Chicago Cubs: 5 Players Who Are in Serious Danger of Being Cut or Demoted
Out of all the players trying to earn major league roster spots this spring, nobody has it tougher than the guys at Chicago Cubs camp.
As you would expect, the defending champs showed up to spring training with very few roster spots to fill. As we covered in January, there was only one opening on their bench and two on their pitching staff.
Not a whole lot has changed since then, so there are quite a few players in camp with the Cubs who are running out of time and luck with Opening Day now just a few weeks away.
We're going to take a look at the team's projected 25-man roster as things stand now and all the 40-man guys and non-roster invitees who wouldn't make the cut as a result. Of those, we'll then focus in on five players of particular interest.
Projected 25-Man Roster
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Projected Opening Day Roster
| LF Kyle Schwarber | LHP Jon Lester |
| 3B Kris Bryant | RHP Jake Arrieta |
| 1B Anthony Rizzo | RHP Kyle Hendricks |
| LF Ben Zobrist | RHP John Lackey |
| SS Addison Russell | LHP Brett Anderson |
| RF Jason Heyward | |
| C Willson Conteras | RHP Wade Davis |
| CF Albert Almora Jr. | RHP Hector Rondon |
| RHP Koji Uehara | |
| C Miguel Montero | RHP Pedro Strop |
| INF Javier Baez | RHP Carl Edwards Jr. |
| OF Jon Jay | RHP Justin Grimm |
| OF Matt Szczur | LHP Brian Duensing |
| LHP Mike Montgomery |
Full List of Projected Roster Cuts
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40-Man Roster
C Victor Caratini
2B Tommy La Stella
3B Jeimer Candelario
OF Jacob Hannemann
LHP Jack Leathersich
LHP Caleb Smith
LHP Rob Zastryzny
RHP Aaron Brooks
RHP Jake Buchanan
RHP Eddie Butler
RHP Pierce Johnson
RHP Alec Mills
RHP Felix Pena
RHP Jose Rosario
RHP Duane Underwood Jr.
Non-Roster Invitees
C Carlos Corporan
C Taylor Davis
2B Ian Happ
2B Jemile Weeks (out of options)
2B Chesny Young
3B Chris Dominguez
SS Munenori Kawasaki (out of options)
OF John Andreoli
OF Eloy Jimenez
OF Mark Zagunis
LHP Gerardo Concepcion
LHP Manny Parra
LHP David Rollins
LHP Zac Rosscup
RHP Andury Acevedo
RHP Maikel Cleto
RHP Daniel Corcino
RHP Dylan Floro
RHP Seth Frankoff
RHP Jim Henderson
RHP Casey Kelly
RHP Jhondaniel Medina
RHP Williams Perez
RHP Fernando Rodriguez
RHP Conor Mullee
RHP Ryan Williams
Notable Projected Cut: INF Tommy La Stella
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Projecting Tommy La Stella to be on the outside looking in at the Cubs' Opening Day roster could be perceived as a hot take. He's generally seen as a good bet to make the cut.
However, there are several forces working against him.
One is that the Cubs figure to go with a short bench. As MLB.com's Carrie Muskat wrote last month, the club has hinted that it will go with a 13-man pitching staff because of how manager Joe Maddon likes to use his bullpen.
Maddon can get away with that in part thanks to the versatility of his position players. Relative to Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist and Javier Baez, La Stella is only kinda-sorta versatile. He's played second base and third base, and that's it.
La Stella also has options left. Matt Szczur doesn't. That would probably be neither here nor there if Szczur didn't figure to be useful. But he's grabbing eyes with his .977 OPS this spring and is easy to envision as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement for Kyle Schwarber in left field.
Granted, the Cubs could choose to ignore all this and instead remember that La Stella didn't take it well the last time he was sent to the minors.
Or, they could reassure him with the truth: It may not be right away, but he will be needed eventually.
