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 @ Angels: Series Thread (Games 60-62)

Submitted by Charlie on Tue, 06/06/2023 - 06:45 pm

The Cubs continue their tour of the West Coast with a stop in Anaheim. The Angels enter the series in third in the NL West, while the Cubs can console themselves that they still have a better record than the Cardinals--and that no one is really out of the NL Central "race" yet. The Cubs will dodge their 2024 Opening Day starter and primary DH question mark, Shohei Ohtani. See below for matchups.

Game 60, Tuesday, June 6, 8:38 pm central

LAA: LHP Tyler Anderson (2-1, 5.47 ERA)

CHC: RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-2, 4.81 ERA)

The veteran Anderson had a career 2022 in his first year with the Angels. He's fooling fewer hitters this season, however, resulting in less weak contact and fewer swings at pitches out of the zone. He's had hardly any platoon splits over his career as a whole, but he's been hammered by righties so far this year.

Wesneski pitched 3.2 innings in relief of Steele on May 31 and takes his rotation spot while Steele recovers from his injury. He was solid in two minor league appearances after getting shellacked at the major league level on May 13, when the Twins tagged him for four homeruns.

 

Game 61, Wednesday, June 7, 8:38 pm central

LAA: RHP Jaime Barria (2-2, 1.59 ERA)

CHC: RHP Jameson Taillon (1-3, 7.05 ERA)

Barria debuted way back in 2018 at the age of 21. After making 26 starts that season, he has since bounced between the majors and the minors filling in rotation and bullpen depth as needed at the Major League level. He's allowed more than one earned run only once this year, way back on April 4.

Taillon has generally struggled to shut down opposing offenses this season. However, he got sixth inning outs for the first time in his last start and took home his first Cubs' win.

 

Game 62, Wednesday, June 8, 8:38 pm central

LAA: LHP Reid Detmers (0-5, 5.15 ERA)

CHC: LHP Drew Smyly (5-3, 3.56 ERA)

A tenth overall pick in the 2020 draft, Reid Detmers is only 23 years old. He made five starts with the Angels in 2021 and returned for 25 more starts in 2022. He came up with a well-reviewed curve but relies more frequently on a slider, playing off of his mid-90s fastball. He's a bit of a flyball pitcher and has been knocked around by lefties so far in 2023.

Smyly was a pleasant surprise in 2022, turning in 22 solid starts and remaining a Cub by virtue only of a poorly timed injury. He's already surpassed that 2022 value in just over half the innings this season. He was hit fairly hard in his last two outings by the Padres and the Reds.

Tags
2023 Cubs
Shohei Ohtani

Comments

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 06/06/2023 - 06:25 pm

oh snap, i thought today was an off-day.  bonus.  too bad i'm on the east coast and employed in a job that i have to be in at 6:30-6:45am...stupid job...gonna miss the end of all 3 of these games.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 06/06/2023 - 06:43 pm

madrigal is making a joke out of AAA.  we all know what he's done in the bigs this year, but i wouldn't be shocked to see morel or mervis go down for madrigal if he keeps this up.  his production is silly even with the short sample size qualifier.

game is still in progress, but he's 2-3 with a couple doubles tonight.  .467 average with an ob% over .600 (7 walks, wow)...5 doubles, 2 triples, and a homer in 38 PA.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 06/06/2023 - 06:11 pm

hoyer told reporters bellinger will go on a minor league rehab before rejoining the club.  even with that, he should be back sometime next week.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:48 am

can't wait to see what slew of 17-19 year olds the cubs will get for him.  maybe they'll go in another direction and make someone take bote in return for nothing of value so they can free up payroll for *checks notes* i dunno, another scoreboard or buying some more neighborhood real estate or more political power in nebraska.

[ ]

Submitted by Dolorous Jon Lester on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:49 am

Probably trying to let him build some confidence after a good outing and didn’t want to see him be the one to blow it. Ohtani launched one off him earlier in the game. And it wasn’t like Wesneski could have pitched around him to load the bases for Trout. Not really defending Ross though, I think Leiter was the play given the game situation.

Submitted by azbobbop on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:45 am

Ross flat out blew that game. When Hughes didn’t retire Ohtani, he had no backup plan for the next three right handed batters. I’ve not been a critic but Wesneski was doing just fine tonight.

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Submitted by Dolorous Jon Lester on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:48 am

That was a Mark Leiter Jr spot, without a doubt. But our bullpen is so poorly constructed, he was being saved for late game. Ross made the wrong call but I don’t think pulling Wesneski was the wrong part of it. Hughes has not looked like 2022 Hughes at any point this year. Jed’s roster construction this year has been his worst yet.

Hughes was required to face 3 guys. Once he couldn’t get Ohtani, he couldn’t have pulled him for anything but an injury.

Submitted by azbobbop on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:11 pm

DJL…I know he had to face three batters. Two right handed after Shonei one of them being Mike Trout. Ross needed a better plan. Much better.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:06 pm

e.rios to the 10d IL, rucker up.  left groin strain.  the bad news it's retroactive to june 4th rather than starting to today which could speed his return.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:30 pm

madrigal starts off the night in iowa 2 for 2 (double, single) and he's hitting .500 now...17 hits in 34ab.

[ ]

Submitted by First.Pitch.120 on Thu, 06/08/2023 - 06:13 am

I think crunch nailed it... MLB pitchers who can effectively work the edges of the zone are brutal on "see-ball / Hit-ball" types who haven't developed that next level discernment. Ditto the BB% being a good harbinger.

 

I do wonder if the AAA robo-ump has a disparate impact on a player like NM... less guessing at what the random edges of the zone are going to be on a given day.  Not sure...

 

Another thing to keep in mind when looking at AAA stats & sample sizes is that they now play the same team/park 5-6 games in a row. Potentially compounding the impact of a +/- pitching staff, park factors, and/or match-up implications (ie, I'd give advantage to Madrigal if he is seeing the same SP x2 or RP x3 in a week). Not sure if this is relevant to Nick M. right now, but it's on my mind after watching a week's worth of line drives die in the coastal night air.

 

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Wed, 06/07/2023 - 06:01 pm

How would Morel being the DH have been worse than Mancini? The Morel doing worse at DH thing is likely an anomaly, but then just put him at 3B; not sure how people can make stuff so complicated............

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Thu, 06/08/2023 - 06:00 pm

When was the last time Morel played? Why not have him st 3B instead of Wisdom? Why isn't Meris in there at 1B, but Mancini is? I'm this close to giving the big league club a break for a few weeks............

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Submitted by crunch on Thu, 06/08/2023 - 06:34 pm

whether it's the majors or AAA, i just wanna see if mervis can be the solution at 1st or if he's bench/rest/trade-bait.  he's not figuring much out playing 3-4 times a week and dodging lefty starters.

having amaya up is not going to help mervis's already shrinking playing time and amaya is a guy just as deserving of a look for how he fits into the team's future.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 06:39 am

This season is slipping away. Strengths are still starting pitching and catching defense but the erratic bullpen has really hurt even with Adbert’s strong work. It’s time to unleash some more kids in the bullpen. The offense needs help but I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel this year. Bellinger’s injury has been a big factor. Sadly, another losing series sweep will  really break the season.

Submitted by George Altman on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 06:27 pm

I have a lot of thoughts on what the Cubs should do, but a big question first:  WHO is really running this team? Does Jed have total control of baseball operations as Tom always parrots on Sports radio? If so, where does his approval limits end? Does AAV $$ and contract length need Tom's approval, and if so, how big are Tom's balls?

I believe most analysts would agree the Cubs can compete at these positions:

2b - Hoerner, SS - Swanson, LF - Happ, RF - Suzuki, C - Gomes/Amaya. SP - Stroman, Steele, maybe Taillon, Smyly for now. RP - Alzolay .... and that's all I got there.

To compete in the Playoffs, you need solid offensive players (WRc+, OPS+, WAR above 1.0) at, at least 7-8 spots. You need 3 SPs who can get you into the 6-7th inning 90% of the time. And a bullpen that doesn't blow leads in the late innings. I don't have issues with the Cubs defensively, especially if PCA or Bellinger is the Centerfielder. 

This should be obvious, but I'll say it for Jed. He needs solid offense at 3B and DH. I can live with the Mervis project at 1B (for now). He needs to keep Stroman which should be obvious to any team's executive suite if they're serious about winning Playoff series/championships.

