Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Projected Post-2021 "Super Two" Players

An unsigned player under club control who has accrued at least three but less than six years of MLB Service Time is automatically eligible for salary arbitration.
Also, any unsigned player with at least two years but less than three years of MLB Service Time who accrued at least 86 days of MLB Service Time during the previous season can qualify for salary arbitration as a so-called "Super Two" if the player is among the top 22% in MLB Service Time of players in that group (rounded to the nearest whole number). And if  two or more players are tied with the same MLB Service Time just above the "Super Two" threshold, all of the players with that accrued MLB ST would get "Super Two" status even if that means the number of players with "Super Two" status exceeds 22%.

Because it is based on a percentage, the "Super Two" threshold fluctuates from year-to-year (it was two years plus 125 days or 2+125 MLB ST post-2020, 2+115 post-2019, 2+134 MLB ST post-2018, 2+123 post-2017, 2+131 post-2016, 2+130 post-2015, 2+133 post-2014, 2+122 post-2013, 2+140 post-2012, 2+145 post-2011, 2+122 in 2010, and 2+139 in 2009), but the threshold has generally gone down whenever a new CBA is signed, because the percentage of players who automatically qualify for "Super Two" status has increased with each new CBA.

Besides gaining the right to request salary arbitration and have that right four times instead of just three times, being a "Super Two" player also means the player can elect free-agency if outrighted even though he has not yet accrued three years of MLB Service Time and even if he has not been outrighted previously in his career (however, unlike a player who has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time and/or has been outrighted previously in his career and who therefore has the option to elect free-agency immediately or else defer the choice until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season, a "Super Two ' player who has not been outrighted previously in his career must make his choice immediately upon being outrighted). 

At present there are 158 players on MLB rosters who are projected to fit the criteria of a player who has accrued at least two years but less than three years of MLB Service Time with at least 86 days of MLB Service Time accrued in the 2021 MLB regular season. So that means that 22% of the 158 (34.76 rounded to the nearest whole number, which is 35) will be at or above the Super Two threshold.and will have "Super Two" status post-2021. However, more than one player has accrued MLB Service Time equaling the projected post-2021 "Super Two" threshhold, so 36 players will actually qualify as a "Super Two" player post-2021.

Sometimes a player petitions (successfully) to have his listed MLB Service Time adjusted (like due to an injury that occurred before the player was optioned to the minors, or because a player was optioned prior to game time or after the start of a game, both of which would impact the player's service time and thus could impact the number of players who are in the macro group and how many of the players in the group acquire "Super Two" status), so the MLB Service Time listed below is unofficial.

TOP 22% OF PLAYERS WITH BETWEEN TWO & THREE YEARS OF MLB SERVICE TIME POST-2021
Jon Berti, RHP (MIA) - 2+168 
Luis Guillorme, INF (NYM) - 2+167
Josh James, RHP (HOU) - 2+166
Bryan Reynolds, OF (PIT) - 2+163
Framber Valdez, LHP (HOU) - 2+163
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, 1B (TOR) - 2+157 
Tim Mayza, LHP (TOR) - 2+156 
Brett Martin, LHP (TEX) - 2+151
Nick Senzel, OF (CIN) - 2+150 
Harold Castro, INF-OF (DET) - 2+141 
Willians Astudillo, C-1B-3B (MIN) - 2+140 
Nicky Lopez, INF (KC) - 2+139 
Austin Riley, 3B (ATL) - 2+138 
Magneuris Sierra, OF (MIA) - 2+138 
Pierce Johnson, RHP (SD) - 2+137 
Jimmy Cordero, RHP (CHW) - 2+136 
Cal Quantrill, RHP (CLE) - 2+132 
Cavan Biggio, INF (TOR) - 2+129 
Mike Yastrzemski, OF (SF) - 2+128 
Andrew Stevenson, OF (WAS) - 2+127 
Austin Voth, RHP (WAS) - 2+127 
Jeff Brigham, RHP (MIA) - 2+126 
Tanner Rainey, RHP (WAS) - 2+126 
Trent Thornton, RHP (TOR) - 2+126 
Taylor Hearn LHP (TEX) - 2+122 
Luis Arraez, INF (MIN) - 2+121
Josh Taylor, LHP (BOS) - 2+121
Miguel Diaz, RHP (SD) - 2+120
Luis Urias, INF (MIL) - 2+120  
Josh Naylor, OF (CLE) - 2+118 
Luis Torrens, C (SEA) - 2+117 
Peter Lambert, RHP (COL) - 2+116 
Kolby Allard, LHP (TEX) - 2+114
Tommy Edman, INF (STL) - 2+114 
Colin Poche, LHP (TB) - 2+114 
Rowan Wick, RHP (CUBS) - 2+114
++++++++++++++++++++++
PROJECTED SUPER TWO CUT-OFF - 2+114
++++++++++++++++++++++
Yordan Alvarez, OF (HOU) - 2+113 
Myles Straw, OF (CLE) - 2+112
Austin Gomber, LHP (COL) - 2+111 

