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 seven are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two are on the 10-DAY IL, and three are on the 15-DAY IL


Last updated 9-22-20239
 
* 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
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom
* Jared Young

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

OPTIONED: 7
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Ben Brown, P  
Brennen Davis, OF 
Jeremiah Estrada, P
Caleb Kilian, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Michael Rucker, P

10-DAY IL: 2
Jeimer Candelario, 1B
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. Rays: Series Thread (Games 53-55)

Submitted by Charlie on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:19 am

The Cubs have three games to turn around a 2-4 homestand. They suffered a three game sweep at the hands of the Reds and are now joined at Wrigley by the 39-16 Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays sit atop a strong AL East and hold the best record in baseball. The Cubs currently find themselves at the opposite end of the spectrum, falling to last in the NL Central and holding a record better than only the farcical Oakland Athletics. They remain, however, only 5.5 back in the division. See below for matchups.


Game 53, Monday, May 29, 1:20 pm central
TBR: RHP Taj Bradley (3-1, 4.44 ERA)
CHC: RHP Marcus Stroman (4-4, 2.95 ERA)

A former 5th round pick in the 2018 draft, Taj Bradley is five starts into his rookie campaign. He features a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider and commands his pitches well. He's had solid results so far, and his peripherals suggest there's better still to come.

Stroman has been off to a strong start in all categories excepting run support so far. He could be on track for a career year of his current trends continue. He went eight innings against the Meta to earn his fourth win his last time out, the longest start by a Cub this season, just barely edging Smyly's bid for a perfect game.
 


Game 54, Tuesday, May 30, 7:05 pm central
TBR: LHP Shane McClanahan (8-0, 1.97 ERA)
CHC: RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 6.23 ERA)

The 26-year-old McLanahan has been excellent since making his MLB debut in 2021. He mixes a high-90s fastball with one of the best curveball in the majors, a frequently used split-change, and a slider. 

Hendricks made a long-awaited return from the IL against the Meta, taking a loss in his 2023 debut. He looked healthy, however, reaching the high 80s fastball velocity that is his norm and throwing plenty of first pitch strikes.

 


Game 55, Wednesday, May 31, 1:20 pm central
TBR: RHP Zach Eflin (7-1, 3.17 ERA)
CHC: LHP Justin Steele (6-2, 2.77 ERA)

Eflin spent his first 7 MLB seasons as a back of the rotation starter with the Phillies. He's have a better than expected start to the season, thanks partly to an increased rate of contact on the ground while maintaining his usual low walk rate. The Rays are getting a lot of mileage out of him so far as he's gone seven innings deep three times and has yet to be pulled before finishing five.

Steele got off to a ridiculously clean start to 2023, improving on his already great second half of 2022. He took a loss in 3.1 innings last time out, the first start of the season in which he failed to reach the sixth inning. His zero walks and zero homers allowed in the start comprise the silver lining of the outing. A fair portion of the 10 hits he allowed were off the soft-hit variety as well. However, per statcast he still allowed 9 hard hit balls, the most of any of his outings this season and all allowed while collecting his fewest outs thus far. For May only he's posted a 4.40 ERA and seen his strikeout rate dip to 7.85 per nine innings. 

Tags
2023 Series Thread
Tampa Bay Rays
Kyle Hendricks

Comments

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:30 pm

Is today the April Fool's Day lineup, and not the Memorial Day lineup, and that's why it looks like it does?

[ ]

Submitted by George Altman on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:57 pm

Ross is going to play all 13 position Players. Jed needs to leave him with Mervis, Hoerner, Wisdom, Swanson, Happ, Bellinger, Suzuki, Gomes, Morel, and Amaya. That's it until he determines Slaughter and Caissie are ready. As long as Barnhart, Mastrobouni, Rios, and Mancini are on this roster, Ross will play them. Usually not at the best time. Every manager will. This is on Jed.

[ ]

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:37 pm

Agreed. Trading Bellinger, Wisdom, Mancini, Tauchman, Stroman, Smyly, Hendricks, Merriweather and Leiter Jr. to maximize return is a necessity; and trading or releasing Barnhart, Rios, Madrigal, Mastrobuoni, Rucker and Fulmer to allow opportunities for younger players with potential is moreso. Having players like Assad, Alozay, and Keegan Thompson changing their use and approach, and guys like Velazquez and Amaya coming up only to ride the pine is just a waste. This isn't the 2016 or 2017 team that just needs 1 guy in 1 spot on the team to get us over the hump, and we have a loaded system now compared to then, and overall I would argue.

