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
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Cubs @ Pirates - Arrieta vs. Burnett; Game 12 Thread

Submitted by Rob G. on

I really didn't think they were going to play this game. Hopefully the rain stays away...

Jake Arrieta vs. A.J. Burnett

#Fowler CFHarrison 3B
Soler RF*Polanco RF
*Rizzo 1BMcCutchen CF
Bryant 3B#Walker 2B
*Montero CMarte LF
Castro SS*Alvarez 1B
*Coghlan LFCervelli C
Arrieta PKang SS
#Herrera 2BBurnett P

Just a reminder to avoid too much play-by-play in the comments, there are better places to follow that. If you wish to refer to a play with a comment of worthiness, go for it though.

Tags
Cubs 2015 Game Thread

Comments

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:40 pm

Maddon wanted to review that force out on the Rizzo FC, but thought better of it. It was close, I think his foot was off bag, but isn't the "neighborhood play" not reviewable?

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:41 pm

Burnett makes Lester look like he knows what he's doing with men on base

Nice jump by Rizzo on SB, terrible slide

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:52 pm

Montero did nothing right on that SB by Polanco, slow to get out of mitt and crouch and bounced it.

Soler almost with the OF assist on a slow roller to RF, thought that was a gimme. Fun to have that in the outfield...

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:54 pm

Arrieta looks like shit and getting hit hard in 1st. Doing his best Lester impression.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:00 pm

As hard as Arrieta was hit in that 1st inning, it could have been a disaster. Getting out with only one run keeps us in the game. At least some of the hard outs were right at people.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:03 pm

oh crap, Castro just lined a ball behind him and it went through the screen and nailed a girl in the head who was standing up and I think trying to get back to her seat. It looked awful.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:16 pm

Couldn't be any worse timing. WOW! And she had great seats. Hope she is OK and Pirates take good care of her and hook her up with good seats for a future game.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:22 pm

Kent Sterling still the biggest asshole on the planet

@KentSterling Not to be insensitive, but shouldn't lady popped by a foul ball go to a hospital instead of delaying the game as she is treated? #Cubs

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:45 pm

Bryant has stepped awkawrdly on first base twice now while trying to leg out a hit in his short career (that I've seen)...a good way to tear up an ankle or knee.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:55 pm

Love how the team logo incorporation has spread from the center field grass to pitcher's mound and now in color on the mound. Pirates doin' it well. Never been to their park but heard it is great.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:59 pm

Kang should have kept that one in his pocket on the throwing error.  Glad he didn't though.

Submitted by Rob G. on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:23 pm

Maddon has a good case. Cervelli stood in front of plate well before ball got there.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:47 pm

Jake has done a great job settling down after a rocky 1st inning. He's looked nasty since then. It's a shame he doesn't have the lead. Let's get some runs!

Submitted by Charlie on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:04 pm

I've seen enough of Herrera the starter. Russell 2/4 with 2 doubles tonight. Just sayin'.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:35 pm

strop would have looked good last night with 2 on and 1 out in a tie game looked good tonight protecting a 4 run lead. something like that. i get it...shitter's a groundball pitcher...whatever. he has a knack for not having it work out. great stuff, cruddy results.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:07 am

it took a while, but jd and len seem to have finally figured out when one is setting the other up for a joke or riffing off each other. len/bob really had that down. it probably helped that they shared similar interests (especially a love of music) outside of the game.

Submitted by Jackstraw on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:00 pm

If all my math is correct, that was nine hits out of Cubs 2-3-4 hitters. Who are 23-25-23 years old.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:04 pm

CWS scored 4 in the bottom 9th to beat CLE 3-4. awesome...unless you really really hate the wsox.

Submitted by Carlito on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:04 pm

The thing is - the Cubs have no chemistry yet. New manager, young guys, Lester trying to find himself, huge holes in LF/2B, injuries in the pen etc etc. and they still appear to be able to hang. Could be scary when they get it going. Props to Rizzo and Castro for holding down the fort ...

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:08 pm

it's what they're used to. it's been a while since a lot of them played with the same guys and same crew year after year. unless they have attitude/ego/"new money" problems they tend to be able to get it together unless the vet presence is cruddy (sup sosa?). nonetheless, yeah, it could be even better once they get used to seeing each other and working with each other year after year. hopefully some more long-term contracts will be coming rizzo/castro style.

Submitted by billybucks on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:10 pm

Have they given up on Mendy already? It sure seems like it, after Maddon said how much he loved the guy all spring.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:24 pm

Cubs can control Rizzo through 2021, Bryant through 2021, Soler through 2020, Russell through 2021, Starlin through 2020. Enough said. How nice is it to have a quality GM? The future is bright on the North Side!