So if it remains unchanged, 2+114 MLB ST will be the post-2021 "Super Two" threshold cut-off, and it would be the lowest Super Two cut-off in MLB history. 

Bryan Reynolds, Framber Valdez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Austin Riley, Tommy Edman, and Cal Quantrill won't have to worry, but for a number of the other players on the above list, being a "Super Two" ain't necessarily so super. In many cases, a club will either release or non-tender the player rather than risk going to arbitration with him. And even for those players who are tendered a contract, becoming arbitration-eligible a year early can make a player more likely to be shopped in a trade, especially by a club with payroll issues.  

Comments

btw, gotta love the banner photo showing white cleats with Wrigley mud stuck to them. Great choice (and very 3D).

How do I find the site for Caribbean winter baseball? Looking for rosters, box scores and etc.

[ ]

In reply to by Hagsag

It seems to be up to individual country origin promoters at this point, many not english translated.  coverage from mlb/milb was limited in 2018 and they seem to have given up in 2019.  last year was the same thing even though they were operating a nearly post-covid type structure.

we start tomorrow and nothing seems to be in place for casual english-speaking fans (that i know of).

sahadev sharma (the atlantic) says w.contreras is all but gone via trade if jed can't get an extension worked out.

unless you're a yan gomes fan, the catcher market is nearly non-existent this off-season.

if this gets a bit more dire looking for the cubs i'll try to compile a list of 18-21 year old outside-of-top-10 team tallent and guys with serious injuries missing all of next season as potential cubs trade targets.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Kyle Hendricks and Willson Contreras are the last two guys on the 40 the Cubs can trade for decent prospects, so it would seem likely that they will do that prior to the start of the 2022 season.

And then the Cubs will wait until the end of the off-season and try and sign free-agents who didn't get what they thought they would get in the marketplace (and who aren't saddled with a QO) to short-term / high AAV deals, and then flip them at the trade deadline (like they did with Bryant, Rizzo, Baez, Kimbrel, Chafin, Pederson, et al this past season) for even more prospects if they are not in contention to win the division at the 2022 trade deadline.

I would expect the Cubs to eventually sign two or three SP (two if they don't trade Hendricks, or three if they do), two or three RP (including two LHRP), a SS, and a catcher (or two catchers if they trade Contreras) to one or (max) two-year deals. 

Just because the Cubs have a lot of money to spend and say they are willing to spend it doesn't mean they will offer anyone a long-term contract. There is a reason why the Cubs jumped at the chance to trade Yu Darvish (who was the Cubs #1 SP in 2020, but who had three years left on his deal coming into the 2021 season) last off-season. 

