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 @ Pirates (Game 54)

The Cubs dropped the last two Wrigley games for the 2020 series and their offense remained in what feels like a season-long slump. Their lead over the Cardinals stands a 3.5 with 7 Cubs games remaining. They'll defend their lead on the road beginning with a 4-game series against the distant last-place team in the NL Central.CHC (31-22): LHP Jon Lester (2-2, 4.91 ERA)
PIT (15-38): RHP JT Brubaker (1-2, 4.79 ERA)
First pitch 6:05 pm central

Jon Lester had a strange final regular season start at Wrigley. He allowed only 2 earned runs in 5 innings, but he also struck out only one batter and surrendered a lot of hard contact. The start prior was probably his best of the season: 6 innings of shutout ball with a season high 8 strikeouts. He's earned 0 decisions in two starts against the Pirates this year, the first a solid start that the lineup could not back up and the second a poor start that he was bailed out of. Lester's track record against Pirates' veterans is solid.

Since defeating the Cubs on Sep. 3, Brubaker has lost two starts in a row. The first loss was a stinker in which he allowed 7 eared runs in 5.1 innings. The second was an undeserved loss to the Reds in which he allowed only 1 earned run in 5.1 innings.

Comments

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

Q will start tomorrow night.

Anyone else remember how Andre Dawson and his creaky knees looked in the 1989 NLCS against the Giants?  That's the vibe I'm getting with KB. Not sure what is up with Bote but I hope he gets some consideration for starting at third. 

baez just bunted for a RBI single.  that's both impressive and sad.

honestly, there's more than a few power hitters out there that can't bunt worth a damn and he pulled it off with enough ease you know he's put some work in.  it's nice to see it done well even if you don't wanna see him do it a lot.

lester with a "comeback" appearance...  it's PIT, though...who could easily end up not even winning 20 games this season (15 as of now).  still looked decent, even if not overpowering.

6ip 4h 1bb 1k, 0r/er

pinch hitting j.martinez for v.caratini is another "why we doing this" batting substitution to add to the pile.

so far i'm a bit perplexed by some of the guys d.ross is having pinch hit in certain situations more than anything he's doing.  almost everything else seems mostly sane.

the bryant thing is gonna be longer than a day or 2, but they're not sending him to the IL as of now...that could change pre-game or a few days from now.

Two Cubs reached significant milestones today: 

1. OF Jason Heyward now has "10/5 no trade" rights and so he cannot be traded without his consent (he had a partial "no trade" the past couple of seasons); 

2. RHRP Ryan Tepera reached five years of MLB Service Time so he now has Article XIX-A rights, meaning he cannot be sent to the minors (optioned or outrighted) without his consent. (Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Javy Baez, and Dan Winkler hit this milestone previously this season). So if the Cubs wish to remove Tepera from their MLB 28-man Active List or from the MLB 40-man roster and he does not give his consent to be sent to the minors, he would have to be either traded or released, and if he is released he gets 100% of his remaining salary as termination pay. Because of the loss of roster flexibility with regard to Tepera, reaching five years of MLB Service Time (and getting Article XIX-A rights) actually makes it more likely that Tepera will be non-tendered post-2020. 

On the other hand, LHRP Rex Brothers was on target to reach five years of MLB Service Time (and attain Article XIX-A rights) this coming Friday, but because he was optioned to the Practice Squad today to make room on the 28 for Jose Quintana he will fall short of gaining Article XIX-A rights before the conclusion of the MLB regular season and (presuming he isn't non-tendered on 12/2) he will remain under club control through the 2022 season instead of becoming an MLB Article XX-B FA post-2021. Brothers will be out of minor league options next season, however, which could limit his roster value in 2021 and 2022 since he won't be able to ride the "Des Moines - Chicago shuttle" without first clearing Outright Assignment Waivers.

Besides Rex Brothers, Duane Underwood Jr, Alec Mills, and Ildemaro Vargas, Dillon Maples will be out of minor league options next season. And so will Adbert Alzolay, unless the 2020 season is not considered to be a "qualified season," in which case Alzolay will get a fourth minor league option in 2021 (TBD).

To be eligible for a 4th minor league option year, a player must have accrued fewer than five "qualified seasons" by the time he has used his third minor league option, a "qualified season":being any season where a player spends at least 90 days on an MLB and/or minor league active list roster or rosters in a season, or spends at least 30 days on an MLB and/or minor league active list roster or rosters - followed by - a stint on the Injured List where the combined total is 90 days.

Maples accrued his 5th qualified season in 2019 so he cannot qualify for a 4th minor league option in 2021, and Alzolay would normally have reached five "qualified seasons" this year and used up his third minor league option year without being eligible for a fourth in 2021, except for the truncated 2020 MLB season (67 days) and no minor league season at all. So whether Alzolay gets a 4th minor league option year in 2021 will depend on how MLB and MLBPA define a "qualified season" (as far as eligibility for a fourth minor league option year is concerned) in 2020 (and that is still TBD). 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

im impressed tepera has "only" given up 2hr in 19.2ip, but i wouldn't hold out on that holding up.  also, his control is sketchy as ever...

he's got promising stuff, but at age 33 (few weeks from now) what more does he have to learn/show?

it would probably cost the cubs 1.5m or so to keep him around (900K this year).  they liked something about him to pick him up, but who knows where that's at now...

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I look at the 8 man pen for next year and would assume 6 RHP 2 LHP. The LHP would currently be two of Ryan, Wieck, and Steele (and I guess Osich but I suspect he's non-tendered).

The 6 RHP would be from Kimbrel, Wick, Tepera, Adam, Underwood, Alzolay, Winkler, Rea (and potentially others). I feel like they're only keeping one of Tepera/ Winkler for final arb year. Tough to say which is better value at this point.

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

DJL: I think that if Lester, Chatwood, Quintana, Jeffress, and Chafin leave via free-agency and do not return or are not replaced by at least one veteran MLB FA SP, the default Cubs 2021 Opening Day pitching staff will be Darvish, Hendricks, Mills (out of options), Alzolay (could be out of options - TBD), and either Rea, T. Miller, Steele, Abbott, Marquez, or D. Robinson as the SP, and Kimbrel, Wick, Ryan, Adam, Osich, Maples (out of options), Brothers (out of options), and Underwood (out of options) in the pen, with Winkler and Tepera likely 12/2 non-tender candidates because of their Article XIX-A status. Brad Wieck and James Norwood will probably begin the 2021 season at AAA as MLB-ready bullpen inventory (both have minor league options left). The Cubs also will have a trio of MLB-ready or near MLB-ready relievers (Trevor Megill, Michael Rucker, and Dakota Mekkes) at Iowa (presuming they are not selected in the Rule 5 Draft).  

If Winkler and/or Tepera are tendered, then Maples, Brothers, and Underwood would be competing for the #8 slot in the pen with the two losers possibly lost off waivers, although Wick, Ryan, Adam, and Osich will have minor league options available in 2021 if there is a roster crunch at the end of Spring Training and the Cubs feel they need to carry Maples, Brothers, and Underwood (at least to start the season).   

As for the position players, presuming Kipnis, Maybin, Hamilton, and Descalso (and Josh Phegley, if he is added to the 40 at some point in the post-season) leave via free-agency and are not replaced and everybody else gets tendered, the likely Cubs 2021 Opening Day 13 position players would be Contreras (C-LF), Caratini (C-1B), Rizzo (1B), Hoerner (2B-SS-3B), Bryant (3B-1B-LF-RF), Baez (SS), Bote, (3B-2B), I. Vargas (2B-3B-SS), Schwarber (LF), Happ (CF-LF-RF), Heyward (RF-CF), Almora (CF) and J. Martinez (RF-LF-1B). 

All that said, I still believe the Cubs will try and trade Kris Bryant (and replace him at 3B with Bote) for either an established MLB SP and/or for one or two decent if not elite prospects or MLB player(s) with multiple years of club control.

The teams that would probably have the most interest in Bryant (even if it's just for one season) would be the Nationals and Rangers, and maybe the Mets. Any team that is trying to make a splash or make the most out of a closing window of contention would probably be interested. The Cardinals might have interest in Bryant, too, but I'm not sure if the Cubs would trade KB to STL. But I guess if it's the best offer, then you do it. 
  
Remember that if the special CoViD-19 roster rules are not in effect next season, there will be no DH in the National League and clubs must carry no more than 13 pitchers and at least 13 position players on their 26-man roster (and I'm sure all teams will carry the maximum-allowed 13 pitchers). 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

I agree with all of this. I think KB is traded for a SP. I guess here is my guess at the pitchers:

Darvish

Hendricks

Trade Acquisition 

Cheap FA

Mills/ Alzolay 

Bullpen: Mills/ Alzolay, Underwood, Adam, Tepera, Wick, Kimbrel, Ryan, Wieck (Alzolay if he loses the 5th spot battle with Mills is still starter number 6, and likely being groomed to join the rotation either later in the year or 2022)

Non-tenders: Osich, Winkler, Maples, Brothers (I could see them retaining Osich because he has an option left. Could also see retaining Winkler instead of Tepera, or non-tendering both. But I definitely think a maximum of one of them returns. Maples and Brothers I think are goners, but try to resign Maples at least as NRI)

Position Players:

Contreras

Rizzo

Hoerner

Baez

Bote

Schwarber

Happ

Heyward

Bench: Caratini, Martinez, Vargas, FA, FA (both FAs being low cost potentially even NRIs like Kipnis this year... maybe we even see them try to get a guy in rule 5 draft)

Non-tender: Almora

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • 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.