Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus four players are on the 60-DAY IL


28 players are on the MLB ACTIVE LIST, plus seven are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two are on the 10-DAY IL, and three are on the 15-DAY IL


Last updated 9-22-20239
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 14
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 6
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom
* Jared Young

OUTFIELDERS: 6
* Cody Bellinger
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

OPTIONED: 7
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Ben Brown, P  
Brennen Davis, OF 
Jeremiah Estrada, P
Caleb Kilian, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Michael Rucker, P

10-DAY IL: 2
Jeimer Candelario, 1B
Nick Madrigal, INF

15-DAY IL: 3
Adbert Alzolay, P
Brad Boxberger, P 
Michael Fulmer, P 

60-DAY IL: 4
Nick Burdi, P
Codi Heuer, P
* Brandon Hughes, P
Ethan Roberts, P
 


Minor League Rosters

Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs @ Mets: Series Thread (Games 66-69)

The Cubs swept the Cardinals at Wrigley to remain tied for first with the Brewers, and to push the Cards all the way to 4th in the division. They return to the jet-set life with a four-game series against the Mets. This will be their second time taking on the Mets. The Cubs took three out of three at Wrigley April 20-22. This time, they are not fortunate enough to dodge Jacob deGrom. The Mets enter the series first in the NL East thanks largely to their pitching staff; they lead the NL in fWAR on the pitching side while their offense rates at near the middle of the pack. See below for the pitching matchups.


Game 66, Monday, June 14, 6:10 pm central

CHC: RHP Jake Arrieta (5-6, 4.97 ERA)

NYM: LHP David Peterson (1-5, 6.32 ERA)

After two bad starts, Arrieta had a nice rebound in San Diego. He allowed one earned run and struck out six in five innings of work. He earned a win against the Mets back on April 20, allowing one earned run on three hits and three walks in five innings pitched.

David Peterson lasted only 3.1 in a loss to the Cubs on April 21, when he allowed six runs, only three earned, due largely to some rough defensive play behind him. His last two starts have been pretty ugly. He's pitched 0.1 and 2.2 innings and allowed nine earned runs on eleven hits.


Game 67, Tuesday, June 15, 6:10 pm central

CHC: RHP Alec Mills (2-0, 6.08 ERA)

NYM: RHP Taijuan Walker (5-2, 2.07 ERA)

Mills is projected to get his first start since April 13, when he went four innings and allowed two earned runs to the Brewers. Since then, he's pitched out of the bullpen including a handful of multi-inning appearances. He pitched three shutout innings against the Mets on April 21.

Walker has been a significant boon to the Mets, as one would expect a healthy version of him to be. Last time out, he pitched seven innings and collected nine strikeouts while allowing only one earned to the Orioles. He suffered a loss to the Cubs when he allowed three runs, two earned, in 3.2 innings pitched on April 20.


Game 68, Wednesday, June 16, 6:10 pm central

CHC: TBD

NYM: RHP Jacob deGrom (6-2, 0.56 ERA)

There's been few reports on Trevor Williams since he was placed on the IL following an emergency appendectamy. He resumed throwing back on June 6, but I'm guessing this will be Kohl Stewart's turn until we hear otherwise. Stewart has made three fill-in starts for the Cubs, looking good in his debut and less good each time since. Unlike the Padres, whom he held to one hit in his first start, the Giants and the Cardinals were able to square him up for 13 hits in 7.2 innings.

According to Fangraphs projection systems, the Cubs have only a 25.3% chance at winning this one. That's their lowest such projection on the season. The reason for that is that they face the baseball equivalent of a wizard. Jacob deGrom has improved not only his strikeout percentage but his fastball velocity each of the last five years, despite being on the wrong side of the aging curve. His walk and homerun rates are on the absurdly stingey side. Best to set expectations going into this at around, "I look forward to watching one of the best pitchers of a generation do his thing."


Game 69, Thursday, June 17, 6:10 pm central

CHC: RHP Kyle Hendricks (8-4, 4.46 ERA)

NYM: RHP Marcus Stroman (6-4, 2.33 ERA)

Kyle Hendricks's fWAR number is all kinds of messed up, but really he's had like two terrible starts and otherwise been recognizably himself. Perhaps that's how he has managed to earn a decision in all but one of his starts, and he's won six in a row. You have to go back to April 28 to find a start in which he didn't at least finish the fifth inning. One encouraging sign has been that his groundball percentage is inching closer to his career average, standing at 46.5% since May. This will be his first 2021 start against the Metropolitans.

Marcus Stroman has pitched well enough in 2021 to be considered the ace on most staffs. His last loss came on May 16, and since then he's made five starts in which he's gone at least six deep and allowed no more than three earned runs in an outing. He's featured reverse splits this season, bringing a getting more value from his cutter and changeup than in previous seasons.

Comments

bit over the 2.0 version of the arrieta era.

speaking of, pedro strop doesn't seem to have attempted to sign with another team after he requested his release from the cubs.  he turned 36 years old yesterday.

bryant pulled and getting xrays after HBP on his hand.  sigh.

he did take his base and run for himself, but he was pulled later.

reliever robert stock starting vs degrom...looks like we're in for a "bullpen game"

Beginning today (June 16th), post-2020 Article XX-B MLB free-agents who signed a 2021 MLB contract will no longer have an automatic "no trade" right, so Arrieta, Chafin, Marisnick, Pederson, and Romine can now be traded without restriction. 

