Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL 

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

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

HERO

Submitted by Dr. Joseph Hecht on

I never thought Ernie Banks passing would affect me like this. I'm not the type to be openly weeping but I am. Listening to the radio and hearing story after story of people that wanted to share their personal stories of meeting Ernie and the uplifting impact he had on everyone he touched. We are all little kids somewhere inside and Ernie was magic when it came to Cub fans. He was Chicago's treasure from the 1950's to the present. After his career, he became one of the greatest baseball Ambassadors, leading to him receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013. Mr. Cub was a wonderful ballplayer and a two time MVP shortstop. He was a hitter who had that amazing batting stance and power that came from his wrists.  Ernie was only the 7th player to hit 500 homers. He is one of the few that was a Cub his entire 19 season career which is itself a rarity. Of course, the Wrigley management was a part of that. Arizona Phil, in one of my favorite TCR posts ever (from 1-31-10) tells of several inflection points where the Cubs could have moved him, particularly when Leo Durocher was managing.

Leo also desperately wanted to get rid of Ernie Banks, but Phil Wrigley would NEVER agree to trade Ern. That was the one thing that Leo wanted that he couldn’t get. He could not get rid of Ernie Banks. Leo could not stand Ernie’s cheerfulness, optimism, and “let’s play two!” good fellowship, believing that nice guys like Ernie were losers, and Leo absolutely HATED losers.

Baseball is a team sport. Durocher was an often mean spirited man and was the antithesis to Ernie's love for people. Which one makes the  world become a better place? Joe Maddon responds to this in a better way, "Never let the pressure, exceed the pleasure."

Ernie came to the Majors in an era that brought breakthrough racial change to American society and he was a constant positive, always remaining upbeat in a time when life brought race related challenges every day. Ernie represented one of the perfect solutions to what Americans needed to overcome. Never a hot headed or angry man, everyone knew him as the eternal optimist ("the Cubs will be fine in sixty-nine"), he brought to so many Cub fans a philosophy that keeps us going in the face of what seems to be a never-ending wait for our time to get the brass ring.  I think many of us wanted to see Ernie's response to that day when the Cubs win the World Series. Now we will just have to imagine how he reacts, seated in the front row, from heaven above.

Have at it, by adding your own memories of Mr. Cub, as we celebrate his life. My favorite personal encounter with Ernie in 1979,  is in the following TCR link.
Close Encounters with Mr. Cub

Tags
Ernie Banks

Comments

Submitted by The E-Man on Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:21 pm

Well Done Dr. Hecht. I did not think this would affect me like this is with tears rolling down my cheeks as I listen to the radio. As twcoffee said earlier, it is as well a piece of my childhood - a big piece - is gone. I had the chance to "meet" him at the U.S. Open at Medinah, when he and Billy Williams stopped next to my brother and I so we said hello. What a nice man. But I was fortunate enough, as Joe is, to have seen Ernie play at the Friendly Confines, attend double-headers, and see many game winning hits delivered by him with Brickhouse screaming on WGN. So sad he never tasted the thrill of a World Series. Oh well - may he and Ron have the chance to participate from wherever they are. R.I.P. Ernie! Let's Play Two!

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:28 pm

One of the callers on the ESPN radio show this morning with Fred Huber/Mike Murphy suggested a great idea. They need to change the schedule on one Sunday every season, to a "true" doubleheader. The classic doubleheader, two games for the price of one (not the day/night version). Dedicate it to Ernie Banks. Murph suggested it be a league wide event in Ernie's memory. I think that has a chance of happening and would be a wonderful tribute to Let's play two.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:51 pm

Heh, be a lot of issues getting it approved by league and players. Would need to do it on weekend wrapped around a Thursday/Monday day off for both teams so they don't have to waste that emergency call-up on purpose.

Can't see owners going for it and losing revenue on a game, could see Cubs doing it once a year in April or Sept when attendance is usually lower, although hopefully not much longer in Sept.

Submitted by Rob G. on Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:54 pm

Thanks for the write-up Doc. Glad someone with a bit more personal connection got to do it. I do have a signed Ernie Banks/Sammy Sosa ball my wife bought me which I'll always cherish. 

otherwise all my Ernie memories are rain delay theater on WGN. Must have seen that 500th HR call a couple dozen times.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:04 pm

"otherwise all my Ernie memories are rain delay theater on WGN." same. as much as i've enjoyed reading about ernie and watching old footage over the years, i've barely seen the guy play aside from some obvious highlights. i guess it says a lot about ernie that i've seen at least 10x more footage of him talking or others talking glowingly about him even though he's a HOF player with enough footage to speak for itself.

Submitted by billybucks on Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:39 pm

My Ernie story: ten years ago, my son (age 7) and I were waiting for a table at a restaurant. Ernie was chatting with people at the bar. When the people left, my son asked if I thought it would be OK for him to go and say hello. I said yes, Ernie seemed to be enjoying talking with people. So, my son goes over, Ernie asks him if he plays baseball and what position, then asks my son to show him his pitching motion. My son does, with great earnestness, and Ernie nods. "OK, now show me your left-handed pitching motion." My son tries and nearly falls over. Big laugh and a slap on the back from Ernie; big laugh and a lifelong memory for my son. He was a really nice man who knew what it meant to be a baseball hero to a kid. We could use a lot more like him. RIP #14.

