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

  • 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.