Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus six players are on the 60-DAY IL

Last updated 10-2-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 22
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Brad Boxberger
Ben Brown
Jose Cuas
Tyler Duffey 
Jeremiah Estrada
Shane Greene
Kyle Hendricks
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
Michael Rucker
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 8
# Jeimer Candelario
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Matt Mervis
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom
* Jared Young

OUTFIELDERS: 8
Kevin Alcantara
* Cody Bellinger
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
Brennen Davis
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

60-DAY IL: 6
Nick Burdi, P
Michael Fulmer, P 
Codi Heuer, P
* Brandon Hughes, P
Nick Madrigal, INF
Ethan Roberts, P
 

 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs @ Diamondbacks: Series Thread (Games 148-150)

Submitted by Charlie on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 09:18 am

The Cubs took only one game from the last place Rockies in a series full of mistakes. They had Thursday to travel and regroup. Their rebound opportunity comes against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Both teams face Wild Card stakes as the season nears its conclusion. Marcus Stroman has been building up his arm and could be pushes for an early return to big league action as the Cubs scramble for the postseason. See below for daily matchups.

 

Game 148, Friday, September 15, 8:40 pm central
CHC: LHP Justin Steele (16-3, 2.49 ERA)
ARZ: RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-8, 6.25 ERA)

Game 149, Saturday, September 16, 7:10 pm central
CHC: RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-7, 3.71 ERA)
ARZ: RHP Zach Davies (2-5, 6.81 ERA)

Game 150, Sunday, September 17, 6:10 pm central
CHC: LHP Jordan Wicks (3-0, 1.99 ERA)
ARZ: RHP Ryne Nelson (7-8, 5.53 ERA)

Tags
2023 Series Thread
Arizona Diamonbacks

Comments

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 09:11 pm

pfaadt vs steele?  it's like ARZ has given up before taking the field.

yeah he's a very high end prospect because of his stuff and control, but he gives up hits and way too many homers since he left A-ball a couple years ago.  he's overmatched and playing on a team trying to make the playoffs.

...and hendricks vs z.davies...battle of the 88mph titans.  well, one generic-level titan and another guy that that's terrible, but for some reason is getting a chance to pitch for a team trying to make the playoffs.

cubs better win at least 1 of these and they should win both.

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 09:34 pm

tauchman CF (PCA bench), morel DH...

madrigal seems to be the main 3rd by far with candel gone.  since he came back in july his line is .243/.282/.342 in 119 PA.

[ ]

Submitted by Jackstraw on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 09:51 pm

Which I don't immediately understand.  Cubs homepage (FWIW) has Steele-Hendricks-Wicks as listed starters for AZ series, and Cubs have an off day Mon.  First potential need for Stroman as a starter is Tues.  Are Cubs planning on having Stro be a reliever to build back up, or are they now so convinced in the rest of the bullpen (?!?) that they can go one bullpen arm short? Palencia was a danger, but could certainly eat an inning or two when the Cubs were up/down 5.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 09/16/2023 - 09:51 pm

A player on an MLB IL cannot be sent on a minor league rehab assignment without his consent, and if the player consents to a rehab assignment he can designate which minor league affiliate to which he will be assigned, and once on a minor league rehab assignment the player can stop it at any time. 

The only power the club has is that the the club does not have to send a player on a minor league rehab assignment. 

Evan though sending an injured player to a club's Arizona or Florida Spring Training site to rehab is not considered to be minor league rehab assignment, the player still must consent to it, and he can unilaterally decide to leave at any time once he is there. 

Obviously Stroman agreed to go to Mesa to rehab on the back fields by throwing bullpens and "live" BP on his own schedule, but he also must NOT have agreed to go on a rehab assignment to Iowa or Tennessee.

He must have shown the training staff and coaches in Mesa that he was healthy enough to pitch, but since he was not stretched out sufficiently to be an MLB SP, the Cubs really had no choice except to reinstate him from the IL and put him in the bullpen (or use him as a two-inning "opener").  

You might have noticed that Brandon Hughes and Nick Burdi had no problem accepting a minor league rehab assignment and staying on it, but that'e in large part because while they are on a minor league rehab assignment they accrue MLB Service Time, get paid at the major league rate instead of at the minor league split rate, and they even get major league meal money.

Same thing for Stroman, EXCEPT unlike Hughes and Burdi, he can't be optioned to the minors if he declines to go on a rehab assignment to a minor league affiliate. 

If Hughes and/or Burdi had declined to go on a minor league rehab assignment or decide to stop the rehab assignment at some point after initially agreeing to accept it (which is their right), the Cubs would just reinstate them from the IL and option them to the minors. So in the case of Hughes and Burdi, it's better to just  accept the rehab assignment, stay on it as long as you possibly can, and keep your mouth shut.   

