Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus six players are on the 60-DAY IL

Last updated 10-2-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 22
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Brad Boxberger
Ben Brown
Jose Cuas
Tyler Duffey 
Jeremiah Estrada
Shane Greene
Kyle Hendricks
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Daniel Palencia
Michael Rucker
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon
Keegan Thompson
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 8
# Jeimer Candelario
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni
* Matt Mervis
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom
* Jared Young

OUTFIELDERS: 8
Kevin Alcantara
* Cody Bellinger
Alexander Canario
* Pete Crow-Armstrong
Brennen Davis
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

60-DAY IL: 6
Nick Burdi, P
Michael Fulmer, P 
Codi Heuer, P
* Brandon Hughes, P
Nick Madrigal, INF
Ethan Roberts, P
 

 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Pelicans Don't Know the Way to Beat San Jose

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 03/24/2015 - 03:13 pm

Michael Santos tossed three innings of shutout ball and Rodney Price blasted a two run HR, as the Augusta GreenJackets (SF Giants Lo-A affiliate) edged the South Bend Cubs (Lo-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs) 4-3 on Field #5, and Randy Ortiz and Steven Neff (ex-LHP) belted two run triples and Ryder Jones hammered a two-run double, leading the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants Hi-A affiliate) to an 8-5 victory over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs Hi-A affiliate) on Field #6, in Cactus League Minor League game action this afternoon at Mesa Cubtown at Riverview Park.   

21-year old RHP James Norwood (Cubs 2014 7th round draft pick - Saint Louis University) got the start for South Bend and threw four innings of two-hit shutout ball, retiring the last eleven men he faced. Justin Marra drilled a two-run triple and a single for the South Bend squad, and Jacob Rogers drove-in three runs with an RBI double and two-run HR for the Myrtle Beach squad. 

Prior to the games on Fields 5 & 6, RHPs Austin Reed (2014 TJS) and Jesus Castillo squared-off in a two-inning "sim" game on Field #4. 

Here is the abridged box scores from the two games (Cubs players only): 

FIELD #5

SOUTH BEND LINEUP:
1. Charcer Burks, CF: 0-4 (5-3, 3-6 FC, L-7, 6-3)
2a. Frandy de la Rosa, 2B: 0-3 (6-3, 3-U, K) 
2b. Tanner Witt, 2B: 0-0 (BB, SB) 
3. Kevonte Mitchell, LF: 1-4 (F-9, 1B, 6-3, K, R, 2 SB) 
4a. Eloy Jimenez, RF: 0-1 (5-3, BB, SB, CS)
4b. Shamil Ubiera, RF: 0-1 (BB, 4-3, R) 
5a. Jesse Hodges, 3B: 1-3 (1B, F-9, F-8, SB) 
5b. Adonis Paula, 3B: 0-1 (F-9) 
6. Tyler Alamo, 1B: 0-3 (K, 6-3, L-8, BB) 
7. Ho-Young Son, SS: 0-3 (K, K, BB, 4-3, R)
8. Justin Marra, DH: 2-4 (1B, 3-U, 3B, 4-3, 2 RBI)
9a. Tyler Pearson, C: 0-2 (K, 4-3) 
9b. Miguel Rico, C: 0-1 (6-3) 

SOUTH BEND PITCHERS: 
1. James Norwood: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 5/3 GO/FO, 62 pitches (39 strikes) 
2. Brad Markey: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 1 1/0 GO/FO, 23 pitches (17 strikes) 
3. Dillon Maples: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 0 K, 2 WP, 2/0 GO/FO, 22 pitches (9 strikes) 
4. Daniel Lewis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 16 pitches (8 strikes) 
5. Tanner Griggs: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 3/1 GO/FO, 

SOUTH BEND ERRORS: 1 
1B Tyler Alamo - E-3 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely)

SOUTH BEND CATCHERS DEFENSE: 
1. Tyler Pearson: 0-1 CS 
2. Miguel Rico: 2-3 CS 

SOUTH BEND OUTFIELD DEFENSE: 
LF Kevonte Mitchell - threw out baserunner 7-2 trying score on ground single to left 

