Cubs MLB Roster

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

Last updated 11-17-2023
 
* bats or throws left
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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 
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The LaStella Legacy

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

It wasn't exactly A Day that Will Live in Infamy, but a year ago today the Cubs traded Tommy LaStella to the Angels for a PTBNL (who turned out to be LHRP Conor Lillis-White). 

LaStella was one of the best pinch-hitters in the National League and had one of the best single-seasons of pinch-hitting in Cubs history in 2018 (312/396/416 with 5 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 2 HBP, 9/13 BB/K in 79 PA with an MLB-leading and Cubs single-season club record 24 pinch-hits), and then he hit a robust 295/346/488 with 16 HR in 80 games for LAA this past season (where he was the Angels' everyday 2B for the first half of the campaign, before missing the second half after suffering a broken leg on 7/2). 

However, despite trading LaStella, the Cubs did have four of the better pinch-hitters in the National League (including two of the top six) in 2019. 
Unfortunately, they also had five of the worst (including - THE - worst), which left them in the bottom third of the league overall in pinch-hitting  

Cubs pinch-hitters in 2019 (sorted by PA, minimum 10 PA):

Tony Kemp: 290/421/548 with 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 HBP, 5/7 BB/K (38 PA combined HOU/CHC)
Daniel Descalso: 065/143/065 with 0 XBH, 1 RBI, 1 SF, 1 SH, 3/12 BB/K (36 PA) 
David Bote: 304/407/435 with 3 2B, 4 RBI, 4/7 BB/K (27 PA) 
Victor Caratini: 421/522/789 with 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 HBP, 3/5 BB/K (23 PA) 
Albert Almora: 105/190/263 with 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 HBP, 1/4 BB/K (21 PA)
Mark Zagunis: 176/333/176 with 3 RBI, 4/12 BB/K (21 PA) 
Ian Happ: 375/421/813 with 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SF, 2/6 BB/K (19 PA)
Kyle Schwarber: 000/143/000 with 2/5 BB/K (14 PA) 
Robel Garcia: 111/200/111/000 with 1/6 BB/K (10 PA) 

Part of the value of bench players (especially in the N. L.) is the ability to pinch-hit (that is, hit "cold" of the bench), and the Cubs clearly had four guys who did that in 2019.  

Of course other elements like positional versatility, defensive skill, and speed are factors in bench construction, too, but having reliable "bats off the bench" who can produce in the late innings can be the difference between winning or losing a close game. 

Imagine how things might have been different in 2019 if the "All-American automatic out" that was Daniel Descalso is replaced on the bench by Tommy LaStella. 

With the new 26-man roster rule scheduled to go into effect in 2020 (with the 26th man required to be a position-player), N. L. clubs will be better able to carry guys who can hit off the bench even if they don't provide any other value to the club (which is essentially LaStella's profile).

Tags
Cubs pinch-hitting

Comments

Submitted by bradsbeard on Fri, 11/29/2019 - 11:59 pm

It's too bad Conor Lillis-White wasn't able to pitch at all, because I thought he seemed like a decent return for La Stella at the time and probably would have had a chance to help out last year if he pitched well. If Lillis-White had been another Rowan Wick or Brad Wieck type acquisition we'd all feel a little better about the trade. 

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 11/29/2019 - 11:58 pm

lastella not getting to play in the all-star game last year because of breaking his leg was horrible.  going from pinch hitter to all-star is a hell of an earned status.

given how "meh at best" his play is at 2nd/3rd (especially 2nd), finding a place for him to get enough PAs to make him all-star visible might not be so easy unless he keeps popping the ball out of the park like he was doing last year.

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Submitted by Sonicwind75 on Sat, 11/30/2019 - 11:36 am

Was just thinking about this, maybe that isn't a good thing for TLS?  I wonder if Maddon will use TLS differently after seeing his success last year.  That's my gripe with people complaining about Theo trading away a player that turns into an All Star.  If TLS had stayed with the Cubs, Maddon would most likely kept using him in the same manner and with the same results. 

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Submitted by crunch on Sat, 11/30/2019 - 11:06 pm

dunno any official reasoning, but his D is miserable and they decided to "upgrade" there with descalso for similar loot as well as getting a trade piece back.  the whole a.russell thing was lingering over the team.

it's not like descalso is great with the glove, but la stella plays a miserable 2nd and meh 3rd.

i do wonder if things would have turned out differently if russell wasn't due to miss significant time.

