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

Reds @ Cubs: Stephenson vs Quintana (Game 160)

CIN (82-76): RHP Robert Stephenson (5-6, 4.86) 
CHC (90-69): LHP José Quintana (11-11, 4.06)    
First pitch: 1:20pmCST

Eliminating your historic rival from the post-season with your B-team the day after clinching the division: priceless.

After that dreadful weekend against the Brewers, the Cubs have gone 13-3, including last night’s knock-out of the rather-lifeless Cardinals. (Matheny looked concussed and/or constipated.) The Cubs are getting hot (read: shaking off their Series hangover) at exactly the right time.

Quintana, today’s starter, had his best outing as a Cub on Sunday, shutting out the Brewers for the full 9 and striking out 10. A few more of those in the post-season would be nice. He beat the Reds in August, giving up 1 ER over 5 innings. They are 6-24 (.250) against him. Votto and Hamilton are 1-3.

Stephenson lost to the Red Sox his last time out (6 IP, 2 ER, 4 K, 2 BB). In four games against the Cubs this season, he’s 0-1 with a  4.76. Overall, they are 12-38 (.316) against him. Zobrist is 3-2; Russell has a HR.

Stephens (2-0) and Lester (12-8) go tomorrow at 3:05pmCST.

Go Cubs! 

Comments

I super want the Cubs to collect their 90th win. I feel like 90 is the cut-off between a decent team and a middling team. It's arbitrary, but it seems like a nice round number.

Corrected. I'm happy they hit 90 and would be fine with 90, 92, or 93. 91 seems ugly to me, though...

So, I've been wondering about this a lot over the season: Homerun rates are up across the league, but they are not evenly distributed across all hitters. The Cubs, for instance, have more 20 HR hitters than ever, but neither Bryant nor Rizzo have hit HRs at unusually high rates compared to their own averages. So what hitters have most benefited and who have least benefited from the more aerodynamic baseball? Andrew Perpetua basically comes up with an answer for that over at Rotographs: https://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/the-balls-keep-on-flying/#more-101225 It may not be *the* answer, but his method suggests that these guys would lose a pretty high percentage of their homeruns if there were a sudden return to the baseball production norms of a couple years ago: Baez (31.8%) Happ (26.4%) La Stella (52%) Heyward (25%) And these guys would lose relatively fewer of their homeruns: Bryant (4.8%) Zobrist (13%) Russell (10%) Schwarber (14.6%) Rizzo (17.2%) The full spreadsheet is available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hKgk1KhXQORg0CjtD4ZRVSuqTaRNB0d… I bring this up in part thinking about what the value of a power hitter really is now that there are so many 20 HR hitters in the league. If that continues to be true, can a team afford to carry a Schwarber because he can hit 30+? Is Rizzo less valuable relative to the rest of the league? In effect, have the changes to the ball actually hurt these guys careers while helping players like Happ? It's also a problem for GMs who don't know if the ball is going to return to its previous norms (soon or ever) and if they have to go about evaluating the value of hitters in the majors and the potential of players in the minors differently. I wonder if studies like this were applied to pitchers, which pitchers would appear to have been damaged the most. How much have Cubs SP posted down years because something was off mechanically vs. because the ball was flying?

Why do people keep saying that Schwarber is a 30-HR hitter, rather than, say, a 45-HR hitter? Because he didn't do it at age 24, coming off a lost season and a major rehab? How is Giancarlo Stanton doing at age 27, several years removed from his serious injury?

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Yeah. On a per/PA basis, Schwarber is on about a 35 HR pace over 600 PAs. Since June (21 HRs/270 PAs) he's on a 47 HR pace over 600 PAs. Granted, those numbers are skewed because he isn't facing many LHP. But if he were to figure LHP out, he's definitely got 40+ HR power.

*game doesn't matter* oh well, let's let rondon hit. *close play at 1st for an out* challenge! challenge! after a 3 minute delay rondon has his 1st MLB hit in 3 career PA with a 20ft dribbler in front on the catcher. btw, he really enjoyed being able to do the "wave to the dugout after a hit" thing.

happ!!!! unf. cubs take a 1 run lead in the bottom 8th with a 3r HR!

Cubs A team: .565 Winning Percentage Cubs B/B+ team: 1.000 Winning Percentage

I’m kinda hoping playoff rotation goes: Hendricks Quintana Arrieta Lester (w Lackey ready to piggyback if Lester sucks)

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

Last year the Cubs were head and shoulders better than anybody else in baseball. They won 8 more games than anybody else over the regular season,and were +16, +12, and +9 against the Giants, Dodgers, and Indians respectively. Yet each series was on a knife-edge on more than one occasion well before the final rain delay. Cubs have been better since the All-Star Game than anybody else except the Dodgers (I think). What I understand about sports psychology is top-level athletes tell themselves what's good rather than what's true. Cubs have to be going into the playoffs saying "why NOT us"? From the outside I see it completely possible that the Cubs get swept by the Nats. I also think the longer the series goes the better the Cubs chances due to the having-been-there-before factor plus the Dusty effect. But I also think the Cubs players think differently about how things might go than I do.

Harvard Grad Tom Morello (with Cubs hat on) on Bill Maher show now. Interesting guy - and fucking amazing guitarist.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.