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

Cubs to Add Second AZL Team in 2018

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

The Cubs will be adding a second team in the Arizona League (AZL) in 2018, which effectively means the Cubs will be able to add 35 additional minor league roster slots (minor league reserve list slots). So they will now have 320 minor league roster slots available in the organization instead of 285.

Former Cubs Player Development Director Oneri Fleita had proposed adding a second Cubs team to the AZL about seven or eight years ago, but it didn't go anywhere at the time.  

So the Cubs two AZL affiliates will match their two Dominican Summer League (DSL) affiliates, allowing young Latin players to be promoted from the DSL to the AZL with ease and then be retained for more years than has previously been the case. It will also allow the Cubs to sign more non-drafted free agents (NDFA) after the June draft, and it will also make it easier to get more innings for rehabbing pitchers and more reps for rehabbing position players in AZL games. And if the Cubs were to (let's say) sign two young hotshot shortstops who aren't ready for Eugene, they can both get regular playing time in the AZL (one with AZL Cubs #1 and one with AZL Cubs #2).  

The San Diego Padres added a second AZL team last season, the first MLB club to add a second team in the AZL. And along with the Cubs, the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants will be adding a second AZL team in 2018 as well. So the AZL will now have 18 teams, with the Colorado Rockies still the only MLB club with Spring Training in Arizona to not field even one team in the AZL (although the Rockies do operate one team in the short-season Pioneer League and one team in the short-season Northwest League). 

The Detrot Tigers have been operating two teams in the Gulf Coast League (GCL) in Florida for two seasons, and the New York Yankees have had two teams in the GCL for several seasons. So now six MLB organizations (the Cubs, Padres, Giants, Indians, Tigers, and Yankees) will be operating two teams in short-season rookie complex leagues (the rookie leagues that are based at Florida and Arizona Spring Training facilities). 

The Cubs are also now one of six MLB clubs with nine minor league affiliates (AZ, HOU, NYM, NYY, and TB are the others). Twelve MLB clubs have eight minor league affiliates, and twelve MLB clubs have seven.  
 
Here are the preliminary 2018 Cubs minor league field staff assignments (some assignments still TBA):

 
CUBS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FIELD STAFF (last updated 1-18-2018)
FIELD COORDINATOR & CATCHING COORDINATOR: Tim Cossins 
PITCHING COORDINATOR: Brendan Sagara
ASSISTANT PITCHING COORDINATORS: Mike Mason (full season clubs) and Steve Merriman (EXST & short-season clubs)
HITTING COORDINATOR: Jacob Cruz  
ASSISTANT HITTING COORDINATOR: Tom Beyers 
INFIELD COORDINATOR: Jeremy Farrell
OUTFIELD & BASERUNNING COORDINATOR: Doug Dascenzo 
BASERUNNING INSTRUCTOR: Mike Roberts 
LATIN AMERICAN FIELD COORDINATOR: Dave Keller 
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Josh Lifrak 
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Darnell McDonald
MENTAL SKILLS COORDINATOR: John Baker 
LATIN AMERICAN MENTAL SKILLS COORDINATOR: Raymond Fuentes 
IOWA: Marty Pevey (Manager), Rod Nichols (Pitching Coach), Desi Wilson (Hitting Coach), and Chris Valaika (Assistant Coach) 
TENNESSEE: Mark Johnson (Manager), Terry Clark (Pitching Coach), Jesus Feliciano (Hitting Coach), and Ben Carhart (Assistant Coach) 
MYRTLE BEACH: Buddy Bailey (Manager), Anderson Tavarez (Pitching Coach), Ty Wright (Hitting Coach), and Carlos Rojas (Assistant Coach) 
SOUTH BEND: Jimmy Gonzalez (Manager), Brian Lawrence (Pitching Coach), Ricardo Medina (Hitting Coach), and Paul McAnulty (Assistant Coach) 
EUGENE: Steve Lerud (Manager), Armando Gabino (Pitching Coach), Osmin Melendez (Hitting Coach), and Jacob Rogers (Assistant Coach) 
AZL CUBS #1: Carmelo Martinez (Manager), TBA (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), and Leo Perez (Assistant Coach) 
AZL CUBS #2: Jonathan Mota (Manager), TBA (Pitching Coach), Claudio Almonte (Hitting Coach), and TBA (Assistant Coach)
MESA REHAB: Ron Villone (Rehab Pitching Coordinator) and TBA (Rehab Coach)
DSL CUBS #1: Lance Rymel (Manager), Eduardo Villacis (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Antonio Valerio (Assistant Coach), and Jose Zapata (Assistant Coach) 
DSL CUBS #2: Pedro Gonzalez (Manager), Jose Cueto  (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Jovanny Rosario (Assistant Coach), and Carlos Ramirez (Assistant Coach) 
MINOR LEAGUE ATHLETIC TRAINING COORDINATOR: Chuck Baughman
ASSISTANT MINOR LEAGUE TRAINING COORDINATOR (MESA REHAB): Jonathan Fierro 
LATIN AMERICAN TRAINING COORDINATOR: Jose Alvarez 
ATHLETIC TRAINERS: Ed Halbur and Mike McNulty (Iowa), Toby Williams (Tennessee), Logan Severson (Myrtle Beach), James Edwards (South Bend), Sean Folan (Eugene), Ike Ojata (AZL Cubs #1), TBA (AZL Cubs #2), Adrian Pettaway (DSL Cubs #1), and Arnoldo Goite (DSL Cubs #2) 
MINOR LEAGUE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COORDINATOR: Doug Jarrow 
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHES: Ryan Clausen (Iowa), Jason Moriss (Tennessee), Keegan Knoll (Myrtle Beach), Ryan Nordtvedt (South Bend), Dallas Lopez (Eugene), Mike Megrew (AZL Cubs #1), TBA (AZL Cubs #2), Amaury Gonzalez (DSL Cubs #1), and Manny Estrada (DSL Cubs #2)

