2023 Cubs Spring Training

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 02/08/2023 - 02:13 am


2023 CUBS SPRING TRAINING ROSTER: 

40 players (MLB roster) 
32 players (Non-Roster Invitee - NRI )

* bats or throws left 
# bats both 

MLB ROSTER PITCHERS: 21 
73 Adbert Alzolay
72 Javier Assad 
25 Brad Boxberger 
86 Ben Brown 
56 Jeremiah Estrada 
28 Kyle Hendricks 
12 Codi Heuer 
47 Brandon Hughes * 
84 Ryan Jensen 
45 Caleb Kilian 
66 Julian Merryweather 
21 Ethan Roberts 
59 Michael Rucker 
41 Adrian Sampson 
11 Drew Smyly * 
35 Justin Steele * 
0 Marcus Stroman 
50 James Taillon 
71 Keegan Thompson 
19 Hayden Wesneski 
99 Rowan Wick 

NON-ROSTER PITCHERS: 17 
77 Ryan Borucki * 
49 Nick Burdi 
93 Danis Correa 
65 Tyler Duffey 
52 Roenis Elias * 
64 Jordan Holloway 
92 Bailey Horn * 
46 Anthony Kay * 
91 Ben Leeper
30 Mark Leiter Jr 
57 Brendon Little * 
61 Brailyn Marquez * 
58 Nick Neidert 
48 Vinny Nittolo 
39 Manuel Rodriguez 
95 Cam Sanders 
62 Eric Stout * 

MLB CATCHERS: 3 
75 Miguel Amaya 
18 Tucker Barnhart * 
15 Yan Gomes

NON-ROSTER CATCHERS: 3 
37 Dom Nunez * 
32 Luis Torrens 
67 Bryce Windham * 

MLB INFIELDERS: 8 
2 Nico Hoerner 
51 Eric Hosmer * 
1 Nick Madrigal 
20 Miles Mastrobuoni * 
6 Zach McKinstry *
5 Christopher Morel  
7 Dansby Swanson 
16 Patrick Wisdom 

NON-ROSTER INFIELDERS: 7  
60 Sergio Alcantara # 
13 David Bote 
79 Matt Mervis * 
43 Esteban Quiroz * 
98 Chase Strumpf 
83 Andy Weber * 
74 Jared Young * 

MLB OUTFIELDERS: 8 
88 Kevin Alcantara 
24 Cody Bellinger * 
80 Alexander Canario 
94 Brennen Davis 
8 Ian Happ # 
36 Trey Mancini 
27 Seiya Suzuki 
4 Nelson Velazquez 

NON-ROSTER OUTFIELDERS: 5 
70 Pete Crow-Armstrong * 
78 Ben DeLuzio 
89 Darius Hill * 
87 Yonathan Perlaza # 
40 Mike Tauchman * 

MANAGER 
3 David Ross 

COACHES: 
96 James Adduci (Assistant Hitting Coach)
63 Juan Cabreja (Assistant Hitting Coach - BP Coordinator) 
29 Andy Green (Bench Coach) 
33 Willie Harris (3rd base coach) 
68 Tommy Hottovy (Pitching Coach)
76 Dustin Kelly (Hitting Coach)  
90 Jonathan Mota (Assistant Bullpen Coach) 
55 Mike Napoli (1st Base Coach)  
81 Craig Driver (Game Strategy / Catching Coach)
53 Daniel Moskos (Assistant Pitching Coach) 
97 Alex Smith (Data Development & Process Coach) 
82 Johnny Washington (Assistant Hitting Coach) 
54 Chris Young (Bullpen Coach) 

OTHER: 
85 Garrett Lloyd (Bullpen Catcher) 

NUMBERS NOT CURRENTLY ISSUED:
9 (last worn by Javier Baez)
17 (last worn by Kris Bryant)
22 (last worn by Jason Heyward)
34 (last worn by John Lester)
38 (last worn by Brad Wieck)
44 (last worn by Anthony Rizzo)
69 (Cubs do not issue this number) 

RETIRED NUMBERS:
10 Ron Santo
14 Ernie Banks
23 Ryne Sandberg
26 Billy Williams
31 Ferguson Jenkins & Greg Maddux
42 Jackie Robinson

Comments

Submitted by Cubster on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 02:32 pm

per MLBTR...The Padres and right-hander Yu Darvish are in agreement on a six-year extension that’ll run through the 2028 season, AJ Cassavell and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com report (Twitter link). Darvish, a Wasserman client, was already under contract for $18MM in 2023. That means the deal will tack on five years and $90MM worth of new money to his contract, which will carry through Darvish’s age-41 season.

