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

2017 Cubs Spring Training Uniform Numbers

CUBS SPRING TRAINING UNIFORM NUMBERS NOTE 1: These are preliminary and are subject to change NOTE 2: Minor league coaches and instructors usually are assigned numbers 67, 88-94, and 96-99 (TBA) NOTE 3: Numbers 3, 24, 53, 54, and 69 are not assigned at this time (Cubs do not issue #69) 1 Gary Jones, COACH 2 Tommy LaStella, INF 3 --------------- 4 Dave Martinez, COACH 5 Albert Almora Jr, OF 6 Carl Edwards Jr, P 7 Jeimer Candelario, INF 8 Jemile Weeks, INF 9 Javy Baez, INF 10 RETIRED 11 John Mallee, COACH 12 Kyle Schwarber, C-OF 13 Carlos Corporan, C 14 RETIRED 15 Chris Dominguez, INF 16 Brandon Hyde, COACH 17 Kris Bryant, INF 18 Ben Zobrist, IF-OF 19 Koji Uehara, P 20 Matt Szczur, OF 21 Dylan Floro, P 22 Jason Heyward, OF 23 RETIRED 24 --------------- 25 Chris Bosio, COACH 26 RETIRED 27 Addison Russell, INF 28 Kyle Hendricks, P 29 Rob Zastryzny, P 30 Jon Jay, OF 31 RETIRED 32 Brian Duensing, P 33 Fernando Rodriguez, P 34 Jon Lester, P 35 Lester Strode, COACH 36 Aaron Brooks, P 37 Brett Anderson, P 38 Mike Montgomery, P 39 Manny Parra, P 40 Willson Contreras, C 41 John Lackey, P 42 RETIRED 43 Jake Buchanan, P 44 Anthony Rizzo, 1B 45 Casey Kelly, P 46 Pedro Strop, P 47 Miguel Montero, C 48 Jim Henderson, P 49 Jake Arrieta, P 50 Gerardo Concepcion, P 51 Jack Leathersich, P 52 Justin Grimm, P 53 --------------- 54 --------------- 55 Daniel Corcino, P 56 Hector Rondon, P 57 David Rollins, P 58 Mike Borzello, COACH 59 Zac Rosscup, P 60 Felix Pena, P 61 Conor Mullee, P 62 Caleb Smith, P 63 Maikel Cleto, P 64 Henry Blanco, COACH 65 Franklin Font, COACH 66 Munenori Kawasaki, INF 67 --------------- (worn by Minor League Outfield & Baserunning Coordinator Doug Dascenzo in 2016) 68 Eloy Jimenez, OF 69 --------------- 70 Joe Maddon, MGR 71 Wade Davis, P 72 John Andreoli, OF 73 Victor Caratini, C-1B 74 Duane Underwood Jr, P 75 Jacob Hannemann, OF 76 Jose Rosario, P 77 Eric Hinske, COACH 78 Mark Zagunis, OF 79 Andury Acevedo, P 80 Pierce Johnson, P 81 James Farris, P 82 Taylor Davis, C-1B 83 Seth Frankoff, P 84 Jhondaniel Medina, P 85 Chesny Young, INF 86 Ian Happ, IF-OF 87 Ryan Williams, P 88 --------------- 69 --------------- (worn by Tennessee manager Mark Johnson in 2016) 90 --------------- (worn by Iowa pitching coach Rod Nichols in 2016) 91 --------------- (worn by Iowa manager Marty Pevey in 2016) 92 --------------- 93 --------------- 94 --------------- (worn by Minor League Hitting Coordinator Andy Haines in 2016) 95 Chad Noble, BULLPEN CATCHER 96 --------------- (worn by Minor League Pitching Coordinator Jim Brower in 2016) 97 --------------- (worn by Minor League Field Coordinator Tim Cossens in 2016) 98 --------------- (worn by Tennessee pitching coach Terry Clark in 2016) 99 ---------------

Comments

Wade Davis usually wears #17, but Kris Bryant already has that number locked-up, so Davis took #71 (#17 reversed).

