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 Current NL Central Lineups

I'm using the MLB depth charts, the Bill James projections for wOBA on Fangraphs and their 2012 playing age along with a few assumptions like Dusty isn't going to play Devin Mesoraco or Chris Heisey over veterans. Let's see how the NL Central offenses stack up. Obviously the actual order of lineups and players may vary, and there's no accounting for expected playing time due to injuries or sucktitude.

Cardinals:
Furcal(.324), Beltran(.367), Holliday(.394), Berkman(.380), Freese(.353), Molina(.320), Jay(.328), Schumaker(.309)

Average wOBA: .347
Age: 31.75

Brewers:
Morgan(.311), Weeks(.348), Braun(.411), Hart(.355), Ramirez(.362), Gamel(.357), Lucroy(.319), A. Gonzalez(.285)

Average wOBA: .344
Age: 29.375

Reds:
Stubbs(.331), Phillips(.332), Votto(.408), Rolen(.334), Bruce(.363), Ludwick(.323), Hanigan(.324), Cozart (.315)

Average wOBA: .341
Age: 29.75

Cubs:
DeJesus(.324), Castro(.346), LaHair(.352), Soriano(.331), Stewart(.329), Soto(.344), Byrd(.319), Barney (.294)

Average wOBA: .330
Age: 29.375

Pirates:
Presley(.345), Tabata(.328), Walker(.329), McCutchen(.360), Alvarez(.333), G. Jones(.338), Barajas(.288), Barmes(.300)

Average wOBA: .328
Age: 28.125

Astros:
Lowrie(.341), Altuve(.321), Martinez(.353), C. Lee(.339), Bogusevic(.325), Paredes(.292), Schafer(.288), J. Castro (.287)

Average wOBA: .318
Age: 26.375

The Cardinals are of course going to have to stay healthy to keep up the offense and that's no small task with Carlos Beltran, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday and Rafael Furcal on the roster. I'm sure the Cubs are hoping to get a little bit more from David DeJesus and Ian Stewart than their current projections, but doesn't mean it will happen.  If and when the Cubs replace Byrd and LaHair with Anthony Rizzo(.318) and Brett Jackson(.342), their average age would go down to 27.125, as would the projected wOBA, albeit slightly to .329 (Rizzo gets no love in the Bill James projections for whatever reason). Another fun exercise for the Cubs is to replace LaHair, DeJesus and Stewart with Prince Fielder, Beltran and Aramis Ramirez because why the hell not? this is all just for fun. In that case, the average wOBA goes up to .345 while also likely hurting the Brewers and Cardinals a bit. Of course, that also has the potential to bring the average DOTDL up to potentially astronomical levels (Dollars on The Disabled List) along with the problem of justifying the $50M or so to pay them for just this year.

I'll see if I can do something similar with the projected pitching staffs in the very near future.

Comments

with Tigers out of the Cespedes talks most likely, it would appear that Cubs and Marlins are ahead of the pack. I'd have to think Marlins are far more willing to give out stupid money at this point though, especially if they think Cespedes is someone they can market around.

Here is a wish that I think makes sense: Garza (and cash and/or another player) To Cleveland for: Dillon Howard RHP Jake Sisco RHP Luigi Rodriguez OF The thinking is Cleveland needs to answer Detroit move, and while their minor league system is not well ranked they do have some raw talent at the lowest levels. So they get Garza for a few years, and then their A/AA guys will be ready when they are ready to reload. Cubs get a few more pieces for the future to gamble on...

some links for those interested in him, expected cost is $20M range and likely bidding won't start until after the season starts. http://orioles-nation.com/2011/12/12/talent-from-cuba-jorge-soler/ Looking at Jorge Solver’s age and physical frame makes you think you just caught lighting in a bottle. His frame and projection is still massively untapped and he could be a 230 pound masher in his prime; it is that type of lower foundation and torque that makes every scout think he will be better than Leonys Martin, who was signed by the Rangers last year. He shows every tool that you covet and then some for an up the middle prospect. http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2010/11/cuban-defector-sh… Soler, the 18U team's right fielder, has a strapping 6-foot-3, 205-pound body, is 18 and has five-tool potential. The best running time scouts got for Balaguer was 4.4 seconds to first base; Soler, also a right-handed hitter, checked in at 4.26. Soler has bat speed and what one scout called "explosive power" to go with above-average arm strength. http://www.snywhyguys.com/2011/12/25/scouting-jorge-soler/ Soler is four years younger and more talented than Leonys Martin, another Cuban outfielder who signed a $15.6 million major league contract with the Rangers in April. Once Soler is cleared to sign with a major league team, he’s expected to top Martin’s deal. The new CBA provides for a $2.9 million international cap for each team for the 2012-13 signing period, which doesn’t start until July 2. As long as Soler signs before then, he won’t be subject to the cap. And even if he were, he’s talented enough and the penalties for busting the cap are so light (a 100-percent tax on the overage and a prohibition on signing any international player for more than $250,000 in the next signing period) that I bet several clubs would be willing to exceed the $2.9 million.

