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

Friday Funnies: Bears vs Eagles.

Submitted by CubbyBlue on

There is nothing that could possibly make me happier than the Bears defense being a Bears defense.
In a couple days... Happy Sunday, you all.

Comments

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 01/04/2019 - 01:52 pm

"Jim Bowden of The Athletic was told by a source that the Nationals' last offer to Bryce Harper was "much more than the $300 million being reported by the media.""

so who wants to pay over $30m a year to a guy who's looking more like a LF'r these days?  he's a great bat, but sticking $30m+ in LF (or sub-par RF play)...hmm...

hell, it's not even a given that he'd be an adequate LF'r.  it's not where he's playing in the OF that seems to be the problem.  his routes and tracking are a bit subpar.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/05/2019 - 01:47 pm

for this offseason it seems the biggest cubs issue is how many "good" players can you sign for a few bucks of spare change found cleaning out maddon's party van.

i mean, they have to do something to shore up the pen, but it seems like they're in no hurry to get involved with anyone until they can find some revenue relief.  at least, it seems that's the biggest rumors involving the team...free'ing up loot to do something else.

the ricketts family has saved a lot of money now that they don't have to throw 10s of millions in anti-obama and help-us-get-political-office efforts.  let's reallocate that loot, fam.

Submitted by udbrky on Sat, 01/05/2019 - 01:40 pm

Remember in 1992 when they signed 4 players for what they would have paid Maddux and Dawson?

Submitted by Hagsag on Sat, 01/05/2019 - 01:48 pm

Phil, when does the Instructional progam start.?I know the Cubs did away with the Fall Instrcts.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/05/2019 - 01:55 pm

yanks snag z.britton (expected by many after a.miller signed with the cards)...the pen market gets thinner.

Submitted by jdrnym on Mon, 01/07/2019 - 01:30 pm

AZ PHIL - Can you explain how payment of contracts works? For example, if a player has a predetermined major league and minor league salary, does he only get paid equal to the major league salary divided by days he spends in the majors? Is a minor league contract with a split salary considered a non-guaranteed contract for purposes of termination pay? (Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this Q, can't post under your article for some reason)

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 01/07/2019 - 01:49 pm

jdmym: A player on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) who is signed to a split contract is paid at the "major league rate" each day he spends on an MLB Active List (25-man roster) or MLB DL, and he is paid at the minor league rate each day he spends on optional assignment to the minors.

A "split contract" is not usually guaranteed, unless the player has negotiating power (like if the player is arbitration-eligible and settles with the club prior to going to a hearing, or if the player is a free-agent after maybe being non-tendered or after being outrighted to the minors and has less than five years of MLB ST so that he can be optioned to the minors without his consent) and uses that leverage to get some or all of the contract guaranteed. Otherwise, split contracts are not guaranteed, especially if it's a run-of-the mill pre-arbitration (auto-renewal) player.    

As far as an Outright Release is concerned, a player on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) signed to a non-guaranteed contract who is released more than 15 days prior to Opening Day receives 30 days salary as termination pay (paid at the "minor league rate" if the player is signed to a "split contract"), and a player on an MLB Reserve List signed to a non-guaranteed contract who is released 15 or fewer days prior to Opening Day receives 45 days salary as termination pay (all players paid at the "Major League rate").

A player on an MLB Reserve List who is released during the MLB regular season receives 100% of his salary as termination pay (paid at the "minor league rate" for players on Optional Assignment to the minors). However, a player cannot be optioned to the minors and then released if the purpose of the Optional Assignment was to avoid having to pay termination pay at the major league rate. NOTE: A player who is optioned to the minors and then released would normally file a grievance, so a club has to be careful not to be too blatantly obvious about it.   

An unsigned player on an MLB Reserve List released during the off-season receives no termination pay.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 01/07/2019 - 01:37 pm

j.jay returns to chicago...for the wsox.

he'd be a 4th OF'r for a lot of teams, but he may actually get some regular playing time with the chaotic wsox outfield situation.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 01/11/2019 - 01:44 pm

schwarber 3.39m

hendricks 7.405m

montgomery 2.44m

russell 3.4m

edwards 1.5m

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 01/11/2019 - 01:40 pm

bryant 12.9m

baez 5.2m

...and appx 36.25m later the cubs are done with arbitration eligible players

...appx 15.5m more payroll burden compared to last season

russell "only" got a 200K base raise, but he's eligable for 600K more if he's on the roster 150 days.  the news of russell getting this contract is going over like a lead balloon on twitter with cubs fans.

Submitted by cubbies.4ever on Fri, 01/11/2019 - 01:24 pm

They say Russell's contract is prorated at $2.8 MIL due to his suspension.  Now does it cost the Cubs as far as the competitive tax calculator $2.8 MIL or $3.4 MIL (Excluding bonuses)?

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 01/12/2019 - 01:03 am

cubbies.4ever: A club's luxury tax liability is calculated - AFTER - the conclusion of the MLB regular season, and any performance bonus earned by a player is included in the AAV. So Addison Russell's 2019 contract AAV cannot be determined (for sure) until after the conclusion of the 2019 MLB regular season, but it will include whatever salary he is actually paid (salary forfeited while suspended does not count toward the AAV) plus any performance bonus (roster bonus) he might earn. 

