Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

37 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (three slots are open)

Last updated 11-17-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 20
Adbert Alzolay 
Michael Arias
Javier Assad
Ben Brown
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
Porter Hodge
* Bailey Horn
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
Michael Rucker
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 8
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Matt Mervis
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Luis Vazquez
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 7
Kevin Alcantara
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
Brennen Davis
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

 


Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Newcomers Make Good First Impression at Riverview

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Michael Cruz and Robel Garcia belted back-to-back home runs on consecutive pitches, Brandon Vicens drilled a bases-loaded bases-clearing double, and Derek Casey fired three innings of no run/no hit ball with five strikeouts, in Cubs Minor League Camp intrasquad game action Friday afternoon on John Arguello Way at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ. 

The 23 year old Vicens was signed recently by the Cubs as a non-drafted free-agent (NDFA) out of the University of Maine, where he played both baseball (CF) and football (FB) for the Black Bears. He grew up in Hialeah, FL, and played HS ball against Cubs CF Albert Almora Jr. He attended Miami-Dade CC prior to transferring to Maine in 2016. The son of a Puerto Rican father and a Cuban-American mother, Vicens was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 35th round of the 2014 draft out of HS but decided to attend college instead. Now that he can concentrate on baseball full-time, he might be able to unlock some of the potential he displayed as a HS All-American CF at American Heritage School in Plantation. (His HS won three state championships while he was there, one in football and two in baseball).  
 
Robel Garcia (not to be confused with Cubs minor league 2B Reivaj Garcia) was signed by the Cubs last October after he starred for Team Italy in the AZ Instructional League. (The Italian team spent parts of September & October with the Oakland A's squad at Fitch Park). Soon to be 26, the switch-hitting Dominican had previously played five seasons of affiliated ball in the Cleveland Indians organization, before being released in 2014.    

Casey was the Cubs 2018 9th round draft pick out of UVA, and the 6-2 190 23-year old righthander was really sharp today, mowing down hitter-after-hitter over the course of his three innings of work as he effectively mixed a FB, CV, SL, and CH to keep hitters off-balance. Cubs 2018 2nd round compensation pick Paul Richan also threw in the game, but Casey really stood out.      

Here is the box score frrom the game: 

SQUAD "A" LINEUP:  
1a. Edmond Americaan, CF: 0-2 (K, K) 
1b. Brennen Davis, CF: 0-1 (BB, 6-3, R) 
2a. Levi Jordan, 2B-DH: 0-2 (F-7, F-8) 
2b. Brandon Vicens, PH-RF: 1-2 (2B, F-9, R, 3 RBI)
3a. D. J. Artis, LF: 0-2 (K, 4-3)
3b. Eric Gonzalez, C: 0-1 (6-3) 
3c. Rafelin Lorenzo, C: 1-1 (1B) 
4a. Tyler Alamo, 1B: 1-2 (1B, F-7, R)
4b. Yeiler Peguero, SS: 1-1 (1B, SB)
4c. Gustavo Polanco, 1B: 0-1 (K) 
5a. Christopher Morel, SS: 0-1 (P-3)
5b. Jose Gutierrez, PH-LF: 0-2 (6-3, 3-U) 
6a. Jimmy Herron, DH: 0-1 (F-9)
6b. Luis Diaz, PH-2B: 0-2 (K, 1-3)
7a. Michael Cruz, C: 1-1 (HR, R, 2 RBI)
7b. Fidel Mejia, 1B: 2-2 (1B, 2B, R) 
7c. Cam Balego, 3B: NO AB 
8a. Robel Garcia, 3B: 1-1 (HR, R, RBI)
8b. Orian Nunez, PH: 0-1 (K)
8c. Clayton Daniel, 3B-SS: 0-1 (K)
9a. Luis Ayala, RF: 0-1 (L-6)
9b. Kwangmin Kwon, RF-DH: 1-2 (1B, K, R) 

