Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

39 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (one slot is open), plus two players are on the 60-DAY IL and one player has been DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT (DFA)   

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-23-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Hector Neris 
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
Christopher Morel
* Matt Mervis
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 9 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 3
Kyle Hendricks, P 
* Drew Smyly, P 
* Justin Steele, P   

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P

DFA: 1 
Garrett Cooper, 1B 
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Ian Happ leadoff hitter?

Submitted by moshethecubsfan on

The Cubs need a leadoff hitter, this is undisputed. I submit Ian Happ may be the best candidate. In 2017 Cub leadoff hitters slashed .246/.324/.422, the middle number being most concerning. The Cubs desperately need a leadoff hitter who will get on base at a greater than .350 clip. I think Happ can easily surpass that mark. While most Cubs fans’ first impression of Ian Happ was his power, his 2017 homerun numbers were actual an aberration. Happ’s greatest attribute, and the reason the Cubs drafted him, is his knack for getting on base.

Happ slashed .253/.328/.514 last year, with a 9.4% walk rate. Hardly leadoff hitter numbers. Yet Happ posted an OBP above .440 in each of his three college seasons. He also posted a .408 OBP in his 2015 low A ball debut, a .410 mark in 2016 at high A, and a respectable .362 at AAA in 2017. He did flounder each season after promotion, dropping to .315 in A ball in 2015, .318 in AA in 2016, and .328 in the majors in 2017. Yet each offseason he regrouped, learned, and improved; and then dominated in higher competition the next year. I expect the same pattern to continue.

If Happ raises his walk rate to 11%, which is more consistent with his minor league production, and raises his batting average by only 10 points, his should post an OBP in the .350-.360 range. This would make him a solid leadoff hitter. Happ is a switch hitter with positional flexibility (CF, LF, 2B). This would allow him to stay in the line-up regardless of pitching matchups and defensive alignments. I suspect Joe Maddon will give Happ the first chance to prove he can be the Cubs’s 2018 leadoff hitter.

What do you think?

Tags
Ian Happ

Comments

Submitted by billybucks on Tue, 02/27/2018 - 02:44 pm

Amen! People forget Happ only had 116 PAs at AAA before seeing major league pitching. I expect a significant improvement in both his K and BB rates this year.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 02/27/2018 - 02:56 pm

well, he hit another leadoff homer today. so he's got that going for him. ...and a double. hell of a spring so far, but he's no mike freeman.

Submitted by Cubster on Wed, 02/28/2018 - 02:32 am

Roy Orbison says Albert Almora is singing for the lonely. “Hey, It’s me, and I want to lead off only...”

Submitted by Charlie on Wed, 02/28/2018 - 02:09 pm

I was looking over the numbers for Happ, Almora, and a couple others pondering this same question. I agree with what you suggest here, moshe--a slight boost to BB% and slight drop in K% (down to Baez territory even) might be enough to make Happ the best leadoff candidate, provided he doesn't do worse on balls in play. I'm less optimistic that Almora could boost his walk rate or keep his BABIP high enough to maintain an OBP over .340 or so. But there's not really a compelling candidate beyond those two, unless you are a Zobrist or Heyward believer.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 02/28/2018 - 02:26 pm

there seems to be no obvious clear leadoff type...no legit/traditional type of either the "speed leads" or "ob% monster leads" types anyway.

 

i hope they go with the bryant 2nd, rizzo 3rd thing again, though.  it may only amount to 20-ish more PA's a year moving up a slot, but giving those 2 guys 40-ish more PA a year combined isn't something i'd complain about.

[ ]

Submitted by tim815 on Wed, 02/28/2018 - 02:54 pm

Obviously, not Phil.

That said, I' not sure either is in camp to get a game or three of pre-season games in. While they might get an inning here or there, they might be in camp more for time with the coaches more than for actual game time.

 

The extra time with the coaches is more important than game time for both, possibly.

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 03/01/2018 - 03:50 am

darvish scratched because of "illness"...a.mills getting the start today strop sore left calf b.morrow is supposedly fine, but the cubs aren't in a hurry to get him early work

Submitted by Sonicwind75 on Thu, 03/01/2018 - 03:21 pm

Just scanning box score.  Duensing bouncing back with a clean inning and 2Ks, any word on how his stuff looked?

Submitted by John Beasley on Thu, 03/01/2018 - 03:30 pm

It sounds like Travis Wood hurt his knee badly during a spring game today with the Tigers.

Recent comments

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    He has a pulse. Apparently that’s the only requirement at this point.

  • crunch (view)

    cubs sign dan straily...for some reason.  minor league deal.

    welcome back.

    zac rosscup is down in mexico trying to make it happen...maybe they could throw him a contract, too.  junior lake is his teammate.  shore up a bunch of holes with some washups.

  • fullykräusened (view)

    The great thing about going to live sports events is you don't know if you're going to see something historic. Today I went to the Cub game, after putting the liner back in my coat and fishing my Cubs knit hat out of the closet. I needed all that- my seats are in the upper deck, left, so the east wind was in my face. Both teams failed to capitalize on good situations, but both starters did a good job to accomplish this. So, we go to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Cubs tie it up, and then Pete Crow-Armstrong comes up. We all know he would still be in AAA if not for injuries, and future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander absolutely carved up the young fellow up in his first two plate appearances. So this time he hits a fly ball. The wind was blowing in and had suppressed several strong fly balls- including a rocket off Altuve's bat that Canario hauled in (does anybody else remind me of Jorge Soler?) , but the ball kept carrying and carrying. 107mph, legit angle and carry. The crowd went nuts, the dugout went nuts. Maybe, just maybe, I saw the first homer from a long-term Cub.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Which was my original premise. They won the trades but lost their souls. They no longer employ the Cardinal way which had been so successful for so long.

  • crunch (view)

    STL traded away a lot of minor league talent that went on to do nothing in the arenado + goldschmidt trades.  neither guy blocked any of their minor league talent in the pipeline, too.  that's ideal places to add talent.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Natural cycle of baseball. Pitching makes adjustments in approach to counter a hot young rookie. Now it’s time for Busch and his coaches to counter those adjustments. Busch is very good and will figure it out, I think sooner than later.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    In 2020, the pandemic year and the year before they acquired Arenado, the Cardinals finished second and were a playoff team. Of the 12 batters with 100 plate appearances, 8 of them were home grown. Every member of the starting rotation (if you include Wainwright) and all but one of the significant relievers were home grown. While there have been a relative handful of very good trades interspersed which have been mentioned, player development had been their predominant pattern for decades - ever since I became an aware fan in the ‘70’s

    The Arenado deal was not a deal made out of dire need or desperation. It was a splashy, headline making deal for a perennial playoff team intended to be the one piece that brought the Cardinals from a very good team to a World Series contender. They have continued to wheel and deal and have been in a slide ever since. I stand by my supposition that that deal marked a notable turning point within the organization. They broke what had been a very successful formula for a very long time.
     

  • crunch (view)

    busch is having a really intense k-filled mini slump.  he deserves better after coming back to wrigley after that hot road trip.

  • crunch (view)

    i know alzolay isn't having a great time right now, but i trust hector "ball 4" neris even less than alzolay based on what i've seen coming out of their arms.

  • azbobbop (view)

    Neris reminds me of Don “Full Pack” Stanhouse.

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