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

Cubs and Rockies Give New Meaning to Going Number 2

Blackmon RF, Herrera SS, Pachecho 1B, Gonzalez LF, Hernandez C, Colvin CF, Nelson 3B, LeMahieu 2B, Pomeranz P

vs.

Mather RF, Vitters 3B, Rizzo 1B, Soriano LF, Castro SS, Castillo C, B. Jackson CF, Barney 2B, Samardzija P

The Rockies recent 5-game win streak and the Cubs continued excellence in losing has earned the Cubs a 3-game lead for the #2 spot in next year's draft for the time being (4 games over the Twins). The Cubs still "trail" the Astros by 9 games for the top spot and doubtful they can tank enough to get there.

As for the lineups, two ex-Cubs start for the Rockies. The thin air of Colvin has certainly helped his power and probably his confidence and he's enjoying a solid season with an .884 OPS through 319 PA's. His home/road splits are about as extreme as you'd expect out of a Rockie (.991 vs. .775). He had an amazing June with an OPS north of 1.000, gave back a little in July(.720), but is enjoying another fine month in August (.985).

LeMahieu (still just 23), hasn't quite reaped the benefits of the Mile High city, but has been taking advantage of the Rockies' injury bug with some playing time and a solid .789 OPS in the second half.

As for the Cubs, Joe Mather is leading off, an image of that lineup card should be the cover art for the Cubs year-end review.

Comments

If this was the Tour de France, then the last place team would end up the ultimate winner because by the time they remove all the people who took whatever Lance Armstrong takes to do those impossible rides will have to be kicked out, too. Lesson to all you kids out there: Go for Last! Go Cubs!

Blockbuster: red Sox, Dodgers working on deal that would send AGon, Crawford, Beckett and Punto to LA. Hurdles remain, but closing in that'll be funny when Giants end up winning the West

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Rubby De La Rosa, Sands, Loney I. Dejesus supposedly the mix going back to Boston. Boston supposedly sending some cash. Beckett has 10/5 rights

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

still waiting on specifics, but it appears A. Gonzalez (signed through 2018), Beckett (signed through 2014), Crawford(signed through 2017) and Punto...over $250M in contracts to Dodgers Red Sox probably sending some cash and getting Rubby De La Rosa, Sands, I. DeJesus, Loney and a top prospect PTBNL. obviously Dodgers are swimming in new TV money that helps a lot, plus the new ownership. They'll certainly be regretting Gonzalez and Crawford in 2-3 years (possibly sooner on Crawford), but the deal is about this year and the next. Beckett could probably use a change of scenery and the NL and Dodger stadium can only help. Red Sox get out of Crawford deal and the bad mojo of Beckett and gain all kinds of money flexibility. De La Rosa and the PTBNL probably have the highest ceilings...but Sands could do well in that park. Fascinating deal...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

It's quite the indictment of Theo's last few years with the Red Sox that he let all three of these "superstars" and their bad contracts get past the Cubs on waivers. Hopefully not a style that will be repeated here in Chicago. And yes, I know all the arguments about spending at certain points in the winning cycle, etc. It's still three high-profile, potential impact players getting past approximately 22 teams on waivers before getting claimed.

mlbtr says the Bosox-Dodger trade is official. Here's hoping the Dodgers miss the playoffs on the last day of the season.
...the Dodgers have absorbed more than $300MM in future payroll obligations in the last month or so. As Jeff Euston of Cot's Baseball Contract notes (on Twitter), the club now has a $193.75MM in contracts for next season, $133.6MM for 2014, $90MM for 2015, $88.65MM for 2015, and another $90MM for 2016. The Red Sox, on the other hand, are now on the hook for just $45.6MM in 2013, $34.4MM in 2014, $12.75MM in 2015, and $2.45MM in 2016

Wow. I just cannot believe Dodgers would assume responsibility for those contracts AND giveup De La Rosa, Loney, Sands, DeJesus AND WEBSTER. WOW. it's like a double slap in Theo's face, however unintentional. Ouch. Unless Boston is giving them $100 million or something.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

I think Boston is just sending $12 million to LA. There's been a lot of hand ringing about this trade in the blogosphere and media claiming that LA is crippling their franchise taking on these large contracts and giving up prospects. One reporter (Buster Olney) said that this trade may look good now for LA, but it won't look too good in 2017, suggesting that LA made a mistake making the trade. I don't get that opinion. The move will greatly help LA this year and for a couple of more years. Who cares about 2017. Pro sports is a "what have done for me lately" kind of business. You have to strike while your window of opportunity is open. The Dodgers have a real chance to win the west this year so they're pulling out all of the stops. They'll likely to be favored again next year and will be a contender for the next few years. I feel the same way about the signing of Pujols and Fielder in the off season. Sure, their contracts were ridiculously long, but that how things work now. Teams overpay (in years and money) in order to get the expected production for the next few/several years. Highly sought after FAs don't sign short term (1-2 year) contracts any more. so if a team wants the production that a certain player provides, they are going to have to step up to the plate, swallow hard, and offer a long term, lucrative deal.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

