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

Crazy Legs Campana Headed to the Desert

Last week, the Cubs outrighted Tony Campana off thier 40-man to make room for Scott Hairston. Today, the Diamondbacks agreed to give up two pitchers for the speedster...RHP Erick Leal and RHP Jesus Castillo. Judging by the quality going out, I wouldn't expect much on the quality coming in, but maybe the Cubs unearth one of those diamonds in the rough. Leal, a 6'3" righty out of Venezuela, will be playing his age 18 season and Castillo is a 6'2" righty also out of Venezuela and will be playing his age 17 season. In both cases, plenty of time for them to learn the "Cubs Way." Nick Piecoro had both of them in a write-up on some of the D'Backs international signings from back in late 2011 that you can view here and see some video. Here are the quotes from the D'Backs international scouting director Carlos Gomez at the time:

Re: Castillo ($250K signing bonus)

“He’s about 6-2, 165, 170 pounds. He’s long, lean and all kinds of projectable. He has a loose, cool rhythm about him, really free and easy. His fastball ranges from 82-89 mph, but he pitches 85-86 right now. I think he has a chance to throw a lot harder. His best secondary pitch is his changeup and the breaking ball isn’t bad. The spin is there, but it needs work and consistency. He gets really good extension, almost jumps off the mound. We think he can start; we see starter’s arm action and delivery from him.”

Re: Leal ($75K signing bonus)

“He’s 6-3, 180 pounds. He has a nice delivery, a nice arm action, and the highlight again is the breaking ball. He’s a kid who can spin it. It’s 74-76 mph already and his fastball is 86-88. He has the physical size, the delivery, a breaking ball and a present, useable fastball for his age. He’s one of those guys who looks like he might have slipped through the cracks. A lot of that same type of guy was going for more earlier in the year. His delivery is pretty balanced, but he drives pretty aggressively out front; he really gets over his front side well. You can tell the extra breaking ball spin he gets is a function of his finish.”

Something is better than nothing and Crazy Legs was always a lot closer to nothing in my in opinion.

Comments

Since both Erick Leal and Jesus Castillo are from Venezuela, both will likely pitch for the new VSL Cubs affiliate in 2013.  

BTW, the trade was made right at the 2 PM (Eastern) deadline when the Cubs would have had to place Tony Campana on Outright Assignment Waivers. He could not have been traded once he was placed on Outright Waivers, and it would have been necesssary for the Cubs to place him on waivers today (waiver requests must be submitted by 2 PM Eastern) so that he would either be claimed off waivers or outrighted on Wednesday (the 10th day of the DFA). 

The D'backs must really like Campana a lot. Obviously they would have claimed Campana if he had been placed on waivers, but they couldn't be sure that another MLB with a higher waiver priority (worse 2012 record) wouldn't also put in a claim and get him instead, so they made a "pre-emptive strike."  

Arizona placed RHP Daniel Hudson (TJS rehab) on the 60-day DL to make room for Campana on their 40-man roster.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Without knowing their options situations, it wouldn't surprise me if Eaton or Pollock were kept in AAA a bit longer (probably Pollock), giving them the ability to stash Campana as a 5th OF/pinch runner. As a total side note, I've tried to defend Towers at times, but they've really taken this "scrappy-tough guy" image ... too far. Hadn't really pondered the makeup of their OF until seeing it right now. It was only last year that they had Chris Young and Justin Upton ... and now, they have 3 guys with very little pop (4 if you include Campana) and two very mediocre OF's. As for the trade, eh, no big loss, IMO. Campana didn't have much long term value (and it's debatable how much overall value). Yeah, the arms don't look that exciting (although they are interesting enough), but for Campana, it seems like a very nice gamble.

Jed Hoyer phone interview on today/tonight's MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential (MLB Network's SABR-oriented show), fwiw. -needed pitching this season, waiting for pitching that's already in the system to come up through the system -feels like they have 7 guys who could be in the rotation -e.jackson "young" and fits in with what they want to do with their timetable, great stuff, healthy -timetable is undetermined (run around answer), gave example of 2010 padres as a team that could surprise, "you don't know when it's going to click" -add more talent every year -likes what the bjays did this year...build-then-pounce/aggressive -soriano works hard, fantastic, mentor, etc...if opportunity arises they "would discuss" moving him

oh canada...u so crazy. "Russell Martin is expected to play shortstop for Canada in the World Baseball Classic."

