Cubs make a flurry of moves before Rule 5 Draft |
With the Rule 5 draft approaching for MLB, the Cubs had a few decisions to make. For those who might not know, the Rule 5 Draft allows teams to draft eligible minor league players from other team’s minor league systems so long as they are not protected on their 40-man roster.
Owen Caissie is a name that many expect to be a factor in the Cubs outfield as early as 2025, but certainly in the future. However, since he was acquired in the Yu Darvish trade ahead of the 2021 season, Caissie has been in the minor leagues for quite some time. That meant that this offseason would’ve made Caissie Rule 5 Draft eligible — unless the Cubs named him to their 40-man roster. Caissie is the Cubs’ No. 2 prospect; they assuredly would not want to let him go, so he was promoted to the 40-man roster along with Benjamin Cowles, a 24-year-old infielder who projects to be major league-ready as early as 2025. However, the Cubs’ 40-man roster was already at 40, so to make room for Caissie and Cowles, the Cubs needed to make some moves. As a result, Adbert Alzolay and Brennan Davis were designated for assignment. This is particularly stinging because no more than three years ago, each of those players was a top-5 prospect in the Cubs’ system—and injuries have certainly derailed their careers. Davis is currently the 9th outfielder in line on the Cubs’ theoretical depth chart, behind Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cody Bellinger, Sieya Suzuki, Mike Tauchman, Kevin Alcantara, Alexander Canario, and Owen Caissie — so baseball-wise, holding Davis on the 40-man roster for 2025 did not make a ton of sense. But from a personal point of view, it’s heartbreaking to watch a player who had so much success at a young age battle injuries and never get his shot. Davis has shown flashes of immense power but has only played an average of 58 games per year due to injuries. Can Davis ever break through to the bigs? Alzolay, on the other hand, was one of the top starting pitching prospects. He had a role carved out for him less than a year ago. After coming up to the major leagues as a starter, getting sent down, coming back up, getting injured, and rehabbing — Alzolay eventually became a staple in the Cubs bullpen late in 2022. By mid 2023 he had earned the closer role and picked up 22 saves. Like the rest of his career, his 2023 was halted with a late-season injury, and his 2024 ended abruptly with a season-ending injury that needed Tommy John. As a result, Alzolay is a long shot to pitch at all in 2025, which, again, makes this move an easy one to justify on paper. However, knowing how much the expectations for Alzolay have shrunk in less than a calendar year, it becomes a tough pill to swallow. He proved he can be a big league back-end bullpen piece, but will he ever get the chance again? These players can be brought back to the club on minor league deals if they do not find a contract elsewhere, which I’m sure the Cubs would be open to—but as of now, Davis and Alzolay, both former top prospects, are free agents. The Cubs also traded for veteran reliever Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians. Morgan was 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 32 games in 2024 and has a lethal changeup. In return, the Cubs sent A-Baller Alphonso Rosario to Cleveland. Rosario is a power-hitting outfielder who could be a big-time slugger but has some holes in his swing. Either way, the Cubs have depth in the outfield in the minors, so they got better at the big-league level. In response, the Cubs DFA’d Patrick Wisdom, who was a fan favorite since 2021. Known for his power, Wisdom had 23 or more homers in 2021-2023 — and saw a severe role decrease in 2024 with Michael Busch's emergence and Isaac Paredes's acquisition. Wisdom hit just .171 this season and does not project into the Cubs' future. As much as he was liked in the clubhouse, a playoff Cubs team likely does not include Wisdom. There will undoubtedly be more moves to make, especially with the non-tender deadline on Friday, but the Cubs made a flurry of roster moves this week.
