Cubs 40-Man Roster

Roster Rules & Procedures

LAST UPDATED: 6-3-2023

40 players are on Cubs Cubs MLB Reserve List AKA "40-Man Roster" (roster is full), plus three players are on the MLB 60-day IL

MLB Service Time goes by the format of Years+Days, so (for example) "2+155" = two years plus 155 days.

Per the CBA, an MLB regular season ("championship season") must be at least 182 days and no more than 187 days, but 172 days constitutes a "full" MLB regular season when calculating MLB Service Time, and so a player cannot get credit for more than 172 days of MLB Service Time in any one season.

NOTE 1 - The Cubs have no players with Selected Player status on their MLB Reserve List at this time.

NOTE 2 - Any player on a minor league reserve list with less than three years of MLB Service Time who is eligible for selection in the 2023 MLB Rule 5 Draft and who has his contract selected and is added to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) after August 15th will have Draft- Excluded Player status until 20 days prior to 2024 MLB Opening Day.

NOTE 3 - Any player who has minor league options left and who has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time (Tucker Barnhart, Cody Bellinger, Michael Fulmer, Yan Gomes, Ian Happ, Kyle Hendricks, Trey Mancini, Drew Smyly, Marcus Stroman, Dansby Swanson, and Jameson Taillon), and any international player with Article XIX-A contractual rights (Seiya Suzuki), has the right to refuse an Optional Assignment and remain on his club's MLB Active List (25-man roster) or elect free-agencv if optioned.
NOTE: Optional Assignment Waivers have been eliminated in the 2016-21 CBA.

NOTE 4 - Miguel Amaya is eligible for a 4th minor league option in 2023, Alexander Canario and Christopher Morel will be eligible for a 4th minor league option in 2024, Caleb Kilian is eligible for a 4th minor league option in 2025 if third option is spent in 2024 (TBD), and Kevin Alcantara, Ben Brown, and Seiya Suzuki are eligible for a 4th minor league option in 2026 if third option is spent in 2025 (TBD).

NOTE 5 - Any player who has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time (Tucker Barnhart, Cody Bellinger, Brad Boxberger, Michael Fulmer, Yan Gomes, Ian Happ, Kyle Hendricks, Trey Mancini, Drew Smyly, Marcus Stroman, Dansby Swanson, and Jameson Taillon), and any international player with Article XIX-A contractual rights (Seiya Suzuki), has the right to refuse an Outright Assignment and remain on his club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) or elect free-agency if outrighted. Also, any player who has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time (Nick Burdi, Codi Heuer, Nico Hoerner, Mark Leiter Jr, Nick Madrigal, Edwin Rios, and Mike Tauchman, plus Julian Merryweather beginning on May 31st, and Adbert Alzolay beginning on July 29th), or who has not yet accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time but who has been outrighted previously in his career (Michael Rucker, Adrian Sampson, and Patrick Wisdom), or who has not accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time or been outrighted to the minors previously in his career but who qualified as a "Super Two" player after the 2022 season, has the right to elect free-agency if outrighted.

NOTE 6 - Starting at 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the 2023 World Series, an unsigned MLB Rule 9 eligible player (second contract or 6YFA) who is not a Rule 5 Selected Player or Draft Excluded Player and/or is not eligible to elect free-agency if outrighted , cannot be sent outright to the minors until Outright Assignment Waivers are secured - AND - the player has either signed a 2024 Major League contract, had his 2023 contract unilaterally renewed by the club, or agrees (in advance) to sign a 2024 minor league contract (if the Outright Assignment is contemplated prior to a 2024 Major League contract being tendered).
NOTE: For any MLB player not eligible for salary arbitration, an MLB club can unilaterally renew the player's contract from the previous season (subject to the MLB minimum salary rule and the MLB maximum salary-reduction rule) if the player has not signed a contract by March 1st.

NOTE 7 - Most injured players can be sent to the minors only during a period of time beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up until reserve lists are filed in November. (An injured Rule 5 Selected Player can be outrighted during this period only if Rule 5 restrictions have been removed, and an injured Rule 5 Draft Excluded Player can be outrighted during this period only if Outright Assignment Waivers are requested no later than 2 PM Eastern on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series). However, a player on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) who is not MLB Rule 9-eligible, who has accrued less than three years of MLB Service Time in his career, and who did not accrue any MLB Service Time during the previous season, was not selected in the immediately-preceding Rule 5 Draft, and has not previously been outrighted to the minors can be sent outright to the minors even if he is injured beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up until the 15th day prior to the start of the next MLB regular season, and an MLB Rule 9-eligible player who has accrued less than three years of MLB Service Time in his career, and who did not accrue any MLB Service Time during the previous season, was not selected in the immediately-preceding Rule 5 Draft, and has not previously been outrighted to the minors can be sent outright to the minors even if he is injured during this period only after the player has either signed a Major League contract for the next season, had his previous season's contract unilaterally renewed by the club, or agrees (in advance) to sign a minor league contract for the next season (if the Outright Assignment is contemplated prior to a Major League contract being tendered). Also, a Draft-Excluded Player who has accrued less than three years of MLB Service Time in his career and who did not accrue any MLB Service Time during the previous season and who has not previously been outrighted to the minors can be sent outright to the minors even if he is injured only during a five-day window beginning on the 20th day prior to the start of the MLB regular season and extending up until the 15th day prior to the start of the MLB regular season.
NOTE: If the player has an optional assignment available, a player listedf above can also be optioned to the minors beginning on the first official day of Spring Training extending up until the 15th day prior to MLB Opening Day. 

NOTE 8 - An Article XX-B MLB free-agent who signs a major league contract after 11:59 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the 2022 World Series (Tucker Barnhart, Brad Boxberger, Michael Fulmer, Trey Mancini, Drew Smyly, Dansby Swanson, and Jameson Taillon) will have an automatic "no trade" restriction through June 15, 2023. An Article XX-B MLB Free-Agent who receives a "no trade" right this way can waive the right, but if he does, his club can trade the player only for player contracts and/or cash with a maximum aggregate value of $50,000. Also, a player with an automatic ("10/5") or contractual full or partial "no trade" restriction (FULL: Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Dansby Swanson / PARTIAL: Jameson Taillon) cannot be traded or placed on any type of irrevocable assignment waiver unless he agrees to waive his "no trade" right in advance.

NOTE 9 - A player eligible to be a post-2022 Article XX-B MLB Free-Agent is not eligible to receive an Article XX-B Qualifying Offer if the player has received a Qualifying Offer previously in his career or if the player did not spend the entire preceding MLB regular season on the club's MLB Active List (25-man roster) and/or on one or more of the club's inactive lists and/or on the Active List or an inactive list of one or more minor league affiliates of that club.