FIELD #6 

MYRTLE BEACH LINEUP: 
1a. Gioskar Amaya, C:1-3 (2B, E-4, K, R, SB)
1a. Varonex Cuevas, SS: 0-2 (K, 4-3) 
2a.  Gleyber Torres, SS: 0-2  (BB, 4-3, 1-3)  
2b. Eric Gonzalez: 0-1 (K, 1B)
3. Chesny Young, 2B: 0-5 (6-4 FC, 4-3, E-4, 6-3, L-9, SB)
4a. Mark Zagunis, LF: 1-2 (K, 1B, R) 
4b. Ricardo Marcano, LF: 0-2 (1-3, BB, 4-3, R) 
5. Jacob Rogers, 1B: 2-4 (K, 2B, K, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) 
6. Shawon Dunston Jr, DH: 0-4 (K, 4-3, K, 5-3) 
7. Yasiel Balaguert, RF: 1-2 (HBP, BB, 1B, F-9) 
8. Rashad Crawford, CF: 2-4 (6-3 DP, 1B, F-9, 2B, RBI)
9. David Bote, 3B: 1-4 (K, F-9, K, 1B)

MYRTLE BEACH PITCHERS:  
1. Jake Stinnett: 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP, 1/4 GO/FO, 63 pitches (40 strikes) 
2. James Pugliese: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1/2 GO/FO, 23 pitches (17 strikes) 
3. Jordan Minch: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 0/1 GO/FO, 12 pitches (7 strikes) 
4. Trevor Graham: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 2/1 GO/FO, 15 pitches (9 strikes) 
5. Tommy Thorpe: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GO/FO, 24 pitches (16 strikes) 

MYRTLE BEACH ERRORS: 1 
CF Rashad Crawford - E-8 (dropped pop fly in CF allowed batter to reach base safely) 

MYRTLE BEACH CATCHERS DEFENSE: 
1. Gioskar Amaya: 1-1 CS, 1 PB
2. Eric Gonzalez: 0-1 CS, 1 PB 

WEATHER: Sunny with temperatures in the 90's 

ATTENDANCE: 61

Tags
Cubs Minor League Spring Training Game Recap
Austin Reed
Jesus Castillo
James Norwood
Jacob Rogers
Justin Marra

Comments

[ ]

Submitted by Ryno on Tue, 03/24/2015 - 03:27 pm

Verbal gymnastics. If baseball doesn't work out, he can always find work in politics: "When it comes down to evaluation at this time of year, for the most part, very superficially, people go right to the batting average. You can't do that. You can, but if you're going to be successful, you cannot."

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:14 am

Not sure if that was it - there were a few beat writers collecting those quotes and I was reading on Flipboard. It makes some sense to me if Maddon really likes the guy. He knows a lot more about baseball than I do. My untrained eye says he'll never hit major leaguers - Maddon's experience says he at least might and that he is already a good enough fielder to help the team. I'll go with Maddon's experience over mine any day. I will say that his fielding was noticeable when I saw it live. He has this one weird and cool thing where his glove hand sort of snaps quickly to the runner on a tag and always seems to "snap" to the right place. That's just instinct, or something, and is fun to watch up close.

Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 03/24/2015 - 03:30 pm

whatever the case ends up being, lineups are gonna be like Christmas morning every day :)

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:44 am

Well hopefully no one looks at Baez's OBP or SLG either., because .128/.190/.205 is hideous, no matter who is pitching, or what time of year it is, or how amazing his glove is. I hope Maddon knows what we all don't, and that Baez flips a switch and gets it going in the regular season.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:22 am

O&B: I don't think the David Ross signing was hasty, and I doubt that Maddon would have been able to keep it from happening. I think Ross was signed specifically because he has been Jon Lester's personal catcher, and Lester just feels more comfortable and confident when Ross is behind the plate when Lester is pitching.

That's why carrying three catchers in this particular case actualy makes some sense. 

On days when Lester starts, Ross is the catcher no matter whether a LHP or RHP is starting. Once Lester leaves the game, Montero can PH for Ross whenever appropriate, and you still have Castillo on the bench as a 3rd catcher.

On days someone other than Lester is starting, Montero and Castillo would platoon (with Montero starting vs RHP, ansd Castillo startng vs LHP), with the one who doesn't starts available to PH without reservation, because Ross is still available on the bench. 

If Maddon wants to send in a pinch-runner for a catcher late in a game (all three of the catchers are slow runners), no problem, because there will be another catcher available on the bench. 

And then of course if any of the three catchers goes down with an injury, it won't be necessary to call up Rafael Lopez or Taylor Teagarden. You just go with two catchers until the third guy returns. 

Now if the Cubs get a drop-dead unbelievably great offer for Castillo, they will very likely trade him. But it's not like they HAVE to trade him.

Carrying three catchers and 12 pitchers is essentially no different that carrying two catchers and 13 pitchers (which the Cubs did last season), in that it requires at least one multi-positional IF-OF "super-sub" (Bonifacio for most of last year, and Alcantara this year), plus no more than one OF back-up (the Denofia/Coghlan platoon) and no more than one INF back-up (LaStella). 

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:23 pm

Thanks, Phil, good points all. I remember when Ross first came up - with the Dodgers if my sketchy memory serves, and I thought he was gonna be a much bigger deal than he ended up being. Ended up being a good receiver but I thought he was going to hit a bit more. He came up and hit some, and he actually did have a couple really good years at the plate, but I thought he was gonna rake.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:01 pm

i'm still getting over welly's better arm, better contact, slightly better power, 3 years of club control, and cheaper 2015 price tag was overpowered by a desire to give a 38 year old a 2-year deal because he can frame some pitches better. they also "lost" r.martin to the wrong team. another team in need of getting rid of a relatively affordable mlb-ready catcher emerged with that signing in an already crowded market with few buyers.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:57 pm

Beefy is a spare part on a good team or a hope-he-figures-it-out on a bad team. Cubs now have the luxury of not having to wait around for it.

But I would have preferred they kept him as back-up rather than signing Ross. They're a Montero injury away from a disaster at that spot if they trade Beefy. Unless someone really believes in Rafael Lopez. Schwarber is a good year at least from the majors with his glove.

[ ]

Submitted by Old and Blue on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:54 am

The stats wouldn't freak me out so much if it wasn't for just how lost he looks up there. But Maddon must see something, or he's seen enough tape of when Baez did better, that he wants to develop him. It's ok on this team to have a light hitting infielder early on. With Russell nipping at his heels it'll be interesting to watch, at least. And I'll say this. Just about every Baez AB is an adventure.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:36 am

I'm guessing Baez would get most of his starts versus lefties btw if he does make team, avoid some of his breaking ball problems. I'm guessing Maddon will be quite liberal with the pinch-hitting and days off to get him some consistent AB's.

Just a guess...

Submitted by Carlito on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:08 am

That Grantland article in the Twitter feed is thorough and inspiring. It's optimistic of course, but fairly knowledgable compared to most articles on the Cubs.

Submitted by Carlito on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:12 am

Also Maddon got to see some epic but representative E-Jax Cub performance yesterday with 1.2 IP and 8 ER yielded. Hopefully that's enough to just cut the fucker loose. I'm probably 3/44 on this but geez. So bad.

Submitted by The E-Man on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:24 am

You GO, PHIL! ... (although he does swing & miss pitches in the strike zone). Haha! Classic PHIL. Thank you for your ST reports.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:34 pm

Blasphemy!!! Comment From Kris I’m not saying Kris Bryant is going to turn into Pedro Alvarez, but doesn’t it concern anyone that he has put up Alvarezian strikeout percentages in the minors? This seems to get brushed to the side by a lot of folks but I think there is a real chance Bryant will be a good player, rather than an elite player. 12:12 Dave Cameron: I think he’ll be better than Alvarez, but I do agree he’s more of a high floor top prospect than a super high ceiling. I don’t see him putting up too many +6 WAR seasons, but I’d expect a lot of +3 to +5 years.

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:39 pm

So a better Pedro Alvarez? Hmm. Alvarez minors slash: .278/.372/.516 Bryant minors slash: .327/.428/.666 Maybe Bryant's D comes around a little more....maybe?

