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

Friday Funnies: What Theo Epstein and Ryan Dempster's secret trade chat might be.

Click to watch gif.

The other day in comments here, Jacos put up this link and asked for some captions.
Looks like the Uecker Seats doesn't it?
Thanks for the laugh and inspiration, Jacos ( and whoever took that photo).
If you're old enough, you'll know the "He missed the tag!" line comes from a really funny Miller Lite spot starring Bob Uecker which unfortunately I couldn't find in it's entirety on you tube.
Anyway, this trade talk.
Ryan Dempster.
Pretty sure this has occured to everyone, but I'm kinda slow: what if today is Dempster's last start as a Cub, or in Wrigley?
AHHHHH!
Do I want to see him go?
Yep.
For his own good, the Cubs good, and for your's and mine.
But still, pretty sad.
Really rare combo of talent and good guy, Dempster. 
And if I can figure out how to get to Wrigley today, I'll be there.

Comments

Happy 74th Birthday to sweet swinging Billy Williams, HOF lineup in (same as yesterday with Demp pitching): Campana, Castro, DeJesus, Soriano, LaHair, Clevenger, Barney, Valbuena, Dempster

eric byrnes is the most annoying person on television...especially since gilbert godfried isn't on TV anymore...or fran dresher... he's got the worst skills for working with others on the mic, he don't know how to set up his co-hosts in ANY format, he loses cues when he's being set up, and his rambling hyperactive stories are usually self-serving leaving his co-hosts to do little but pick on him...which he usually replies with getting internally frustrated and being even worse on the mic til he gets it out of his system. /1st world problems

Beckett will miss Sunday start, lefty Franklin Morales instead. Jeff Baker time!!! Max Fried signs with Padres for $3M. Should set the bar for Almora, although Boras will certainly wait until the last minute.

lulz... a reporter asked b.harper (underage and mormon) if he planned on taking advantage of Canada's lower drinking law age...he replied with "that's a clown question, bro." (which is not only a great answer, it's the right one given this climate of media everywhere and alcohol/baseball not having a good 2012 so far with the BOS reports). anyway, a denver brewing company is now making a beer called Clown Question, Bro.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

some of the comments picking apart the article are even better. "This is a clown article, bro." "So hears the funny thing. The Nationals picked Harper first overall because they had the worst record in baseball. They didn't earn that pick through hard work, in fact they worked the least and were rewarded for it. That sounds like income redistribution to me. Bryce Harper is a socialist hero." "Just because you CAN type words doesn't mean you should." "I remember when Kirby Puckett used to run out ground balls back in the 80s and 90s. And I remember when Derek Jeter used to run out ground balls back in the 90s and 00s. It's almost as if there have always been some players who ran hard, and some players who dogged it. Almost as if baseball players are individuals." blah, blah, blah, don't bring up politics on TCR, I know...yadda, yadda, yadda. It's the hackneyed analogy regardless of what side of the fence that I found particularly entertaining/appalling.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/caple-120615/a-plan-save-save-make-… (GM Jon Daniels)..."But the save definitely impacts how the game is managed."... Most managers vigorously deny this, but they're either lying or kidding themselves. They all use their closers depending strictly on whether it is or is not a save situation. Managers do so because they are trapped by the save rule. To manage otherwise puts their jobs at risk by upsetting the closer, the closer's agent, the closer's wife and those people most easily irritated -- the media. Still, none of this would be a big deal except for one thing: The whole one-inning save strategy doesn't work. For example, it doesn't prolong the careers of relievers. ~snip~ And most importantly, it doesn't help teams win more often. ~snip~ ....the success rate for a team protecting a ninth-inning lead hasn't changed a bit over time, regardless of relief strategy. "It has never changed. Ever," Smith says. "If you lead by three runs going into the ninth inning, you're probably going to win. It's a pretty safe bet."

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

unless the guy hasn't worked in a while...i -hate- it when a guy is brought in to get a save in situations where a guy(s) on base make the situation a save. when you're up by 4 runs and you bring in your best arm to protect that lead just because there's men on base giving a save op...maaaan...