I can't imagine that Darvish will end his career as a Padre.

 

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Submitted by crunch on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 02:30 pm

darvish + 3m so SD can have darvish for 3/53m...a huge bargain in this market given his ability.

there's a near 0% chance that near-MLB and MLB-ready talent couldn't have been sourced from somewhere shopping him.

the kids besides caissie aren't living up to potential, but then again only 1 of the other 3 is even old enough to buy a beer 2+ years out from that trade.  maybe they'll turn it around.  not looking great 2 years in, though...the lack of power development on all 3 is a bit alarming.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 02:36 pm

cubs sign michael fulmer...him and box are probably the closer favs...outside shot on wick.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 02:46 pm

Just before the Cubs acquired Jose Quintana from the White Sox for Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease at the MLB Trade Deadline in 2017, the Cubs made the same offer to the Tigers for Michael Fulmer but were turned down. As much as Quintana did not meet expectations as a Cub, acquiring Fulmer would have been many times worse.

Fulmer had burst upon the scene as one of the top young starting pitchers in MLB in 2016 at age 23, before his career was derailed (almost permanently) thanks to a series of injures (oblique, knee surgery, and TJS) suffered in 2018-19.

It wasn't until 2021 that Fulmer found success as a reliever (co-closer with Gregory Soto), although his stuff reportedly wasn't quite as good in 2022 as it was in 2021, and so he wasn't used in as many high-leverage situations as the previous year. 

Ideally the Cubs will pair Fulmer with a LH closer like the Tigers did in 2021 with Soto (presuming Fulmer's stuff comes back to where it was in 2021). 

Fulmer turns 30 next month, so he is still fairly young for a RP. 

Submitted by Childersb3 on Sat, 02/11/2023 - 02:21 pm

Chafin goes back to DBacks for ~7mil

I guess we could still sign Moore, Britton, or  Smith

Maybe Jed thinks one LHRP in Hughes is enough to start the yr

1-Fulmer

2-Boxberger

3-Wick

4-Hughes*

5-Alzolay

6-Thompson

7-Sampson/Wesneski

8-Rucker/Estrada/Merryweather

Spots 3 and 8 there are a little iffy maybe???

Even though we'd all like Estrada to win there!

 

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Submitted by tim815 on Sat, 02/11/2023 - 02:26 pm

Walk me through what the modern usage of a "long reliever" is. It used to be, when Ray Burris is getting shelled in the second inning, Ken Kravec warms up. If summoned, he tries to last until the 7th. That doesn't happent anymore.

 

Teams have 1 inning guys, 30 pitch guys, and maaaaaaaaaaaybe a 40 pitch guy, like Brent Suter. However, if Taillon is 64 Pitches after 2, and done? The guy up from Des Moines gets the first call. Not Alzolay or Thompson.

 

I expect Sampson's 1.95 gets him in the rotation most of the year.

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Submitted by crunch on Sat, 02/11/2023 - 02:39 pm

the cubs seem to be using the long reliever in a few ways the past many years

...the traditional "starter shit the bed, send someone in to eat innings"

...the "we got starters that will go 5-ish innings and we want 3-ish innings from someone who can pitch to win so we don't gotta use 3+ guys to do it"

...and "we don't wanna tax this arm so let's use him out of the pen for a while and quickly transition him to starter later" (or that in reverse)

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Submitted by Cubster on Sun, 02/12/2023 - 02:48 am

Nicely explained Crunch. I'll add a variant of your second category, "starters that will go 5-ish innings."

The starter who constantly gets into significant trouble in the 3rd-4th. At some point they get tried as the “piggyback” bullpen guy that goes 2+ innings and succeeds in that role. Keegan Thompson seems to have been the best example but Alzolay also fits this category even though he landed here more because of injury issues and never getting over the 5-inning hump.  Justin Steele seemed to overcome his starter issues last year but I was worried he was about to fit in here too. 

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Submitted by Dolorous Jon Lester on Sun, 02/12/2023 - 02:52 am

Agreed Tim, the $1.95 mil is the strongest indicator to me he’s getting the first shot at Hendricks’ spot while Kyle is out. It’d be more fun and more interesting long term to see Wesneski get that shot, but if I were to bet who gets more April and May starts between Sampson and Wesneski, my money is on Sampson.

Submitted by Childersb3 on Sun, 02/12/2023 - 02:52 pm

Wesneski has nothing to show in AAA. I get that Sampson makes 1mil+ more than Wesneski, but that means literally nothing. 

Long Man status in 8 man bullpens mean he pitch one per week. Maybe twice max. Sure. That's basically no help. Also that would be a waste of an arm like Wesneski's so that's why no of us want him in the pen.

