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

2014 Winter Meetings Day 2

8:51 PM CST: Gordo, unsurprisingly, couldn't have been more off as Lester has called the Giants and let them know he won't be signing there. All indications are as earlier, it's between the Red Sox and Cubs. MLB Network had a report that Lester's agents had a meeting scheduled with Lester again tonight. However... whomever @BaseballEssential is, they are claiming lots of buzz that Lester is signing with Cubs, but nothing official yet.

If Cubs lose out on Lester, Morosi is reporting that Boras is seeking $200M guaranteed contract.

7:35 PM CST: Just kidding about all that Giants out of it nonsense, Gordo has a source saying Lester is leaning towards Giants now. ~shrug~

6:30 PM CST: Theo claims they are not shopping Welington and that Montero will be a good compliment to him. "We're not shopping (Castillo) at all. The second that the Montero news came out, we got calls from a number of teams about Wely." Of course, just cause they're not shopping him, doesn't mean they won't move him if one of those calls bears fruit.

Olney says Lester will have final options tonight.

5:00 PM CST: You're not a good agent until you're squeezing every last dollar out. Oy vey!

4:15 PM CST: On that Ross note, Cubs have a meeting with him tonight.

3:36 PM CST: Jeff Passan says the Cubs will indeed look to move Welington Castillo. Well, 38-year old David Ross was pretty good against lefties last year as well (.809 OPS in 67 PA's, .770 for his career). Of course, if he's Lester's personal catcher, won't be able to take advantage of the offensive split.

3:06 PM CST: Montero deal is done pending a physical. D'Backs get Jeferson Mejia and Zack Godley. That seems absurdly reasonable. Neat. The 20-year old Mejia can certainly end up being quite good, but you have to give up something to get something. And he wasn't anyone, nor was Godley that was anywhere near a top 20 prospect list at this point. The 25-year old Godley has a real nice K rate, but was a bit old for the Hi-A league last year (ages are what their baseball playing age will be next season using the July 1st cutoff).

2:52 PM CST: Giants assistant GM was on the radio and said Lester told him that top dollar will not be the deciding factor and that "heartstrings" are pulling at him. Sounds like a reunion with the Red Sox, unless there's more to his relationship with Theo and Jed that we don't know about it. AZ Phil nailed it in the comments, that Jeferson Mejia would be one of the pitchers heading to the D'Backs for Montero.

1:43 PM CST: The Cubs have "ratcheted up their offer" for Montero and a deal seems close.


The big rumor last night was that the Cubs were well along on a deal for Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero and Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the deal should be done by the end of the day. The Cubs would take on Montero's contract (3/40M) and DBacks would get 2 low level pitchers, presumably of good quality, but not CJ Edwards quality. The debate rages on if the Cubs should bother with Montero, afterall he's owed some money, he'll be playing his age 31 season next year and his OPS has been south of .700 the last 2 seasons. But we do know the Cubs want some vet leadership on the team and the catching position is where they want it, add in that Montero hits from the left side and has good on-base skills and you can see some of the interest. One other thing to note, his splits versus lefties and righties. He had a .719 OPS in 2013 .735 in 2014 versus righties, but just a .492 in 2013 and .563 in 2014 versus lefties. On the other side, Welington is a .684 vs. righties for his career and .845 versus lefties. Let's say I'd like that a platoon if it works out. Maybe the Cubs go with a Montero/Ross platoon if this all happens, but I don't know if they need 2 vet catchers.

Also of note, DBacks ownership already nixed a deal of Andre Ethier for Montero, although no reasons were given. Did they not want to trade Montero within the division, did they want to just shave payroll in a Montero deal or do they just not want to move him? I doubt it's the latter, otherwise their GM would stop shopping him in deals, but regardless, there's probably a final obstacle even if they do agree on a deal.

- The White Sox acquired Jeff Samardzija and former international signing bonus baby Michael Ynoa from the A's for 4 players: INF Marcus Semien, RHP Chris Bassitt, C Josh Phegley and 1B Rangel Ravalo. The White Sox weren't done there, as they then signed reliever David Robertson to a 4/46M deal. I don't know if the White Sox have completely closed the gap between themselves and the Tigers, Royals and Indians, but they have made some nice moves this offseason. The Robertson deal is dumb, don't get me wrong, but I don't think he's a guy that's going to just fall off a performance cliff either and I guess if you have the money and have determined you're going all in next year, that's the kind of deal you make. Sale, Samardzija, Quintana, Danks and Noesi is a pretty nice looking rotation for sure.

- Looks like Francisco Liriano is headed back to the Pirates on a 3/39M deal.