Rashad Crawford's uncle signed up for an account on TCR, says he's signed.

@thekapman I spoke w/ 2 scouts who were at today's Cubs/Red Sox game + both told me that Yankees are much more interested in Matt Garza than Dempster. They question Dempster's effectiveness in the AL East and point to Garza's track record pitching in Tampa. They also feel price to acquire Garza will be extremely high as opposed to cost of landing Dempster which could make Demp easier to move.

Cubs collect 4 hits and commit 3 errors, but win this game somehow. Amazing. Nice work, Dempster. Need to see Dempster, Garza, Marmol, Soto, and LaHair all getting hot from now through the trade deadline.

Hooray for spray charts- Phil Rogers tweet What made Ryan Dempster so effective against the Red Sox? "A lot of balls were hit at people,'' Bobby Valentine said. "Some guys weren't picking up the spin very well.'' Said Dustin Pedroia: "He was throwing everything -- his changeup, his cutter, his fastball. He did a good job.'' Pedroia couldn't say the same thing for his teammates. "We hit some balls good, we just hit 'em right at 'em. It's frustrating. We're not trying to be (bad). Everybody's trying. We're just not playing good. We scored zero runs. You can't win a game when you score zero runs.''

I believe the only Cub draftee in the CWS is 26th round pick, RHP Jasvir Rakkar of Stony Brook. Stony Brook losing badly to UCLA in the first game at the moment 8-1 in the 6th. Rakkar came in to relieve and has gone 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

J. Rakkar finished with 4 1/3 IP, 4 hits, 1ER, 2BB and 4K. I watched an inning in the middle of his appearance. He's got a high 80's (touched 90) with a bit of two seam movement. I saw an 81mph pitch that looked like a change-up, but really acted more like a slow 2-seam sinker. I didn't see a breaking ball. Decent size, fairly easy delivery. He'll make it to at least AA.

dumpster may play a few more games for the cubs, but as of now... 87 saves in 4 mixed bag seasons for the cubs, but he really shined once they returned him to his starter role (a year too late, imo, but whatever)... 143 gs 55-44 w/l 898.1 ip 3.69 era 1.30 whip he put in 31-34 starts a season all 4 years and he could make it a 5th 30+ season, though he missed a couple of weeks earlier this season.

Give Hendry credit, rescuing Dempster from the dumpster (hehe) was one of his best moves as Cubs' GM. I'm really starting to regret a bit how much I dissed Hendry's work with the Cubs. He deserves blame for more than a couple moves no doubt, but Dempster? Lilly? Lee? Ramirez? DeRosa? Those aren't clown moves, bro.

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

Ya but its all erased by signing Dusty Baker, Neifi Perez and Glendon Rusch to multi-year deals (seriously you dimwit tard?), giving Jason Marquis a raise after coming off his shitty 6.02 ERA from the Cardinals, John Grabow who was a mediocre pitcher at best with the Pirates . But let me get to the 2 moves that made him a clown GM. He got swindled by Milton Bradley, and he signed Greg Maddux when all his team ever wanted was some offense. It was nothing more than a giant "screw you Chicago". It was looking at the shiny new toy Maddux and welcoming him back while he shits in his other hand and hobbles a team with no offense. It was a shell game to make you forget he failed at his job so he distracts you with Greg Maddux. And to throw some more trash on the burning legacy of Hendry, if he wanted you gone he would do everything in his power to trash you in the media and burn any lasting trade value you could get out of a player. The dude was a serious clown as a GM, ooooohhhhh and his draft strategy was god awful. From 1995 through 2011 he was the main guy selecting talent for this team. Even when he had top picks they bombed. And he constantly drafted players who looked good as baseball players but actually couldn't play baseball. I guess we called these Hendry's Toolsy players jack of all trades master of none. Actually Hendry's draft ability was akin to throwing darts at a dart board blind folded. When he left the farm system was a barren train wreck. That was probably his greatest crime to this organization, being billed as a guy who could find talent. You had a better chance of stabbing yourself in the heart than for Hendry to find useable talent for his roster.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

