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

And with the First Pick in the 1954 Rule 5 Draft, the Pirates Select...

In February 1954, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed 19-year old OF Roberto Clemente out of Puerto Rico and gave him a $10,000 bonus. 

At the time he was signed, Clemente -- despite having played baseball for only two years -- was probably the best-known amateur baseball player in Latin America. He starred for Santurce in the Puerto Rican Winter League in 1953-54, and several other teams (most notably the Milwaukee Braves and the New York Giants -- who were the Dodgers main rivals at the time) supposedly offered him more money, but Clemente wanted to play for the Dodgers.  

The Bonus Rule of 1947-50 had been reinstated in 1953, and per this rule any amateur player receiving a bonus in excess of $4,000 (was $6,000 1946-50) who signed a major league contract would have to be placed on the signing club's MLB reserve list (40-man roster) and then would have to spend two calendar years on the club's MLB active list (25-man-roster) before he could be optioned to the minors. If a club decided not to keep the bonus player on the 25-man roster for two years, the player could not be optioned or outrighted to the minors until irrevocable waivers could be secured. 

However, Clemente was technically signed by the Montreal Royals (one of two Dodgers AAA affiliates at the time), so the Dodgers did not need to place him on their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster). More importantly, the Dodgers also did not need to carry him on their 25-man roster in 1954 and 1955. 

A number of future MLB stars (including Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, Brooks Robinson, and Sandy Koufax, to name four future Hall of Famers) were bonus players in the 1950's and spent two full seasons on MLB 25-man active list rosters as teenagers, but only one bonus player was signed to a AAA contract and then was lost in the Rule 5 Draft... Roberto Clemente.

While the Dodgers certainly would have had room for Clemente on their MLB 40-man roster (see Dodgers 1954 Spring Training 40-man roster below), they apparently did not feel they could afford carry him on the 25-man roster while they were trying to win a pennant. So it was more about the 25-man roster than it was about the 40-man roster.  

And while there was no question about Clemente's talent and upside, he was very inexperienced and nowhere near MLB-ready in February 1954, especially on a contending team like the Brooklyn Dodgers where every slot on the 25-man roster had value. If the Dodgers had carried him on their 25-man roster in 1954 and 1955, he probably would have never played (although he could have gotten reps by playing winter ball back in Puerto Rico post-1954 and post-1955). And it would have meant that another position player who otherwise would have been on the Dodgers 25-man roster would not be. 

So not having to carry Clemente on their 25-man roster was apparently very important when the Dodgers signed him to a minor league (AAA) contract. 

Going into the 1954 season Brooklyn was perennially the best team in the National League (they won the pennant in 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953, and tied for first place in 1951 only to lose the playoff to the Giants on Bobby Thomson's famous "Shot Heard 'Round the World"), and the Dodgers also had the #1 farm system in baseball (they were absolutely loaded in 1954 - see list below).  

The problem was, as a bonus player assigned to a minor league reserve list, Clemente would have to remain on the Montreal roster through the conclusion of the next MLB Rule 5 Draft (in November 1954) and be eligible for selection in the Major League Phase for the discounted "Bonus Player" draft price of $6,000 (the standard draft price in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft in 1954 was $10,000). So once he signed with Montreal, he could not be added to the Dodgers MLB 40-man roster until after the 1954 Rule 5 Draft (presuming he wasn't selected). 

But - IF - Clemente could somehow get past the 1954 Rule 5 Draft without being selected, the Dodgers would not have had to add him to their MLB 40-man roster until after the 1957 season (in 1954, a player not on an MLB 40-man roster was eligible for selection starting with the fourth Rule 5 Draft after his first "qualified season," which depended on whether the player signed his first contract prior to or on/after August 1st), and once on the 40 post-1957, Clemente could be optioned to the minors in 1958, 1959, and 1960, and after all that, he would not be out of minor league options until Spring Training 1961 (presuming he had not established himself as a "big leaguer" by then).