Tyler Glasnow sprained his UCL and is pretty openly objecting to the MLB pushback on use of "sticky stuff," saying he thinks not using his "substance of choice," rosin and sunscreen, lead to his injury and will lead others to injury. I will be interested to hear a more open discourse on what pitchers use to get a grip on the ball, what will be permitted, and what adjustments pitchers will make. The reasoning that adjustments in grip could lead to tendon and ligament injuries strikes me as plausible and further reason that significant changes in policy should probably be made in the offseason so that teams and pitchers can figure out how to proceed.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

CHARLIE: You are absolutely right.

Granted there are existing rules prohibiting pitchers from using foreign substances, but you don't change enforcement protocols suddenly in the middle of the season. Pitchers should be given an opportunity to make adjustments during the course of Spring Training before any new enforcement policy is implememted.

This can and should be addressed in the upcoming CBA negotiations. Not now. 

ow...villar got nailed in the ear and the back of the head by a throw from lobaton on a stolen base.

This Mets series is going poorly, so... off-topic question. Which of these outcomes do you currently think is more likely in 2021: (a) Javy hits at least 40 homeruns in the regular season, (b) Patrick Wisdom hits at least 20 homeruns in the regular season.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

(c) hendricks gives up at least 60 homers in the regular season

seriously, though...wisdom has "slowed down" the past 10 days or so, but he still managed a couple homers.  he's got a damn good shot at 20+ even if bote+duffy come back to steal a little time from him.

The Cubs have optioned RHP Robert Stock back to AAA Iowa, and recalled LHP Brad Wieck. 

Recent comments

  • Childersb3 09/26/2023 - 09:27 am (view)

    Padres want to restructure while still competing, yet decrease payroll.
    Snell and Hader are FAs.
    Soto has one year left on deal.
    Our bullpen is in dire need of someone like Hader.
    Snell would cost a ton and maybe Steele's presence makes Snell unnecessary, yet you cannot have enough pitching (I'd like Yamamoto)
    But, we can put a deal together for Soto. We'd have to pony up the cash to keep him to make the trade worth it long term, but we can make a value deal for the Padres.

    Morel, Canario, Mervis, Vazquez, one MiLB SP (Sanders-Arias-Gray-maybe Ferris), and Stroman (or Hendricks)
    So, it's a six for one deal.
    The issue here is that five of these guys have to be on the Padres 40man roster. That might be too much for them. So maybe BJ Murray instead of Vazquez.
    Morel is blocked from a defensive position. So he's our DH. He'd be replaced by Soto.

    We'd still keep Alcantara and ONKC to replace Happ and Suzuki eventually.
    We'd still need to figure out 3B. Maybe bring back Candelario.
    I'd resign Belli for 1B or CF if PCA isn't "ready" in Spring Training.
    Wisdom can stay to help Soto with DH spots vs LH arms.

    You'd have LH bats at DH, 1B, 3B (switch), LF (switch), CF (PCA or Tauch) with 20 HR pop at DH, 1B, LF and 15 HR pop at 3B and CF.  That's pretty solid.
    It'll cost too much for the Ricketts to keep Bellinger and Soto but that would be fun to watch.

  • crunch 09/26/2023 - 09:48 am (view)

    missing the playoffs because of an on-paper tiebreaker loss would be peak cubbery.

  • Hagsag1946 09/26/2023 - 09:10 am (view)

    Thanks Phil. I look forward to these reports.

  • Mike Wellman 09/25/2023 - 09:24 pm (view)

    Playoffs essentially start tomorrow for Cubs. Better pack for a week in Milwaukee.

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:34 pm (view)

    azbobbop: If Stroman does not opt out, the Cubs can trade him without any restrictions.

    Stroman will make $21M in 2024 if he does not opt out, and Hendricks will make $16M if the Cubs exercise the club option. 

    Also, it would cost the Cubs a $1.5M buy-out if they decline the Hendricks club option, so they would only be saving $14.5M by declining the option, not the full $16M.

  • azbobbop 09/25/2023 - 09:08 pm (view)

    Phil, if Stroman opts in, does have any trade protection?

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    CRUNCH: Unfortunately all of the tie-breakers work against the Cubs in the case of a tie with AZ, MIA, and/or CIN. 

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:48 pm (view)

    CUBSTER: The Cubs are expected to be "in" on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but so will about a dozen other clubs. 

  • Arizona Phil 09/25/2023 - 09:54 pm (view)

    Childersb3: I suspect the Cubs will pick-up the Hendricks $16M 2024 option rather than pay the $1.5M buy-out, and then depending on what else might happen during off-season (Stroman opt-out now not likely, Smyly to the pen permanently, might or might not sign Yamamoto), Hendricks will either be in the Cubs starting rotation on Opening Day, or else he will be traded. 

    So while I don't think the Cubs will decline the club option, I do think he could be traded if it becomes clear during the course of the off-season and Spring Training that there is no place for him in the 2024 rotation.

    With the need for SP being what it is throughout MLB, Hendricks still has value (especially on a one-year contract for reasonable money), whether it be with the Cubs or with another club (presuming he stays healthy, of course). 

  • Arizona Phil 09/26/2023 - 09:24 am (view)

    Here are pitch types / velo from the game: 

    Alfredo Romero: FB 88-91 and CV 77-79 
    Shane Marshall: FB 92, SL/CT: 87-88, CV: 79-81 
    Mason McGwire: FB 93-95, SL/CT 85-88, SPLIT 76-78    
    Kevin Valdez: FB 92-93, SL 80-83, CV 74 
    Koen Moreno: FB 89-92, SL/CT 84-85, CH 79-81, CV 73-74