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 vs. Cleveland: Series Thread (Games 49 & 50)

With first place still in their possession and an Alec Mills no-hitter under their belt, the Cubs return to Wrigley to take on the first of several AL central opponents. Cleveland comes into the series in third place, 5 games out of first and 2 games out of second. The Cubs begin the series 4 games up in the division.


Game 1, Tuesday, Sep. 15, 7:15 pm central
CHC: RHP Yu Darvish (7-2, 1.77 ERA)
CLE: RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-4, 3.12 ERA)

Yu Darvish ended a 7-game winning streak when he allowed 3 earned runs to the Reds over 6 innings. After a wild first inning, he returned to the dominant form to which Cubs fans are now accustomed. He has roughly 3 starts remaining and 72 strikeouts. If everything breaks right, he could strikeout 100 and win 10 games in this 60 game season.

After missing most of 2019 as he recovered from leukemia, Carlos Carrasco appears not to have missed a beat. The Cubs will be fortunate to miss Cy Young probable Shane Bieber, but the veteran Carrasco continues to strike out more than 10 opponents for 9 innings, holds walks at a reasonable level, and elicits ground balls at a more than respectable rate. Current Cubs have hardly seen him at all. Rizzo is 2-2 with a homerun. Billy Hamilton, who used to have to bat, is 3-10 with a triple.


Game 2, Wednesday, Sep. 16, 7:15 pm central
CHC: LHP Jon Lester (2-2, 5.05 ERA)
CLE: RHP Aaron Civale (3-5, 3.88 ERA)

Lester could not earn a decision in the Cubs 1-0 loss to the Brewers, but he pitched 6 scoreless innings and struck out a season high 8 opponents. Can he translate that success from the floundering Brewers' hitters to the merely middling Cleveland lineup? Francisco Lindor (4-11 with a homerun) and Franmil Reyes (5-7 with a homerun) have had Lester's number in limited exposure.

Aaron Civale debuted in 2019 and made 10 major league starts. Including his 9 starts in 2020, he now has a 3.11 ERA and a 6-9 career record. He brings a low 90s fastball and a troubling mix of off-speed stuff, including both a cutter and a slider, a nasty curve, and a changeup. Only Cameron Maybin (1-5) has faced him before.

Comments

happ / bryant(3rd) / rizzo / contreras(DH) / schwarber / baez / heyward / kipnis / caratini

game 1

baez in the 6 slot.  it's been frustrating to watch because he doesn't look totally lost at the plate...or that he's over/under-doing it...it's just not happening for him right now.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

He keeps looking like he *could* get on a tear of liners to right field and then he just doesn't. His strikeout to walk ratio has gone from really bad to truly horrendous, but his underlying plate discipline numbers are not actually worse. The only big differences I can see in his peripherals are that he's missing in the strike zone more than usual and he's seeing more sliders (and fewer fastballs) than any other single season in his career. There's nothing super explanatory there--it just backs the eye test conclusion that he looks off.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

While a world-wide famine, thermo-nuclear war, and/or sudden magnetic pole reversal is still quite possible sometime in the next couple of months (obviously none of which would be significant enough to interrupt the completion of the 2020 World Series), I've got my money on a gamma-ray burst that will destroy the ozone layer and fry all electronics or (more likely) a mass global extinction-level asteroid strike on or about 11/3. Then the 2021 MLB season can proceed pretty much as planned, except the start of Spring Training might be delayed until March.  

Ross was really downplaying the chances of Chatwood pitching again in 2020. We have not seen the last of Alzolay for the irregular season.

i like baez batting 6th so far.

dugout going nuts for his HR...they know he needs that.  good dugout, good crew...

i gotta say it's nice seeing a guy with baez's personality handle his lack of success well.  he's not done any public showings of overly-negative angst throughout all of this.

Ready for KB to sit out the rest of the 2020 season and let Bote finish the season at third.  Give  him a mulligan and start 2021 anew  - with Bote at the ready should he crater again. 

[ ]

In reply to by Eric S

i kinda wonder if KB is even a 2021 cub.  finishing the season poorly would still make him a $20m-ish dude next year in arbitration ($18.6m this year).  heating up even a little bit towards the end would tack on a few more million.

that said, his trade value is a 1-year club controlled $20m+ guy coming off a down season who's D at 3rd probably shouldn't have him at 3rd as a regular.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Just as a point of information, per the macro CoViD-19 agreement between the MLB & MLBPA, if an unsigned post-2020 arbitration-eligible player requests an arb hearing the player's performance in the 2020 season will - NOT - be considered by the arbitration panel. Only the player's performance up through the 2019 season can be considered (which will help somebody like Kris Bryant but hurt somebody like first-time arb-eligible Ian Happ). 

So to paraphrase that great lawyer Perry Mason, an arbitration-eligible player's performance in 2020 is incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial. 

when oliver perez retires in 2035, if the cubs don't hire him as pitching coach i'm done with this team.

cards lost...and dakota hudson left with "elbow tightness"...and they moved into 3rd place behind CIN.

good day for people who aren't cards fans.

10 games left w 5.5 game lead over Reds. Normally thats good but this is 2020. 

seeded at #2 and obviously fluid but as of tonight Cards would miss the playoffs and #7 seed is Giants.

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.