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
# 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

Angels Let Offense Loose at Diablo

Submitted by Arizona Phil on

Capri Ortiz doubled in the 1st, reached base on an error and scored in the 3rd, singled and scored in the 5th, hammered a two-run double in the 6th, and stroked a sacrifice fly in the 7th, Landon Wallace singled twice, doubled, reached base on an HBP, and scored two runs, Edgar Alfonso ripped three singles, scored three runs, and drove-in two more, John Wimmer doubled, walked twice, and scored two runs, and Caleb Ketchup doubled, walked twice, and scored a run, helping the Angels batter the Cubs 19-7 in Arizona Instructional League Opening Day game action Wednesday morning on Field # 3 at the Diablo Stadium Complex in Tempe, AZ.

Wally Soto drilled a two-run single, walked, and scored two runs, and Christian Olivo singled, tripled, and score a run for the Cubs in a losing cause. 

The Cub defense committed seven errors, and Cubs pitchers allowed the 19 runs (17 earned) on 15 hits (including five doubles), ten walks, and four HBP (and a WP). RHP (ex-OF) Raino Coran faced six batters and did not retire any of them, allowing a double, a single, and four walks before being relieved. 

Drew Bowser left the game with a leg injury (or possibly a cramp?) incurred while sliding into 3rd base on a SB attempt in the top of the 5th (he was safe), but he did work as the team bat boy the last couple of innings, so the injury was apparently not too serious.  

In AZIL Cubs "Bridge Camp" notes, INF Reggie Preciado is no longer switch-hitting (he is now batting only RH), and INF-OF Carter Trice (Cubs 2023 12th round draft pick - NC State) is in the catcher conversion program (he caught two times in the ACL, and he caught the last two innings in today's game).  
 
Here is the abridged box score from today's game (Cubs players only) 

AZIL CUBS LINEUP:
1. Zyhir Hope, LF-CF: 0-4 (F-7, K, 1-3, F-8 SF, L-8, RBI)
2. Christian Olivo, CF-2B: 2-5 (1B, 1-3, 5-3, 5-3, 3B, R, CS)
3a. Alexis Hernandez, 2B: 1-2 (K, 1B, SB)
3b. Jose Escobar, PH-3B: 1-3 (4-3, 1B, 4-3, R, RBI)
4. Alfonsin Rosario, RF: 0-4 (5-3, P-4, 5-3, P-2, BB)
5a. Christopher Paciolla, 3B: 1-2 (2B, 5-2 FC, R) 
5b. Jefferson Encarnacion, PH-LF: 1-2 (2B, BB, 4-3, R)
6a. Adan Sanchez, C: 0-3 (5-3, K, K) 
6b. Carter Trice, C: 0-0 (HBP)
7a. Drew Bowser, 1B: 1-2 (1B, E-4, SB)
7b. Wally Soto, PR-1B: 1-1 (BB, 1B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
8a. Reggie Preciado, DH: 0-1 (K, BB, R, SB) 
8b. David Avitia, PH-DH: 0-1 (BB, K)
9a. Yahil Melendez, SS: 0-2 (K, 4-3)
9b. Geuri Lubo, SS: 0-2 (F-7, K) 

AZIL CUBS PITCHERS: 
1. Carlos Garcia: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 2/3 GO/AO, 52 pitches (31 strikes)
2. Dominic Hambley: 2.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R (6 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, 1/1 GO/AO, 59 pitches (32 strikes) 
3. Raino Coran: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 6 R (6 ER), 4 BB, 0 K, 27 pitches (8 strikes) 
4. Luis A. Reyes: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HBP, 1/4 GO/AO, 31 pitches (15 strikes) 

AZIL CUBS ERRORS: 7 
1. P Carlos Garcia: E-1 (errant pick-off attempt at 2nd base allowed runner to advance to 3rd) 
2. C Adan Sanchez: E-2 (Catcher's Interference allowed batter to reach base safely) 
3. SS Yahil Melendez: E-6 (errant throw to 1st base allowed batter to reach base safely) 
4. P Dominic Hambley: E-1 (errant throw to 1st base on sacrifice bunt allowed batter to reach base safely and two baserunners to score)
5. C Carter Trice: E-2 (errant throw to 3rd base on SB attempt allowed runner to score) 
6. SS Geuri Lubo: E-6 (errant throw to 1st base on infield single allowed batter to advance to 2nd)
7. 3B Jose Escobar: E-5 (errant throw to 1st base allowed batter to reach base safely)

AZIL CUBS CATCHERS DEFENSE:  
1. Adan Sanchez: 1-2 CS, 1 E (see above) 
2. Carter Trice: 0-1 CS, 1 E (see above) 

WEATHER: Sunny with temperatures 110+

ATTENDANCE: 10 

Arizona 
Scoring 
Service 

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

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Cubs Minor Leagues

Comments

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 08/30/2023 - 08:53 pm

carter trice's arm velocity is really good and if he can translate that to catching it'll be a nice part of his game.  that's an increasingly important tool since stealing is back on the menu in MLB.  they shortened 4.5" between the bases and you'd think they shortened it by a couple feet based on how much stealing is going on.

hell, nico might have 40+ by the end of the season.  he's got 34 with a month to go.  the last time someone had 30+ was 2012 (tony campana, 30).

[ ]

Submitted by JoePepitone on Thu, 08/31/2023 - 08:28 pm

Love seeing a Tony Campana reference!  Tony had his limitations as a ballplayer but his baserunning was electric.  If the kid had learned to bunt/walk/hit grounders to the shortstop in the hole, he could have reached base often enough to wreak havoc on the bases.  The dude was nearly impossible to throw out.  Plus he had some Javy-like tag eluding abilities.  Was his four year career enough to vest an MLB pension?