"Alfonso Soriano has given the Cubs a list of "six or seven" teams that he would be willing to accept a trade to. Soriano doesn't want to be traded to the west coast, as he said the clubs are in the "east or center" of the country. "[The Cubs] know what teams," Soriano said. "We talked, my agent talked with those guys." The Cubs are reportedly willing to eat about $26 million of the $36 million remaining on Soriano's contract if they receive the right package in return."

per Rotoworld...
Matt Garza was diagnosed with a mild lat strain following an MRI.
Garza will rest for one week before trying to throw again. His first Cactus League start will be pushed back, but it's too soon to say whether it will affect his readiness for the start of the season. Still, all things considered, this is pretty good news for the Cubs.

So... the COL GM/front office is moving their operations to the player's clubhouse. along with the absolutely stupid pitching thing they got going on, they're moving into the "player's office" and seemingly undermining the manager's authority. now that they're busy scaring away any SP that might want to sign/play in COL, they're now going to disrupt all the player's space... at what point do these stupid "experiments" get a GM/front office fired? c.hurdle getting fired from COL was a blessing in disguise for him. btw, he got a 1 year extension with PIT today + 1 year club option for 2015.

AZ PHIL: Since "Rocket-Man" Tony is gone, who becomes the fastest Cub in the system? I know we have no Billy Hamiltons, but there must be a couple of speedy prospects? Szczur, Dunston Jr., Reyes, Lillibridge, Logan Watkins, Johnny Andreoli?

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

E-MAN: There is nobody to compare to Tony Campana in the organization, but the fastest runners would be (in order of furthest along in development and not including the DSL guys I haven't seen) Logan Watkins, Matt Szczur, Evan Crawford, Arismendy Alcantara, John Andreoli, Rubi Silva, Zeke DeVoss, Pin-Chieh Chen, Tim Saunders, Gioskar Amaya, Trey Martin, and Rashad Crawford, with Szczur probably #1.   

BTW, Szczur hammered LHP to the tune of 458/552/625 with 0 strikeouts and was tied for 7th in walks and tied for 5th in SB in the AFL post-2012 (and the AFL is approximately equivalent to AA), so he could be in Chicago as a RH platoon CF and lead-off hitter sooner rather than later. He really struggles to hit RHP, however. I'm not sure he will ever be anything more than platoon player or 4th OF (albeit a very useful one).

I'm curious as to how everyone thinks the final 25 man will shake out. Phil had something the other day about it, which seemed to be pretty logical to me. But that article noted that the last rotation spot (after Baker comes back) was going to be between Feldman and Wood, with Feldman moving to the bullpen being the most likely move. But in the last week or so, Sveum has been clear that Feldman will be a starter, and Hoyer said something about how he signed with the Cubs because they assured of him a roster spot. So, one would assume that Wood is going to go to the pen, since he can't be optioned. However, whose spot is he going to take? Not Marmol, Fujikawa, or Villanueva. Probably not Russell, although maybe. I doubt Rondon, after they selected him. Bowden's out of options too and Camp's too good. So maybe it's a bench bat? Valbuena or Sappelt? I know depth is good and all, but it seems like there are too many guys they like and want than can fit on the 25 man.

[ ]

In reply to by Andrew

Wood will definitely go to the pen when Baker's ready, unless Wood is pitching lights-out, in which case Baker may start in the pen after a tune-up in Iowa, assuming no one's hurt. I don't think any of the Cubs' 7 bullpen probables (Marmol, Fujikawa, Villanueva, Russell, Rondon, Bowden, Camp) can be sent down due to service time, rules, options, or Rule 5. Russell's the one I'm not sure about, maybe Phil can clear that up. It does create an interesting logjam if everyone including Baker is healthy.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

I'm hoping to see this improvement from Feldman before banishing Wood to the bullpen so quickly. Feldman has had an ERA over 5.00 4 of the last 6 seasons, his WHIP is 1.417 career, and he doesn't strike out a ton of batters. Yes, he pitched in Texas, but his career home ERA is 4.40, on the road is 5.24. Ugh. Wood pitched pretty darn decently from a crap team last year Ah I dunno....whatever I suppose...Lol....

