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

D'backs Let Their Sticks Do the Talking at Salt River Fields

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Thu, 09/14/2023 - 09:16 pm

Kenny Castillo blasted a three-run HR in the bottom of the 1st, Alexander Benua hammered an RBI triple and scored in the 1st, walked in the 3rd, singled, stole two bases, and scored a run in the 6th, and singled and scored in the 8th, Yerald Nin cracked a bases-loaded bases-clearing double in the 8th, and Juan Aparicio singled twice, walked, stole two bases, and scored a run, as the Diamondbacks scored early and often en route to a 13-5 thrashing of the Cubs in Arizona Instructional League game action Thursday morning on Whirlwind Field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, east of Scottsdale, AZ.  

Yahil Melendez belted a triple leading off the game and scored the first run and then he singled in the 5th, Adan Sanchez drilled three singles and scored two runs, Jose Escobar sliced two oppo-field line-drive doubles into the LF corner and scored a run, and Ed Howard collected two RBI on a pair of sacrifice flies, drew a walk, and stole a base for the Cubs. 

D'back pitchers struck out 15 Cub batters, including Jefferson Encarnacion four times and Drew Bowser three times. 

Here is the abridged box score from the game (Cubs players only): 

AZIL CUBS LINEUP:
1a. Yahil Melendez, 2B: 2-3 (3B, K, 1B, R)
1b. Alexis Hernandez, 2B: 0-2 (K, L-8)
2. Ed Howard, SS: 0-2 (F-8 SF, 5-3, 6-4-3 DP, BB, F-8 SF, 2 RBI, SB)
3. Carter Trice, DH-C: 0-3 (F-8, K, K, BB, BB) 
4. Jefferson Encarnacion, RF: 0-4 (K, K, BB, K, K) 
5. Adan Sanchez, C-DH: 3-4 (1B, 1B, K, 1B, 2 R)
6. Drew Bowser, 1B: 1-4 (K, 1B, K, K) 
7. Alfonsin Rosario, CF: 1-3 (F-8 SF, 4-6 FC, 1B, K, R, RBI)
8a. Geuri Lubo, 3B: 1-2 (F-8, 1B, RBI)
8b. Reggie Preciado, 3B: 1-2 (2B, K) 
9. Jose Escobar, LF: 2-4 (2B, F-9, K, 2B, R)

AZIL CUBS PITCHERS: 
1. Juan Bello: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R (6 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 2 HBP, 1 HR, 1 BALK, 1/4 GO/AO, 44 pitches (27 strikes) 
2. Carlos Garcia: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 6 K, 2/1 GO/AO, 64 pitches (38 strikes) 
3. Dominic Hambley: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 1/2 GO/AO, 43 pitches (26 strikes)

AZIL ERRORS: 2 
1. 2B Alexis Hernandez: E-4 (errant throw to 1st base on infield single allowed batter to advance to 2nd)
2. P Dominic Hambley: E-1 (errant throw to 1st base on attempted 1-3 putout allowed batter to reach base safely)

AZIL CATCHERS DEFENSE: 
1. Adan Sanchez: 1-6 CS 
2. Carter Trice: 1-1 CS, 1 PB 

WEATHER: Mostly sunny with temperatures 100+ 

ATTENDANCE: 13 

Arizona 
Scoring 
Service 

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

Tags
Cubs Instructs

Comments

Submitted by KingKongvsGodzilla on Thu, 09/14/2023 - 09:12 pm

Hey AZPhil, thanks again for keeping us informed. Who is Juan Bello? They seem to throw him alot since coming back from whatever kept him out 

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 09/16/2023 - 09:02 pm

KKvG: Juan Bello was one of about five or six pitchers at the Cubs Dominican Academy in 2022 who were considered to be the Cubs best DSL pitching prospects. The others were Kevin Valdez, Freilyn Silverio, Eligio Paredes, and Carlos Garcia (who was on the Restricted List in 2022)    

K. Valdez (the Cubs #1 DSL prospect in 2022) got moved up to the ACL Cubs during the 2022 season, and Bello, Silverio, Paredes, and C. Garcia were invited to post-2022 AZ Instructs  

All of them were invited to Minor League Camp this past March, but Bello went down with an injury just before the start of Extended Spring Training and was out of action April through July. 

Bello made three or four appearances in the ACL in August, but he is still rounding into game shape. He has a plus curve and (with the exception of one horrendous ACL outing in August when he walked all four batters he faced) he throws strikes, maybe almost too many strikes.  