Tags
AZL Cubs
Cubs Minor League Coaches

Comments

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 01/18/2018 - 01:07 pm

Not one but two AZL Cubs teams? John Arguello would have been freakin' thrilled!

Submitted by Sonicwind75 on Thu, 01/18/2018 - 01:56 pm

AZ Phil, is there a cap to how many minor league reserve list slots an organization can have?

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 01/18/2018 - 01:44 pm

SONICWIND75: Theoretically an MLB club could have 20 or 30 minor league affiliates, but there is a real-world limit based upon the number of minor leagues and the number of clubs in each minor league because adding an additional minor league or expanding the number of clubs in an existing minor league requires the approval of both the MLB Commissioner and the President of Minor League Baseball. 

The basic restriction is no MLB club is permitted to have more than one club in any one "full season" minor league. That's not one minor league classification, that's one minor league. So (for example) the Cubs could operate a team in both the Pacific Coast League and the International League (both AAA leagues), a team in the Eastern League, a team in the Southern League, and a team in the Texas League (all three AA classification), a team in the Carolina League, a team in the California League, and a team in the Florida State League (all three Class "A" - Advanced - AKA - "Hi-A"), and a team in the Midwest League and a team in the South Atlantic League (both Full Season Class "A" - AKA - "Lo-A"), and an infinite number of teams in the NYP League, the Northwest League, the Appalachian League, the Pioneer League, and/or the AZL, GCL, and DSL.

But there are only 30 AAA teams, 30 AA teams, 30 Hi-A teams, and 30 Lo-A teams, with each MLB club operating one (and only one) club in each classification, and the MLB Commissioner and the President of Minor League Baseball would almost certainly not approve expansion of any of the full season leagues unless there was an accompanying expansion at the MLB level.         

As for short-season leagues that include clubs owned in most cases by parties not directly associated with the parent MLB club, there is a certain finite number of teams in each of those leagues, and while it is very possible that affiliations (PDCs) could change from time to time, it is unlikely that the MLB Commissioner and President of Minor League Baseball would approve expansion of those leagues unless there was also expansion at the MLB level or unless some other compelling case could be made to do so.  

But the three rookie "complex" leagues (AZL, GCL, and DSL) are fully owned & operated by MLB clubs and there is no league president or outside ownership groups involved. Still, the MLB Commissioner and the President of Minor League Baseball must approve expansion of the complex leagues, and I would imagine if some MLB club wanted to get real ambitious and add two or three additional affiliates to a complex league (like AZL Cubs #3, AZL Cubs #4, and AZL Cubs #5), that other MLB clubs would object, and then the MLB Commissioner and President of Minor League Baseball would just not give their approval for the expansion. 

MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATES PER MLB CLUB:

NINE: (6)
CUBS
AZ
HOU
NYM
NYY
TB

EIGHT: (12)
CIN
CLE
DET
KC
LAD
PHI
PIT
SD
SF
STL
TEX
TOR

SEVEN: (12)
ATL
BAL
BOS
CHW
COL
LAA
MIA
MIL
MIN
OAK
SEA
WAS

Submitted by The E-Man on Thu, 01/18/2018 - 01:51 pm

PHIL: How can you possibly cover all this action, man?! Is there a AZ PHIL, JR.? Or, can you sign someone off the TCR roster? Thanks for the update on this. Very exciting. Wondering what your impressions are of Mike Minor so far? Thanks.

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Fri, 01/19/2018 - 01:58 pm

PHIL- I know I have asked this a couple months ago, but have you heard who's coming going and going in the Wilson/Avilia, Pena, and Monterero deals. I know you gave the Answer to the Martin/Hannemann trade. I believe before that you said stuff gets sorted out usually after the Rule 5 draft or has it all turned into "cash considerations"? I didn't know if all of sudden you saw some new random new faces showing up in AZ and not knowing why etc.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 01/19/2018 - 01:56 pm

CUBBIES-4-EVER: The Cubs paid the Tigers cash (at least $50,000) to complete the Wilson/Avila trade and the Cubs received cash (at least $50,000) from the Blue Jays to complete the Montero trade. As far as I know, the Pena trade is still pending (must be completed by April 9th), so it is possible that the Cubs will acquire a player from the Angels to complete that trade. Otherwise they'll get cash. Clubs have up to six months to agree on a player in any deal when a player on an MLB 40-man roster is traded for a PTBNL or cash, otherwise the club receives cash (minimum $50,000) in lieu of a player. The exact cash amount to be paid to a club in lieu of the club receiving a player must be stated clearly in the terms of the trade when it is officially filed with the MLB office.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 01/19/2018 - 01:18 pm

TIM: Good call. Carlos Perez would be an - EXCELLENT - PTBNL in the Felix Pena trade. And Perez is out of minor league options, too, and there is no way he gets through waivers (and the Angels almost certainly must know that). The Angels might want to wait and make sure Martin Maldonado and Ruben Rivera make it through Spring Training in one piece before they jettison Perez, but at least the Cubs have until April 9th (after the conclusion of Spring Training) to complete the Felix Pena trade. The Angels also have a third catcher (Juan Graterol) on the 40 and he does have minor league options left, so the Angels can just send him to AAA to provide depth behind Maldonado and Rivera if they find they can't keep Perez. No wonder Curt Casali wanted out!

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/20/2018 - 01:14 pm

Jan 20th... aside from s.ohtani and w.davis (or z.cosart if you're into that) none of the "top" FA class has signed jd martinez, darvish, arrieta, cobb, hosmer, moosetacos, cain, lynn...waiting hell, the only SP of note to sign so far (aside from ohtani) is ancient-ass sabathia and the cubs very own high risk gamble of chatwood...if chatwood is worth noting.

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Submitted by bradsbeard on Sat, 01/20/2018 - 01:14 pm

Carlos Santana signed too. Bruce got a pretty decent deal for what he is. Basically the relief pitchers are getting paid because teams are wanting to build deep pens. At this point, Darvish and Arrieta are holding out for top dollar, but with the Yankees and Dodgers unwilling to exceed the LT their market is limited and the rest of the FA class is simply not that appealing. JD Martinez is the best hitter on the market, but he’s a DH and not too many teams have a burning need for his services. He reportedly has a very good offer from the Red Sox which, if true, he should be all over. Lorenzo Cain is a good player who is 32 and will cost a draft pick. Hosmer and Moustakas alternate between replacement level and above average every other year and will cost a draft pick. Nobody wants to sign Cobb or Lynn, and give up a draft pick, while Darvish and Arrieta are out there.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/20/2018 - 01:21 pm

im just waiting for the pieces to fall. i wouldn't complain about any of them, but i kinda hope arrieta goes elsewhere solely for the draft pick "bonus" coming to the cubs. the minor league system is hurting and any pickups now are generally expected to be the types that will pay off when need is expected years from now.

[ ]

Submitted by Jackstraw on Sun, 01/21/2018 - 01:43 am

Darvish, Lester, Hendricks, and Quintana is a competitive post-season rotation. Lester, Hendricks, Q, and Chatwood isn't, at least to my eye. Cubs need to either sign a #1/#2 SP now, or at the trade deadline. Do it now, it costs money. Do it later, it costs less money and some players. How I piece it together. I'm for now.