Sampson could give you some innings as the 5th SP. But, he doesn't have an out pitch. He isn't going to compete with the better lineups. He'll be steady. The Cubs already have steady. They need some pop. They need strikeouts. Their defense will certainly help their staff. But they need juice. 

Sampson can help spot start, 6th man, eat innings. Wesneski could give them something more.

BTW, I've never before and am not saying now that Wesneski or Sampson will make 30 starts each and throw more than 150 IPs.

So theyll both make starts. Kilian and Assad ad well. Maybe Hendricks.

So knowing they'll all share the 5th spot, give the young guy the confidence of earning the job out of ST (if he in fact does earn it)

We'll see

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 02/12/2023 - 02:00 pm

it's nice to have enough possible SP material to even have these discussions...and guys like kilian and assad aren't even in the mix even though they would be on many teams.

Submitted by Cubster on Mon, 02/13/2023 - 02:47 am

Multi-inning leverage reliever (MILER) is a cool term and a potentially valuable weapon. It also helps out a manager with a notorious quick twitch to pull his starter. If he had two "Milers" it might keep him from destroying the short-inning guys in the bullpen. It's also a great way to get young guys who would be inconsistent starters a achieve success until they get more consistent. The traditional non-leveraged long relievers are not what this is about. They never have the potential to be much more than the last pitcher on the roster.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/13/2023 - 02:29 pm

the extra innings ghost runner is now a perm thing...not personally thrilled with that.  players, owners, and media outlets love it for the shortened extra inning games, though.

also, fun is being policed with position players pitching...  "position players will only be allowed to pitch in extra innings, or in the ninth inning for a leading team that is up by ten or more runs or anytime for a trailing team that is down by eight or more"

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 02/14/2023 - 02:11 pm

madrigal doing time at 3rd early in ST...he should be fighting with d.bote for the main track on the 2nd/3rd utility spot.

technically i guess he's competing with morel, wisdom, and bote at 3rd, but pretty much everyone expects to see him on the bench.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 02/15/2023 - 02:39 pm

cubs were in attendance for the zack britton workout today...5 other teams also attending...

fulmer contract done, 4m deal...

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 02:43 am

The problem with a "showcase" like Zach Britton's is that he might look fantastic at the workout, but how is he the next day? Can he bounce back and throw two days in a row? Does he have the same stuff the next day? Or how many days off does he need between outings before he can do it again? 

A few years ago LHP Danny Hultzen was at Cubs Extended Spring Training, trying to make a comeback after multiple shoulder surgeries. He looked great when he pitched, with a high velo FB and a wipeout breaking ball. Problem is, he could only throw one inning in an outing, and then he needed two or three days off before he could throw another inning. And that just doesn't work in so far as being part of an MLB (or even a minor league) bullpen.

To be useful, a reliever has to be able to either throw multiple innings or throw two days in a row (occasionally maybe even three). If a RP can only throw one inning and then he needs one, two, or maybe even three days off, that isn't going to cut it, and that cannot be ascertained at a showcase / workout. 

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 02:07 pm

my main problem with it is im tired of the cubs looking for talent on the clearance rack.  if they wanted an impact pen lefty they had a shot at a slew of them if they wanted to pay them.

that said, along with a slew of early guys being snapped up...now chaffin and moore are off the market.  gambling on britton is assumed to be the "best" lefty on the market.  so many gambles...gambles in CF, at 1st, in the pen...

i think fulmer and box are the only 2 guys who have more than 150 career IP in the current pen mix, righty or lefty.  i think the only other guy with more than 100ip is wick.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 02:02 pm

speaking of bargain bin additions, the cubs have signed 3rd/1st edwin rios to a major league deal.  1yr/1m...ethan roberts to the 60d IL.  he's got club control left, too...can't complain about the pickup, though it does eat a roster spot that could go to someone in-house.

he's kinda franmil reyes-like (power and Ks), only he can field a couple positions well enough to not embarrass himself.

the chance of matt mervis breaking with the team just went down a bit.  morel's situation might be in question, too, since the team can platoon rios(L)/wisdom(R).

Submitted by IACub on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 02:08 pm

The FO already pretty much admitted Mervis won't break camp with the team. Wisdom is basically a LH Wisdom with worse defense. I do wonder how much 3B he actually plays for a program that values defense so much tho.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 02/17/2023 - 02:12 pm

Edwin Rios was developed by the Dodgers as the heir-apparent to long-time 3B Justin Turner, but the Dodgers non-tendered Rios even after they did not pick up Turner's 2023 club option. 

Why? 

