Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

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

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs @ Padres: Series Thread (Games 53-56)

The Cubs did a solid impression of a winning team, taking two of three from the Rays and coming up a few innings of relief shy of a sweep. They enjoy a day off today and begin again in San Diego. See below for matchups in this four-game series.



Game 53, Friday, June 2, 8:40 pm central
CHC: RHP Jameson Taillon (0-3, 8.04 ERA)
SDP: RHP Michael Wacha (5-1, 3.45 ERA)



Game 54, Saturday, June 3, 9:10 pm central
CHC: LHP Drew Smyly (5-2, 3.45 ERA)
SDP: RHP Yu Darvish (3-4, 4.61 ERA)



Game 55, Sunday, June 4, 4:30 pm central
CHC: RHP Marcus Stroman (5-4, 2.59 ERA)
SDP: LHP Ryan Weathers (1-3, 4.28 ERA)



Game 56, Monday, June 5, 8:10 pm central
CHC: RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 3.86 ERA)
SDP: LHP Blake Snell (1-6, 4.50 ERA)

Comments

vinny nittoli and tyler duffey opt-out of their minor league contracts.  nothing of value was lost and both guys would probably benefit from a change of clubs to "start over."

"Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports that an MRI on Justin Steele's left forearm only ended up showing a "very minor issue.""

he's not going on the IL (for now), and is only expected to miss a single start.

No Mervis, and against a right hander? I'm about 5 minutes away from taking 6 weeks off from the big league club, Ross is a straight up tool.......

[ ]

In reply to by Childersb3

Precisely, if they're not committed to letting players progress on the major league club, then just leave them in Iowa until they are willing to actually give them 6 - 10 weeks of consistent play to allow for a few adjustment periods to even them out and see what they really have with these guys............

unless it's a programing error, the friday/saturday/sunday games are all free streams on mlb.tv

madrigal destroying AAA through his first 6 games.

.458/.552/.833 1hr, 2 doubles, 2 triples

masterboney leading off and playing 3rd...the 7/8/9/1 hitters (rios/mervis/barnhart/masterb) are hitting about .157 avg and .270 ob%...the leadoff hitter sporting .149/.273 avg/ob%

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

feeling good about that 2-6...and i guess technically i should expect 4-5 hits/walks from the 7/8/9/1 slot, hopefully coming at a good time for that 2-6.

now i'm gonna sit back and wait for 0 hits and 10 Ks from the 2-6 stranding masterboney on base 3-4 times while rios and mervis hit a few homers...and m.fulmer comes in to blow the lead

boxb threw a pen session...bellinger unsure about returning next week (no setbacks), and unsure if he'll go on a rehab assignment when he's ready to play again

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Crunch,

Here's what I want them to do:

1) Happ goes to 2spot. Dansby to 3spot. Suzuki goes to 5 spot. Figure out who is the 4th guy.

2) I'd give Morel 3B. He's almost the same hitter/fielder as Wisdom but nine yrs younger.

3) DFA Mastrobuoni and add Perlaza. Perlaza gets DH ABs. I'd put him in the 4th spot, but that's debatable. 

4) When Steele's absence requires a 13th arm for the pen in the next few days, DFA Barnhart.  Eat his salary. Amaya gets to be 2nd C. Add Palencia. A bold/risky upside move.

5) The moment Heuer is remotely ready, he comes up for Estrada. This requires a 40man move. I'd DFA Boxberger. Burdi might go to 60IL.

6) Mervis gets ABs at least until Belli returns. Once Belli is back, he goes to 1B. Time to make the first truly bold/risky move. Add and put PCA in CF!  DFA Rios. Decide if Mervis is DH or Perlaza.

7) With Belli and PCA, Tauchman can be DFA'd. Madrigal comes back up.

8) This lineup becomes 2B Nico--LF Happ--SS Dansby--DH Perlaza--RF Suzuki--1B Belli--3B Morel--CF PCA--C Gomes. Maybe switch Perlaza and Belli. Amaya-Mancini-Wisdom-Madrigal off the bench. That's only four LH bats but don't put bats that aren't good enough on the roster just because they're lefties.

Before Steele returns from IL, the rotation is Stro-Tail-Smyly-Kyle-Wez. Pen of Leit-Hughes-Merry-Alzo-Fulm-Palencia-Heuer-Assad. When Steele returns Assad goes down. But Assad should be used some in the mean time. He's literally just sitting down there. Use him and not just for emergencies. 

[ ]

In reply to by Childersb3

agree with a lot of that.  wish they'd send mervis back to AAA if they're not ready to give him 5+ games a week.  with amaya up, that don't exactly open up DH opportunities.  mancini will probably be around next year unless he gets the opportunities to build his value to opt-out (tied to 350+ PA), so he can't exactly not play and DH/1st is all he can do.

[ ]

In reply to by Childersb3

Totally agree with the majority of this. 

I'd say the most of it would likely take place closer to the trade deadline, so we can get some kind of return for Wisdom and Bellinger; and trading Stroman, Smyly, and Hendricks as well. The window will be just starting to open next year, with the real window starting in 2025, so players that wouldn't be around in 2024 really shouldn't be kept when they can bring in value that may contribute to 2024 and beyond. 