We have a profusion of willing and able prospects/options in the minors: Slaughter* and Morel# can handle any 3B or additional infield starts (Sergio Alcantara* is very good as well), Perlaza* (SH) Hill* (L) and Velazquez# can handle the outfield/bench, with Canario# and Davis# in the wings (I would argue Canario is the best of those 5, but he's working his way back, prayerfully soon), Amaya# splitting time with Gomes; and we have a cornucopia of pitching options, starting and bullpen.

This will allow for players in Tennessee to move up: Strumpf*, Vasquez*, Aliendo*, Murray Jr., Maldonado*, Roederer*, Cassie, PCA, Bigge*, Correa* Guzman (who we received for McKinstry), Little the younger*, Palencia*, Whitney, Wicks, the majority of whom are rule 5 eligible. 

I would say the bulk of these moves won't happen for the next 6 weeks or so (with the trade deadline being August 1st), but foregoing these moves because MAYBE we can make the post-season, or because certain players were signed, or have experience is just the fallacy of sunk cost. We need to see what we have with these prospects.

Hard to strike gold, if you're not digging.......

(* = Rule 5 eligible, # = on 40 man

Phil or someone would need to see verify if I missed anyone or their eligibility)

Submitted by CTSteve on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:17 pm

I have a hard time imagining that David Ross would be fired during the season after getting an extension. But what are the chances he's not back next year?

When does the watch begin?

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:40 pm

stro with a no-hitter through 6 and only 70 pitches...would be a perfect game if not for a HBP.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:17 pm

stro going for the complete game.  cubs haven't had one of those since 2021 (hendricks) and that was the only one for them in 2021.

[ ]

Submitted by Dolorous Jon Lester on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:43 pm

In the last two off seasons Jed has traded away Harold Ramirez (for Esteban Quiroz, to keep Hermosillo on the roster) and McKinstry (for a 26 year old RP who had thrown 2 games at AA, to keep Mastrobuoni and Madrigal on the 26 man roster).

Thats a pretty poor demonstration of internal scouting.

[ ]

Submitted by bradsbeard on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:57 pm

What does everybody have against Mastrobuoni? He's basically the same player as McKinstry (maybe better in the long run) but he has options.

 

Harold Ramirez was traded because he couldn't get to spring training. McKinstry they hung onto as long as they could, but nobody (among Cubs fans) really wanted him around. Glad he's making the most of his opportunity. The Guardians and Dodgers gave up on those guys too. Stuff happens.

 

 

[ ]

Submitted by First.Pitch.120 on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:25 am

Right?  MM has almost a unicorn type profile for a bench utility player - young, cheap, LHH, a bit of speed, positional flexibility, multiple options.  I get that people are ticked, but MM is part of the solution long-term, not the problem.

 

Also, a word in defense of Nick Madrigal... yes, he should have been optioned to start the season. Yes, his profile (high contact, low power, positional question) has a narrow range for long-term, high-level success. But so much of fandom talks about him like he's a bum.  He was consensus top-50 on all of the prospect lists. He demonstrated skill in the majors. After ~500 PAs (over a few years) & inconsistent playing time (injuries), the league adjusted & he hit a developmental bump. Not awesome, but not shocking. 

 

In addition, NkMdg  is a player who has had just over ~1000 PA's at AA / AAA / MLB combined.... so basically 2 uninterrupted seasons worth of PA's.    Anthony Rizzo had ~1400 minor league PA's BEFORE he even made it to the majors. Then from 2011-2013, he "mashed" a line of .238 / .324 / .412 over ~1200 MLB PA's. 

 

(Also, none of this is directed at DJL specifically... just venting some thoughts that have been simmering)

[ ]

Submitted by Dolorous Jon Lester on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:51 am

It’s all good I don’t take it personally.

I don’t have anything against Mastrobuoni or Madrigal. They’re both fine for what they are. But both were optionable and we could have kept McKinstry, too.

And yeah McKinstry struggled in spring and hadn’t solidified himself as a MLB player at all at the time. And fans were calling for him to go. I don’t recall having much of a reaction when it happened, but it’s not on us to know. It’s on the front office to self-scout well enough to hold onto the proper players. Happening once can happen to anyone but it’s happened two consecutive years now.