I find it interesting that Eloy Jimenez was assigned Jorge Soler's old number (#68).

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

VA PHIL: I only mentioned it because Eloy Jimenez somewhat resembles Jorge Soler physically, and I thought it was interesting that Jimenez (in particular) got Soler's old number 68 when most of the in-house NRI and even some of the guys on the 40-man roster (Andreoli, Caratini, Hannemann, Rosario, Underwood, Zagunis, Acevedo, P. Johnson, T. Davis, Young, Happ, R. Williams, et al) were issued generic "Spring Training numbers" in the 70's and 80's.

As for why Soler wore #68, it probably was just a matter of keeping the number he was first issued in Spring Training, but it did become associated with him while he was a Cub (there were jerseys sold with his name & number on them), and because of that, Cubs #68 is probably no longer just another generic "Spring Training number." It's Jorge Soler's old number. 

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Back when AZ Phil first became a Cub fan circa 1960-61, the Cubs uniform numbering system was very simple... catchers wore single-digit numbers, infielders were numbered in the teens, outfielders in the 20's, pitchers in the 30's and 40's, and the Kollege of Koaches wore numbers in the 50's and 60's. No numbers were retired. That's the way it was, and we liked it! Now, get off my lawn!!!! link

Is the reason the Cubs don't assign/use #69 because of the collapse of 1969 or because of, well, sexual reasons...?

Cleveland was awarded the 2019 All Star Game yesterday. They will follow Miami this year and Washington in 2018. 2020 will be the 30th anniversary of the last time the Cubs hosted the game. In the meantime, only three teams have not hosted the event. In addition to the Dodgers, that includes Oakland and Tampa Bay - the league's two current examples of bad ballpark situations. Pittsburgh and San Diego have hosted twice in that period, which is why the math doesn't add up. However, a caveat: none of the Yankees, Philadephia, or now Atlanta have hosted it in their new park. Combined with the ongoing renovations at Wrigley, I have to think the Cubs will be one of the next 5 teams announced to host, and possible within the next 1-2.

I have updated the TCR Cubs Organizational Depth Chart to reflect Spring Training assignments, including projected assignments at Minor League Camp.

Just as a Point of Information, Kevin Cornelius MUST be assigned to the Iowa squad, because a player selected in the AAA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft MUST be assigned to the AAA affiliate's squad at Minor League Camp for at least 15 days, but then the player can be assigned to any affiliate once the season starts.

Two more minor league signings to report: - Todd Glaesmann (OF) - Frank Batista (RP)

No one assigned Ross or Dexter's number I get. I don't quite get no one with Chapman's number, and certainly not Cahill's!

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

DJL: David Ross's number might be left open for a while in case he decides to un-retire sometime during the season (and if Lester is struggling, he might!). The other open numbers (24, 53, and 54) are just chance. Normally the Cubs don't reissue the numbers of their free-agents until they actually sign elsewhere or until it's absolutely sure they are not coming back. That's why I was surprised that Brett Anderson got #37 (Travis Wood's old number), especially since Anderson has never worn #37 in MLB before (he wore #35 with the Dodgers and #49 wth the A's), and Wood has still not signed elsewhere. So it is possible that if Wood comes back, Anderson could maybe switch to #53 (#35 reversed), or Bullpen Coach Lester Strode could give-up #35 so Anderson can have it and switch to a different uniform number. But again, the uniform number assignments are preliminary and are subject to change, both at the start of Spring Training, and then again on Opening Day.

@Buster_ESPN 2m2 minutes ago MLB strips Cards of their first two picks in '17 draft (56, 75 overall) and fines them $2 million; money and picks forwarded to Astros.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

The team penalties seem about right (although it should probably have been their first pick this year and next year instead of 1 and 2 this year) and Correa got 4 years in jail and a $280K fine, so I'm OK with that. But, as always with stuff like this, the big question is : WHY? What the hell? Were the Astros a huge threat to the Cardinals in 2012? Don't the Cardinals have their own system for evaluating talent, which has been (too) successful?