Rios is one of the worst defensive third-basemen I have ever seen. Really, really bad. You cannot play him at 3B in MLB, and the Dodgers knew that. He also has some time at 1B-LF-RF so he does profile as a "four-corner" defender, but because of his lack of defensive skills he is essentially a DH and ONLY a DH.

He does have plus HR power, however, so he actually could be an MLB DH, or at least a platoon DH if there is a need for that.  

The most surprising thing about the signing is that the Cubs gave him a major league contract, especially this late in the off-season. He has "AAA depth" written all over him.  

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 02/18/2023 - 02:01 pm

we got some great weekend comedy going around MLB.  stop me if you've heard this one before...

"Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Jason Heyward has made "significant" adjustments to his swing mechanics."

it would be awesome if it works out, though.  cubs pay 17.5m to add the dodgers released OF'r (belinger) and also pay 22m for the dodgers new OF'r (heyward).  moneyballs.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 02/18/2023 - 02:39 pm

d.ross talked to some reporters...

thompson will open the season in a multi-inning pen role and the 5th spot is a sampson/wesneski/assad competition.  looks like alzolay isn't being considered a starter candidate anymore.

also, suzuki showed up for camp showing the results of an off-season of weight room work.  he's not pro-wrestler big, but he's got more upper body muscle going on (not like he was skinny or something last year)...obviously bigger looking than last season.

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 02:29 am

A few years ago (I think it was probably 2018) the Cubs began to measure exit velocities for hitters at Camp Day BP at Extended Spring Training, and Christopher Morel, Yonathan Perlaza, and Nelson Velazquez were 1-2-3 in highest exit velo (and for Perlaza, that was from both sides of the plate). So you could tell even back then -- before Perlaza was hitting home runs -- that he could eventually grow into a slugger. 

The thing about Perlaza is that back then the Cubs were playing him at 2B and 3B and he was a train wreck defensively no matter where he played, and you could see that he would sometimes take his defensive mistakes with him to the plate. He seemed to be angry a lot. 

I remember asking one of the coaches if they had considered moving Perlaza to corner OF like the White Sox did with Jorge Orta in the 1970's, to help clear his mind and unlock his potential. (Like Perlaza, Orta was an offense-first 2B-3B who was eventually moved to OF).  

And that's exactly what the Cubs did with Perlaza at Instructs in 2019, and you can see how his offense (especially power) has really blossomed since he was moved to the outfield. I think Perlaza is a definite MLB prospect, whether it be as a LF or a DH. He can really rake.  

BTW, Perlaza was eligible to be an MLB Rule 9 minor league 6YFA post-2022, but he signed a 2023 minor league successor contract that kept him from becoming a FA. As part of the deal, he got an NRI to MLB Spring Training.

It is not likely that Perlaza will sign another minor league successor contract post-2023, however, because agents usually advise their clients not to do that more than once, unless the player is essentially a career organizational minor leaguer Crash Davis-type (which Perlaza is not).   

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 02/20/2023 - 02:16 pm

suzuki on his off-season swole...

"The Japanese outfielder added 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason.

“It was mechanically — just [improve] swing speed, first step,” Suzuki said through Toy Matsushita. “I think it’s all connected to power, so not just power, I feel like mechanically it’s all aspects.”"

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 60-DAY IL   

31 players are on the MLB ACTIVE LIST (26-man limit in effect on MLB Opening Day)

8 players signed to minor league contracts are Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

CUBS MLB SPRING TRAINING ACTIVE LIST: 39 

Last updated 3-23-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 16
Adbert Alzolay
Javier Assad 
Brad Boxberger
Michael Fulmer
Kyle Hendricks
* Brandon Hughes
Julian Merryweather
Michael Rucker
Adrian Sampson
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele 
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon 
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski
Rowan Wick

NRI PITCHERS: 6 
* Ryan Borucki  
Tyler Duffey 
* Roenis Elias  
* Anthony Kay  
Mark Leiter Jr 
Vinny Nittoli 

CATCHERS: 2 
* Tucker Barnhart 
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 1  
Luis Torrens 

INFIELDERS: 9
Nico Hoerner
* Eric Hosmer
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Zach McKinstry
Christopher Morel
* Edwin Rios
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

NRI INFIELDERS: 
NONE   

OUTFIELDERS: 4 
* Cody Bellinger 
# Ian Happ
Trey Mancini 
Seiya Suzuki 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1
* Mike Tauchman   

OPTIONED: 9
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Miguel Amaya, C 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Jeremiah Estrada, P 
Ryan Jensen, P 
Caleb Kilian, P
Nelson Velazquez, OF 

60-DAY IL: 2 
Codi Heuer, P 
Ethan Roberts, P
  


Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents