Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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 eight players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, three players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-24-2024
 
* 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
* Pete Crow-Armstrong 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 8 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2
* Cody Bellinger, OF  
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

What's a Hot Stove without rumors?

Submitted by CubbyBlue on

Comments

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 12/25/2018 - 12:40 pm

nice stuff.

my favorite rumor train so far involves chatwood+heyward+???? for some hardcore salary relief or high end hitter/pitcher.  it's like some cubs fans got crack for christmas.  they could at least sweeten the deal by throwing in duensing.

at least the harper rumors have some basis in reality.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 12/25/2018 - 12:00 pm

A trade that should happen: Ian Happ for Nick Senzel. 

Happ went to college at the U. of Cincinnati and hits like Rogers Horsnby on steroids at Great American ballpark, he can play CF (the one position the Reds have open after their post-season moves), he is one of the fastest runners (based on basepath sprint speed) in MLB, and he can hit anywhere in the batting order. 

Senzel is a year younger and a better hitter than Happ with plus-power/hard-contact, he is a natural third-baseman (albeit blocked by Eugenio Suarez at the moment) and is a better defender at 3B than Kris Bryant (allowing the Cubs to move Bryant to RF), and is a year younger than Happ.  

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Submitted by bradsbeard on Sat, 12/29/2018 - 12:45 am

Since you mentioned freeing up Bryant to play OF, do you have any reason to believe the Cubs want to transition Bryant away from 3B, or is that just an idea to get another bat in the lineup?

Relatedly, do you think Contreras could handle 3B on an occasional basis if they asked him to play it? 

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 12/29/2018 - 12:35 pm

while bryant isn't a defensive liability he seems to have used up his better days there.  he's probably on borrowed time at 3rd...not as quick as he was in past seasons.

the fact he put in 3+ good years there is a lot better than many people assumed he would do in the first place.  a lot of people believed he was OF bound when he was drafted.

that said, he's probably solidly penciled in to play at 3rd next season...maybe longer.  it's not like he's fallen off a cliff defensively.

[ ]

Submitted by bradsbeard on Sat, 12/29/2018 - 12:45 pm

I pretty much agree with this. I don’t see Bryant moving permanently any time soon, though i wouldn’t be surprised if he’s playing his next contract as an OF. For what it’s worth, he looked pretty uncomfortable to me in the OF this season. But I think he has the ability to be a solid OF. 

I am thinking that the Cubs need to find a way to limit Contreras’ innings behind the plate though, and if Contreras could spot at 3B when the Cubs are facing an LHP, you could shift Bryant to LF (where I think he’s more comfortable for whatever reason than RF). 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 12/31/2018 - 12:23 pm

BRADSBEARD: It isn't so much that Kris Bryant can't play 3B or that he absolutely, positively must be moved to RF (or LF if Kyle Schwarber was traded), but rather if the Cubs can exchange a toolsy, athletic player who is versatile but a bit flawed (Happ) for a younger but unproven near MLB-ready player who can (hopefully) eventually be part of the current Cubs "window" as well as post-2021 (Senzel), that would be a good thing. If he were tio be acquired by the Cubs, Senzel might even spend most of 2019 at AAA (Happ's spot on the 25 could be filled for a year by somebody like Jon Jay), and then maybe the Cubs would even look to trade Bryant post-2019 for a haul of young unproven (but near MLB-ready) players similar to Senzel to keep the line moving beyond 2021.

Senzel is an upgrade defensively over Bryant at 3B right now, and if acquired, Senzel would be a first step toward the Cubs making the transition from the current presumed contention window (through 2021) to whatever follows without having to start another rebuild in 2022. Signing Rizzo, Baez, Hendricks, and Contreras (and maybe Schwarber) to contract extensions would be another step (figuring they are the most-likely members of the Cubs' "core" to agree to extensions, since Bryant, Almora, and Russell are Boras clients and therefore very unlikely to agree to a contract extension prior to hitting free-agency).  

I'm not saying this trade has been discussed between the two clubs, but I mention Senzel as a Cubs trade target only because of the rather obvious fit for both clubs. Happ has been absolutely other-worldly/unstoppable at Great American Ballpark, he was a star college baseball player at the U. of Cincinnati, and he can play a serviceable CF for the Reds in 2019 and then (if necessary) easily move to a corner OF spot or even 2B in 2020 after Puig, Kemp, and Gennett hit free-agency. Conversely, Senzel is a natural third-baseman blocked in Cincinnati by Eugenio Suarez (who isn't going anywhere) and so the Reds are already looking to move Senzel to another position (which will reduce his defensive value). 

