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 the 60-DAY IL

26 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, one player is on the 15-DAY IL, and one player is on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-18-2024

* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay
Javier Assad
Colten Brewer
Ben Brown
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Mark Leiter Jr
Hector Neris
* Drew Smyly
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 12
Kevin Alcantara, OF
Michael Arias, P
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF
Jose Cuas, P
Brennen Davis, OF
Porter Hodge, P
* Luke Little, P
* Miles Mastrobuoni, INF
* Matt Mervis, 1B
Daniel Palencia, P
Luis Vazquez, INF
Hayden Wesneski, P

10-DAY IL: 1
Seiya Suzuki, OF

15-DAY IL:
* Justin Steele, P

60-DAY IL: 2
Caleb Kilian, P
Julian Merryweather, P

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Lose Cactus League Tilt at Diablo

The Cubs traveled down the Red Mountain Freeway (AKA "Loop 202") to Tempe Diablo Stadium today, facing the Angels before a capacity crowd of 8,808 (probably more than half of them Cubs fans) under the bright, sunny Arizona skies.

box score

Loop 202 was closed for most of the day yesterday due to a tractor-trailer fire that involved a HazMat response by the Tempe & Phoenix fire departments. Too bad it wasn't closed again today, because then the Cubs could have just stayed home in Mesa and saved themselves a trip.

As it was, the Cubs left most of their "everyday" players back in Mesa, and so the crowd got to whine (justifiably, IMO) about paying (relatively) big bucks to see a Cubs starting lineup that included the likes of Jake Fox, Micah Hoffpauir, Sam Fuld, and Alex Cintron, instead of Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, and Kosuke Fukudome.

Well, at least the Cubs brought along some of the "front-line" pitching (Jason Marquis, Kerry Wood, and Bob Howry). Except unfortunately for the Cubs fans in attendance, the "front-line" pitching had a bad day...

Said to be battling for the #5 spot in the rotation with Jon Lieber and Sean Marshall, Jason Marquis pitched the first two innings, and was not impressive. He got out of the 1st inning unscathed, although that was mainly because catcher Geovany Soto threw out Chone Figgins trying to steal after Figgins led off the frame with a single, and because Vlad Guerrero hit a monster high fly ball to the very deepest part of CF and into the waiting glove of Felix Pie.

Marquis was not as lucky in the 2nd inning, however. Garret Anderson led off with a walk, and Torii Hunter followed with an RBI double. Then Howie Kendrick drove Hunter in with a one-out single. Marquis left with a final line of 2.0 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 BB, and 0 K.

Kerry Wood worked the 3rd inning, and got tagged for a three-run dinger off the smokin' hot bat of Torii Hunter. Woody seemed to have some zip on his fastball, but it looked like he had trouble spotting it, and he also hung a couple of breaking balls. Certainly not a good performance for KW (1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR), especially after he had looked so good in "live" BP sessions at Fitch Park last week. (And we still don't know if he can throw two or three days in row, either).

Bob Howry gave up the 6th and final run in the 5th, via a single, stolen base, ground out, and a ground single just out of range of second-baseman Mike Fontenot. Though he gave up a run, I thought Howry threw the ball OK. No hard-hit balls. Not a bad outing.

Carmen Pignatiello, Rule 5 pick Tim Lahey (three ground outs, including a spectacular diving stop & throw by third-baseman Bobby Scales), and Edward Campusano (three pop-ups) retired the final nine Angels hitters in order. If Campusano is 100% back from TJ surgery (and it looks like he is), he could help the Cubs in 2008. You may remember Campusano (a Rule 5 selection by the Tigers from the Cubs in December 2006) had made Detroit's 2007 Opening Day 25-man roster before going down with a torn elbow ligament at the very end of ST last year.

The only bright spots on offense for the Cubs today were Matt Murton and Jake Fox. Murt went three-for-three (three hard-hit singles), and Fox went 2-5 as the DH, including a two-run blast that went over the fence just inside the foul pole in the LF corner for the Cubs only two runs. Fox also got the "green light" from Manager Lou Piniella on a 3-0 count in the 8th with two men on base and two out, but got robbed on a great play by Angels third-baseman Matt Brown on a one-hop shot smoked down the 3rd base line.

Felix Pie hit lead-off and went 0-3 (one-hop tap back to the pitcher, a line out to CF, and a K), and Sam Fuld (playing RF and hitting 9th) also went 0-3, with a walk and two strikeouts (one swinging and one called).

Eric Patterson came into the game in the 6th, and played 2B for the first time this Spring. Since it's getting kind of obvious that he might not be able to play OF either, I guess maybe the Cubs are starting to think they might as well leave him at 2B and hope he can improve enough to become at least passably-mediocre there. He handled a couple of easy chances without incident today, which is a good start.

Geovany Soto was 2-4 in throwing out base-stealers, although one of the CS resulted from Chone Figgins going half-way to 2nd base before (intentionally?) getting himself into a rundown, perhaps in a misguided plan to try and score the runner (who was the freakin' CATCHER!) from 3rd base.

The Cubs return to HoHoKam Park tomorrow to face the Giants (again, for the third time already this Spring).

