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

2015 Arizona Fall League Schedule Released

The 2015 Arizona Fall League schedule has been released and rosters should be announced later this month.

The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an MLB developmental league (approximately equivalent to "AA") that operates for six weeks after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. It;features a 31-game "regular season" schedule plus the "Bowman Hitting Challenge" (first Saturday of the season), an All-Star Game (formerly called the "Rising Stars Game," but now known as the "Fall Stars Game") at the end of the fourth week, and the AFL;Championship Game (pitting the winner of the East Division against the winner of the West Division) on a Saturday at the end of the 6th and final week.

There are no games played on Sundays, on the day of the Bowman Hitting Challenge, or on the day of the Fall Stars Game, but otherwise there are three games scheduled every day Monday through Saturday during the AFL regular season, beginning with Opening Day on the second Tuesday following the conclusion of the MLB regular season (which is October 13th in 2015) and extending up through the Thursday of the 6th week (which is November 19th in 2015).

The Cubs (as well as the other 29 MLB clubs) usually assign some of their better prospects to the AFL. Depending on what positions they are asked to fill on the Mesa squad, I would not be surprised to see the Cubs assign some combination of position players and pitchers such as catchers Willson Contreras or Victor Caratini, first-basemen Dan Vogelbach or Jacob Rogers, second basemen Stephen Bruno or Chesny Young, third-baseman Jeimer Candelario, shortstop Gleyber Torres, outfielders Albert Almora Jr, Jake Hannemann, Billy McKinney, Mark Zagunis, and/or Ian Happ, starting pitchers Pierce Johnson, Duane Underwood Jr, and/or Rob Zastryzny (the ultimate choice of starting pitcher being influenced by the health of the pitcher and how many innings the pitcher has thrown in the 2015 minor league regular season), and relief pitchers Dave Berg, Corey Black, Matt Brazis, Blake Cooper, Carl Edwards Jr, P. J. Francescon, Michael Heesch, Michael Jensen, and/or Tayler Scott. 

Here are the current AFL eligibility rules & restrictions (NOTE: Some of the eligibiility rules & restrictions have been changed over the past couple of years):

1. There are six AFL teams, and each AFL team is affilated with five MLB clubs. SEA & SD (Peoria Javelinas), KC & TEX (Surprise Saguaros), LAD & CHW (Glendale Desert Dogs), AZ & COL (Salt River Rafters), CUBS (Mesa Solar Sox), and SF (Scottsdale Scorpions) are the "host organizations" for the six AFL teams, but the affiliations of the other twenty MLB clubs can vary from year-to-year. Besides the Cubs, the other four MLB organizations affiliated with the Mesa Solar Sox in 2015 will be LAA, MIA, OAK, and TB. (LAA, OAK, TOR, and WAS were the other four MLB organizations affiliated with the Mesa Solar Sox in 2014). 

2. Each MLB organization must assign a minimum of seven players to its AFL affiliate, including a minimum of four pitchers (preferably one pitcher capable of starting plus three relievers) and a minimum of three position players (specific positions needed to be filled by each organization TBD by a conference call "position draft" between the Player Development Directors of the five MLB organizations affiliated with that particular AFL team).

3. An MLB organization can assign additional pitchers and/or players to its AFL team's "Taxi Squad" (players assigned to an AFL team's "Taxi Squad" can be activated on Wednesdays and Saturdays only, but a player can be transferred from the Taxi Squad to the 35-man Active Roster to replace an injured player).

4. A player can be selected to play in the AFL more than once, as long as the player continues to meet eligibility for selection.

5. MLB players (including Rule 5 players) with less than one year (1+000) MLB Service Time accrued (not including time spent on a Disabled list) as of September 1st are eligible.

6. Any player on a AA or AAA Active Roster or Disabled List on August 15th is eligible.

7. Two players on an organization's Advanced Class-A (A+) affiliate's Active Roster (or Disabled List) on August 15th can be assigned to the AFL.

8. Two additional players who were on the Active Roster or Disabled List of a minor league affiliate below AA (A+, A, SS-A, R) on August 15th can be assigned to the AFL.

9. Internatiional players from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and/or Australia are eligible only if the player is not on the reserve list of a Winter League club from the player's home country. Otherwise, there is no maximum limit on the number of international players an MLB organization can assign to its AFL team.

10. A player on the Restricted List, Military List, Disqualified List, Ineligible List, or Voluntary Retired List is not eligible to participate in the AFL. 

11. A player who was on a minor league or MLB DL at the close of the regular season is eligible to play in the AFL as long as the player has been reinstated, but there can be no special limits or restrictions placed on the player's playing time (other than the automatic restrictions imposed on a player assigned to an AFL team's "Taxi Squad").

12. A player cannot be assigned to the AFL on a Minor League Injury Rehabilitation Assignment by a club participating in an MLB post-season series (LDS, LCS, and World Series). 

13. Players assigned to the AFL do not accrue MLB or minor league service time, each player receives the same salary, and the salaries are paid out of a special fund managed by MLB. 

Each MLB organization provides either the manager, pitching coach, hitting coach, or an athletic trainer to its affiliated AFL club (assignments rotate every year). The Cubs are due to send a manager to the AFL this season, so the Cubs have named Myrtle Beach manager Mark Johnson to be the Mesa Solar Sox manager.