[ ]

Submitted by Cubster on Sat, 01/24/2015 - 01:07 pm

Doug Glanville is a truly wonderful writer.
His smile told that story. It made me not worry. It made me proud, and maybe most importantly, it made me see baseball as being one of our greatest assets. And that even when race matters, we still have the power to encourage our country to live out its best, to be bigger than race. Ernie Banks always knew we would ultimately get to a place of harmony, and amazingly, Mr. Cub didn't even have to say a word for you to understand that. He made you feel it. Always.

Submitted by Charlie on Sun, 01/25/2015 - 01:56 am

Getting the formatting thing again (Firefox) both on the main page and now (newly) in the articles and comments too. Just FYI! Thanks for all the trouble-shooting time you put into this site in addition to writing, editing, etc., Rob.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 01/25/2015 - 01:54 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Manfred he's got the cred...but him coming out swinging this early with something so radical causes one to pause. that said, i don't think the owners or player's reps would let him get away with something like this. it's the solution to a problem no one's complaining about...and those that do care spend most of the time blaming the batter for not tapping one into the hole rather than the D ruining what the batter wants to do. hell, even on the "delay of game" angle it's barely a blip compared to other issues which can be addressed without heavily effecting the strategy of the game.

Submitted by Cubster on Mon, 01/26/2015 - 01:25 am

Excerpt from a Fred Mitchell article in today's Tribune...Joey Banks, is one of his twin sons.
While none of Banks’ children was in attendance at the news conference Sunday, one of his sons, Joey Banks, was contacted by the Tribune by phone. “I realized that people loved him,” the 55-year-old California resident said. “I didn’t know what his contributions were to the team. It was something I didn’t really get. I realized that he was consistent. He was special, and people treated him kind of like that.” Banks declined to discuss the specifics of his father’s health but said he spoke with his father regularly and that the frequency of the calls had decreased in recent months. Increasingly, Joey Banks said, he would call his father and leave a message. “That became more frequent, and that worried me,” Joey Banks said. “He used to call me every Sunday.” In recent months, Ernie Banks had a “health care person” living with him to ensure he took his medication and ate correctly, Joey Banks said. Joey Banks, a truck driver, said he last spoke with his father about 10 days ago and he had grown concerned about his father’s health in recent weeks. His father would answer the phone, Joey Banks said, but then he handed the phone over to someone else. “He didn’t speak very long,” Joey Banks recalled. He said he last saw his father in June, at an Ernie Banks bobblehead night at Wrigley Field.

Submitted by Tito on Mon, 01/26/2015 - 01:07 am

My Ernie story is not special but part of it remains really vivid. I was maybe 5-6 and I don't even recall why, or where, it happened, but I was introduced to him and Jack Brickhouse, who both signed a copy of Ernie's book they did together. (Years later, like an idiot, I tore the autographs out of the book to put with other autographs.) I don't know if I realized who they were, but I do know that I was in awe. And then Ernie left and I looked out the front of the building, and Ernie waved to me from his car. I can see that part of as if it happened yesterday.

Recent comments

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Indeed they do TJW!

    For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.

    That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18.  We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
    But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
    I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
    Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
    I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
    Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
    With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

    My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
    It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
    I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
    We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
    But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.

    If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.

    Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

    Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose  that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.

    Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    That’s just kinda how it works though, for every team. No team plays their best guys all the time. No team is comprising of their best 26 even removing injuries.

    When baseball became a business, like REALLY a business, it became important to keep some of the vets happy, which in turn keeps agents happy and keeps the team with a good reputation among players and agents. No one wants to play for a team that has a bad reputation in the same way no one wants to work for a company that has a bad rep.

    Don’t get me wrong, I hate it too. But there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

    On that topic, I find it silly the Cubs brought up Canario to sit as much as he has. He’s going to get Velazquez’d, and it’s a shame.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Of course, McKinstry runs circles around $25 million man Javier Baez on that Tigers team. Guess who gets more playing time?

    But I digress…

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Seems like Jed was trying to corner the market on mediocre infielders with last names starting with "M" in acquiring Madrigal, Mastroboney and Zach McKinstry.  

     

    At least he hasn't given any of them a Bote-esque extension.  

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil:
    Rookie ball (ACL) starts on May 4th. Do yo think Ramon and Rosario (maybe Delgado) stay in Mesa for the month of May, then go to MB if all goes "solid"?
     

  • crunch (view)

    masterboney is a luxury on a team that has multiple, capable options for 2nd, SS, and 3rd without him around.  i don't hate the guy, but if madrigal is sticking around then masterboney is expendable.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    I THINK I agree with that decision. They committed to Wicks as a starter and, while he hasn’t been stellar I don’t think he’s been bad enough to undo that commitment.

    That said, Wesneski’s performance last night dictates he be the next righty up.

    Quite the dilemma. They have many good options, particularly in relief, but not many great ones. And complicating the situation is that the pitchers being paid the most are by and large performing the worst - or in Taillon’s case, at least to this point, not at all.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Wesneski and Mastrobuoni to Iowa

    Taillon and Wisdom up

    Wesneski can't pitch for a couple of days after the 4 IP from last night. But Jed picked Wicks over Wesneski.

Click HERE for the last 50 comments