SQUAD "B" LINEUP:
1a. Fernando Kelli, CF: 0-2 (6-3, F-8) 
1b. Caleb Knight, C: 1-1 (1B) 
1c. Benny Kaleiwahea, C: 0-1 (K) 
2a. Cole Roederer, LF: 1-2 (1B, 4-6 FC, SB) 
2b. Jamie Galazin, CF: 0-1 (BB, F-8) 
3a. Austin Filiere, 3B: 0-1 (K) 
3b. Zach Davis, LF: 0-2 (4-3, 1-2 FC) 
3c. Kevin Moreno, LF: 0-1 (K) 
4a. Luke Reynolds, 1B: 0-1 (K),  
4b. Delvin Zinn, 2B: 1-2 (1B, K) 
4c. Henderson Perez, PH: 0-1 (5-3) 
5a. Jake Slaughter, 2B-DH: 0-1 (K) 
5b. Brandon Hughes, PH-DH: 0-2 (4-6 FC, F-7)
6a. Jonathan Sierra, RF: 1-1 (1B) 
6b. Chris Pieters, RF: 0-1 (BB, K) 
7a. Grant Fennell, DH #1: 0-0 (BB) 
7b. Yonathan Perlaza, 3B: 0-1 (BB, K) 
8a. Erick Castillo, C: 1-1 (1B) 
8b. Josue Huma, SS: 0-2 (F-8, 5-3) 
9a. Luis Vazquez, SS: NO AB
9b. Austin Upshaw, 1B: 1-2 (1B, K) 
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TIME THRU BATTING ORDER
10. Chris Carrier, DH #2: 0-2 (K, E-5)  
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED FIRST TIME THRU BATTING ORDER

SQUAD "A" PITCHERS: 
1. Tyson Miller: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2/1 GO/AO, 43 pitches (27 strikes) 
2. Paul Richan: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 2/0 GO/AO, 17 pitches (10 strikes) 
3. Ben Hecht: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 1/1 GO/AO, 29 pitches (16 strikes) 
4. Derek Casey: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 2/2 GO/AO, 39 pitches (27 strikes) 

SQUAD "B" PITCHERS: 
1. Tom Hatch: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 2/5 GO/AO, 34 pitches (26 strikes) 
2. Cam Sanders: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 3/0 GO/AO, 39 pitches (22 strikes) 
3. Ryan Williams: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GO/AO, 16 pitches (11 strikes) 
4. Jake Steffens: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GO/AO, 11 pitches (9 strikes) 

SQUAD "A" ERRORS: 1 
3B Cam Balego: E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely) 

SQUAD "B" ERRORS:
NONE 

SQUAD "A" CATCHERS DEFENSE: 
Michael Cruz: 0-1 CS 

SQUAD "B" CATCHERS DEFENSE: 
Caleb Knight: 0-1 CS 

ATTENDANCE: 38 

WEATHER: Partly cloudy & breezy with temperatures in the 60's 

Arizona
Scoring
Service

"Just because it isn't oficial doesn't mean it didn't happen"

Tags
Cubs Minor League Spring Training Game Recap
Brandon Vicens
Michael Cruz
Derek Casey
Robel Garcia

Comments

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 03/09/2019 - 03:09 am

This is what I wrote about Stephen Ridings last June at the end of Extended Spring Training: 

"The "wild card" may be 22-year old 6'8 Stephen Ridings. who ramped his FB up to 95-96 in some of his outings at EXST, and with his size and relatively young age he could add some MPH to his FB eventually. Ridings struggled a bit with command and consistency at EXST but was assigned to Eugene anyway, and since he was not stretched-out beyond one inning at EXST, he will likely work as a late-inning reliever going forward (at least in the immediate future) where his velocity would play-up."

[ ]

Submitted by tim815 on Sat, 03/09/2019 - 03:29 am

While I agree it likely isn't a ringing endorsement of (among others) Eddy Martinez, if Ridings wasn't looking like he was going to make the South Bend bullpen (Plausible), getting something for him is better than a pur release. (Gretzky for a trumped up version of Scosscia's kid?)

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 03/09/2019 - 03:41 am

TIM: I think Ridings is a better prospect than that. He improved his command a lot after he arrived at Eugene, and he would have very likely been in the South Bend bullpen this season. I suspect the Royals will send him to Lo-A (just like the Cubs would have done), and if all goes well there I would expect a July or August promotion to Hi-A and then a gig in the AFL (something the Cubs probably would not have done), and if that goes well he could - conceivably - get added to the KC MLB 40-man roster post-2019 (something the Cubs definitely would not have done) since he is Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2019. 

As for Dewees, I would be surprised if he ever plays in MLB. He probably has a better chance of eventually replacing Doug Dascenzo as Minor League Outfield & Baserunning Coordinator. 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 03/09/2019 - 03:04 am

BTW, if you want to see what the Cubs think of their more "advanced" OF prospects, look at who they initially assigned to the Tennessee squad at Minor League Camp: 

OUTFIELDERS: 
Edmond Americaan 
D. J. Artis 
Brennen Davis 
Jimmie Herron 
Fernando Kelli 
Kevin Moreno 
Jonathan Sierra 

Not to mention Nelson Velazquez getting initially assigned to the Iowa squad. 

Now obviously, Velazquez is not making the Iowa Opening Day roster and none of the seven outfielders assigned to the Tennessee squad are making the Tennessee Opening Day roster (or even the Myrtle Beach Opening Day roster for that matter), but the Tennessee squad at Minor League Camp has no Connor Myers, no Zach Davis, no Roberto Caro, no Luis Ayala, no Jose Gutierrez, no Chris Singleton, no Brandon Hughes, and no Chris Pieters.

