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 Almost But Not Too Wild About Diablo Park

Yaniel Cabezas drove-in four runs and five pitchers combined to throw a three-hitter, as a split squad of EXST Cubs thumped the EXST Angels 13-5 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Diablo Park in Tempe this morning.

Meanwhile, the other squad of EXST Cubs was defeated by the EXST Rockies 13-8 at Fitch Park Field #3, despite a three-run HR by Blair Springfield.

Although I am able to watch and score two games played simultaneously on adjacent fields, I have not yet mastered the art of being at two games played simultaneously ten miles apart (although I am working on it), so I will only be able to provide the recap from the Cubs-Angels game played at Diablo Park…

Bats were silent and the team looked dead, as the Cubs trailed 3-0 with two outs and nobody on base in the top of the 5th. But then Kyung-Min Na blooped a single over the second-baseman’s head, Dustin Geiger reached base on an infield single (dribbler down the 3rd base line), and Yaniel Cabezas hammered an opposite-field RBI single through the 3.5 hole and into RF, scoring Na with the Cubs first run. Hector Suarez followed with a two-run triple off the left-centerfield fence to score Geiger and Cabezas, and Gregori Gonzalez finished the inning’s scoring, clubbing an RBI double down the LF line to plate Suarez, as the Cubs took a 4-3 lead.

Still up 4-3, the Cubs scored five times in the top of the 7th as Dustin Harrington lined a lead-off single to LF, Kyung-Min Na was hit by a pitch, and Dustin Geiger lined an RBI single to RF to score Harrington, and send the speedy Na to 3rd. Yaniel Cabezas tripled over the centerfielder’s head to knock-in Na and Geiger, and then Cabezas scored on a Hector Suarez F-8 SF. But the Cubs were not finished. Gregori Gonzalez singled, advanced to 2nd base on a ground out, and scored on a two-out two-base throwing error by the Angels SS, giving the Cubs a 9-3 lead.

Now up 9-5, the Cubs put the game away with three more runs in the top of the 8th. Reggie Golden, Dustin Harrington, and Kyung-Min Na all singled to load the bases with no outs, and then Golden scored (and the other two runners moved up a base) on a wild pitch. Dustin Geiger bounced a single to left to score Harrington and move Na to 3rd, and then Na scored on a FC.

The Cubs scored one last run in the top of the 9th, once again loading the bases to start the inning (consecutive singles by Jose Valdez, Wes Darvill, and Jesus Morelli). After Reggie Golden struck out (swinging and grunting), Dustin Harrington lofted a sacrifice fly to CF to score Valdez with the Cubs 13th and final run.

While the Cubs pitchers allowed only three hits, they did walk nine (three scored), hit a batter, and threw two wild pitches. Also, the Angels stole seven bases (no CS), and the Cubs infield defense was not exactly air-tight, committing three throwing errors (two by 2B Gregori Gonzalez and one by SS Wes Darvill) that led to two unearned runs scoring. (Although he made a costly throwing error that resulted in an unearned run scoring, shortstop Darvill also made two outstanding stops & throws that saved at least two runs).

Here is today’s abridged box score from the game played at Diablo Park (Cubs players only):

LINEUP:
1. Jose Valdez, CF-DH: 1-5 (4-3, F-9, 6-3, 3-U, 1B, R)
2. Wes Darvill, SS: 1-5 (6-3, 4-3, K, E-6, 1B)
3. Jesus Morelli, LF: 1-5 (K, F-9, F-9, F-8, 1B)
4. Reggie Golden, RF: 1-4 (BB, K, 4-3, 1B, K, R)
5. Dustin Harrington, 3B: 2-4 (F-9, K, 1B, 1B, F-8 SF, 2 R, RBI, SB)
6. Kyung-Min Na, DH-CF: 2-4 (6-3 DP, 1B, HBP, 1B, 4-3, 3 R)
7. Dustin Geiger, 1B: 3-4 (F-9, 1B, 1B, 1B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
8. Yaniel Cabezas, C-DH: 2-4 (F-7, 1B, 3B, 4-6 FC, 2 R, 4 RBI)
9. Hector Suarez, DH-C: 2-3 (1B, 3B, F-8 SF, K, R, 3 RBI)
10. Gregori Gonzalez, 2B: 2-4 (6-4 FC, 2B, 1B, 6-4 FC, R, RBI)

PITCHERS:
1. Joe Zeller: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 45 pitches (22 strikes), 3/1 GO/FO
2. Hunter Ackerman: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 3 K, 48 pitches (25 strikes), 4/1 GO/FO
3. Rafael Diplan: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 25 pitches (12 strikes), 4/0 GO/FO
4. Willengton Cruz: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 29 pitches (17 strikes), 1/0 GO/FO
5. Starling Peralta: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 16 pitches (9 strikes), 1/2 GO/FO

ERRORS: 3
1. 2B Gregori Gonzalez E4 – throwing error allowed batter to reach base safely – eventually scored unearned run
2. 2B Gregori Gonzalez E4 – throwing error allowed batter to reach base safely
3. SS Wes Darvill E6 – throwing error attempting 6-4 FC allowed runner to reach 2nd base safely and unearned run to score

CATCHERS DEFENSE
1. Yaniel Cabezas: 0-5 CS
2. Hector Suarez: 0-2 CS

ATTENDANCE: 1 (that would be me)

WEATHER: Sunny & breezy with temperatures in the 80’s

Comments

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.