And because he was obviously so raw and clearly nowhere near MLB-ready, the Dodgers were probably fairly certain that even if he was selected in the Rule 5 Draft, that they would be able to re-claim him later, or else maybe re-acquire him in a trade by sending two or three of their lesser (but still decent) prospects in a "CARE Package" to whichever loser drafted him, or else perhaps extract a useful MLB player from the other club if the Dodgers declined to re-claim.   

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, the team with the #1 priority in the 1954 Rule 5 Draft turned out to be the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates (see the original version of Angels in the Outfield to see just how hapless the 1950's Pirates were), and the GM of the Bucs was none other than former Dodgers GM Branch Rickey. And while the Mahatma was on good terms with Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi, Rickey hated owner Walter O'Malley (who essentially ran Rickey out of Brooklyn). 

Rickey's approach in Pittsburgh was very unusual for the time (it's actually more like MLB is now), because he was not even pretending to be competitive. Instead, he stockpiled young players (including several bonus players) on the Bucs 25-man roster, and so adding one more (Roberto Clemente) was no big deal. (This actually worked, as the Pirates won the World Series in 1960 with players acquired, signed, and/or developed by Rickey in the 1950's).    

So the Dodgers really took a big chance by signing Clemente to a minor league contract if they did so with the (false) assumption that he would not get selected in the Rule 5 Draft, or if he did get selected, that they would be able to get him back. In any case, they obviously believed that they could not afford to carry Clemente on their MLB 25-man active list roster for two full seasons while chasing the pennant (the Dodgers finished third in 1954, but they did win the pennant in both 1955 and 1956, and they won their one & only World Series while in Brooklyn in 1955).

There is a theory that the Dodgers tried to hide Clemente at Montreal, but he was already very well known by scouts throughout baseball. Pirates bird-dog Clyde Sukeforth --  the guy who scouted Jackie Robinsion for Branch Rickey in 1945 -- was all over the Montreal Royals that season, and so there should have been little doubt that the Pirates would probably make him their #1 pick in the Rule 5 Draft if they finished with the worst record in MLB (which they did), and if the Pirates did draft Clemente, that the Dodgers wouldn't get him back. The main problem with Clemente in Montreal was that not only was he not ready for MLB, he wasn't ready for AAA, either. He had a lot of difficulty hitting breaking balls from veteran AAA RHPs, and so he was platooned and otherwise used as a PH and late-inning defensive replacement (and even with the protection of platooning, he still hit a middling 257/286/372 in 86 AAA games).

It probably would make more sense that the veteran Dodgers players didn't want a "bonus baby" (not just Clemente, but any "bonus baby") on the team if he wasn't ready to help them win. (Cuban OF Sandy Amoros was on the Dodgers in 1954-55, so Clemente would have had at least one teammate whose first language was Spanish, if that was a concern). 

So could the Dodgers have kept Clemente on their MLB 25-man roster in 1954 and 1955? 

Did they even care? 

You be the judge:   


BROOKLYN DODGERS TOP 15 PROSPECTS SPRING TRAINING 1954:
1. Karl Spooner, LHP (added to 40 September 1954)
2. Don Drysdale, RHP (not yet eligible for Rule 5 Draft)
3. Chico Fernandez, SS (added to 40 post-1954)
4. Roberto Clemente, OF (Bonus Player signed 2/54)
5. John Roseboro, C (not yet eligible for Rule 5 Draft)
6. Ed Roebuck, RHP (already on the 40)
7. Don Zimmer, SS (already on the 40)
8. Don Hoak, 3B (already on the 40)
9. Norm Larker, 1B (added to 40 post-1954)
10. Don Bessent, RHP (already on the 40)
11. Gino Cimoli, OF (already on the 40)
12. Don Demeter, OF (not yet eligible for Rule 5 Draft)
13. Jim Gentile, 1B (not yet eligible for Rule 5 Draft)
14. Charlie Neal, 2B (added to 40 post-1954)
15. Maury Wills, SS (not yet eligible for Rule 5 Draft)
NOTE: LHP Sandy Koufax was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a Bonus Player ($24,000 bonus) out of U. of Cincinnati in December 1954 and -- unlike Roberto Clemente -- Koufax - WAS - signed to a major league contract and the Dodgers - DID - carry him on their 25-man roster. 

