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 @ White Sox: Series Thread (Games 130-132)

The Cubs split their doubleheader to take two out of three from the Milwaukee Brewers. Next up they play spoiler to the cross-town Sox, who stand at 74-55 and a full 9 games up in the AL Central. See below for the weekend's matchups.


Game 130, Friday, August 27, 7:10 pm central

CHC: RHP Keegan Thompson (3-3, 2.42 ERA)

CHW: LHP Dalla Keuchel (8-7, 4.71 ERA)

Thompson gave the Cubs four innings on August 21 and allowed two earned runs to the Royals. It was his longest appearance at the MLB level so far.

The Rays scored six off Keuchel over five innings his last time out. The veteran lefty fills out the back end of a dominant White Sox rotation and serves primarily as an innings eater and veteran leadership at this point in his career.


Game 131, Saturday, August 28, 7:10 pm central

CHC: RHP Alec Mills (5-6, 4.76 ERA)

CHW: RHP Lance Lynn (10-3, 2.20 ERA)

Mills had his first really bad start of the season when he allowed seven earned runs across four innings to the Royals.

Lynn pitched six innings and allowed the Cubs one earned run in the series at the beginning of the month. He hasn't earned a decision since a win on July 25.


Game 132, Sunday, August 29, 1:10 pm central

CHC: RHP Kyle Hendricks (14-5, 4.09 ERA)

CHW: RHP Dylan Cease (10-6, 3.92 ERA)

Hendricks bounced back from a 9-run outing that ended his undefeated streak by allowing one earned run to the Reds and then four earned runs over seven innings to the Rockies. He allowed two earned runs and pitched six innings against the White Sox on August 6.

Cease struck out ten Cubs and earned his ninth with on August 8. He's put together an excellent season and looks like a very solid MLB starter, having moved beyond the odd peripherals of his 2020 season.

Comments

wisdom with 2 homers and 2 Ks...a wisdom sombrero.  he's 3 away from the cubs rookie record (bryant, 26).

kimbrel gave up a couple homers to cubs hitters (wisdom/happ).

"crosstown series" with the most runs ever scored...cubs on the bad side of a 13-17 loss.

biggest review play fail i've ever seen in today's NYY/OAK game.

play at 3rd where it not only wasn't close, dude was many inches off the bag on a force play with lots of daylight between foot and bag.  called out, replay confirmed...no idea how this gets screwed up twice.  like, we're not talking about a shred of grey area.  this was blown on the initial play and the review.

bote 10d IL

j.jewell + r.meisinger DFA'd

alfonso rivas (25 in a couple weeks, MLB debut) and scott effross (27, MLB debut) up.

a few people here been waiting on a.rivas to get a shot.

ortega grand slam!

6 run lead is a good start...wait...

wisdom with 2 homers and 2 Ks...i'm still gonna call that a wisdom sombrero.

behold, the 2-true-outcome hitter.  dude has 65 hits.  25 of them are homers (38.5%)

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

well, he sure as hell isn't going to be a met in 2022.

sandy alderson dragged his ass in the press for giving a "thumbs down" to booing fans.  lindor and k.pillar were also in on the "thumbs down" show, too.

javy let loose with this one before alderson's statement, though... "When we don't get success, we're going to get booed. So they [the fans] are going to get booed when we get success."

so yeah.  okay.  phew.  i'm just over here being a cubs fan trying to figure out what nearly 30 year old AAA callup is on the MLB roster on any given day.

speaking of ex-cubs that used to matter...a.rizzo has not had a lot of love since missing time with covid related stuff and his poor showing when coming back.  they gave up a 12 year old centerfielder and a 24 year old A-ball pitcher for rizzo.  to be fair, the juvenile rookie ball CF'r is doing exceptional and the 24 year old pitcher has a great fastball+change...needs more than that, though...and he may end up in the pen if he doesn't develop a slider/cutter/something.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Wish I had my Mets fan friend's rant on Javy recorded, loses something without NJ attitude and being a few drinks into the night.  Essentially, less a lot of swear words: "how did you ever cheer for that guy?  Guess a few home runs and some fancy tags goes a helluva lot futha in Chicago.  Dude has no idea of the strike zone, he could swing an' miss at a softball. Now he thinks he can go insult fans after what, all of 10 games of jack sh!t performance. Fu*k em."