i really wanted to like Baseball IQ, but it's pretty bland/dry. these guys are some legit/hardcore baseball nerds, though. it's delivering what it promised and you can learn + jog your memory about a lot. matt vag is good for keeping guys loose, but almost all the contestants lack personality.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Some great reporting by the affirmative action Trib reporter... //The Schlenker bid of $4.8 million was named the preferred bidder prior to Friday's auction, meaning other bidders would have to top the price.// Subsequent bidders would have to bid more to win. Who knew? .. Actually, with a preferred bidder designation someone would have had to outbid Schlenker by 5% to win the bid and no doubt they were hoping the Ricketts would do just that.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/ The way this article is written, you would think that Samninja was one of the Cubs' best pitchers. This came as a pretty big shock to me. I must not have been paying attention last year, but in the past he has always been infuriatingly wild... What is everyone else's take on him? When i looked up his career stats, I pulled up an article saying the Cubs had declined his option for 2012... What is his contract status?

[ ]

In reply to by Jace

Samardzija signed a major league contract right after being drafted that had him signed through 2011 with options for 2012 and 2013. The Cubs declined his options, but he still hasn't reached 6 years of service time, so he's still property of the Cubs. A matter of fact, he hasn't even reached arbitration eligibility, so for one season he's still an auto-renewal player which means Cubs can pay him essentially whatever they want over the league minimum. Most players get called up and they are auto-renewal players for the first 3 years and then arb eligible the next 3 years and then free agents. Samardzija signed the somewhat unique major league deal, so his first few years were covered by that contract. The Cubs wisely declined his option this season because he hadn't reached 3 years of service time and hasn't been as good as they wanted, so he's now like any other player with 2+ years of service time although he is out of option years already.

[ ]

In reply to by Craig A.

pretty much... had he reached 3 years or more of service time by the end of 2011 and been a little better, then picking up the option would have made some sense for the Cubs, but the way things worked out, it was a no-brainer to decline it. Bad thing is he's out of option years though, so he has to stick with the club or be outrighted and then exposed to waivers.

Samardzija came on strong last year as the season wore on. Towards the end, he looked like the pitcher the Cubs had hoped for a couple of years ago. I believe that is the reason why the Cubs felt comfortable in trading Cashner. Whether he can do it as a starter, however, is still up in the air.

that raised their stock with fall/winter league performances http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15896 LaHair has gone from a Quad-A hitter to one scouts believe in. He was one of the best hitters in the minors in 2011 with a .331/.405/.664 line for Triple-A Iowa, and he was impressive enough in an end-of-season stint with the Cubs that he's been handed the first-base job, even after the acquisition of Anthony Rizzo. Though things are finally lining up for LaHair, he played in Venezuela this winter and dominated the league; he hit 15 home runs in 169 at-bats and drew nine intentional walks. Just as importantly, he spent some time in left field, hoping to prove that when Rizzo is ready, he'll be able to move, as opposed to just fade away.

his career has been long over besides minors filler these days, but... "Daryle Ward was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for amphetamines."

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chicago/chat/_/id/42232 - says Cubs will go after Cespedes and Soler (guess Cespedes makes sense with lack of FA hitters available next offseason and him or Jackson can move to a corner, probably Cespedes. Soler's a few years away). - completely forgets that Volstad is part of the rotation mix, corrects it - thinks either Garza gets an extension or he's traded between now and July 31st. - suggests Hoyer/McLeod talked a reluctant Epstein in trading Cashner for Rizzo

ken caminiti aint got shit on this dude... "Dustin Richardson has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for five different PEDs. A former fifth-round draft pick, Richardson was released by the Braves earlier this winter after struggling to rein in his control issues last season at the Triple-A level. The 28-year-old could struggle to find a new opportunity."

According to MLB Trade Rumors:
"Free agent Raul Ibanez believes that a three-day session that he had in December with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo will be key to a bounce back season in 2012. Last season, Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 in 575 plate appearances for the Phillies."
Rudy hasn't had much of an impact on the Cubs (the teams that pays his salary), but he is apparently helping players that will be playing against them. Doesn't seem right, does it?