Comments

Other notes

...Masterson allegedy getting a multi-year offer from Red Sox, doubt Cubs are interested much after signing Hammel

A. Callaspo signs with Braves

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

In the Cubs Organizational Depth Chart I maintain here at TCR, I had projected Zack Godley to be the closer at AA Tennessee and Jeferson Mejia to be one of the "Big 3" starters (along with Carson Sands and Justin Steele) at Eugene in 2015. 

Kemp to Padres deal gaining steam...owed 5/107M although contract is uninsured which seems to be a bit of an issue

Grandal and some prospects would seem to be the return.

Curious moves to let Kemp and Ramirez go, imagine they'll spend some of that money on pitching.

Also, some real guts to trade Kemp to division rival.

@Buster_ESPN The Tigers' focus is on retaining Max Scherzer. They are prepared to spend big, big dollars. Want to keep Price for 2015, too.

"Ratcheted up" probably means the Cubs dropped their insistence that Ed Jackson be exiled to the desert - if so, damn it!

Muskat and Gordo Wittemyer tweeting that the Montero deal is done, pending a physical

Just on mlb network two sources now tweeting it's Cubs or BoSox with Cubs leading stating "lester likes theo"

this essentially is why they wanted a new catcher

 @TheCubsWord Via Baseball Prospectus, last year Montero produced 138.9 extra strikes in advanced catcher framing metrics. Castillo -77.4 extra strikes.

not enough salt in the world, but alas

http://www.overthemonster.com/2014/12/9/7362385/red-sox-jon-lester-free…

According to multiple league sources, there is a growing sense among those in the industry that Lester is leaning towards signing with the Chicago Cubs. Sources have indicated to Over the Monster that the Cubs are making a hard push to sign Lester and the two sides are deeply entrenched in conversation. A final decision will likely come on Tuesday or Wednesday from Lester's camp.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

well the only "big" bats on the FA market are Melky, Morse and Chase Headley...I guess Melky or Chase could make some sense.

Valbuena, Welington, prospects to offer in a trade...no idea whom or what position they would target. LF/3B/CF would be the obvious ones I suppose, Bryant can move to outfield if they find a "big" bat 3b. Not a lot of big bat CF's to be had, would mean Alcantara is in the minors or on the bench and that's kind of a waste for him. Maybe he's the trade bait or maybe he moves back to 2b and Baez is the trade bait...a lot of options at least.

Of course. Swelington is on the block.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

I kind of liked the Montero/Castillo platoon idea.  I think Castillo is a good bounce back candidate from last year.  And he's cheap.  That being said, if they can get something for him that would be useful I am all for it.  Something besides two low minors pitchers to replace the two we just gave up would be nice.  Perhaps a package deal with one of the many extra starters they have or something.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

John Baker (208), Eli Whiteside (26), and Rafael Lopez (14) collected a total of 248 PAs last year. Keeping Castillo around to see if he rebounds, to mash lefties, and to be a more than adequate backup seems like a good idea. Trading him now really feels like a sell-low situation.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Hard to believe every other organization doesn't know he's poor at pitch framing as well with a lot of K's and gets hurt a lot, so I doubt he'd be the center piece of any trade.

But maybe a deal from depth with Valbuena or middle infielders...we shall see.

Saltalamacchia sure could use a platoon-mate in Florida.

I do like Rafael Lopez as third in line for at-bats.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

Do not want (at expected price tag). Mixed feelings about him leaving the division, if that were the scenario. Obviously it'd be better for Cubs hitters to not have to face him--but then I don't get to see one of the most interesting pitchers in baseball on a regular basis.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Reds seem open for business, but I imagine Chapman, Latos and Bruce are only going for huge returns.

Chapman seems like a guy you wait for the trade deadline to move. Teams are gonna start believing that bullpens win playoff games and you'll get multiple offers.

RSox pulling out all the stops...

 @JosephKellyJr I double dog dare ya @JLester31 to come back to @RedSox #Iwillbeyourbestie

Ryne Sandberg being very chatty about trading Cole Hamels. Says Phillies would need to be wowed and need multiple pieces that could begin helping this year.

typical joe maddon interview on MLB network...a lot of talk about him, his hobbies, and old stories with very little said about the team. the cubs should try to get zorbist...he liked talking about him.

Brian Roberts un-retiring? Probable joining the Cubs before Lester decision is completed. Lester still deciding which contract to take after Cubs don't win WS for 2nd century.

"Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Jon Lester's agents are not at the stage to present their client with final offers from teams." duuuuuuude...

castro/bryant/rizzo/soler/montero 2-6 (not necessarily in that order) coming soon to a lineup near you for a good number of years...and there's still the issue of where baez crams into the lineup. get a friend for arrieta (and hope arrieta doesn't regress) and things are looking interesting quite quickly going forward.

Sounds like Boston is getting one final chance. Maybe if the Cubs just promise to start Bryant in April Boras will let them sign Scherzer for less than the final price of Lester

My favorite tweet of the day was from some guy calling Lester a dick for taking so long to decide. I love the Twitverse.

SF sounds effectively out of the lester bidding race based on what MLB network just blurbed...tweets n stuff...not officially out of it.

The Twitverse is saying WGN is saying Lester is coming to Chicago. Anybody confirm? EDIT: Probably a never mind, they're retweeting a nobody named @incarceratedbob:

"ESPN's Buster Olney reports that Jon Lester's decision is "nearing the finish line." Olney adds that Lester "soon will have final options to choose from" and it's "reasonable" to think a decision will come Tuesday night."

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

It IS beginning to look like the Cubs are it, though. Well, it's always fun getting a big time free agent. Year 4 of the contract should be interesting. Maybe bring Jamie Moyer in as Aging Coach? I'm basing that more on the David Ross thing than on Twitverse, which is agog in Twitverseness.

a lot of the most recent chatter about lester, including from theo, seems to indicate that all the sales pitches are done and it's in lester's lap to decide.

@CSNMooney Theo: "We'll always listen, just because it would be crazy not to listen. But we really like the way (Montero and Castillo) fit together."

@GDubCub ML exec with ties to at least one team in bidding believes Lester leaning toward Giants.

Gordo just trolling Cubs fans now.

Joel Sherman: Lester called sfgiants directly to tell them they r out of running. It is cubs v Redsox for Lester.

Looks like BoSox are working on plan b Gammons tweet Always thought Scherzer would go back to Detroit, but one Tiger official says "not happening," but might do Porcello for Cespedes & DeLarosa

There's some interesting depth on the Cubs infield right now: C Montero/Castillo/Lopez 1B Rizzo/Olt 2B Baez/La Stella/Valbuena/Alcantara SS Castro/Baez/Alcantara/Valbuena 3B Bryant/Valbuena/Olt/La Stella And with Ruggiano and Sweeney floating around, the OF has some flexibility too. I know it's not a given that all of those guys are still here come April, but it seems like the only position where an injury could really demolish the Cubs season is 1B. And of course this also gives the front office a lot of room to wheel and deal, as others have noted. Also, there will be no PAs given to Darwin Barney, John Baker, or Nate Schierholtz, and probably very few if any going to Junior Lake. Wow.

as only Desipio can do: Gordo reports source tells him Lester is Dodger bound. (after Dylan Hernandez tweets: Dodgers not in on Lester)

Boston media picking up bad vibes Dan Roche ‏@RochieWBZ 5m5 minutes ago Cherington told us Sox players been talking to/probably still talking to Lester to sign. One player told me "he gave everything he had" #wbz Details Dan Roche ‏@RochieWBZ 9m9 minutes ago FWIW - asked a high ranking #redsox official if they were out on Lester? Got a simple "no comment" - #wbz

"Andy Martino of the New York Daily News was told by major league sources that the Cubs are in "strong position" to land Jon Lester. Martino cautions that the Cubs haven't been told they're getting Lester yet and the Red Sox have "remained in the mix."" ...it's 8:21 on the west coast

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

the market for scherzer is going to be extremely limited. he's looking 28+ million a year, easy. having lester set a bottom floor that's on the high end (probably 22-23m) might be the difference maker between him getting 28-30m a year rather than 26-28m a year.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

Boras likes to wait it out and "set the market", probably wanted to see what Lester would go for first. But Lester's lack of draft pick comp probably makes him a little more desirable to most teams if you think the talent is close. Scherzer is the better pitcher and a little younger, but with high rate of arm injuries, is he that much better? Not really...

Plus by all accounts Lester is the clubhouse presence most teams want, haven't heard that about Scherzer.

everything out west seems to have slowed down to a crawl tonight...maybe something will get done tonight, but it's looking a lot like things are going to be picking up tomorrow morning.

Loxas rumoring that Cubs doing some talking with Rockies...maybe Carlos Gonzalez?

road numbers of course much weaker and injury history, but 29 and decent contract. Maybe that big bat that was talked about. Decent enough on-base skills, left-handed, power...no idea on return of course. Have to be pretty decent, although doesn't have to be great. Vogelbach sure would like it there. Maybe Vogelbach and Alcantara (as much as I'd hate to lose Alcantara)?

Don't forget that besides the Coors influence, the road number influence is Petco, Dodger Stadium and AT&T Park, so goes a bit both ways. Think he'd be solidly over an .800 OPS with 20/20 potential (depending on  the knee injury recovers of course).

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • 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...