[ ]

In reply to by billybucks

The $2M fine payable to the Astros is almost exactly the combined Signing Bonus Pool (SBP) slot values for the two 2017 draft picks (#56 and #75) forfeited to the Astros by the Cardinals, so the Astros should be able to sign both draft picks essentially for free (that is, with Cardinal money) while increasing their own 2017 Rule 4 Draft SBP (the money they will be allowed to spend without penalty) for all of their other selections in the first ten rounds by $1,853,200 (the combined slot values of the two Cardinal draft picks). And that would allow the Astros to pay significant "overslot" bonuses (if they so choose) to some of their 2017 draft picks (including the two draft picks they get from the Cardinals) that they might not otherwise have been able to sign for "slot money."

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has placed Chris Correa on the MLB Ineligible List (lifetime ban), making him ineligible to be hired by any MLB organization. This also makes Correa ineligible for selection to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he is still eligible for selection to the Hackers Hall of Fame.

So I guess not signing and trying to trade Hammel was not such a bad strategy after all.

Cubs acquire Eddie Butler & international bonus slot #74 from Rockies for James Farris & international bonus slot #28. Dylan Floro DFA'd

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

we have this on Farris in case anyone is a fan: @sahadevsharma Re: Farris, he has a fringy slider and Cubs were considering bringing back his curve from amateur days. Looks like purely a reliever.

Butler was once upon a time a pretty big pitching prospect, (#24 in baseball before 2014). But he's had shoulder issues almost since he was first called up in 2014 and got DFA'd last week when they signed Holland. His numbers are pretty ugly looking the last 3 years. Maybe getting away from Coors/Denver will help.

Just watched the MLB.tv condensed version of Butler's best start last year, a 6-inning, 0-run, 6/2 K/BB performance in May at San Francisco. He did not even look very good in his best start, with the exception of part of the second, when he struck out two after loading the bases, and the fifth, in which he struck out the side. The ballpark saved him two home runs, there are a ton of hard-hit balls, some web gems, a TOOTBLAN, and overall it was a very lucky performance. I know I shouldn't read too much into one performance, but it was literally the best start of his major league career. I know he's probably a reliever with the Cubs. With his repertoire, he still has a shot.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

Initially, he should be a starter in Iowa. After that, it's all if he figures it out. If so or if not, it was a fairly logical gamble on a ninth-round pick in Farris. BTW, kudos to AZ Phil for nailing Farris as the guy who would likely be traded in this sort of trade.

TIM: Unless one of the Cubs MLB starting pitchers begins the season on the DL, the Opening Day starting rotation at Iowa will likely be Butler-Zastryzny-Buchanan-Brooks-Kelly (I suspect Ryan Williams will start the season at Extended Spring Training while he builds-up innings & his pitch count), with Butler, Zastryzny, Buchanan, and Brooks already on the Cubs MLB 40-man roster AND with minor league options available (and if Kelly is added to the 40 at some point, he has a minor league option left, too). This matters because ideally you would want all five starters at AAA capable of starting games in the big leagues, so whichever one of them is due to start for Iowa on the day you suddenly need a AAA starter to get called up, the one scheduled to pitch that day gets the call. Of course Maddon/Bosio could always go with a "bullpen day," but that usually requires relief pitchers who are more than "one-inning" pitchers. They had guys like that last year (with Richards, Cahill, and Wood in the pen coming out of Spring Training), but it looks like only Montgomery will be able to pitch multiple innings of the eight pitchers likely to start the season in the pen (W. Davis-Rondon-Uehara-Montgomery-Strop-Duensing-Edwards-Grimm). That's why one of the two relievers with options remaining who can't refuse an optional assignment (Edwards or Grimm) could get optioned to Iowa at the end of Spring Training, either to allow Rule 5 draft pick Caleb Smith to make the 25-man roster (and he could be stretched-out to pitch multiple innings in Spring Training), or for one of the presumed five starters at Iowa (Butler-Zastryzny-Buchanan-Brooks-Kelly) to make the Opening Day roster as the "long-man" in the pen (this slot could have pitchers rotate up from Iowa every couple of weeks). BTW, there could be some major carnage at the end of Spring Training. Depending on how many pitchers begin the season on the DL in Chicago, Iowa, and Tennessee, as many as twenty pitchers could get released just from the Iowa and Tennessee squads alone by the end of Minor League Camp.