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:27 pm

until castro is traded, anyway. wait, what? =p as much as i'd like castro to slide into 2nd or 3rd, there's been a lot of rumblings about him being shipped out once russell establishes himself. that said, russell is still so young and far from automatic that he could end up back in AAA while on a short leash in the majors. we'll find out. la stella is due to come off the DL in a few days. i wonder if he's not going to be ready to go and that pushed this issue.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:37 am

Exactly. They're not going to essentially swap Castro for LaStella in the lineup. Castro led the league last year among shortstops in OBP. Len Kasper pointed out the difference between an aggressive Castro and tentative one last night - it was a nice observation. I credit the Great Maddonini with the aggressive style of play on Castro's part this year.

Submitted by johann on Mon, 04/20/2015 - 04:45 pm

Guess I will move beyond certain things just to be able to discuss my excitement with other Cubs fans. I kept my expectations low because of young players and never tried to expect more than .500 which still would be an enormous improvement. However, the thing that has impressed me more than anything is even in the losses we have never seemed out of it. Up till the 9th inning we still have runners on base with a chance to tie the score and batters up always looking like they will come through. Every team loses and every player fails more than they succeed so it is an expected part of the game but I've yet to see this team obviously give up or be in a position where they were obviously out of it. Also, while I think offense is more important than defense, it has been an absolutely refreshing thing to see an OF that other players respect. Not every position has to be an all star at batting and so far Coghland has provided a middle of the road OPS while making some excellent defensive plays and Soler is outstanding on both sides of the plate. Infield wise Bryant, Castro and Rizzo have all looked incredible defensively and offensively and now we have Russell coming up to do the same at 2nd. I did hear Kasper make an interesting point that when Castro is doing well defensively he is aggressive on everything and when he struggles it snowballs and he becomes tentative. So far this year the vast majority of the time he has been aggressive and his few "mistakes" have been on end of the stretch tries that are a product of range. He has by and large looked incredible out there. He's never gonna have the OBP I would like to see but isn't it amazing to see a lineup where a player like him can be end of the order? Anyway still not trying to get my expectations too high but just excited to see baseball every night win or lose that I can be into and happy to see a plan I have supported from day 1 even through losing seasons finally coming to fruition.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:26 am

Last year Castro led the league in OBP among all regular shortstops. So saying he will never have the OBP you hope he has is like saying nobody else at that position probably will, either. I've been saying Starlin is underrated since this season began. I'll continue with this: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/year/2014/position/ss/sort/onBas… Note that Hanley Ramirez is not in this list - presumably because he played a lot of 3B last year. This year so far Castro is sixth in the league among shortstops at .353 OBP, not shabby at all. I think the perception is there about him not having a high OBP because he still swings at a lot of bad pitches. Just imagine what he'll be like when he's 28 or so.

Submitted by SheffieldCornelia on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:08 am

Cubs are really pushing their chips into the middle here. Anyone know exactly how many at-bats Russell got at AAA? It'd be great to hear someone in the media ask JedStein about the AAA 500-AB rule before you can call a guy up. This is exciting and crazy. This season was already going to be a heckuva lot of fun with most of a season of Bryant and maybe a Russell call-up at some point and now we have hopes for a three-headed ROY race all in the same lineup.

Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:42 am

I think it would be funny if Russell won the ROY instead of the other two guys, and the other two guys were 2, 3 in the voting. #royallcubs

Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:55 am

They say a manager doesn't make any real difference to a team. I've always thought that, generally, it doesn't. But when it does, I think it can make a big difference. I think this year is a good example of that. I absolutely love this team's aggressive base running. Yesterday when Rizzo was thrown out at third I was still, like, "oh well, cool anyway." What's really cool is that Maddon isn't afraid to move the runners with the power hitters up. He knows Rizzo, Soler, and Bryant all know how to control the plate. Well, he probably thinks Bryant can, rather than knows he can -Bryant has just a few games under his belt. Anyway, this makes this team quite a formidable one offensively methinks. How good the Cubs are may hinge on if Lester is okay. He seems to be getting better, not worse, so I'm not yet worried about an arm injury that he hasn't yet been willing to discuss with his manager. But I'm still concerned about some kind of shoulder inflammation or something he's not sharing with the group. That crazy bad toss to first the other day reminds me of when I had a bad rotator cuff that mostly came out when I threw a way that I wasn't used to. The fact that he was up to 94 in his last outing is a good sign that he is okay, though. Fingers crossed because that's two aces if he is. Meanwhile, St. Louis is 8-3 and in first place. Have I ever said how much I hate St. Louis morans?

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Submitted by Ryno on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:07 am

I agree, when Rizzo was thrown out at home, it required a perfect throw, perfect execution by the cutoff man, and a perfect reception by the catcher. I say test the defense and make them earn the out. Many times there's a failure somewhere along the way and the runner can capitalize on the mistake.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:30 am

j.lester's control/command/velocity seems to be fine. his 1st game was clumsy, his 2nd runners got all up in his head (it seems), and it looked like he was doing his thing in the 3rd game. lester is awesome, he's an ace, but he's not elite...the cubs passed on elite to protect a 2nd round pick and save some loot. lester's game comes with some baggage and tempered expectations. it wouldn't be a disaster if he ends up being the 2nd best pitcher on the team over the next few years. can't really complain too much if he ends up being a mid-3.00 era guy. it's what he's been up until now aside from a glimpse of greatness last season.

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Submitted by Old and Blue on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:41 am

That seems about right. If the Cubs manage to get into the playoffs, if Arietta keeps this up we may see Arietta then Lester, which gives them a huge chance to win the first two games. That could be a lot of fun. We'll see if this team can sustain this level of energy all year, as in, say, August. They're young whippersnappers though, so hopes are high.

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Submitted by QuietMan on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:47 am

“The female fan who was struck by a foul ball during last night’s game was sent via ambulance to the hospital for the appropriate examinations. Thankfully, the fan was released from the hospital following those examinations. “We are extremely grateful for this positive outcome. The organization is in the process of reaching out to her to show our support. Due to privacy laws, we will not reveal the name of the fan, nor additional details at this time. “We wish to thank the PNC Park personnel and fellow fans who were on the scene at the time, as well as the Pittsburgh EMS for their quick response.”

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:36 am

so...anyone heard where russell is slotting in? he going to be the new 9-slot "pseudo table setter" dude?

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Submitted by mannytrillo on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:25 am

I think it might make the most sense, but will it hurt him psychologically coming in and batting 9th. A big deal was made when Bryant was called up and batted clean up his first game. Just throwing that out there. There really isn't many other place in the lineup to go. The worst non pitcher will hit 7th, pitcher 8th. Maybe 6th? But then he will have two bad hitters behind him.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:41 am

it would please me to get rid of this whole 'pitcher 8th' thing...especially after last night. it would be a shame to stick a guy like him in the 7 slot (assuming the pitcher is 8th) without a good patience and pitch selection "tool" to take advantage of being fed crap with no one on. it seems his game is contact-heavy. that said, as good as he is, he's not grown into his "average" power. he would be hitting 2nd on a lot of teams or thrown into the 6-8 slot given his current skill set. i have no idea what maddon has planned for him.

Submitted by Tito on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:26 am

Just spitballing here, but he doesn't seem like the type of player to fall apart if he's in the 9th slot.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:50 pm

3 years of tank-n-trade after taking over an old team should do that. thankfully, they've delivered what they promised. cashner was traded out for a badly needed power hitter, the roster was traded for whatever spare parts were coming down, 1-year contracts were really 1/2-season rentals, and ninja was the last "name" from the former administration still around when he was traded (aside from the extended castro). they got their early picks in the draft and did a good job with them...still waiting on the deeper picks to show something. it was a hard time to sit through for some of us. it was 3 years of delayed christmas for others.

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Submitted by Sonicwind75 on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:07 pm

Crunch: I ask this not as an attack or as snark but as an honest question. Would you have preferred a rebuild similar to what San Diego did this off season? Shedding prospects and absorbing larger contracts in trades. The Cubs had greater prospect pool and payroll resources than San Diego, it would have been interesting. To San Diego's credit, they did keep their top couple of prospects but it seems like a quick fix.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:15 pm

there's a lot of ways to rebuild. a 3-year rebuild is a new one for a lot of baseball, and a rather radical direction for a large market team. 480+ games of "you knew this didn't matter before it began" to sit through. /personal opinion/ i expected it in year 1...year 2 was pushing it...year 3 was a damn joke. /personal opinion/ yeah, i'd prefer the quick fix, but the crux is we'll never know what would be better because all we have are outside examples in differing years mixed with hypotheticals. it's all trade/sign/draft and so many ways to get it done depending on the desired outcome.

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Submitted by Ryno on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:35 pm

Thanks to the bold and risky moves of Theo Epstein, a "Cubs-style rebuild" is now part of sports vernacular and with good reason: He took a plundered, bare, worthless organization and rebuilt it into an enviable baseball organization. I look around baseball, and there's not one organization I look at with envy. Tigers... maybe? Shrug. Point is, it was a big job- and if it took 3 years to do, then I don't want the 2-year solution.