I'd like to see PCA just leapfrog Iowa, but I see Velazquez and/or Davis (depending on performance at the time) getting a chance first (keep in mind Perlaza is an OF as well), with PCA and Cassie going up to Iowa after some moves on the big league roster; there's also Sgt. Slaughter, who is playing really well, and has some speed, as INF depth/bench.

I'd like to see a lineup (not necessarily in this order) after the deadline of:

3B Morel

2B Hoerner 

SS Swanson 

RF Suzuki 

LF Happ 

C Amaya

DH Perlaza

CF Velazquez

1B Mervis

Bench: CF Tauchman 1B Mancini C Gomes 3B Slaughter 

Rotation: 5 out of 8 of: Steele, Taillon, Wesneski, Assad, Thompson (Riley or Keegan), Brown, Killian

[ ]

In reply to by Finwe Noldaran

Bellinger is turning 28 in July. Mervis turned 25 in April. If Bellinger is the better RBI/Slugger than pay him. Keep Mervis in Iowa for a while. Maybe he DH's.

We need LH RBIs. Happ scares me b/c 72 RBIs is his career best. He's our 3spot hitter this yr and he's on pace for less than 70 RBIs. Maybe he gets hot. He usually hits better in Aug/Sept but that's usually too late for a 3hole hitter to find his grove.

Guys like Belli, Mervis, Perlaza, PCA and eventually ONKC are going to be really important. That's why I want to see Perlaza in Wrigley this yr.

I'd love to see Slaughter over Madrigal but Jed/Ross seem to love Nick so I gave up on that dream even though he has no pathway to ABs with Wisdom and Morel.

[ ]

In reply to by Childersb3

Again, totally agree with the majority of what you said; I like Bellinger, I just think he's going to want a contract like the 4 shortstops this last free agency, and he's too good in CF (which would give him a bigger payday), so he'll opt out, and we'll lose him for nothing if we don't trade him.......

cubs got a serious k.thompson regression issue...another terrible outing today

1.2ip 1h 5bb 4k, 2r/er (first career balk, too)

in 4 iowa games so far (all pen)... 5ip 8h 10bb 6k, 10r/er (runs given up in 3 of 4 games).

Mancini has been atrocious recently, besides one home run; why isn't Mervis playing every day, is Mancini really going to get us over the hump? No, an effective Mervis would though. But, it's just what you get when your manager is Dross.

[ ]

In reply to by Finwe Noldaran

I'm not sure what folks expect Ross to do with this collection of bats. His collection of above average MLB bats is Happ, Suzuki, Swanson, Hoerner, and Bellinger (back soon we hope). Wisdom and Morel are above average but have 36%+ K rates. Gomes is league average at the moment. Someone has to fill the other 5-6 roster spots and, until different players are added, Ross will play who they give him. This is on Jed and the Player Development staff, not Ross. This is 3 straight years he's had crap to field a lineup so how would any of us know how good or bad he is? Is Pitching any different? Taillon has shit the bed every start until last week. Wesneski failed in his SP5 Audition. They came out of Arizona with a bullpen built around Fulmer, Boxberger, Hughes, K. Thompson,  Rucker and Assad - how'd that work out. Leiter, Alzolay, Merriweather - not terrible, but they can't pitch every day.

 

Hopefully, help is close for the first time since 2014 - PCA,  Caissie, Amaya, B. Brown, Wicks, Palencia. Maybe a trip back to Iowa can help Mervis. No - this is a Jed/Ricketts screw the pooch show. Even if PCA, Amaya, and Mervis are solutions, they need a SP1 or 2 to go with Stroman, Steele, and Taillon plus a LH DH. Amazing how 1 FA would fill both of those holes and Ricketts could still be under the 2024-25 CBT. If Cubs ownership really is all in.

[ ]

In reply to by George Altman

I'm all aboard the Ohtani train as a free agent. 

For right now, it IS Jed's fault that Dross only has what he has to field a lineup; but not playing these young guys everyday is just sheer ignorance, and totally on Dross, unless he's being given explicit instructions to not play the young guys, which I find highly improbable. Morel, Amaya, and Mervis should play all games but maybe once a week, if only to see what they have; look at Morel last game, he walked twice, prayerfully that's him adjusting. Mervis can't adjust if he's not playing. Barnhart should be there as a mascot, same with Rios, Mancini, and Mastrobuoni; the players with potential upside (Mervis, Amaya, Morel) need to play against both right and left handed SP's. I could go on, but then I'd digress.......

[ ]

In reply to by George Altman

For your 2nd point:

A 2025 lineup before free agents would consist of 13 players from this group:

CF PCA/Alcantara 

RF Suzuki/Velazquez/Davis

LF Happ/Cassie/Perlaza/Roederer 

2B Hoerner/Murray Jr./Strumpf 

3B Morel/Slaughter/Vazquez 

SS Swanson  

1B Mervis/Murray Jr./McGeary 

C Amaya/Aliendo

(Hoerner, Swanson, Happ, and Suzuki would likely only move to another position than where they are currently if somehow a better option was available defensively)

Hendricks better hammer the outside edge & see what calls he gets. 
 

Also want to see YG’s PAs… being DH is the perfect role to express displeasure. 

ive never seen hendricks have less fun on the mound, even in games where he's done worse.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    in other news, it took 3 PA before a.rizzo got his 1st HBP of the season.

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.