Cubs MLB Roster

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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, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024
 
* 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
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

10-DAY IL: 1 
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL: 
* Justin Steele, P   

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




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Manfred Cracks Down on Mexican League

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Jeff Passan at Yahoo! Sports reports that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred advised MLB clubs last Tuesday that as a result of extensive fraud and corruption, MLB clubs are banned from doing business with Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (Mexican League) clubs until further notice. 

link

This may have something to do with Mexican RHP Florencio Serrano Jr -- one of the top International Free-Agents (IFA) signed by the Cubs in the 2017-18 International Signing Period (ISP) -- being released by the Cubs on Monday (it's possible that Serrano's contract was voided by order of the MLB Commissioner). Also, three other Mexican IFAs signed by the Cubs in the 2017-18 ISP (LHP Alejandro Carrillo, RHP Manuel Espinoza, and INF Juan Mora) were on the Restricted List until just yesterday, so there may have been an on-going investigation in progress by MLB that delayed the reinstatement of those players and perhaps was the impetus for Serrano being released. 

Baseball America rated SS Luis Verdugo and RHP Florencio Serrano Jr (both from Mexico) as the top two IFA prospects signed by the Cubs in the 2017-18 ISP. Serrano's situation was unusual because he was born in the U. S. (Texas) but moved to Mexico to attend HS, which meant he was able to circumvent the MLB First-Year Player Draft and be eligible to sign as an IFA in July 2017 (a year before his U. S. HS class would have graduated). Even though the MLB Commissioner's Office knew what Serrano did, there was no restriction placed on signing him as an IFA last July, but I don't know what might have transpired in the meantime that led to his being released. 

The article specifically mentions los Toros de Tijuana and los Leones de Yucatan as two of the three Mexican League clubs that are the primary offenders, and perhaps not coincidentally, Tijuana and Yucatan happen to be the two Mexican League clubs from whom the Cubs have acquired numerous (more than two dozen) players over the past three years. The Cubs employed a "Mexico Scouting Coordinator" (Sergio Hernandez) who negotiated with the Mexican players and the Mexican League clubs (mainly Yucatan and Tijuana) who controlled the contractual rights to the players that has allowed the Cubs to acquire a number of notable prospects from Mexico like RHSP Jose Albertos, SS Isaac Paredes (traded to Detroit last July in the Justin Wilson/Alex Avila deal), 2B Carlos Sepulveda, RHSP Javier Assad, RHSP Jesus Camargo, LHSP Faustino Carrera, OF Carlos Pacheco, SS Luis Verdugo, 2B Reivaj Garcia, and RHP Florencio Serrano Jr. (NOTE: Sergio Hernandez is no longer listed as the Cubs Mexico Scouting Coordinator -- the position has apparently either been eliminated or is vacant).

But the relationship goes beyond just having a scout in Mexico. The Cubs loaned veteran Mexican League RHRP Mario Meza back to Yucatan the past two seasons after acquiring him from los Leones in December 2016 (although he attended Cubs Minor League Camp in Mesa in both 2017 and 2018, Meza has never actually pitched for a Cubs minor league affiliate). Likewise, RHP Hector Alonso Garcia was loaned back to Yucatan and OF Ruben Reyes was loaned back to Tijuana last season (the Mexican League clubs from whom the Cubs acquired the players) to help ease a minor league roster jam for the Cubs, although Reyes is playing at Eugene and Garcia is pitching for AZL Cubs #1 this season. And Tijuana has Spring Training in Tucson, and (except for this season) the Cubs played them every year during Minor League Camp, sometimes acquiring a player from the Toros after the conclusion of the game (as happened with OF Jose Alonso Gaitan in March 2017). So the relationship between the Cubs and the two Mexican League teams runs (or did run) fairly deep.

I strongly suspect that one or more MLB clubs filed a complaint with the MLB Commissioner regarding the Cubs using (or -- in the eyes of other less-resourceful MLB organizations -- abusing) the Mexican League "loophole" (where only 25% of the signing bonus counts against a club's ISBP as long as the Mexican League club that controls the rights to the player receives the other 75%) to sign numerous high-end prospects from Mexico despite being in the "penalty box" (no signing bonus in excess of $300K allowed in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 ISPs) after exceeding their ISBP in the 2015-16 ISP.