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

bowden is a lot better than his history shows. his slider isn't very punchy, but his fastball/change combo is nice...having 3 decent pitches is neat. control will make/break him. seeing as he's not even arb eligable til 2015 he was a steal, imo. he's not got closer stuff, but i like him more than 88mph s.camp in a high leverage relief role going down the road.

"This is how you know Theo Epstein is a heartless, calculating bastard. Sure, Campana can’t “hit” or “get on base” or “play baseball” in a major-league sense, but he was so f’n cute."

and with that BP wins the Campana trade anaylsis!

"As the ultimate underdog, Campana connected with the Cubs’ fan base in a big way. During introductions at the team’s annual fan convention last month, Campana might have received a bigger ovation than Ernie Banks. It was really close. Yet, Epstein and his cronies apparently believe that actual organization building outweighs the fact that Campana is the kind of player grannies like to bake for. Cynical pricks"

Snark done right!

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19644

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

i'm still blown away by how many people want to ignore wade davis as a starter as part of that mega-trade. yes, giving away myers and odorz was something big to give away, but people seem to think davis (and his long-term cheap value under contract) doesn't exist. some people also seem to not have noticed his curve or cutter in 2012. what he's done with both of those pitches is an eye-opener that's only apparent if you watched him throw them. his cutter is now more deadly than his curve or his scrapped changeup ever was...and he's got a good curve. i don't even want to hear a peep out of those that ignored him about how surprised they are about what he probably will do in 2013 as a starter. it's practically the most under-reported/under-analyzed part of that trade, and one of the most important parts of the trade given how long he's locked down for at such a cheap price.

"When I had Corey Patterson as a young guy, I asked him what his expectations were. It was 30 homers and 100 RBIs. I looked at him as a player like Oddibe McDowell, who played in Texas and hit 10 or 12 home runs. I wanted Corey to keep the ball out of the air, but he was one of those guys who wanted to pull everything. I think he learned, later on, that he wasn’t going to be that kind of player. You have to be patient with the young guys and try to convince them of the best approach. At times, they can end up getting really messed up with their swing." - Don Baylor http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/qa-don-baylor-d-backs-hitting-…

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

I remember feeling exactly the same way. He'd already hit 13 HRs, he'd been maintaining a decent average, and he was stealing bases. In hindsight, though, he was K'ing 22% of the time and walking 4.3% of the time, and his BABIP was .353 (career BABIP of .296 now). That was the highest HR/FB% he had in any single year (though the next wasn't drastically lower), and he never got close to that 24.9% line drive rate again (unless you count his 30 PA 2009). The other day I was actually thinking that Patterson's knee injury may have helped the Cubs make the playoffs that year. Kenny Lofton had a higher OPS with the Cubs that year than Patterson did, even with his elevated BABIP.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

I think it was just a matter of time before the league adjusted to Corey -- and he couldn't make the counter-adjustments to get beyond that. Once they had developed the book on how to pitch him, he could only get a hit if the pitcher made a mistake. Then, when he started to fail, he began spiraling down and became even worse. I was a big Corey fan -- and it was painful to watch, near the end.

Just walked past Tom Ricketts on my way back from lunch in the Loop. He was on the phone, so I am sure the Cubs will be announcing a big trade soon.

Wow...I knew they got snow in Tucson yesterday, but the pics/video of the fields in Phoenix area covered in snow is mind-blowing. It's rare enough for Tucson to get snow that actually sticks...for it to happen in Phoenix and actually stick is "woah." There's a lot of really unhappy/dead citrus in home gardens all over AZ after all of this.

Cubs win 7-3 (White beats blue). Starlin 3 hits plus flashing some leather. Soler hit's a moonshot off Nick Struck. Schierholtz, 2 run HR off foul pole. Bogusevic HR off Dolis. Stewart double, Lake triple. Plus a Carrie Muskat tweet about Stewart and Vitters both with sore left quadriceps but able to play. I'm hoping for an AZ Phil eyewitness report. One of the great things in life (those AZ Phil reports).

"Ian Stewart is day-to-day with a quadriceps strain." doh...supposedly a mild strain, fwiw.

Ian Stewart getting an MRI, Vitters not getting an MRI. Can we read into this how they value each player currently? Quad strains don't really need MRI imaging since it wouldn't have any affect on how it's treated but they are fun to read (at least that's what the radiologists tell me).

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • 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.