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 Release Eleven Minor League Pitchers

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

The Cubs released eleven minor league pitchers yesterday: 

Anderson Acevedo - age 25 (Dominican Republic)
Yan de la Cruz - age 25 (Dominican Republic) 
Wander Feliz (ex-OF) - age 21 (Dominican Republic)
Hector Alonso Garcia - age 20 (Mexico) 
Jose Alejandro Gonzalez (ex-OF) - age 23 (Venezuela)
Ronaldo Lopez (ex-INF) - age 20 (Venezuela) 
Junior Marte - age 23 (Dominican Republic)
Enzo Perez - age 18 (Venezuela)
Andry Rondon - age 23 (Dominican Republic) 
Freddy Tineo - age 21 (Venezuela)
Sucre Valdez - age 25 (Dominican Republic)

The eleven are mainly older pitchers who have not progressed to the Cubs' satisfaction. In fact none of the eleven ever made it out of short-season ball (only five of the eleven made it as far as Eugene, and another five never even made it out of the DSL).  

All eleven are RHP and were originally IFA signed out of Latin America. Three (W. Feliz, J. Gonzalez, and R. Lopez) were position-player conversions, three others (A. Acevedo, Y. de la Cruz, and E. Perez) were second-contract guys (previously released by another organization), and ten of the eleven would have been Rule 5 Draft-eligible post-2019.  

Only two of the eleven (W. Feliz and H. Garcia) were signed by the Cubs as 16-year old IFA in their first-eligible ISP, and Feliz was originally signed as an outfielder. Garcia was one of the 25 players signed by the Cubs out of Mexico 2014-18. (E. Perez was originally signed as a 16-year old IFA by SD, but was released by the Padres two years later). 

Junior Marte is the most-notable pitcher released, because a couple of years ago he was so impressive in Extended Spring Training that he was signed by the Boras Corporation (same day Boras Corp signed Jose Albertos).  

Tags
Cubs Minor League Rosters

Comments

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 02/09/2019 - 02:32 pm

With the release of eleven minor league pitchers yesterday, the Cubs now have 344 players under contract for 2019 (including six players on the Restricted List). 39 of the 338 players not on the Restricted List are on the Cubs MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), and the other 299 are either on a minor league reserve list (289) or are Signed for Future Service (10). 

So there is one slot presently open on the Cubs MLB 40-man roster, and there are 31 slots open (collectively) on the nine minor league reserve lists, although ten of the slots will eventually be filled by 2018-19 IFA who were Signed for Future Service last year. 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 02/10/2019 - 02:45 am

I think it's pretty clear that the delay in the Brach signing has passed the point of the physical being delayed because of bad weather or the possibility that he might have had the flu or something like that. 

So either something was found during the physical that caused a renegotiation (like maybe the Cubs are now offering a smaller base salary but with more performance bonuses), or the Cubs could be waiting until this coming week to submit the Brach contract to the MLB office (as long as the player is not placed on an MLB or minor league active roster or reserve list, clubs have up to 20 days to submit a signed contract to MLB) so that Kendall Graveman can be placed on the 60-day injury list before Brach is added to the Cubs MLB 40-man roster, thus keeping a slot open on the 40 for a potential waiver claim (like maybe INF Jack Reinheimer, who was Designated for Assignment by the Orioles last week, but had been claimed off waivers by the Cubs last November before the Cubs lost him off waivers to the Texas Rangers three weeks after claiming him while trying to outright him to the minors prior to the filing of minor league reserve lists on 11/20).

The thing is, if a player is claimed off waivers by a club when the club's MLB 40-man roster is full, the player who is claimed must be added to the 40 immediately and that player cannot be Designated for Assignment to keep the roster at 40. So if Brach already was on the 40 and thus the Cubs MLB 40-man roster was full and then the Cubs were awarded a waiver claim before they could place Graveman on the 60-day injury list, another player (- NOT - the player they just got off waivers) would have to be dropped from the 40.  

Submitted by Cubster on Mon, 02/11/2019 - 02:36 pm

Roto world has a post saying the Brach deal is done.

saw a Jesse Rogers tweet saying the above too.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 02/11/2019 - 02:06 pm

Jack Reinheimer did not clear waivers today (wasn't claimed/wasn't outrighted), which means the Cubs could safely file the Brad Brach contract with MLB and add him to the 40, and still be able to potentially acquire Reinheimer off waivers and then place Kendall Graveman on the 60-day injury list sometime in the next couple of days to make room for Reinheimer on the 40 (if they are awarded the claim). 

Remember that a player on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) cannot be placed on the MLB 60-day injury list (formerly 60-day DL) until the first official day of Spring Training (which is the day pitchers & catchers report).