The Mexican League is an "affiliated" minor league (meaning it is part of Minor League Baseball, and has been for sixty years), although the clubs are independent of MLB organizations. (There is no other league like that in affiliated Minor League Baseball). However, MLB organizations are (or at least have been) permitted to "loan" players to Mexican League clubs during the minor league season, and that sometimes is a convenient way to get innings for Mexican pitchers (like Mario Meza) or reps for Mexican position-players who are mired in a deep MLB minor league system while allowing the MLB organization to continue to contractually control the player.

The Mexican League is designated as a "AAA" league, but is in reality more-equivalent to full-season "A" ball (like South Bend or maybe Myrtle Beach) or to an advanced independent league like the Atlantic League. The AAA designation goes back 50 years to when Mexican League players were subject to selection in the Rule 5 Draft. But because the Mexican League had "AAA" status, MLB clubs could select Mexican League players only in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft (higher draft price and right to re-claim), but the designation was not changed even after Mexican League players were exempted from selection in the Rule 5 Draft (which happened many years ago).

I suppose there could be further on this, just like with the Atlanta Braves last off-season. Hopefully not. 

Tags
Mexican League
Cubs International Signing Bonus Pool

Comments

Submitted by tim815 on Fri, 06/22/2018 - 06:47 pm

"Mooooooom. Make him staaaaaaaaaaaahp."

 

Owners to Manfred about Epstein.

 

If you're too good at something, MLB will stop you from doing that thing.

Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 06/22/2018 - 06:14 pm

I know it's possible we never get more info on this. On one hand, I hope that the Cubs making effective use of a CBA loophole to spend more money on players is as far as this goes. I don't want the team I root for to be involved in any abuses that involve the exploitation of minor league players. On the other hand, if that's all this is, the commissioner's decision is garbage. Seems unlikely, though I have no real opinion on Manfred.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 06/22/2018 - 06:45 pm

Here is a Fangraphs article from a few years ago that helps explain how LMB (Mexican League) clubs control players (especially young players who aren't yet ready to play in the Mexican League). 

link 

It appears that sometime in 2015 the Cubs found a way to avoid the difficulties most other MLB clubs have faced over the years in trying to sign Mexican players and in dealing with the Mexican League clubs who control the rights to the players, such that the Cubs were able to sign 25 players out of Mexico (including some very highly-regarded prospects) in just three years, while most other MLB organizations were unable to sign even one. 

[ ]

Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 06/22/2018 - 06:41 pm

Per the article linked above: "Parents worried about the situation with the Mexican league and who are consciously aware of their son’s talent potential to play in the majors some day make an economic sacrifice to send their kids to high school or college in the U.S. with the hopes that their sons are selected in the amateur draft." It sounds like Serrano did just the opposite. Makes me wonder if there was some sort of arrangement established before he moved down there.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 06/23/2018 - 06:06 pm

"I hear the Rickets family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!" - dotard in chief ...but hey, they came around and donated a crapload of money to trump and then one of his kids got an appointment. of course he withdrew his nomination once they started probing his family's finances and the $1m+ they donated during the campaign, but i'm sure it's because he was needed elsewhere, not because of the prospects of the government looking into the family finances. so it's all good. it's all gooooooooooooooood.

[ ]

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Tue, 06/26/2018 - 06:32 am

The only conformity I expect from a Cub fan (or a blog, I suppose) is that he/she wear more blue than red, and root for the Cubs. Beyond that, it's a free country, as we used to say, back when it was truer.

[ ]

Submitted by billybucks on Tue, 06/26/2018 - 06:52 pm

Well said. As I posted earlier, I am currently in France on vacation. Just visited Omaha Beach and the D-Day U.S. cemetery. Sobering and humbling. A reminder to speak up when you disagree with what you see, and to stand up for others. Also -- win a few games in LA, whatever it takes, and get us back on the good foot. Ain't nothin' more American than baseball, man.

[ ]

Submitted by Eric S on Tue, 06/26/2018 - 06:28 pm

Good for you, Billybucks. Would love to someday visit Normandy - high on the bucket list. Did see Bastogne while in college and that was memorable.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

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  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

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  • Childersb3 (view)

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  • crunch (view)

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  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

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  • crunch (view)

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  • Bill (view)

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  • Sonicwind75 (view)

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  • Sonicwind75 (view)

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  • Childersb3 (view)

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