Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-23-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
* Matt Mervis
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 9 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Trade Ruggiano

Submitted by Rob G. on

The Cubs cleared some 40-man roster space and made room for a "clubhouse dude" by sending OF Justin Ruggiano to the Seattle Mariners for 25-year old relief pitcher Matt Brazis. Ruggiano was acquired from the Marlins last offseason for Brian Bogusevic and put up an 111 OPS+ with an .846 OPS versus lefties in limited, albeit effective action. He can also handle all 3 OF positions which is a nice added benefit. For whatever reasons that do not particularly interest me, the Cubs seem to want a veteran "clubhouse dude" as Maddon calls them and Johnny Gomes or someone similar seems to be the target. Eh, whatever.

As for Brazis, his career minor league numbers look like this: 2.89 ERA in 158.2 IP, 1.109 WHIP, 7.1 H/9, 2.8 BB/9, 10.9 K/9, 0.5 HR/9...so quite spectacular across the board, although he's probably been a bit old for his leagues. I can't seem to find any worthy scouting reports, but guessing by those K totals, he features a good fastball/slider combo. He touched AA last season, so it's not inconceivable that he'll see the majors this year.

Tags
Cubs Roster Moves
Justin Ruggiano

Comments

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:17 am

Does it have to be Gomes? Everyone assumes it's a clubhouse guy but could it be a Myers type? Are there any young good outfielders available? The Padres have about 2,000 outfielders. Are any of them worth taking a look at? Obviously, I'm not a fantasy baseball guy.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:36 pm

FROM BASEBALL AMERICA: 

Brazos can run his fastball up to 92-93 with a three-quarters slot that adds some deception, and he also uses a slider that he has a tendency to fall in love with and overuse, according to scouts. His delivery is clean but he reaches max velocity with some effort. He projects as a middle reliever. 

I saw him pitch once in the AFL and in my notes I wrote that he threw slider after slider.  

2014 AFL: 
10 G, 12.1 IP, 14 H, 8 R (7 ER), 0 HR, 5 BB, 11 K, 5.11 ERA, .298 OppBA,  

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:58 pm

NEWPORT: Korean RHRP Chang-Yong Lim was the last true sidearmer the Cubs had, but he wasn't around very long. 

 

Submitted by QuietMan on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:58 pm

Rob Bradford @bradfo · David Ross' decision coming down to Red Sox, Cubs, Padres -- So what can Castillo fetch in a trade?

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:06 pm

So what can Castillo fetch in a trade?

No less than Mike Trout!!!

Teams that could maybe use a catcher: Rays, Rockies, D'Backs, Rangers, maybe Marlins to platoon with Saltalamacchia

Phillies could get younger there, but Ruiz is still under contract through 2016, hasn't been many rumors about him.

Not sure how many teams could consider Welington a considerable upgrade though.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:13 pm

What do they have now? Jaso, Vogt and Phegley? Maybe, Beane does love his platoons.

2 years ago Coco Crisp would be interesting, current Crisp you'd hope they'd throw in a few bucks. Not sure what else they have as a CF option either, Beane's not one to punt a season. Could go after Rasmus or Aokii I suppose.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:43 pm

Padres ain't 'effin around...

Marc Topkin ‏@TBTimes_Rays Either way, #Rays said to give up Myers, Hanigan and 2 low minor-lgrs, and get back Rivera, B.Smith, Bauers from #Padres. Then ....

Marc Topkin ‏@TBTimes_Rays  If #Nats are in, #Rays under these scenarios to get Souza and A-ball LHP. If #Nats out, #Rays said get J. Ross, Trea Turner from #Padres

Some rumor that Kemp trade not happening though because of physical

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:54 pm

Trea Turner was signed after being selected in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft (Rule 4 Draft), so he can't be traded until the first anniversary of signing his contract (June 13, 2015). 

He could remain a PTBNL and continue to play in the minors with SD until then, but would either club risk him getting hurt in the meantime? Or would they just tell him to stay home and avoid dangerous activities until June 13th? 