Also, a club can place a player on the MLB 60-day injury list (or transfer a player from the MLB 10-day injury list to the 60-day injury list) once the MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) is full even if the player being placed on the 60-day injury list is not replaced on the 40 by another player - EXCEPT - in September, when a player who is placed on the 60-day injury list (or transferred to the 60-day injury list) must be replaced on the MLB 40-man roster by another player. 

In addition, a player who is placed on the MLB 60-day injury list during Spring Training cannot be reinstated until he has spent at least the first 60 days of the MLB regular season on the 60-day injury list (which means he cannot be reinstated until the 61st day of the MLB regular season, which is May 27th in 2019) even if he is placed on the 60-day injury list in February. This is why the Cubs have to be careful what they do with Brandon Morrow (November2018 elbow surgery), who might (or might not) miss the first 60 days of the 2019 MLB regular season.

I would expect the Cubs to initially place Morrow on the MLB 10-day injury list on or just prior to MLB Opening Day (an MLB 10-day injury list assignment can be backdated a maximum of three days prior to Opening Day and an MLB 7-day acute concussion injury list assignement can be backdated a maximum of four days prior to Opening Day) and then transfer him to the 60-day injury list at a later point in time (perhaps when Addison Russell and Oscar de la Cruz are reinstated from the Restricted List the first week of May), but - ONLY -  if it becomes clearly obvious that he will in fact miss the first 60 days of the 2019 MLB regular season. Because Morrow has a 2020 vesting option dependent on games and GF, the Cubs can't just place him on the 60-day injury list (or transfer him from the 10-day injury list to the 60-day injury list) without a really good reason. Otherwise the Cubs would risk a potential grievance being filed by Morrow that could (if the Cubs lose it) require the Cubs to exercise their club contract option on Morrow for 2020.    

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/11/2019 - 02:43 pm

k.cowart (3rd, DET, formally LAA) will be given a chance to be a 2-way player this season if he doesn't screw it up in spring...

91-93mph fastball.

this is starting to become a "thing"...there could be 2-3 of these guys next season across multiple teams.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 02/12/2019 - 02:30 pm

"Cubs prospect Adbert Alzolay is about two weeks behind the other pitchers in camp due to a side injury.

Alzolay felt a twinge when he slipped during a recent bullpen session, and the Cubs will back off his early-spring workload until he is fully healed."

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/13/2019 - 02:05 pm

TIM: A club can place a player on the MLB 60-day Injured List (or transfer a player from the MLB 10-day Injured List to the 60-day Injured List) once the MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) is full even if the player being placed on the 60-day Injured List is not replaced on the 40 by another player - EXCEPT - in September, when a player who is placed on the 60-day Injured List (or transferred to the 60-day Injured List) must be replaced on the MLB 40-man roster by another player. 

Most clubs wait to place a player onto the 60-day Injured List until they need a 40-man roster slot, but not always. 

And again, a club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) must be full before a player can placed on the 60-day Injured List, so the Cubs could not have placed Kendall Graveman onto the 60 until they added Brad Brach (or another player) to the 40. 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/13/2019 - 02:16 pm

TIM: The Jack Reinheimer DFA hits seven days tomorrow (Thursday), so his roster status will need to be resolved by the Orioles within 24 hours. 

Since it takes 47 hours to run a player through waivers, the Orioles would have needed to place Reinheimer on Outright Assignment Waivers no later than 2 PM (Eastern) yesterday (Tuesday). If for some reason they failed to do that, they could only release him or trade him.  

So he's probably riding the waiver train right now. 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/13/2019 - 02:23 pm

The Cubs have reportedly signed FA LHRP Xavier Cedeno to a non-guaranteed major league contract.

Here's what the Cubs might do so that they can add both Xavier Cedeno - AND - Jack Reinheimer to the 40 (presuming the Cubs claim Reinheimer off waivers and are awarded the claim). 

1. Wait until they find out if they get Reinheimer. If they do, they would have to immediately place him on the MLB 40-man roster (which has one slot open after Kendall Graveman was placed on the 60-day Injured List); 

Then...  

2. DFA Reinheimer.

Then... 

3. Add Cedeno to the 40.

See, the Cubs cannot add Cedeno to the 40 first and then acquire Reinheimer off waivers without having to DFA another player presently on the 40. That's because if a club is awarded a waiver claim and the club's MLB 40-man roster is already full, the player claimed off waivers cannot be Designated for Assignment to get the roster back down to 40. Another (different) player has to be dropped from the 40. 

