Cubs MLB Roster

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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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

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




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Cubs @ Brewers: Arrieta vs. Nelson (Game 101 Thread)

Submitted by CTSteve on

CHC (53-47): RHP Jake Arrieta (11-6, 2.61)

MIL (44-58): RHP Jimmy Nelson (8-9, 3.97)

First pitch: 7:10pmCT

Fowler# cf

Schwarber* lf

Coghlan* 3b

Rizzo* 1b

Soler rf

Castro ss

Ross c

Arrieta p

Russell 2b

 

Parra* cf

Lucroy c

Braun rf

Lind* 1b

Gomez Davis lf

Gennett* 2b

Segura ss

Perez 3b

Nelson p

Arrieta gave up 3 ER in 6 innings and lost to the now-surging (and Hamels-less) Phills on Saturday. He’s 4-1 with a 1.72 in July. The Brewers are 24-94 (.255) against him. Braun is 3-8 with a HR.* The almost-Met Gomez is 3-10 with a HR.

Nelson (7 IP, 0 ER) won in AZ his last time out. July (3-1, 2.08) has been his best month this year. Lefties are hitting .302 against him. In his two starts against the Cubs this year, he is 0-1 with a 3.95. The Cubs are 23-81 (.284) against him. Coghlan is 4-12 with a HR. Rizzo is 2-10 with a HR.

Bryant gets a day off, and Zobrist Coghlan fills in--because why not. Montero is close to a return. It’s just a matter of how much pain he is willing to play through.

The Cubs are quiet on the trade front. But if the most reliable of the chatter is to be believed, it appears they are desperately trying to move Castro for a 4th/5th starter who would be under control for a couple of years--e.g., Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Nate Karns, or Julio Teheran. Gyorko might also be involved in a Padre deal. Gallardo has also been mentioned, which doesn’t seem wise. Opening up SS for Russell, bringing up a rehabbed Baez to play 2B, and filling a spot in the rotation seem like a solid plan, especially if all it costs is Castro.
                                                                                                                          
Go Cubs!

Tags
Cubs 2015 Game Thread

Comments

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:51 pm

Rough one for the Mets: Up 2 runs in the 9th at home, 2 outs, nobody on...then a downpour and a 44-mnute rain delay. After the delay -- single, single, Upton HR -- then another rain delay of almost 3 hours before they come back and get shut down by Kimbrall in the bottom of the 9th to lose. Ouch.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:25 am

He is best when he isn't trying to guess. He did that under Sveum, and it's clear Mallee is trying to get him to work the count. I wish they'd stop trying to get him to do that. Last year he just did his thing and he was fine. Not everybody can work the count. Just let him go up there hacking, dammit. That's what he does. He can't work a count. If the Cubs trade him, some team is going to figure that out and he's going to be good again and the Cubs will have received half the value they should have.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:39 pm

It seems like he is purposely sabotaging any trade possibilities. "Perfect" timing. I keep reading they are "aggressively" trying to put him in any deal, and of course - I would too. In some ways this mgmt team missed the boat on several items: NOT trading Castro in the offseason, EJax, and DJ LeMay... The latter really hurt. Could you imagine him at 2nd and Russell at short?

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Submitted by WISCGRAD on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:58 am

The trade sucked, yes, I noted that a few days ago on a post highlighting the new regime's worst deals. Stewart didn't work out. But getting rid of LeMahieu wasn't the mistake. From 2012-2014 with the Rockies he was 278/317/366 (683). Ryan Theriot from 2007-2009 with the Cubs: 286/353/358 (711). And he ws SOOO loved by everyone on here by the end of his tenure. We would have run LeMahieu out of town if he had put up those numbers for the Cubs over 3 seasons. He has essentially no power and his stolen base % is only 65%. We'd have cursed yet another light hitting, poor base running second basemen on the team!

