Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Newcomers Make Good First Impression at Riverview

Michael Cruz and Robel Garcia belted back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches, Brandon Vicens drilled a bases-loaded bases-clearing double, and Derek Casey fired three innings of no run/no hit ball with five strikeouts, in Cubs Minor League Camp intrasquad game action Friday afternoon on John Arguello Way at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ. 

The 23 year old Vicens was signed recently by the Cubs as a non-drafted free-agent (NDFA) out of the University of Maine, where he played both baseball (CF) and football (FB) for the Black Bears. He grew up in Hialeah, FL, and played HS ball against Cubs CF Albert Almora Jr. He attended Miami-Dade CC prior to transferring to Maine in 2016. The son of a Puerto Rican father and a Cuban-American mother, Vicens was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 35th round of the 2014 draft out of HS but decided to attend college instead. Now that he can concentrate on baseball full-time, he might be able to unlock some of the potential he displayed as a HS All-American CF at American Heritage School in Plantation. (His HS won three state championships while he was there, one in football and two in baseball).  
 
Robel Garcia (not to be confused with Cubs minor league 2B Reivaj Garcia) was signed by the Cubs last October after he starred for Team Italy in the AZ Instructional League. (The Italian team spent parts of September & October with the Oakland A's squad at Fitch Park). Soon to be 26, the switch-hitting Dominican had previously played five seasons of affiliated ball in the Cleveland Indians organization, before being released in 2014.    

Casey was the Cubs 2018 9th round draft pick out of UVA, and the 6-2 190 23-year old righthander was really sharp today, mowing down hitter-after-hitter over the course of his three innings of work as he effectively mixed a FB, CV, SL, and CH to keep hitters off-balance. Cubs 2018 2nd round compensation pick Paul Richan also threw in the game, but Casey really stood out.      

Here is the box score frrom the game: 

SQUAD "A" LINEUP
:  
1a. Edmond Americaan, CF: 0-2 (K, K) 
1b. Brennen Davis, CF: 0-1 (BB, 6-3, R) 
2a. Levi Jordan, 2B-DH: 0-2 (F-7, F-8) 
2b. Brandon Vicens, PH-RF: 1-2 (2B, F-9, R, 3 RBI)
3a. D. J. Artis, LF: 0-2 (K, 4-3)
3b. Eric Gonzalez, C: 0-1 (6-3) 
3c. Rafelin Lorenzo, C: 1-1 (1B) 
4a. Tyler Alamo, 1B: 1-2 (1B, F-7, R)
4b. Yeiler Peguero, SS: 1-1 (1B, SB)
4c. Gustavo Polanco, 1B: 0-1 (K) 
5a. Christopher Morel, SS: 0-1 (P-3)
5b. Jose Gutierrez, PH-LF: 0-2 (6-3, 3-U) 
6a. Jimmy Herron, DH: 0-1 (F-9)
6b. Luis Diaz, PH-2B: 0-2 (K, 1-3)
7a. Michael Cruz, C: 1-1 (HR, R, 2 RBI)
7b. Fidel Mejia, 1B: 2-2 (1B, 2B, R) 
7c. Cam Balego, 3B: NO AB 
8a. Robel Garcia, 3B: 1-1 (HR, R, RBI)
8b. Orian Nunez, PH: 0-1 (K)
8c. Clayton Daniel, 3B-SS: 0-1 (K)
9a. Luis Ayala, RF: 0-1 (L-6)
9b. Kwangmin Kwon, RF-DH: 1-2 (1B, K, R) 

SQUAD "B" LINEUP:
1a. Fernando Kelli, CF: 0-2 (6-3, F-8) 
1b. Caleb Knight, C: 1-1 (1B) 
1c. Benny Kaleiwahea, C: 0-1 (K) 
2a. Cole Roederer, LF: 1-2 (1B, 4-6 FC, SB) 
2b. Jamie Galazin, CF: 0-1 (BB, F-8) 
3a. Austin Filiere, 3B: 0-1 (K) 
3b. Zach Davis, LF: 0-2 (4-3, 1-2 FC) 
3c. Kevin Moreno, LF: 0-1 (K) 
4a. Luke Reynolds, 1B: 0-1 (K),  
4b. Delvin Zinn, 2B: 1-2 (1B, K) 
4c. Henderson Perez, PH: 0-1 (5-3) 
5a. Jake Slaughter, 2B-DH: 0-1 (K) 
5b. Brandon Hughes, PH-DH: 0-2 (4-6 FC, F-7)
6a. Jonathan Sierra, RF: 1-1 (1B) 
6b. Chris Pieters, RF: 0-1 (BB, K) 
7a. Grant Fennell, DH #1: 0-0 (BB) 
7b. Yonathan Perlaza, 3B: 0-1 (BB, K) 
8a. Erick Castillo, C: 1-1 (1B) 
8b. Josue Huma, SS: 0-2 (F-8, 5-3) 
9a. Luis Vazquez, SS: NO AB
9b. Austin Upshaw, 1B: 1-2 (1B, K) 
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TIME THRU BATTING ORDER
10. Chris Carrier, DH #2: 0-2 (K, E-5)  
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TIME THRU BATTING ORDER