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 09/15/2023 - 09:50 pm

happ and suzuki HR #18 for the both of them...trying to join the 20+ HR club before the season's end with bellinger, swanson, morel, and wisdom.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 09/16/2023 - 09:31 pm

suzuki and morel swapped RF/DH last night a bit before the game, but suzuki is back in RF tonight (morel DH).  PCA rests again with tauchman getting CF.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 09/17/2023 - 09:01 pm

dross loves using cuas with men on during mid-inning pitching changes.  i mean, it's worked out so far, but it seems like gambling with how wild he is.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 09/18/2023 - 09:20 pm

a.wainwright throws 7ip of scoreless ball vs MIL (7ip 4h 2bb 3k).  it's his only scoreless outing of 2023 and his first since August of last year.  he did it at home and the crowd was giving him huge props during the 7th while he was getting through it.  he has been absolutely consistently terrible this year.

also, contreras hit his 20th HR, 3 seasons in a row of 20+ homers...4 if you want to toss out the 2000 COVID season.

Submitted by Cubster on Mon, 09/18/2023 - 09:00 pm

Kyle Schwarber hit his #45 HR in the Phils win tonight, on the flip side, his batting average is .197. 

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil 10/03/2023 - 10:18 pm (view)

    It used to be that teams did not want to trade within their own division for PR reasons, but I don't see that with Ben Cherington in Pittsburgh or with Hoyer / Hawkins in Chicago, so the Cubs might target Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes and closer David Bednar.

    Hayes is a Gold Glove defender, a decent enough hitter (105 OPS+ in 2023), and he's under control at a VERY reasonable price ($8.75M AAV) through 2029 (with a club option for 2030). 

    Bednar is first-time salary arbitration-eligible post-2023 and under control through 2026. 

    One thing about the Cubs is that they can afford to overpay (which is what they would have to do to get both Hayes and Bednar) with a package consisting of a decent young MLB position player to replace Hayes in the lineup (like Christopher Morel, who could play LF in Pittsburgh) and prospects like outfielders Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, or Kevin Alcantara (Pirates pick one, leaving the other two for the Cubs), a power-hitting 1B-DH like Matt Mervis or Haydn McGeary (Pirates pick one, leaving the other one for the Cubs), SS Luis Vazquez (who is MLB-ready but will never play SS in Chicago), 3B B. J. Murray (who could replace Hayes at the hot corner in Pittsburgh by 2025 if not sometime in 2024, and he obviously would be blocked in Chicago if the Cubs get Hayes), and an MLB-ready SP like Hayden Wesneski. 

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:02 pm (view)

    boog and glanville calling the PHI@MIL game on ESPN2.

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:59 pm (view)

    bellinger is my #1 want, but i fear he's the #1 want of many teams and will get crazy money + years, with the years being the big sting.  they need to replace bellinger's production if they don't get him no matter what position(s) played.

  • George Altman 10/03/2023 - 10:40 pm (view)

    I hope their top priorities are Bellinger, 2 RPs better than Fulmer/Boxberger (ideally 1 LH), and a 3B (Chapman my 1st Choice). That will put them right up to $237-257M AAV limit, but I don't see a playoff berth doing anything less.

    If they really want Alonso, Morel would be a good opening piece of that offer. 

    Unfortunately, Stroman will opt in ($23.7M) and Smyly ($11.5M) will be back. Steele, Taillon, Assad, Wicks will be rotation pieces. Would love a SP2 FA but don't see how they keep an effective offense and improve their bullpen while adding that.

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:03 pm (view)

    i cannot imagine getting a legit 3rd, whether signing or via trade, isn't the highest priority for the team.  it's almost obvious they don't see morel there.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:19 pm (view)

    I’m just hoping they have an actual 3B next year so we don’t need to worry about the M boys, Bote, and P Whiffy eating all the 3B at bats next year.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:13 pm (view)

    Willson was a OF/3B when we signed him too.

    On a less successful but still got to the show note, PJ Higgins was another college IF converted to C

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:03 pm (view)

    truth...and personally, i'd give him ABs (especially at 3rd) over the 2 singles-hitting-ceiling guys that got the shot.  i'm sure he can cover the ob% and defense while surpassing the power of anything masterboney and madrigal brought to the team.

    i don't view bote as a solution at 3rd, but i find it hard to believe he couldn't outperform either of the main options they had there for a huge chunk of this season.

  • KingKongvsGodzilla 10/03/2023 - 10:47 pm (view)

    Color me impressed by this assignment for Trice right out of the draft as a convert. Seems worth following after the success of Caratini

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:33 pm (view)

    Bote always has great spring trainings.

Click HERE for the last 50 comments