Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
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

Spoiler Alert --- Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!

I know many of you probably watched today's game on WGN, but for those of you who didn't, or for those of you who did but weren't paying attention....

Reed Johnson slugged a two-run PH home run in the bottom of th 4th to break a 2-2 tie, and the Cubs defeated the Padres 5-3 at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park before a Cactus League record crowd of 13,262 in hot & sunny Mesa.

box score

Iowa Cubs RHP Mitch Atkins got the start today, and went two innings. Pitching under no presssure (Atkins was optioned to AAA earlier this week), the young right-hander labored through two innings of work (52 pitches - 30 strikes), allowing two unearned runs.

Atkins should have been out of the 1st inning 1-2-3, but a two-out bobble by second-baseman Mike Fontenot allowed Chase Headley (that's Headley, not Hedy) to reach base, and then Mongo (Kyle Blanks) launched a two-run HR over the LF fence. Atkins walked the next two batters after the long ball, but escaped further damage, although he did need 36 pitches (while throwing only half for strikes) to complete the inning.

Atkins had an easier second frame (16 pitches - 12 strikes), finishing strong with two strikeouts (Chris Burke called & David Eckstein swinging).

The Cubs scored a run in the bottom of the 1st off Padres starter RHP Kevin Correia (ex-SF). Alfonso Soriano led-off with a single, but was thrown out (easily) trying steal (Soriano got a bad jump off 1st, and he seemed to be favoring one leg while he was running). Ryan Theriot drew a one-out walk, and advanced to 2nd on a ground out. Milton Bradley then lined a two-out single to CF to score The Riot, and took second on an E-8 bobble  by Padres CF Emil Brown. Aramis Ramirez followed that with an infield single to short, but Bradley ran through 3rd base coach Mike Quade's "stop" sign and was caught drop-dead cold just a few feet past 3rd base (made a third out at third base again) as SS Everth Cabrera threw behind Bradley. (And this was not the first brain cramp by Bradley on the bases this Spring, either). Like I've said before, this is going to be a long year...

This is the point in Spring Training when Cubs Manager Lou Piniella likes to have his relievers try to throw more than one inning in a game at least one time, so Carlos Marmol relieved Atkins and worked the third and fourth innings (six up, six down - 24 pitches - 4/1 GO/FO). Marmol only threw 13 strikes, but nobody hit the ball hard off him in either inning.

The Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd when Soriano singled (again), and advanced to 3rd on a beautiful hit & run single by Theriot, who punched the ball right to the spot just vacated by 2nd baseman David Eckstein (who broke to 2nd base to cover). Micah Hoffpauir then roped an L-7 SF (Hoffpauir's MLB-leading 18th Spring Training RBI) that was hit so hard it almost went over Headley's head(ley) to score Soriano.

The Cubs took the lead in the bottom of the 4th, when, with two outs, Sam Fuld walked and PH Reed Johnson (batting for Marmol) followed with what would prove to be the game-winning HR. 

Kevin Gregg worked the 5th inning and into the 6th (1.1 IP, 28 pitches total), allowing just a two-out single in the 5th. Esteban German mishandled a grounder and then made a bad throw to 1st base for an error (I guess you could call it either a fielding error or a throwing error--take your pick) to start the 6th, but Gregg struck out the next batter, Emil Brown. Piniella then brought in lefty reliever Jason Waddell to face lefty-swinging Chris Snelling, and the Australian ripped a line-drive that was certainly headed for the RF corner. But somehow, someway,1st baseman Micah Hoffpauir caught the ball with a leaping stab, doubling off Kyle Blanks at 1st base forr an unassisted inning-ending DP (and next time you come by, bring my stomach!).

Waddell came back out for the top of the 7th, but got yanked after walking lead-off hitter Nick Hundley on five pitches. Angel Guzman was then brought into the game, and had his best outing of 2009, retiring all six men he faced (22 pitches- 15 strikes), on three easy ground balls and three strikeouts (Brett Dowdy, Matt Antonelli, and Chase Headley). When Gooz trusts his stuff and throws strikes, he gets outs. .  

The Cubs scored their final run in the bottom of the 7th, when Theriot led off with a single, and then PR Andres Blanco advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch, before scoring on a two-out RBI single chopped through the infield by Esteban German.

Kevin Hart had struck out nine of the last 11 men he had faced coming into today's game, but struggled with his command in the 9th while trying to get the save. Hart hit the first two batters he faced (Drew Macias and Chad Huffman) to bring the tying run to the plate, but the right-hander recovered to get a 4-6-3 DP (thanks to a strong relay throw to first by DP middleman Andres Blanco). Everth Cabrera then grounded a triple into the RF corner to drive-in Macias from third, but Hart got Dowdy for the final out of the game on a pop-up to short RF that was caught by So Taguchi while battling the afternoon sun. 

Four Cubs had two hits each today, including Ryan Theriot (who also reached base a third time with a walk), Alfonso Soriano, Milton Bradley, and Aramis Ramirez, and eagle-eye Sam Fuld walked twice while playing a stellar CF.   

The Cubs travel out to Camelback Ranch tomorrow for a Cactus League game with the cross-town rival White Sox (and with the White Sox now based on the west side of Phoenix, the Cubs and the Sox are actually "cross-town" rivals out here, too!) 

Comments

Off topic - I'm looking to sign up for a new credit card with benefits, and I was wondering if anyone here on TCR owns a Cubs credit card. I was just looking to find out what perks you get with that card.

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.