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:42 pm

Looks like we'll find out

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal has the breakdown of who's heading where: Padres shortstop prospect Trea Turner and pitching prospect Joe Ross will go to the Nationals. Myers, Ryan Hanigan, and minor league pitcher Jose Castillo will go to the Padres. Steven Souza, Travis Ott, Rene Rivera, Burch Smith, and Jake Bauers will go to the Rays (with Souza and Ott coming from the Nats). All the players involved need to pass physicals before the trade can be made official. Dec 17 - 5:33 PM

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:45 pm

though they're both good, i still can't believe t.turner lasted so long in the draft (13th pick)...and somewhat that nick gordon went before t.turner (but i don't know a lot about nick gordon). turner's a rather special hitter with some nice D at SS to match. he doesn't have blazing speed like gordon, but he's not slow at all. turner is "baseball smart" as all hell. he's a guy you can really trust that he will do everything it takes to adjust if/when he becomes exposed. heck, his SB numbers are deceptive because it's more than speed that earns him his high SB numbers.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:32 pm

With the approval of the MLB Commissioner, a club may assign (loan) a player signed to a minor league contract to the Active List of a minor league club in another organization. However, the player must be returned no later than September 30th. 

So I'm not sure the Padres would be able to loan Trea Turner to the Nationals next season if he isn't returned to SD prior to 9/30. I suppose the Padres could "loan" Turner to Washington's AA affiliate on minor league Opening Day 2015, and then the Nats could "return" (wink, wink) Turner to SD on 6/13, and then the Padres could immediately send Turner to Washington as the PTBNL, but the Commissioner might not permit that.  

NOTE: This is covered in MLB Rule 11 and it was changed a few years ago, requiring the player to be returned by 9/30. 

Loaning players was fairly common back in the day, but it almost never happens now. A club would sometimes "loan" a minor league player to another organization if (for example) two players played the same position and both needed regular playing time at the same classification level (like Dan Vogelbach and Rock Shoulders the last couple of seasons). Sometimes a club would loan a minor league player to another organization to give the other organization a chance to get a first-hand close-up look at a guy they might want to acquire in a trade. It also could be used to get a PTBNL to another organization when it wasn't possible to complete the trade.

It was also used back in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's for minor league players on the Military List, so that the player (usually a pitcher) could play for a minor league club close to his military base, even if the minor league club was in another organization. 

The most-common "loan" you see today is when a minor league player is loaned to a club in the Mexican League (which is the only "independent" league in Minor League Baseball) when the player needs playing time or a pitcher needs innings. The Cubs have loaned several minor league players to clubs in the Mexican League over the past few seasons, most recently RHP Frank Batista, RHP Yoanner Negrin, and catcher Sergio Burruel. 

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:50 pm

Heh, Bears starting Jimmy Clausen on Sunday vs. Lions.

Option 1) Trestman in desperate attempt to save job, prays Clausen plays well and pins season on Cutler

Option 2) They've already decided that they'd cut Cutler

Option 3) Might as well play for the draft pick

I doubt it's #2 as you'd like to try and trade Cutler, even for a 5th or 6th round pick and not take the cap hit and benching doesn't help that in any way. I'm going with #1.

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:14 am

I would argue that no matter who the QB is out there, the offensive linemen will be running into each other at the line of scrimmage, the receivers will keep running bad routes and having false starts, the special teams coach still can't count, and the defense will give up points on most nearly every play. So good luck on number 1, although it is likely the reason. Can't blame Trestman for trying the hail mary pass but if it works and they keep Trestman I'll be doing something other than watching football next winter on Sundays. And Monday nights. And Thursday nights.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:40 pm

ex-Cub Aaron Kurcz traded from Red Sox to Braves, the other player Red Sox got for Theo Epstein besides Chris Carpenter.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 12/17/2014 - 12:05 pm

Padres get Matt Kemp. Was hoping the Cubs could have pulled the trigger on that. Dogers get Grandal, et. al. + plus kick in $39mm

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:45 pm

speaking of the Kemp deal, arthritic hips on Kemp, deal in jeopardy which would put Rollins deal in jeopardy and possibly the Wil Myers deal since Padres were getting Ryan Hanigan in that deal to replace Grandal, although it may not.