OTHER NOTABLE BROOKLYN DODGER PROSPECTS 1954 (listed alphabetically): 
Glenn Cox, RHP (added to the 40 post-1954)
Roger Craig, RHP 
Ray Daviault, RHP
Willard Davis, SS
Clyde DeWitt, RHP
Lester Fessette, RHP
Glen Gorbous, OF (selected by PHI in November 1954 Rule 5 Draft)
Bert Hamric, OF (added to the 40 post-1954)
Bud Hutson, OF
Fred Kipp, LHP
Bob Lillis, SS
Ralph Mauriello, RHP
Ray Mitchell, 3B
Donald Musto, OF
Jonathan Parris, 3B
Joe Pignatano, C (added to the 40 post-1954)
Charles, Ready, RHP
Allen Shinn, 1B
Jack Spears, SS
Larry Stankey, 1B
Chuck Templeton, LHP (added to the 40 post-1954)
Ronald Wells, RHP
Stan Williams, RHP
Jerry Wright, RHP
Oscar Young, OF


 




1954 BROOKLYN DODGERS SPRING TRAINING MLB RESERVE LIST

* Bats or throws left 
# bats both 

NOTE: Players on "National Defense Service List" did not count against 40-man roster until reinstated and players with "Returning Serviceman Status" did not count against 40-man roster until Opening Day. 

Players who were on Brooklyn Dodgers 1954 Opening Day roster are capitalized and underlined in BOLD 

PITCHERS:
Don Bessent (Top 10 prospect - Returning Serviceman Status - optioned to AAA after Spring Training)
Joe Black (optioned to AAA after Spring Training - recalled briefly in April-May)
Hamp Coleman (out of minor league options Opening Day 1954 - outrighted to minors)
CARL ERSKINE
JIM HUGHES 
CLEM LABINE
Joe Landrum (National Defense Service List – outrighted to minors post-1954)
* Tom Lasorda  (optioned to AAA after Spring Training - recalled August 1954 replacing Wade on roster)
* Ken Lehman (optioned to AAA after Spring Training) 
BILLY LOES
RUSS MEYER
Glenn Mickens  (Returning Serviceman Status – optioned to minors after Spring Training - outrighted post-1954)
BOB MILLIKEN (missed second half of 1954 season on DL - outrighted to minors Spring Training 1955)
Ray Moore (out of minor league options Opening Day 1954 - outrighted to AAA then traded to BAL 10-8-1954)
Ron Negray (optioned to AAA after Spring Training) 
DON NEWCOMBE
ERV PALICA (traded to BAL for Frank Kellert 3-17-1955)
* JOHNNY PODRES
* PREACHER ROE (traded to BAL with Billy Cox 12-13-1954)
Ed Roebuck (Top 10 prospect - optioned to AAA after Spring Training) 
BEN WADE (claimed off waivers by STL 8-8-1954)
Pete Wojey (optioned to AAA after Spring Training - recalled July 1954 replacing Milliken on roster)
 
CATCHERS:
ROY CAMPANELLA
* Ben Staples  (Returning Serviceman Status – out of minor league options Opening Day 1954 - outrighted to minors)
* TIM THOMPSON (optioned to AAA in May)
* AL “Rube” WALKER (long-time Dodgers back-up catcher - started 1954 season on DL - reinstated 5/1) 

INFIELDERS:
Jim Baxes (Returning Serviceman Status – optioned to AAA after Spring Training - outrighted post-1954)
* WAYNE BELARDI (Returning Serviceman Status - traded to DET for Chuck Kress 6-9-1954)
BILLY COX (traded to BAL with Preacher Roe 12-13-1954)
# JIM GILLIAM
DON HOAK (Top 10 prospect) 
GIL HODGES
* Chuck Kress  (acquired from DET 6-9-1954 for Wayne Belardi - sold to TOR IL 7-12-1954)
Bobby Morgan (traded to PHI 3-28-1954 during Spring Training)
PEE WEE REESE
JACKIE ROBINSON
Don Zimmer (Top 10 prospect - optioned to AAA after Spring Training - recalled July 1954 replacing Kress on roster) 
NOTE: Jackie Robinson played mostly 3B and LF in 1954-55. 