[ ]

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:27 pm

I agree that they should've tried to keep Ramirez and McKinstry, but sometimes there are factors we may not be privy to; not necessarily with Ramirez so much as McKinstry, perhaps McKinstry was the only player between him and Mastrobuoni that someone offered compensation for, i.e. Guzman? (and the point bradsbeard makes about Ramirez getting to spring training, or rather not being able to)

[ ]

Submitted by bradsbeard on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:48 pm

The other factor with McKinstry (which was not a factor so much with Ramirez) is that sometimes a team just doesn’t have the playing time to offer a fringe guy even if they think there is a chance he could do what McKinstry has done so far. Had they kept him, he would have gotten similar playing time as Madrigal and Mastro, or he would have displaced Wisdom’s fine start to the year. The Tigers were just in a better position than the Cubs to give him the run he’s gotten. Sometimes that’s a symptom of having a better roster (I realize what that sounds like, but the Cubs do have a better roster than the Tigers. In fact, their off-season spending is really what forced McKinstry off the roster).

[ ]

Submitted by George Altman on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:33 pm

I just really don't get this angst over Madrigal and McKinstry. By any modern metric: OPS+, WRc+, WARf or b, OPS, they are BELOW average MLB Offensive players. And Madrigal is generously 'MLB Average' on the 20-80 scale at 2B only.

Hoerner/Swanson were always going to get 150 starts at 2B/SS. Wisdom's HR power was always going to get 100+ starts at 3B.

The Cubs have bigger issues:

1. Can PCA play CF and leadoff in 2024

2. Need to continue Mervis development as a MLB 1B

3. Find a DH and TOR SP1 or SP2 for next year (like Ohtani)

4. Teach Morel to play 3B or CF before he becomes a full time DH

5. Pick up Gomes option and hope Amaya is ready to Catch by next year.

Suzuki, Happ, Hoerner, and Swanson are their only full time players until all the above happens.

I'm not a fan of the SPs or RPs except Steele, Stroman, and Alzolay.  I can see a scenario where Brown, Wicks, Palencia, Wesneski, Heuer with Leiter make significant contributions next year. 

Overall, I hope they focus on offense this off-season, like DH and 3B. I see pitching much closer to the bigs, especially if the sign a couple FA RPs better than Fulmer and Boxberger. 

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:24 pm

if they'd let morel play IF this team wouldn't need madrigal or masterboner getting serious ABs.

the starting middle IF are both SS and redundantly back each other up.  morel plays an above average 2nd and could slot there if needed.

i dunno what they have against morel and 3rd base when they're more than willing to put wisdom there.  they're not the same defensively, but both are good enough and close enough in their talents to play there.

...but rather than having him play a good 2nd or a decent 3rd they're hell bent on making him a below-average OF'r.

i mean, what the hell is the plan with morel?  he's not going to take suzuki's job, happ's job, or PCA's eventual job.

[ ]

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:02 pm

This and other comments on a better roster brings up a topic I've been going over for a few days: at what point do you decide a position player has done enough to lock in said position? 

I look at the extensions Happ and Hoerner received, and the contract for Suzuki and Swanson, and I wonder, would they be knocked from their stranglehold on the position if a better option presented itself, either from their lack of production, or a player with better potential was available through promotion or signing?

Starting with Happ and Hoerner, homegrown players who I watched march up through the ranks and really root for, I see them as good to very good players, not great; their ceiling is high don't get me wrong, but not Suzuki or Swanson. But Suzuki and Swanson are very good players, not great; none of these 4 are in the same league that Bryant, Baez, and Rizzo were at for a few years there (Rizzo still).

Morel or Slaughter should have 3B, Swanson has SS, Hoerner has 2B for now, but is there a scenario where if in the next 6 - 18 months, someone of Murray Jr., Vasquez, Strumpf, or Morel or Slaughter are playing really well, we give them a chance to see what they can do at 2B? Same thing in the OF, Canario, Velazquez, Perlaza, (prayerfully Davis), Cassie, PCA, Roederer, and Alcantara are all very high ceiling players, do they supplant Happ?

I just don't see Hoerner hitting more than 10 homeruns, or Swanson hitting more than 15 - 20, or Happ or Suzuki hitting more than 20 - 25; is that going to be enough for us to contend for a world series by adding a few complimentary pieces? 