Dodgers seem annoyed info got leaked since it not only blows up deal but could affect them dealing Kemp to another team, but not like other team wouldn't fucking find out why deal blew up in the first place. Padres seem to still want to do deal, they're either trying to get a better insurance coverage on it or have Dodgers cover it.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:40 pm

Red Sox in talks with mystery team on Allen Craig....be nice if it was Craig instead of Gomes, but I doubt it.

Submitted by Rob G. on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:43 pm

@Adams_Steve Source: RHP Anthony Carter has agreed to terms with #Cubs on minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

Think he pitched in Japan last year, previously with Red Sox and Padres

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 12/19/2014 - 12:00 am

Peavy to SF. 2/24, backloaded. $4M signing bonus, $7M in 2015, $13M in 2016. bullet dodged fairly easily.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    This is Cubs adjacent but…


    Jordan Walker just was optioned by the deadbirds. For all the talk of the Cardinals development machine, they’ve really missed on a lot of can’t miss superstars lately. Walker has struggled. Gorman has been okay. They’re already trying to push Carlson out the door. Their pitching system has been so bad they had to go out and sign basically a full rotation over the last two offseasons.

    They’ve still developed a few of those pesky solid players, like Donovan, Edman, and Nootbaar. Their two best prospect to MLB players have been Adolis and Arozarena, neither of which is a cardinal.

    I hope they never figure it out again. Cardinal failure brings me such joy.
     

  • Raisin101 (view)

    Thank you so much! I really appreciate not only all your posts but how eager you are to respond to our questions.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Is it just me or does it seem that official scorers are becoming less likely to call a misplay an error? 

     

    Guess I've hit my cranky old-man phase in life.  "I remember back in the day when an error was an error.  Official scorers have gone soft.  Now where did I put my readers?!!??"

     

    Sidenote, maybe Bellinger should be a little more careful against the Astros.  That was the series last year that a play at wall put him on the IL.   

  • crunch (view)

    i hated the almonte pickup, but he's 9-10 out of 12 for good outings, following a great spring.  hope he can keep it up.

    i already miss cooper, but yeah...the thin OF roster backup the team seems to want to carry probably got wisdom preference over cooper.  i could live without seeing wisdom at 3rd unless it's a blowout, though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Things I've been wrong about:

    -Tauchman is fine as a 4th OF. I knew that. I just want a better LH DH option and he was really the DH for us until Seiya got hurt. I'm glad Mervis is getting a chance at it. Caissie is coming for that job for sure. But Tauchman continues to be highly useful as a 4th OF with Seiya being hurt

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    -Leiter has his split working enough. It just needs to stay there

    -I was surprised Jed picked Wisdom over Cooper. I wonder if this happens if Seiya wasn't hurt. Wisdom has more power. Cooper is the better hitter. Jed picked Wisdom and Wisdom had an option left as well.

    -Palencia just doesn't miss enough bats. Similar to ManRod, just two yrs younger. ManRod is killing AAA for TB right now!

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    -Hendricks. Sorry Kyle. You got paid though!

    Jed, you missed there.

    -Smyly. If Jed could've traded him before or during ST, then he should have and saved some cash.

    -Mastro.  Not a LH DH. Pinch runner. Defensive utility. Maybe he's better than Madrigal but didn't get a legit chance to prove it.

    -Luke Little is good. He's had one bad outing. That's it. Needs to get better entering with guys on base. But he needs to stay in MLB.

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  • crunch (view)

    bellinger "right rib contusion"

  • Childersb3 (view)

    South Bend just lost the lead in the bottom of the 9th on the weirdest scenario, ever.

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    The rain was coming down in buckets at this point.

    Just weird

  • crunch (view)

    ...and bellinger is gone in the 7th because of that 2nd blown chance and the wall he bounced off of...

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  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil,

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  • crunch (view)

    wow, things are moving fast.  hopefully it continues.

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