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 @ Tigers: Games 28-30

Having barely dodged a sweep at the hands of the 3rd-place White Sox, the Cubs now take-on the 4th-place Tigers in Detroit. Unlike the hot Sox, the Tigers are 2-8 in their last 10 games. This could be a chance for the Cubs to add to their lead before a stretch of 18 games against NL Central opponents Aug. 28-Sep. 13.


Game 1, Monday, Aug. 24, 6:10 pm central
CHC: RHP Alec Mills (2-2, 4.76 ERA)
DET: RHP Casey Mize (0-0, 6.23 ERA)

Alec Mills took his second loss and had his first really bad start of 2020 last time out. He couldn't get out of the fourth and allowed 6 earned runs. With the Cubs' offense slumping, he'll need a return to form in order to get back on the winning side of the books.

23-year-old Casey Mize made his MLB debut on Aug. 19, exiting after 4.1 with his first 7 MLB strikeouts under his belt. Prior to that start, he had not pitched above AA. He features a mid-90s fastball to go with a good cutter and splitter and the occasional curveball.


Game 2, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 6:10 pm central
CHC: LHP Jose Quintana (probable, 0-0, -.-- ERA)
DET: RHP Spencer Turnbull (2-2, 3.65 ERA)

As of my writing this, the Cubs game 2 starter is still TBD. However, Jose Quintana should be available to make his first 2020 appearance. Quintana went 13-9 with strong peripherals in 2019, yet will mostly be remembered as having a down year due to a 4.68 ERA. His recent hand injury adds the biggest wrinkle to his narrative. Has he recovered well enough to command his pitches? We may find out soon. He will likely be on a strict pitch count and may piggy back with someone like Colin Rea.

Spencer Turnbull made 30 starts for the Tigers in 2019 and put up respectable numbers except for his 3 and 17 record. Taking his performance alone, he certainly didn't deserve 17 losses. He has yet to surrender a homerun in 2020, but there are several Cubs who should be ready to turn that trend around. He has reverse splits in 2020, but in the larger 2019 sample lefties had a significant advantage against him. The difference could be more than just luck--he has thrown his changeup more in 2020.


Game 3, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 6:10 pm central
CHC: LHP Jon Lester (2-1, 5.06 ERA)
DET: LHP Michael Fulmer (0-0, 9.53 ERA)

Lester has gotten roughed up two games in a row, and in the last start he couldn't get out of the second. He surrendered 4 homeruns to the White Sox; weak contact was nowhere to be found. He'll need sharper movement and command to handle the Tigers' lineup. The aggressiveness of their best hitters may play into the veterans' hands if he can hit his spots.

Michael Fulmer is off to a rough start to his fourth season in the Tigers' rotation. He's made four starts and has yet to pitch more than 3.0 innings in a start. In only one of those starts, a scoreless 3 innings on Aug. 10, has he managed to allowed less than one earned run per inning. Fulmer missed all of 2019 following Tommy John surgery and had another surgery on his elbow in March of this year.

Comments

Q will pitch out of the pen when he gets back and chatwood will soon return to slot into the rotation...

Bases loaded and curl up into fetal position? Check

Base running foolishness? Check

Alright then, now that we checked those boxes perhaps we can start playing like a first place team should play

Cubs pop their run differential back to double figures: from +4 to +10

So now they only trail the Dodgers (+79) by a measly 69 runs

mark grace is in the booth calling the ARZ game (for ARZ).

okay.

he's been put on pause from Marquee because of the fallout from his ex-wife "dingbat/all in the family" story...and he's in the booth for Fox Sports AZ tonight... *shrug*

i mean, he's not taking bob brenly's slot full-time f'sure because he's solidly holding on to that gig.  it's just odd to tune into a late night ARZ game and hear grace in the booth again.

moving into "mid-season" trade time...i wonder what talent the cubs will give away for a month of work out of a mid-level, non-impact relief pitcher to add to the pool of a dozen they already have in-house.

the 9-21 angels are strongly shopping talent (especially d.bundy).  rough start for joe maddon's new club...

AZ PHIL: What happened w/Tom Hatch? What was so "terrible" that they got rid of an upper-round draft choice who is now performing well for the Jays? Asking for a friend (or two). Thanks.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

E-MAN: The Cubs had a group of about eight or ten minor league piching prospects last season who were very similar (MLB prospect but mid-level ceiling) such that trading one (or three) wasn't really a big deal because there were still six or seven left in the pipeline pretty much just like the ones who were traded.  

Also, the Cubs actually had David Phelps under control through the 2020 season, but decided after the club's late September meltdown (and after he hit his escalator bonus) not to exercise his 2020 club option and also not to offer contracts to Strop, Cishek, and Kintzler, and instead cut payroll and start fresh with some different (and cheaper) bullpen arms. 

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I definitely was tracking that and was annoyed when he appeared in his 40th especially because the season was toast by then. I know you do right by your players but that was a little overkill.

