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 vs. Rockies: Series Thread (Games 154-156)

Submitted by Charlie on

The Cubs' recent run of failure proceeded from frustrating to demoralizing against the Pirates. Solid pitching and defensive performers fell through and two attempted comebacks fell short as the Cubs managed only one win. Chicago is in a virtual tie for the final NL Wild Card spot with nine games remaining. They have three games against the Rockies at Wrigley to leave home on a positive note. See below for matchups.

Game 154, Friday, September 22, 1:20 pm central
CHC: RHP Jameson Taillon (7-10, 5.27 ERA)
COL: RHP Noah Davis (0-2, 9.58 ERA)

Game 155, Saturday, September 23, 1:20 pm central
CHC: LHP Jordan Wicks (3-1, 2.67 ERA)
COL: RHP Chris Flexen (1-8, 7.19 ERA)

Game 156, Sunday, September 24, 1:20 pm central
CHC: RHP Javier Assad (4-3, 3.04 ERA)
COL: LHP Ty Blach (3-2, 5.32 ERA)

Tags
2023 Series Thread
Colorado Rockies

Comments

Submitted by Eric S on Fri, 09/22/2023 - 09:18 pm

Entering today, Suzuki’s post all star game stats: .298/.356/.556 (.912 OPS) - He’s been huge. 
 

For kicks, here’s Bellinger’s post all star game stats: .321/.359/.583 (.942).

Submitted by Cubster on Fri, 09/22/2023 - 09:29 pm

Brewers get a Twelve-spot in the 2nd vs Marlins. Odd to be rooting for them but whatever it takes.

Submitted by crunch on Sat, 09/23/2023 - 09:51 pm

...and assad is now a pen arm, evidently...odd move given recent success.  i guess wicks starts tomorrow?

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sat, 09/23/2023 - 09:52 pm

The deadline for trading players on an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) and players who were outrighted to the minors after signing a 2023 MLB contract was August 1st, but trades involving players on a minor league reserve list are prohibited beginning at 12 PM (Eastern) on the 7th day prior to the originally-scheduled conclusion of the 2023 MLB regular season (Sunday 9/24) through the last day of the MLB regular season (including a day on which a regular season game is played after the originally-scheduled conclusion of the MLB regular season).   
 

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 09/24/2023 - 09:47 pm

merryweather puts the first couple guys on with 0 outs...and smyly is up in the pen.  back end of the pen situation is a mess.

Submitted by crunch on Sun, 09/24/2023 - 09:52 pm

cubs win...so do MIA and CIN,.  ARZ is close to winning (up by 6 in the 8th).  total wash of a day.

off day tomorrow then it's the last week of baseball...not an easy one vs MIL and ATL.  last-week drama...

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Sun, 09/24/2023 - 09:09 pm

With two more HR on Sunday versus Houston, Nelson Velazquez now has 17 HR in 49 MLB games this season (pro-rates out to 56 HR in 162 games). 

[ ]

Submitted by Childersb3 on Mon, 09/25/2023 - 09:42 am

Jed just didn't believe in NellyV during Winter '21-'22 enough to keep from signing Seiya.
Jed didn't think what Nelson was doing in AA in 2021 was enough for a chance.
He probably wasn't wrong. He just may not have been 100% correct.
Seiya has played better since being moved out of the top 4 spots in the order.
That pressure was just too much for him.
I just don't see a lot of difference between Seiya and Nelson long term. Except for the price and age between them.
But this is all retroactive.
I just like giving your homegrown guys a chance.
Especially homegrown bats with power and arms with high velo.
Happy for NellyV. Hope he follows the same path as Soler.

Submitted by Childersb3 on Mon, 09/25/2023 - 09:47 am

Phil,

USA Today is reporting that Stroman is more likely now to take his option for next year rather than hit FA market.
21mil in hand and hope for a reset year in '24 a better outlook for him?
Does this mean Hendricks gets let go?
Smyly will opt in to his last year for sure.
So, Steele, Taillon, Stroman, Wicks, Assad, Brown, maybe Horton, with Smyly in the pen.
Will there be enough cash and spots for Hendricks to return?
I was hoping for a Steele, Taillon, Wicks, Assad, Brown and Yamamoto rotation.

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 09/25/2023 - 09:46 pm

Childersb3: I suspect the Cubs will pick-up the Hendricks $16M 2024 option rather than pay the $1.5M buy-out, and then depending on what else might happen during off-season (Stroman opt-out now not likely, Smyly to the pen permanently, might or might not sign Yamamoto), Hendricks will either be in the Cubs starting rotation on Opening Day, or else he will be traded. 

So while I don't think the Cubs will decline the club option, I do think he could be traded if it becomes clear during the course of the off-season and Spring Training that there is no place for him in the 2024 rotation.

With the need for SP being what it is throughout MLB, Hendricks still has value (especially on a one-year contract for reasonable money), whether it be with the Cubs or with another club (presuming he stays healthy, of course). 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Mon, 09/25/2023 - 09:34 pm

azbobbop: If Stroman does not opt out, the Cubs can trade him without any restrictions.

Stroman will make $21M in 2024 if he does not opt out, and Hendricks will make $16M if the Cubs exercise the club option. 

Also, it would cost the Cubs a $1.5M buy-out if they decline the Hendricks club option, so they would only be saving $14.5M by declining the option, not the full $16M.

[ ]

Submitted by Finwe Noldaran on Tue, 09/26/2023 - 09:46 pm

Phil: With Brown, Killian, Thompson, Thompson, Assad, Wicks, and Wesneski (with Horton and others knocking on the door) competing to join Steele and Taillon in the rotation, do you anticipate us keeping either Stroman or Hendricks, or looking to add an SP in free agency?

And is Smyly signed for next year? 

[ ]

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 09/27/2023 - 09:28 pm

F NOLDARAN: 

The Cubs have no control with respect to Marcus Stroman or Drew Smyly exercising their player options for 2024. 

Stroman will get $21M in 2024 if he exercises his player option and Smyly gets $10.5M in 2024 (includes a $2M salary escalator based on IP in 2023) if he exercises his player option (both likely, especially Smyly). 

Kyle Hendricks has a $16M club option for 2024 or else a $1.5M buy-out, and it remains to be seen if the Cubs will exercise the option (which is really just a $14.5M savings because of the buy-out). I would think the Cubs will exercise the club option, because they can always trade him.  

Also, the Cubs will be paying performance bonuses post-2023 to Yan Gomes (either $250K or $500K based on games started at catcher) and Smyly ($2M based on IP). Also, Cody Bellinger gets as $1M bonus if he wins N. L. Comeback Player of the Year Award (which is very likely).

So with the $3M+ in performance bonuses still to be paid, the Cubs 2023 payroll AAV will likely end up just slightly under the 2023 MLB $232M CBT threshold, possibly within $1M (TBD).  

BTW, as things stand right now it appears that the Cubs will have somewhere in the vicinity of $30M in 2024 salary to spend on additions to the roster (I am presuming that Bellinger will opt-out, that Stroman and Smyly will not opt out, that the Cubs will pick up the club options on Hendricks and Gomes but will not pick-up the club option on Brad Boxberger, and that the Cubs will tender 2024 contracts to only three or four of the arbitration eligible guys -- Steele and Alzolay for sure, probably Merryweather, plus MAYBE Tauchman and/or Leiter), with Nick Burdi, Codi Heuer, Nick Madrigal, and Patrick Wisdom likely to be non-tendered (or traded prior to being non-tendered if another club is interested). 

However, I suspect that the Cubs will attempt to re-sign Heuer and Burdi -- and Tauchman and/or Leiter if they are non-tendered -- to 2024 minor league contracts with an NRI to Spring Training. Brandon Hughes and Ethan Roberts are not arbitration-eligible but they also are likely to be non-tendered and then the Cubs will attempt to sign them to 2024 minor league contracts with an NRI to Spring Training.

MLB Contract Tender Day this year is November 17th (the Friday immediately prior to Thanksgiving), so I expect to see a lot of transaction-related activity at that time throughout MLB. 

However, the deadline to add Rule 5 eligible players to the MLB 40-man roster is PRIOR TO MLB Contract Tender Day, so the Cubs will need to drop as many players from the 40 as roster slots are needed PRIOR TO MLB Contract Tender Day.

The players presently on the 40 who are most likely to be Designated for Assignment (and outrighted if not claimed) to clear slots on the 40 prior to MLB Contract Tender Day for Rule 5 Draft eligibles would probably be Michael Rucker, Jared Young, Jeremiah Estrada, and Caleb Kilian (in that order), although the Cubs could also just DFA one or more of the players they have  already decided to non-tender and not re-sign (like Madrigal and/or Wisdom, and maybe Leiter and/or Tauchman). 

At 9 AM (Eastern) on the day after the final game of the World Series (two or three weeks prior to MLB Contract Tender Day) is when unsigned MLB Article XX-B players are automatically declared free-agents (they do NOT have to file, it's automatic), so that's when Bellinger, Boxberger, Candelario, and Fulmer will be removed from the Cubs MLB 40-man roster, and then at 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series is when all players still on a club's MLB 60-day IL (Burdi,  Heuer, Hughes, and Roberts) are automatically reinstated to the 40-man roster.

So by 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series, the Cubs 40-man roster will likely be full (subtracting free-agents Bellinger, Boxberger, Candelario, and Fulmer, and adding Burdi, Heuer, Hughes, and Roberts back from the 60-day IL). 

5 PM Eastern on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series is also the point in time when unsigned minor league players eligible to be a post-2023 MLB Rule 9 6YFA are automatically declared free-agents, unless the player is added to the MLB 40-man roster or has signed a 2024 minor league successor contract. This will impact the Cubs with respect to OF Yonathan Perlaza and SS Luis Vazquez (two legit prospects who are eligible to be minor league free-agents post-2023).  

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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