I don't think Pujols or Fielder would have been good signings for the Cubs. It's hard to know how Rizzo will pan out but he has A Gonz upside in my very humble view, so a first baseman wasn't at the top of the list. If Rizzo fails, that's a big black mark on TheoCorp. No pressure, kid. The other thing about Pujols and Fielder is that their better years for the Cubs would have been on a crap team, most likely. And, I don't think you really build a team around a first baseman. You build them around a good outfield and a good defensive up the middle core, and, most of all, pitching. I'm not sure there's going to be a high impact free agent on next year's list. There's Hamilton, but he is a walking pair of heavily tattooed dice. I can't think of anybody else - although I haven't seen the list in awhile so I may be forgetting someone. I'm definitely not a fan of handing out mega contracts to pitchers. But I would like to see the Cubs pick up a couple good free agent pitchers with some upside. An Edwin Jackson type maybe. I think L.A. did well for themselves here, though. The new ownership has come to play, and Ricketts will need to be ready to dole out similar cash soon enough.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

O&B -- I agree with you. Considering the contracts they signed, I don't think either Pujols or Fielder made sense for the Cubs, not at this point in their evolution. My only point was that these type of outrageous contracts are now the norm for these historically productive FAs. If you want to include one of these guys on your team, you have to ante up. I was relating the likelihood that Fielder & Pujols will be extremely high paid DHs or bench players at the end of their career to the moves that the Dodgers made in trading for Gonzales, Crawford, and Beckett. The trade won't look nearly as good in 2017, but if the Dodgers win the World Series in the next few years, nobody will care. Just like nobody will care what their teams are paying Fielder or Pujols if they can lead their teams to a championship in the next few years.

[ ]

In reply to by Sweet Lou

Well, if you're concerned about Ricketts paying up, I am too. I guess we'll have to see. I completely understand the sentiment of the guys on here who complain about how a big market team should never really have a rebuilding year. I just happen to think that, unfortunately, the Cubs are a somewhat exceptional case because Hendry left the team in such a shambles and the specific free agents that were available just weren't a really good fit. So I'm holding off judgement. A lot of people are slamming the Dodgers but if I was a Dodgers fan right now I'd be stoked. It's a gamble, but if they've got the cash, then why not. One issue for the Cubs is I thought I read here somewhere that the TV contract isn't up for quite some time. The Cubs will be at a financial disadvantage until they can get that big TV contract. But they need a better team than this to accomplish that.

mlbtr lists Cotts salaries for the Dodgers in 2013...what caught my eye is Lilly at $12M (who has been a non-event in 2012) and the remaining obligations to ManRam at $8.3M and Andruw Jones at $3.2M
2013 ($188.68MM) -- Gonzalez ($21MM), Crawford ($20MM), Matt Kemp ($20MM), Beckett ($15.75MM), Hanley Ramirez ($15.5MM), Andre Ethier ($13.5MM), Ted Lilly ($12MM), Chad Billingsley ($11MM), Clayton Kershaw ($11MM), Manny Ramirez ($8.33MM), Juan Uribe ($7MM), Aaron Harang ($7MM), Chris Capuano ($6MM), Mark Ellis ($5.25MM), Matt Guerrier ($3.75MM), Jerry Hairston Jr. ($3.75MM), Andruw Jones ($3.2MM), Yasel Puig ($2MM), Punto ($1.5MM), Juan Rivera ($500K buyout), Mike MacDougal ($350K buyout), Todd Coffey ($300K buyout)

I read here somewhere that the TV contract isn't up for quite some time. --- Unfortunately the Cubs are stuck with doing TV deals piecemeal but they should get a windfall after the 2014 season from putting the WGN/WCIU games up for bid. The Comcast deal runs though 2019. Crain's from March 2012 (Ed Sherman)...
The Cubs and Sox have deals with Comcast SportsNet through 2019; both teams are part owners in the station. The Cubs' agreement with WGN-TV/Channel 9 reportedly expires after the 2014 season.
The Cubs ...turn is coming soon with the WGN deal. The station will produce 77 games in 2012, with eight airing on WCIU-TV/Channel 26. The Cubs definitely will put those games in play, especially since the team and the station no longer are fully owned by the same parent, Chicago-based Tribune Co.
http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20120305/BLOGS04/12030993…

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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.