But if the Cubs wait to add Cedeno to the 40 until - AFTER - they find out if they get Reinheimer off waivers (and again, this is presuming the Cubs are as interested in acquiring Reinheimer now as they were last November), they can acquire Reinheimer via waiver claim and immediately place him on the 40 (because one slot is open), and - THEN - after Reinheimer has been added to the 40, DFA Reinheimer (which gets the roster back down to 39), and - THEN - add Cedeno to the 40 (hoping to sneak Reinheimer through waivers like they did with Ian Clarkin last week).  

But it has to be done in a certain specific sequence for it to work. 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/13/2019 - 02:44 pm

If the Cubs are going to decide who gets the last couple of slots in their Opening Day MLB bullpen mainly from Cactus League game performances, it's going to be a challenge to make sure that everyone gets enough work to show what they've got to offer and for the Cubs to get a good read on everybody and not end up releasing the wrong guy(s).

As I've mentioned here before, there could be as few as two slots at AAA Iowa available for the dozen or more veteran pitchers the Cubs have signed to minor league contracts this off-season. Hopefully at least a couple of them will be OK with remaining in Mesa at Extended Spring Training as a de facto "replacement cadre." 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 02/14/2019 - 02:13 pm

Contrary to Jon Heyman's report yesterday, the Cubs have filed the Xavier Cedeno contract signing as a MAJOR LEAGUE non-guaranteed contract, so he goes onto their MLB 40-man roster and now the 40 is full. 

Also, because the contract is not guaranteed, the Cubs would owe Cedeno 30 days pay (about $150K) if he is released more than 15 days prior to MLB Opening Day (that is, no later than March 12th), or 45 days pay (about $225K) if he is released 15 or fewer days prior to MLB Opening Day (March 13th - March 27th). The contract becomes 100% fully guaranteed if he is not released prior to MLB Opening Day. 

In addition, Cedeno is an Article XIX-A player (he has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time), so he cannot be optioned or sent outright to the minors without his permission (he is out of minor league options so that doesn't come into play at all). 

The difference between being an Article XIX-A player (at least five years of MLB Service Time) like Cedeno is and being an Article XX-D player (at least three years of MLB Service Time but less than five) is that an Article XIX-A player cannot be sent to the minors (optioned or outrighted) without his permission, while an Article XX-D player can be sent to the minors (optioned or outrighted) without his permission, but if he is outrighted to the minors he can elect free-agency immediately (but with no termination pay) or defer free-agency until aftef the conclusion of the MLB regular season. 

So for Cedeno it will almost certainly be Chicago or Bust.  

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/13/2019 - 02:42 pm

Here is one reason why a club would prefer to have a player who is not expected to return to active duty anytime soon on the 60-day Injured List instead of on the 10-day Injured List: 

A "Standard Form of Diagnosis" signed by the club physician must accompany a request to place a player on an MLB Injured List, and a "Standard Form of Diagnosis for Recertification" signed by the club physician must be filed with the MLB Commissioner every ten days for players on the MLB 10-day Injured List and after seven days for players on the MLB 7-day Injured List. 

However, a Standard Form of Recertification is - NOT - required once a player has been placed on or transferred to a club's MLB 60-day Injured List. So a player on an MLB 60-day Injured List could go to Mars and stay there indefinitely for all MLB cares (as long as he gets his MLB meal & tip money when the club is on the road). 

Also, a Standard Form of Diagnosis is - NOT - required to place a minor league player on a minor league Injured List and a Standard Form of Recertification is not required once a minor league player has been placed on a minor league Injured List. This is why it is so easy to place a minor league player on a minor league Injured List and then just leave him there indefinitely, at least so long as the player is cool with it. (What used to be called the "Phantom DL" will now probably be called the "Phantom IL"). 

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/20/2019 - 02:17 pm

LHP James Buckelew has retired. 

The Cubs purchased Buckelew's contract frrom the Kansas City T-Bones (American Association) last July, and he split time between Myrtle Beach and Tennessee over the last two months of the season.  

The 27-year old Buckelew was signed by the Miami Marlins as a NDFA college senior out of Belmont University in June 2014 and he spent five seasons in the Marlins organization prior to being released last May, and then he spent only about a month in independent ball with the T-Bones before being acquired by the Cubs. 

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    booooooooooo

    also, wisdom and taillon are both in chicago.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Tonight’s game postponed. Split games on Saturday.

  • crunch (view)

    cubs getting crazy good at not having player moves leak.

    taillon we 100% know is pitching tonight.  who he's replacing and any additional moves are unknown as far as i can tell.

    p.wisdom was not in today's lineup in iowa (rained out) and he was removed from the game last night mid-game, but not for injury.  good bet he's with the team in the bigs, too.

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • 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.

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