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:51 pm

Got a PA issue there with those slash line comps...

Bryant seems to adjust pretty well, but he'll have the disadvantage of being a righty. 

i think his floor would be Alvarez, ceiling is Goldschmidt or Stanton. Likely in-between....

Unless that K rate becomes manageable though, there will be some .250 or less BA seasons in there.

[ ]

Submitted by Dusty Baylor on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:08 pm

I agree that he most likely won't be putting up those numbers in MLB, unless more contact is made. I do think he'll be better than .235/.307/.435, which is Alvarez' MLB averages The PA issue, of course, is more about last year being Bryant's only full season, split between AA/AAA. Alvarez played 60 more games in the minors. I'd hope that Bryant's bat lies closer to what...Pat Burrell than Alvarez?

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:17 pm

more batting the pitcher 8th...at least it's a guy who's at least worthy of it...kinda. welcome to the NL maddon...hope you get this particular thing out of your system pretty quickly and simply focus on making 150+ different lineups this season.

[ ]

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:48 pm

that's some fine ass constructive criticism there, hoss. *spits* my ideal lineup involves rizzo hitting 2nd...go figure. there's lots of systems. a very basic system of hitting your batters in descending order of effectiveness produces 1-2 more wins a season on paper rather than being "marginally effective for rare circumstances on paper even though it's marginarly harmful in real-world results so far." we have people dreaming up lineup theories based on rare occurrences with nearly insignificant results both on paper and in the real world...not to mention a lot based on how a pitcher treats an 8 hitter now being applied to a 7 hitter without much of a consideration in a lot of these scenarios. so in conclusion, jose macias got 1200 PA in his 2 years with the cubs, neifi hit 2nd his entire tenure with the team, and dusty baker ruined over a dozen pitchers.

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:57 pm

well Dusty Baker was terrible and that's why he's been fired from managing 3 times, twice after winning records.

if you put something in quotes, doesn't that mean you're actually quoting someone?...if you are in this case, we'd appreciate the link and the source or at least describe the source so we can find it.

Rizzo batting 2nd would be great.

You're nearly 10 years removed from most of your material...try some new stuff.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:14 pm

Bryant to start in LF tomorrow, Maddon says no one has told Baez he has made the team.

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:19 pm

Well we can't break tradition...

@thekapman Theo Epstein w/me today was clear that no decision has been made on Bryant. However, he has never had a player make his debut on Opening Day.

 

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:03 pm

http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/cubs-theo-epstein-responds-scott-boras%E… “I have a lot of respect for Scott and he by and large does a great job for his clients," Epstein said. "The only part about it that bothers me is that he certainly could have picked up the phone before going to the national media about this. He never once called me and asked me if Kris would make the team or anything about his situation. So just from a personal level and professional respect, that would have been something that I would have done if I was in his shoes. "Beyond that, Scott has a forum and obviously people are publishing what he says. He has a job to do and he has a great client who is a fantastic kid. The person who is handling this with the most professionalism and maturity is Kris Bryant. I couldn’t be more proud of how he is handling a very difficult situation. He is getting asked about it every day. He doesn’t get to just go focus on playing the game; he is asked about this from all corners and he is handling himself in a way that makes the Cubs proud. "As far as the issue goes and the bigger picture, we are thrilled to have Kris Bryant. We are glad we chose him with the second pick in the 2013 draft and we are glad he is a Cub. I think he is going to have an incredible career and be a part of some really special things here with the Cubs.”

[ ]

Submitted by Rob G. on Wed, 03/25/2015 - 03:05 pm

alright, pretty much copy and pasted the whole article but it's all quotes "We’ve broken in some pretty good young players over the years from Kevin Youkilis to Hanley Ramirez to Dustin Pedroia to Jacoby Ellsbury to Jon Lester to Jonathan Papelbon and we have always given them the benefit of getting into the season in the minor leagues and getting into a good rhythm whether that is on the mound or offensively or defensively and playing in games that count rather than just spring training. We want to let them get into the flow of the season and then we try to pick just the right moment, in our opinion, to have them come up and make their major league debut. "A major league debut is a sense of time and if it doesn’t go quite the right way and if you don’t put them in the right position to succeed, you can get in the way of their whole integration into the major leagues and it’s something we take seriously. I’ve never once done it. I’ve never put a young prospect in a position to make his major league debut on Opening Day. Opening Day, when it is cold out and there is a lot of attention and even veteran players don’t feel like themselves, they’re not quite into the flow of the season yet. "I’ve never done it and it’s always been for baseball reasons. This is not a different situation than we’ve faced in the past, so let’s make the best decision for the Chicago Cubs and for Kris Bryant’s development."

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil 10/03/2023 - 10:18 pm (view)

    It used to be that teams did not want to trade within their own division for PR reasons, but I don't see that with Ben Cherington in Pittsburgh or with Hoyer / Hawkins in Chicago, so the Cubs might target Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes and closer David Bednar.

    Hayes is a Gold Glove defender, a decent enough hitter (105 OPS+ in 2023), and he's under control at a VERY reasonable price ($8.75M AAV) through 2029 (with a club option for 2030). 

    Bednar is first-time salary arbitration-eligible post-2023 and under control through 2026. 

    One thing about the Cubs is that they can afford to overpay (which is what they would have to do to get both Hayes and Bednar) with a package consisting of a decent young MLB position player to replace Hayes in the lineup (like Christopher Morel, who could play LF in Pittsburgh) and prospects like outfielders Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, or Kevin Alcantara (Pirates pick one, leaving the other two for the Cubs), a power-hitting 1B-DH like Matt Mervis or Haydn McGeary (Pirates pick one, leaving the other one for the Cubs), SS Luis Vazquez (who is MLB-ready but will never play SS in Chicago), 3B B. J. Murray (who could replace Hayes at the hot corner in Pittsburgh by 2025 if not sometime in 2024, and he obviously would be blocked in Chicago if the Cubs get Hayes), and an MLB-ready SP like Hayden Wesneski. 

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:02 pm (view)

    boog and glanville calling the PHI@MIL game on ESPN2.

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:59 pm (view)

    bellinger is my #1 want, but i fear he's the #1 want of many teams and will get crazy money + years, with the years being the big sting.  they need to replace bellinger's production if they don't get him no matter what position(s) played.

  • George Altman 10/03/2023 - 10:40 pm (view)

    I hope their top priorities are Bellinger, 2 RPs better than Fulmer/Boxberger (ideally 1 LH), and a 3B (Chapman my 1st Choice). That will put them right up to $237-257M AAV limit, but I don't see a playoff berth doing anything less.

    If they really want Alonso, Morel would be a good opening piece of that offer. 

    Unfortunately, Stroman will opt in ($23.7M) and Smyly ($11.5M) will be back. Steele, Taillon, Assad, Wicks will be rotation pieces. Would love a SP2 FA but don't see how they keep an effective offense and improve their bullpen while adding that.

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:03 pm (view)

    i cannot imagine getting a legit 3rd, whether signing or via trade, isn't the highest priority for the team.  it's almost obvious they don't see morel there.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:19 pm (view)

    I’m just hoping they have an actual 3B next year so we don’t need to worry about the M boys, Bote, and P Whiffy eating all the 3B at bats next year.

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:13 pm (view)

    Willson was a OF/3B when we signed him too.

    On a less successful but still got to the show note, PJ Higgins was another college IF converted to C

  • crunch 10/03/2023 - 10:03 pm (view)

    truth...and personally, i'd give him ABs (especially at 3rd) over the 2 singles-hitting-ceiling guys that got the shot.  i'm sure he can cover the ob% and defense while surpassing the power of anything masterboney and madrigal brought to the team.

    i don't view bote as a solution at 3rd, but i find it hard to believe he couldn't outperform either of the main options they had there for a huge chunk of this season.

  • KingKongvsGodzilla 10/03/2023 - 10:47 pm (view)

    Color me impressed by this assignment for Trice right out of the draft as a convert. Seems worth following after the success of Caratini

  • Dolorous Jon Lester 10/03/2023 - 10:33 pm (view)

    Bote always has great spring trainings.

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