is 47-34, 3.73. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is better than 3:1 and his ERA+ is 122. For what it's worth, Carlos Zambrano, who was ostensibly our ace when Lilly signed, has gone 44-32, 4.04 (113 ERA+) over the same period.

Lilly's 3-8 mark this season is far from indicative of how he has pitched. According to Baseball Prospectus's Support-Neutral pitchers stats, Lilly would have 9 wins this season with league-average offensive and bullpen support.

In honor of Ted's presumed, imminent departure, here is a list of Lilly's best starts as a Cub, ranked by Game Score (shown in parens).

9/15/08 @ Houston: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K (83)
6/13/10 v. White Sox: 8 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K (82)
9/2/09 v. Houston: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K (79)
6/8/10 @ Milwaukee: 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K (78)
5/2/09 v. Marlins: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 10 K (78)
4/13/09 v. Rockies: 6.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K (78)

No official word on the fate of the Ted Lilly Fan Club or the disposition of the Ted Lilly Supercomputer. 

Tags
Ted Lilly
Jim Hendry

Comments

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 07/27/2010 - 07:07 pm

via cm #cubs lineup tues nite is rf colvin, ss castro, 1b lee, 3b ramy, cf byrd, lf sori, 2b riot, c hill, p lilly also this...for those that care #Cubs promote OF and Villanova football star Matt Szczur from Boise to Class A Peoria

Submitted by Cubnut on Tue, 07/27/2010 - 07:08 pm

Stephen Strasburg scratched from start when he can't get loose in the bullpen. Will receive MRI, possibly tonight. http://bit.ly/cOK2xV "Strasburg had a bullpen session just minutes before Tuesday's game and pitching coach Steve McCatty and trainer Lee Kuntz noticed that something was wrong with the right-hander. McCatty and Kuntz called (Washington GM Mike) Rizzo, who pulled the plug on Strasburg's start."

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Submitted by Paul Noce on Tue, 07/27/2010 - 07:51 pm

I think it was about the third inning of Strasburg's MLB debut when Bob Costas, doing the game on MLB Network, said Strasburg could be the greatest pitcher in the history of baseball. I cringed. It was such a stupid thing to say, and so early in someone's career. He didn't even say Strasburg had Hall of Fame talent, he just jumped straight to the "greatest pitcher in the history of the game" nonsense. I couldn't help but think of all the hard throwing pitching prospects who had their careers cut short by injuries.

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Submitted by The Real Neal on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:33 am

Shitzturis trading not withstanding, Hendry has shown he's much better getting MLB guys than minor leaguers. I have pretty much 0 faith that Hendry would identify a good minor league player to grab, regardless of how much money the Cubs pay. If they're going to pay for Lilly's contract, they should just lose him via free agency and get the draft pick(s).

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Submitted by big_lowitzki on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:23 am

Well... Hendry hasn't done many re-building trades. And the DeRosa trade is looking decent. And they only get draft picks if Lilly were to be offered arbitration and get signed elsewhere rather than accepting arbitration, which isn't necessarily the likely outcome.

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Submitted by big_lowitzki on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:07 am

Six teams may want Lilly now, but that doesn't mean that they would want Lilly for at least $12M for next year. I would bet that Lilly would most likely make the most money next year by accepting arbitration with the Cubs.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:25 am

Submitted by big_lowitzki on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 10:07am. Six teams may want Lilly now, but that doesn't mean that they would want Lilly for at least $12M for next year. I would bet that Lilly would most likely make the most money next year by accepting arbitration with the Cubs. =========================================== BIG LO: I agree. But the Cubs won't offer arbitration to Lilly if he remains with the Cubs and files for free-agency after the season. The only times Hendry got a compensation pick for losing a FA was when Juan Pierre and Jason Kendall signed with new teams prior to December 1st, so that the Cubs did not need to offer arbitration in order to get the compensation picks.

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Submitted by garsky on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:49 am

On the other hand, Hendry really hasn't traded away many veterans during his tenure; he's mostly been a buyer at the trade deadline. Lilly would clearly be the cream of the crop among guys Hendry's traded away. On the rare occasions when he was the seller, he's done OK considering what he was selling. He got Fontenot for Sosa when nobody thought there was any market for Sammy; Jerome Williams and David Aardsma for Latroy Hawkins; Justin Berg for Matt Lawton; Chris Robinson for Neifi Perez; Rob Bowen and Kyler Burke for Michael Barrett; and Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub for Mark DeRosa, among a lot of no-so-good others.

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Submitted by big_lowitzki on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:08 am

Well... several of the players are still in the minors, and look like they could end up being moderately productive MLB players. And most of the veterans the Cubs traded sucked, and had little value at the time. They are hardly comparable to Lilly, or even Lee.

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Submitted by WISCGRAD on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:51 am

Hendry hasn't made many trades where he was expected to get decent prospects. The vast majority of his trades are trading away Cubs prospects (who usually turn out to be terrible) for major leaguers. In other cases, he is trading crap veteran players for payroll relief (e.g. Jeff Fassero in late 2002) and got low level minor leaguers in return who were not expected to be good. But in the few trades in which he was expected to pick up prospects, I think he has done better than you realize. Matt Murton was gained in the Nomar trade, Fontenot in the Sosa trade, Scott Moore and Roberto Novoa for Farsworth, David Aardsma for Hawkins, Justin Berg for Lawton, Kevin Hart for Bynum, Jose Ascanio for Infante and Ohman, Brian Schlitter for Eyre, Jeff Stevens for DeRosa, and Jeff Gray for Aaron Miles None of those guys are stars, but the fact that Hendry was able to get this many minor league players who eventually developed into major league players says a lot, especially since many were lower level prospects at the time of the trade.

Submitted by MikeC on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:20 am

You have 0 faith that Hendry can identify a good minor leaguer to grab but advocate just getting draft picks who will be minor leaguers? Odd. Can't we trade Tampa Bay something so we can get Brignac?

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Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 07:41 pm

I can't keep up with all good ones any more. So many prospects, so little time. Who's doing what at Boise these days? Don't ask me. What the Cubs really need is roster space, and less dead wood. I wouldn't be surprised if Lilly or Lee go, not for prospects, but for inventory reduction. "If you want Lilly, you have to take Fukudome. You can have Lee and Theriot, but take Zambrano or Soriano." Throw in Nady and Fontenot somewhere. Ship out a truckload.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    happ, right hamstring tightness, day-to-day (hopefully 0 days).

    he will be reevaluated tomorrow.

  • 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.

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