Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus four players are on the 60-DAY IL


28 players are on the MLB ACTIVE LIST, plus eight are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two are on the 10-DAY IL, and two are on the 15-DAY IL


Last updated 9-1-20239
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 14
Javier Assad
Brad Boxberger
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 6
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom
* Jared Young

OUTFIELDERS: 6
* Cody Bellinger
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

OPTIONED: 8
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Ben Brown, P  
Brennen Davis, OF 
Jeremiah Estrada, P
Caleb Kilian, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Michael Rucker, P
Keegan Thompson, P

10-DAY IL: 2
Jeimer Candelario, 1B
Nick Madrigal, INF

15-DAY IL: 2
Adbert Alzolay, P
Michael Fulmer, P 

60-DAY IL: 4
Nick Burdi, P
Codi Heuer, P
* Brandon Hughes, P
Ethan Roberts, P
 

Minor League Rosters

Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Pitchers Loosen Up Rockies with 19 Strikeouts

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 04:41 pm

Doug Davis threw three innings of one-hit shutout ball, Todd Wellemeyer threw a 1-2-3 13-pitch inning, and Matt Loosen struck out eight in just 2.2 IP, as five EXST Cubs pitchers struck out 19 EXST Rockies batters en route to a 3-2 victory in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning.

Although the Cubs were ahead 3-0 after the end of the Rockies 9th, the game was extended to 11 innings so that additional Cubs and Rockies pitchers could get their pre-scheduled work.

Making his second start since signing a minor league contract with the Cubs last week, Davis (post-2010 elbow surgery rehab) made quick work of the Rockies, needing just 24 pitches (20 strikes) to retire nine of the ten men he faced. The only blemish was a two-out triple in the right-center gap in the top of the 1st inning, and that runner was left-stranded. Davis struck out two (both swinging), and had a 6/1 GO/FO rate, as his sinker was working very well. The veteran soft-tossing lefty kept the young Rockies hitters off-balance throughout his three-inning stint, mixing an 84 MPH sinker with a curve and a change-up.

Todd Wellemeyer (sore hip rehab) followed Davis to the mound, and had an easy 1-2-3 4th inning (F-8, 4-3, K), retiring the side on 13 pitches (nine strikes).

Because they threw so few pitches in the EXST game on Field #3, both Davis and Wellemeyer moved over to Field #2 to pitch in a “sim game” that was already in progress (Dustin Fitzgerald and Ramon Garcia had just completed their two innings), and threw an additional inning (15 pitches) each on top of their EXST game work.

RHP Matt Loosen (Cubs 2010 23rd round pick out of the U. of Jacksonville) took the mound to start the top of the 5th, and had an outstanding outing, striking out eight (seven swinging) in just 2.2 IP. Loosen did allow a double and he hit a batter, but he was mostly just plain unhittable. In two EXST outings so far, Loosen has thrown 6.1 IP of shutout ball, allowing three hits, one HBP, and no walks, with 10 strikeouts. He would likely be at the top of the list should the Cubs look to promote a pitcher from Extended Spring Training to Peoria.

RHP Yao-Lin Wang also threw 2.2 IP of shutout ball today, allowing a single and a walk, with three strikeouts (two swinging).

LHP Casey Harman was the one Cub pitcher who did allow runs today, giving up two (both earned) on three hits (two triples and an inside-the-park HR), although he did strike out five (four swinging).

The Cubs scored single runs in the 1st, 5th, and 8th innings. Kyung-Min Na led off the bottom of the 1st by scalding a single through the box, and scored on a one-out Wilson Contreras RBI double. Jesus Morelli reached base on an error to start the 5th, advanced to 3rd base on a two-base throwing error (errant pick-off attempt), and scored on a line drive SF to left by Johan DeJesus. Morelli then finished the Cubs scoring with a solo HR over the LF fence and onto 8th Street to open the bottom of the 8th.

