FanGraphs posted an interesting report on how each team built their current 40-man roster. August Fagerstrom examined all 30 rosters and broke the player acquisitions into six categories: Amateur Draft, Free Agent, Trade, International, Waivers and Rule 5 Draft. And provided the projected WAR for the categories based on Steamer projections.
The Cubs drafted eight of the players on the 40-man roster, nine were added via free agent signings, one on a waiver claim, one Rule 5 Draft pick and four were International signings. Nearly half of the 40-man roster has come through trades. Seventeen (17) of the players currently on the big league roster were added to the organization by deals made with the Orioles, Padres, A’s, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Braves, Reds, Pirates, Yankees and Rockies.
According to the report from FanGraphs, here is the projected WAR of the six categories: Amateur Draft (10.4), Free Agent (18.0), Trade (22.3), International (1.5), Waivers (0.0) and Rule 5 Draft (1.1).
As August Fagerstrom noted, while the front office receives high praise for the players they have drafted and homegrown talent that has been developed, the Cubs have “truly shined” on the trade market.
The Cubs turned Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger into Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop, Andrew Cashner and Kyung-Min Na into Anthony Rizzo and Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel into Addison Russell. And re-signed Jason Hammel. Plus two trades with the Rangers for Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza are the reason Kyle Hendricks, Christian Villanueva, Justin Grimm, Neil Ramirez and Carl Edwards Jr. are currently on the Cubs’ 40-man roster.
Here’s the breakdown of the 40-man roster put together by Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod, Tim Wilken and the baseball operations department.
Cubs 40-Man Roster
Amateur Draft (8)
- Dallas Beeler, RHP
- Pierce Johnson, RHP
- Eric Jokisch, LHP
- Kyle Schwarber, C/OF
- Javier Baez, INF/OF
- Kris Bryant, INF/OF
- Dan Vogelbach, 1B
- Matt Szczur, OF
Free Agent Signing (9)
- Andury Acevedo, RHP
- Trevor Cahill, RHP
- Jason Hammel, RHP
- John Lackey, RHP
- Jon Lester, LHP
- David Ross, C
- Ben Zobrist, INF/OF
- Chris Coghlan, OF/INF
- Jason Heyward, OF
Trade (17)
- Jake Arrieta, RHP
- Rex Brothers, LHP
- Carl Edwards Jr., RHP
- Justin Grimm, RHP
- Kyle Hendricks, RHP
- Spencer Patton, RHP
- Neil Ramirez, RHP
- Clayton Richard, LHP
- Zac Rosscup, LHP
- Pedro Strop, RHP
- Adam Warren, RHP
- Travis Wood, LHP
- Miguel Montero, C
- Tommy La Stella, INF
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Addison Russell, SS/2B
- Christian Villanueva, INF/OF
International Free Agent (4)
- Willson Contreras, C
- Arismendy Alcantara, INF/OF
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B
- Jorge Soler, OF
Waiver Claim (1)
- Edgar Olmos, LHP
Rule 5 Draft (1)
- Hector Rondon, RHP
FanGraphs wrapped up the look at the Cubs 40-man roster by saying, “They’ve hit on their most current draft picks, and made the necessary moves in free agency to fill out their roster, but the true catalyst of the potential powerhouse Cubs are a series of shrewd deals made by Theo Epstein since taking over in 2011.”
- Cubs Updated Position Player, Win Total Projections for 2016 Season [Feb. 1]
- Cubs Updated Pitching Staff Projections for 2016 Season [Feb. 2]