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/42270/mlb-insider-keith-law Re: Rizzo I think the idea that he had "holes exposed" (try taking that phrase out of context) as a 21-year-old in the big leagues is pretty damn silly. Re: B. Jackson Well, yeah, it does. If he can't maintain a high enough contact rate against better-quality pitching, the OBP won't hold up. Re: Soler and if Cespedes is worth over $50M I'd be in on both, since they're the last truly free international free agents we'll have until eventually baseball realizes they've shot themselves in the foot with the restrictions in the new CBA. Re: Backloading or frontloading contracts Teams prefer backloading because it keeps money free in the current year to add more players, and because they're essentially betting on salary inflation. Players prefer backloaded deals because the final year's salary affects potential arbitration cases.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Thu, 01/26/2012 - 2:11pm — Rob G. Re: The Current NL Central Lineups Manny Corpas is your 40-man casualty... outrighted and will now be an NRI to spring training. ======================= ROB G: Per Article XX-D of the CBA, Manny Corpas now has eight days to decide whether to accept the Outright Assignment or elect free-agency. (Players who have accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time and/or been outrighted previously in their career can refuse an Outright Assignment, and Corpas has accrued 4+076 MLB ST through the 2011 season). If he elects free-agency, he can choose to become a free-agent immediately, or he can defer free-agency until the end of the MLB regular season. If he elects to become a free-agent immediately, his contract is terminated and he receives no termination pay. If he defers free-agency until the end of the MLB regular season, his contract remains in force and he is paid at the minor league split rate while on Outright Assignment. Also, he would not have the right to be an Article XX-D minor league free-agent post-2012 if he is added to an MLB 40-man roster prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season. The fact that he was not claimed off Outright Waivers makes it pretty obvious that none of the other 29 MLB clubs wanted Corpas if it meant having to add him to their 40-man roster (at least for the salary he's getting from the Cubs), and it is likewise questionable whether he could hope to get the money he's getting from the Cubs if he were to elect free-agency now and sign a minor league contract with another club. So Corpas will very likely accept the Outright Assignment and defer free-agency until the conclusion of the MLB regular season (presuming he has not been added to an MLB 40-man roster by that time). BTW, if the Cubs bring Corpas up from the minors and add him back to their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) at least 20 days after MLB Opening Day, he burns a minor league option (he has two left), even though he was outrighted--not optioned--to Iowa today. However, if the Cubs bring him up from the minors and add him to their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) prior to the 20th day of the MLB regular season (like if he makes the Cubs 25-man roster out of Spring Training), an option is not charged.

Leyland says Miguel Cabrera will indeed move to 3B...Tigers pitchers must be thrilled. Fielder, Cabrera and not like Peralta is all that great. Dear god, stay away from Rick Porcello in your fantasy drafts.

MLB MLB BREAKING: @Phillies sign OF Juan Pierre to Minor League contract with invitation to Spring Training. I betting he doesn't play in MLB next year.

[ ]

In reply to by Jace

Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:48am — Jace Bobby Scales is BACK! =============================== JACE: Bobby Scales will probably be a player-coach at Iowa in 2012, coaching 1st base, and getting temporarilily activated whenever they need a body. Meanwhile, Scales will learn the ropes of managing and instruction under the I-Cubs' veteran minor league manager (and ex- Cubs Minor League Field Coordinator) Dave Bialas. The Cubs have done this many times before. Just for example, Casey Kopitzke, Mark Johnson, Jason Dubois, Franklin Font, and Leo Perez were all player-coaches in the Cubs organization before getting full-time gigs as minor league coaches or managers. Besides Bobby Scales, other candidates for minor league player-coach next season would include Blake Lalli, David Macias, Carlos Figueroa, and Mario Mercedes.

David Cameron tweet- In 1982, Bob Stanley faced 694 batters in relief. In 2011, Jeff Samardzija led all relievers with 380 batters faced.

Ruzz Canzler DFA'd by Rays to make room for Keppinger. just a tsunami of ex-Cubs news today....

Well... mikewickett michael wickett tweet- Corey Hart: "You lose more in the clubhouse with craig counsell leaving than Prince". #brewers

Hey, Anybody get their swing analyzed by Rudy Jaramillo for $150. http://www.rudyjaramillo.com/5452.html And then what to make ? of this tidbit from C. Muskat's column on Josh Vitters... //Stewart has gotten a head start. He attended a mini-camp with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo in early January in Mesa and the reports were good.//

b.selig at "Sox Fest 2012" (wsox) asked about the theo-compensation issue...reply "..it's in my lap." no idea how long this will drag on.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Lame. Vitters comes across as a woe-is-me, huge chip-on-the-shoulder kid. A call-up "isn't up to me, it's the front office's call" etc...how about you hit better than a 800 OPS in the minors in your SIXTH professional season and maybe someone will take you serious? Cripes, the Cubs are real men of genius when it comes to having that #3 overall pick, aren't they? Patterson, Montanez, Vitters. Awesome.

lulz...MLBInsideNews "Scott Swaim" closed his account minutes/hours after prince fielder was signed. at least that's over.

fwiw, matt garza was at the bulls game on the 25th. wonder what he's in town for (besides a basketball game)...or if he lives here now in the offseason. he's got 3 kids and at least 1 is school age, maybe 2. he wasn't good at condoms in highschool...supposedly a good family dude, though. whatever, rock on.

will be making a calculated gamble that Cubs fans are slightly less whiny than Red Sox fans.

"Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals are "actively shopping" right-hander Kyle McClellan." i still think it's an error on STL's part not having him as a starter. maybe someone will "fix" that issue. cubs not rumored in the mix, fwiw.

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...