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Notable Projected Cut: 3B Jeimer Candelario
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Jeimer Candelario is rated as a top-100 prospect by MLB.com, which opines that he's a "talented offensive player who could start for several clubs."
Just not for the Cubs, who are loaded.
For the man himself, you'd think that would be frustrating now more than ever. He's been one of the top stars for the Cubs this spring, hitting .320 with an .866 OPS in 10 games. Following the .959 OPS he put up at Triple-A Iowa last season, he's on a roll.
"He's just different this year," Maddon said, via Tony Andracki of CSN Chicago. "He's more comfortable. ... He watches, he listens, he's quiet, but he's engaged. He's engaged really well. He's gonna be a nice player."
Unfortunately for Candelario, he plays only two positions: third base and first base. That's where the Cubs have Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, who are solid ballplayers when they're not hawking souvenir baseballs.
Barring an injury to either one of them, the 23-year-old is thus awaiting his ticket back to Iowa. He'll then have to bide his time waiting for either a spot to open up or for the Cubs to decide he's of more use to them as a trade chip than as organizational depth.
Notable Projected Cut: LHP Caleb Smith
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Caleb Smith came to the Cubs by way of a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, who selected him from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. And the Cubs were happy to get him.
"Caleb was a guy we settled on, and we're excited about," general manager Jed Hoyer said in December. "We've had some success with Rule 5 guys. Hector [Rondon] has been a huge part of what we did. We felt good enough to move forward and select [Smith]."
Smith put up solid numbers in 27 appearances (seven starts) for Double-A Trenton last year, including a 3.96 ERA and a rate of 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Because he'll have to be returned to the Yankees if he doesn't make the team, he entered camp as a solid bet for the Cubs bullpen.
Things aren't going so well, however. Smith, 25, has made two appearances this spring. In these, he's served up six hits and three runs in three innings.
Meanwhile, veteran lefty reliever Brian Duensing is doing just fine. He's appeared in four games and allowed five hits and one run in five innings. Between that and his track record against left-handed batters, the race to be the go-to lefty in Chicago's bullpen is his to lose.
Notable Projected Cut: RHP Eddie Butler
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Jason McLeod, the Cubs' senior director of player development, said what a lot of people were thinking after the team acquired former top prospect Eddie Butler from the Colorado Rockies last month.
"He's a perfect change-of-scenery candidate," McLeod said on 670 The Score, "and someone—not to throw Jake Arrieta on him by any means—but someone that has the pedigree of having big stuff, being worthy of that pick. We're hoping to get him on buy-low and see what happens."
It's the inevitable Arrieta name-drop that stands out. The Cubs turned him from a failed prospect into a Cy Young winner. With Butler only a couple years removed from being a consensus top-100 prospect, perhaps they can do the same with him.
But the 25-year-old righty isn't making the best first impression. He's pitched in two games this spring and allowed three runs on three hits and two walks.
Of course, Butler was a long shot to open the season with the big club anyway. But with a better showing, he might have been able to crack the starting rotation if an injury had occurred.
It'll take a lot for that to happen now.
Notable Projected Cut: INF Munenori Kawasaki
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There are some notable names among the non-roster invitees whom the Cubs figure to cut loose at the end of spring training. But out of all of them, it just doesn't feel right to ignore Munenori Kawasaki.
If nothing else, the veteran from Japan remains a bundle of fun. He's a good guy to have around for that reason alone.
He's also a solid guy to have on the infield when the need arises. He can play three positions, including shortstop. And he's shown this spring that he still has a flair for the spectacular.
What also allows Kawasaki to stand out is that there's a good chance he could stick with the Cubs even if he is cut.
This time last year, he was in the same position he's in now. He arrived in Cubs camp as a non-roster invitee before ultimately getting the ax. But rather than being on his way, he re-upped with the team on a minor league contract and went on to play in 14 games with the big club.
It's easy to imagine history repeating itself a few weeks from now. If so, American baseball fans haven't seen the last of Kawasaki.
Data courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and MLB.com.
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