If you were to give up Hatch, might as well get more than two months out of the return. I think Phelps would have been back this year for $3 mil 

it's nice marquee network is trying expose people to some "non-standard" stats, but showing a lineup with only OPS numbers gives no information...do they get on base?  are they slugging?  are they somewhere in the middle and which way do they lean?

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

CRUNCH: I was never a fan of OPS as an offensive "shorthand." It would be like having a stat that combines stolen bases and home runs, because OBP and SLG combined don't really tell you anything.   

So I much prefer the AVG/OBP/SLG "triple slash line" (plus HR rate, BB% ,and K% if there is room) as "basic" stats. And then statcast stuff like average exit velo and line drive & hard contact rates are really useful, too. 

And actually those same stats (but in reverse) would be the best stats for pitchers, too, with some added info like first-pitch strike %, pitch types and usage, FB velo, spin rate, and outcomes based on the number of outs and the ball-strike count.   

And as you may recall, I believe WAR is total bullshit (unless it's used to describe a player subjectively -- like the 20-80 scouting scale does). Like "so & so is a five win player," or "so & so is a two win player," etc, because we know in our heads kind of what that number means. But otherwise WAR is an attempt to use stats to compare disparate things that cannot be compared objectively/statistically. 

barf.

Tigers grand slam. Cubs run differential no longer double digits

Cubs still looking for their first extra base hit with the bases loaded

Tony Watson, lefty reliever might be obtainable from Giants. He's what the bullpen is currently lacking. 1-month rental should generate low level talent in return, no?

Anyway, I can hope he's better than Justin Wilson (who wasn't at the end of a contract, so was more expensive, ie Candelario and also got Avila short term). 

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Bowden proposes wild trades including some Cubs ones, in The Athletic article:

Trade pitching prospects Brailyn Marquez and Kohl Franklin and catching prospect Miguel Amaya to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for left-handed closer Josh Hader. 

The Cubs’ window for another world championship is this year and the next and because they’ve decided to hold on to their entire core, they might as well go for it one more time. Cubs fans won’t like this idea after watching Eloy Jiménez on the South Side of Chicago and Gleyber Torres in the Big Apple, but remember how great that parade was? Wasn’t it worth it? So let’s go one more time and trade top pitching prospects Marquez and Franklin and top catching prospect Amaya to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for left-handed closer Josh Hader. Hader, 26, is the best closer in baseball. He’s pitched in eight games this year and hasn’t given up a hit or a run while striking out 13 and walking 5 in 8 1/3 innings of work. The two-time All-Star is a game-changer and is controllable through 2023. The Brewers need to quickly retool somehow because they have one of, if not the worst, farm systems in baseball. This trade would allow them to build back their system while solving their long-term catching position with Amaya while Marquez would immediately become their top pitching prospect and Franklin wouldn’t be far behind.

The backup (and more realistic) plan would be to deal for Trevor Rosenthal of the Royals, but Chicago is built to win now and it’s time for Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to try and go big one more time with a mammoth trade for Hader.

Cubs cutting a bunch of staff in scouting and player development.

This really sucks for them, hate to see it happen.

Also sucks for the team given how they just overhauled these departments in hopes of building a better pipeline.

Just ugh all around.

happ(LF) / rizzo / baez / schwarber(DH) / contreras / heyward / bote / kipnis / almora(CF)

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

giants/dodgers are talking about whether they will play tonight.

we might be on the cusp of a full sports strike if this keeps flowing.

also, jason heyward is not playing tonight for similar reasons and d.ross is in full support (he was initially in the lineup).  according to p.mooney, the rest of the team is playing with the support/urging of heyward.

buckle up sports fans.

Trump demands MLB follow CDC new guidelines. No covid testing unless there are symptoms. Season over. 

Just kidding. But the CDC taken down by corrupt and stupid politicians is deplorable. 

awww... epic cubs comeback ends short on a lightning-fast comebacker to the pitcher.

at least things got good for a little while.

[ ]

In reply to by Jackstraw

i have no idea what's been so important about pumping money into supporting candidates down ballot on the state level, myself.  it's not like there's some thin margin of moderate and "extreme" R, but the ricketts family has been picking favorites in primary battles.

on the national level, senators ben sasse and deb fisher are very safe and not going to age out at any time soon.

Ian Happ did not look comfortable in RF last night. I wonder if he was having trouble with the lights or if he just wasn't seeing the ball well.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

"MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement Thursday saying that he "has not attempted in any way to prevent players from expressing themselves by not playing, nor have I suggested any alternative form of protest to any Club personnel or any player."



This is in response to a hot mic moment from Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who indicated that Manfred suggested the Mets and Marlins stage something more in line with a symbolic walkout before playing an hour later than originally scheduled as opposed to a full postponement. Van Wagenen later retracted his comments and apologized to Manfred, saying that symbolic gesture idea was actually Jeff Wilpon's."

STL loses both games of their double-header tonight.  they're still in 2nd place, but with a 11-11 record (cubs 18-12).

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.