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. Royals: Series Thread (Games 124-126)

The Cubs return home hot on two-game winning streak. They'll take on the AL Central trailers, the KC Royals, to start the homestand. See below for the matchups.


Game 124, Friday, August 20, 1:20 pm central

CHC: RHP Zach Davies (6-9, 5.00 ERA)

KCR: RHP Brad Keller (7-12, 5.62 ERA)

Davies allowed three runs, zero earned, in six innings against Miami.

Keller's been pitching with the MLB club since 2018 but only just turned 26. He's having a down year right when one would hope to see him come into his own. He's never been one to miss many bats, and the BABIP fates have been unkind to him this season.


Game 125, Saturday, August 21, 1:20 pm central

CHC: TBD

KCR: LHP Kris Bubic (3-6, 5.09 ERA)

Oh, look it's Kris B.! This one was a 40th overall pick in 2018 and is going through his sophomore slump. He got knocked around to the tune of seven runs over 1.1 innings by the Cardinals last time out.


Game 126, Sunday, August 22, 1:20 pm central

CHC: RHP Alec Mills (5-5, 4.19 ERA)

KCR: RHP Carlos Hernández (3-1, 4.33 ERA)

Alec Mills may be the Cubs' most valuable starting pitcher by the time this season is over. He's neck and neck with Kyle Hendricks so far and no one else is really in contention.

Hernández has split time this season between the bullpen and rotation while with the MLB club. He brings a plus fastball and middling other stuff.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

schwarber belongs at DH...he doesn't half-ass it in the field, but even at his best it's sub-par.

speaking of lost talent, i doubt we'll see bryant again since SF seems to be absolutely in love with him.  i get the feeling rizzo wouldn't be coming back even before recent post-trade public crosstalk.  i would not be shocked to see baez return unless hoerner has an impressive comeback to finish the season.

Dan Winkler has been released, Johneshwy Fargas has been sent outright to AAA Iowa (and he can - NOT - elect free-agency), Jake Jewell was optioned to Iowa after Friday's game, and Keegan Thompson has been recalled (effective Saturday). 

Jake Arrieta in SD (mlbtr update): The veteran right-hander made his first start as a Padre on Wednesday at Coors Field. He allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings against the Rockies before departing due to the hamstring issue that today landed him on the shelf.

--life goes on

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Then there's Cole Hamels who has made a combined $19 million from the Braves ($18M) and Dodgers ($1M) the last two seasons, throwing a total of 3.1 MLB innings in the process. So a little over $6 Million earned per out recorded - not too shabby for Mr (and Mrs) Hamels!

wonder if JD sweats boog/sutcliffe working together because their long history lends itself to a more comfortable booth.

it's not a JD issue, it's just that boog is more willing to take crap from sutcliffe without overanalyzing it and just rolling with it.  it's kinda weird cuz sutcliffe is way more combative and confrontational, yet boog has a lot easier time with chemistry between him/sutcliffe vs JD.

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

yeah, they got decent history at ESPN.

it seems boog is more likely to take crap from sutcliffe and let it roll off whereas boog seems to be more defensive (in a non-humor way) with jd for no real reason other than their relationship isn't as established.  it's kinda weird cuz sutcliffe is way more aggro with boog.

bubic (KC) throwing a no hitter through 6ip with rain imminent.

he's pretty much having the best game of his career right now.

[ ]

In reply to by Eric S

I've seen a lot of Owen Caissie out here in Mesa, and the best ceiling-comp I can think of is Freddie Freeman.

While Caissie has an above average arm that plays in RF, he otherwise does not look particularly comfortable in the outfield, and he has (at best) just average speed (and he's not going to get any faster as he matures), but he would make a good target at 1B. So the Cubs really need to move him to 1B ASAP and find somebody to teach him the finer points of the position. If he can't handle 1B, he might be just a DH.  

Besides, the Cubs already have a gaggle of legit MLB outfield prospects (B. Davis, Crow-Armstrong, Canario, K. Alcantara, Pinango, Velazquez, Roederer, Nwogu, etc).   

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

It's probably a little bit early for this and I may not be around to see it, but here is my projected Cubs Opening Day lineup 2026: 

1. Nick Madrigal, 2B 
2. Reggie Preciado, 3B 
3. Brennen Davis, CF 
4. Owen Caissie, 1B 
5. Kevin Alcantara, DH 
6. Alexander Canario, RF
7. Pete Crow-Armstrong, LF 
8. Cristian Hernandez, SS 
9. Miguel Amaya, C 
Adbert Alzolay, SP  

Nico Hoerner will be a FA after the 2025 season, but otherwise the bench could be guys like Pablo Aliendo or Malcom Quintero (catcher), Alfonso Rivas or Jared Young (1B-LF), Kevin Made or Ed Howard IV (INF), Christopher Morel (INF-OF), and/or Nelson Velazquez, Yohendrick Pinango, Cole Roederer, or Jordan Nwogu (OF). And there's even more possibilities than that.  

As for pitchers, Kyle Hendricks will probably be long gone by 2026, but some combination of Justin Steele, Keegan Thompson, D. J. Herz, Jordan Wicks, Brailyn Marquez, Kohl Franklin, Ryan Jensen, Caleb Kilian, Alexander Vizcaino, Jeremiah Estrada, Riley Thompson, Yovanny Cruz, Anderson Espinoza, and/or Benjamijn Rodriguez could fill out the rotation behnd Alzolay, with maybe Manuel Rodriguez, Ben Leeper, Codi Heuer, Ethan Roberts, Danis Correa, Michael McAvene, Chris Clarke, Eury Ramos, and/or Cayne Ueckert (RHRP), and Burl Carraway, Brendon Little, Brandon Hughes, and/or Bailey Horn (LHRP), and/or some of the guys who don't make the rotation in the pen.  

And the Cubs should get a pretty good 1st round draft slot next year, so whoever that is could be ready for MLB by 2026.  

cubs lose.  13 in a row at home...ties team record.

3-17 in august so far.  2 of those wins were 1 run wins.

If the Cubs keep up that 3-17 pace, they should get 6 more wins this season for a 60-102 season record.
The others, if they maintain their current win percentages:
BALT 50 wins
AZ 54 wins
TEX 57 wins
PITT  57 wins 

MIA 66 wins 

WAS  69 wins

MIN 70 wins 

KC 72 wins
COL 74 wins
 


So the Cubs are on pace for the 5-6th pick. If you use their current win percentage (.429), they would be on track for 69 wins (15-21), which gets them a pick in the 6-9 range. The teams in this draft choice competition include MIA, WAS, COL, MIN, KC.  Probably locks in the top 4 are BAL, AZ, TEX and PIT.  The series loss to MIA and KC recently (albeit perversely) helped.  It looks tough to get better than that 5th pick because their current 0.176 win percentage, as ugly as it is, will be a  tough ask to get worse...unless they go full Ditka.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

ARZ is 7-3 in their last 10.  that's 1/6th of a season's wins for them in mid/late-August.

the cubs have been unwatchable for a bit over a month.  ARZ has been unwatchable nearly all season.

BAL is f'n amazing...18 losses in a row.  23 is the modern record (1961 PHI).  21 is the BAL team record (1988).  they play the extremely underperforming LAA next.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.