And the career year this year seems to be a huge Coors effect and a lot of luck. His .384 BABIP is not sustainable and is 55 points higher than his career prior to this. I'm happy for the kid, he's enjoying a fine season. And maybe this is the start of him playing at a higher level more consistently. But I'm pretty confident it is not and when we look back in 3-4 years we'll see 2015 as an anomaly.

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Submitted by The E-Man on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:11 am

Perhaps, but he was a 2.2 WAR last year as a GG 2B, and 1+ this year. 2B are not known for power really...with obvious exceptions in Brandon Phillips, Ryno, Chase Utley. Compared to the players who manned the position full time for the Cubs during the same period, DJ could have been worthwhile to have kept. We will see moving forward, however. You were the same person who said "Josh Donaldson is not going to amount to much...", right? Or, is that someone else?

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Submitted by WISCGRAD on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:58 am

Well Barney was 4.6 WAR in 2012...  Honestly, I don't remember my thoughts on Donaldson at the time. That was 7 years ago. But I do remember liking the trade a lot and still do. Harden was dominant down the stretch, can't ask for more than he provided in a deadline deal. We also got Syndal Gaudin as a bonus. In that case, you had to give up something to get something. The Cubs gave up 4 prospects and one of them blossomed. It happens.  If only the Dodger series...   

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Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:16 pm

He was at 48% with man on third less than two outs before that AB. League avg is 52%. He is particularly good at striking out badly or finding a double play. The dude is just fried. Give him some laid back San Diego sunshine on a shit team for 5 years and let him be an all star. I've had it. It's kind of important to knock in those runs. Now we are about to get our asses handed to us by another team that sucks and traded away a bunch of talent. Yay.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:46 am

I guess that comment was made before his defensive gem and his rally starting hit. I think the problem with Castro is they're trying to turn him into an OBP machine. Just let it go, Mallee, he isn't that type of hitter and never will be. The Great Maddonnini and Mallee are making the same mistake with Castro as Sveum did. What's worse, Castro is buying into it, because he loves Maddon. Just let the guy go up there and hack. He's a terrible guesser. He takes good pitches and swings at bad. I liked him better when he swung at everything and at least got a lot of hits, and didn't GDIP eight times a game.

Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:56 pm

Also every starting pitcher we face has the best start of his life. Isn't that kind of saying something?

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:46 pm

RIZZO!!!!!! 3r HR in the top 8th. 3-2 cubs. unf.

Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:58 pm

I was resigned to our fate for this game until I saw Nelson throw himself a party walking off the mound after striking out Bryant. Then he looks back at Cubs' dugout (either taunting, in a wolfman state, or responding to a Cubs' catcall) but no matter what I wanted that fucker to lose his W. Thank you mr Tony Four Sacks!

Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:15 pm

Just an observation. But has anyone noticed that Herrera has the exact setup and stance as Castro except from the left side? He taps the plate with one handed bat and sets up with that lead foot open. I wonder if they have had the same coach etc at some point?

Submitted by Carlito on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:20 pm

I don't know how this team is 7 games over .500. They are mentally tough at times ... but somehow I think they all owe Bosio a lot of beers.

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:21 pm

Loved the ABs by Bryant and Schwarber in the 9th. Runners on base, put the ball in play -- good things happen. Very nicely done!

Submitted by billybucks on Thu, 07/30/2015 - 07:02 pm

Since the AS break, the Cubs two "leadoff" men are doing their jobs -- Russell's OBP is .364, Fowler's is an insane .518. Need to start bringing them home a bit more often. Still waiting for a few easy wins....

Submitted by Carlito on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:47 am

Btw the Cubs are linked to Teheran, and the Braves are interested in Soler. May offer more with Teheran. But Teheran despite being a great competitor has show a drop in velocity and is sparring with his hitting coach. All that said I don't see the Cubs parting with Soler?

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:22 am

At the risk of sounding like a Cubs fan who can't part with prospects, I don't want to see them part with Soler. His bat is showing signs of life again, although he is still missing those low sliders some - but also not swinging at quite as many. He could be pretty special still. He really scalds the ball. And as good as Bosio is, he can't add velocity to a fastball.