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 01/11/2019 - 01:48 pm

"Nolan Arenado requested $30 million and was offered $24 million by the Rockies when arbitration figures were exchanged on Friday."

wow.  either way that's an arbitration record.  crazy.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 01/12/2019 - 01:17 pm

HAGSAG: Addison Russell can work-out with the team but he cannot play in MLB Cactus League Spring Training games. He can, however, play in a Cactus League "B" game on a backfield, minor league Spring Training games, and Extended Spring Training games, prior to beginning his official 12-day minor league conditioning assignment (probably at AAA Iowa on 4/20).

Whatever he does prior to being reinstated will be without pay (salary), but he will receive MLB meal money and accomodations when on the road during his official minor league conditioning assignment.

He actually isn't required to do anything prior to being reinstated, although if he declines to participate in backfield activities during Spring Training, Extended Spring Training in April, and the 12-game minor league conditioning assignment, the Cubs could delay Russell's return to their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) for up to 30 days beyond the end of his suspension, and then fhey could just option him to the minors for an indefinite period of time after adding him back to the 40.

So it's - VERY - likely that Russell will do everything he can to get back on the Cubs MLB Reserve List at the earliest possible date (which is 5/2, barring rain-outs during the first 35 days of the MLB regular season that are not made-up prior to 5/2) so that he can begin to earn his roster bonus. I suspect that's part of the reason the Cubs offered a roster bonus as part of his contract, to help motivate Russell to participate fully even though he is not being paid during the suspension. 

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 01/13/2019 - 01:52 pm

"Cubs signed C Francisco Arcia to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training."

his skills include having a pulse, legs that work, and an ability to open and close doors.

his pitching skills fall well behind other HOF-calibre pitching catchers like david ross.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 01/13/2019 - 01:15 pm

Over the past month the Cubs have signed 12 free-agents to 2019 minor league contracts: OF-!B Jim Adduci, C Francisco Arcia, OF Jose Cardona, INF Ryan Court, INF Phillip Evans, OF Evan Marzilli, RHRP Carlos Ramirez, RHRP Allen Webster, and LHRP Mike Zagurski were signed about 3-1/2 weeks ago (after the Rule 5 Draft), RHRP Matt Carasiti was signed about ten days ago, and OF Zach Borenstein and RHSP Colin Rea signed last week. Presumably most (if not all) of them got an NRI to Spring Training.  

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 01/14/2019 - 01:22 pm

yanks give dj lemahieu 2/24m

he's supposed to play all over the place until/unless tulo shows himself to be ineffective while g.torres plays 2nd until he's ready to slide over to SS.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 01:02 am

"ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that the Yankees have a three-year, $27 million agreement in place with free agent reliever Adam Ottavino."

the yanks have solidified one hell of a pen this offseason.

the cubs...umm...well, kyle ryan, i guess.

there's still some "names" out there, but it's getting thinner.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 01/18/2019 - 01:10 pm

Jordan Bastian‏ @MLBastian

Yu Darvish is set to begin long toss in a couple days and is about a week out from his first planned bullpen session of the spring. Says Opening Day is a realistic goal for him based on his progress.

...neat

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/19/2019 - 01:00 pm

"Kris Bryant said his shoulder is now perfectly healthy and he has been taking batting practice at full strength since December 1st."

neat.

"Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said shortstop Addison Russell will get a "conditional second chance" to remain with the organization.

The Cubs consulted with Russell's ex-wife (the victim of the abuse), and Epstein said "She felt like this was Addison's best chance to get his life in order.""

*crickets*

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 01/19/2019 - 01:32 pm

sonny gray being sent to the reds...

cubs are expected to respond by signing a random 27 year old to a minor league contract any time now.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 01/20/2019 - 01:12 pm

"Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic writes that the Cubs have "bandied about the idea of trading Ben Zobrist this offseason."

...the team has evidently considered trading him for bullpen help and payroll space. However, it does not appear at this point that any deal involving Zobrist is close."

Submitted by Hagsag on Sun, 01/20/2019 - 01:42 pm

No to a Zo trade. I can never forget that seventh game double in the WS. He is untouchable to me.

Recent comments

  • 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?

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Cubdom needs to prepare themselves for Wicks to be sent to Iowa for Taillon to come up.
    Ben Brown has 4 appearances. Wicks has 4 appearances.
    Ben has 16.1 IP.  Wicks has 17 IP
    Ben was a 1.1 WHIP.  Wicks has a 1.7 WHIP. Wicks does have significantly more SOs. 
    Ben has been better, though.
    I love Wicks. I think he's a fighter and his stuff has improved.
    But, Jed isn't ditching Hendricks just yet. He should. But he won't.
    Hendricks should go to the IL and Taillon-Imanaga-Assad-Wicks-Brown should be the rotation.
    Wont' happen though.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    AZ Phil,
    Did you agree with the demotion of Luke Little? He'd been pretty good up until the AZ/wild pitch appearance. I know that can't jettison Smyly (just yet) so they didn't need another LHRP. Especially with Leiter effectively being a LHRP. I still thought he deserved to stay. It's not permanent. He'll be back. Lots of moves to come with Taillon, Steele and other guys coming and going.

    Also, do you see Hodge being able to "control/command" his stuff to get a chance this year?
    Is Arias better than Hodge?   Thanks

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