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 eight are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one is on the 10-DAY IL, and three are on the 15-DAY IL


Last updated 9-27-20239
 
* 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
# Jeimer Candelario
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

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

OPTIONED: 8
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Ben Brown, P  
Brennen Davis, OF 
Jeremiah Estrada, P
Caleb Kilian, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Michael Rucker, P
* Jared Young, INF-OF

10-DAY IL: 1
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 vs. Marlins: Series Thread (Games 105-107)

The Cubs enjoy the continued presence of Willson Contreras and Ian Happ as they continue the season post trade deadline. See below for matchups against the Marlins.


Game 105, Friday, August 5, 1:20 pm central

CHC: LHP Justin Steele

MIA: RHP Edward Cabrera


Game 106, Saturday, August 6, 1:20 pm central

CHC: LHP Drew Smyly (3-6, 4.42 ERA)

MIA: RHP Pablo Lopez (7-6, 3.41 ERA)


Game 107, Sunday, August 7, 1:20 pm central

CHC: RHP Adrian Sampson (0-2, 3.74 ERA)

MIA: RHP Jesus Lazardo (2-4, 3.97 ERA)

Comments

yet another david "4.2ip" ross pitcher exit.

steele did throw 93 pitches, but yeah...ross gets really sketchy once a pitcher gets into the 5th inning.

They may have a bunch of weak hitters, but record-wise, the Marlins are a much stronger team than the Cubs.  Who was it that said, "you are what your record says you are"?

"The Cardinals and Cubs are slated to play a two-game series on June 24-25, 2023, as part of the MLB London Series at the baseball-configured London Stadium, MLB and the MLB Player Association announced on Thursday."

neat.

the cubs + reds get the field of dreams game this year, and cubs + cards get the london game next year (first since 2019).

[ ]

In reply to by Dolorous Jon Lester

i was thinking about how embarrasing for MLB the FoD game would be once contreras + happ were gone.  they at least have those guys still around to make it a barely-above minor league quality game.

a way past prime joey votto and hoping it's a night where c.morel is actually producing doesn't make for an exciting game.

t.mancini only has 3 hits since being traded to HOU.

all 3 have been homers, the latest a grand slam.

Saturday am, Cubs just took him off the IL then dfa'd Andrelton Simmons. Chalk that up to a failed trade deadline flip exercise.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Only thing I can say in defense of the Simmons signing is that I did approve at the time of building more positional depth. After Hoerner, the SS cupboard was pretty bare (couldn't count on Morel breaking out).  In retrospect, maybe a AAAA utility type would have been better (Machado?)

contreras is still every bit a cheerleader.

higgins hits a homer and he's jumping around in the dugout.  ...and morel is, too, but i'm pretty sure he spends 16+ hours a day doing that no matter what's going on.

smyly gets a hell of an ovation coming back into the dugout after 6.2ip of great pitching.

cubs fans are appreciating the tallent left.  owners need to recognize and respect this.  this is small market bullshit and fans doing the best with what they're given is best left for teams like tampa bay and pittsburgh.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

The pen is going to be a bit sketchy, but I think the rest of the roster is looking as good as it has all year. Hopefully Morel's hammy isn't a major concern. Cubs have a very soft schedule for the next two weeks. Good time to go on a little run. 

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

This is how an August non-trade "trade" would work with regard to Drew Smyly...   

Orioles keep winning and determine they need a veteran starter.

Orioles (Mike Elias) calls-up Cubs (Hoyer / Hawkins) and says "If you put Drew Smyly on Outright Assignment Waivers, we promise to claim him." 

Now, from Baltimore's POV they can't be sure of being awarded the claIm because another club with a worse record and a better waiver claim priority could also make a claim and be awarded the claim. That's the chance the Orioles would be taking, but it wouldn't cost them anything if they don'r win the claim.

