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

Villanueva & Sappelt Go Deep at HoHoKam

Christian Villanueva and Dave Sappelt drilled solo home runs to lead the Cubs to a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies this afternoon in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ.

box score

Jhoulys Chacin and Edwin Jackson were the starting pitchers, and both threw two innings of shutout ball. Chacin retired all six men he faced, while Jackson (making his Cub debut) allowed back-to-back two-out singles in the top of the 1st inning. Jackson really had his sinker working today (5/1 GO/FO), and after struggling a bit with his control in the 1st (although he did not issue any walks), he got into a groove and fired 12 out of 14 pitches for strikes in the 2nd (30 total pitches over the two innings - 21 strikes).

After the first eight Cubs hitters were retired, Christian Villanueva took Jorge de la Rosa deep with a towering home run over the LF fence and onto to the berm just to the right of the scoreboard. The Cubs added another run off de la Rosa in the 4th as Starlin Castro ripped a lead-off double into the left-center alley, advanced to 3rd on an Anthony Rizzo 4-3 GO, before scoring on a Brett Jackson sacrifice fly (on a two strike pitch against a LHP). Including an intrasquad game last week, B-Jax has struck out only once in four games (8 PA).  

The Rockies plated a run off Drew Carpenter in the 4th (Carlos Gonzalez singled, stole 2nd, and scored on a Ben Paulsen RBI single), but the Cubs responded in the 6th when Dave Sappelt slugged a HR over the fence and to the base of the scoreboard in left off Edgmer Escalona to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead. 

Chris Rusin followed Carpenter and threw two impressive & efficient shutout innings (30 pitches - 22 strikes), allowing a single in one inning and a double in the other, while inducing five ground outs. Rusin recorded another out when he showed a nifty pick-off move and caught Tyler Colvin leaning the wrong way off 1st base.   

Ex-Rockie Zach Putnam threw a 1-2-3 7th (P-4, 1-3, F-9) at his former teammates, but Nick Struck gave up a lead-off triple to ex-Cub D. J. LeMahieu in the 8th, and LeMahieu scored on a sacrifice fly as the Rockies closed to the score to 3-2.

The Cubs added an insurance run in the 8th, as Brad Nelson, Welington Castillo, and Matt Szczur drew consecutive two-out walks off Adam Ottovino following a Dave Sappelt one-out single. Struck then recovered to throw a rocking-chair 1-2-3 9th (P-4, F-9, K-looking) to record the save.

Another sparse crowd at HoHoKam today (just over 4,000). The ticket scalpers working Center Street are on suicide watch. 

 

Comments

AZ Phil: I haven't heard much about Johermyn Chavez but he seems to be getting some playing time this early spring. All I recall is he was a throw in in the Brandon League for Brandon Morrow trade in 2009. Can you give us some insight as to where he fits in the organizational scheme? Is he still somewhat of a prospect or just filler (which is what it seems)?

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

CUBSTER: I have mentioned Johermyn Chavez a couple of times so far, mostly negative.

He was the last player to report to camp, he made two errors on one play (one fielding & one throwing) in one of the intrasquad games. and he struck out (looking) after swinging at what should have been "ball four" in the dirt (it ended up being a wild pitch) with no outs and the potential wnning run at 3rd in the last inning of the second intrasquad game. One the positive side, he absolutely crushed a line-drive double to the LF fence on Sunday that almost took Cole Gillespie's face off. 

Chavez reminds me a lot of Nelson Perez, sort of the proverbial Bull in a China Shop. He has plus-power, an above average arm, he takes a lot of walks, and he has the physique of a body-builder, He also is a lousy hitter (discounting the power) and streuggles to recognize and hit breaking balls, he's a lumbering & erratic baserunner, and he's a below-average fielder who has difficulty tracking fly balls. 

If I didn't know better i would say he has never played baseball before, but he was actually rated one of the Seattle Mariners Top 10 Prospects (#7) by Baseball America post-2010. 