The only two outfield "prospects" presently on the Iowa roster at Minor League Camp who are even somewhat likely to make the Tennessee Opening Day roster are D. J. Wilson and Kevonte Mitchell, and I'm not even sure either of those guys are ready for AA. Which means Donnie Dewees, Wynton Bernard, and Yasiel Balaguert (who can play 1B-LF-RF) could (conceivably) be the Smokies Opening Day OF! Yikes!  

Of course, the Cubs could play Jared Young at both 1B and in LF at Tennessee, but even if Young makes the Smokies Opening Day roster (and think it's better than 50-50 that he does) and plays half his games in LF, there still is a dearth of outfield talent at AA.  

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 03/09/2019 - 03:29 pm

DLS: For whatever reason, the Cubs assigned Cole Roederer to the South Bend squad at the beginning of Minor League Camp. Why he was "left behind" (so to speak) while B. Davis, Americaan, Sierra, Kelli, Herron, and Artis (and even Kevin Moreno!) were assigned to the Tennessee squad, I do not know. 

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    i know it's still very early, but i'd like to go into the xmas-to-newyears part of the off-season with something more than...*checks list*...patrick wisdom avoids arbitration with a 1-year deal

    also, steven brault retired and was spotted at the winter meetings with a demo reel and making contacts trying to break into broadcasting (not a joke).  unless he's more optimistic than talented (we already know he can sing) he should make it one day because he seems to be very serious about it.

  • Cubster (view)

    I blame Jason Schmidt’s 3/44

  • Craig A. (view)

    Was all that stuff with the Blue Jays just to squeeze an extra $10 million/yr out of the Dodgers?  It's more than enough to cover his California income taxes!

  • crunch (view)

    unless he pitches into his late-30 that is gonna sting.  a 70m DH...ow.

    it's great to take care of 2 roster spots in 1 player, and i'm sure the team will cut into the pay with the amount of merch/etc he can sell just by being attached to the team....but yeah, i'm not mad the cubs didn't go that extreme.

  • WebAdmin (view)

    Shohei Ohtani to join Dodgers according to ESPN. 10 years for $700 m

  • Cubster (view)

    I'm getting the feeling that Todd Walker might be a Shaw comp. A valuable hit first player but limited albeit not awful on defense. Hopefully, he has more upside. Not a bad floor if Steve Garvey is his ceiling.

  • Wrigley Rat (view)

    AZ Phil - If that's the level of return, I would want NO part of that trade to Cleveland for Clase and Bieber. I have some faith that the Cubs have a strong plan for which prospects they will keep (even if they dangle them in trade talks) and which they will move, because they have plenty of solid prospects they can trade but they shouldn't be trading any of the ones they hope will be future core players. Some guys are redundant, so I hope they choose the right players to keep and the right players to move. It's always important for a team to know its own minor league players better than scouts from other teams (obviously), but I don't think that's always been the case for the Cubs and many other clubs. 

    Cubster - I watched an interview with Carter Hawkins a couple days ago where he said that although Morel hasn't gotten into any Dominican games at 1B, the Cubs did send coaches down with Morel to work on first base skills during practice. So he is developing those skills, whether the Cubs end up using him there or not will probably be dependent on a lot of factors including how those coaches think he looks at the position while training. 

  • tim815 (view)

    He could still play SS at Double-A, but Vazquez, Hoerner, and Swanson are much better defensively, arm strength or not. I'd be good leaving Shaw at SS with McGeary and Ballesteros around, but by the first of June (?), 1B might make sense in DM.

  • crunch (view)

    i have no reason to see a problem, it just seems like it's his most obvious reason to give pause on him at 1st.

    the cubs situation dictates 2nd/SS isn't an option.  his arm dictates 3rd isn't an option.  1st or CF seems to be his best path and he's only played CF in summer ball back in highschool/college...and of course PCA is a better + closer to the bigs CF.

    it's a lot safer to say he's made for 1st than it is he's made for 3rd.  even as a SS his arm is weak, and it's not like his glove is so great he needs to stay in the middle-IF.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    CRUNCH: Steve Garvey (one of Shaw's comps as a hitter) was a 5'10 right-handed throwing first-baseman with a rag arm. Jeff Bagwell (another Shaw comp) was a 6'0 right-handed throwing first-baseman with a rag arm. Carlos Santana (who played 1B for Counsell in Milwaukee last season and is an above-average defensive first-baseman) is 5'11. It's not like Shaw is 5'7 or 5'8. I don't really see the problem. 

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