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

Your 2019 Eugene Emeralds!

6/12 UPDATE/CHANGES

SS Luis Vazquez has been moved-down to Eugene from AAA Iowa and C Marcus Mastrobuoni has been reinstated from the South Bend 7-day IL and so his rehab assignment at Eugene has been canceled.  

C-1B Danny Zardon has been moved up to Eugene from AZL Cubs #1, and SS Luis Verdugo has been moved down to AZL Cubs #2 from Eugene.  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


6/9 ORIGINAL POST 6/9


The Northwest League begins play this coming Friday (6/14). 

Here is the provisional 2019 Eugene Emeralds Opening Day roster (subject to change). 

In most cases 2019 draft picks will be initially assigned to one of the Cubs two AZL squads.

 EUGENE  

35 players 

Last updated 6-12-2019

SS-A 

* bats or throw left 
# bats both

PITCHERS: 21 
Maikel Aguiar 
* Chris Allen 
Alfredo Colorado 
Jeremiah Estrada 
Kohl Franklin 
Fauris Guerrero 
Garrett Kelly 
Ryan McCauley 
Ivan Medina 
M. T. Minacci (will likely begin season on 60-day IL) 
Zach Mort 
Eduarniel Nunez 
Raidel Orta 
Yunior Perez 
* Ruben Reyes (ex-OF)
Casey Ryan 
Niels Stone 
Jesus Tejada 
* Didier Vargas 
Carlos Vega 
Blake Whitney

CATCHERS: 3
Caleb Knight 
* Jonathan Soto 
Danny Zardon 

INFIELDERS: 6 
Luis Diaz 
# Reivaj Garcia
Rafael Mejia 
# Yonathan Perlaza 
Jake Slaughter 
Luis Vazquez  

OUTFIELDERS: 5 
* Edmond Americaan  
Yovanny Cuevas 
Dalton Hurd 
Fernando Kelli
Brandon Vicens

MANAGER
Lance Rymel  

COACHES
Mike Carter (Hitting Coach/Outfield Instructor)
Armando Gabino (Pitching Coach) 
Carlos Rojas (Assistant Coach/Infield Instructor)

ATHLETIC TRAINER
Sean Folan 

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH
Dallas Lopez 

Comments

j.estrada...good.

i'm ready to see him get his shot at moving up the system.

Franklin, Y. Perez, E. Nunez, Stone, Estrada, and D. Vargas were stretched-out as SP at EXST, but Vargas might work more as a RP than as a SP because of a need for another lefty in the pen.

RHSP Yovanny Cruz, RHSP Danis Correa, LHRP Riger Fernandez, and RHRP Jake Reindl were projectad to make the Eugene Opening Day roster at the start of Extended Spring Training, but all four were shut-down during the course of EXST and so they will be left-behind in Mesa.  

RHSP Kendall Graveman (on Cubs 60-day IL - July 2018 TJS) threw a bullpen side-session this morning at Riverview and he looks to be about ready to throw "live" BP and then begin a minor league rehab assignment in the AZL.

Because he had TJS he is eligible to have his Article XIX-C minor league rehab assignment renewed for up to 30 additional days beyond the normal 30 day max limit, so he could spend up to 60 days on a Minor League Rehab Assignment in July-August before possibly getting reinstated from the 60-day IL in September (presuming there are no medical setbacks during the course of the rehab). 

Graveman would also figure to be in the mix to replace Cole Hamels in the 2020 Cubs starting rotation (Hamels is a FA post-2019). 

Every short-season A team should have 15 healthy right-handed pitchers, right?  Or maybe pitcher-heavy drafting for three consecutive years doesn't work in the real world?  After really poor results developing pitching internally, I think panic has set in.  Nice to have a lot of bites at the apple, which is how Theo talks about this.  But to assess your talent, the pitchers have to get meaningful innings against quality competition.  With a bloated pitching roster here, several guys side-railed at higher levels and some prior high draft picks still in Extended, who knows what have we have really got?  The few undamaged guys we have given up on at higher levels seem to find new teams right away.  I am happy for them but I think it shows the Cubs have too many arms in the system to understand what they've got and other teams can see it.

Craig Kimbrel threw a 44-pitch bullpen session this morning (with a number of high-level staff in attendance) at Riverview about an hour after the Eugene Emeralds bus pulled out of the parking lot headed to Sky Harbor Airport.

Other than bouncing a handful of sliders, Kimbrel's session seemed to go well (threw all 44 pitches without a break) and afterward he appeared to be in good spirits, shaking hands with Rehab Catcher Tyler Pearson and Rehab Pitching Coach Carlos Chantres. 

Next step is "live" BP, probably on Wednesday, as Kimbrel continues his "Spring Training" in June in Mesa. 

[ ]

In reply to by Raisin101

RAISIN: That's really peculiar.

The Eugene provisional roster I received has Luis Verdugo (not Luis Vazquez) listed as one of the infielders, Raidel Orta is listed as a LHP on the linked list but I can tell you he is absolutely positively a RHP (the roster I got does not distinguish between LHP and RHP, so I guess you just have to know which ones are which), M. T. Minacci, Garrett Kelly, and Zach Mort are on my Eugene roster (although as I mentioned in the post Minacci will likely be placed on the Eugene 60-day IL, and Kelly and Mort were not at Extended Spring Training so I don't know if they will actually physically report directly to Eugene or maybe be relocated to another affiliate's roster prior to NWL Opening Day), and Marcus Mastrobuoni will be at Eugene on a rehab assignment (he is on the South Bend 7-day IL) after spending April & May at EXST (he had hip or knee surgery last year). 

BTW, prior to the start of the short-season leagues in June, a player on a minor league injured list can rehab at Extended Spring Training and play in Cactus League EXST games (which are every bit as real as minor league games at South Bend or Myrtle Beach, except the EXST games are not "official" and there are no roster limits), and then after the conclusion of Extended Spring Training a player on a minor league injured list (including any player on an MLB 40-man roster who is on Optional Assignment to the minors) can be assigned on a roster-exempt rehab assignment only to a short-season league affiliate (Eugene, AZL Cubs #1, or AZL Cubs #2, but not the two DSL teams), with a maximum of three minor league rehabbers assigned to any one of the short-season affiliates at any one time. In fact that's one of the reasons the Cubs added a second AZL team last year, so that they could place more minor league players on roster-exempt rehab assignments.

There is no limit on the number of players on a club's MLB injured list(s) who can be assigned on a roster-exempt Article XIX-C Minor League Rehab Assignment to any one affiliate at any one time (Barnette and Cedeno are both at Iowa right now, but the entire Cubs MLB IL contingent could be at Iowa at the same time if the Cubs wanted it that way), and a player on an MLB IL can be assigned on a roster-exempt rehab assignment to any minor league affiliate (including full-season affiliates), even to a minor league affiliate while it is playing in its league's playoffs (imagine winning the Southern League Championship because you had a rehabbing Anthony Rizzo and Javy Baez in the lineup!).  

When Adbert Alzolay, Jake Stinnett, and Tommy Nance left EXST they were reinstated from the Iowa IL (Alzolay) and Tennessee IL (Stinett and Nance) and were assigned to Myrtle Beach on an unofficial (but real) rehab assignment, but because a player on a minor league IL cannot be assigned to another full-season affiliate in the organization as a roster-exempt rehab player, Alzolay, Stinnett, and Nance counted against the Pelicans active list roster limit while they were there, even though they were rehabbing.  

So because he is on South Bend's IL and because Eugene is a Cubs short-season affiliate, Marcus Mastrobuoni will not count against Eugene's active list roster limit, and you can also expect a full load (three rehabbers per team) assigned to the Cubs two AZL teams when they begin play next Monday (probably Little, Hultzen, Hockin, de los Rios, K. Thompson, and Lillis-White to start with, and eventually Hoerner, Z. Short, F. Mejia, and Cardona).

There are no official roster-exempt rehab assignments permitted for players on the Eugene, AZL Cubs #1 and #2, and DSL Cubs #1 and #2 injured lists (they just get reinstated from the IL when they are ready to play in games, and they count against their club's active list roster limit when they are reinstated from the IL). 

AZ Phil, did you ever see Luis Vazquez making it a month between AA and AAA with no one replacing him?

That's kind of crazy, right? 

Childersb3: I do know that the Cubs consider Luis Vazquez (right now) to be the best defensive SS in the system, and I have seen him make plays in the field that only Javy Baez can make (and that's going back to AZL 2017, AZ Instructs post-2017, and to Minor League Camp in 2018).

That said, I did not foresee him getting to AAA or even to AA in 2019, even as an emergency injury replacement. He really belongs at South Bend (or at Myrtle Beach if Ademan wasn't there), and as I think I might have mentioned here this time last year, Vazquez is a legit prospect just because of his glove. His defense is elite. And he's only 19! 

HAGSAG: He's supposed to be here, but I haven't seen him. Or at least he's not throwing bullpens. 

PHIL: Is there a chance (or have you heard) that Rafael Morel would move up from the DSL once the AZL gets under way? How often does that happen?

K-DUB: I have never seen an in-season promotion to the AZL for a Cubs DSL position player, because the position-player draft picks are initially assigned to the AZL, and even if the draft pick eventually gets moved-up to Eugene, some other position-player at Eugene gets moved-down to the AZL to make room for the draft pick, and so getting regular playing time becomes problematic.   

It's not that unusual for pitchers (especially older DSL pitchers) to get moved-up to the AZL from the DSL during the season, however, because the pitcher draft picks are usually placed into a conditioning throwing program at the UAPC after they sign and don't pitch in games right away, which creates a need for fresh arms in the AZL (especially with the Cubs running two AZL teams). So older DSL pitchers like Jose Gomez, Francisco Gracia, Francisco Fermin, and/or Donato Auguste could get moved-up to the AZL, possibly as soon as this weekend. Last year the Cubs waited too long to call-up extra pitchers from the DSL and so they ended-up having position players pitch in AZL games (and they were close games, too, not blow-outs) during the first week of the AZL season.

As for R. Morel, as long as he's getting his reps he'll almost certainly stay in the DSL for the entire season, then maybe come up to AZ Winter Instructs in January, then perhaps Minor League Camp in March, then very likely Extended Spring Training Apiril-May, and then AZL (maybe Eugene) in June. There's really no reason to rush him. 

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    LHP Blake Weiman appears to have been the last cut from the AAA Iowa roster. He is with the Tennessee group at Minor League Camp.

     

  • crunch (view)

    bruce bochy is hobbling rather badly for a guy who's had 2 hip replacements.  his gait is extremely wonky taking the lineup card to the ump.

  • crunch (view)

    yeah, for me this isn't about who's better at 3rd.  it's madrigal, period.  for me it's about who's not hitting in the lineup because madrigal is in the lineup.

    occasional play at 3rd for madrigal, okay.  going with the steele/ground-ball matchup...meh, but okay, whatever.

    seeing madrigal get significant starting time...no thanks.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    Yeah I am very disappointed Madrigal is starting. He has no business as a starter. He is AAA insurance, a back up at best. Sure his defense looks fine because he plays far enough in that his noodle arm isn’t totally exposed. It comes at the cost of 3B range.

    He’s garbage, and a team serious about winning would NOT have him starting opening day.

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.