BTW, the Cubs #1 DSL pitching prospect this year was Alfredo Romero, and just like with Kevin Valdez in 2022, A. Romero got moved up to the ACL during the 2023 season. He looks REALLY good (long arms & long legs, very athletic on the mound, features a FB & SL combo, and he is working on a CH).  

[ ]

Submitted by KingKongvsGodzilla on Sat, 09/16/2023 - 09:54 pm

Hell yeah, thanks. Hopefully Silverio can get over taking some lumps at 18 and walking out healthy (unless he didn’t)

BTW you were first on Michael Arias, no? He’s one of the realer ones this year and you were pretty excited. Marino Santy too, def could only have heard of 96 with a curve, some chutzpah, from you

You wouldn’t happen to know what’s up with Richard Gallardo? I assume he’s in Arizona rn

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 09/17/2023 - 09:55 am

KKvG: I was at the backfields in March 2022 when Michael Arias, Marino Santy, Joel Sierra, and Kenyi Perez threw their first stateside "live" BP. Santy and K. Perez threw on Field # 3 and Arias and Sierra threw on Field # 4. They were considered to be the Cubs' top four DSL pitching prospects in 2021 and they were the only four called up from the DSL for Minor League Camp (pre-Extended Spring Ttaining) in 2022. 

I was standing with one of the Cubs minor league guys watching the four pitchers throw and he told me to watch Arias in particular because he was a converted shortstop with athleticism and a fluid delivery who was hitting 100 MPH with his FB at the Dominican Academy, and if he could develop a reliable secondary pitch (easier said than done, of course) he could move fast.  

Once Extended Spring Training started Arias was clearly the Cubs #1 pitching prospect there and I reported that here at TCR. All four of the pitchers were given priority slots in EXST games as the Cubs tried to marry their side work with game outings. Sierra was hitting 100 MPH with his FB but with no secondary pitch by the end of EXST, but then he got hurt and was shut down and really hasn't pitched for about a year & a half now.

So it took a while, but Arias finally did develop a usable secondary pitch, and Santy improved his command enough to where both were in the Myrtle Beach starting rotation in 2023. In fact, Arias has already moved up to South Bend, and is now considered to be one of the Cubs Top 10 pitching prospects by the Cubs themselves. 

So yes, you did read about Arias here first.     

BTW, even though he is only 21 and just reached Hi-A in June, Arias is a possible Rule 5 Draft pick if he is not added to the Cubs MLB 40-man roster in November, just because of his extremely high ceiling.

And if Arias is added to the 40 in November he would get four minor league options (just like Kevin Alcantara when he was added to the 40 last November), so the Cubs would not need to rush him. 

Recent comments

  • 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 09/23/2023 - 09:58 pm (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). 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 once requested.  

    With the new five option limit whereby a player can (with a couple of exceptions) 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 option him to the minors (and return him to the 40) 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 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 the most logical reason I can think of to explain why 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 so they decided they wanted to keep Luplow on the 40-man roster (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. There was also the possibility that he would have been claimed of waivers, and obviously the Twins felt they might need his RH bat after losing Correa and with Royce Lewis having left a game with a hamstring injury that led to an IL assignment. 

    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 that 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).

    So the Twins were able to return Luplow to the 40 because he hadn't been replaced on the 40 by another player after he was Designated for Assignment, then they optioned him to St. Paul, and then they recalled him after Royce Lewis was placed on the 10-day IL (the minimum 10-day optional assignment being waived because Luplow replaced a player (Royce Lewis) who was placed on an MLB IL. 

  • 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).

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:12 pm (view)

    merryweather got out of it, but he loaded the bases with 1 out.  of course ross got cuas up in the pen...thankfully he didn't need to come in.

    looks like cuas gets the 9th.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:46 pm (view)

    4ip 2h 0bb 6k, 49 pitches.  no idea why they're giving the pen the last 2 innings when he's out there dealing like this and only threw 49 pitches.  he was supposed to pitch tomorrow and he's fresh.

  • crunch 09/23/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    ...and assad is now a pen arm, evidently...odd move given recent success.  i guess wicks starts tomorrow?

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:16 pm (view)

    ARZ, MIA, and CIN all lose.  nice.

  • crunch 09/22/2023 - 09:54 pm (view)

    stroman is now the saturday starter...okay, then.

  • jdrnym 09/22/2023 - 09:52 pm (view)

    Phil,

    Jordan Luplow was DFA'd by the Twins on Monday and was ultimately optioned and then recalled today. I didn't think that was possible since optional waivers were eliminated years ago. How did that work for the Twins?

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