Comments

RHP Trey McNutt's 30-day AZL rehab expired on 8/1 and he has been released.

The 26-year old McNutt was on the Iowa Cubs 60-day DL after undergoing right shoulder surgery last year, and the Cubs either had to either reinstate him to the I-Cubs active list or release him when his rehab expired.

McNutt received an "overslot bonus" after being selected by the Cubs in the 32nd round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft (Rule 4 Draft) out of Shelton State CC in Alabama, was rated the Cubs #3 prospect by Baseball, America post-2010 (behind only RHSP Chris Archer and OF Brett Jackson), and became the Cubs #1 pitching prospect after Archer was traded to Tampa Bay in the Matt Garza trade in January 2011. But command issues and then shoulder problems derailed his career.

McNutt was eligible to be an MLB Rule 55 minor league free-agent (6YFA) post-2015 if he hadn't been released (and he was almost certainly not going to be offered a 2016 minor league successor contract by the Cubs), so the Cubs just jumped the gun a wee bit by releasinhg him now.

McNutt was throwing a 90-91 MPH fastball and a pedestrain curve in his recent AZL rehab, far removed from the 96 MPH heater and killer hard-slider he threw pre-shoulder injury. 

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

Don't worry, they would have wrecked Chris Archer, too. I remember when McNutt was in his first full pro season at age 20, and Hendry kept promoting him until he was pitching in the Southern League championship series. Today, the Cubs don't have a single pitcher at AA or higher who is younger than 23. Apparently, they have rules about what age belongs at what level.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

CARLITO: Even though he was a Joe Maddon guy in Tampa Bay, I don't think the Cubs would take on James Shields because his salary ($65M guaranteed 2016-18) might make it next to impossible for the Cubs to sign David Price or another high-priced FA SP post-2015 (presuming they are unable to acquire Tyson Ross, Carlos Carrasco, or one of the Rays starters in a trade). I suspect Shields was probably available for the taking at the trade deadline, but the Cubs saw Dan Haren as the better short-term fit since his contract only runs through the 2015 season.  

Two players who have nearly-identical salaries are Starlin Castro and Jedd Gyorko. (Castro gets $38M guaranteed 2016-19, and Gyorko gets $33M guaranteed 2016-19).  

Why would the Cubs trade Castro plus maybe either Mike Olt or Christian Villanueva for Gyorko plus maybe somebody like ex-BOS 1st round draft pick RHP Casey Kelly?

Gyorko was drafted (2010 SD 2nd round - U. of West Virginia) by Jason McLeod and Jed Hoyer when they were at San Diego (so Gyorko is their guy, Castro is not), and (like Castro) Gyorko might well benefit from a change-of-scenery (and getting out of Petco, which is not a great place for a fly ball hitter like Gyorko).

The Padres currently have a hole at shortstop at the big league level and they traded away their #1 SS prospect (Trea Turner) last off-season, so Castro would be a fit there. They've given up on Wil Middlebrooks at 3B, and GM A. J. Preller was Intenational Scouting Coordinator and then (later) Player Development Director at Texas when Olt and Villanueva were signed and developed by the Rangers.

The thing about Gyroko is that while he has limited range, he is a very reliable defensive second-baseman who could easily slide over to 3rd base (he played 3B in college at West Virginia), so he is like a RH version of Tommy LaStella (the two of them could even platoon at 2B if necessary). Also, Gyorko will have two minor league options left in 2016, and so he can be stashed at Iowa in both 2016 and 2017 if he isn't needed in Chicago (conversely, Mike Olt and Christian Villanueva are out of minor league options next year and won't be able to ride the Des Moines-Chicago shuttle).  

 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

I don't see this FO acquiring a hitter whose K/BB is 4.25. La Stella's was 1.11 last year. Montero's was 1.73. Career OBPs: Montero .342; Denorfia .331; La Stella .325; Coghlan .339; Gyorko .291. Money owed Gyorko: 16:$4M, 17:$6M, 18:$9M, 19:$13M Ugh! Let's keep this thing moving forward. I don't think he's still "their guy" just because they drafted him. They didn't trade Edwin Jackson's contract for one that was worse. They just wrote him off, sent him home.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

it's a shame he's finally getting hot with only a few weeks of the minor league season left. at least his bat got hot, though. with the rest of the cubs kids rushing to the majors we gotta occasionally remind ourselves that's not the norm. ...and for as average/poor as he's been doing in the minors for a couple years he's still been playing way over his head on the talent/age scale. dude just turned 21 at the beginning of the season and he's in AA.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Yeah, it felt like they rushed Almora a bit last year -- moved up from A to AA despite only a .306 OBP at Daytona, then he really struggled at AA after moving up (OBP of .250 with 2BB and 23K). I believe he was Theo's first #1 pick, so maybe that explained the unusually quick promotion (?). Hopefully he can finish strong and bring some confidence into 2016.

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

And he continues to make incredible catches in CF; check out the videos on milb.com. I presume he'll be in AAA next year, at 22, and with the emphasis on defense in today's game, if he can manage a .700 OPS he'll be a valued MLB regular. Y'all heard it here first...no, wait, you've heard it a lot of times from a lot of people..aargh.

Dodgers don't like the Cubs...gave up 9 in the 7th yesterday to blow a 5-3 lead in PIT, now down 7-0 at home vs. Wash. Hey -- a little help?

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...