From the Cubs POV, it doesn't matter who wins the claim, as long as somebody does. They need to make sure that at least one club will for sure claim Smyly, because if he is placed on Outright Assignment Waivers in August and isn't claimed, the Cubs can't put him on Outright Assignment Waivers again until September 1st, and then Smyly would no longer be post-season eligible (the post-season roster-eligibility deadline is midnight 8/31).

As long as somebody makes a claim, the Cubs will get the $50,000 waiver claim fee and the claiming club assumes 100% of what remains of Smyly's contract (right now that's about $1.5M in 2022 salary plus his $5.25M 2024 salary or $1M club option buy-out). This is the best the Cubs can get for Smyly, and the longer they wait into August the smaller the salary offset and the greater the chance that Smyly might get hurt. (Injured players cannot be placed on Ouiright Assignment Waivers until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season). 
 
The Cubs are not going to extend Smyly a QO so they won't get a 2023 comp draft pick once they pay the post-2022 buy-out, so they might as well get what they can for him now, even if it's just $50,000 plus a 100% salary offset/savings.

And Smyly probably wouldn't mind going to a contender, either!.  

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

If you are wondering about Jason Heyward being placed on Outright Assignment Waivers, even if his knee was 100% a player with full or partial "no trade" rights (and Heyward is a "10/5 player" so he has an automatic full "no trade") cannot be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers unless and until he waives his "no trade" - IN ADVANCE. He can't wait to see who claims him and then waive his "no trade." (Not that any club would claim Heyward's albatross contract). 

totally missed that dwight smith died on july 22nd...congestive heart failure, 58 years old.

he was part of that late-80s/early-90s group of cubs kids that showed up with strong bats, but quickly faded...dwight smith, jerome walton, rick wilkins, etc...

he was a guy who stayed in good physical shape post-retirement.  tough one.

Recent comments

  • crunch 09/28/2023 - 09:07 am (view)

    one thing people aren't too open about is his ego.  it's huge.  hopefully it doesn't get in his way.

    that said, i've not heard that his ego has caused any teammate issues and with people that have "strong egos" that's a big deal.  having a big ego isn't necessarily a terrible thing if you're still coachable and it doesn't make your workplace toxic.

    i honestly think the PCA we see now is the PCA we're getting...only with less instances of being asked to bunt.  he's a better hitter than his numbers, obviously.  i dunno what he will change with his approach at the plate, though.

    hopefully his game will mature, especially learning when to let one fall in front of him and when to not to try to make a miracle throw.  he takes pride in his defense, and he should, but a highlight reel shouldn't be an every-game goal.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 09/28/2023 - 09:35 am (view)

    I agree. Of course he has the offseason to work on things and he’s super young, but at the moment I don’t see an MLB level player in April 2024. Hopefully he takes this experience and gets more figured out and can come up and contribute sometime next year. There’s a lot of talent there but he doesn’t look ready for this level yet.

  • Charlie 09/28/2023 - 09:44 am (view)

    I'll be curious to see him at a time when the team isn't desperate for every little edge. What would he look like debuting for a team that already sealed their fate for the season? I think he'd still be struggling at the plate, but his other tools might show up.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 09/28/2023 - 09:09 am (view)

    Yup. Unless he plays a key role in a World Series run or pulls an Addison Russell or something, that Will unfortunately be his lasting Cub memory.

    Brant Brown was a solid player. No one remembers how important he was to the ‘98 miracle team.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 09/28/2023 - 09:07 am (view)

    He looks terribly overmatched at the moment in almost every way.

  • Charlie 09/28/2023 - 09:55 am (view)

    He appears to be playing with desperation at this point.

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:12 pm (view)

    i know this 2023 ATL team is one of the best teams of all time, like easy top 5 by any metric...but these 2 losses stung.

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:50 pm (view)

    PCA with -another- overly aggressive play he didn't make that punishes the team.

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:38 pm (view)

    "here's a helmet that fits." - cubs staff

    "naw." - PCA

  • crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:01 pm (view)

    cubs out here forgetting how to play D again...