Az Phil, Barring DL stints, the Opening night roster?: SP: Lester, Arrieta, Hendricks, Lackey, Anderson RP: Davis, Rondon, Strop, Montgomery, Uehara, Edwards, Grimm, Duensing IF: Contreras, Rizzo, Zobrist, Russell, Bryant OF: Schwarber, Almora, Heyward Bench: Montero, Baez, La Stella, Jay Szczur is out.

[ ]

In reply to by Childersb3

CHILDERS: I would tend to agree with that.

Two possible changes (though less than 50% chance for both):

1. Caleb Smith > Edwards or Grimm (Smith is a Rule 5 draft pick and can't be sent to the minors until waivers are secured AND the Yankees decline to reclaim him, and both Edwards & Grimm have minor league options left and neither can refuse an Optional Assignment)

2. Jemile Weeks > LaStella (IF Weeks proves his hamstring is 100%)

And of course injuries change everything.

I agree that Szczur (who is out of minor league options) is a goner (by trade or lost off waivers) unless an outfielder starts the season on the DL, so the Cubs might not make final disposition with regard to Szczur until the very end of Spring Training. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Damn. I just learned how to spell Szczur without looking. Well, I hope he leaves some of his bats behind for Rizz. Much easier to root for Szczur than LaStella, for reasons both obvious and not (he saved a child's life by being a bone marrow donor, which is no small thing). But, ironically, for a team swimming in infielders a while ago, they are a bit bench-thin there now.

[ ]

In reply to by tim815

i dunno if any team sees him as a guy who could handle CF reliably as an injury backup, but if so he's got something going on with his value. at the very least he could handle all 3 OF part time off the bench. that said, i doubt he'd bring someone that would make us say 'wow.'

Az Phil, Do you see Theo getting Boone Logan? I don't want any of the other Free Agent LHRP. Is Logan better than Duensing?

[ ]

In reply to by Childersb3

CHILDERS: Boone Logan would be an upgrade over Brian Duensing, but I doubt that the Cubs would strongly pursue Logan at this time. However, if Logan falls into their laps (like Dexter Fowler did last year), I would think the Cubs would try and find a way to sign him, because it would make the pen better. As a post-2016 Article XX-B FA, Duensing has automatic "no trade" rights through June 15th, and he can't be sent to the minors without his permission, either, so if they sign Logan, the Cubs would probably end up releasing Duensing at the end of Spring Training (presuming there isn't room for both Logan and Duensing in the pen on Opening Day). And if the Cubs do release Duensing and he ends up signing with another MLB club, the new club would only have to pay Duensing the MLB minimum salary ($535K in 2017), and the Cubs would be on the hook for the balance ($1.465M). But that's actually not that much if it means the Cubs can get Logan. Also, the Cubs may be maxed-out payroll-wise for 2017, but about $90M in payroll comes off the books in 2018, and if he is amenable, the Cubs could perhaps sign Logan to a two-year back-loaded deal with maybe a player opt-out with 2018 severance (like Fowler got last year).

Thanks Az Phil. I doubt Logan would fall to us, unless he wanted to win like Dexter did. And, if that happened, 1.465 mil to make Duensing play for someone else is a drop in the bucket with the 2018 potential savings. This won't happen, because Theo will want him to develop more or put up good numbers for trade bait, but could Jeimer out hit TLS in Spr Training? I know ole 3am can still swing it some, but I'm ready to move on from him.

Wouldn't mind seeing Blevins fall to us, especially on a contract similar to Logan. It's insane Logan got less than Mike Dunn or even Rzepczynski. Also wouldn't mind taking a chance on the injured Eovaldi for 2018, maybe even H. Alvarez. Bullpen wise, wouldn't hate to see us grab Aaron Barrett or Maness.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.