Depending on how the new CBA might change free-agency and salary arbitration as it relates to MLB Service Time, the only kind of long-term deal the Cubs might consider going forward is maybe if Brennen Davis comes up next season and hits the ground running and looks like the real deal, then the Cubs might offer him an eight or nine-year contract that would buy out his arbitration years and two or three free-agent years, but would also protect the Cubs with multiple club option years (similar to the Anthony Rizzo contract extension in 2013, or like the extension Ronald Acuna signed with the Braves in 2019). 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

cubs gonna have to add a new "middle-A" minor league system.

they could probably field 4 full teams to play against themselves if they shift both hendricks and contreras.

seriously though...yeah, i expect a slew of 1-year deals that straddle the line between being competitive and dumping guys if needed.  there seems to be something going on with the cubs and SS, though.  between rumors about higher profile SSs and hoerner talking about perhaps playing all over the diamond rather than just SS there may be something to it.

also, as a contreras fan, i would love to see him get extended.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I'm honestly not sure Hendricks has any trade value right now (or not as much as Jed would want to part with him). Think the soonest they would move him would be the trade deadline. Willson might have value just because there are no good FA catchers available. But even his value is down, which might make now a decent time to extend him. 

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

BRADSBEARD: I think if the Cubs trade Contreras (and I believe they will, and before Opening Day), they will want to get a catching prospect back in the deal. 

Guys like Austin Wells (NYY), Cal Raleigh (SEA), Connor Wong (BOS), or Korey Lee (HOU) would be just fine with me.  

BRADSBEARD:  I think one thing that hurt Hendricks was that he was surrounded in the rotation by other soft-tossing RHSP and that enabled opposing hitters to get locked-in to that type of pitcher. Also, Hendricks went south right after the trade deadline. Possibly the tanking got inside his head. 

l see the Angels (in particular) as a very likely destination for Hendricks.

The Angels are absolutely desperate for starting pitchers and they can't do a tear-down and rebuild because of Trout, Ohtani, and Rondon, Hendricks is under control for three more seasons at a reasonable AAV, Joe Maddon knows him very well and trusts him, he's from Newport Beach, and the Cubs have shown a willingness to take back a package of young unproven position players in a trade involving a SP (Darvish).

The Cubs played the Angels a lot in Instructs and had a scout specifically following the Angels, so I suspect guys like CF Jordyn Adams (Angels 2018 1st round pick), SS Jeremiah Jackson (Angels 2nd round pick in 2018), INF Arol Vera (a switch-hitting $2M IFA signed by the Angels out of Venezuela in 2019), OF David Calabrese (Angels 2020 4th round pick and a teammate of Owen Caissie on Team Canada 18U team in 2018), and 3B Werner Blakely (Angels 2020 4th round pick), as well as maybe one of the 20 pitchers the Angels selected in the 2021 draft (when they drafted - ONLY - pitchers) might be on the Cubs radar.

I can tell you from having watched the Angels a lot in Instructs that (just like the Padres a year ago) they are fairly well-stocked at the lower levels. In fact, I'd take Jackson, Vera, and either Adams or Calabrese (Angels choice) back for Hendricks in a heartbeat, and the Angels can keep all of their 2021 pitcher draft picks.   

I believe if it happens it will be a quantity trade involving players quite a ways away from MLB, just like the Darvish trade with the Padres. So the Angels wouldn't have to part with Detmers, Adell, or Marsh, and they wouldn't have to give up THAT many prospects (probably just three, and quite possibly no pitchers) for three years of Kyle Hendricks. 

I LUV Swami AZ PHIL's crystal ball especially the week before Halloween.

Reeses peanutbutter cups, m&m's, snickers or... (fill in the blank)

Man, trading Willson and Hendricks would leave Heyward as the last one from 2016. Would be hard to believe literally every Cub fan will be thrilled to see the last guy from the title team leave.

Also all of those things mentioned (trading the two, short term deals with guys who are likely middling or decent) screams "don't pay any attention to the Cubs this year"

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I'm sure he's working with the new hitting coach, this is definitely the guy who will fix what the other 4 havent! Whenever this new guy gets hired anyway!!
 Can't wait for the obligatory "best shape of his life" nonsense if spring training happens.

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

i will give him props for one thing...

this year especially, he seems to have taken on a coach/mentor-like role.  he cheerleads others and talks to guys in the dugout after ABs or when he's benched and they're done with their fielding inning.

he's at least giving some value back to the team rather than retreating into himself and being frustrated at his lack of good numbers.  i'd rather have a surly asshole with good numbers, but we got what we got.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).