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, ten players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors, two players are on the 15-DAY IL, and two players are on the 10-DAY IL

Last updated 4-17-2024

* 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
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

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

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

OPTIONED: 10
Kevin Alcantara, OF
Michael Arias, P
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF
Jose Cuas, P
Brennen Davis, OF
Porter Hodge, P
* Luke Little, P
* Matt Mervis, 1B
Daniel Palencia, P
Luis Vazquez, INF

10-DAY IL: 2
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Patrick Wisdom, INF

15-DAY IL: 2
* Justin Steele, P
Jameson Taillon, P

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

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft
Minor League Free-Agents

Back-to-Back Jaxx

SOUTHERN LEAGUE (AA) NORTHERN DIVISION PLAYOFFS GAME 2 THREAD (JAXX LEAD BEST-OF-FIVE SERIES 1-0) [PARACHAT] CAROLINA MUDCATS (77-57) @ WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (83-56) PRINGLES PARK, 6:35 pm CDT, RADIO: Dixie 1310 WDXI
The Jaxx made a good start to the Southern League playoffs last night, winning the opening game of the series 3-0 (recap, boxscore, play-by-play) on the back of Renyel Pinto's fine pitching and multi-hit games from Eric Patterson, Casey McGehee, Brandon Sing and Jose Reyes, who is not the Mets' shortstop. Last season Renyel Pinto won the Southern League Pitcher of the Year title, but this year it was not to be. Why's that? Because, keeping it in the family, it was tonight's Jaxx starter, Ricky Nolasco, that took home the prize, leaving poor Pinto this year had to settle just for being named the best left-hander in the league. Yes, indeed, it would seem that the Jaxx have orchestrated something of a monopoly over the pitching prizes. Tonight the team's line up thus...

Ricky Nolasco, RHP 14-3, 2.89 ERA 173/46 K/BB, 13 HR in 161.2 IP	Nick Ungs, RHP 7-5, 3.68 ERA 79/34 K/BB, 8 HR in 120.0 IP
2B *Frank Moore	2B *Eric Patterson
LF James Shanks	SS Ryan Theriot
RF Juan Carlos Muniz	3B Casey McGehee
C Jason Hill	1B #Matt Craig
CF Reggie Abercrombie	LF Brandon Sing
1B Angel Molina	CF *Buck Coats
3B #Drew Niles	RF *Adam Greenberg
SS Rex Rundgren	C #Jose Reyes
P Nick Ungs	P Ricky Nolasco

What a year Ricky Nolasco has enjoyed...

IP	H	HR	BB	K	ERA
161.2	151	13	46	173	2.89

His 14 victories set a new Jaxx record and were good enough to tie him for first in the league (with Sean Tracey of the White Sox), and though he fell just 6 strikeouts short of breaking the franchise record that Pinto set last year, he led the league in that category too. He finished third in the league in ERA, though the two ahead of him (one of them Pinto) pitched significantly less innings. It is worth bearing in mind though that though Nolasco is just 22, he was repeating the league after a 2004 stint at Iowa went quite horribly wrong (let's just say he allowed 68 hits in 40.2 innings). Like Pinto, he found the transition from the pitcher friendly Southern League to the much more hitter orientated Pacific Coast League very difficult. And, like Pinto, it's a hurdle that he's almost certainly going to have to navigate before he makes the big leagues. A sinkerballer, and therefore often talked about in the same breath as Sergio Mitre, the comparison perhaps doesn't quite ring true. Nolasco's low-90s sinker induces a lot of groundballs, but it's not as good a pitch as Mitre's. Nolasco though definately showcases the better off-speed stuff, with a good curveball and changeup. Mitre's breaking pitches on the other hand are much more fringy, though that sinker, when it's on, is remarkable. Opposing Nolasco tonight is Nick Ungs, who earlier this year threw a no-hitter against the Jaxx. The Mudcats actually bested the Jaxx 9-7 in the regular season, though that was largely because they went 8-2 at home. If the Jaxx have their way, the Mudcats won't be able to take the series back to Carolina. Somewhat ironically, both teams are playing this series without their most talented player. While the Jaxx have lost outfielder Felix Pie to injury (for half the season no less), the Mudcats last week were robbed of their stud prospect outfielder by the Florida Marlins. Jeremy Hermida only went on to become just the second player in history to hit a grand slam in his first Major League plate appearance. The rest of the series looks like this... Game 3, Friday, 5.05pm CDT, Carolina Mudcats @ West Tenn Diamond Jaxx Game 4, Sunday, 2.00pm EDT, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx @ Carolina Mudcats Game 5, Monday, 7.15pm EDT, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx @ Carolina Mudcats Games 4 and 5 will only be played if necessary. The series winner will then play either the Birmingham Barons (CWS) or the Jacksonville Suns (LAD) for the Southern League title in a five game series starting a week today. Go to the games if you can, or listen via the Radio (Dixie 1310 AM WDXI, and there's an online feed at WDXI.com). And go Jaxx!

Comments

Recent comments

Bill 04/18/2024 - 04:02 pm (view)

A good rule of thumb is that if you trade a near-ready high ceiling prospect, you should get at least two far-away high ceiling prospects in return. Like all rules-of-thumb, it depends upon the specific circumstances, but certainly, we weren't going to get Busch for either prospect alone.
Sonicwind75 04/18/2024 - 04:40 pm (view)

Right on schedule, just read an article in Baseball America entitled "10 MLB Prospects Outside The Top 100 Who Have Our Attention". Zyhir Hope was one of the prospects featured. It stated that he's "one of the biggest arrow-up sleeper prospects in the lower levels right now."

Not sharing to be negative about the trade, getting a top 100 prospect who is MLB ready should carry a heavy prospect cost. But man, Dodger sure are good at identifying and developing young talent. Andrew Friedman seems to have successfully merged Ray's development with Yankees financial might to create a juggernaut of an organization.
Sonicwind75 04/18/2024 - 04:45 am (view)

I suspect Brown will spend some time in the bullpen due to inning restrictions. Pitched only 93 innings last year and career high is 104 innings in 2022. I would expect them to be cautious with a young player with his injury history.
Childersb3 04/18/2024 - 04:02 am (view)

I wanted Almonte gone last week, but that was before Merryweather went down and Little got demoted. Almonte in his last 5 appearances has gone 4.1 IP with no ER or Runs. NO hits, 3 BBs and 8 SO. He did hit 96 with his 2S FB in AZ on Tues.
I don't see Jed waiving him when we have injuries all over and guys with options that can be sent down.
I probably won't like the move Jed makes, but he can't play the "let's hope no one wants his 1.7mil remaining deal and we can hide him in Iowa" card.
That's why I think the current Bullpen stays as is and Wicks goes to Iowa.
I don't like that, but that's the fix I see.
We'll find out soon enough!!!
TarzanJoeWallis 04/18/2024 - 04:47 am (view)

Teheran minor league deal is done, per MLB.
TarzanJoeWallis 04/18/2024 - 04:41 am (view)

Based on Phil’s sound analysis it sounds like a no brainer for Almonte to be placed on waivers as today’s roster move. We shall see.
Arizona Phil 04/18/2024 - 04:21 am (view)

I suspect Counsell/Hottovy will use the piggy-back extensively, with Taillon and Hendricks pitching as the "pig" (and with a very short leash) and some combo of Wicks, Brown, and Wesneski (whichever two do not start) as the "backers."

Keep in mind that Keegan Thompson has a minor league option available, and if Yency Almonte is not outrighted by 4/26 he cannot be sent to the minors without his consent after that date. Almonte is out of minor league options, so I am talking about him getting outrighted to the minors if he is not claimed off waivers, and if he is claimed off waivers, the Cubs save the pro-rated portion of his $1.9M salary, which helps lower the Cubs 2024 AAV.
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/18/2024 - 04:02 am (view)

Totally agree. The 26 man roster very rarely consists of the 13 best position players and 13 best pitchers.
Dolorous Jon Lester 04/18/2024 - 04:00 am (view)

Based on what Jed has done in the past, I’d say the plan is to
-give Hendricks another few starts
-give Taillon some runway ot get his season underway
-Mix and match in the bullpen and see what sticks
Jed usually doesn’t do a whole lot of waiver wire plays in-season, at least early in the season. He only reallly did that after he blew up the rosters in 21 and 22 because they needed bodies (guys like Schwindel, Fargas, etc).
I think he’s a little handcuffed by a full 40 man in that he can’t really maneuver much with giving anyone showing ability at AAA (R Thompson/ Sanders/ Edwards etc). Brewer has the most tenuous grip there, and we will see what kind of chance he gets. Other than his spot, there isn’t a ton of 40 man wiggle room.
I’m very curious to see what happens with Brown now that Taillon returns. Bullpen? Wicks to Iowa?
Childersb3 04/18/2024 - 04:59 am (view)

Pro teams have to play their "big money" guys if they are healthy and not "locker room" issues.
The Cubs wanted to deal JHey off well before they bought him out. They just didn't want to pay him to play for someone else for that long. Jed did give him 20+mil to play for LAD last yr.
Jed might also let Kyle walk at some point this year. Similar scenario to JHey, except Jed thought Kyle was going to be good/solid in '24!!
You'd think Smyly is in the same book as well. Same with Neris (he's a 1yr vet RP, so he's not really in this convo too much).
That's ~35mil between those three and those three are going to get opportunities until at least late June) over younger guys even if their performance is "iffy".
But, Jed is going to play Taillon a lot. They have to try and justify that contract and hope a veteran works out.
So, Taillon, Imanaga, and Hendricks are locks for the rest of April and probably May.
Assad, Brown and Wicks handle the last spots until Steele is ready.
Now, you're question has real merit when Steele comes back. That will interesting if Brown is still good and Hendricks is still bad. But Taillon is entirely safe as long as he's healthy.

And the bullpen moves were "money" based as well. Smyly has actually been okay. But he hasn't been clearly better than Little. Little had one bad outing. But Smyly makes 9mil. If they needed another RHRP and one of Little and Smyly had to go, it was going to Little. But that doesn't mean Smyly is one of the best 13 arms for the team.