 

So, I would ride out the rest of this train wreck season. I would put a full court press on signing Ohtani, Chapman, and extending Stroman even if payroll is over $237M AAV next year. And I would hope some combination of Wesneski, Brown, Palencia, Wicks, and FA RPs makes a better overall pitching staff until Horton, Ferris, and Gray can contribute. 

 

 

Submitted by Childersb3 on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 06:54 pm

Is Suzuki is a good enough hitter?

Is he an 80 RBI guy?

He's naturally passive. 

Is Happ an 80+ RBI guy?

He's never had more than 74 I think.

Dansby has had 96 RBIs before.

He should be in the RBI spots

Production starts with your best players.

Of course we need RBIs from 1B, 3B and DH. Those are power spots and we are way behind winning teams in those positions.

We also have some of the worst LH bat production in MLB. Maybe the worst.

I'm sticking with bold moves from here on this season. Belli comes back as 1B. PCA comes up as CF. Mervis can DH. Perlaza should come up and get some DH and Cr OF time. Wisdom gets benched for Morel to be full time 3B. Barnhart is DFA'd for Amaya to get time at C and not just DH. 

Play the young guys. Play guys with some juice. 

[ ]

Submitted by George Altman on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 06:55 pm

My point is you can't replace 8-9 spots in 1-2 seasons. As offense/defense players, Happ, Suzuki, Swanson, Hoerner, PCA, and Amaya are blocks you can build around. You work to get MLB Mervis to AAA/AA Mervis.

 

It's going to take money, persistence, and salesmanship to get Ohtani and Chapman, as well as extend Stroman. Tell me how this team wins/makes playoffs in 2024-25 without these moves?

 

I don't give a damn about 3-5 years from now. How else does this team win NOW?

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Submitted by Childersb3 on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 06:48 pm

I'll go on record that Suzuki and Happ aren't enough to lure Ohtani. We'd have to overpay the top bidder by 100mil

I've read he'll get 60mil per yr. 30mil for DH and 30mil for SP. 

Cubs would have to give him 70mil per yr. Which I'm okay with. It isn't my money. Ricketts probably have it. And Ohtani is uniquely worth it.

But Suzuki and Happ aren't likely to be big draws for FAs. They aren't bad players. Just not really good players.

Submitted by Rogers on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 06:10 pm

I think there are going to be some surprises in baseball as to who will be available and at a reasonable price.  I think a few of these teams are going to be in financial trouble.  If you have read the Wall Street Journal’s sports blurb within the last few weeks several teams have lost their TV contract as the provider has filed bankruptcy.  The league has picked it up for those teams but we all know that is not going to last forever.  I don’t think we are talking about the big stars of the game, but there are going be some very good supplemental players available for reasonable price.  I guess what I’m saying is there is not an endless supply of money available in baseball.

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 06/09/2023 - 06:47 pm

live sports is advertising gold.  Bally Sports/Diamond Sports spread themselves massively wide (baseball, basketball, hockey) and took out tons of loans rather than Sinclair Broadcasting (who owns the subsidiary Diamond Sports/Bally) funding it outright (or at least mostly).  they're defaulting and not paying contracts all over the place now.

2020 hit them hard with revenue losses and the loans are still massive and fresh.  they're desperately trying bankruptcy restructuring, but no one believes that will work.  MLB has already taken back the Padres because they're in a joint partnership and Diamond's bankruptcy protection doesn't help protect the contract.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil 09/23/2023 - 09:02 pm (view)

    The deadline for trading players on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) and players who were outrighted to the minors after signing a 2023 MLB contract was August 1st, but trades involving players on a minor league reserve list are prohibited beginning at 12 PM (Eastern) on the 7th day prior to the originally-scheduled conclusion of the 2023 MLB regular season (Sunday 9/24) through the last day of the MLB regular season (including a day on which a regular season game is played after the originally-scheduled conclusion of the MLB regular season).   
     

  • Arizona Phil 09/23/2023 - 09:58 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 St. Paul 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, 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 were able to return Luplow to the 40 because he hadn't been replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment, then they optioned him to St. Paul, and then they recalled him after Royce Lewis was placed on the 10-day IL (the minimum 10-day optional assignment being waived because Luplow replaced a player (Royce Lewis) who was placed on an MLB 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?

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