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

Cubs @ Pirates: Series Thread (Games 127-130)

Submitted by Charlie on

The Cubs won another close series, going 2-3 in Detroit. They arrive in Pittsburgh tied with the Reds for a Wild Card spot and 3.5 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. The Pirates have two TBD starters in this four game series. So, find matchups below such as they stand.

Game 127, Thursday, August 24, 6:05 pm central
CHC: LHP Justin Steele (14-3, 2.80 ERA)
PIT: TBD

Game 128, Friday, August 25, 6:05 pm central
CHC: RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 3.83 ERA)
PIT: RHP Mitch Keller (10-8, 4.22 ERA)

Game 129, Saturday, August 26, 6:15 pm central
CHC: RHP Javier Assad (2-2, 3.13 ERA)
PIT: TBD

Game 130, Sunday, August 27, 12:35 pm central
CHC: LHP Drew Smyly (9-9, 5.28 ERA)
PIT: LHP Bailey Falter (1-7, 4.53 ERA)

Tags
2023 Series Thread
Pittsburgh Pirates

Comments

Submitted by crunch on Thu, 08/24/2023 - 08:05 pm

the great controlled-use pitcher experiment subject stephen strasburg is retiring at age 35 after pitching a total of 31.1ip since age 30.

he joins fellow WAS youth pitchers jordan zimmermann and john lannan who flamed out at age 35 and 29, respectively.  zimmermann's last 2 seasons after his age 33 season totaled 11.1ip.

strasburg threw more than 200ip twice, zimm twice, and lannan once.  both strasburg and zimmermann had TJ surgery in their careers.

Submitted by Dolorous Jon Lester on Thu, 08/24/2023 - 08:14 pm

Phil, I see in your 40 man that Uceta has an option year left for this year but 0 assignments remaining. Has he been optioned up and down 5 times this year? 

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 08/29/2023 - 08:17 pm

DJL:

Yes. Edwin Uceta was optioned to the minors five times in 2023. 

Of course he was subsequently outrighted to AAA Iowa after being optioned to Iowa, but if he were to be called up to the 40 again prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season and then the Cubs wanted to send him back to the minors, the Cubs would first have to secure Outright Assignment Waivers before he could be optioned to the minors (even though it an optional assignment, not an outright assignment).

BTW, I had heard that MLB planned to change "Outright Assignment Waivers" to just plain old "Assignment Waivers" (since these waivers are now required for both an outright assignment as well as certain optional assignments), and "Outright Release Waivers" to just plain old "Release Waivers," although I am not sure if the changes have been made yet. 

Also, a player who has been optioned to the minors five times in a given season can be optioned to the minors without restriction (even though he has been optioned five times) if he is recalled after 8/31 as the 29th man for a doubleheader, and if a player who has been optioned to the minors five times in a season is claimed off Outright Assignment Waivers, the claiming club can option the player to the minors without restriction one time, as long as the player was not previously on the claiming club's MLB 40-man roster sometime earlier in the season.  

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 08/30/2023 - 08:27 am

BRADSBEARD: No. These are Outright Assignment Waivers, and a player does - NOT - have to be outrighted if the player is not claimed and waivers are secured.

Since the player does not have to be outrighted if he is not claimed, the club can just keep the player on the MLB 40-man roster going forward.

Also, in most all of these cases, the players who were placed on Outright Assignment Waivers yesterday have Article XIX-A status (the player has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time) and can't be outrighted without his consent anyway. 

The club could decide independent of all that to release the player if he is not claimed off Outright Assignment Waivers, although if that happens the club would be on the hook for the balance of the player's contract (and salary), offset only by the MLB minimum salary if the player were to sign with another club after being released. 

However, in order to be post-season eligible a player must be on a club's reserve list by midnight 8/31 (which is why all of these players were placed on Outright Assignment Waivers on 8/29), so if any of these players get through Outright Assignment Waivers without being claimed, it would take another two days to get the player through Outright Release Waivers, and by then the player would be ineligible to play in the post-season if he were to sign with another MLB club.    