My reply:  "Seems like he fits in perfectly with the rest of the Mets."

He's still steamed about trading away Crow-Armstrong.

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

i'm severely on the fence about javy going forward.  the power, D, and above-average speed are all there, but the bat game has never progressed beyond a powerful swing and aggressive baserunning.

who wants to gamble 5-7 years on that?  multiple teams will get in the bidding, but i dunno how i feel about the cubs getting into the mix vs other options.  i wouldn't complain if he came back, but i wouldn't be surprised to find myself disapointed years later.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Javier Baez should have taken the 6/$180M when he had the chance, if that is in fact what he was offered a couple of years ago.  

Right now, I can't see Baez getting a contract with an AAV beyond $23M (max), and that's only if it's for only five years (5/$115M). Otherwise, I would think the AAV goes down substantially for additional years, and I don't know if the Cubs would be interested in taking Baez back even at five years, since Baez was never really an Epstein/Hoyer guy (he was inherited).

Otherwise, the Nationals (who will have money to spend in 2022, especially if Juan Soto doesn't want to sign a mega long-term deal), the Astros (if they don't re-sign Carlos Correa), the Rangers (if they don't sign local boy Trevor Story), and the Tigers (who seem to be on the cusp of contending) are the only other clubs I can see as a legit realistic potential landing spot for Baez in 2022. 

Kris Bryant should do much better. I can see an Anthony Rendon-type deal for Bryant (something like 8/$250M), especially with his versatility. I would say the Dodgers (where he would play CF and then  eventually move back to 3B) and the Red Sox (where he would probably play 1B or CF) would be the best bets for Bryant in 2022, and he could even re-sign with the Giants (but only after he tests the market).  

Anthony Rizzo seems like a really good fit with the Yankees for the next three or four years, probably for Moustakas / Castellanos-type money (4/$80M range), but the Red Sox, Brewers, and Giants would be good fits for Rizzo, too.  

I wouldn't be surprised if the White Sox trade Craig Kimbrel during the off-season to try and recoup what they gave up to get him in 2021 (Madrigal and Heuer). The Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, Angels, and Red Sox would seem like good potential fits for Kimbrel if he is made available.  

I still think the Cubs will actively shop Hendricks and Contreras once the new CBA is signed, since they are the last two guys they have who could actually bring back prospects in a trade. Hendricks to the Angels and Contreras to the Astros would be my bet. But then the Cubs will need to replace them via free-agency. 

If the Cubs actually want to spend money and try and contend in 2022 and/or 2023, SP must be the first and second priority. At least two SP (or three if they trade Hendricks) are needed before they do anything else, and they need to be ready & willing to out-bid other teams. 

Since Ricketts is risk-averse to long-term contracts (it's called "JasonHeyward-itis"), I suspect the Cubs will offer shorter premium high-AAV type contracts no longer than four years to free-agents if & when they decide to become active in the marketplace again, rather than longer deals for a lesser AAV. Meanwhile, one or two year deals for players they can flip at the 2022 trade deadline would seem a lot more-likely.  

Jose Quintana, he of the 6.75 ERA mostly out of the pen has been picked up by the Giants...replacing recent DFA Tyler Chatwalk. This is a neutral ex Cub factor move.

baez appologizes pre-game...

"I didn't mean to offend anybody. If I offended anybody, we apologize."

...then he scores the winning run in the bottom of the 9th running from 1st base to home on a single to LF.

2021 and STL is still whiny little bitches...

nick "everyday is opening day" castellanos hit a grand slam and they asked the umps to check his bat.

it was deemed just fine and STL was deemed 110% whiny bitches...

alzolay throws 4 innings of relief...welcome back.

4ip 1h 0bb 5k (0r/er)

95+ mph fastball.  slider was insanely good, but it missed the zone sometimes.  great outting with 0 homers.

cubs win.

s.castro's 30d suspension is over and WAS immediately released him.

his career in the US is probably over.

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.