Here is today’s abridged box score (Cubs players only):

LINEUP:
1. Kyung-Min Na, CF: 1-4 (1B, P-6, L-9, 4-3, R)
2. Dustin Harrington, SS: 1-4 (6-3, 6-3, F-9, 1B)
3. Wilson Contreras, 1B: 2-4 (2B, 5-3, 5-3, 1B, RBI, CS)
4. Dong-Yub Kim, DH #1: 1-4 (1B, F-7, K, K)
5. Dustin Geiger, 3B: 1-4 (P-2, K, 1-3, 1B)
6. Jesus Morelli, RF: 1-4 (5-3, E-6, HR, 4-3, 2 R, RBI)
7a. Johan DeJesus, C-DH: 0-2 (5-3, L-7 SF, K, RBI)
7b. Max Kwan, PH: 0-1 (5-3)
8. Eduardo Gonzalez, LF: 0-3 (K, 3-1, 6-3)
9. Hector Suarez, DH-C: 0-3 (3-1, K, 4-3)
10. Gregori Gonzalez, 2B: 0-3 (K, 3-1, P-4)

PITCHERS:
1. Doug Davis: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 24 pitches (20 strikes), 6/1 GO/FO
2. Todd Wellemeyer: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 13 pitches (9 strikes), 1/1 GO/FO
3. Matt Loosen: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 47 pitches (35 strikes)
4. Yao-Lin Wang: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 46 pitches (29 strikes), 2/3 GO/FO
5. Casey Harman: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 33 pitches (26 strikes)

ERRORS: 1
3B Dustin Geiger E5 – fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely

ATTENDANCE: 11

WEATHER: Partly cloudy & breezy with temperatures in the 80’s 

Tags
Extended Spring Training
EXST Cubs
Jesus Morelli
Matt Loosen
Todd Wellemeyer
Doug Davis

Comments

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 04:13 pm

much better 1st inning for Russell

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 04:59 pm

not that bad a pitch Ludwick hit out, low and inside curve haven't seen the Maybin one yet... back to .500 looming once again

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 04:11 pm

WSox on verge of losing their 7th straight... schadenfreude at its finest

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 04:42 pm

twitter buzz is that Q-Ball said Russell is better suited as situational lefty from here on out. They'll need a starter for Tuesday.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 04:12 am

BR has him at 6-3" and yeah, he's not going to catcher. Cubs have played him (in order of most games played) at 2B, LF, SS, 3B so we can see where that's going... maybe he shows enough to get the regular 2b job, which would be great, but more likely his best chance at the majors is the utility role. His power drop last year could be easily be explained by his HR's turning into doubles in the more pitcher-friendly FSL. also his drop from 2009 was .814 to .793 from A to Hi-A, there was 84 poor AA PA's that make it look a lot worse. Anyway, I don't know if he'll ever be a regular, but he's basically got 2 years to get there...certainly the early returns are promising right now.

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Submitted by The Real Neal on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 04:45 pm

Serious Phil, are you unable to read post #33 and #36? A guy who plays every infield position including shortstop and hits with power from the left side should have some value. 3rd basement, Josh Vitters, Shorstop Starlin Castro, first basemen Prince Fielder, right field Colvin, left field Soriano. Based on what we've seen thus far, he may hit just well enough to play second, but if he can't field there, he's not going to get a lot of starts ahead of those other guys, with the exception possibly of Soriano, so we'll have a converted infielder playing left without the bat to support it... and LeMehieu may already have claimed the same super-sub spot by that time. Meanwhile, our backup catcher is Chris Robinson. I am not saying it's a slam dunk or anything, but to me it's certainly an intriguing idea. Now if he hits 30 HR's this year, then he becomes a legitimate starting prospect, and you think of his downside as a bench bat. But typically guys who are 4th and 5th outfielders and super utility players hit the bigs with the expectations of winning full-time jobs. As a rule of thumb - take what you hope the guy is gonna be in AA - down grade it one notch, and that's what he becomes.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 04:39 pm

I assume that was a slip-up and you meant lefties, which is of course a big difference. But yeah, I'm going with the Cubs and Flaherty probably don't want to waste 2-3 years while he figures out how to be a catcher which wouldn't start until this fall, while he's currently kicking AA pitching around and seemingly good enough to play a variety of infield and outfield positions. I doubt he'll be a regular, although at 24, he still has a small window to improve and get in the conversation. And if he is 6'5" (or 6'3") that's probably one of the reasons why Wilkin drafted him and figured he'd grow into his frame and some power and not a guy they'd look to move to catcher even if there are some exceptions around the league.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 04:13 pm