One of the somewhat unanticipated things that happened with the Cubs 2016-17 was the perceived need and therefore understandable desire to "cement" the MLB 25-man roster by sacrificing their top two position-player prospects (Gleyber Torres and Eloy Jimenez) and their top pitching prospect (Dylan Cease) for Aroldis Chapman (in 2016) and Jose Quintana (in 2017). Torres, Jimenez, and Cease would have provided the Cubs with a pathway to sustained (perhaps even seamless) success beyond 2021 by allowing the Cubs to move some of the 2015-21 core (most especially Kris Bryant) earlier than necessary to replentish the farm system, but the inability to develop pitchers 2012-17 the same way they developed position players during that period of time unfortunately put the Cubs in a difficult spot. The Cubs could take a step toward reversing this if they were to acquire a player like Senzel, not that Senzel would totally make up for losing Torres and Jimenez, but it would be a good first step. 

Submitted by videographer on Sat, 12/29/2018 - 12:28 am

I have heard that the Cubs brass has a great deal of interest in Nolan Arenado of Colorado.  He is a free agent after next season and I can the Cubs pursuing him and moving Bryant to the outfield in 2020.  Also, signing Arenado would give the Cubs a star player to building around should Bryant leave in free agency.  An arguement can be made the Arenado is a better player than Bryant.  Also, I imagine that Arenado would cost less than Bryant.

I cannot see the Cubs signing Harper AND re-signing Bryant AND having enough payroll to afford play-off pitching in the comming years.   I think the smart move is signing Arenado next year and re-tooling the rotation as contracts expire and players leave in free agency.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 01/02/2019 - 01:02 pm

Josh Lifrak has been Cubs Mental Skills Program Director since 2014, and under him are the Mental Skills Program Coordinator, the Latin American Mental Skills Coordinator, and the Mental Skills Coordinator. The Mental Skills Program is part of the Player Development Dept. It's unclear if Tewksbury is replacing Darnell McDonald as Mental Skills Program Coordinator or John Baker as Mental Skills Coordinator.

"Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical" - Yogi Berra 

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 01/03/2019 - 01:07 pm

BRADSBEARD: Ken Ravizza was a part-time consultant and worked directly with the MLB Cubs. The "Mental Skills Coordinator" is a full-time position n the Player Development Dept and works with minor leaguers. So Tewksbury is replacing either Darnell McDonald (Mental Skills Program Coordinator) or John Baker (Mental Skills Coordinator). It's possible that Baker got a new assignment in the organaziation, possibly minor league catching coordinator or maybe a minor league manger gig. 

Recent comments

  • First.Pitch.120 (view)

    Honorable mention to Jim Bullinger via BleedCubbieBlue: 

    Bullinger, a converted shortstop, had pitched in three games before he came to the plate. He had entered the game to relieve starter Shawn Boskie after four innings, and came to the plate to lead off the fifth, and hit Rheal Cormier's first pitch over the left-field wall to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead; they eventually won the game 5-2 in 14 innings. Of the 129players to homer in their first MLB at-bat, Bullinger is one of just 32 to hit that blast on the first big-league pitch he saw (including Contreras) and one of just six pitchers to do so.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Most of this activity will lead nowhere, of course, but it is fantastic that they’re looking for talent in every nook and cranny. You never know where that can lead, and virtually nothing is lost if if leads nowhere, as long as no one of superior talent and potential is losing an opportunity.

  • First.Pitch.120 (view)

    Fun 1st Hit / HR Fact…


    Recent Cubs players to have HR as 1st MLB hit:

    PCA

    Morel

    Happ

    Contreras

    Baez

    Soler

    Castro

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Miguel Cruz walked six in 1.2 IP in his last start, so I guess he is improving. Wilme Mora also walked six in one of his appearances a week or two ago, and one or two others have walked five. I don't know what would be the most I have ever seen a pitcher throw in a game out here, because the manager / pitching coach usually gets the pitcher out of the game if it gets too ridiculous. 

    As for the attendance, probably about 20 of the 25 were early arrivals for the Savannah Bananas game who came over to Field # 1 to see what was going on, and once they saw all the bases on balls (12 walks by Cubs pitchers and four by Angels pitchers) they ran away screaming. I'm used to it so it didn't bother me that much. 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Jed has added Teheran, Tyranski, Kissaki, and now Straily and Nico Zeglin today.

    Zeglin is 24 yrs old. Pitched well at Long Beach St in '23 and well in some Indy Ball.

    They also added Reilly and Viets in late ST.

    Have to search for MiLB arm depth anywhere you can and at all times!!!

  • Childersb3 (view)

    25 in Attendance!!!

    Phil, is that a backfield record?

    Also, 6 BBs for Cruz in 2 IP. What's the most walks you've seen in one EXT ST outing that you can recall?

  • 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 he remind anybody else 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.

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