He was pretty good at finding pitching talent early on. In fact, he got off to a pretty decent start, with Ramirez, Dempster, Lee. Things went downhill fast. Faster, really, than I knew at the time. When he gambled and lost on Soriano, that finished him off. And he never was good at finding position talent. The system is really showing that now at the upper levels. And the journeymen he kept signing drove me nuts. I just hope that as the goes on and Theocorp continues to blow up the team, they get rid of dead wood like Mather, Baker and Reed Johnson. I have nothing against any of those guys. They'd all be a good bench addition on a contender with an open spot. But they are useless here. I'd rather see some kid play, even if he isn't a prospect. I'd rather see the team cycle through some minor leaguers and see if there is a guy who has paid his dues unspectacularly and who somehow, getting a chance at "the show" kicks some ass. I'm not at all interested in watching Jeff Baker hit. Or Mather. Or any other journeyman. Blow this team up. Fill it with minor leaguers. The record won't be that much different.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I can't put Soriano on Hendry......that was a decision made above Hendry's pay grade. The Cubs needed to increased the sale price of the franchise and to do that you add the best talent available and we did that in Soriano. The sad part of signing Soriano is that it had nothing to do with winning baseball games it was a business decision, plain and simple. It is also sad that he is the biggest free agent signing we did in the last 20+ years and it still wasn't made on the basis of winning games. And for the last 20+ years the Cubs have been run as a business first and a baseball team 2nd. Knowing that i welcomed the Soriano signing......you got to take your shots and you cant be scared to do it again in the future.

If the Cubs are gonna trade i am looking towards Boston. That OF is gonna get crazy crowded soon. Daniel Nava is hitting like a god, they got Ryan Kalish returning from shoulder surgery, Cody Ross could return soon and then there is Ellsbury and Crawford looming. Ohh please oh please if we could snag Kalish for Dempster or something that would be awesome.

Automatic "no trade" rights held by post-2011 Article XX-B MLB free-agents David DeJesus, Reed Johnson, and Paul Maholm have expired, and so all three can now be traded without restriction. Any Article XX-B MLB FA who signed a major league contract after the five-day "quiet period" that followed the conclusion of the 2011 World Series (including players who re-signed with their 2011 team) received automatic "no trade" rights through June 15th. The player could waive the right, but if he did, he could only be traded for cash and/or player contracts with a maximum aggregate value of $50,000.

Just got back from my Chicago trip (went to wrigley for the wednesday and thursday games) and I have a few not-so-surprising impressions- impressions that perhaps don't necessarily require a trip to Chicago to observe: 1. The Tiger fans-to-Cub fans ratio was ridiculous. They were even chanting Let's Go Tigers on the train ride up to Wrigley on the L. 2. Despite watching the Cubs lose two days in a row, the games were surprisingly entertaining. The Cubs played decent defense (Castro played nice defense those two days) and stayed in the game until the final innings. 3. The team is over-matched against real big league teams in nearly every aspect. It has the feel of a team that is passing off AA & AAA guys as big leaguers- especially in the pitching department.

from Roto...
The Red Sox will recall Clayton Mortensen from Triple-A Pawtucket. He'll replace Josh Beckett (shoulder) on the active roster. Mortensen earned the promotion by posting a 2.39 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 15 appearances with Pawtucket. He'll return to a middle relief role with the Red Sox.
Dang, I was hoping to see a #22 sighting in the Bosox bullpen tonight.

not like it'd hurt much, but i.stewart might be gone a while...via cm's twitter: "Ian Stewart will see a hand specialist at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday for an examination of his left wrist." also, wtf does c.lee have to do to get a win this year? 77.2ip and counting. also also, wtf Fox Saturday baseball showing the BAL/ATL game. the one night they're not cramming BOS/NYY/NYM at me and they pick tonight. neat. ...at least it's a decent game so far.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.