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

Zagunis Can Do It All at Riverview Park

Mark Zagunis singled twice, doubled, walked, stole a base, drove-in his team's lone run, and threw out a runner at the plate, in an AZ Instructional League Cubs intrasquad game played this morning on Field #4 at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.

Although they were outhit, Team Gonzalez took advantage of three errors, six walks, an HBP, and a PB, to edge Team Johnson 2-1 in Game 3 of the "Cubs World Series." Team Johnson now leads the series, two games to one.

Here is the box score from the game:

TEAM GONZALEZ LINEUP:
1a. Charcer Burks, CF: 0-3 (BB, 5-3, F-9, 6-3, R)
1b. Jason Vosler, PH-CF: 1-1 (1B)
2. Gleyber Torres, SS: 1-5 (FC+E5, K, 1B, E-6, K, PO)
3. Victor Caratini, 1B-C: 0-3 (F-9 SF, L-7, BB, K, K, RBI)
4a. Billy McKinney, RF: 0-2 (BB, 6-3, K)
4b. Eloy Jimenez, PH-RF: 0-1 (P-3)
5. Kevonte Mitchell, LF: 0-2 (HBP, BB, K, K, R)
6. Gioskar Amaya, 3B: 1-3 (5-4-3 DP, F-7, 1B, BB, SB)
7. Andrew Ely, DH: 2-4 (F-8, 1B, L-7, 1B)
8. Danny Lockhart, 2B: 0-3 (L-9, BB, F-7, 6-4 FC)
9a. Jordan Hankins, C-1B: 1-3 (F-8, 1B, K, RBI)
9b. Wladimir Galindo, PH-1B: 0-1 (K)

TEAM JOHNSON LINEUP:
1a. Rashad Crawford, CF: 1-3 (P-6, 1B, 3-1)
1b. Charlie White, CF: 0-1 (1-3)
2. Frandy de la Rosa, 2B: 1-3 (BB, 4-6 FC, 5-3, 1B)
3. Jeimer Candelario, 3B: 1-4 (4-6-3 DP, 2B, 3-U, 3-U, R)
4a. Kyle Schwarber, C: 0-3 (3-U, K, 3-U)
4b. Tyler Alamo, PH-C: 0-1 (K)
5. Mark Zagunis, LF: 3-3 (BB, 1B, 2B, 1B, RBI, SB, CS)
6a. Mark Malave, 1B: 0-2 (6-4-3 DP, L-9)
6b. Johan Matos, PH-1B: 0-2 (K, K)
7. Kevin Encarnacion, RF: 1-4 (2B, 4-3, L-3, K, PO)
8. Jhonny Pereda, DH: 0-3 (K, 6-3, K)
9a. Ho-Young Son, SS: 0-1 (BB, K)
9b. Chesny Young, SS: NO AB
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED 3RD TIME THRU BATTING ORDER

TEAM GONZALEZ PITCHERS:
1. Jake Stinnett: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 2 GIDP, 3/1 GO/FO, 21 pitches (10 strikes)
2. Jeferson Mejia: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 PO, 2/1 GO/FO, 38 pitches (25 strikes)  
3. Tanner Griggs: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 5/0 GO/FO, 18 pitches (14 strikes)
4. James Farris: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 29 pitches (20 strikes)
5. John Michael Knighton: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 12 pitches (9 strikes)

TEAM JOHNSON PITCHERS:
1. Jonathan Martinez: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP, 1 GIDP, 1/4 GO/FO, 40 pitches (19 strikes)
2. Oscar de la Cruz: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GO/FO, 6 pitches (5 strikes)
3. Juan Carlos Paniagua: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 1/2 GO/FO, 42 pitches (24 strikes)
4, Ryan Williams: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 PO, 1/2 GO/FO, 26 pitches (20 strikes)
5. Carson Sands: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1/1 GO/FO, 36 pitches (20 strikes)

TEAM GONZALEZ ERRORS: NONE

TEAM JOHNSON ERRORS: 3
1. 3B Jeimer Candelario - E-5 (errant throw attempting 5-4 FC allowed baserunner to reach 2nd base safely & advance to 3rd)   
2. C Kyle Schwarber - E-2 (errant throw on attempted pick-off allowed baserunner on 1st base to advance to 2nd)
3. SS Chesny Young - E-6 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely)

TEAM GONZALEZ CATCHERS DEFENSE:
1. Jordan Hankins: 0-1 CS
2. Victor Caratini: 1-1 CS

TEAM JOHNSON CATCHERS DEFENSE:
1. Kyle Schwarber: 0-1 CS, 1 E (see above)
2. Tyler Alamo: 1 PB

TEAM JOHNSON OUTFIELD ASSISTS
LF Mark Zagunis - threw out baserunner (Andrew Ely) 7-2 trying to score from 2nd base on line single to left 

ATTENDANCE: 24 (mostly scouts)

WEATHER: Mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 80's  

Comments

HAGSAG: If MLB had recognized Juan Carlos Paniagua's two seasons in the DSL with the Diamondbacks when he played under a false identity, he would have been eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft post-2013. But because MLB did not recognize those two seasons, he won't be Rule 5 Draft eligible for the first time until post-2015.   

The only way Paniagua could be Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2014 but not post-2013 would be if MLB did not recogzie Paniagua's two seasons with the DSL Diamondbacks (2009-10) when played under a false identity on a "pending" contract, but they do recognize the contract that Paniagua signed with the Yankees in 2011 that was never accepted by MLB and in fact was very quickly voided due to "missing required documentation" (presumably his Dominican birth certificate, which apparently has yet to be found).

It is probably a moot point. I doubt that anyone would even think about keeping him on a MLB 25 man roster in 2015.

Juan Carlos Paniagua was throwing consistently 95-96 today and touched 97, but his fastball command was poor and he had problems commanding his secondary stuff, too.

I suspect Paniagua will be in the Tennessee bullpen in 2015, and then the Cubs will need to decide whether or not to roster him after next season. (He turns 25 next April).

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

thank god that's settled. i expect him up sometime around may 2015 at the latest if he cubs are going to win 120 games next year rather than 115. cubs should trade welly + 4 or 5 non-top-10 prospects for c.hamels. time to get going on that.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

BOB R: Kyle Schwarber has been spending his mornings trying to work out some of the kinks in his receiving mechanics. He really wants to be a big league catcher, so he is a tireless worker. He just needs reps, and it really doesn't matter that much where he gets them (Instructs right now, sim games and/or intrasquad games, Big League Camp in February, Minor League Camp next March, and then either Myrtle Beach or Tennessee after that). 

BTW, the Cubs instructors began to employ an extreme infield defensive shift a couple of days ago against Schwarber, and he has gone 0-6 with two swinging strikeouts and four ground outs to the right side of the infield over his last couple of games when facing the shift. (It appeared that Schwarber was starting to get a bit pull-happy & overly aggressive at the plate at Instructs over the past week or so, after absolutely mauling the ball in "sim" games and "live" BP). This is probably one of the reasons why the Cubs decided to schedule only intrasquad games instead of AZIL games against other organizations, so that they can create & control the match-ups & situations they feel are most beneficial to the player's development. 

We aren't quite there yet, but did ANYONE on the planet pick KC / SF for the World Series? Also, lest we forget: Mike Olt.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

you laugh, but it's october and having a warm bench seat to come back to after playing is important for the regulars. mike olt is the difference between a good defensive play and a clanker off the glove because an actual baseball player is too cold to concentrate. yeah...

Recent comments

  • 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. 

  • 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.