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Submitted by johann on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 01:13 pm

That'll partially depend on if Lester can return to form but also it's not just pitching quality but length the Cubs need. They killed their bullpen with all the starting pitcher quick hooks (some warranted some not) and they need a guy who can go deep in games and depending on either Chatwood or Montgomery for that is asking a lot.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 01:25 pm

counting on chatwood to be more than a 5-6 inning pitcher would be generous pending some kind of amazing turn around. he's got the stuff and variety of pitches to be awesome, but he's not a guy handing the ball to the setup guy or closer very often. i hope this gamble doesn't end up on par with the edwin jackson deal. relying on chatwood+montgomery back to back doesn't seem to be wise. that said, it does seem like another starter is very likely to be added with the cubs not saying anything about the roster being complete. even the 40-man roster currently sits at 39.

[ ]

Submitted by John Beasley on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 01:50 pm

I mean, the Cubs are 100% going to sign another starting pitcher before Opening Day. They're a player at the top of the market, but if they don't get the terms they want, I'm sure they have down-market backups. So there are more innings coming. I was specifically addressing a playoff rotation. Truth about Lester.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/20/2018 - 01:59 pm

cubs winter league stats for those that care...haven't seen much discussion this off-season http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/org.jsp?id=chc nothing really of note outside of some decent AFL showings that's already been hashed over. AA'r carlos penalver (SS) getting some heavy work. stephen perakslis is also working hard trying to make himself into a starter (mostly a reliever for the cubs), but having a very poor showing of numbers while doing it.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 01:02 am

everyone seems to be waiting on him or arrieta to set the market, so more power to them. we got like 22-23 days (or something like that) til pitchers and catchers report. there's not just the bigger SP out there still waiting, but a decent slew of middle-rotation talent options out there still waiting.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 01:55 pm

"Cubs signed C Chris Gimenez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training."

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Mon, 01/22/2018 - 01:50 pm

Hopefully it's a Lester/Ross thing, with the timing reversed. Just for fun, I looked up Ross' numbers with the Cubs, and it was as I remembered -- he was god-awful the first year (.176 BA, .518 OPS) before riding off into the sunset as a WS Game 7 hero after homering off Andrew Miller and becoming a national celebrity. Amazing.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 01:23 am

The following ten Cubs minor leaguers who spent all or part of the 2017 season with a Cubs DSL affiliate have used up their Foreign Rookie League eligibility, and so it is "AZL or Bust" for them in 2018: Yan de la Cruz, RHP Miguel Estevez, RHP Jean Garcia, RHP Junior Marte, RHP Fidel Matos, 1B Ivan Medina, RHP Henrry Pedra, INF Aneuris Rosario, RHP Franklin Tineo, INF Luis Ubiera, OF In previous seasons these players would have been candidates to get released (and one or more still might be released this year), but by establishing a second AZL team in 2018, the Cubs can (if they wish) retain these players for at least one more year before their roster slots (reserve list slots) will be needed for younger Latin players moving up from the DSL.

Submitted by tim815 on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 01:33 pm

Still in the range of 30 signings for the 2017/8 cycle? Almost amazing, considering being "in jail".

Submitted by tim815 on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 01:43 pm

By the way, it's my campaign only for now, but I'm calling DSL 1 the Cachorros (Cubs in Espanol) and DSL 2 the Potros (Colts, which was a former Cubs name.)

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 01/29/2018 - 01:50 am

The Cubs have added two more minor league coaches and both have been or will likely be assigned to one of the two AZL Cubs squads. Steve Janssen was hired by the Cubs as a minor league pitching coach and he will likely be the pitching coach for either AZL Cubs #1 or AZL Cubs #2. Janssen was born in The Netherlands and played professionally in Belgium for several seasons before becoming Director of the Belgian Baseball Federation. Janssen has been Pitching Coach for the Dutch National Team for the past 15 years and he was bullpen coach for Team Netherlands in the WBC, so he has worked extensively with players (especially pitchers) from Curacao and Aruba (perhaps soon to join Mexico as a Cubs international gold mine?). Mike Carter has been hired by the Cubs as hitting coach for AZL Cubs #1. Carter was the 3rd round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers out of the U. of West Alabama in the 1990 draft, and he played 13 seasons in the minors, including three seasons (1994-96) at AA and AAA in the Cubs organization. Carter has spent the past 15 years as a professional hitting instructor (Michael Carter Hitting Technics) in Phoenix (sort of like what Kris Bryant's father Mike does in Las Vegas). Carter is the father of Angels OF prospect Michael Hermosillo and Scottsdale Community College OF Antoine Mistico (drafted by Detroit Tigers out of Chandler Hamilton HS in 2017 but did not sign).