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Submitted by Carlito on Fri, 07/31/2015 - 07:24 am

I'm not against it, which surprises me. I think Soler will adjust and be great ... and modern pitchers are delicate. But I agree with your assessment. I'm (predictably) fearful that he's headed for TJS but that is likely an overreaction to reduced velocity. Do you have a guess as to why his velocity is down?

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

     

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary which helps the Cubs 2024 AAV.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to

    -give Hendricks another few starts
    -give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway

    -Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks

    Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).

    I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.

    I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa? 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
    The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
    Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
    You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
    That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
    But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
    So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
    Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
    Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

    And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: I think there was an issue with Luke Little coming into a game with men on base. He seems to need a "clean" inning to be dominant. So he is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AAA. Same goes for Michael Arias. He needs to come into a "clean" inning, and is a future closer and needs to be used in that role at AA. Porter Hodge is a more versatile pitcher, a better version of Keegan Thompson (multi-inning RP). But Little, Arias, and Hodge (probably in that order) are the Cubs top three RP prospects (all three are Cubs Top 15 prospects).

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    So, let’s do a little war gaming. Taillon is back for tonight’s game. He pitched two rehab games, just a few innings each, and not especially sharp. Let’s face it, he hasn’t been lights out since the Cubs gave him the big contract. In other words, as flat out bad as Hendricks has been, the chances of Taillon being the savior don’t look exactly promising.

    If Taillon is equally ineffective or perhaps even worse, what’s the next move? Winning teams can often find a way to work around a dud fifth starter - kinda. Two dud starters make things much more difficult.

    I believe the biggest reason for the recent bullpen moves was dissatisfaction with the recent blowing of big leads and the recognition that the bullpen wasn’t all it was thought to be. In other words, they are exploring alternate options and configurations. If similar juggling becomes necessary (even more so than it already is), what kind of reasonable maneuvering do we think could be explored?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Cubdom needs to prepare themselves for Wicks to be sent to Iowa for Taillon to come up.
    Ben Brown has 4 appearances. Wicks has 4 appearances.
    Ben has 16.1 IP.  Wicks has 17 IP
    Ben was a 1.1 WHIP.  Wicks has a 1.7 WHIP. Wicks does have significantly more SOs. 
    Ben has been better, though.
    I love Wicks. I think he's a fighter and his stuff has improved.
    But, Jed isn't ditching Hendricks just yet. He should. But he won't.
    Hendricks should go to the IL and Taillon-Imanaga-Assad-Wicks-Brown should be the rotation.
    Wont' happen though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil,
    Did you agree with the demotion of Luke Little? He'd been pretty good up until the AZ/wild pitch appearance. I know that can't jettison Smyly (just yet) so they didn't need another LHRP. Especially with Leiter effectively being a LHRP. I still thought he deserved to stay. It's not permanent. He'll be back. Lots of moves to come with Taillon, Steele and other guys coming and going.

    Also, do you see Hodge being able to "control/command" his stuff to get a chance this year?
    Is Arias better than Hodge?   Thanks

  • crunch (view)

    just waiting to hear patrick wisdom and masterboney are spotted at the airport going in opposite directions...

    aj puk going for the marlins (lefty)...gotta imagine we'll see wisdom in the lineup.

    someone has to make room for taillon, too.

  • crunch (view)

    he's a low-level cubs star in the modern history of the cubs (c.zambrano, k.wood, r.dempster, etc), but that star has dimmed...and has been dimming since 2021.

    2024 has been ugly the whole way and we're only in mid-april.  homers aside (even though there's been 7 in 17ip) he gave up 29 hits in 20 spring innings and 31 in 17 regular season innings.

    he's pretty much only got 2 pitches at this point in his career and the mix isn't fooling anyone.  he threw a noticable amount more curves in his last start to add to the mix and it didn't help his issues.  he don't have many moves left to break out.

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