Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Garrett Cooper
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 10 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Jose Cuas, P 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Luke Little, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

10-DAY IL: 2 
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF 

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P  
Jameson Taillon, P 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Caleb Kilian, P 
Julian Merryweather, P
 




Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

2021 Cubs Arizona Instructional League Roster

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

The Arizona Instructional League (known informally as "Instructs") has been in continuous existence for well over 60 years.

This year, Cubs AZ Instructs will begin on September 20th and conclude on October 16th.

Typically, clubs will assign players from the immediately-preceding draft class and players with experience below Hi-A to Instructs, although occasionally a more-experienced player will be assigned to work on one particular phase of his game or to rehab from an injury. Minor league players acquired in mid-season trades are sometimes assigned to Instructs to help them become familar with the Cubs Nike Performance Center and learn to do things "The Cub Way."  

Clubs with Spring Training homes in Arizona are not required to operate a team in the AZIL, and MLB clubs that do operate an "instructs" team are not required to schedule games against teams from other organizations.

The Cubs have 19 AZIL games scheduled versus the Angels, A's, and Rockies (only) in 2021. (The Brewers, Diamondbacks, Giants, and Mariners are not fielding an AZIL team this year).  
 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2021 CUBS AZ INSTRUCTIONAL LEAGUE ROSTER (last updated 9-19-2021):

* bats or throws left 
# bats both 

60 PLAYERS 

PITCHERS: 28
Yovanny Cabrera
* Burl Carraway
Dakota Chalmers
Chris Clarke
Bradford Deppermann 
Luis Devers 
Angel Gonzalez-Martinez 
* Drew Gray 
Dominic Hambley 
Porter Hodge 
* Bailey Horn 
* Luke Little 
Michael McAvene 
Koen Moreno 
Eduarniel Nunez 
Nicholas Padilla 
Daniel Palencia 
Eury Ramos 
Sheldon Reed 
Benjamin Rodriguez
Erian Rodriguez 
* Luis Angel Rodriguez 
Frankie Scalzo Jr 
Tyler Schlaffer 
Dauris Valdez 
* Didier Vargas 
Alexander Vizcaino 
* Chase Watkins

CATCHERS: 7 
Pablo Aliendo 
* Moises Ballesteros
* Miguel Fabrizio 
* Ethan Hearn 
# Casey Opitz 
# Malcom Quintero 
* Ronnier Quintero 

INFIELDERS: 15 
* Bryce Ball 
Cristian Hernandez 
Ed Howard IV 
Kevin Made 
* Matt Mervis 
Rafael Morel 
# B. J. Murray 
Christian Olivo 
Miguel Pabon 
# Reggie Preciado
# Pedro Ramirez  
Yeison Santana 
Liam Spence 
James Triantos Jr 
Luis Verdugo 

OUTFIELDERS: 10 
Kevin Alcantara 
* Owen Caissie 
Alexander Canario 
* Parker Chavers 
Christian Franklin 
Frank Hernandez
Peter Matt 
* Ismael Mena 
* Ezequiel Pagan 
Felix Stevens 


INSTRUCTS COORDINATOR: 
Jeremy Farrell 

GAME MANAGER: 
Michael Ryan 

HITTING COORDINATOR: 
Dustin Kelly  

ASSISTANT HITTING COORDINATOR: 
Tom Beyers 

HITTING INSTRUCTORS: 
D'Angelo Jimenez
Don Puente 
Rachel Folden  

INFIELD COORDINATOR: 
Jonathan Mota 

INFIELD INSTRUCTOR: 
Jhonny Bethencourt 

OUTFIELD & BASERUNNING COORDINATOR: 
Doug Dascenzo 

CATCHING INSTRUCTOR:  
Will Remillard  

PITCHING DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR: 
Casey Jacobson 

ASSISTANT PITCHING DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR:  
Carlos Chantres 
Mike Mason

REHAB PITCHING COORDINATOR
Josh Zeid 

PITCHING INSTRUCTORS: 
Tony Cougoule
Armando Gabino 
Danny Hultzen
Clay Mortensen
Doug Willey  

MENTAL SKILLS: 
David DaSilva 
Javier Guerero 

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COORDINATOR: 
Cory Kennedy 

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHES: 
Cory Chapp 
John Abbott 
Austin Smith 

ATHLETIC TRAINERS: 
Matt Hussey 
Seth Clapp 
Nick Roberts 

Tags
AZ Instructional League
Cubs Minor Leagues

Comments

Submitted by Dolorous Jon Lester on Sun, 09/19/2021 - 09:04 pm

Dakota Chalmers... interesting. He's scheduled to be a MILB FA, correct? Would this be a good sign he has signed a successor deal?

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 09/19/2021 - 09:21 pm

DJL: No. Signing a 2022 minor league successor contract would only matter with regard to a player in the Arizona Fall League, because the AFL schedule goes past the date when minor leaguers are declared free-agents. 

AZ Instructs ends on October 16th, which is about two or three weeks before minor league free-agency, so the three guys at Cubs Instructs who are eligible to be free-agehts after the World Series (Dakota Chalmers. Nicholas Padilla, and Eury Ramos) do not need to sign successor contracts in order to play in AZIL games. 

Padilla is rehabbing, but in the case of Chalmers and Ramos the Cubs may be attempting to gather more info before deciding whether to add them to the 40 on 11/19, in case one or both decline to sign a successor contract.   

