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, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024

* 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
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12
Kevin Alcantara, OF
Michael Arias, P
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF
Jose Cuas, P
Brennen Davis, OF
Porter Hodge, P
* Luke Little, P
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B
Daniel Palencia, P
Luis Vazquez, INF
Hayden Wesneski, P

10-DAY IL: 1
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL:
* Justin Steele, P

60-DAY IL: 2
Caleb Kilian, P
Julian Merryweather, P

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft
Minor League Free-Agents

A 16-Team MLB Post-Season Playoff Format Beyond 2020? Really?

Not that MLB owners and the MLBPA would care since the post-season is where the real money and the big bucks are, but...
Starting in 1995 (and I'm not counting 1994 because the strike ended the season early), when MLB went from four divisions to to six divisions and added a Wild Card team to the playoffs:

If the 16-team playoff format MLB is using in 2020 had been in effect in MLB 1995-2019 (where the first and second-place clubs from each division plus the seventh and eighth best records among the remaining clubs would qualify for the post-season), 38 TEAMS with losing records (including one 75-86 team and three 77-85 teams) would have made the playoffs in 25 seasons.

If a 14-team playoff format had been in effect in MLB 1995-2019 where the first and second place clubs from each division plus the seventh best record from among the remaining clubs would qualify for the post-season and the club with best regular-season record would get a first-round bye, 11 TEAMS with losing records would have made the playoffs in 25 seasons.

If a twelve team playoff format had been in effect in MLB 1995-2019 where the first place clubs from each division plus the three remaining clubs with the best records but not necessarily a second-place club (so that all three Wild Card teams could be from the same division) would make the playoffs (with the two division winners with the best regular season records getting a first-round bye), TWO TEAMS with losing records (the 1997 80-81 White Sox and the 2017 80-82 Royals) would have made the playoffs in 25 seasons.

No clubs with a losing record made the four-team playoffs (three division winners plus one Wild Card team) 1995-2011 and the five team playoffs (three division winners and two Wild Card teams) 2012-2019.

As far as the Cubs are concerned, as it happened they made the playoffs eight times over the course of 25 seasons 1995-2019 (in 1998, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018), but they would have made the playoffs five more times (1995 7th seed, 2001 6th seed, 2004 7th seed, 2009 8th seed, and 2019 8th seed) if the 16-team playoff format had been in effect 1995-2019, and although they would have just barely qualified in 1995, 2001, 2004, 2009, and 2019, at least the Cubs did have winning records in those seasons. (And given the randomness of a short baseball series where any club can beat any other club, I suppose anything could have happened).

Comments

Recent comments

crunch 04/19/2024 - 04:47 pm (view)

i'd just like to take a moment to express to the world i'm still pissed willson contreras is not a cub when the pricetag was 5/87m (17.5m/yr).

it would be nice to have a legacy-type player to stick around, especially one with his leadership and the respect he gets from his peers. cubs fans deserved more than 1 season of contreras + morel...that was gold.
crunch 04/19/2024 - 04:22 pm (view)

happ, right hamstring tightness, day-to-day (hopefully 0 days).

he will be reevaluated tomorrow.
Childersb3 04/19/2024 - 04:11 pm (view)

I guess I'm not looking for that type of AB
Just a difference of opinion
TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:39 pm (view)

I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.
I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.
Childersb3 04/19/2024 - 04:54 pm (view)

Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH.
He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.
You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)
crunch 04/19/2024 - 04:46 pm (view)

bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.

the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/19/2024 - 04:25 pm (view)

Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?
I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.
Charlie 04/19/2024 - 04:19 pm (view)

Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH.
TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:06 pm (view)

Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.
The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.
I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.
Arizona Phil 04/19/2024 - 04:43 pm (view)

Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical).

And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical).

And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day.

That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled).