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

Echos of Long Toss and Towel Drills Past

Rich Harden was all the news yesterday even though there was nothing new going on. Harden was newsworthy because he's starting the spring camp with long toss rather than work off the mound like the other pitchers. He's been on an off-season strengthening program for an achy-breaky shoulder that everyone in Cubs camp is still struggling to label. It's kind of like having a family member with a psychiatric diagnosis in the 1950's. Nobody wants to label the poor fella because of the stigma and gossip. Sun-Times beat reporter Gordon Wittenmyer, in his blog, was irked that once again there was misinformation delivered this off-season regarding what the diagnosis of Harden's shoulder issues are.

Can anybody tell me what the advantage is in omitting those details and being vague about these things? It's not like the Cubs have to protect the information for the purposes of shopping Harden or for any on-the-field competitive reasons (scouts have eyes).

I've covered three other teams in my career, and the ones that were most up front about these kinds of things had the fewest headaches with the way the information got out. And the fans stayed well informed, without the yo-yo effect.

Bruce Miles, The Daily Herald's Cubs beat writer also chimed in via his blog:

Comment: This issue regarding his shoulder is beginning to sound too much like Prior all over again.. Hopefully not, though.

Bruce Miles: That was my first reaction, having lived through the Prior/prior nightmares. This is a little more nuanced. Kerry Wood made no bones about having a tear in his shoulder and telling us. A Cubs guy said Rich likes to handle it his own way. I'll give him that, respecting his privacy. I've always felt that if a team and/or player just comes out and says what the deal is, we deal with it and move on instead of operating under all this mystery. It's fair to say he's got some sort of tear in there.

As I said, the proof will be in how he throws the ball and how long he lasts.

Harden clearly doesn't use medical terminology but says he'll be fine. He can do what he wants, because it's his shoulder and there are laws that protect patients to their privacy although those rules get bent for celebrities and athletes via the press/paparazzi and the microscopes they put them under.

Carrie Muskat at mlb.com also interviewed Harden (here) generating this info:

He knows the word "tear" makes people skittish. There may be a tear, but it's nothing to fret about. Surgery was not something Harden considered.

To review, Harden had an MRI-Arthrogram in Oct 08, after his  loss in game 3 of the NLDS, which is the best diagnostic exam short of an arthroscopic procedure. The post test information released to the press was that Harden had "subtle laxity" but no rotator cuff or labrum damage. The Cubs subsequently picked up Harden's $7 Million option. Then during the January 09 Cubs Convention, GM Jim Hendry in discussing Harden said the word "tear" in describing Harden's problem. Thus providing Wittenmyer and Miles eye-rolling material as to what is going on.

Having a non-full thickness rotator cuff tear (ala Kerry Wood) can be managed non-surgically and that's what they are doing... including a spring training that will cast echos from the ghosts of springs past:
---
compare and contrast:

Harden:The right-hander did throw long toss and was seen smiling a lot on the first day of workouts.


Wood: "I'm letting it go and throwing all my pitches," Wood said. "It's nice to go on the mound and actually work on stuff instead of worrying if it's going to hurt. It's nice to get up and go."

He'd like to avoid the disabled list. Wood began last season still rehabbing from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, which he had in August 2005. He was able to pitch in four games from May 18 to June 6, but they weren't good outings and his velocity was off.

When the tear was revealed, Wood opted to skip another operation and rehab. That tear may never completely heal.

"Probably not all the way, but it's definitely strong enough to do it's job," he said. (2-14-07)


Prior: "I had some issues," Prior said. "I had some significant things I had to correct. He saw some things [in his shoulder] that weren't as good as he'd like to see in a 26-year-old."

Prior has "looseness" in his shoulder, which is genetic, and which helps his delivery but also means he has to do a lot of shoulder strengthening exercises. His problems began when he collided with Atlanta's Marcus Giles in 2003. (2-16-07)

 Wood: Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood did his long toss drills on Friday, and may be ahead of schedule..."It's pretty amazing," Wood said Friday. "It feels pretty good today, and today's better than yesterday. I expect the same tomorrow." (3-10-06)


Prior: Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior is taking a different approach in an attempt to get through Spring Training injury-free.

"We're doing a lot more endurance," Prior said Tuesday. "I've been on throwing programs before but this is a little bit more structured and we're trying to build up more arm strength, doing extended amounts of sets, if that makes sense. I'm sitting out there throwing 20, 25 at a certain distance, then taking a little break, then going back a little farther.

"It's a lot more structured," he said. "I think I'm responding to it well. We talked about it last year to take it slower, a little more methodical. I don't enjoy not being on the mound right now. But whatever you're dealt with, you deal with it." (2-21-06)

Finally, I've found the link that defines the purpose of the now infamous "towel drill". It's a rehab bonanza article by Carrie Muskat discussing the simultaneous February 22, 2006 rehab status of Wood, Prior, Wade Miller and Angel Guzman, a virtual superfecta!

Mark Prior also did his long-toss drills early as well as some towel drills off the mound. The towel drills are designed to get the pitchers back on the mound, acclimated to the slope and getting their balance.

Comments

Given that Jimbo had to trade off or let go guys of like DeRosa and Woody to fit in a tight payroll limit, I doubt he would have picked up Harden's option if he did not feel like he could make atleast 2/3rds of his starts, which is 22 for a top of the rotation type guy that you would expect 34 starts from. With this weak division all we need Harden for is October anyway, we should just try the first 6-man rotation in MLB history with Z-Harden-Lilly-Dempster-Marshall-Heilman.

I'm tired of the Prior/Wood saga...they are gone....it's sickening to have to deal with this again with Harden....i don't care! As long as we stay healthy the division should be easy....therefore as long as he's ready to pitch the second half of the year...i'm fine with it! We knew what we got when we picked him up...so let's just deal with it. Why there isn't more worry with Zambrano is what bothers me...nobody thinks his eye infection is a problem, there aren't any details on what type of infection, is it corneal ulcer or conjunctivitis? Then the whole issue of Lasix, what doctor is going to operate on a guy with an infection. I think this depth (Marshall, Heilman, Guadin, Shark) that Hendry has picked up may be of considerable importance in the upcoming months...4 man rotation for most of the first month is great (limited Harden). Nice to hear this peavy nonsense go away...don't want to hear about it again...unless we are actually getting him and back ups for catastrophic injurys are still on the team. Looks like the back up third basemen is going to be a reed johnson like acquisition which is great, however it may be the end of Hoffpower. Go Cubs!

ah the towel drill... it helps you get your mechanics straight by not putting a familiar weight/balance load on your hand. it's natural to grip and rip, but when you take the grip out of the equation someone can concentrate on "other" pitching mechanics by taking the familiar feel out of pitching while providing enough of a balance/load/resistance on the end of the arm so the shoulder doesn't feel like it's going to fly off. ...but it's more fun to just make 10,000 stupid jokes about towels, doughnuts, and infield rakes. i wonder what some would think of the rubberbands-on-a-fence shoulder rehab tool...it looks just about as stupid as the towels.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

beginning to hate twitter already... "Gaudin looks like he's starting his own clubhouse Amish clique with a supergoat. 1 day ago" ...along with other vague as all hell micro-statements hope it pays well...brings a new definition to "McNews"...watch out USA Today.

"If Kurt Warner can disappear for five years, I can disappear for three." — Mark Prior, who hopes he's healthy enough to get a job in San Diego's starting rotation. Not getting the comparison Mark.

What do you guys think the chances are that we'll bring Harden back beyond 2009? Assuming he makes his 20-25 starts and does OK, what would he command in the market? $15-20 million a year? I just think we have about a 2-3 year window left with our current core group of players (Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, Soriano) before we need to move to the next phase, and I don't really see where we are going long-term. We have a LOT of backloaded contracts due over the next few years, so what then?

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

I believe Harden will be the only Cubs starter coming off of the books after 2009. I don't know what other pitchers will be free agents around the majors, but I would think another offseason like this one is on it's way next year--meaning that if the American economy rebounds later, long-term contracts signed in the 2009-2010 offseason will look favorable to clubs 2012-ish. Harden isn't the sort of guy you sign when it's a buyers market. He's the sort of guy you gamble on when it's a seller's market because you can't afford the other guys who don't have tears in their rotator cuffs. That's how I've come to think of him at least. Harden seems like a bad gamble going forth. Actually, right now picking up his option for 2009 seems like it was probably a bad gamble, but I'm not sure what other way I would've used that money (well, if I were a GM).

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

IF Harden is healthy by the end of the year and his agent is worth anything, he'll sell himself to the highest bidder. Not like he can really count on a bunch of mult-year deals for the rest of his career. He's still young enough that people will bank somewhat on his potential as well as past performance.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

He's probably going to find some good offers if he is healthy, too. Pretty thin market on quality FA's: Beckett with a club option, Webb with a club option, Cliff Lee with a club option, Hudson with a mutual option, John Lackey, Brett Myers, and Justin Duchscerer. Then you get to the Bedard's and Brad Penny's of the world. Going to be thin on front line guys next year.

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

Long term I am sure the Cubs' intention is to develop their core. They just haven't done a good job of that in recent times, maybe with Vitters and Co. coming up (if they aren't traded) that will change. Next season the backloads really start to hit. So this year's economic conditions at Wrigley Field will dictate where they go with a lot of players. I am certain the recession is going to hit MLB, and I don't think anyone is going to be shielded from it. Then there's new ownership, which at this point is yet another variable.

I do think Hendry deserves some credit for stockpiling starting pitchers; Z, Dempster, Lilly, Harden, Heilman, Gaudin, Marshall, and Samarddzjia. That's 8 legit starting pitchers, and I can remember Cubs' teams in the not-too-distant past that were scraping their 5th (and sometimes 4th) starters togerther from a bunch of suspects and retreads in the last week of ST. In those years, we would have been putting our hopes on a guy like Atkins to fill out the ML rotation, while this year he can take his time to shop for a nice apartment in Des Moines.

[ ]

In reply to by OakLawnGuy

In years past, if a Harden had gone down with an injury, we would have been left with the Derek Botelho's of the world as our only recourse. Now, we do have pitchers like Gaudin who have been successful starters in the past. And while Heilman and Samardzjia may not have the same credentials, they have been successful ML pitchers who have shown the capacity to be successful starters. Would another solid starter be an asset? Of course. Would Peavy be a great addition to this team? I would love to see him acquired. But for once, even if we simply stand pat, we are in a position to succeed nicely with what we have on hand.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil 09/24/2023 - 09:09 pm (view)

    With two more HR on Sunday versus Houston, Nelson Velazquez now has 17 HR in 49 MLB games this season (pro-rates out to 56 HR in 162 games). 

  • crunch 09/24/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    cubs win...so do MIA and CIN,.  ARZ is close to winning (up by 6 in the 8th).  total wash of a day.

    off day tomorrow then it's the last week of baseball...not an easy one vs MIL and ATL.  last-week drama...

  • crunch 09/24/2023 - 09:47 pm (view)

    merryweather puts the first couple guys on with 0 outs...and smyly is up in the pen.  back end of the pen situation is a mess.

  • crunch 09/24/2023 - 09:31 pm (view)

    "Coming into the game, they were 0-819 when trailing by nine runs or more."  damn.

  • Charlie 09/24/2023 - 09:48 am (view)

    I wonder how many pitchers have missed this much time in a relatively short span with recurring forearm issues and not had it lead to surgery.

  • Cubster 09/24/2023 - 09:34 am (view)

    Historic win for Pirates...

    https://www.mlb.com/news/pirates-mount-historic-rally-to-beat-reds?part…

  • 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 09/24/2023 - 09:41 am (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).

    https://www.thecubreporter.com/why-player-designated-assignment-and-the…

    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 (cannot be withdrawn) once requested.  

    With the new five option limit whereby a player can 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 return him to the 40 and option him to the minors 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 return him to the 40 and 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 what I believe is the most logical reason 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 they recalled Trevor Larnach to replace Correa, but then they probably decided they should keep Luplow on the 40-man roster, too (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). Clearly the Twins felt they might need Luplow's RH bat after losing Correa and with Royce Lewis having left a game with a hamstring injury that led to an IL assignment. And that meant that Paddack would remain on his minor league rehab assignment a few extra days, but the Twins will need him in the post-season, not now. 

    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 both Larnach and Luplow were recalled within a couple of days of each other, replacing Correa and Lewis on the Twins MLB 28-man roster).  

    So that's 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). Also, with the injuries to Correa and Lewis, the Twins wanted Luplow to remain automatically post-season eligible, which would not be the case if he was outrighted.  

    Again, the Twins were able to return Luplow to the 40 and option him to AAA because he hadn't been replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment. 

  • 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).