Along with Luis Lugo and Bryan Hudson, Chalmers and Ramos are probably the post-2021 MLB Rule 9 minor league free-agents the Cubs most do not want to lose if it can be avoided.  

One way a club can induce a player to sign minor league successor contract is by offering the player an NRI to Spring Training and more money than he would have received if he had been on the MLB 40-man roster. The player would also know that he would be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft.

That's actually how the Cubs ended up with Hector Rondon. He was eligible to be a minor league 6YFA post-2012, but signed a 2013 minor league successor contract with the Indians prior to being declared a FA. And then the Cubs selected him in the Rule 5 Draft.   

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 09/19/2021 - 09:01 pm

The Cubs will very likely be splitting the AZIL position players into two 14-man squads (like they did last year), with each squad playng in every other-game, and with the other squad having a Camp Day instructional work-out on a back-field when that squad is not playing in a game. There will also be five combined Camp Days during the course of the four weeks for all players from both squads.  

The pitchers will probably be split into two squads as far as PFPs and other drills are concerned, but each pitcher will pitch in a game or throw a bullpen or a "live" BP whenever the pitcher is scheduled to pitch. So a particular pitcher might pitch in an AZIL game with one squad one time, and then with the other squad the next time. Or he might pitch with the same squad both times.   

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 09/20/2021 - 09:41 am

The top four DSL Cubs position player prospects (SS Cristian Hernandez, C Moises Ballesteros, INF Pedro Ramirez, and OF Frank Hernandez) have been added to the Cubs AZIL roster (see updated roster in post above). 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 09/20/2021 - 09:59 pm

TIM: They are still assigned to the International Reserve List, even if they are attending AZ Instructs. (That also applies to Minor League Camp and to Extended Spring Training). They can be moved to the Domestic Reserve List if the Cubs need slots on the IRL for international free-agents, but once a player is moved from the IRL to the DRL, the player cannot be moved back to the IRL (and play in the DSL) without consent of the MLB Commissioner. Also, a player cannot remain on the IRL (and play in the DSL) for more than four seasons.

At present, the Cubs 70-man International Reserve List is full, and the 180-man Domestic Reserve List has nine openings. However, the 29 players who are presently on a minor league 60-day IL must be reinstated at 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series (players cannot be carried on the 60-day IL during the off-season), which will increase the number of players on the DRL to 200 (171+29). But... at that exact same moment in time, the DRL limit expands from 180 to 190 players (and will remain 190 until 2022 minor league "full season" Opening Day), and also at that exact same moment in time, all unsigned minor league players eligible to be an MLB Rule 9 6YFA or second contract FA post-2021 are automatically declared free-agents (they don't have to file, it's automatic). And the Cubs have a LOT of minor leaguers eligible to be free-agents.  

One other thing to keep in mind is that there are no longer separate reserve lists for each domestic minor league affiliate. The players are all combined into one pot (known as the "Domestic Reserve List"). However, on 11/19 clubs can assign up to 38 Rule 5 Draft-eligible players to the temporary AAA reserve list, and those players can be selected only in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Then as soon as the Rule 5 Draft is over, the AAA reserve list goes away and players who were temporarily assigned to the AAA reserve list for the Rule 5 Draft go back into the DRL pot.  

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 09/22/2021 - 09:16 pm

The Cubs have added Bryan Serra to their Instructs roster. Serra was signed as a 19-year old infielder out of Venezuela in August 2020, and began the catcher conversion program at Minor League Camp this past April. He will be continuing the process at Instructs.   

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 10/01/2021 - 10:47 pm

LHSP Luis Angel Rodriguez, RHRP Dauris Valdez, RHRP Sheldon Reed, LHRP Didier Vargas, C Casey Opitz, INF Liam Spence, 1B Matt Mervis, and OF Peter Matt were moved-up to AAA Iowa from Instructs after Wednesday's intrasquad game. 

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 10/02/2021 - 10:27 am

RHSP Ryan Jensen has been added to the Cubs AZ Instructional League roster. 

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 10/04/2021 - 10:45 pm

The Cubs have added INF-OF Brayan Altuve to their AZ Instructs roster.

Altuve signed with the Cubs as a 16-year old IFA catcher out of Venezuela in 2019 ($1M bonus announced in July, contract not finalized until October), but he has not caught an inning in pro ball.

He is, however, an athletic player with plus-speed and plus-power, and so he has moved back & forth between the corner infield and the outfield in search of a position. 

Because the finalizing of his contract was delayed three months (July to October 2019), he will not be Rule 5 Draft eligible until post-2024, instead of post-2023 (if the contract had been signed & filed when it was originally announced in July 2019).  

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    booooooooooo

    also, wisdom and taillon are both in chicago.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Tonight’s game postponed. Split games on Saturday.

  • crunch (view)

    cubs getting crazy good at not having player moves leak.

    taillon we 100% know is pitching tonight.  who he's replacing and any additional moves are unknown as far as i can tell.

    p.wisdom was not in today's lineup in iowa (rained out) and he was removed from the game last night mid-game, but not for injury.  good bet he's with the team in the bigs, too.

  • Bill (view)

    A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return.  Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention".  Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

     

    Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost.  But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.  

  • Sonicwind75 (view)

    I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions.  Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022.  I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
    I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
    I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
    That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
    I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
    We'll find out soon enough!!!

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.

  • TarzanJoeWallis (view)

    Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."  

    Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.

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