SQUAD "A" PITCHERS
1. Tyson Miller: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2/1 GO/AO, 43 pitches (27 strikes) 
2. Paul Richan: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 2/0 GO/AO, 17 pitches (10 strikes) 
3. Ben Hecht: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1/1 GO/AO, 29 pitches (16 strikes) 
4. Derek Casey: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 2/2 GO/AO, 39 pitches (27 strikes) 

SQUAD "B" PITCHERS
1. Tom Hatch: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 2/5 GO/AO, 34 pitches (26 strikes) 
2. Cam Sanders: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 3/0 GO/AO, 39 pitches (22 strikes) 
3. Ryan Williams: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GO/AO, 16 pitches (11 strikes) 
4. Jake Steffens: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GO/AO, 11 pitches (9 strikes) 

SQUAD "A" ERRORS: 1 
3B Cam Balego: E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely) 

SQUAD "B" ERRORS:
NONE 

SQUAD "A" CATCHERS DEFENSE
Michael Cruz: 0-1 CS 

SQUAD "B" CATCHERS DEFENSE
Caleb Knight: 0-1 CS 

ATTENDANCE: 38 

WEATHER: Partly cloudy & breezy with temperatures in the 60's 

Arizona
Scoring
Service

"Just because it isn't oficial doesn't mean it didn't happen"

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

This is what I wrote about Stephen Ridings last June at the end of Extended Spring Training: 

"The "wild card" may be 22-year old 6'8 Stephen Ridings. who ramped his FB up to 95-96 in some of his outings at EXST, and with his size and relatively young age he could add some MPH to his FB eventually. Ridings struggled a bit with command and consistency at EXST but was assigned to Eugene anyway, and since he was not stretched-out beyond one inning at EXST, he will likely work as a late-inning reliever going forward (at least in the immediate future) where his velocity would play-up."

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

While I agree it likely isn't a ringing endorsement of (among others) Eddy Martinez, if Ridings wasn't looking like he was going to make the South Bend bullpen (Plausible), getting something for him is better than a pur release. (Gretzky for a trumped up version of Scosscia's kid?)

[ ]

In reply to by tim815

TIM: I think Ridings is a better prospect than that. He improved his command a lot after he arrived at Eugene, and he would have very likely been in the South Bend bullpen this season. I suspect the Royals will send him to Lo-A (just like the Cubs would have done), and if all goes well there I would expect a July or August promotion to Hi-A and then a gig in the AFL (something the Cubs probably would not have done), and if that goes well he could - conceivably - get added to the KC MLB 40-man roster post-2019 (something the Cubs definitely would not have done) since he is Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2019. 

As for Dewees, I would be surprised if he ever plays in MLB. He probably has a better chance of eventually replacing Doug Dascenzo as Minor League Outfield & Baserunning Coordinator. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

BTW, if you want to see what the Cubs think of their more "advanced" OF prospects, look at who they initially assigned to the Tennessee squad at Minor League Camp: 

OUTFIELDERS: 
Edmond Americaan 
D. J. Artis 
Brennen Davis 
Jimmie Herron 
Fernando Kelli 
Kevin Moreno 
Jonathan Sierra 

Not to mention Nelson Velazquez getting initially assigned to the Iowa squad. 

Now obviously, Velazquez is not making the Iowa Opening Day roster and none of the seven outfielders assigned to the Tennessee squad are making the Tennessee Opening Day roster (or even the Myrtle Beach Opening Day roster for that matter), but the Tennessee squad at Minor League Camp has no Connor Myers, no Zach Davis, no Roberto Caro, no Luis Ayala, no Jose Gutierrez, no Chris Singleton, no Brandon Hughes, and no Chris Pieters.

The only two outfield "prospects" presently on the Iowa roster at Minor League Camp who are even somewhat likely to make the Tennessee Opening Day roster are D. J. Wilson and Kevonte Mitchell, and I'm not even sure either of those guys are ready for AA. Which means Donnie Dewees, Wynton Bernard, and Yasiel Balaguert (who can play 1B-LF-RF) could (conceivably) be the Smokies Opening Day OF! Yikes!  

Of course, the Cubs could play Jared Young at both 1B and in LF at Tennessee, but even if Young makes the Smokies Opening Day roster (and think it's better than 50-50 that he does) and plays half his games in LF, there still is a dearth of outfield talent at AA.  

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

DLS: For whatever reason, the Cubs assigned Cole Roederer to the South Bend squad at the beginning of Minor League Camp. Why he was "left behind" (so to speak) while B. Davis, Americaan, Sierra, Kelli, Herron, and Artis (and even Kevin Moreno!) were assigned to the Tennessee squad, I do not know. 

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.