He's two years away right now at his current pace I guess, But let's say I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the majors next year, or even this September depending on how his season and the Cubs goes. so you're saying it would take 4-5 years? Chirinos started at age 24 with the catching thing and now at 28 is still not in the majors, so yeah, about that. You can start him converting him right now, you don't have to wait until the fall. you can, but that's not how it ever really works to my knowledge. Flaherty I'm sure still thinks of himself as still being a possible starter in the majors (as well he should), so he has to agree with the idea. That's the key issue imo. He also has to notice that Darwin Barney is the current 2b-men and Ramirez is gone next year or possibly two, so there's some openings or at least a chance to compete there. It's catching, not brain surgery. Isn't he also a coach's son? He is, but doesn't mean wants to do it. We can point to Chirinos as an example, but from Phil's report, Cubs thought of him as a future coach from the get-go and were probably on the verge of cutting him. .Also the Cubs have Soto, Castillo, Flores, Brenly, Robinson, Clevenger that he would fall behind because most organizations value defense from there backup catchers. At the moment, he's the Cubs best 2b prospect.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 04:50 pm

Submitted by Charlie on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 7:06am. Flaherty's power is looking more legit. He hit 20 HRs in 2010, and he's got 4 already this year. If he is capable of 25+, can play good defense at 3B, fill in at 2B, 1B, LF and RF, and he can play SS in a pinch, then he's DeRosa, right? I doubt a conversion to Catcher is in the plans for Flaherty. He's 6'5" and he's hit well if not spectacularly. ================================ CHARLIE: Ryan Flaherty is a left-handed version of Jeff Baker, but with more HR power. But like a reverse Baker, Flaherty murders RHP, struggles against LHP, and his best positions are 3B-1B-2B. He seems to look most-comfortable at SS, because that's where he played in HS and college (Vanderbilt), even though he has very likely outgrown the position and lacks the range to play there at the big league level. I have seen him try to play LF, and he really struggles to track fly balls in the outfield. I don't know why, but he does. Flaherty would probably take Blake DeWitt's roster slot if he were to get called up to Chicago this year. (Flaherty is eligible for selection in next December's Rule 5 Draft, so he will very likely get added to the Cubs 40-man roster by the 11/20 deadline, if not during the season).

Submitted by Wrigley Rat on Wed, 04/20/2011 - 04:04 pm

Hey Phil - Any Brian Schlitter sightings? I'm wondering if he is actually out for the year or if he could rehab and become a AAA arm by the end of the year. Hendry says he's happy to have him back, so I imagine he's hoping for more than just a roster exemption for the playoffs! Thanks!!!

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 04:54 pm

Submitted by craig on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 12:10pm. Phil, any info on Austin Reed? He looked very good last year, but I don't recall him being mentioned in any of your reports. Is he damaged goods? ================================== CRAIG: Austin Reed is on the EXST Cubs Active List. He was supposed to have pitched last Thursday, but I wasn't at that game so you wouldn't have seen an abridged box score for it. I think he's supposed to pitch tomorrow or Saturday. The problem right now is that there are just too many pitchers at Extended Spring Training, and the younger ones keep getting bumped from their outings by the rehab guys, who always get first priority. So then some pitchers end up throwing sim games if they get pushed back too far.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil 09/23/2023 - 09:18 pm (view)

    jdrnym: 

    As you know, the abbreviation "DFA" stands for "Designated for Assignment." 

    There are three types of assignments: 

    1. Trade Assignment (when a player is traded from one MLB club to another)
    2. Outright Assignment (when a player is sent to the club's minor league Domestic Reserve List after Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured).
    3. Optional Assignment (when a player is optioned to the minors, subject to being recalled at a later time). 

    So when a player is Designated for Assignment, the player can either be traded, outrighted to the minors, or optioned to the minors. 

    Normally a player is not Designated for Assignment and then optioned to the minors, because the club could just option the player to the minors immediately without a DFA.

    Back in the day It was not that unusual for a player to be Designated for Assignment so that the Optional Assignment Waivers could be secured (Optional Assignment Waivers were required before certain players could be optioned to the minors),  but Optional Assignment Waivers were eliminated in 2016. 

    However, with the new five option limit whereby a player can (with a couple of exceptions) be optioned to the minors no more than five times in a given season before Outright Assignment Waivers must be secured (and it - IS - Outright Assignment Waivers, even though it is for the purpose of an Optional Assignment), it might be necessary for a club to DFA a player to clear a spot on the MLB 26-man roster (MLB 28-man roster in September) for another player and to allow for the two days (actually 47 hours) required to run a player through waivers.