Would a 2024 lineup of:

CF PCA 

2B Hoerner 

DH Canario/Morel

3B Morel/Slaughter 

RF Suzuki 

SS Swanson 

LF Happ

1B Mervis

C Amaya/Gomes 

Bench: Velazquez, Perlaza, Mancini 

Get us to world series contention? 

I don't see any 1 free agent/trade target making that big a difference, so either our prospects elevate us to contention by next year, or our window doesn't really start until 2025.......

 

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:33 pm

they sent k.thompson back to AAA, but they stuck him in the pen.  through 2 appearances they're both pretty much some of the worst work of his career and he didn't finish the inning in either...

1.1ip 7h 4bb 0k, 8 r/er (4 in each outing)

ow.

Submitted by azbobbop on Mon, 05/29/2023 - 05:36 pm

Even if the Cubs get back on track, there will still be several players available at the deadline. The one guy I hope they wall off and sign ASAP is Stroman.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:25 pm

rucker down, wesneski up...wtf...they cannot be using wesn out of the pen.  sigh.  whatever.

[ ]

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:53 pm

Ross.

Needs.

To.

Go.

Yanking prospects all over the place because he doesn't know how to handle them is a disgrace, why is Mancini in their instead of Mervis; let's give the bullpen whiplash moving them earlier and later in each game at random. Morel is hitting.368 batting leadoff, but let's put him 9th. I would think any random person could do better than Ross at this point.......

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:22 pm

hendricks has given up 1 run through 5 and the defense surrounding him gets an over-sized amount of credit for there only being 1 run given up.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:33 pm

they had alzolay up alone warming in the pen in the 5th when hendricks was putting guys on (before he got out of it).  warmed up for 5 minutes or so...

so anyway, merryweather is out here for the 6th.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:28 pm

i will feel enthusiastic when the cubs get to .500 again, but it's nice to win 2 in a row.

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Tue, 05/30/2023 - 05:32 pm

I can't see Mervis doing any worse than Mancini, prayerfully Ross or Jed decide to just let Mervis play every day going forward............

Submitted by Eric S on Wed, 05/31/2023 - 05:45 pm

Steele removed from game after 3 innings due to “left forearm tightness”.  Hopefully the elbow is structurally okay.

[ ]

Submitted by Childersb3 on Wed, 05/31/2023 - 05:51 pm

I'm with you Crunch

I thought Wesneski deserved a chance to get out of the 7th. 

But the real mistake Ross made was keeping Leiter in after giving up the 1st 2run bomb. He walks the next guy to start the 8th, and still gets to stay in. He could've come out since he finished the 7th (I believe). He didn't have it. It happens. But Ross let him stay. That's on David.

And then Dansby and Happ strikeout with men RISP. Happ going down looking was rough. 

He just wasn't aggressive.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil 09/23/2023 - 09:35 pm (view)

    jdrnym: 

    As you know, the abbreviation "DFA" stands for "Designated for Assignment." 

    There are three types of assignments: 

    1. Trade Assignment (when a player is traded from one MLB club to another)
    2. Outright Assignment (when a player is sent to the club's minor league Domestic Reserve List after Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured).
    3. Optional Assignment (when a player is optioned to the minors, subject to being recalled at a later time). 

    So when a player is Designated for Assignment, the player can either be traded, outrighted to the minors, or optioned to the minors. 

    Normally a player is not Designated for Assignment and then optioned to the minors, because the club could just option the player to the minors immediately without a DFA.

    Back in the day It was not that unusual for a player to be Designated for Assignment so that Optional Assignment Waivers could be secured (Optional Assignment Waivers were required before certain players could be optioned to the minors, and just like the old Trade Assignment Waivers, Optional Assignment Waivers were revocable if a player was claimed). Optional Assignment Waivers were eliminated in 2016 and Trade Assignment Waivers were eliminated in 2021, so all revocable waivers have been eliminated. What's left are Outright Assignment Waivers and Outright Release Waivers, and both are irrevocable once requested.  

