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

Projected Post-2019 Cubs Off-Season Roster

As things stand right now at the 2019 MLB All-Star Break.... 


PROJECTED POST-2019 CUBS MLB RESERVE LIST
: 37 players 

* bats or throws left 
# bats both

PITCHERS: 20
Adbert Alzolay 
Brad Brach (2020 club option will be declined, then Brach will exercise player option - see OTHER below) 
Tyler Chatwood 
Yu Darvish (will not opt-out) 
Oscar de la Cruz 
Carl Edwards Jr 
Kendall Graveman (2020 club option will be exercised)
Kyle Hendricks 
* Danny Hultzen (eligible to be 6YFA - will be added to 40 no later than 5th day after final game of World Series)
Craig Kimbrel 
* Jon Lester
Dillon Maples 
Dakota Mekkes (Rule 5 Draft eligible - will be added to 40 by 11/20) 
Tyson Miller (Rule 5 Draft eligible - will be added to 40 by 11/20)
James Norwood 
* Jose Quintana (club option will be exercised)
Colin Rea (eligible to be 6YFA - will be added to 40 no later than 5th day after final game of World Series)
* Kyle Ryan 
* Justin Steele 
Rowan Wick 

CATCHERS: 5  
Miguel Amaya (Rule 5 Draft eligible - will be added to 40 by 11/20)  
# Victor Caratini 
Willson Contreras 
P. J. Higgins (Rule 5 Draft eligible - will be added to 40 by 11/20)
Jhonny Pereda (eligible to be 6YFA - will be added to 40 no later than 5th day after final game of World Series)

INFIELDERS: 7 
Javier Baez 
David Bote 
Kris Bryant 
# Robel Garcia 
Trent Giambrone (Rule 5 Draft eligible - will be added to 40 by 11/20)
* Anthony Rizzo (club option will be exercised) 
Zack Short (Rule 5 Draft eligible - will be added to 40 by 11/20)

OUTFIELDERS: 5
Albert Almora 
# Ian Happ
* Jason Heyward (will not opt-out)  
* Kyle Schwarber 
Mark Zagunis (will be out of minor league options in 2020)

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

ARTICLE XX-B MLB FREE-AGENT (at 9 AM Eastern on day after final game of World Series): 8 
Tony Barnette, P (club option will be declined but he could be released prior to conclusion of regular season) 
* Xavier Cedeno, P (or he could even be released prior to conclusion of regular season if roster slot is needed)
Steve Cishek, P 
* Cole Hamels, p (Cubs will extend an Article XX-B Qualifying Offer and Hamels might accept it) 
Brandon Kintzler, P 
Brandon Morrow, P (club option will be declined) 
Pedro Strop, P 
# Ben Zobrist, INF-OF 
NOTE: They won't receive a Qualifying Offer, but Cubs might try and re-sign Cishek, Kintzler, and/or Strop (but at most no more than two of the three) to 2020 MLB contract after they become free-agents, but Barnette, Cedeno, Morrow, and Zobrist will not be offered 2020 contracts. 

DFA/OUTRIGHTED POST-2019 (sometime prior to 5 PM Eastern on 5th day after final game of World Series): 5 
Alec Mills, P (will be out of minor league options in 2020 - see NOTE-2 below)
* Mike Montgomery, P (will elect to be Article XX-D free-agent if not claimed off waivers - see NOTE-1 below))
* Randy Rosario, P (will be out of minor league options in 2020 - see NOTE-2 below)  
Addison Russell, INF (will elect to be Article XX-D free-agent if not claimed off waivers - see NOTE-1 below)   
Duane Underwood Jr, RHP (will be out of minor league options in 2020 - see NOTE-2 below)
NOTE-1: While the Cubs would prefer to trade both Russell and Montgomery prior to placing them on Outright Assignment Waivers, one way or another both will not be with the Cubs in 2020. 
NOTE-2: If not claimed off waivers and if outrighted to the minors, Mills, Rosario, and Underwood will be minor league 6YFA at 5 PM Eastern on 5th day after final game of World Series, but Cubs will very likely attempt to re-sign them to 2020 minor league contracts (for MLB money and an NRI to Spring Training) after they become minor league free-agents (again, that's presuming player is not claimed off waivers). It's also possible that Mills and/or Underwood could be removed from the 40 prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season if addtional roster slots are needed in September. 

RELEASED: 1 
* Daniel Descalso, INF (could happen at any time during or after 2019 season if 40-man roster slot is needed, but no later than 11/20).  