Comments

Recent comments

TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:39 pm (view)

I don’t see Tauchman as a weak link in any position. He simply adds his value in a different way.
I don’t know that we gain much by putting him in the outfield - Happ, Bellinger and Suzuki and Tauchman all field their positions well. If you’re looking for Taucnman’s kind of AB in a particular game I don’t see why it can’t come from DH.
Childersb3 04/19/2024 - 04:54 pm (view)

Tauchman gets a pinch hit RBI single with a liner to RF. This is his spot. He's a solid 4th OF. But he isn't a DH.
He takes pitches. Useful. I still believe in having good hitters.
You don't want your DH to be your weak link (other than your C maybe)
crunch 04/19/2024 - 04:46 pm (view)

bit of a hot take here, but i'm gonna say it.

the 2024 marlins don't seem to be good at doing baseballs.
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/19/2024 - 04:25 pm (view)

Phil, will the call up for a double header restart that 15 days on assignment for a pitcher? Like will wesneski’s 15 days start yesterday, or if he’s the 27th man, will that mean 15 days from tomorrow?
I hope that makes sense. It sounds clearer in my head.
Charlie 04/19/2024 - 04:19 pm (view)

Tauchman obviously brings value to the roster as a 4th outfielder who can and should play frequently. Him appearing frequently at DH indicated that the team lacks a valuable DH.
TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:06 pm (view)

Totally onboard with your thoughts concerning today’s lineup. Not sure about your take on Tauchman though.
The guy typically doesn’t pound the ball out out of the park, and his BA is quite unimpressive. But he brings something unique to the table that the undisciplined batters of the past didn’t. He always provides a quality at bat and he makes the opposing pitcher work because he has a great eye for the zone and protects the plate with two strikes exceptionally well. In addition to making him a base runner more often than it seems through his walks, that kind of at bat wears a pitcher down both mentally and physically so that the other guys who may hit the ball harder are more apt to take advantage of subsequent mistakes and do their damage.
I can’t remember a time when the Cubs valued this kind of contribution but this year they have a couple of guys doing it, with Happ being the other. It doesn’t make for gaudy stats but it definitely contributes to winning ball games. I do believe that’s why Tauchman has garnered so much playing time.
Arizona Phil 04/19/2024 - 04:43 pm (view)

Miles Mastrobuoni cannot be recalled until he has spent at least ten days on optional assignment, unless he is recalled to replace a position player who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, Bereavement / Family Medical).

And for a pitcher it's 15 days on optional assignment before he can be recalled, unless he is replacing a pitcher who is placed on an MLB inactive list (IL, Paternity, or Bereavement / Family Medical).

And a pitcher (or a position player, but almost always it's a pitcher) can be recalled as the 27th man for a doubleheader regardless of how many days he has been on optional assignment, but then he must be sent back down again the next day.

That's why the Cubs had to wait as long as they did to send Jose Cuas down and recall Keegan Thompson. Thompson needed to spend the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he could be recalled (and he spent EXACTLY the first 15 days of the MLB regular season on optional assignment before he was recalled).
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/19/2024 - 04:51 am (view)

Indeed they do TJW!
For the record I’m not in favor of solely building a team through paying big to free agents. But I’m also of the mind that when you develop really good players, get them signed to extensions that buy out a couple years of free agency, including with team options. And supplement the home grown players with free agent splashes or using excess prospects to trade for stars under team control for a few years. Sort of what Atlanta does, basically. Everyone talks about the dodgers but I feel that Atlanta is the peak organization at the current moment.
That said, the constant roster churn is very Rays- ish. What they do is incredible, but it’s extremely hard to do which is why they’re the only ones frequently successful that employ that strategy. I definitely do not want to see a large market team like ours follow that model closely. But I don’t think free agent frenzies is always the answer. It’s really only the Dodgers that play in that realm. I could see an argument for the Mets too. The Yankees don’t really operate like that anymore since the elder Steinbrenner passed. Though I would say the reigning champions built a good deal of that team through free agent spending.
Childersb3 04/19/2024 - 04:45 am (view)

The issue is the Cubs are 11-7 and have been on the road for 12 of those 18. We should be at least 13-5, maybe 14-4. Jed isn't feeling any pressure to play anyone he doesn't see fit.
But Canario on the bench, Morel not at 3B for Madrigal and Wisdom in RF wasn't what I thought would happen in this series.
I was hoping for Morel at 3B, Canario in RF, Wisdom at DH and Madrigal as a pinch hitter or late replacement.
Maybe Madrigal starts 1 game against the three LHSP for Miami.
I'm thinking Canario goes back to Iowa on Sunday night for Mastrobuoni after the Miami LHers are gone.
Canario needs ABs in Iowa and not bench time in MLB.
With Seiya out for a while Wisdom is safe unless his SOs are just overwhelmingly bad.

My real issue with the lineup isn't Madrigal. I'm not a fan, but I've given up on that one.
It's Tauchman getting a large number of ABs as the de factor DH and everyday player.
I didn't realize that was going to be the case.
We need a better LH DH. PCA or ONKC need to force the issue in about a month.
But, even if they do so, Jed doesn't have to change anything if the Cubs stay a few over .500!!!
TarzanJoeWallis 04/19/2024 - 04:21 am (view)

Totally depends on the team and the player involved. If your team’s philosophy is to pay huge dollars to bet on the future performance of past stars in order to win championships then, yes, all of the factors you mentioned are important.
If on the other hand, if the team’s primary focus is to identify and develop future stars in an effort to win a championship, and you’re a young player looking to establish yourself as a star, that’s a fit too. Otherwise your buried within your own organization.
Your comment about bringing up Canario for the purposes of sitting him illustrates perfectly the dangers of rewarding a non-performing, highly paid player over a hungry young prospect, like Canario, who is perpetually without a roster spot except as an insurance call up, but too good to trade. Totally disincentivizing the performance of the prospect and likely diminishing it.

Sticking it to your prospects and providing lousy baseball to your fans, the consumers and source of revenue for your sport, solely so that the next free agent gamble finds your team to be a comfortable landing spot even if he sucks? I suppose that makes sense to some teams but it’s definitely not the way I want to see my team run.
Once again, DJL, our differences in philosophy emerge!