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 03/02/2018 - 03:10 pm

Here are the Cubs Minor League Field Staff assignments (updated 3/2). The two newest coaches are Wes Long (AZL Cubs #1 Hitting Coach) and Jamie Vermilyea (AZL Cubs #2 Pitching Coach).

CUBS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FIELD STAFF
FIELD COORDINATOR & CATCHING COORDINATOR: Tim Cossins
PITCHING COORDINATOR: Brendan Sagara
ASSISTANT PITCHING COORDINATORS: Mike Mason (full season clubs) and Steve Merriman (EXST & short-season clubs)
HITTING COORDINATOR Jacob Cruz
ASSISTANT HITTING COORDINATOR: Tom Beyers
INFIELD COORDINATOR: Jeremy Farrell
OUTFIELD & BASERUNNING COORDINATOR: Doug Dascenzo
LATIN AMERICAN FIELD COORDINATOR: Dave Keller
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Josh Lifrak
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM COORDINATOR: John Baker
LATIN AMERICAN MENTAL SKILLS COORDINATOR: Raymond Fuentes
IOWA: Marty Pevey (Manager), Rod Nichols (Pitching Coach), Desi Wilson (Hitting Coach), and Chris Valaika (Assistant Coach)
TENNESSEE: Mark Johnson (Manager), Terry Clark (Pitching Coach), Jesus Feliciano (Hitting Coach), and Ben Carhart (Assistant Coach)
MYRTLE BEACH: Buddy Bailey (Manager), Anderson Tavarez (Pitching Coach), Ty Wright (Hitting Coach), and Carlos Rojas (Assistant Coach)
SOUTH BEND: Jimmy Gonzalez (Manager), Brian Lawrence (Pitching Coach), Ricardo Medina (Hitting Coach), and Paul McAnulty (Assistant Coach)
EUGENE: Steve Lerud (Manager), Armando Gabino (Pitching Coach), Osmin Melendez (Hitting Coach), and Jacob Rogers (Assistant Coach)
AZL CUBS #1: Carmelo Martinez (Manager), Steve Janssen (Pitching Coach), Wes Long (Hitting Coach), and Leo Perez (Assistant Coach)
AZL CUBS #2: Jonathan Mota (Manager), Jamie Vermilyea (Pitching Coach), Claudio Almonte (Hitting Coach), and Steve Carter (Assistant Coach)
MESA REHAB: Ron Villone (Rehab Pitching Coordinator) and TBA (Rehab Coach)
DSL CUBS #1: Lance Rymel (Manager), Eduardo Villacis (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Antonio Valerio (Assistant Coach), and Jose Zapata (Assistant Pitching Coach)
DSL CUBS #2: Pedro Gonzalez (Manager), Jose Cueto (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Jovanny Rosario (Assistant Coach), and Carlos Ramirez (Assistant Pitching Coach)
MINOR LEAGUE ATHLETIC TRAINING COORDINATOR: Chuck Baughman
ASSISTANT MINOR LEAGUE TRAINING COORDINATOR (MESA REHAB): Jonathan Fierro
ATHLETIC TRAINERS: Ed Halbur and Mike McNulty (Iowa), Toby Williams (Tennessee), Logan Severson (Myrtle Beach), James Edwards (South Bend), Sean Folan (Eugene), Ike Ojata (AZL Cubs #1), Matthew Hussey (AZL Cubs #2), Brennan Connelly and German Suncin (DSL Cubs #1), and Arnoldo Goite (DSL Cubs #2)
MINOR LEAGUE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COORDINATOR: Doug Jarrow
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHES: Ryan Clausen (Iowa), Jason Moriss (Tennessee), Keegan Knoll (Myrtle Beach), Ryan Nordtvedt (South Bend), Dallas Lopez (Eugene), Mike Megrew (AZL Cubs #1), TBA (AZL Cubs #2), Tomas Sanchez and Amaury Gonzalez (DSL Cubs #1), and Manny Estrada (DSL Cubs #2)

Recent comments

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • 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?

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