It's unusual to find a Six-Year Minor League Free-Agent (a guy who has spent the previous seven seasons playing in the minor leagues--including the last two seasons drowning in AA) who is this raw.  

Unlike guys like Brad Nelson, Brian Bogusevic, Alberto Gonzalez, et al, I wouldn't describe Chavez as "filler." He's more of a prospect than he is 4-A, but he is also probably down to his last chance this season, and I'm not so sure he realizes that. Spending a third season in AA wouldn't be a good thing for his career. He needs to play well in Spring Traning (or at least at Minor League Camp after he gets cut) and make the Iowa roster.  

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

re: Garza...
"He has gone through all the lower body (tests) and that went really well," Sveum said. "Today it will be more upper body (tests) and we will see how he responds to that. He is getting really close."
Sounds like they will use a doctor fluent in Hockey/NHL speak to clear him.

aaron harang fail...cubs taking an early 1st inning lead, 4-1. through the lineup 1-9 in the 1st to get 3 outs. b.raley + t.mcnutt combining for a top 2nd mess...dodgers lead 5-4. ...add j.chapman to the "today's suck" list...dodgers lead 8-4, top 3.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Apparently trading for Rizzo, a former Red Sox draft pick, represented one of two things every new executive does after taking over a team.

"Typically, they make a pretty good trade with a player they're familiar with (Rizzo) and, two, they'll screw up a trade because they won't have the first-hand knowledge you need with some players in their own organization,'' Epstein said. "We definitely did that.''

The rare mistake Epstein admitted came in December 2011 when the Cubs traded outfielder Tyler Colvin and infielder D.J. LeMahieu to the Rockies. Another happened when the Cubs left Ryan Flaherty unprotected in the Rule 5 draft and the Orioles signed the second baseman, who started in the playoffs.

and a handful on the Internet feel validated....nice bone for Theo to throw them.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

if that's fair market value then they should have kept marshall, imo. it's not like he's old or only effective vs lefties or something. cubs just gave k.fujikawa 2/$9.5m (possible 3/$15m if option vests) and he's never thrown a pitch vs MLB batters. i don't hate the k.fuji signing...but if the target is high end relievers who can throw to R+L on the cheap, marshall fit the bill.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Present value v Future value was the name of the trade. It was probably a very fair trade between a rebuild team and a win-now team. As for the extension, if Marshall remains as effective for the next 3 years as he had been for the last 3, then it's a steal. If he exhibits some decline at the end or misses a year due to injury, then it's fair value. That's the result of the negotiating window they bought. The extension was actually $5.5M a year for 3 years beginning in 2013. Ages 30-32. So yes, I think that's actually just about right. It's hard to imagine him crushing that number on the free market this last winter.

taka gives up the 1st cubs pitcher HR of the spring...last team left without a pitcher giving up a HR this spring. top 7, 11-7 lad/chc

The Matheny article quotes the STL manager saying, "it's a tag play. Nobody would run over the third baseman. Why is it different?" Because you don't score at third base, dipshit

"Cubs manager Dale Sveum said Wednesday that Luis Valbuena is a candidate to hit leadoff some against left-handed pitching." okay, then. "[He's a possibility] because he gives you great at-bats, he sees a lot of pitches, he can score first with a home run once in a while, he drives the ball," Sveum said. "He's got all the things you want in a leadoff hitter." .196/.303/.321 vs lefties last year in case anyone's wondering...though, career he's .247/.326/.399

[ ]

In reply to by Dusty Baylor

if it was really dusty this comment/quote would have pushed this thread to 100 replies by now. it's an odd one to me...performance issues + giving the leadoff slot to a lefty vs lefties...kinda odd. the only part that makes total sense is keeping dejesus away from lefties as much as possible. you'd think that s.harriston's name would be thrown around for the leadoff slot vs lefties, but it seems like quade's not ready to commit to him as a starter vs lefties. it's a shame d.barney is such a see-ball-swing hacker that he doesn't even get a substantial R/L split. overall, it's just talk for now...but this could cost the cubs a shot at the post-season. hahahahaha...sigh...sigh...

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.