    After the two day Waiver Claiming Period concludes (and presuming the player isn't claimed), the player can be returned to the MLB 40-man roster and optioned to the minors (even after being Designated for Assignment). But for that to happen, the player cannot be replaced on the MLB 40-man roster by another player after being Designated for Assignment.  

    However, in the case of Jordan Luplow, he had - NOT - been optioned to the minors five times in the 2023 season prior to be optioned to AAA Rochester on 9/18, so the Twins did not have to DFA Luplow in order to secure Outright Assignment Waivers so that he could be optioned to the minors a sixth time.   

    But because he was Designated for Assignment and not replaced on the 40 by another player after the DFA, the Twins could option him to the minors (and return him to the 40) even after he was Designated for Assignment, because an Optional Assignment is one of the three types of assignments.

    So Luplow was Designated for Assignment even though he didn't need to be, and then the Twins returned him to their MLB 40-man roster and optioned him to the minors a couple of days later (which they can do, since Luplow wasn't replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment). 

    So what the Twins did (DFA Luplow and then option him to the minors a couple of days later) was within the rules. It's just that it doesn't make a lot of sense. 

    So I will offer the most logical reason I can think of to explain why the Twins did this:  

    The Twins DFA'd Luplow because they intended to reinstate Chris Paddack from the 60-day IL, but then Carlos Correa suddenly needed to go on the 10-day IL and so they decided they wanted to keep Luplow on the 40-man roster (and on Optional Assignment to AAA) and didn't want to risk losing him off waivers or by him electing free-agency after being outrighted.

    Luplow has Article XX-D rights (he has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career), so he would had the right to elect free-agency after he was outrighted. There was also the possibility that he would have been claimed of waivers, and obviously the Twins felt they might need his RH bat after losing Correa and with Royce Lewis having left a game with a hamstring injury that led to an IL assignment. 

    Also, if Luplow was outrighted instead of being optioned, he would no longer be automatically eligible to play in the post-season (except as a possible injury replacement).

    So not only did Carlos Correa go on the IL, Royce Lewis went on the IL, too, two days later (the day after Luplow was optioned to AAA Rochester), so the Twins did in fact end up needing Luplow after all, and recalled him just a couple of days after he was optioned to replace Lewis on the MLB 28-man roster. 

    So that all I've got. That is the only thing that makes sense. The Twins DFA'd Luplow because they intended to replace him on the 40 with another player (probably Paddack) and hoped that they would be able to run him through waivers and that he wouldn't get claimed and that he would accept an Outright Assignment, but then they suddenly changed their minds because of the injury to Correa and the possibility that Lewis might also have to go on the IL (which did happen the next day).

    So the Twins returned Luplow to the 40 (because he hadn't been replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment), optioned him to the minors, and then recalled him after Royce Lewis was placed on the 10-day IL.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:00 pm (view)

    CIN out here blowing a 9-0 lead they built through 3 innings.  9-9 tie in the 7th.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:05 pm (view)

    boxburger 10d IL, k.thompson back up.  it's his right forearm (again).

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:12 pm (view)

    merryweather got out of it, but he loaded the bases with 1 out.  of course ross got cuas up in the pen...thankfully he didn't need to come in.

    looks like cuas gets the 9th.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:46 pm (view)

    4ip 2h 0bb 6k, 49 pitches.  no idea why they're giving the pen the last 2 innings when he's out there dealing like this and only threw 49 pitches.  he was supposed to pitch tomorrow and he's fresh.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    ...and assad is now a pen arm, evidently...odd move given recent success.  i guess wicks starts tomorrow?

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:16 pm (view)

    ARZ, MIA, and CIN all lose.  nice.

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:54 pm (view)

    stroman is now the saturday starter...okay, then.

  • jdrnym 09/22/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    Phil,

    Jordan Luplow was DFA'd by the Twins on Monday and was ultimately optioned and then recalled today. I didn't think that was possible since optional waivers were eliminated years ago. How did that work for the Twins?

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:47 pm (view)

    it's september and i have a legit reason to root for CIN, MIA, and ARZ to lose games.  2023 is an interesting time for baseball.

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