OUTFIELDERS:
* SANDY AMOROS (optioned to AAA 5/13 - 7/13 then recalled to stay)  
Bill Antonello (out of minor league options Opening Day 1954 - outrighted to minors)
Ted Bartz  (Returning Serviceman Status – out of minor league options Opening Day 1954 - outrighted to minors)
Gino Cimoli (Top 10 prospect - optioned to AAA after Spring Training)  
CARL FURILLO 
Vic Marrasco  (Returning Serviceman Status - optioned to AAA after Spring Training - sold to OAK PCL June 1954)
* Walt "Moose" Moryn (optioned to AAA after Spring Training - recalled July 1954 replacing D. Thompson on roster) 
* GEORGE SHUBA
* DUKE SNIDER
* DON THOMPSON (outrighted July 1954)
Dick Williams (optioned to AAA after Spring Training - recalled in May - outrighted July 1954)

 

Comments

What was the stated purpose of the 1953 Bonus Rule? 

COMMISSIONER FORD FRICK: "We want the kind of bonus rule that will discourage the Majors from paying out big bonuses, and encourage the little fellows (he is referring here to the minor leagues) to sign these youngsters and then sell them to clubs of a higher classification."

In order to do this however, MLB would have had to eliminate farm systems, which is what the National Association (the minor leagues) had been lobbying Congress about in 1953. The minor leagues wanted MLB clubs to get out of the player development business and allow the minor league teams to do it, by signing local high school and college players without interference from MLB clubs, then develop the players, and sell the best ones (either by direct cash sale or through the Rule 5 Draft) to clubs of a higher classification. 

Also at this time the Pacfic Coast League was a 4-A (or "Open Classification") minor league where the eight PCL clubs (Hollywood Stars, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Oaks, Portland Beavers, Sacramento Solons, San Francisco Seals, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Rainiers) had the right to select players in the Rule 5 Draft after MLB clubs made their selections but before the AAA clubs made their's. The PCL wanted to be recognized and designated as a third major league (several of the PCL franchises were actually out-drawing MLB clubs), so that American League and National League clubs would not be able to draft players off PCL club rosters.    

As part of their quest to make the PCL the third major league, only one of the PCL clubs had an affiliation with an MLB club (L. A. Angels with the Cubs only because Phil Wrigley owned both teams), and of the 16 AAA clubs (eight in the International League and eight in the American Association), only 13 of the 16 had working agreements with MLB clubs (the Cubs, Orioles, Pirates, Reds, and Senators had no AAA affiliate, while the Dodgers and Cardinals -- who were long considered to have the two best farm systems in baseball -- had two AAA affiliates each). 

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

super-sub with pop trent giambrone has to be on someone's radar...

his swing/miss tendencies might scare teams off.  plus, i don't know what other types with a similar profile are out there aside from eli white (TEX) who might be as attractive (or moreso because of his above average speed).

"And while there was no question about Clemente's talent and upside, he was very inexperienced and nowhere near MLB-ready in February 1954..." Same here - I was born that month of that year...

is Trevor Megill worth a spot?  Probably better than most of the bullpen last year

awwww.

cubs lose faustino carrera.  was hoping he would go unnoticed in the system.

cubs/giants GMs stepped out of the Rule5 "draft room" to talk shop.

someone might be getting traded related to the draft.

cubs seem to be using the minor league phase of the rule5 to attempt to build a farm system...better than their recent non-1st-round draft record so far, i guess.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

You say that in jest, but just from the 2016 draft, which did not feature a first or second round pick, the Cubs drafted 4 players who were added to 40 man rosters this winter (Hatch, Miller, Rucker, Short) with Mekkes, Giambrone, and several others being potential mid-season additions.  

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • 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.