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 11/30/2019 - 11:10 pm

HAGSAG: I suspect going into his age 30 season and coming off a great year as a pinch-hitter, LaStella wanted a chance to be an everyday player, and since that obviously wasn't going to happen if he stayed with the Cubs, TLS (or his agent) may have asked the Cubs to trade him somewhere he could get that opportunity.

Of course the Cubs didn't have to trade him, but the fact that LaStella was traded the day before last year's contract tender date is probably an indication that the Cubs were planning to non-tender him, and the Angels showed interest in LaStella as an everyday player and agreed to trade the Cubs a lefty reliever (Conor Lillis-White) who was eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft (he could be the PTBNL in the trade only if he wasn't selected).

It's even possible that the Cubs were considering selecting Lillis-White in the Rule 5 Draft, but preferred waiting until after the conclusion of the draft to acquire him so that they wouldn't have to add him to the 40 (what with the cumbersome Rule 6 Selected Player roster restrictions).   

I don't think it was so much that LaStella would have made too much money via arbitration (he was projected to get maybe $1.5M) that might have caused the Cubs to non-tender him. I suspect the Cubs wanted him at a lower base salary (lower than he would have gotten via arbitration, like maybe $1M) with perhaps another $500K in performance bonuses (which are not permitted if the matter goes to an arbitration panel) based upon games played in the field making up the difference, and they also might have projected that they would possibly need his slot on the 40 later in the off-season for a free-agent.  

And in fact within three weeks of trading LaStella the Cubs signed veteran free-agent INF-OF Daniel Descalso as LaStella's replacement, and although he was two years older than LaStella, Descalso was consdered a better defensive player with more athleticism and versatility, and while not the pure hitter that LaStella is, Descalso displayed a lot more HR power (23 HR combined 2017-18). Descalso was also seen as a positive clubhouse presence (he is very good friends with Anthony Rizzo from their days with Team Italy in the WBC), which I'm not sure was always the case with LaStella. 

Unfortunately (for the Cubs), LaStella ended up becoming a big-time HR hitter with the Angels (hit hit 16 HR in just 80 games with LAA after hitting only 10 HR in his first 396 MLB games) and upped his game defensively at both 2B and 3B as well, while Descalso showed all the earmarks of a player who is washed-up, and (other than throwing some "live" BP at Extended Spring Training) Lillis-White missed the entire 2019 season.  

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 11/30/2019 - 11:26 pm

"Patrick Mooney of The Athletic writes the Cubs are in the market for impact starting pitchers but won't be shopping at the top of the market."

darvish, lester, hendricks, Q, (???, a.mills, t.chatwood)...pending trades

d.keuchel?  r.porcello?  trade target pitcher?

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Submitted by crunch on Sat, 11/30/2019 - 11:33 pm

keuchel doesn't have draft pick compensation attached to him and he's a decent enough ground ball pitcher...that will be attractive to a lot of clubs.  that would put 3 lefties in the cubs rotation (pending a trade) again, though.  not sure they want to go for that look again.

that said, i still imagine the cubs are probably looking to make this thing happen via trade.  it's hard to tell what their $$ situation is, but they've done a great job signaling they're not looking to spend $$ this offseason.

Submitted by Craig A. on Mon, 12/02/2019 - 12:22 pm

Addison Russell, to no one's surprise, was  non-tendered. I still think he has the talent to excel in the major leagues, but it'll take a new attitude for him to realize his potential. It can't be easy to deal with his baggage in front of millions of fans. I won't forget his contributions in 2016, or that beautiful play that used to be the banner of TCR.

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Submitted by George Altman on Tue, 12/03/2019 - 12:29 am

This was the easiest non-tender decision, maybe ever. As if there weren't enough off-field reasons alone, there were even more baseball reasons. He became a sub .700 OPS hitter with bottom of the order OBA results. His defense, formerly his strength, became inconsistent due to attention deficit issues. He turned himself into bench infielder with suspect skills which is someone you don't pay more than $1--1.5M/yr.

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Submitted by Charlie on Tue, 12/03/2019 - 12:56 pm

I think without the off-field issues, a front-office might at least be tempted to gamble on Russell's youth and dreams of his upside. But with what we all know about him now, the challenges of improving both on and off the field are too great to gamble on.

Submitted by bradsbeard on Mon, 12/09/2019 - 12:27 pm

Humerous 30 minutes this morning when both Mark Gonzalez and Gordon Wittenmyer tweeted out that the Cubs would be receiving Conor Lillis-White as the PTBNL in the Tommy La Stella trade as if it were just now happening. 

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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