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Submitted by crunch on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:41 pm

i dunno if any team is going to try a 3-year rebuild, though. it got a term coined, but that is a lot of ask of many fan bases and some teams might not be able to survive it without a bit of harm. like most things sports related, though...do it right and the "damage" very soon ends as the fans forget, forgive, and relish in what's going on now.

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Submitted by Carlito on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:48 pm

I don't think the Cubs could have done that. They were in a much more dire situation. They had Cashner and Baez. and a major league roster full of bloated contracts. Also the players who were big signs have bombed: Feilder, Pujols, Hamilton etc. Also they didnt just rebuild the player structure they tore apart the entire organization, scouts, minor league hierarchy. It's really apples and oranges. ALSO THE PADRES DID a three year rebuild before this move. They have been in rebuild mode for many years.

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Submitted by Rob G. on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:12 pm

Padres had a pretty good farm system to deal from, somewhat thanks to McLeod and Hoyer. Even without signing Shields they had a pretty decent starting staff even if they didn't make a move. I like what they did this offseason, they gave up their #2 prospect in Wisler in the Kimbrel trade but it's getting pretty easy to find pitching. But they've been pseudo-rebuilding for years to get guys like Ross, Gyorko, Cashner, Alonso, etc and they went for it. They certainly won't be able to sustain it though. The Cubs are built to be a dynasty, Padres are a 1-2 year makeover that'll he have to keep doing every year. Might work...might not. I have no doubt the Cubs won't see below .500 for the next 6-8 years unless they just tank Red Sox style because of injuries.

 

Submitted by Brick on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:32 pm

Can we start referring to Rizzo, Castro, and Bryant as Clark, Sheffield, and Waveland? We don't have to, but I just think it would be really, really cute.

Submitted by QuietMan on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:17 pm

Still no official word of 25 or 40 man roster moves. Are the Cubs trying to swing a last minute deal? Or is there nothing to see here.

Submitted by mannytrillo on Tue, 04/21/2015 - 04:05 pm

David Ortiz is a prick: Example #1,532 http://nesn.com/2015/04/david-ortiz-isnt-happy-about-jim-palmers-critic… ESPN.com’s Gordon Edes asked Ortiz after Monday’s game whether he ever had any issues with Palmer in the past. “No, actually I thought that he was one of my guys,” Ortiz said. “All of a sudden now he’s killing me, huh? I guess anybody who wants to get famous or make some noise comes to Papi, right?” Jim Palmer is only a HOFer and pretty famous Prick Papi. Maybe so much juicing has messed with your head.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    morel played somewhere besides 3rd and SS...he got 8 innings in CF, 2 putouts and an assist.

  • crunch (view)

    ryan flaherty new cubs bench coach.

  • crunch (view)

    bellinger wins comeback player of the year.  the AL winner was liam hendricks and his 5ip before he got tommy john...setting himself up for a 2025 shot at the award.

  • Bill (view)

    I hope that Perlaza goes on to have a successful career.  On most Cubs teams prior to the current administration, he would have been one of their more highly ranked prospects.  As far as the others are concerned, one or more may well go on to be much better than expected, but unfortunately there is no way to tell which one at the present time.  You can't keep everyone.

  • crunch (view)

    s.gray signs with the cards...3/75m

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Another one of the nine Cubs post-2023 Rule 9 minor league 6YFA has signed, as RHP Carlos Guzman (acquired from the Tigers for Zack McKinstry at the end of Spring Training) signed a 2024 minor league contract with the Mets. 

     

    So RHRP Yovanny Cruz (SD), C-INF P. J. Higgins (CIN), and now Carlos Guzman (NYM) have already signed 2024 minor league contracts with new MLB organizations, and OF Yonathan Perlaza is headed for Korea (Hanhwa Eagles).

  • crunch (view)

    ...and back to 3rd for another game.  at this point i'm gonna hang back and when/if he actually plays 1st then i'll find it notable.  i am glad he's playing a good amount of 3rd, though...give the club one more good look at him there.  shrug

  • crunch (view)

    morel played SS last night (no errors)...hit a homer and a double.  he's got 2 of both in 19PA.

  • crunch (view)

    e.escobar was throwing 95-97mph on his fastball in 2023.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    One more thing about Edwin Escobar. Even though he had accrued less than one year of MLB Service Time prior to signing with Nippon Ham in 2017 (he ended up eventually with Yokohama), he will have Article XIX-A rights by virtue of the seven seasons he spent in Japan. So he will be essentially locked on the 40-man roster (or at least he can't be outrighted without his consent), and he will be a FA whenever his contract expires. 

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