BTW, the waiver claim priority is reset every day at 9 AM  (Eastern), so during the August Waiver Claiming Period  (which is the shortest of the four waiver claiming periods), whatever the standings are at 9 AM Eastern tomorrow (8/31) will determine the waiver claim priority for the players who were placed on Outright Assignment Waivers yesterday. (The waiver claiming period ends at 1 PM Eastern every day, and then the next waiver claiming period begins at 2 PM Eastern every day, and so once he is placed on waivers, the player remains on waivers for 47 hours).  

The first waiver claim tie-breaker is if two clubs from different leagues are tied, the club from the player's own league gets priority. (This is the only time where it matters which league a club is in). The second tie-breaker is last year's standings (or the season before that, and then the season before that, etc), if there is still a tie.   

Of course the challenge for a club is to not claim everybody just so that other contenders with better records can't get the player, because you might get stuck with somebody (and a contract) you don't want. You can't back out of a waiver claim once you make it. 

In the case of the Cubs, Angels LHRP Matt Moore is probably the guy they really, really want, but it's VERY likely that one or more of the contenders with a worse record than the Cubs (MIA, CIN, MIN, BOS, SF, AZ) will claim him. 

Remember, players who are injured and/or not eligible to be reinstated from the IL cannot be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season.

Also, a player with a "no trade" right (full or partial) cannot be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers at any time unless the player waives his NTC prior to being placed on waivers (so he can't wait to see who claims him and then decide to waive the NTC).  

And if a player is claimed off Outright Assignment Waivers, he cannot reject the claim. It's iron clad. And the club gets only the $50,000 waiver fee (plus salary relief). There is no negotiation for players or additional compensation if a player is claimed. So this is not like the old August Trade Waivers.  

Submitted by Eric S on Thu, 08/24/2023 - 08:55 pm

After two innings, Steele on pace for a 207 pitch complete game - he may need to break out a knuckle ball at some point. 

Submitted by crunch on Fri, 08/25/2023 - 08:01 pm

gomes catching hendricks today...not his first time, but amaya and barnhart usually handles him.

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 08/25/2023 - 08:35 pm

From Patrick Mooney…

something about Rucker down and (Keegan) Thompson up. 
Also this: “The Cubs scratched Jordan Wicksfrom Wednesday’s scheduled start with Triple-A Iowa for reasons that were not related to an injury, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reported. The Cubs are weighing their options with Wicks, their 2021 first-round pick out of Kansas State, now that Drew Smyly (5.28 ERA) is ticketed for the bullpen again. It would be hard for the Cubs to find a softer landing spot for Wicks’ major-league debut than this weekend in Pittsburgh.”

https://tinyurl.com/4wb78xau

Note: mlb gameday does list KT in the Cubs bullpen. Article says it was before Thursday’s game, so I definitely missed that roster move yesterday.

Submitted by azbobbop on Fri, 08/25/2023 - 08:41 pm

Question for the group…if Wicks pitches Saturday or Sunday, can he be optioned back to Iowa but then call up as 27th man for Friday’s doubleheader?

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 08/29/2023 - 08:07 pm

azbobbop:

Yes. 

There is no restriction on recalling a player to be an extra man for a doubleheader. 

So even if a player has been optioned to the minors for less than 15 days (for a pitcher) or 10 days (for a position player), the player can be recalled as the 27th man (pre-September 1st) or the 29th man (beginning on September 1st). 

Also beginning on September 1st, a player recalled as the 29th man for a doubleheader does not spend one of his five options for that season when he is optioned back to the minors the next day.

In addition, MLB clubs are - REQUIRED - to add one additional pitcher and one additional position player to their MLB Active List roster on September 1st (so the Cubs' 26-man roster will become a 28-man roster this coming Friday). 

In the case of the Cubs, I expect the position player most-likely to be added on 9/1 will be C-INF P. J. Higgins (who will need to be added to the MLB 40-man roster), and the pitcher added on 9/1 will probably be RHRP Brad Boxberger (who will need to be reinstated from the 60-day IL). 

Submitted by Eric S on Sat, 08/26/2023 - 08:32 pm

It’s kind of a shame they didn’t use Amaya last night at catcher (particularly in a loss) and have the veteran Gomes out there to help navigate his first big league start. 
 

Edit: or not! 😂

Submitted by Eric S on Sat, 08/26/2023 - 08:44 pm

Fox announcing crew sucks - clearly egregious called strike and all they could talk about was the chirping from the Cubs dugout. Not a mention of how clearly bad the call was. 

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 08/26/2023 - 08:10 pm

every once in a while suzuki hits one that makes you realize what he could do if he wasn't pounding everything into the ground at 100+mph.  massive 2nd deck foul ball...followed by chopping an out into the ground fielded by the SS.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 08/26/2023 - 08:13 pm

jordan wicks so far...changeup, cutter, changeup, cutter, curve, changeup, cutter, 4-seam, changeup, cutter, etc etc...most of it low and a good chunk not even in the zone.  PIT hitters aren't seeing it.  they're K'ing at an alarming rate and swing/missing a chunk.  deception in play as well as pitch selection...

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 08/26/2023 - 08:58 pm

there is a huge run on Jordan Wicks baseball cards on ebay...hah.  hype hype hype hype!

Submitted by Eric S on Sat, 08/26/2023 - 08:32 pm

Wesneski seemingly dead set on making sure the Cubs continue the streak of consecutive games decided by two runs or less

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 08/26/2023 - 08:33 pm

can this team just move wesn back to starting rather than jerking his career around?  they traded a very high end closer with club control for this guy (yes, injured, but valuable when he was traded).  let's not turn him into k.thompson.

Submitted by hellfrozeover on Sun, 08/27/2023 - 08:20 am

Long time lurker so understand if I get shouted down here but, I just don’t get the love for Wesneski. He seems to be unable to get out of his own head every time he gets a chance to start.  He reminds me of Juan Cruz, electric stuff but can’t control consistently and gets rattled super easily and then gets slammed as a result. He seems to me to be purely a low leverage bullpen guy, at least until he gets the mental part of the game fixed.  
 

Keegan Thompson was sort of the opposite to me last year, nowhere near the “stuff” that Wes had, but just knew how to pitch. He’s had his own problems this year but man, I have zero faith in Wesneski putting it together, he is just a mental disaster out there. 

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Submitted by crunch on Sun, 08/27/2023 - 08:09 pm

wesn is far from a sure thing.  he's not automatic anywhere and the team seems to be trying to figure out his value to the cubs.  until he proves a bit more, or at least consistently shows strength in some area, any speculation is on the table.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 08/27/2023 - 08:10 pm

they did a stand-up-for-cancer sign thing.  swanson came out with a jameson taillon sign (2017 testicular cancer).

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 08/27/2023 - 08:20 pm

cubs finish the "easy" stretch of their late-season schedule (wsox, royals, tigers, pirates).  8-4 record to show for it.

14 games vs the brewers, reds, giants, dbacks coming up...6 games vs pirates and rockies...then a brutal 6 games vs braves and brewers to finish out the season.  20 "hard" games and 6 "easy" games left to go...

Submitted by fullykräusened on Sun, 08/27/2023 - 08:18 pm

So funny, I was thinking the same thing. Also, when looking it Assad's physique, I was reminined of the great John Kruk: "I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player."

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Submitted by crunch on Sun, 08/27/2023 - 08:30 pm

mexico deserves more MLB success.  it's a bit shocking how few great mexican players have been in MLB.

as far as pitchers go it's fernando valenzuela, joakim soria, teddy higuera, and roberto osuna (career shortened by injury).  if julio urias can keep it up he can join this crew...same for assad.

the batters are rep'd by bobby avila and vinny castillo.

you'd think there would be more greats and there's barely any very good.

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Submitted by crunch on Mon, 08/28/2023 - 08:51 am

agonz proudly reps his mex heritage, but he's from SD.

osuna's career opportunities were most def shortened by domestic violence, but that didn't stop HOU from trading for him (and an executive getting fired for celebrating the signing after getting into the playoffs in front of a slew of female reporters).  he was supposed to have TJ surgery, but refused to do so.  no one signed him in the US, but he went overseas and continued to play through on/off rest and injury for a few years.

but yeah, the domestic violence thing along with the TJ concerns pretty much ended his US career.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    thomas hatch is going to fight ham in japan.  he was on PIT's 40-man.

  • 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.

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