NON-TENDERED 12/2: 2 
Taylor Davis, C-1B  
Allen Webster, P (is out of minor league options) 
NOTE: Cubs will attempt (hope) to re-sign T. Davis and Webster to 2020 minor league contracts (for MLB money & NRI to Spring Training) after the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft, the idea of the non-tender being to remove the player from the MLB 40-man roster without taking the chance that the player could be claimed off waivers, and then signing him after (rather than before) the Rule 5 Draft so that he won't be selected in the Rule 5 Draft after signing a 2020 minor league contract. (The Cubs were able to select RHRP Hector Rondon in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft only because the Cleveland Indians signed him to a 2013 minor league contract prior to the Rule 5 Draft instead of waiting to sign him to a minor league contract until after the draft).   

OTHER: 1 
Brad Brach, P (will be released only if 40-man roster slot is needed for another player, otherwise will remain on 40 going into Spring Training). 

Comments

Keep in mind that under the new 2019 waiver rules, a player claimed off Outright Assignment Waivers during the off-season (beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season and extending up until the first day of Spring Training) cannot be placed back on waivers again for at least seven days, so off-season waiver claiming "shenanigans" might be cut back a bit this coming off-season. (Players claimed off waivers during the season -- beginning on the first day of Spring Training and extending through the last day of the MLB regular season -- cannot be placed back on waivers again for at least 72 hours or until the player has spent at least one day on the claiming club's 25-man active roster, whichever comes first).  

I say "as things stand right now" because the Cubs just - MIGHT - make a trade or two prior to mid-December. 

I project Colin Rea to directly replace Alec Mills on the 40 because they are comparable pitchers (legit AAA SP), but Rea has two minor league options left and Mills will be out of minor league options in 2020, making Rea more-valuable as a Chicago - Des Moines shuttle rider in 2020 than Mills.  

The problem with adding Danny Hultzen to the 40 is that Hultzen is out of minor league options - AND - because he has been outrighteed to the minors previously in his career he has the right to elect free-agency if he were to be outrighted after being added to the 40, but the Cubs have spent two seasons nursing Hultzen through his rehab and I just don't think they want to watch him walk away as a minor league 6YFA post-2019 without at least first getting a look at him in MLB Spring Training in 2020.  

It is possible that the Cubs would let Hultzen walk away as a minor league 6YFA free-agent after the World Series and then (hopefully) re-sign him to a pre-arranged 2020 minor league deal (for MLB money and an NRI to Spring Training) after the Rule 5 Draft (a variation on the non-tender process), but it's about six weeks between the end of the World Series and the Rule 5 Draft, and that might be a bit too long to wait given that Hultzen is under no obligation to re-sign with the Cubs once he becomes a minor league FA. (The Cubs would not want to re-sign Hultzen to a minor league contract prior to the Rule 5 Draft because he would be a virtual lock to get selected).  

But what the Cubs could do is add Hultzen to the 40 after the World Series (prior to him becoming a minor league FA) and then non-tender him on 12/2 and re-sign him to a minor league contract after the Rule 5 Draft (the Rule 5 Draft is only about two weeks after the MLB contract tender date), just as I project they will do with Allen Webster (although unlike Hultzen, Webster is already on the 40).   

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Speaking of Allen Webster, his minor league rehab assignment must end no later than July 31 (that's the 30th day of the assignment), so if there isn't room for him on the MLB 25-man roster when his rehab assignment concludes (he is out of minor league options so he can't be optioned to the minors, and right now he looks to be the 9th man in an eight-man bullpen), the Cubs might look to trade Webster prior to the 4 PM Eastern 7/31 deadline -- possibly for ISBP space(?) -- rather than risk losing him off waivers.

Nico Hoerner played CF in today's Tennessee game and led off. That's news to me! Anyone hear if he'll get more time out there or if it was a one and done?

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Definitely not a bad a idea with Javy repeating his offensive numbers, Bote showing he's roughly a league average player right now, Almora floundering a bit offensively, and Happ not doing much to inspire hope. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the OF defense shakes out. Who are the defensive success stories of IF to OF conversions? Zobrist, Hamilton, and Adam Jones come to mind for now. But I can think of more failures than successes.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

Mookie Betts, Nick Senzel, Ian Desmond, BJ Upton, Alfonso Soriano. To varying degrees of success, but those guys mostly transitioned at the MLB level. I imagine a lot more guys have successfully made the switch in the minors, as lots of players are drafted as SS but don’t stick there.  

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

im positive it was bj upton.  he was part of a "very memorable" young crew of kids in AAA along with delmon young and elijah dukes.  bj managed to not get in trouble with them, though.  it was quite the off-field newsworthy team along with the on-field craziness they got into (throwing bats, threatening umps/coaches/fans, etc).

in the majors he did hop around SS/2nd/3rd a little bit for a few years, but not much.  bj played 16 major league games at SS and he made 7 errors doing it.

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

These are good! I disagree about Soriano, and I'm unsure about Desmond. but Upton and Betts are for sure prominent success stories. I had completely forgotten that Betts didn't start out in the OF. Gonna wait and see on Senzel.

My impression with Happ and Schwarber, and before them Soriano and Javy in his very few OF appearances, has been that these guys can't seem to make up for the repetitions that allow players to be good defensive outfielders. But there's a lot of recency bias in that judgment.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

it's weird cuz happ looked really good in CF last year, and he got a decent amount of time out there.

this year he looked like he's never done it.

schwarber in LF...great dude, but he's DH/1st bound for someone at some at some point before too long.  even at his best he's barely average.

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

Robin Young moving from SS to CF (after he was already an established MLB SS) was probably one the more-successful ones.

Shawon Dunston Sr moved from SS to CF late in his career, but a lot of people thought that Dunston should have been a CF from the start. With his speed, arm, and ability to track fly balls, he could have been a Gold Glove-caliber CF. 

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

I wonder if the successful transition is more a function of the organization than the player. Obviously, these guys are all gifted athletes, but what was the support in teaching the OF, correct defensive positioning, etc.?  I recall the positioning issue having a big impact on Dexter Fowler's actual/perceived effectiveness. And I seem to remember a story about Soriano where after a number of years in the OF for the Cubs, somebody realized that nobody ever taught him how to play outfield (hyperbole on my part, but that was the gist). When WASH had Soriano for a year, did somebody just think "oh that guy is fast & can cover enough ground in LF. Let's stick him out there."?

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

Not sure what Soriano has to do with the question of who can play the outfield. He never played an inning at shortstop, probably for the good of baseball. Anybody can play left field or first base. Adam Dunn played both positions. The next least vital fielding position is second base. That's where Dan Uggla played. Daniel Murphy has been "comfortable" there, in a manner of speaking.  Soriano played second and left, which is all one needs to know about him as a defender.

Bote seems to be able to play any infield position. He's beaten the odds and become a real major leaguer. Happ, on the other hand, is a left fielder, although he's better than average there and can squeak by occasionally in center and at second.

I love Almora gliding around the outfield, but he's been a major disappointment. His OBP is .286. (Descalso's is .285.) Almora could have turned this season around for the Cubs by becoming a useful hitter. They lost 91 games in 2011 so they could draft him #6. 

So yeah, put Hoerner in center and bat him first. As a shortstop, he's probably a better outfielder than Happ or Zagunis, although both of those could help the team as well, because they get on base. Unlike Almora, they don't like to swing at breaking balls in the dirt.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Happ swings at plenty of balls in the dirt. Swings through a hell of a lot of pitches in the zone too.

This isn’t a defense of Almora by the way. Never been a fan ever since we drafted him. He’s an excellent defender. But so is Connor Myers. I don’t know if Connor is even gonna sniff AAA.

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

Sure, I can remember Happ swinging at bad pitches and swinging through strikes. But that's a bit anecdotal, if you'll pardon the expression. When your OBP is 100 points higher than your BA, you're trying to be selective and trying to draw walks, and mostly succeeding.

Happ's BA/OBP in minors: .265/.361

Majors: .242/.341

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

Point taken on his ability to take pitches as well, but I mean... a 242 BA isn’t what I’d call good. It’s a bit below average. The 341 OBP is about average too. His strikeout rate is still quite high regardless of either number, so the majority of outs he is making are unhelpful.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

I guess you exclude Soriano from the conversation if you decide to exclude infielders who were not already good defensively (in which case you exclude Happ, Schwarber, BJ Upton, and the vast majority of shorstops who have transitioned to the outfield) or if you want to limit it to just shortstops. Not every scout seems convinced that Hoerner would stick at SS, so including former 2Bs in the mix makes sense to me.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

I realize he had a poor reputation and looked silly when he hopped, but advanced metrics loved Soriano’s OF defense some years, less so in others. He had a lot of leg injuries which I think hobbled him and then he got better again when Theo’s regime took over. 

"Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports teams have "reached out" to the Marlins about trading for Starlin Castro. "

he's owed like 5-6m for the rest of the season and slashing .245/.272/.336

teams.  plural.

I have mentioned this here before, but keep in mind that Ben Zobrist must be reinstated from the Restricted List prior to midnight on 8/31 in order to be eligible to play in the post-season. So even if he has not rejoined the club, the Cubs might reinstate Zobrist prior to midnight on 8/31 just to keep him eligible to play in the post-season, but if they do that, he must be paid, and that will cost the Cubs about $2M. So the Cubs really need to know what Zobrist's plans are by 8/31. 

And if the Cubs do reinstate Zobrist from the Restricted List on 8/31, Daniel Descalso is the most-likely candidate to get removed from the 40 to make room for Zobrist (presuming Descalso hasn't already been removed from the 40 by that point in time). 

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • 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...