Submitted by Childersb3 on Wed, 08/30/2023 - 08:04 pm

I teach and coach bball and golf at Wimmer's HS in SC. I didn't know him really at all but it's pretty cool to see him playing pro ball. 

Submitted by Wrigley Rat on Thu, 08/31/2023 - 08:35 pm

AZ Phil - I've been trying to find my answer using ChatGPT and Google Bard but I keep getting conflicting results (I also know you've explained this to us 1000 times!)...

If I recall correctly, on December 2nd, the Cubs can outright (non-tender?) non-Draft Excluded players with less than three years service time who have never been previously outrighted without having to expose them to waivers. If this is correct, can they do this to players who no longer have options remaining? Also, do these players have the right to refuse the assignment to the minor leagues and become a free agent?

Also, if these players qualify for a 12/2 outright/non-tender, can you imagine the Cubs doing so with any of them? Keegan Thompson (1), Michael Rucker (1), Ethan Roberts (3), Jose Cuas (2), Jeremiah Estrada (2), Miles Mastrobuoni (2), Caleb Kilian (2). (This would make them eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, I believe, so the Cubs would have to be okay with them being drafted.)

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 09/01/2023 - 09:37 pm

WRIG: Beginning last year, MLB Contract Tender Day was moved from December 2nd to the Friday prior to Thanksgiving (which is November 17th in 2023). 

Any unsigned player on the MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) can be non-tendered. By non-tendering a player, he can be removed from the 40 without exposing him to waivers, so it is the one day each year when an unsigned player can be dropped from the 40 without the club needing to first secure Outright Assignment Waivers. 

Since a non-tendered player is a free-agent, he doesn't have to re-sign with the team that non-tendered him, although in practice a player will often re-sign with the club (usually a pre-arranged deal), sometimes a minor league contract (which would make him eligible for the Rule 5 Draft), or a major league contract but for less money than he might otherwise have received via the arbitration process. 

So non-tendering a player is the way to get a player off the 40 without risking a waiver claim, but it can only be done on MLB Contract Tender Day (again, that's the Friday prior to Thanksgiving).

However, sometimes a club needs to (or just wants to) drop a player from the 40 prior to MLB Contract Tender Day. Because the club might want to clear a 40-man roster slot prior to the contract tender date, it might be necessary to try and secure Outright Assignment Waivers sometime prior to that date.

Any player (including an injured player) can be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers and be outrighted to the minors beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up until the pre-Rule 5 Draft off-season roster filing deadline. However, if the player has Article XX-D rights (has accrued least three years but less than five years of MLB Service Time, or is qualified for salary arbitration as a "Super Two" player, or has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career) or Article XIX-A rights (has accrued at five years of MLB Service Time), he can elect free-agency after being outrighted. And if he has Article XIX-A rights - AND - he is signed for the next season, he cannot be outrighted without his consent, even during this window. 

You may remember that last year (after the conclusion of the MLB regular season) the Cubs outrighted David Bote off the 40. Because he was a signed player with Article XX-D rights, he had the choice to either elect free-agency and give up what remained of his salary, or accept the outright assignment and keep his contract and salary. Obviously the Cubs were hoping he would elect free-agency, but he did not do that. Instead, he accepted ghe outright assignment and deferred his option to elect free-agency until after the conclusion of the 2023 MLB regular season. So he actually has the right to elect free-agency after the conclusion of the 2023 MLB regular season, although I doubt that he would do that. 

Otherwise, the only other way to remove an injured player from the 40 (or removing a player from the 40 without exposing him to waivers) is by non-tendering him on MLB Contract Tender Day.  

Also, a player on the 40 who did not accrue any MLB Service Time the previous season can be sent to the minors (outrighted during the off season or Spring Training or optioned during Spring Training) - EVEN IF HE IS INJURED - up until the 15th day prior to MLB Opening Day. (That's why the Cubs could option Alexander Canario to the minors during last Spring Training). 

As far as "Draft Excluded" players are concerned, the term "draft excluded" refers to the Rule 5 Draft. A Draft-Excluded player is any minor league player added to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) after August 15th who has accrued less than three years of MLB Service Time and who was eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft. (So Jordan Wicks is not a Draft-Excluded player because he was not eligible for selection in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, and Shane Greene is not a Draft-Excluded player because he has accrued more than three years of MLB Service Time).    

But for players who do have Draft-Excluded status (and no Cubs players do right now), the player cannot be sent to the minors after the pre-Rule 5 Draft roster filing deadline up until 20 days prior to MLB Opening Day. So if a club wants to remove a Draft-Excluded player from the 40 and did not outright him prior to the roster filing deadline, the only way the player can be removed from the 40 during the off-season and Spring Training (up until 20 days prior to MLB OPening Day) is by either a non-tender on MLB Contract Tender Day, or by Outright Release (or a trade). 

Another problem with outrighting an unsigned player rather than non-tendering him is that an outrighted player who does not elect free-agency after being outrighted (presuming he has that right -- not all players are Article XX-D) must be tendered a minor league contract with a salary at least equal to 50% of what he was actually paid in salary the previous season. So just for example, if the Cubs were to outright Codi Heuer (who will probably miss most if not all of the 2024 season) after the conclusion of the MLB regular season, he would have to receive at least $375K (half of his 2023 MLB salary) as his 2024 salary. But if he is non-tendered and decides to re-sign with the Cubs (so that he can continue his rehab at the Cubs Training Facility in Mesa), his 2024 salary would probably be the AAA minimum (about $120K).  

One more thing to keep in mind is that if a player is released after August 31st, he cannot be added back to the MLB 40-man roster of the club that released the player  until May 15th. 

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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