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, 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
 





Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Blue Jays @ Cubs: Tepesch vs Quintana (Game 122)

TOR (59-63): RHP Nick Tepesch (1-2, 5.25)
CHC (64-57): LHP José Quintana (7-10, 4.33) 
First pitch: 1:20pmCST
 
Quintana gave up 1 ER in 5 innings to win against the Reds on Monday. He beat these Jays in June, as a member of the White Sox (7 IP, 2 ER, 5 K, 2 BB). Overall, they are 42-149 (.282) against him. Morales is 14-41 with 3 HR, and Pearce is 5-11 with 2 HR.

Tepesch has had an erratic journey: drafted but did not sign with the Red Sox in 2007, drafted again by the Rangers then non-tendered, signed then DFA’d by the Dodgers in 2016, claimed off waivers by the A’s and the Royals in the same year, then signed and released by the Twins this year. He came to the Jays via trade for $2.50 and a rosin bag. I like this guy. He could be DFA’d at any point, perhaps even mid-delivery.

This will be his fourth appearance of the year—and third start with Toronto. His last appearance was a 6 inning outing of one-run ball and a win against the Rays. The Cubs are 2-10 against him. Jay and Rizzo are each 1-2.

Tomorrow is Hendricks (4-4) and Estrada (5-8) at the same time to end the series before we head to Cincinnati and Philly.

Go Cubs!
 

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

As I've mentioned here before, if the Cubs can get Aaron Brooks through waivers, he is not eligible to elect free-agency if outrighted, he is not eligible to be an MLB Rule 55 minor league 6YFA after the World Series, and he will be eligible for selection in the 2017 MLB Rule 5 Draft (although if he is not claimed off waivers in August, it is unlikely he would be selected in the Rule 5 Draft in December).

So if he is not traded or claimed off waivers within the next seven days, Brooks would likely remain under club control through the 2018 season. 

And Rene Rivera is a rental (he is a FA post-2017). So while Victor Caratini will likely be optioned to Iowa once Rivera reports, he will almost certainly be recalled on September 1st when MLB active list rosters expand, and he stands a good chance to be the Cubs back-up C-1B on Opening Day 2018. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

OTOH, if Rivera is a fit, he could be a perfect "third candidate" for 2018. Caratini could start in Iowa if everyone is healthy, or fit in Chicago as needed there. A "third guy" will be needed, anyway. If Rivera accepts back-up pay (under two million?) for an extension, the Cubs could retain him to be their Tim Federowicz. Iowa roster for Saturday had 21 players and ten pitchers. Brooks will be run through waivers immediately.

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

rumor has it lester's lats feel 99% better as of this morning. a few more rounds of golf this week and he should be ready to go. btw, no i don't think he's faking it. hopefully he's ready to go after 10 days on the DL. these injuries can linger for weeks and re-injure easily. he's not having an awesome season, but he's still one of the best post-season options. also, i hope contreras's rehab is coming along nicely.

okay, wow...this wonder expenditure of taxpayer money just buzzed the hell out of the park. im sure guys that fly planes in formations just a few meters from each other know what they're doing, but that was a low buzz of the park.

Fabulous ab by Jon Jay. 6 pitches and he conserves his energy by not swinging at anything with men on 2nd and 3rd, 2 outs.

I like the Rivera claim. Pena impressive in high leverage! Wow! He struck out the side!

lol Rondon has given up runs in 4 consecutive appearances now unfortunately.

[ ]

In reply to by chitownmvp01

Rondonitis can be misdiagnosed as Grimm-Wilson Syndrome since the symptoms are so similar.

cubs win! they're also starting to become competitive for the WC if that becomes and issue (3rd in the pecking order for 2 slots, currently).

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Nice game for Quintana -- get on a roll, Q! As a Cub: 4-2, 3.73 ERA, 1.10 WHIP. It's not Brett Anderson, but it'll do. BTW -- I have always thought it strange that HBP isn't included in the WHIP stat, if the stat is intended to measure the # of baserunners (ex errors) allowed by the pitcher. Probably not a big factor over a season, I guess.

Looks like Cubs broke Champan, lol. 4.29 ERA this season and was removed from the closer role today.

[ ]

In reply to by chitownmvp01

I watched the end of the Sunday night game vs NYY where Devers took him deep to tie it up. He was still thowing 100+. The younger guys seem to have a good approach vs. Chapman -- short, quick and just get the barrel on the ball. Hanley Ramirez went old school, swung as hard as he could and never came close to making contact.

I know Miggy left town on bad terms -- appropriately so, in my opinion -- but I will always love him for providing the single greatest moment of any sporting event I have attended. I flew my son home from college for Game 1 of the NLCS, and Miggy's grand slam is something we will talk about for the rest of our lives. The sound of the ball off the bat left no doubt -- we were both momentarily stunned into disbelief -- then just sheer joy and euphoria. As I explained to my wife (or tried to, anyway) -- this is why you stay a sports fan and stay loyal to a team for so many years -- you may get a moment like that, which makes you smile every time you think about it. I was also at the White Sox WS game (work tickets!) when Posednik hit the walk-off HR -- and the looks on the faces of everybody around me said the same thing. Just pure joyful disbelief that they could be there for that moment. So -- thanks, Miggy. Like a lot of relationships, it ended badly, but man, we had ourselves some fun, and we'll remember the good times!

Is there any way the Cubs can get out of Heyward's contract? I know he has a NTC, is it ironclad? Theo managed to dump Crawford in Boston, but I don't know how he'll ever dump Heyward's deal. I don't care if his defense is nice, the dude simply cannot hit. Each time he comes to the plate, I make a choice: A) Ground ball, right side, B) pop-up, C) strikeout swinging. Just brutal.

Please end the trend -- Cubs have given up at least one run in the 8th inning in all 6 games of the homestand.

St Louis lost today, and now the Rockies have rallied to tie the Brewers; currently 3-3 in the bottom of the 8th... Go Rockies!

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • 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 lower 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