    With the new five option limit whereby a player can (with a couple of exceptions) be optioned to the minors no more than five times in a given season before Outright Assignment Waivers must be secured (and it - IS - Outright Assignment Waivers that must be secured, even though it is for the purpose of an Optional Assignment), it now might be necessary for a club to DFA a player to clear a spot on the MLB 26-man roster (MLB 28-man roster in September) for another player and to allow for the two days (actually 47 hours) required to run a player through waivers. After the two day Waiver Claiming Period concludes (and presuming the player isn't claimed), the player can be returned to the MLB 40-man roster and optioned to the minors (even after being Designated for Assignment). But for that to happen, the player can - NOT - be replaced on the MLB 40-man roster by another player after being Designated for Assignment.  

    However, in the case of Jordan Luplow, he had - NOT - been optioned to the minors five times in the 2023 season prior to be optioned to AAA Rochester on 9/18, so the Twins did not need to DFA Luplow in order to secure Outright Assignment Waivers so that he could be optioned to the minors a sixth time. But because he was Designated for Assignment and not replaced on the 40 by another player after the DFA, the Twins could option him to the minors (and return him to the 40) even after he was Designated for Assignment, because an Optional Assignment is one of the three types of assignments.

    So Luplow was Designated for Assignment even though he didn't need to be, and then the Twins returned him to their MLB 40-man roster and optioned him to the minors a couple of days later (which they can do, since Luplow wasn't replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment). What the Twins did (DFA Luplow and then option him to the minors a couple of days later) was within the rules. It's just very odd and doesn't make a lot of sense. 

    So I will offer the most logical reason I can think of to explain why the Twins did this:  

    The Twins DFA'd Luplow because they intended to reinstate Chris Paddack from the 60-day IL, but then Carlos Correa suddenly needed to go on the 10-day IL and so they decided they wanted to keep Luplow on the 40-man roster (and on Optional Assignment to AAA) and didn't want to risk losing him off waivers or by him electing free-agency after being outrighted. Luplow has Article XX-D rights (he has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career), so he would had the right to elect free-agency after he was outrighted. There was also the possibility that he would have been claimed of waivers, and obviously the Twins felt they might need his RH bat after losing Correa and with Royce Lewis having left a game with a hamstring injury that led to an IL assignment. 

    Also, if Luplow was outrighted instead of being optioned, he would no longer be automatically eligible to play in the post-season (except as a possible injury replacement).

    Not only did Carlos Correa go on the IL, Royce Lewis went on the IL, too, two days after Correa went on the IL and two days after Luplow was optioned to AAA Rochester, so the Twins did in fact end up needing Luplow after all, and recalled him just a couple of days after he was optioned to replace Lewis on the MLB 28-man roster. 

    So that all I've got. That is the only thing that makes sense. The Twins DFA'd Luplow because they had intended to replace him on the 40 with another player (probably Paddack) and hoped that they would be able to run him through waivers and that he wouldn't get claimed and that he would accept an Outright Assignment, but then they suddenly changed their minds because of the injury to Correa and the possibility that Lewis might also have to go on the IL (which did, in fact, happen the next day).

    So the Twins returned Luplow to the 40 (because he hadn't been replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment), optioned him to the minors, and then recalled him after Royce Lewis was placed on the 10-day IL.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:00 pm (view)

    CIN out here blowing a 9-0 lead they built through 3 innings.  9-9 tie in the 7th.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:05 pm (view)

    boxburger 10d IL, k.thompson back up.  it's his right forearm (again).

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:12 pm (view)

    merryweather got out of it, but he loaded the bases with 1 out.  of course ross got cuas up in the pen...thankfully he didn't need to come in.

    looks like cuas gets the 9th.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:46 pm (view)

    4ip 2h 0bb 6k, 49 pitches.  no idea why they're giving the pen the last 2 innings when he's out there dealing like this and only threw 49 pitches.  he was supposed to pitch tomorrow and he's fresh.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    ...and assad is now a pen arm, evidently...odd move given recent success.  i guess wicks starts tomorrow?

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:16 pm (view)

    ARZ, MIA, and CIN all lose.  nice.

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:54 pm (view)

    stroman is now the saturday starter...okay, then.

  • jdrnym 09/22/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    Phil,

    Jordan Luplow was DFA'd by the Twins on Monday and was ultimately optioned and then recalled today. I didn't think that was possible since optional waivers were eliminated years ago. How did that work for the Twins?

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:47 pm (view)

    it's september and i have a legit reason to root for CIN, MIA, and ARZ to lose games.  2023 is an interesting time for baseball.

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